1 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/scaled5001_390.jpg]] |
2 | |
3 | ''[[http://particlefiction.posterous.com/ Particle Fiction]]'' is a monthly webcomic by writer/artist David Wynne in the tradition of ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' (Sort of). It describes itself as 'a monthly comic book that just happens to be online' and is in some ways an attempt to bring a more traditional style of comic books to the webcomic medium. |
4 | |
5 | Currently consists of |
6 | * Volume One: |
7 | ** Issue #1 - Eye Of The Tiger |
8 | ** Issue #2 - Ideasman |
9 | ** Issue #3 - Scorched Earth |
10 | ** Issue #4 - Ideasman 2: The Mite of God |
11 | ** Issue #5 - The Complex |
12 | ** Issue #6 - Ideasman 3: Skeleton Vanguard |
13 | * Volume Two: |
14 | ** Issue #7 - Ideasman 4: Personality Clash |
15 | ** Issue #8 - The Catch |
16 | ** Issue #9 - Scorched Earth 2 |
17 | ** Issue #10 - Ideasman 5: Ideasman and the Cataclysmic Plot Device |
18 | ** Issue #11 - Hypergirl |
19 | ** Issue #12 - |
20 | |
21 | After this, the plan is to [[BreakoutCharacter transition to a fully Ideasman comic]]. |
22 | |
23 | ---- |
24 | !!''Particle Fiction'' provides examples of: |
25 | |
26 | * AnthologyComic: Sort of. David Wynne is the main writer and sole artist, but does each issue in a different style |
27 | * GenreRoulette: The point of the concept - each month has a different setting and genre. |
28 | * SpeculativeFiction: Often. |
29 | * SpiritualSuccessor: To webcomics [[http://mindhackcomic.com/ Mindhack]] and [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/davidwynne/damnationgn/series.php?view=archive&chapter=23562 Damnation]]. May later be an actual successor and carry on the story. |
30 | |
31 | ---- |
32 | !!Issues of ''Particle Fiction'' provide examples of: |
33 | |
34 | * AbusiveParents: The slavers in Scorched Earth took children made psychic by the aliens and turned them via abuse into weapons. |
35 | * ActionGirl: Dawn Garrett in Issue #3 |
36 | * AddedAlliterativeAppeal: 'This '''a'''rchipelago of '''a'''erodynamic '''a'''rchitecture is the '''a'''rena for the '''c'''razy '''c'''acophony of '''c'''reatures and '''c'''ultures from the '''m'''ultitude of '''m'''ultiverses to '''m'''eet in a '''m'''elting pot of '''m'''adness!' |
37 | * AirVentPassageway: Justified in that the tunnel [[spoiler:Gray uses to escape]] is a maintenance and observation tunnel. |
38 | * AlienInvasion: Summarised in the first page of Issue #3, Scorched Earth - and of a Type 1 variety. |
39 | * AllBikersAreHellsAngels: In a dog-eat-dog post-apocalyptic world, they sure are. |
40 | * AllPsychologyIsFreudian: Thoroughly inverted. [[spoiler:Freud is so fed up of his psychology not being taken seriously than he unleashes the monstrous representations of Superego and Id by incapacitating Ego, who normally controls them [[ShownTheirWork (as per his theories)]]. Clearly he didn't consider himself right enough.]] |
41 | * AndTheAdventureContinues: At the end of the first Ideasman, he's called to the Museum of Unnatural History to deal with an escaped Black Hole. [[LittleDidIKnow Little did we know]] that he would be truly returning for another adventure in Issue #4. And #6. [[OverlyLongGag And #7.]] (And who knows how many more?) |
42 | * AndIMustScream: The prisoners of The Complex in Issue #5. |
43 | * [[OnceUponATime Are You Sitting Comfortably?]]: The twist on the classic story start is asked by The Tiger to Eddie Bradshaw when he's recounting the murder and cover-up which he has worked out. 'And then I shoot him in the knees.' |
44 | * AsYouKnow: Issue #4 opens with Ideasman's bosses saying 'So, let's go over the mission one more time...' |
45 | * AsceticAesthetic: The Complex definitely is made of this; almost reaches WhiteVoidRoom within the cell - where there are only doors and the people strapped to their crosses. |
46 | * AsideGlance: After the woman in The Complex has been woken up, she stares at a bemused (or terrified) looking Gray, first seeming to look straight at the reader, repeating just one phrase. |
47 | * AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: The theme of Issue #7 - except that they're giant representations of psychoanalytic phenomena. |
48 | * AudienceParticipation: Issue X's genre, Children's Fantasy, was DecidedByOneVote. |
49 | * BadCopIncompetentCop: The police force on Mars after indepdence is described as 'a tiny, underfunded gang'. |
50 | * {{BFG}}: The Tiger has a gun that subverts this--bullets only 3mm long, but with explosive charges. |
51 | * BloodKnight: The Tiger lets himself be surrounded just so he can kill the men sent to kill him. |
52 | * BoomHeadshot: Dawn Garrett is good at these. |
53 | * BreakingTheBonds: Gray wrenches himself from side to side on the cross to achieve this. |
54 | * [[PunkInTheTrunk Brute in the Boot]]: Dawn finds Nigel ANEKA [[note]]Also Not Especially Known As[[/note]] Slick inside the back of a truck. |
55 | * ByTheBookCop: The cop chasing Rey in The Hook follows the rules, even when no other cop on Mars seems to. |
56 | * [[CatGirl Cat Boy]]: Tibbles [=McCoy=] combines this with Film/DirtyHarry. Really. |
57 | * ComicBookAdaptation: Issue #5, of as-yet unpublished novel ''The Purity Construct''. Incidentally, if you want to see what it was adapted from, Tropers/{{Tetrarchangel}}, the author, has put [[https://docs0.google.com/document/edit?id=1MhufKTDFsffcJE64lwy7Gcw1v302d-3iig8fWrjeWb4&hl=en_GB# the appropriate chapters]] on Google Documents. |
58 | * ComicBookFantasyCasting: The woman in Gray's dream is based on Liz May Brice, of ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'', ''[[Series/TorchwoodChildrenOfEarth Children of Earth]]'' and ''Series/DeadSet'' fame. And also, she showed off her JustForFun/OneOfUs credentials - http://twitter.com/#!/lizmaybrice/status/24459301092 |
59 | * CoolBike: The Hypothercycle deployed by Ideasman in Issue #7 is a pretty standard hoverbike. |
60 | * CrossOver: Sort of. In the {{Geek}} cult of the runaway I.D.E.A. clerk, the headdresses come from ''Franchise/StarWars'', ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}'' and ''Series/DoctorWho'' - one of the masks is of TheGreys. |
61 | * CrystalBall: Flatulax the Malodorous, Ideasman's enemy in Issue #6, uses one to watch the progress of his battle with the Skeleton Vanguard. |
62 | * CurbStompBattle: What Scorched Earth implies went on between the aliens and our armies. |
63 | * TheCorrupter: Jake Mulligan proves to be this. |
64 | * CurseOfTheAncients: Mostly as homage to such fantasy villains, this is often how Flatulax the Malodorous speaks. |
65 | * CutTheJuice: How Gray 'frees' the woman from her paralysis. [[spoiler:He then uses the heavy cable to smash through the door.]] |
66 | * CuteBruiser / {{Tomboy}}: Although such terms are likely to get you punched by Punchin' Judy, these are the sort of categories she fits into. |
67 | * DeadlyEuphemism: Issue #1, 'persuading' |
68 | * DecompressedComic: Issue #5 focuses on the visuals, as it mostly occurs in silence. |
69 | * DeliberatelyMonochrome: To an extent. Though the colour cover of the trade paperback is awesome. |
70 | * DemBones: The titular Skeleton Vanguard of Issue #6. |
71 | * DoesntLikeGuns: In some times and places, this is admirable. In the Scorched Earth, Mike being this is something of a problem for Dawn who could do with an arsenal to defend him and his family. |
72 | * DirtyCop: The BigBad of Issue #1, the '''infamous''' Eddie Bradshaw. (No relation to [[Series/SexAndTheCity Carrie]]). |
73 | * DisproportionateRetribution: [[spoiler:The theme of Issue #6 - the I.D.E.A. is taking disproportionate retribution on Flatulax.]] |
74 | * DissonantSerenity: Sunrise definitely has this, [[spoiler: still more so when she explodes a villain with her psychic powers.]] |
75 | * [[DistractedByTheSexy Distracted by the Quantum Vibrosphere]]: Ideasman starts Issue #4 not listening to his mission briefing on account of standing on a platform above what is apparently "The Outer Crust of Reality." |
76 | * TheDon: Jake Mulligan in Issue #8. |
77 | * DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Rey's loss of innocence at the end of Issue #8.]] |
78 | * EasilyThwartedAlienInvasion: Inverted or Subverted depending on whether you think two panels are enough to set up an expectation of the humans winning in Issue #3. |
79 | * EmphasizeEverything: The narrator of the Ideasman issues is '''[[SelfDemonstratingArticle definitely, absolutely, totally this, dear reader]]''' as an {{Homage}} to old-fashioned pulp science fiction. |
80 | * EndlessCorridor: The prison contains rows and rows of balconies, cell after cell after cell. |
81 | * ExpositionBeam: When Gray touches the socket of the implant on his back, he's hit with an overwhelming rush of images that might serve as this if they made any sense. |
82 | * EyeOpen: The opening of Issue #5 mixes this with FlashBack and DreamSequence, eventually zooming in onto the opening eyes of Gray after decades of sleep. |
83 | * FauxSymbolism: Gray is introduced strapped to a cross. Well, technically a Saltire or St. Andrew's Cross. [[{{Rule 34}} And what happens if you google St Andrew's Cross to research this trope?]] |
84 | * FelonyMisdemeanor: Hellvetica's crime, leading to her banishment from the bibliosphere, was Dewey decimal deviance. |
85 | * FightingForAHomeland: What Dawn Garrett is fighting for in Scorched Earth. |
86 | * {{Flashback}} / DreamSequence: Half of the opening of Issue #5. |
87 | * FluffyTheTerrible: Played pretty straight: The dragon is called Fluffykins. |
88 | * FormulaBreakingEpisode: Although this basically happens every issue, special note goes to Issue #8 which is more an [[{{Textplosion}} illustrated prose]] story than a normal comic book issue. |
89 | * {{Frameup}}: The hurried plan for the cover-up in Issue #1, needing The Tiger to ClearTheirName. |
90 | * FreudianCouch: Ideasman appears on one in the cover art for Issue #7. |
91 | * FreudianSlip: The classic joke appears. [[spoiler:Being the Institial City in the Gutter between dimensions, this summons Freud's actual mother. Ironically, this plays into the Freudster's very own FreudianExcuse, which may well make this a FreudianExcuse. Yes, it's no surprise that this issue hits every Freud trope there is.]] |
92 | * FunWithAcronyms: Ideasman Theo Sweeper works for the Interstitial Department of Eternal Affairs. |
93 | * FunetikAksent: The Freudster has a classic faux-Austrian/German/Whatever one. |
94 | * GadgetWatch: Just part of Ideasman's gadget armada. |
95 | * GallowsHumor: How the man that Dawn rescues in Issue #9 hides his injury from his wife. |
96 | * GenreMashup: Issue #3--[[AfterTheEnd post-apocalyptic]] meets [[TheWestern western]]. |
97 | * GrapplingHookPistol: Ideasman sets his lasso to this (pretty convention for him) mode [[spoiler:to lasso the dragon Fluffykins and thereby become a DragonRider]]. |
98 | * {{Greed}}: The motivation for the murder and cover-up in Issue #1. |
99 | * HellholePrison: Despite the transparent-able doors and automated guards, The Complex is a Hellish prison, [[spoiler:crossing over into {{Room101}} territory]] |
100 | * HeroicBSOD: [[spoiler:Gray's reaction to seeing the tantalised prisoners reaching out for each other.]] |
101 | * HighAltitudeInterrogation: The Tiger uses this to find out the location of Alex Bradley. |
102 | * HigherTechSpecies: The aliens in Scorched Earth are this; and even more so once they've destroyed humanity, ignoring them as being 'like ants to them.' |
103 | * HumongousMecha: The war scenes in Gray's dream panel in Issue #5 contain soldiers fighting against/with these. Their arms are [[GatlingGood rotary cannons]] that somewhat defy their purpose by [[MoreDakka firing all at once]]. [[JetPack They can also fly.]] |
104 | * HyperspaceArsenal: Given that the Interstitial City is in-between dimensions, it probably makes sense that Ideasman can have I.D.E.A. Control beam him all sorts of equipment. |
105 | * IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim / HeWhoFightsMonsters - The Tiger tries to spare the father of the victim this. |
106 | * ImpendingDoomPOV: Played with in Issue #9 - Dawn can see the biker gang on the horizon and knows it's only so long before they come after her. |
107 | * ImprobableTaxonomySkills: I mean, how can Ideasman figure out it's an Insecuritree so quickly? He gives a quick textbook description of the plant, which is printed in a more academic font. |
108 | * ImprovisedWeapon: [[spoiler: Gray uses the heavy electrical cable that had been keeping him sedated to break down the door of the cell.]] |
109 | * InMediasRes: Issue #2 starts this way. |
110 | ** As does Issue #9 |
111 | * [[InnBetweenTheWorlds Interstitial City Between the Worlds]]: The apparent location of the Interstitial City, home of Ideasman. |
112 | * TheKlutz: Gray. [[spoiler: He manages to accidentally hit his mad companion into unconsciousness with the heavy cable and gets shards of glass in his leg.]] |
113 | * LaserGuidedKarma: [[spoiler:One of the freed slaves uses a helpful brick to save Dawn from Slick]] |
114 | * LeapAndFire / GunsAkimbo: Dawn dives from the van and takes out some of the bikers this way. |
115 | * LeetSpeek / InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt: Issue #4 includes the line "Dave 'For The' Wynne presents" |
116 | * LiteralMinded: The issues featuring Ideasman, has a universe built this way, including a literal WallOfText. |
117 | * MadeASlave: The breakdown of society in Scorched Earth has led to the more common presence of slavers. |
118 | * MagicCarpet: Flatulax has one, [[spoiler:and it is what starts all the trouble.]] |
119 | * TheManBehindTheMan: [[spoiler: Ego, Superego and Id have been unleashed by the Freudster!]] |
120 | * MeaningfulName / PunnyName: Hellvetica. |
121 | ** Also, Judy Punchowski. Guess how she fights. Go on, guess. |
122 | * MediumAwareness: When Ideasman finds himself in the situation featured on the SplashPage, he quips 'Woah, deja vu.' |
123 | * MinimalisticCoverArt: Often just a symbol or silhouette. |
124 | * TheMole: [[spoiler:Nigel was a slaver all along, despite seemingly being rescued/captured by Dawn.]] |
125 | * MotiveRant: Eichenburger has one of these when confronted by Ideasman. |
126 | ** [[spoiler:As does the Freudster - he was tired of people not taking his theories seriously]] |
127 | * TheMultiverse: Where Interstitial City is located in-between. |
128 | * [[TheNameIsBondJamesBond The Name Is Garrett, Dawn Garrett]]: Dawn introduces herself this way in Scorched Earth #2 |
129 | * OhCrap: If Gray actually spoke [[spoiler: this might just be his reaction to seeing the prisoners who are reaching out for one another.]] |
130 | * OneManArmy: Ideasman isn't usually this, but when it comes to fighting the Skeleton Vanguard with the Hands of Boom, he certainly becomes one. |
131 | * OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: In Issue #1, The Tiger. |
132 | * OpenSaysMe: [[spoiler: Gray achieves this, with a certain amount of collateral damage.]] |
133 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: Ideasman calls it a 'big scaly chicken.' It certainly looks and breathes fire like a dragon. And if you find yourself flying with scaly wings, breathing fire at humans, [[Creator/JeffFoxworthy you might be a dragon]] |
134 | * PleaseWakeUp: Lisa says this to Mike as he is unconscious or dead in Issue #9. |
135 | * PlotDrivenBreakdown: Admittedly justified, Ideasman's communicator is disrupted by the Mite in Issue #4. This following the line from his boss "So long as you keep in touch, you'll be fine." |
136 | * PokemonSpeak: A serious use - the woman in The Complex only repeats the phrase 'Will you?' to Gray. It's unknown what action she's asking him about. |
137 | * PowerFist: The Hands of Boom. That is all. |
138 | * PragmaticAdaptation: The prisoners of The Complex are unclothed in the novel. The comic gives them simple black clothes. |
139 | * {{Precap}}: Issue #2 Ideasman's opening with the octoplus. |
140 | * [[PretentiousLatinMotto Pretentious English Motto]]: ''In Infinity We Trust'' - the motto of the I.D.E.A. |
141 | ** Although in Issue #4, it also has the slogan ''Keeping the Multiverse Safe and Protecting Every Reality'' |
142 | * PrivateEyeMonologue: The Tiger combines this one with ThoughtCaption |
143 | * {{Pun}}: The opening of issue #6 has Ideasman's badge, which is marked Access All Eras. |
144 | * PutDownYourGunAndStepAway: Played straight at the end of Issue #9 [[spoiler: up until the point where the hostage [[YourHeadAsplode psychically explodes the hostage-taker's head]]]]. |
145 | * ARareSentence: The opening of issue #6 sure is one! |
146 | * RecycledINSPACE: Issue #8 is a noir drugs tale on Mars. |
147 | ** And the Holy Terran Empire can probably be considered analogous to the UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire |
148 | * RousingSpeech: Ideasman uses one to restore Ego. |
149 | * RuleOfSymbolism / MultipleDemographicAppeal: Issue#7 - Giant clay-like wild monster fights smarmy super hero because their average human brother hasn't got them under control. Oh, and their names? Id, Superego and Ego. [[spoiler:The whole motivation of the villainous Freudster was that modern psychologists and people in general don't take his theories seriously. Puns and commentary on the evolution of psychology!]] |
150 | ** Later in that issue, there's a bit of FridgeBrilliance as Ideasman restores ego to full size and strength by puffing him up with compliments. |
151 | * ScheduleSlip / OutOfOrder: Not a serious problem, given that it only led to issues #4 and #5 being swapped around. If anything, this makes it better since it means all the even-numbered episodes are Ideasman. |
152 | * SeenItAll: Ideasman is almost certainly this (especially in Issue #6), but of which of the three types is up for debate. |
153 | * ShipTease: The end of Issue #10 [[spoiler:has this for Ideasman and Puchin' Judy]] |
154 | * ShockwaveStomp: [[spoiler: How Ideasman defeats the Skeleton Vanguard - by splitting the earth with the Hands of Boom]] |
155 | * ShoutOut: |
156 | ** Hellvetica may be this to TheSystem. |
157 | *** This has now been disproved |
158 | ** The security automaton in Issue #5 is this to [[Film/ShortCircuit Johnny 5]], except with [[ChainsawGood a chainsaw, a circular saw]], [[KillItWithFire a flamethrower]], [[MacheteMayhem a serrated machete]] [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and]] [[ThisIsADrill a drill]]. |
159 | ** Punchin' Judy (Ideaswoman) in Issue #7 is a shout-out to violence-laden children's puppet show Theatre/PunchAndJudy. |
160 | * SmokingIsCool: Try and tell me that Rey from Issue #8 isn't cool. This does after all come from a man nicknamed 'The Pied Piper of Lung Cancer'. |
161 | * SomethingPerson: Ideasman. |
162 | * StockBritishPhrases: Gladly lacking mostly in this genuinely British work, there appear a number used humourously in Issue #6, notably 'Blow me down and call me Petunia' (which is structurally common), and Bloomin' (in the more peculiar context Bloomin' Undead). |
163 | * SuperTeam: Ideasman calls for backup in Issue #7 and gets Ideaswoman [[MeaningfulName Judy Punchowski]] and Ideascat Tibbles [=McCoy=]. |
164 | %%* SwissArmyWeapon: Ideaman's Blaster. |
165 | * TakeMyHand: [[spoiler: In Issue #8, whilst he does want to escape the cop, Rey does his best to keep him from falling.]] |
166 | * TakeThat: Ideasman: 'Control, what the hell was that thing in the last cage?' Control: 'The one with the body of a lion, and the head and wings of an eagle? That was a griffin.' Ideasman: 'No -- I know that one --! I mean the one with the body of a slug, the head of a pig, and an anus where its mouth should be...' Control: 'That's a [[UsefulNotes/BritishPoliticalSystem Nick Griffin]].' |
167 | * TemporaryBulkChange: Ego has been subjected to this by the villain of the piece, and is increased to [[ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk Hulk]]-like proportions by Ideasman's RousingSpeech. |
168 | * {{Textplosion}}: Issue #8 is sparse in illustrations, the storytelling [[FormulaBreakingEpisode suddenly relying on text]]. |
169 | * ThoughtCaption: Gray, being trapped in a prison with no sane companionship, spends most of his time thinking in this way, and only rarely uses speech bubbles. |
170 | * [[EmotionEater Thought Eater]]: The eponymous Mite of God from Issue #4 consumes ideas. [[spoiler: Later, this becomes an aversion of GodsNeedPrayerBadly]] |
171 | * TitledAfterTheSong: Issue #1 is called Eye of the Tiger. |
172 | * TorchesAndPitchforks / FantasticRacism: [[spoiler:The refuge town at the end of Scorched Earth #2, perhaps wisely, hates Freaks. And of course, Dawn is traelling with a cute 5-year old who can melt people's heads.]] |
173 | * TouchedByVorlons: Humans living near alien hive cities may develop psychic powers. [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg And]] [[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity madness.]] |
174 | * TroubledFetalPosition / DownerEnding: The ending of Issue #5, to beautiful gut-wrenching effect. |
175 | * UnfortunateNames: Flatulax the Malodorous. It may well be accurate, but it is unfortunate. |
176 | * UnhandThemVillain: [[spoiler: In The Hook, whilst Rey has not wanted to kill the cop, just escape him, TheDon Jake Mulligan has no qualms about pushing him to his death.]] |
177 | * UnsoundEffect: In Issue #2, EXPLOSION, followed by BLAST, DETONATION, ERUPTION and CONFLAGRATION. |
178 | * UnwillingRoboticisation / UnusualUserInterface: The closest trope This Troper (Tropers/{{Tetrarchangel}}) has got to how the prisoners in The Complex are held in paralysis/sleep - specifically, a huge cable that plugs into the back of the neck. |
179 | * WarIsHell: A literal interpretation - the background of the war flashback contains wall-to-wall flame. |
180 | * WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: The psychic human held by the slavers and released by Dawn. |
181 | * WordsCanBreakMyBones: Hellvetica and Thesaurus Rex together are almost unstoppable thanks to their power over words. |
182 | * WreckedWeapon: Fluffykins makes light work of the Hands of Boom. |
183 | * WritingForTheTrade: Mostly averted. Ideasman is episodic, and Dawn Garrett has yet to be returned to, though more stories are said to be planned. |
184 | * WrittenSoundEffect: Conventional ones from the dinosaur in Issue #2, as well as the more unconventional Zammow! for Ideasman's blaster. Later, when Ideasman sets his blaster to italics and strikethrough, the Zammow appears appropriately formatted. |
185 |
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