Line #8 Webcomic/AfterlifeBlues


1	''Afterlife Blues'' is a [[{{Webcomic}} webcomic]] written by Jon Kilgannon and illustrated by Mark Sachs, the same team that brought us ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience''.
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3	Brody Isett, our [[UnreliableNarrator less than intelligent narrator]], had been living out his life of petty crime and getting caught on at least four worlds, until he got caught up in a plot of intrigue, subterfuge, and ArtificialIntelligence. Liraz Andronescu, the Hero of Athens, needed a guide for her team to infiltrate New Abilene, the rogue planet still blockaded by the American space fleet. So she recruits Brody to come back to his homeworld, promising not to turn him over to the cops. But who is this person that they're trying to find, and more importantly, what kind of AI is he?
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5	You can read it online [[http://www.project-apollo.net/ab/ here]]. It's been on SeriesHiatus since February 2011.
6	----
7	!! Tropes in ''Afterlife Blues'':
8	%%* TheAlcoholic: Guess who!
9	%%* AntiHero: Brody, though he hasn't done much yet.
10	* ArtificialIntelligence: Franklin, and many of the other characters, and maybe even [[spoiler:a MacGuffin]]
11	* BatmanGambit: Our heroes track Brody down by luring him to commit a crime.
12	* BeneathTheEarth: Urban version on New Abilene. While they do seem to be embargoed by the American Fleet, they actually build underground due to frequent asteroid impact.
13	* BerserkButton: "You're not human, are you?"
14	* BrokenHero: One gets the impression that the Hero of Athens lost more than her body in that battle. [[spoiler:About [[http://www.project-apollo.net/ab/ab055.html 60% of her brain]], too]]
15	* CoatCape: Bethany usually wears her BadassLongcoat this way. In fact, a lot of the time she's holding it in place.
16	%%* CommLinks: Aaahk, in your nose!
17	%%* EarthShatteringKaboom: Planet Athens
18	%%* FairCop: Ranger Isabel Lyle
19	* FTLTravel: Averted. Emory starts on the whole "travel through alternate universes" explanation, but Brody isn't terribly interested in hearing about it. Later one of the authors gave a [[AllThereInTheManual detailed explanation]] in a [[http://project-apollo.net/ab/ab212.html message]] to Website/TVTropes. Instead of using a different dimension as shortcut to reach their destinations like some other FTL drives, they travel to other dimensions where habitable planets are in reach of sublight drives to settle there.
20	* {{Gaslighting}}: The word was deliberately used to flavor the story, as noted in TheRant for [[http://www.project-apollo.net/ab/ab015.html the appropriate page]].
21	%%* HackerCave: Melissa's place
22	* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Creator/BenjaminFranklin in [=AI=] form.
23	* ImmuneToBullets: There are advantages to being a cyborg, such as being able to completely ignore handgun rounds.
24	* InteractiveNarrator: The story is framed by Brody recounting a story to a reporter in exchange for alcohol.
25	* IntrepidReporter: Even called so in TheRant
26	* {{Invisibility}}: This is what the infiltration suit is for.
27	%%* LadyOfWar: Liraz
28	%%* ManInTheMachine
29	* TheMetricSystemIsHereToStay: "You didn't recognise the Hero of Athens when you were two meters away from her?"
30	* TheMultiverse: So if you can't make FTL drives, why not settle on nearby planets in {{Alternate Universe}}s? Interplanetary travel still requires some sub-light travel time to reach the gates.
31	* {{Nanomachines}}: Medical, among other uses. Also, holy shit [[spoiler:hugeass spider!]]
32	%%* NighthawksShot: [[http://www.project-apollo.net/ab/ab070.html here]]
33	%%* {{Railgun}}: Make sure you ReadTheFreakingManual. It also appears to be ChekhovsGun; I hope they remember to return it to him when the story's over.
34	* TheRant: A two-way rant between the writer and illustrator, as in ''Webcomic/AMiracleOfScience''.
35	* SenselessViolins: Referenced. Rather than conceal her gun in an instrument case, Bethany uses nano to conceal it ''as'' an instrument.
36	%%* SomethingBlues
37	* SpaceRomans: New Abilene has a distinctly [[EverythingIsBigInTexas Texan]]/Southern feeling to it, from the way people talk to the fact that their federal police dress like cowboys.
38	* SubspaceAnsible: Real-time communication back to Earth, in another universe. (Unless Franklin is sending part of his program to talk with the crew?)
39	* TechnoBabble: What everything sounds like to Brody. Our poor authors try to [[ShownTheirWork Show Their Work]], but Brody just cuts them off every time.
40	* TooDumbToLive: Brody, of course. Luckily, he has [[ArtificialIntelligence Franklin]] looking out for him.
41	* TransferableMemory: "Forgetting is optional."
42	* UnreliableNarrator: Established by [[http://www.project-apollo.net/ab/ab004.html page 4]].
43	* WaistcoatOfStyle: Liraz's usual outfit includes one.
44	* WordSaladTitle: If "Afterlife Blues" is a phrase that means something within the story, this hasn't become apparent yet.

Context Webcomic / AfterlifeBlues