Really a sad page. I’m sorry for Lottie, but Nero is right, he can’t go solo. On the other hand, I don’t think D-Slide will be able to survive without Lottie’s creativity.
Eh, it’s pop music. All they need are looks, the right kind of energy, and some kind of performance skill. Their new manager can pay established songwriters to write songs for them.
Tune in next time to see if John Allison will continue to follow the story where it leads, or if Nero, D-Slide, and the Waterman are loose ends that will never* be tied up!
*Or partially and unexpectedly anytime in the next 20 years.
i know there are plenty of “band members literally sell their souls for success’ stories out there, but for some reason the one the last couple of pages has most strongly reminded me of is the Man-Thing story from 1983’s Marvel Fanfare #9, “Rock ‘N’ Soul!”, written by J.M. DeMatteis. I’m not sure why that story in particular- I mean, there’s no swamp monster in this story (unless maybe Des suddenly turns up).
I thought Toby Carvery was like one of those restaurants where you pay £400 for 12 micro-engineered courses? I may not be cultured. All 12 courses being, of course, hot wet meat from the carvery.
Looking up the title, Google feeds me “Toby Carvery Ewell” : “Timeless family chain restaurant serving roast meats carvery-style, kids’ menus and classic puds.” Which sounds ideal for the boys in D-Slide. And the cost can be charged to the band.*
* Which is what happened to Matt Damon and Ben Afflick when Harvey Weinstein gifted them with cars after the success of “Good Will Hunting,” according to Vanity Fair
The broken wobbly panels really capture Lottie’s despair, though as much as I feel sad for Lottie here, I hope this is the necessary wake-up call that has to happen to make her realise where her priorities should lie after two issues of going off on a flight-of-fancy on the wings of love in a plane made of paper.
It’s hard being friends with the center of the universe, but Lottie in these issues has been closer to the center of the galaxy – a supermassive black hole – something which Glenn recognised and noped out of very quickly towards the end of the last issue regarding the K-POP managing.
Claire’s been her steadfast friend (even in spite of the way she’s constantly stuck as Lottie’s second choice, and presumably her therapy sessions feature Lottie as a frequent topic, and has been more of an obstacle/’the team member no one is happy with’ in Boys Like Fun) but I can’t help but fear that if Lottie continues the way she has, she’ll lose the one remaining constant in her life. She even kicked her love of Mystery to the curb in favour of a hotter model – Claire has the patience of a saint and then some!
Everything is in flux with Lottie recently, especially now her success has been robbed from her, but I hope wherever she goes next involves un-flux-ing herself, and maybe getting a well-meaning telling-off from Claire.
*her one remaining constant in her life that isn’t her gorgeous hair, I should add (what is Nero thinking?? absolute twit behaviour letting Lottie go harrumph)
While I don’t entirely disagree- i think we should all remember that a few pages ago Lottie was prepared to take sole credit for the band’s success, and it’s clearly more important to her that she be in a position to claim credit than it is that the band is actually a success- i think you’re missing something important here: “She even kicked her love of Mystery to the curb in favour of a hotter model”. Lottie already gave up on true Mystery solving, not because a ‘hotter model’ came along, but because the events of Wicked Things shook her to the core. The whole Solver thing isn’t about solving mysteries- it’s about solving problems. It’s safer. And, as was indicated in her brief run-in with Shauna in Holiday Surprise, deep down, Lottie clearly feels like a failure and a coward for not catching the person who framed her, and for running away from mystery solving. She has to keep making herself the center of the universe to keep herself from feeling like a complete failure, I think.
This is good insight I admittedly thought of but hadn’t remembered, mentally I felt Lottie took a lot of Wicked Things in her stride but thinking about it more, if I’d been accused of murder, I’d probably do the same haha – I truly hope she can solve her own struggles next.
I never understood the title but I assumed you’d explain it somewhere along the way. I see the “boys” but a’n’t nobody having any “fun” — except maybe Claire, just for a second there.
Warlock or no warlock, I’m not sure that portal’s really there. I think we’re seeing things through Lottie’s eyes, and her view of the world right now is extremely… subjective.
Poor Lottie (also that “fire of love/ice of business” line could be seen as a tease for the Glottie shippers 👀)
I’m Glaire for life
I love Glaire too I just can’t decide!
Poor Lottie. Also, you can see the Water Man influence on Nero in the 5th panel.
Also also, Gizmo is being a real D-head.
Tentacles make me think D-slide will be rescued by Lottie, despite not deserving it.
I could also see Lottie teaming up with Dean Thompson on this one. He seems like the type who has dealt with this specimen of evil before.
With just one more episode, I’m afraid Lottie’s career as a manager is done for. Stick a fork in it from Toby Jug Carvery.
I can’t work out if he’s being turned to ice by her basilisk stare, or turned to ice by the ice of business.
If you look carefully at Lottie in that panel, she seems to be surrounded by flames. I think she’s fire, and he’s ice, as she sees it.
If you’ve never been suddenly dumped, you may not know the feeling Nero is depicting
The layout of this page is extraordinary.
Like broken glass
Poor Lottie.
You know what she needs to help get over this? A wee spot of Solving!
AND – a Cream Egg Corky!
Oh boy, a Cream Egg Corky!
Feeling for poor Lottie’s heart breaking but also admit to feeling a bit of schadenfruede for Lottie and Glym’s sake.
Really a sad page. I’m sorry for Lottie, but Nero is right, he can’t go solo. On the other hand, I don’t think D-Slide will be able to survive without Lottie’s creativity.
I have doubts D-Slide will even survive their new manager given his ominous cape tentacles.
Eh, it’s pop music. All they need are looks, the right kind of energy, and some kind of performance skill. Their new manager can pay established songwriters to write songs for them.
“4 to 1 vote?”
“Could it be warlocks are interfering with our democracy!??!”
Stay tuned!
I do hope Lottie has retained rights to the songs and melodies she wrote!
Tune in next time to see if John Allison will continue to follow the story where it leads, or if Nero, D-Slide, and the Waterman are loose ends that will never* be tied up!
*Or partially and unexpectedly anytime in the next 20 years.
I feel that never to bring these characters back would be a waste… but I’ve wasted before, and will waste again no doubt
Good characters a like good bricks in the air – bound to come right back down on you later, when you least expect it
She has just provided so much good fodder for song writing. Manager or not, she will always be the key to their success.
This is obviously going to be the basis for their topping the charts at #4, hit single, “Heart of Stone”.
i know there are plenty of “band members literally sell their souls for success’ stories out there, but for some reason the one the last couple of pages has most strongly reminded me of is the Man-Thing story from 1983’s Marvel Fanfare #9, “Rock ‘N’ Soul!”, written by J.M. DeMatteis. I’m not sure why that story in particular- I mean, there’s no swamp monster in this story (unless maybe Des suddenly turns up).
The twist we never knew we needed.
I would be surprised if she did not investigate their new manager for any dirt while polishing up her, “I told you so” speech.
Always trust a manager who leads you to a mediocre celebratory dinner through a seething demonic portal.
I thought Toby Carvery was like one of those restaurants where you pay £400 for 12 micro-engineered courses? I may not be cultured. All 12 courses being, of course, hot wet meat from the carvery.
Looking up the title, Google feeds me “Toby Carvery Ewell” : “Timeless family chain restaurant serving roast meats carvery-style, kids’ menus and classic puds.” Which sounds ideal for the boys in D-Slide. And the cost can be charged to the band.*
* Which is what happened to Matt Damon and Ben Afflick when Harvey Weinstein gifted them with cars after the success of “Good Will Hunting,” according to Vanity Fair
In the States, “pud” means a small, limp penis. I hope to god it’s different in the UK!
I have lived in the States my entire life and have never heard this word. Is it a regional thing, or have I just been fortunate to not encounter it?
“Hot Wet Meat” is a great band or album title!
Have you heard their hit, “Carvery Stylin'”?
TBF I’d sign my soul away for a carvery
The second panel introduced me to the idea that deep pink can be evil. Intriguing,
Except the last, which is a deconstructed profiterole.
(This was meant to be a reply to John A, somewhere above.)
:’ ( She is worth it…
The broken wobbly panels really capture Lottie’s despair, though as much as I feel sad for Lottie here, I hope this is the necessary wake-up call that has to happen to make her realise where her priorities should lie after two issues of going off on a flight-of-fancy on the wings of love in a plane made of paper.
It’s hard being friends with the center of the universe, but Lottie in these issues has been closer to the center of the galaxy – a supermassive black hole – something which Glenn recognised and noped out of very quickly towards the end of the last issue regarding the K-POP managing.
Claire’s been her steadfast friend (even in spite of the way she’s constantly stuck as Lottie’s second choice, and presumably her therapy sessions feature Lottie as a frequent topic, and has been more of an obstacle/’the team member no one is happy with’ in Boys Like Fun) but I can’t help but fear that if Lottie continues the way she has, she’ll lose the one remaining constant in her life. She even kicked her love of Mystery to the curb in favour of a hotter model – Claire has the patience of a saint and then some!
Everything is in flux with Lottie recently, especially now her success has been robbed from her, but I hope wherever she goes next involves un-flux-ing herself, and maybe getting a well-meaning telling-off from Claire.
*her one remaining constant in her life that isn’t her gorgeous hair, I should add (what is Nero thinking?? absolute twit behaviour letting Lottie go harrumph)
While I don’t entirely disagree- i think we should all remember that a few pages ago Lottie was prepared to take sole credit for the band’s success, and it’s clearly more important to her that she be in a position to claim credit than it is that the band is actually a success- i think you’re missing something important here: “She even kicked her love of Mystery to the curb in favour of a hotter model”. Lottie already gave up on true Mystery solving, not because a ‘hotter model’ came along, but because the events of Wicked Things shook her to the core. The whole Solver thing isn’t about solving mysteries- it’s about solving problems. It’s safer. And, as was indicated in her brief run-in with Shauna in Holiday Surprise, deep down, Lottie clearly feels like a failure and a coward for not catching the person who framed her, and for running away from mystery solving. She has to keep making herself the center of the universe to keep herself from feeling like a complete failure, I think.
Yes! She is struggling very badly.
This is good insight I admittedly thought of but hadn’t remembered, mentally I felt Lottie took a lot of Wicked Things in her stride but thinking about it more, if I’d been accused of murder, I’d probably do the same haha – I truly hope she can solve her own struggles next.
I never understood the title but I assumed you’d explain it somewhere along the way. I see the “boys” but a’n’t nobody having any “fun” — except maybe Claire, just for a second there.
It just needs to be punctuated properly: “Boys? Like fun!”
The title came up when we first met D-Slide. Apparently, they already had a song. https://badmachinery.com/comic/the-mood-is-tight/
…and nobody finds that eerie portal that leads to the limo the least bit unusual! ^^
Warlock or no warlock, I’m not sure that portal’s really there. I think we’re seeing things through Lottie’s eyes, and her view of the world right now is extremely… subjective.
We can see it with ReaderVision(tm) but the characters cannot, is my take.
Loving the Waterman appearance in this tale!
I treasure the lore connection to the Steepleverse, which I miss intensely.
It’s back May 29th!
YAY!
Nero looks like boy toy Macron and Lottie looks like the French people in the streets that finally realized who they backed.
A modern fable for our time. Kudos to John A.
The Hitman and Hell