Line #31 Webcomic/BasicInstructionsBeforeLeavingEarth


1	''[[http://www.biblecomic.net/ Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth]]'' ([[FunWithAcronyms B.I.B.L.E.]]) is a series of comics about Heaven, Hell, and everything in between. The universe of the comic draws the bulk of its inspiration from UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}}, but also takes pages from other religions and lore, and stays true to none of them.
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3	The world is divided in two planes: That of the living, and that of Heaven and Hell who have been at war for as long as anyone can remember. [[{{Muggles}} Most mortals like you and me]] live with no real knowledge of the afterlife, and it is Heaven's most important duty to [[TheMasquerade keep it that way]], however hard it is with Hell itself constantly trying to break down the borders.
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5	Heaven is inhabited by those dead who have earned a chance to live forever as an angel. Hell is full of demons and monsters that can only look at the benefits of having a soul with envy, and in turn most of them hold a natural hatred for all things to do with Heaven. These conflicts are only fueling the strife that seems like it will [[ForeverWar last for all eternity]].
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7	The comic can be found [[http://www.biblecomic.net/archive/rebound-volume-1-cover/ here]]. It updates on Mondays. Do not confuse with [[Literature/TheBible the well-known book]] by the same name, or with Webcomic/BasicInstructions.
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9	----
10	!! Tropes appearing in BIBLE:
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12	%%* ActionGirl: Opal, Mei and some other female angels.
13	%%* APupilOfMineUntilHeTurnedToEvil: Balthazar and Opal apparently knew Rex pre-FaceHeelTurn.
14	%%* AffablyEvil: Rex.
15	* AllThereInTheManual: The authors explain a lot of things in their comments under the respective comic page.
16	* AnthropomorphicPersonification: They aren't actually anthropomorphic (or even {{Funny Animal}}s like most of the cast), but each of the SevenDeadlySins and SevenHeavenlyVirtues has its own spirit incarnation.
17	%%* BadassLongcoat: Balthazar wears a red one.
18	%%* BearsAreBadNews: Wrath. Also, [[IncendiaryExponent he drools lava]].
19	%%* BigBad: Rex is shaping up to be this. Though the scheme to summon Wrath was a failure, Balthazar thinks that there was more to his plan.
20	%%* BigDamnHeroes: Several times, angels have been saved by another angel arriving just in time.
21	%%* BlackAndGrayMorality: Obviously, the devil is as black as they come, but surprisingly, heaven isn’t as perfect as it sounds. Granted, it's still a very light gray.
22	%%* BrokenBird: Lance.
23	* CannonFodder: The cherubim. Balthazar once described them as Mikael's walking sacrifices.
24	-->'''Narrator''': Meet the cherubim; [[YouNoTakeCandle they no speak good English]]. [[FanDisservice Nor do they grasp the point of clothing]] or [[KnightTemplar the importance of being nice to strangers]].
25	* CelestialParagonsAndArchangels: There are the extremely powerful but rarely seen archangels, and then there are Seraphs one step below.
26	* CessationOfExistence: Angels are the souls of people who've already died, so if they get killed again that's it.
27	* CoolSword: Balthazar has a FlamingSword with also makes him [[OutOfTheInferno immune to fire]].
28	%%* CouncilOfAngels
29	* CreatingLife: The power given to humans by God was creating and creating life. Though apparently none of the living humans currently know about this power, they can access it as angels. They were once capable of creating races with souls, though after disappointing God, they lost that power.
30	%%* TheDitz: Nicholas.
31	* EldritchAbomination: The Sins. Wrath is a giant bear with horns and glowing eyes. Four others are pictured in the gallery section, and are just as hideous.
32	* EmotionEater: Soul Vampires can gain strength by leeching virtue or sin off of someone else. This causes a lot of trouble for Heaven, since if one takes enough of someone's sin that means that the remaining virtue is stronger and they could go to Heaven even if they were a mass murdering sociopath. The problem with a good person going to Hell because their virtue was stolen is also a concern. Not to mention that with Soul Vampires, their ability allows them to go to Hell, escape their personal Hell, and become a devil rather than risk becoming an angel.
33	%%* MrFanservice: Lieutenant Duncan, both in- and out-of-universe.
34	* EvilIsNotAToy:
35	** Wrath goes on a rampage after the SummoningRitual is disrupted.
36	** Also, several of the vampire cultists were disintegrated by Wrath's power ''when the ritual was still working properly''.
37	* EyepatchOfPower: Rex. Balthazar has also lost an eye, but doesn't bother wearing an eyepatch.
38	* FaceHeelTurn:
39	** Lucifer rebelled against {{God}} over the great powers It gave the humans, and was cast down to become [[{{Satan}} the Fallen One]].
40	** Also [[FallenHero Rex]], who was once a Seraph before he got demoted for dereliction of duty and flipped out.
41	* FantasticRacism: Oh yeah. [[OurElvesAreDifferent Elves]] look down on [[OurVampiresAreDifferent vampires]], species created by {{God}} look down on those created by [[HumansAreSpecial humans]]...
42	* FantasticRankSystem: It goes soldier, elite soldier, lieutenant, general (highest combat rank), Seraph.
43	* FantasyGunControl: Partly because of Heaven's AlienNonInterferenceClause and partly because most demons are ImmuneToBullets anyway.
44	* ForeverWar: Enforced by the fact that God has forbidden full-on conquest of Hell, which means that the demons will never be completely wiped out.
45	%%* FourStarBadass: General Balthazar.
46	* FourthWallMailSlot: The Ask the Characters section in the gallery.
47	%%* {{God}}: It's called ''BIBLE'' for a reason.
48	* HaveYouSeenMyGod: God isn't exactly a vivid presence in modern Heaven.
49	* HolyHalo: Denotes rank among angels: line troops have red ones, medics have green, officers have pink, generals have pink ones with white runes on, [[CouncilOfAngels council members]] get blue with runes, civilian angels are gold, and Seraphs have solid gold discs.
50	* HornsOfVillainy: Haruls who dabble in magic tend to grow horns as the magic's corrupting effect reveals their half-demon ancestry.
51	* HumansAreSpecial: We have yet to see any in the comic proper, but Creation mentions that humans are the species that God loves the most and gave ''by far'' the [[FunctionalMagic most]] [[CreatingLife power]] to.
52	* HypercompetentSidekick: Opal to Balthazar. It's actually a joking matter between them.
53	* IllPretendIDidntHearThat: Balthazar could probably get in trouble poking around the records of a FallenAngel, but not if Max forgets to make a note that the file was accessed.
54	* ImperfectRitual: Some evil cultists use an old summoning circle to summon the Great Sin Wrath. However, this circle was damaged, causing several cultists to be [[EvilIsNotAToy disintegrated by the ritual's power]] and later making it easy for [[FourStarBadass Balthazar's]] angel troops to destroy the circle.
55	%%* IShallTauntYou: Rex, not that it really works.
56	%%-->'''[[NewMeat Nicholas]]''': Why do you put up with that, Sir?
57	%%-->'''Balthazar''': Ha. Him? What did you expect me to do? Pitch into a fight, man to man, to defend my honor? Kid, he is the bad guy on this mission. It's like part of his gimmick to hand out sarcastic comments. Just ignore him.
58	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Balthazar is both completely tactless and mildly vindictive. Luckily he has Opal to keep him in line. That said, he does care about innocents, among other redeeming traits.
59	%%* KnightTemplar: Pick a cherub, any cherub. Lulu is a particularly good example.
60	* LawOfChromaticSuperiority: In contrast to the white-winged angels around him, [[FourStarBadass Balthazar's]] wings are orange.
61	* LoadsAndLoadsOfRaces: Justified, since both afterlives take souls from every mortal race in the universe.
62	%%* TheLegionsOfHell
63	* TheMasquerade: The angels are supposed to keep mortal races in the dark about Heaven and Hell. Kimera's barrier getting shredded forced the angels to break this policy for them.
64	* TheMedic: Healer angels use a unique form of WhiteMagic that's channeled to them through their halos, as well as mundane bandages and medicines.
65	* MegaCorp: Skull Inc., a mortal organization that has expanded to several different worlds.
66	%%* MildlyMilitary
67	* MilitaryMaverick: Balthazar is well known for his disrespect (bordering on outright hatred) for the archangels, particularly Mikael.
68	* TheNeedless: Angels don't technically need anything, but most still eat, sleep and breath.
69	* NonUniformUniform: Warrior angels don't seem to have any dress code, so each one wears whatever clothes or armor they feel like.
70	* OurAngelsAreDifferent: These ones are the souls of the virtuous gone to heaven -- and heaven receives souls from every planet, so most of the angelic characters are basically {{Funny Animal}}s [[WingedHumanoid plus wings]]. There are also cherubim, which may or may not be souls but are all barbarous thugs.
71	%%* OurElvesAreDifferent:
72	* OurVampiresAreDifferent: "Soul vampires" are demonic half-breeds, have mortal souls, and have a distressing tendency to form {{cult}}s. Also, [[NonIndicativeName they don't drink blood or souls]], but instead feed on either one's sin or virtues (if they choose to, it doesn't seem to be a requirement to live), and if they feed enough they can change a mortal's destination in the afterlife.
73	* PowerAtAPrice: Magic comes with such a high price that angels are outright banned from using it, although [[HealingHands healing]] seems to be an exception.
74	* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Angels don't age in the conventional sense. Balthazar, for instance, is 951 years old.
75	%%* RedSkyTakeWarning
76	%%-->'''Balthazar''': This area is so contaminated with sin we might as well be in hell.
77	* RequiredSecondaryPowers: Balthazar has to wear special gloves to safely wield his FlamingSword.
78	* {{Satan}}: The Fallen One, who else? Though she is a girl this time.
79	* StalkerWithACrush: Duncan has a few, much to his displeasure.
80	* SuicidalOverconfidence: All the NewMeat, but especially Nicholas. He attacked a [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership vampire commander]] alone, and would have been fried if Opal hadn't been there to save him.
81	* SummonMagic: Used occasionally by demonic forces. Summoned creatures are very powerful and FeelNoPain, but have NoOntologicalInertia and vanish instantly when the summoner is killed or incapacitated.
82	* SummoningRitual: Distinct from SummonMagic above (which can be done at will), the vampires also summoned up [[EldritchAbomination Wrath]] in a ceremony involving lots of chanting and [[HumanSacrifice some poor schmuck]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath being burned to death on a glowing-hot summoning circle]].
83	%%* SupernaturalGoldEyes: All demonic creatures.
84	%%* TeamMom: Opal to Balthazar's command.
85	* TooManyBelts: Balthazar wears at least four, plus a BadassBandolier.
86	%%* {{Tsundere}}: Nicole.
87	* TheUnmasquedWorld: Kimera. The borders between normal reality and the afterlives were somehow shredded there, to the point where the angels had no hope of concealing the war from the Kimeran elves and decided to spill the beans so they'd side with Heaven.
88	%%* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer:
89	%%-->'''Balthazar''': Not everything can be solved by swinging your sword around.\
90	'''Nicholas''': ''(disrupts summoning circle by chopping a column with his sword)''
91	* WingedHumanoid: Besides the angels, who gain wings from their halos, there are a few mortal races that have wings in life.
92	* WithCatlikeTread: Angel troops are horrible about stealth, [[LampshadeHanging even the authors complain]]. They could have [[CombatPragmatist successfully]] [[InTheBack backstabbed]] any number of bad guys, including [[TheDragon Rex]] at one point, if they'd just kept their mouths shut.

Context Webcomic / BasicInstructionsBeforeLeavingEarth