23-10-18 Develop as individuals

[Giz]

New strip! http://www.ma3comic.com/strips-ma3/deve ... dividuals/

[OllieOrOlly]

Amusingly, Angel had a point about the unhealthy aspects of Zii's patchwork band, but of course fate favours her over them.
Izz, or rather, Isabelle's sudden transformation does raise some questions, such as what compelled her to cease copying Zii, and when could she have had time to change? While a lot of reasons could be used, including Isabelle seeing what a clusterf**k Zii's personal life is, thus would rather choose a different path, but little Izz seemed stuck in the fangirl zone in spite of everything, so the exact reason for change is difficult to ascertain.

The Brutus comparison is dragging on, especially since it would apply more to Sonya or Yuki; if anything, Terry would be one of the pirates that Julius Caesar had tortured and executed. Not exactly a fitting comparison either, but slightly more applicable than one of Caesar's closest friends.

I guess another gag about Angel is with the hypocrisy of their claim about encouraging individuality - it appeared as though Angel made their bandmates imitate their grunge/gothic glam rock style, rather than be actually unique to their own strengths.

[TheFoolishOne]

my head is spinning they are wrapping things up so quickly. And who is Izz supposed to be now

[Storm-forge mystique]

I feel like everyone would've been better off if they'd had that threesome.

In any case, the odds of Zii and Angel not being in the same band at the end of this scene are roughly nil. "Friends, Romans, Countryfolx?"

[Opus the Poet]

Is it just me or does Izzy look like Kiley with breasts?

[Cortez]

Izz looks more....developed now.

[vampire hunter D]

This look works better

[Spidrift]

Amusingly, Angel had a point about the unhealthy aspects of Zii's patchwork band, but of course fate favours her over them.

To be fair to Zii, the situation was largely forced on her, albeit by her own stupidity. I mean, she should have run a mile and got a restraining order on Izzy at the first opportunity, but, comedy, wodjagonnedooboutit? And then Izzy and Terry were her only option -- and it's not like she ever seemed to be deliberately encouraging Izzy's creepy fangirlism.

Izz, or rather, Isabelle's sudden transformation does raise some questions, such as what compelled her to cease copying Zii, and when could she have had time to change?

Indeed. Hopefully we might get some explanation on Thursday, but it may just be arbitrary character development. I guess that the last time we saw Izzy, Zii was giving her an honest, detailed explanation of how much of a fuck-up Zii was -- but Izzy was specifically not listening.

The Brutus comparison is dragging on, especially since it would apply more to Sonya or Yuki; if anything, Terry would be one of the pirates that Julius Caesar had tortured and executed. Not exactly a fitting comparison either, but slightly more applicable than one of Caesar's closest friends.

But the point is that it isn't a good comparison. The thing is that Angel is a raging megalomaniac pratt, not that Angel actually bears any resemblance to Julius Caesar. Hence, Angel sees anyone in the vicinity who causes Angel any inconvenience as a treacherous enemy.

my head is spinning they are wrapping things up so quickly. And who is Izz supposed to be now

I was wondering that myself. But I guess that the point is that Izzy is genuinely aiming for individuality rather than slaving imitation of anyone in particular. I mean, that look is about as generic smart-casual as you can get in 2018, but at least it's her generic look, so far as the comic goes.

I feel like everyone would've been better off if they'd had that threesome.

Which one? Honestly, any permutation of three would have been possible in the history of this comic.

In any case, the odds of Zii and Angel not being in the same band at the end of this scene are roughly nil.

Yeah, I'm still going with that as the most likely guess too.

Is it just me or does Izzy look like Kiley with breasts?

Giz is a wonderful, wonderful artist, and genuinely original, but she does have a bunch of standard visual effects and looks that she sometimes seems to repeat on reflex. (And let's face it, B&W comic line art only allows so much subtle variation.) That pageboy bob is mostly associated with Kiley, but Izzy has always worn her hair similarly; subtract the Zii-style two-tone effect, factor in her slim girlish figure and a smart-casual look, and yep, you're gonna need to freckles to distinguish her from Kiley.

By the way, is this conversation still taking place in the hallway outside the rehearsal rooms? Because it must be getting crowded by now.

[Storm-forge mystique]

The one Izz offered when first introduced.

[Spidrift]

I didn’t think she did. She politely brushed Gary off so she could take a run at Zii.

[samtheman]

my head is spinning they are wrapping things up so quickly. And who is Izz supposed to be now

It's probably going to get worse too. I'm predicting Peggy will dump Gary and Didi will dump Zii causing Gary and Zii to hookup with all of that happening in the last 3 strips of the comic. As for Izz, maybe she ran into Kiley somewhere and she has become Izz's new girl-crush that Izz is trying to copy or emulate. Or the creative team isn't going to bring Kiley back before the comic ends so we're getting a suspiciously similar substitute instead.

[worldshaking00]

By the way, is this conversation still taking place in the hallway outside the rehearsal rooms? Because it must be getting crowded by now.

If Marvel's/Netflix's Defenders and Daredevil have taught me, is that you can fit a lot of characters in a hallway. Too soon after Disney's axing Luke Cage & Iron Fist? RIP

Terry might have been better referred to as Vercingetorix (at least getting publicly 'executed' on YouTube) rather than Brutus. But I agree, Angel is probably just being a pratt. Plus Vercingetorix is a damn long name to fit into a speech bubble.

I have to cry bullshit on Angel, saying that in their band musicians are encouraged to develop & dress as individuals. Pretty Boyz with Electric Toyz? Really? We never really saw other images of Angel's band playing. Are we to infer that they were so far backstage that Angel took the limelight? Or, that the band was a frame for their creative and artistic masterpiece? One would assume that all of the same band mates would have some sort of unifying theme in their presentation, ergo, echoing off of the other. They would have all been "pretty" by definition, or at least gussied up enough to pass.

Angel might be partly true in theory, but in practice they are ruthless. Angel has been nothing but difficult with just about every bandmate they've had. Picky, obnoxious, insulting, and high strung perfectionism describe their leadership style. If you don't perform to their level, you are subject to ridicule and threats. Their direction for what their band should be doing appears to stifle creativity and individuality from anyone other than Angel, which in turn, stifles Angel's ability to produce quality music because of their bandmates' lower morale. Angel goes through bandmates like they goes through bath tissue, and likely after similar usage. Unless, of course, that rule only applies to "musicians" and Angel considers people like Terry to not be musicians but rather one of the plebeians. Or they are literally only talking about individual appearance, instead of 'developing' as better musicians. A lot to read in their statement, I guess.

As to Isabelle's metamorphosis, I am curious if she is duplicating someone else or if this is her own unique expression. The tight tee-shirt and change in hair coloration really changes her appearance. But image aside, I am more interested in seeing how Zii's hard work might have paid off dividends; can Izzy play any better?

[lordoffiling]

That whole subplot involving Izz being able to play, and her ability having the magical property of coming and going when it suits her, is a subplot that seems to have been abandoned in the rush to wrap the comic and put a bow on it.

I hope I’m wrong. I’d love that explained. It was my wager that Izz was playing some kind of long con, others believed the comic to not be that deep, I’ve been waiting patiently with a giant “TOLD YA SO” sign and I’d hate to waste it.

[Spidrift]

Angel might be partly true in theory, but in practice they are ruthless. Angel has been nothing but difficult with just about every bandmate they've had. Picky, obnoxious, insulting, and high strung perfectionism describe their leadership style. If you don't perform to their level, you are subject to ridicule and threats. Their direction for what their band should be doing appears to stifle creativity and individuality from anyone other than Angel, which in turn, stifles Angel's ability to produce quality music because of her bandmates' lower morale. Angel goes through bandmates like she goes through bath tissue, and likely after similar usage. Unless, of course, that rule only applies to "musicians" and Angel considers people like Terry to not be musicians but rather one of the plebeians. Or they are literally only talking about individual appearance, instead of 'developing' as better musicians. A lot to read in their statement, I guess.

Remember, it isn't even "Pretty Boyz and..." now; it's "Angel and..."

Anyhow, as I keep saying, I can believe that Angel is a fine songwriter and a passable musical director while still being a total wanker as a band leader/frontbeing. Passion, ego, and perfectionism tend to do more good when applied to one's own work than when inflicted on other people. Getting Angel to give Zii something unique and good to perform should work, if Angel can just forget the silly feud nonsense. And after all, Angel now seems to have lost Jerzy.

But image aside, I am more interested in seeing how Zii's hard work might have paid off dividends; can Izzy play any better?

Well, she may have got a bit better, but when Angel dismissed her as a hopeless wannabe a couple of strips ago, Zii didn't bother leaping to her defence.

That whole subplot involving Izz being able to play, and her ability having the magical property of coming and going when it suits her, is a subplot that seems to have been abandoned in the rush to wrap the comic and put a bow on it.

I hope I’m wrong. I’d love that explained. It was my wager that Izz was playing some kind of long con, others believed the comic to not be that deep, I’ve been waiting patiently with a giant “TOLD YA SO” sign and I’d hate to waste it.

No, I never got the feeling that there was any big subtle mystery/pending reveal there. I think that the idea is simply that Izzy has a little bit of unreliable savant-grade talent, just enough to confuse the issue and encourage Zii to keep trying with her, but it'll take a hell of a lot of training to turn it into anything reliable. (Remember, "comedy" justifies a fair amount of illogical stuff in this comic.) There was just nothing more consistent than that, no hook on which to hang anything heavier. What reason is there to think she's being simultaneously so smart and so weird?

Now, I suppose that it's possible that an Izzy who's gained a little bit of confidence -- who's no longer trying to be Zii but can tackle things on her own terms -- may progress a lot faster. But I'm not placing any bets.

[pcj]

If Izzy is still targetting Zii, maybe she decided instead of emulating her, she should emulate the person Zii likes. Someone pointed out that her breasts look bigger, perhaps she has her bra stuffed. She's blonde now (as best as we can tell in the black and white comic). Maybe she's trying to emulate Didi (but of course, that's a high bar for physical appearance, so she's just heading that direction instead of a total clone).