Page 110: Lick
Thursday, December 6th, 2007I said “full post shortly” nine hours ago when putting up the page, so “shortly” now means nine hours by definition. Might as well say something about the page, I guess, even though there’s already been 85 comments. Hmm, I know . . .
At least one person was confused about why Math was sitting with April instead of fighting like Sullivan told him to. The answer is because this is hours later, Panel 6 is hours after Panel 5, after Math has returned to the humans. I imagine the scene that begins with Panel 6 to start with just the sound of April’s soft voice, starting with “one, two, three” with the camera floating along above the pond, perhaps seeing reflections in the water of humans moving about, hearing a truck pulling up as well. Then the camera moves off the water and we see April sitting there, pointing, counting, concerned, and over her shoulder Math steps out of the truck and takes a seat by her side.
I look forward to filming that. Should have a bit of “movie news” soon, by the way. Nothing overly exciting, but it could easily lead to something great. It could also lead to making it so I probably wouldn’t be directing it myself, but oh well, we’ll see.
CLICK HERE to see my mouse drawn MS Paint sketch of this page!
December 6th, 2007 at 6:48 pm
1st post! I feel like a little kid saying that.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Hah! Best instructions ever!
I still think A.P is awesome.
–AD
December 6th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Even in death, Addison is still the shit.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:52 pm
ha ha lick XD
December 6th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
This is great, it answers so many questions. We get a vampire getting a little refill, we finally (in comic) find out what AFP’s note was. He’s never wrong! And we get a perfect setup for finding out (in comic) what was in AFP’s briefcase.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Good stuff.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
-jumps in- That was really awesome. I’ve been reading for a while but I haven’t had a chance to comment until now. I really love this comic, it’s really well written and full of plot twists and good dialogue and amazing art and well it’s all around awesome. That is all.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
POST BEFORE ANKO… I hope. Oh, ok didn’t see the blood at first. Nice one.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
mwa ha ha!! oh, the note. Yes…how will we get more people??
December 6th, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Aww! The dog survived! ^_^ I’m sorry, I know he wasn’t in any real danger, but I was wondering about him a couple of pages back.
Aside from that random and pointless comment: Awesome page! *lick*
December 6th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Sorry, but I just had to note how April reminds me of a bunch of commenters.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
Wow, it’s amazing that anybody could have such immense foresight as to include that in their instructions, let alone famous golfer/drink mogul Arnold Palmer, I mean, how did he even know? It truly is amazing.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
I was just wondering, wouldn’t Mac get turned into a vampire from the lick? Or is it only zombies that get changed from only minor contact? Anyways, I love this page.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Yeah, the “how will we get more people” is not the crucial question, which Bobby has answered to an extent and whose in comic details we should have real soon.
Thank Sullivan for me.
December 6th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
excellent! Don’t really like the whole “i hope nobody will ever have heard of zombies” part, though….doesn’t seem healthy to ignore again.
but seriously, great job on the comic!
December 6th, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Hahaha, she licked him, thats awesome.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
KICK ASS!!! the lived doggie
also just wanted to say the entire comic was kick ass and i can’t wait to see the last 3 pages
also the ““armies of zombies converging†scenes” mentioned in http://www.lastblood.net/main/2007/12/04/page-109-orders/#comment-12060 would be a good idea for the movie, like it just showing a quick scene of a decayed hand loading a clip into an uzi, just like 2 seconds long
December 6th, 2007 at 7:05 pm
*E-high fives Bobby and Owen*
December 6th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
good page bobby im impressed keep writing good.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
haha, that lick is fucking great.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Yeah, you know, the amazing thing is that even when the end is having to be rushed, they can still keep it this good.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:11 pm
oh ya i meant to ask you before do you know the writer of postnuke if not ok but if so could you tell him just to maybe update more often and give us updated info.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
Yay, now its bedtime!
December 6th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
“how will we get more people??”
I suggest reading the next two pages.
“I was just wondering, wouldn’t Mac get turned into a vampire from the lick? Or is it only zombies that get changed from only minor contact?”
Very confused by all that. Mac cut himself when he crashed his truck into the school and Devian is simply licking off some of his blood. It’s already been explained in the comic itself that you need to DIE and then drink a pint of someone else’s blood in order to become a vampire. Takes quite a bit more than simply being licked by one.
“do you know the writer of postnuke”
Don’t know what that is.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Bah, I was hoping he’d sign it with AFP.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
I’m with April. If I was one of only twenty three humans remaining and I was surrounded by hungry vampires I’d want a larger population base too.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:23 pm
“This is great, it answers so many questions. We get a vampire getting a little refill, we finally (in comic) find out what AFP’s note was. He’s never wrong! And we get a perfect setup for finding out (in comic) what was in AFP’s briefcase.”
Inside the briefcase is a cure for vampirism.
Most likely, all but one of the vampires will be returned to their normal human bodies, and from that, repopulation can commence. I’d say Dev should be kept as a vampire since she can fly. And she was almost like AFP’s disciple.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
actually, I cant remember nor have the time in my sick state to go search for the number of actual vampires that survived the event. A PLANE FULL of vampires should be around the 100s? That sure is enough for repopulation
December 6th, 2007 at 7:30 pm
I believe Devian can’t be turned back into a human as she was born a vampire. Unless my memory is tricking me (does that alot) Bobby said that only vamps who were turned can return to being human.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Recipe for vampirism. One vampire bite mixed with death, add one pint of blood and let the undead rise.
If you are bleeding out, and a vampire bites you and then you die, does that count? The vampire didn’t drink the blood, but all the parts are there. Could this be what happened to Caitlyn?
December 6th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
Born vampires can’t be changed. I’m curious as to who knows/finds the briefcase, opens it, and decides it’s a good idea to inject themselves with whatever’s inside it.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
So only twenty-three people (including April), and most likely a few more casualties to the millions of zombies still left means it could be a little bit before getting humans back onto their feet, eh? Great job. Not even death can stop AP’s superior awesomeness.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:44 pm
Assuming that Rage turned LBK, I’d love to see him carry either a man or a pair of kids out the window in the movie.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Hmm… re-reading the comic a bit and thinking of some of the comments. People saying that Addison’s plan to take two kids, run away and follow those instructions wouldn’t have worked for blah blah reasons…
I think the guy knew that he and Val were gonna bite it, no pun intended, he even knew April was gonna kill that prick, just didn’t want to give away the ending. He knew that seeing Dev flying away with two kids would make Sullivan hurry up and do what he has to do. Look at it, he got a lil faster to catch that girl. Do not question Addison Payne!!!
Lol. It did make me think though, it’s like he can read human/vampire/zombie… sentinent beings…. so well that he can see the future. No not like the oracle from the matrix, he’s ALWAYS right O_o;;
December 6th, 2007 at 7:48 pm
Enjoying the living hell out of the story! Someone on the fan forum mentioned soundtrack suggestions, and it was an awesome idea. Since the fan forum seemed to have like 11 members, I thought I’d mention it here, too.
So far, my internal soundtrack for the comic has been composed of:
Blue of Noon! I’m thinking of “No Mistake,” a triumphant first-person rant by an unrepentant asshole – a WLB theme? It’s no mistake – I behave this way.
http://www.myspace.com/blueofnoon
Vampire Beach Babes! Check out “End of the Road” – it’s a theme song for an apocalypse.
And “48 Hours” is about the tense mood before a hopeless battle. One cup of coffee from here to Hell:
http://www.vampirebeachbabes.com/tunes_frame.htm
Rock and Roll!
(actually, this wasn’t purely an “internal” soundtrack – I downloaded the songs from the above websites, raided my CD collection for some Flogging Molly and Samael to supplement, and put together an Itunes playlist that more-or-less matches my reading speed. Go ahead and try it! Compose your playlist and start from Page One. All the kids are doing it. If “No Mistake” shows up right when WLB starts talking about how much of an ass he is, you done it right!)
December 6th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I love you.
Just thought I’d put that out there.
Please, please, tell me that we’ll see more Sullivan soon.
He’s incredible and I love him. Sketched characters are so much hotter than real people, so I think I’m going to obsess over Sullivan for quite a while. It’s possible I have a problem.
Or maybe Owen is simply a genius!
It’s the latter, of course.
December 6th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
“Sorry, but I just had to note how April reminds me of a bunch of commenters.”
I was thinking the same thing, that panel seems a bit out of character (even out of place with what could mistaken as a couple casually walking their dog on the nearby park).
But the last panel just makes up for it
December 6th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
“We need more people”
She was only counting the humans left, correct?
Spoiler!
I’m guessing they’ll use the cure for vampirism on the vampires (duh) to boost up those much needed numbers, it’s not that much more but it’s better than nothing!
December 6th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
Time to start some repopulation
Bown chicka wow wow!
December 6th, 2007 at 8:04 pm
Jhon: As I’ve said many times, only vampires who were once humans can return to humanity.
Also, it hasn’t been stated in the comic how many vampires there are. The answer for the maximum number is however many can fit into that very large plane. Haven’t decided how many, but there might be over 100, which goes against things I’ve previously said, I know.
“I was thinking the same thing, that panel seems a bit out of character”
LOL, read Page 73 if you haven’t yet –
http://www.lastblood.net/main/2007/09/12/page-73-repopulation/
She’s essentially just repeating what she said before in the page titled “Repopulation.”
December 6th, 2007 at 8:08 pm
Oh god… finally… at about 6 (central time) I had fallen behind and started reading the comments of the last page… finally at ten I’m thinking “at last I can add my opinions!”
…and another page is up, already with 40 comments.
So I hate to bring this up again, but the thing that I admire most about this story, and what clearly makes sullivan’s rescue fitting is the fact that it sticks by its own rules. There is no “oh, actually we can just steal all of these zombies” or something, the possibility of another schaemiac helping them was there, even if it hadn’t been mentioned as many times ats it had.
The difference between this and dues es machina would be that if that were the case, something irrelevant would have fixed everything… for example if an alien race came down, killed all the zombies, and brought all of the humans back to life, just for fun.
This story came to a mindblowingly awesome climax, through the writing and the art.
Anyways, Bobby you should be glad… there are always going to be critics, and if they are only trying to insult you, then you know that theres nothing wrong in the comic for them to complain about. This comic is brilliant
Also,
December 6th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Great page! I love how you both capture regular talking between characters. There is NO way Rage is ever going to allow himself to be cured with billions of Zombies to find and destroy. I could easily see Math being cured and “working” with April on the whole repopulation issue. I think I read somewhere that about 33 people populated all of Europe (and that was back in the stone age) so with a few cured vampires plus at least some of the benefits of modern science, they should be okay (barring more random or coordinated Zombie attacks of course).
Bobby: “Thought I made it pretty clear that it was Addison.”
Oh, I am sure you did. Sorry, I must have missed that.
Another thing I am unsure of. How did Francis know that AFP is such a threat, or even what he looked like? I guess it needs to be the case for the story. Was AFP around when Francis was turned? Does Val say “Oh Francis, who I just turned against his will, I’d like you to meet Addison Payne, the smartest man in the world and the recognized leader of Vampiredom.”? “Oh, and let me tell you all about how to become a schaemiac!” Wow. What an evil dumb chatty bitch! Obviously, I know you have something a lot better than that!
December 6th, 2007 at 8:10 pm
Fink, don’t know why your post apparently got cut off after “Also” — feel free to re-type/post the rest.
“How did Francis know that AFP is such a threat, or even what he looked like?”
That’s kind of like asking how a human knows who George W. Bush is or what he looks like. When you’re around a vampire for a while and then you become a vampire yourself, the subject of Addison Payne is going to come up quick and often. “What all are the vampires doing to help with the war?” “Well, Addison says we –” “Who’s Addison?” And so on and so on and so on. Sequel will show.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:18 pm
Psh he wrote AP;
No AFP, at least we know he didn’t have a huge ego right?
December 6th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
now people are going to start saying B.A.F.P. and A.A.F.P. (before and after addison fu*king pain)
December 6th, 2007 at 8:21 pm
one more thing after all the zombies are dead thanks to sullivon, will he kill all of the zombies under his control too? or will he keep them around?
December 6th, 2007 at 8:23 pm
I hope he kills them. As useful as they are, one slip up and you have another outbreak on your hands. For April’s, and his own, descendants, I hope he kills them.
Can anyone else say….
MACK ATTACK!!!
December 6th, 2007 at 8:24 pm
wait so Rage is going to go back to being human,
Nooooooooo
he will hate that
awesome page as usal, Lick hehe priceless
December 6th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
Rage probably won’t go back to being human, but if he does it will be long after all the enemy is destroyed (long time from now). Not many of the vampires will change back any time soon, and the vampire who becomes human again on Page 112 will probably change back into a vampire before long. They’re needed in battle and serious repopulation troubles probably wouldn’t happen for over a century anyway. Gotta be careful with the contents of that case, though, and hope it lasts.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
“LOL, read Page 73 if you haven’t yet –”
LOL read my comment if you haven’t yet.
I wouldn’t expect April to touch this topic again just yet, and Math seems to agree with me. Maybe Math hasn’t been reading the comic.
Like I said, the last panel makes it ok.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
“LOL read my comment if you haven’t yet.”
What the fuck are you talking about? Explain.
“I wouldn’t expect April to touch this topic again just yet, and Math seems to agree with me. Maybe Math hasn’t been reading the comic.”
None of that makes any sense. Explain. Why would she not again bring up a topic that she obviously feels strongly about, and how could anything Math said conceivably make it seem like he agrees with you that April is acting out of character? Are people in stories not allowed to continually disagree with each other on a certain issue or what?
Also, it’s almost as stupid as the “deus ex machina” crap when people say characters are acting out of character. It’s something critics CONSTANTLY try to say and it’s rarely even possible for it to make sense, especially in a story like this where April has had, what, 40 lines of dialogue maybe so far? We don’t know much about her character at all. She’s been in less than half the pages of a short graphic novel that isn’t even done yet, and the thing you’re saying she’s out of character for is something that she’s REPEATING from earlier. It’s just nonsense.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:49 pm
“I could easily see Math being cured and “working†with April on the whole repopulation issue.”
Bow chika WAW wow.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:51 pm
Aw, damnit. I’ve lost count of how many times I got caught off-guard by spoilers in the comments. Yes, I know, I know, you put up a warning there for a reason. But as I myself have questions of my own, I just had to check over the comments to see if they have been answered.
I suppose that pretty much means I was looking to get spoiled. Curiosity is a bitch.
But eh. Although the spoilers did lessen the impact of the story on me, it’s still pretty damn good. Hell, I think they probably even did me a favor. If I hadn’t been warned beforehand of the major things in the story, I might have been so surprised I’d start shitting a cartload of bricks. Ok, that’s exaggerating a bit.
Good job, Bobby, Owen. Can’t wait to see this in film.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
“Explain”
Google it.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
hah,
i read Marry Me, and my friend stumbled upon this, and was like “omg read it! you’ll really like it!”
and i do.
what i like most is that i have no idea where this could possibly go. i’m sure you have something great planned and i can’t wait to read it!!!
December 6th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
I love how in the 2nd panel his expression is “? what are you doing? k, weeeeird” with a little bit of fear, and in the panel below he looks like a shy schoolboy who just got kissed on the cheek and is’t sure how to take it.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Devian is so cute, I love her!
December 6th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
I think Wragrym meant that the scene in that panel was out of character, not April.
Well, I’d like to think that’s what he meant, anyway. April and Math look a tad bit too relaxed. Eh. They deserve a break.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Great page, yet again. Sad to be so close to the end though.
And yes, AFP is awesome, even after death.
Later,
December 6th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
im glad to see the dog survived. deep down, i think Mac liked that lick from Devian
December 6th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
I hope that lick Devian gave Mack will eventually lead to a nice romantic interspecies relationship between Mack and her.
They could do everything except breed, and be very happy. Or someday Mack could join her in Vampirism.
Mack and Devian would be so perfect together!
December 6th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Lick. Hot. I’m sure that was a win/win for the two of them. Pretty sure.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Can’t wait to see how you wrap it up in the next couple pages, but I also don’t want it to end.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Ah, just got back in from class to see another page up! Quite possibly the only good thing coming out of my finals week…
I like the easygoing relationship between Devian and Mac in this page– the fact that they’re that comfortable together is kind of touching, especially after such a traumatic event. I also really like the look on Mac’s face. Great job, again!
December 6th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I think Wragrym is trying to get banned by acting obnoxious.
April has, both times the subject has come up and it looked like humanity had a chance of surviving this, immediately brought up the problem of repopulation. Totally consistent with her character. Math has, both times, wondered why she’s so concerned about the distant future instead of the immediate future. April thinks long term, though she’s mortal. Matheson thinks short term, though he’s immortal. I don’t know why Wragrym is having such a problem with this.
PS – I personally think that for movie romance reasons, Matheson becoming human would be good for a romance happening between Math and April, though tactically he’s probably not the best choice for the ‘first’ vampire to human conversion (even if he would be transformed back into a vampire after his/her repopulation effort was completed. Matheson is too valuable for his sense of smell, since (unless there are other vampires who have a better sense of smell than Math who we havent met yet), I believe he has the best sense of smell among the still-surviving vampires, with Val being dead. They’d need him for that resource, for scouting out where zombies are for hunting them down, as well as for an early warning beacon for defense (and for tracking down humans … children?… who might get separated from the group before they run across zombies and become a meal.) Just my opinion.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:44 pm
Btw, I hope Mac -never- becomes a vampire. He’s already awesome enough as a human being. My absolute favorite character. Because he’s a plain old normal human who manages to hold his own against anything thrown at him, without having to resort to being or becoming supernatural. Like I said…. Batman.
You wouldn’t want Batman to get superman’s powers right? It would ruin his Batman-ness.
December 6th, 2007 at 9:48 pm
Damn, I expected AFP’s handwriting to be copperplate or some other kickass calligraphy style. But you can’t have anything
December 6th, 2007 at 10:11 pm
a.) I love the dynamic between Mac and Devian.
b.) They’re killing off Batman. That will ruin his Batman-ness.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:13 pm
heh i’d have rather seen her take a refreshing drink from the bratty boy .. but oh well a movie moment there, sweet in a disturbing sort of way…looking forward to the future and past comics to come ….and the next few pages also….probably a good thing rage is still bound as he would most likely go after any zombies he could get at
December 6th, 2007 at 10:15 pm
Wragrym: Stop being a jackass.
December 6th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
” “This is great, it answers so many questions. We get a vampire getting a little refill, we finally (in comic) find out what AFP’s note was. He’s never wrong! And we get a perfect setup for finding out (in comic) what was in AFP’s briefcase.â€
Inside the briefcase is a cure for vampirism.
Most likely, all but one of the vampires will be returned to their normal human bodies, and from that, repopulation can commence. I’d say Dev should be kept as a vampire since she can fly. And she was almost like AFP’s disciple. ”
He said we will get to “learn (in comic)” meaning he obviously already knows what it is, we just havn’t learned it yet inside of the comic. Read his post before trying to correct him.
That’s deffinitly not going to happen. You people really SHOULD read some previous comments, or at least read what Bobby and Anko have said on the pages.
Only ONE vampire is going to change back in this one, and vampires that were born vampires can’t be cured of what they essentially are.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:09 pm
I love Devian. And this page. It was a very happy end of finals present for me. Thanks
December 6th, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Another great page…. wasn’t Math supposed to return to the fight after he led the humans to the pond?
December 6th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
“wasn’t Math supposed to return to the fight after he led the humans to the pond?”
The last two panels of this page take place hours after the first five panels. Will be more clear in the movie.
December 6th, 2007 at 11:41 pm
See? I KNEW A.P. was awesome, he totally had something to do with Sully waking up.
Oh, and could Devian like Mac? or does mac just remind her of AP with the bald head? or does she just like blood?
December 6th, 2007 at 11:54 pm
Ah-ha! The note doesn’t have a crease, even though it was clearly folded before! Okay, I’m done nit-picking now. Awesome, if oddly disturbing comic this time.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:30 am
magic vampire paper, duh. read the comments on the other pages please.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:45 am
I’m gonna take a guess here and say Math is the one who’ll become human again. He was turned by Val against his will, and seems to be getting a thing for April if I’m not mistaken.
Looking forward to see how this all ends though!
December 7th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Did anyone think that Devian was licking Mac’s ear?
December 7th, 2007 at 1:23 am
first thought: I know its overly horribly cliche’d but I really like the idea of Devian hooking up with…the bald guy whose name I cant remember for some reason. I know that this scene doesn’t really unnecessarily imply that, but it makes me smile inside to think about it.
Also, this may have been covered in the comments previously, but I’ve read a fair amount and haven’t seen it before. Is there a reason why April’s blood was so sweet that it overwhelmed Math’s ability to smell the incoming zombies? Is she just so darn sweet? or is there some other reason?
sad to see it coming to an end, good job on a great comic. cant wait for the next stage of this comic.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:33 am
“Is there a reason why April’s blood was so sweet that it overwhelmed Math’s ability to smell the incoming zombies? Is she just so darn sweet? or is there some other reason?”
It’s because she’s a human instead of a zombie and his nose was right over her heart while he was sleeping for the first time in days.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:43 am
Cool!
though he looks a bit freaked in the end after that lick, i must say that he looks like he did not mind to be touched by such a fine looking lady.
on a side note: it looks like April and Matheson have a bit of a relation going there.
Some how i am starting to wonder if April’s Child would be human, Half Vampire or a Full Vampire :p
December 7th, 2007 at 2:54 am
How many people do you need to repopulate the planet?
December 7th, 2007 at 3:00 am
KiZeR: Impossible to know for sure. Lot of luck involved when the numbers get small. Page 111 will briefly address this.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:11 am
Actually, It all depends on the relations of the people involved.
To SAFELY repopulate the planet you need enough people that the second generation will only be mating with twice removed cousins I believe. I know that it’s some form of removed cousin that is far enough away…
December 7th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I think that to safely repopulate you need at least 500 people or so.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:29 am
I’ve finally added some text to the original blog post under the comic up there, by the way. Gives a bit more detail on the scene in Panels 6-7 –
———————
I imagine the scene that begins with Panel 6 to start with just the sound of April’s soft voice, starting with “one, two, three†with the camera floating along above the pond, perhaps seeing reflections in the water of humans moving about, hearing a truck pulling up as well. Then the camera moves off the water and we see April sitting there, pointing, counting, concerned, and over her shoulder Math steps out of the truck and takes a seat by her side.
I look forward to filming that. Should have a bit of “movie news†soon, by the way. Nothing overly exciting, but it could easily lead to something great. It could also lead to making it so I probably wouldn’t be directing it myself, but oh well, we’ll see.
——————-
“I think that to safely repopulate you need at least 500 people or so.”
Almost positive that’s wrong, but if it were right, that would be fine, since it would certainly remove a lot of the drama from the sequels if they already had more than enough to safely repopulate.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:44 am
Awww, the scene with the lick was very… cute
I wonder if Mac and Deian have any chance of “getting together,” if you know what I mean… like Murdo and Val did.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:07 am
Technically speaking, there’s no “minimum” other than two.
Just two can, of course, repopulate, though it’ll take some work- not “that” kind of work
I mean care in bringing up the kids, a little luck that nobody dies in childbirth or infancy, etc.
The issue of numbers is, of course, genetic. The smaller the original base, the greater the likelihood of a recessive gene or mutation cropping up. Two or three generations wouldn’t have too much problem, but generations four and up would start having serious life-expectancy issues.
However, this group- just for the sake of the argument, we’ll go with the earlier and probably-already-changed number of 30ish vampires and the 23 humans. Assume all but five or so vamps switch back, giving us around fifty for a base. Also assume for the sake of the argument that it’s an even split male and female.
That’s not bad. The primary benefit here is that the group didn’t start out already somewhat related- there’s still a brother and sister or two, but it seems the humans are mostly friends, not relatives.
The vampires appear to come from all over the globe, so there’s a good genetic diversity there.
Given easy access to food, medicine, shelter and other modern conveniences, 24 or 25 pairs should be able to get by with a minimum of maladies cropping up. It’s by no means certain, of course, and really, somebody should start a record so that at least the early offspring pair with wholly-unrelated offspring, but that’s for somebody with a degree in animal husbandry to figure out.
If we retcon it to about 100 vampires (unnecessary for repopulation purposes, but might be necessary for literary reasons) then of course the genetic base is even better, with maybe 50 or 60 pairs. That’s obviously twice as good, and would be far more stable genetically.
Doc.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:16 am
How old would a child that was born a vampire get to before it stopped aging? Sorry if this has been answered before, I didn’t see it in the FAQ.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:16 am
Demon: Definitely a chance, yes.
Grym: Haven’t decided. Might even be something a vampire does, a choice they make, some ritual involved that stops their aging. Not sure yet. Will be revealed in a sequel, I’m sure, but probably not the first sequel.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:29 am
It’s been really quiet in my job today (yesterday was the Finnish independence day and almost everybody has taken this day off as well) so I’ve been browsing the net randomly to pass the time behind my desk. It so happened that I found your comic and read it. Wow! I usually dislike the sort of mad violence you parade in the pictures, but the story was good and the more I read, the more I liked the characters. Math is really really hot, and I must be a bit strange, but I thought the same of Francis…
Anyway, thanks for making my day better with your wonderful comic!
P.S. I also think the number of people needed to safely repopulate is quite large. Or course the freedom of the artist is wider than the freedom of science (especially when there’re already vampires and zombies involved…) but in Finland, for example, we have quite a lot of genetic weaknesses because of rather small genetic variation in population (about 5 million people, most of us related somehow in the mists of history). The more, the merrier, as always.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:44 am
awesome instructions, that man is a genius!!
Mac must have mixed feelings about that, beeing liked by a vampire, and beeing liked by devian[cute]
December 7th, 2007 at 5:51 am
“Definitely a chance, yes.”
Darn, now I feel slightly jealous…
And while we are still at it, if Devian ever has children, I suppose they will be able to fly too…
And here comes the interesting part – would she (a vampire) be able to have children from Mac (a human)? Or does he have to be turned into a vampire first?
(wow, I sound like I am writing a research book on “Vampire Genetics and Patterns of Phenotype Inheritance,” heh heh
)
December 7th, 2007 at 5:55 am
Demon: Page 111 answers your questions.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:59 am
As for how vampires age when born vampires, perhaps their aging stops due to a subconscious trigger when they reach a physical appearance that mirrors their maturity. I propose this since I’m a 24 year old who feels like he’s in his 50s, and I have a father who’s 51 and he still acts like he’s 19 or 20. It would be interesting to see a group of people who actually mirror their dispositions. Not to mention that it would explain why Val even looked like half-bitch half-goddess.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:16 am
“Although the spoilers did lessen the impact of the story on me, it’s still pretty damn good. Hell, I think they probably even did me a favor. If I hadn’t been warned beforehand of the major things in the story, I might have been so surprised I’d start shitting a cartload of bricks.”
I totally agree. First, I was curious to find out more about the story. I started reading the comments and then I came across the comment that said that Val turned TFZ. I was pretty close to shitting bricks at that point, LOL. I vowed to never read the comments again. A few days later the FAQ was up.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:43 am
I would love to be licked by devian… x3
December 7th, 2007 at 7:38 am
“Page 111 answers your questions.” – Thanks, I will be expecting it
“I would love to be licked by devian…” – You can say that again. I can imagine what I’m going to dream tonight
December 7th, 2007 at 7:38 am
Wonderful, now onto Accounting class, thanks for the entertainment!
~CassieMadison~
December 7th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Seriously, no one has figured out what is in the case? My guess would be dna samples (you can guess the form lol) for hundreds, if not thousands, of different people. Interbreeding problem solved. AFP would have known about the repopulation problem.
This comic rocks by the way. Thanks Bobby. Looking forward to the next (after this one wraps up of course)
December 7th, 2007 at 8:02 am
“Seriously, no one has figured out what is in the case?”
Um, what?
“Thanks Bobby.”
Don’t forget Owen!
December 7th, 2007 at 8:34 am
The 500 number that so many people are giving for repopulation minimum is based on people not knowing the full study of minimum population viability. It’s not 500. You can repopulation with as little as 50 people for the short term, but it would need to raise to 500 for long term viability according to the standard rule, which was theorized by Franklin and Soule. This rule says a short-term effective population size of 50 is needed to prevent an unacceptable rate of inbreeding, while a longâ€term number of 500 is required to maintain overall genetic variability. The 50 requirement corresponds to an inbreeding rate of 1% per generation, approximately half the maximum rate tolerated by domestic animal breeders.
There’s also an anthropologist called John H. Moore who estimated in 2002 that a population of 150–180 would allow normal reproduction for 60 to 80 generations — equivalent to 2000 years.
With some vampires being, at least temporarily, turned back to humans for breeding purposes, 50 is definitely achievable, and if there were really over 100 vampires on the plane, 150 is possible as well. There would need to be approximately 7 females capable of bearing children as well, according to his rule
December 7th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Sorry Owen, Unintentional omission on my part. You guys put together a great web comic!
December 7th, 2007 at 8:53 am
“I totally agree. First, I was curious to find out more about the story. I started reading the comments and then I came across the comment that said that Val turned TFZ. I was pretty close to shitting bricks at that point, LOL. I vowed to never read the comments again. A few days later the FAQ was up.”
Haha.. Ah well, someone’s got to do it, right?
Interesting rendition of page 100 there, by the way. Ironically, visiting your site left with more questions than answers(the submarine and space-station thing. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen that being asked in the comments before, not sure if it’s been answered tho). Still, it was entertaining!
Anyway, it’s nice to see some romance blooming between the characters, even if it’s just to my eyes and probably non-existant. A story needs some smoochin’ and lovin’ to be wholesome. Afterall, love is the most greatest and benevolent thing of all!
On an unrelated note, my ex turns 16 today and I plan to go yell at her and ruin her day. G’night, and keep up the good work, lads.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:58 am
Awesome comic.
Here’s a question I have not seen before (if it has been asked in the past, I apologize in advance). Math has a fantastic sense of smell because Val sired him. If he became human and then was made into a vampire again by a vampire that doesn’t have a great sense of smell, would he lose that ability?
December 7th, 2007 at 10:21 am
How can an undead creature have children? Wouldn’t that require living tissue?
December 7th, 2007 at 10:32 am
“Jhon: As I’ve said many times, only vampires who were once humans can return to humanity.”
Aww. That means the mentally handicapped Vampire gets to stay as a vampire
PS: Online readers wont understand. You must DOWNLOAD through WOWIO to find out who the Mentally Handicapped vampire is
December 7th, 2007 at 10:35 am
That has not been answered as far as I know, but from my understanding, he would lose his excellent nose. Unless Murdo changed him, since he was also sired by Val. Don’t forget about Murdo people. I bet he will turn back, because now his job is done. He doesn’t need to protect the humans as much anymore. But he’ll miss being a vampire, and have his buddy Rage turn him.
December 7th, 2007 at 10:57 am
If your looking for special effects artists, Bobby, I know a couple that would love to work on this movie with you. Let me know if you’re interested.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:01 am
Hey, Bobby I was going to ask about this awhile ago, and Jhon reminded me–will we actually meet Roderick? He seems like a really creative idea for a character.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:04 am
Wow. I just read everything from start to finish. This is an amazing comic and has everything supernatural that I love. Except werebears, but I don’t think they’d fit in.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:07 am
Who needs TV with him around? He can just reenact all the scenes by himself. You wouldn’t really want him to still be a vampire, but do you want his genetics in the gene poll?
I want to see him and a few other vampires leave (with Mac) and go crusading around, slaying the zombies. That could be a cool mini story I think.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:45 am
I would not want to be turned by Rage…I expect there’d be chewing involved.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Yea, he probably would get carried away. Random speculation. Roderick likes to watch TV. Rage was on TV as a wrestler. Rage was turned by his biggest fan. The turn enhances your innate abilities plus the vampire’s ability. Rage is the strongest vampire, and he was naturally strong. If my thinking is correct, that would make Roderick, and any vampire’s he sired, super strong.
I also think Punk has super speed. Dude gets thrown from the car away from the school, and then is in the lead back to the fight. I mean, he’s got a runners build, and his hair is aerodynamic. When he turns, it would act like a fin, like on an airplane. All that, and I bet he runs away alot.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
I just got done reading the whole thing, and all I can say is… Freakin’ Awesome, this is one of the coolest comics that I’ve read in a really long time. Keep up the good work.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
If this question has been asked before, sorry. Though I don’t remember ever seeing it asked anywhere yet.
Here’s the question.
Can more than two or more vampires turn one human into a vampire at the same time? I mean, for example, could Devian -and- Math turn… I don’t know…. Grady into a vampire if they both bit/drained him at the same time and both simultaneously did whatever is needed to turn him?
And if that -is- possible, would the new vampire have both super smell -and- flight?
Hope those questions came out clearly and made sense.
I was trying to figure out if, based on the graphic novel’s rules that you’ve made, it would be possible to make an ‘uber vampire’. ie, a vampire with Math’s sense of smell, Rage’s strength (if his strength comes from being turned by the strongest vampire instead of solely from the fact that he was an apparently very vicious wrestler), Devian’s flight, and Punk’s speed (if he has superspeed compared to other vamps in the first place – a few people have mentioned it but I don’t think you have – he does seem to be running a lot… though he wasn’t fast enough to outrun being surrounded and captured by the zombies at the battle of the pile o zombies
).
Notably not included in this uber-vamp wish list is Addison Payne’s intelligence or anything from Val, since they’re both dead and you already stated that Addison’s intelligence was natural.
Thanks in advance
December 7th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
Wow, I just spent the last how reading this. XD
Oh jeeze, I couldn’t help it.
I just kept telling myself, “One more, then I’ll go do whatever I have to do. Just one more.”
Fantastic.
I wish this was a massive budget film.
December 7th, 2007 at 1:33 pm
if i were the writer this is how i would have done it.
“Thank Sullivan for Me
Hugs and Kisses,
Addison F. Payne”
December 7th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
Jon: I am the only one I now of to say that Punk has super speed. And if Devian turned someone, they would only be able to jump real far. That’s in the FAQ.
Bobby has discussed this with me on and earlier page. He said that he didn’t have a definite answer then, and since it wasn’t in the comic then, he hadn’t thought much of it.
Personal speculation. Your “uber-vampire” wold have the multiple gifts, but would be much weaker in each area. The gifts get a little weaker with each transfer, and if only a portion of the bite comes form any one vampire, only a portion of the power comes to. So it would end up like a jack-of-all-trades vampire, not a vampire king. But that’s just me. If we can get a vampire king, I’d be interested in seeing him fight a schaemiac melee.
I also want to see a vampire with some telepathy. Mind control has to start from somewhere. That, and a “born again human” retain a little vampire traits (little stronger, little faster, heal a little better). Keep them at least at Mac level. Except Punk. Take him all the way down. Just for laughs.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Rex lives! The kids still have a dog to play with! And someone aside from the cutey flying vamp can give people licks. ::Snickers!:: And that’s all for today.
December 7th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
But that’s the last dog. Does anyone know if there are any places were (trained) animals could survive for a month? We know Bobby said that only humans care about animals, so they wouldn’t be hunted or turned. Wild animals will be all over, but could one that was used to being feed and sleeping inside make it through this? And I want to see some guys on horses. Perfect mode of transportation. The only fuel they need is all over the ground (they are in the midwest).
December 7th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Crazy Artist, your post just made me laugh so hard right now! AP is the LAST person (or vampire, in this situation, my bad ^^) to write THAT in a message. But, God, that would be funny as hell! I love it.
Great page, as usual. I like April in this page. Not that I didn’t before, but I think I would be in the same boat. I wouldn’t be able to look at “today” in her situation and not go insane. At least when you think of the future, it can be anything you want it to be, even if there’s no chance it could be that way.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
“How old would a child that was born a vampire get to before it stopped aging? Sorry if this has been answered before, I didn’t see it in the FAQ.”
That’s a good one. I bet that Devian isn’t as old as Val or others because she looks like a teen in my opinion. But she seems to be wise, so probably they do age slower than humans.
I bet that Mac wants to lick her back XD
December 7th, 2007 at 3:09 pm
Bobby has said that there is no determined vampire stop age date for naturals. I’m thinking like someone else (sorry I don’t remember who, its above somewhere) that you age till you want to stop, or you’re mental age is the same as your physical age. So a teen minded person would stay teenaged, while a more mature person would age more.
That, or naturals just age till there prime, then stop. I mean, for all we know, while Val was driving in the dirt, Devian could have been flying around putting on make-up. Anything possible.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:20 pm
I’m gonna risk double posting here and maybe gaining Bobby’s wrath, but I’m gonna suggest that we move our guesses to another site. If you’re on Facebook, just click my name, and you will find a group to discuss these matters. Then, after we speculate is ourselves, one person can ask the question instead of hundreds annoying Bobby. I will try to be as active on it as possible, but I got finals this weekend.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
I’m not sure if this has been addressed yet. Just how old is Mac? I would guess like 40′s..
December 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Not sure, Bobby never really said. I’m gonna take a stab and say that he isn’t bald because of age, so either he shaves it or in prematurely bald, or some combo. He IS in really good condition, though, so he can’t be to old, though he just bought an expensive set of golf clubs, so maybe he’s retired.
Basically, I don’t know. But maybe someone else can take that and get a better guess. I really suck at ages.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Tegu: Dude…finals suck. And you’ve got them on the weekend? Good luck.
Also, domesticated pets can survive just fine if they have to. They just need something to eat and drink. They can probably scavange, or in most cases, revert to hunting instinct. And after a month, that instinct might still be reversable. Let’s just say that by the time the humans are comfortable enough to go out pet shopping, there will probably be not too many good pets left, unless you’re looking for something suited for pit fighting.
And if they wandered into an irradiated zone, they’d be screwed.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Jesse: Yea, first one tomorrow at 8. Calculus. Not looking forward to it. But back to the comic. I was thinking about the chances that pets might be locked inside. I know they can be resourceful about food, and after a month most pets could probably get outside. Then I remembered that not everyone was turned a month ago. Bobby said that Sullivan’s 3000 were humans just a week ago. I’d bet they were close, so they could have pets relatively normal.
And I’d be curious as to see a map of the nuclear wasteland sites. I would love to see a were-something. Zombie gets nuclear, bites a wolf, and radiation and zombieness turns it. But that is going pretty far. But a nice new twist, another enemy to protect yourself from.
December 7th, 2007 at 3:58 pm
So, I looked through the F.A.Q. and found out exactly why my idea in the last comic’s discussion wouldn’t work. And yes, there WERE a million reasons. So, sorry for that Bobby.
I just have one question: was AP always called AP? or has his name changed over the his 2087 years?
December 7th, 2007 at 3:59 pm
He may not have always been called that, but it has always been his name.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:01 pm
Dude, I’m'a have to go back some day and read all the comments – haven’t had time for over a week to even try. Anyway – love today’s comic – the look on Mac’s face is priceless! Heh. He goes through all of this and at the end of the day gets his head licked by Devian – not bad, eh? Hehe.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
[Insert maniacal laughter here]
*breath*
[Insert more maniacal laughter]
December 7th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
First time poster here!
I just needed to say this.
If Devian and Mac somehow had babies, they would be flying, axe-wielding babies of death!!!
I mean, come on. How awesome would that be?
December 7th, 2007 at 4:50 pm
Last I knew there was no decision from Bobby on whether humans and vampires could reproduce together.
I think this is a question that should be answered at some point, because logically, it MUST have been tried before.
December 7th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
Actually, I believe
“Page 111 answers your questions.”
I was just merely speculating on how awesome it would be to see flying, axe-wielding vampires.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:05 pm
From what I understand, it would make a vampire, but even more diluted than a turned one.
Or Bobby could choose to make it a like Blade. All the benefits, none of the downsides. It has a name which I can’t remember for the life of me right now.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Not as awesome as the Previous pages injected with awesomeroids but still great.
Which Vampires will return to humanity? I know that the vampires that were once human are the only ones that can return but which ones would return?
I hope Murdo stays. Also is Mohawk vamp- No I just remembered he was turned. You didn’t specifically say it but I remember when they mentioned the hunger pains after being turned and he stated it as the worst few seconds of his life.
Either way the Mohawk shall live on.
December 7th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
Remember, any vampire that goes human now will go back later. So the only question his, who is gonna get help repopulate?
December 7th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
This is kind of late, but wasn’t it stupid of Devian to flee with the children that are siblings? Isn’t that bad for repopulation?
December 7th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
I’ve read that you need 70 unrelated people. There are Amish communities which are descended from a similar-sized starting population. Of course, if you either get lucky or if you can pre-screen for recessive abnormalities, you can probably get away with less [Especially if you could find a fertility clinic somewhere with egg and sperm samples in tact].
Something I’m wondering about, though – there must be a fair number of vampires out there, paralyzed and starving. I would imagine that 65 years from now, just as humanity is starting to recover, you would have a bunch of new TFZ’s emerging….
December 7th, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Hmm, I think Karn Evil 9: 1st Impression, parts 1 and 1 would make a good theme song for this comic.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Page 111 is drawn and sent off. Should be up in a couple hours unless there are changes that need to be made.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
SWEET!!! BRING ON MORE AWESOMENESS!!!!
December 7th, 2007 at 8:22 pm
Owen + Bobby = ULTIMATE AWESOME. I’ve been reading this comic for a while and have to say that it is awesome. I hope that a move deal materializes for you two ^_^
December 7th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
No matter what, movie is a go. Bobby said he’d shot it himself, got an offer for special effects, and all his fans will play the undead masses.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Nlaw: That’s been asked and answered a thousand times in the past few pages. Very easy to search for it. Also, didn’t you just read Addison’s “instructions”? The kids obviously weren’t for repopulation or for ANYTHING, and there was zero time to pick and choose which kids to pick up — a little too busy saving the nearest kids’ lives!
New page very soon!
December 7th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
Please tell me “soon” is shorter than “shortly.” I can’t wait another nine hours. I start my calculus final before then.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
Probably 25 minutes.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
SWEET! Begin half an hour of refreshing NOW!
December 8th, 2007 at 3:06 am
ok, so if a few dozzen people are going to repopulate the world….
inbreeding much?
December 12th, 2007 at 9:08 am
THIS IS THE BEST PAGE SO FAR!