Hey, the sphinx is catching on to the fact that he’s not really in this fight.
Zack, can you copy the alt text into the comment you post beneath the page? Reading alt text is fine on a laptop/desktop, but I have yet to figure out how to read it on a tablet.
Alternatively, tell me how to read it on a tablet.
I’m afraid not much can be done with the title. It’s an attribute of the link.
But hey, I just noticed, but the link’s title, the image’s title, and the image’s alt text are the exact same thing. That means that if you force your browser not to load images, it’ll show you the alt text!
It’s a pain in the ass to switch around constantly, but I’m pretty sure you can turn off images on mobile browsers.. somehow.
Well I was reading on my laptop, so I could see it. But I was hoping for a more lasting solution. Given how many mobile devices are out there, it makes sense.
Edmund Finney has alt text repeated, for instance.
perhaps some kind of html or css magicks that displays alt text below the page when a button is clicked, like xkcd’s mobile layout?
i’m not familiar with how much flexibility wordpress gives pages but… maybe?
Aside from the fact that Issac’s power is immensely cool– this page is also phenomenally fantastic. Love how dynamic and fluid Issac’s movements are. *A* Wow!
I’m a mind reader. I know what max is thinking: “That’s just not fair!”
But it took me a two-over to realize that isaac kicked through the cloud to produce the chain lightning.
If he punched it, it would probably be a ball lightning.
Since Isabel uses paper to fight, will she have to teach Max how to compensate with his powers? I’m assuming her paper is no different than other physical objects, though I could be wrong.
Zack said something about this in the comments of an earlier page. Since the pages of her book are a part of her tool, they can interact with spirits. On the other hand, Max can only (as far as we know) have the junk his bat picks up used against living people and objects.
I’m guessing that Max can do other things as well. Now attraction, next repulsion, and when he starts mastering both he’ll be able to do some crazy stuff.
Hey Zach, I have a question. My friend is a die-hard Isaac fan, and she wants me to make her a cake that is Isaac-themed. Unfortunetly, I had no idea what to do. Are there any objects or colors (other than the color of his spectral energy) that make you think of Isaac?
i really like what you did with the background zack. looks good, like it adds a certain feeling of style or something, or like a theme. feels ‘paranatural’ in someway, like a trademark style of drawing? idk how to explain it
I wonder if Max will be able to not only be able to “jump” by attracting or repelling from metal objects, but actually “fly” when someone in class points out that the Earth is covered in a giant magnetic field.
Hm. Maybe.
Mr. Spender doesn’t count, cause even though he doesn’t have tool, he’s the teacher in charge of the club.
I wonder if it’s because they don’t know the full extent of his powers, id if he was the newest member before Max showed up.
I can agree with that. I also think that it may be on his views on fighting spirits. Isaac seems less prone to wanting to kill spirits and make em turn into the white floaty things that can possess objects, as opposed to Ed or Isabel who seem to run into battle and kill their opponents without a second glance (hence Isaac’s comment that they only like fighting). I suppose we’ll find out as the comic progresses.
I’m pretty sure Mr. Spender’s glasses are his tool. Look at the top of the page, the header has pictures of the bat, Isabel’s book, Ed’s paintbrush, which are all confirmed tools…and Mr. Spender’s sunglasses.
Using the same logic behind that, I could be in a picture with a bunch of penguins and be considered a penguin. I honestly think a more likely reason behind Mr. Spenser’s glasses being included with them is that those are all objects we associate the characters with. As Isaac doesn’t really have any such object (with the exception of his hair and weather powers, which can’t really be drawn separately), it would make sense that he’s not included.
I dunno, I think that if that was just a jumble of items that represented each character, it wouldn’t be the characters from the activity club. It’d be all the important characters, right? And even if it was just to represent the club the webcomic is named after (which admittedly makes a lot of sense), then why is there no item for Isaac?
I’m pretty sure those are all tools, given the context.
Because he’s still got that stick stuck in his bag strap making him look like a fool. Isabel or Ed would have casually pulled it out with their tool or something, to show off how insufferably cool they are. There’s a lot of other reasons, but that stick kind of just sums it up.
If you can, you do that instead. There are few, if any problems, that can’t be solved through application of lightning. Most of those problems include bathing.
Weather, huh? I figured it would be elemental, given that all we’d seen him do was sending things flying (air) and pouring water on people (water). But this makes a lot of sense as well, and way cooler.
I thought at first it would rain, but this is sooo much cooler. lets see, we still have a big red door to go, and that’s all that was in the sphere-thingy. well, that and mayview.
so back in Ch1P38, when isaac shone a light from his finger, was it weather-powers as in the sun, or a generic spectral power? does spectral energy generate its own light?
also, 100+ comments in 1 day! it used to take a week or more like 10-15 pages ago. good times.
It seems to be that manifesting one’s spectral power as an energy attack causes light to radiate, which only spectrals and spirits/ghosts can see. A handy trick if you’re ever playing games in the dark.
The Activity Club vs. the Newspaper Club in BLACKOUT!
Which seems to suggest that when Max learns this trick, we might see some very funk-ay scenes (Black Light = Ultraviolet = Fluorescent colours?), assuming normal physics applies to spectral powers in any way.
lighting powers and a magnetically charged bat, does anyone else see the possibility of a very powerful team-up. Really, their only option at this point is to team up or fight like cats and dogs.
Fun question. That’s hard. Possibly this?? I think it has the right feeling. If not the feeling the comic has now, then the one I want/plan for it to have eventually.
*ahem*
Actually, it would be spelled like this, in Katakana:
パラナチュラレ。
You’re spelling it in Hiragana. Katakana is what you use for words that have no equivalent in Japanese.
I know it’s more a matter of taste, but does anyone really hold a bat upside down even when they’re looking at it? (also I must be really slow in picking up that Max is left handed)
But wouldn’t the iron dust just go through the spirits? Leaving just the bat as a point of contact. On the other hand, could Max reshape the bat with his magnetism? We’ve already seen Ed and Isabel do something similar.
Well, the physical objects that Ed and Isabel manifest with their tools affects spirit, so it may be a safe bet that anything affected by Max’s magnetic powers might affect spirits. If not, I’m sure Max will come up with lots of indirect ways to affect spirits with his tool.
Actually, earlier Zack said that the stuff Max moves around with magnetism doesn’t affect spirits. I guess it makes sense, since Ed and Isabel create the objects with their tools, while Max manipulates existing objects.
I just realized that Johnny wrecking the scooter might have been through the bat possessing him.
Which could have been the bat attempting to teach max about magnet powers.
Wow. I think this is just the best thing ever. Our poor protagonist is extremely outclassed. Well, I guess it only makes sense. Isaacs /does/ have spiky hair, after all.
Oh my god, Isaac…..WHY ARE YOU SO WONDERFUL? I want to hug him right now. ;-; Well…not now, while he’s in Total Badass Mode.
Also, I have a theory, which I think is slightly evidenced by Isaac’s last two panels. Could anyone else see him turning into, like, a total pyscho or somethin’? Think about it. Awesome powers, with a potential dark side (I mean, look at his face in those last few panels!), and he’s pretty much looked down upon by his fellow Club members, which could drive our spikey haired friend to insanity. Or I’m mist over thinking this. That could be it too.
Stopping time can be done with control over gravity. If Max has magnetic powers eventually he will learn to control space and controlling space leads to controlling gravity.
I’ve liked Isaac more and more throughout this chapter and the sweet lightning kick sealed the deal: Isaac is the best character not named Johnny.
Concur’d
Butbutbutbut what about Suzy?!
I agree, Suzy is the best.
Suzy may even be the bestest of best.
OBJECTION. Currently, my fave is Johnny.
i must agree with Johnny being the best.
OBJECTION! G0vnah’s gravatar clearly indicates that his favorite character is sentient flock of onomatopeia appearing in the shape of the word.
(A statement that will surely baffle future readers as soon as a new page with Johnny is uploaded by Zack.)
Yeah, but if it’s not Johnny, it’ll be flocks of words. :D
OBJECTION! I am the best.
NONE OF YOU ARE SAFE!
SHE’S HERE AGAIN!
False. You’re crazy.
^ Best comment chain.
Isaac is the best character, period. Johnny’s second. Suzy’s third.
Agreed
I agree with Isaac being the best character, but I find Max to be a close second, depending on the comic of the week.
I completely agree. Isaac is the best, but Max is one of the only protagonists I can read about without wanting to throw him out a window.
double agreed!
Yeah, I suppose that Max is second a lot of the time.
Can’t we let it be a tie?
LIES. Clearly Mr.Starchman is the best character.
Max Just looks so jealous
Hey, the sphinx is catching on to the fact that he’s not really in this fight.
Zack, can you copy the alt text into the comment you post beneath the page? Reading alt text is fine on a laptop/desktop, but I have yet to figure out how to read it on a tablet.
Alternatively, tell me how to read it on a tablet.
I second the pasted alt-text, or other alternative… Hehe
But really, reading on iPhone and missing the alt-text is a bummer
I feel like there should be some CSS3 thing which causes TITLE to display visually. And then you could make that a mobile-only CSS def.
I’m afraid not much can be done with the title. It’s an attribute of the link.
But hey, I just noticed, but the link’s title, the image’s title, and the image’s alt text are the exact same thing. That means that if you force your browser not to load images, it’ll show you the alt text!
It’s a pain in the ass to switch around constantly, but I’m pretty sure you can turn off images on mobile browsers.. somehow.
It says: “Isaac has Polish Lightning Powers”
Well I was reading on my laptop, so I could see it. But I was hoping for a more lasting solution. Given how many mobile devices are out there, it makes sense.
Edmund Finney has alt text repeated, for instance.
perhaps some kind of html or css magicks that displays alt text below the page when a button is clicked, like xkcd’s mobile layout?
i’m not familiar with how much flexibility wordpress gives pages but… maybe?
Aside from the fact that Issac’s power is immensely cool– this page is also phenomenally fantastic. Love how dynamic and fluid Issac’s movements are. *A* Wow!
Just more proof of your great artistic abilities.
I’m a mind reader. I know what max is thinking: “That’s just not fair!”
But it took me a two-over to realize that isaac kicked through the cloud to produce the chain lightning.
If he punched it, it would probably be a ball lightning.
Since Isabel uses paper to fight, will she have to teach Max how to compensate with his powers? I’m assuming her paper is no different than other physical objects, though I could be wrong.
Zack said something about this in the comments of an earlier page. Since the pages of her book are a part of her tool, they can interact with spirits. On the other hand, Max can only (as far as we know) have the junk his bat picks up used against living people and objects.
Oh God… I just had an enormous geekgasm after watching the EPIC Death Battle, and now THIS?! Panels 2 & 3… just…
Isaac FTW!!!
Sweet lightning axe kick by Isaac :DDD
I also love how max is just as scared as the sphinx c:
He’s not scared. He’s just thinking “Why of all the spectrals do I have to have the most useless power?!”
Nah, he’s just the spectral equivalent of Magikarp. Let him level up a bit and he’ll turn into giant metal time eel Gyarados.
Well played
Noo, I meant in panel 4. At least he looks pretty surprised :I
Oh yeah, I think he might need a change of pants there.
I’m guessing that Max can do other things as well. Now attraction, next repulsion, and when he starts mastering both he’ll be able to do some crazy stuff.
Magnetism leads to electricity.
Electricity leads to Internet.
Max’s power is the Internet? Well, that’s a scary thought. Good thing Suzy or Johnny didn’t get the bat then.
The Internet is Thought.
Thought summons Demons.
Demons not canon.
PAIR O’ DOCKS!
http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRAXZ1A1Lh8h8D75C37-coqNe20c_MG7AFzenKvDK2c0fEIbQ5h:forum-img.pinside.com/pinball/forum/%3Fbb_attachments%3D600879%26bbat%3D66075%26inline
Cannons shoot cheese.
Isaac seems really focused on NOT killing the sphinx, despite his amazing powers.
IT’S TIME TO D-D-D-D-D-D-DUEL
Panel 3 fo’ life.
Hahahahahaaahaaah!!! XD That’s FUNNY! Nicely done again, Zack. You are a master of humor. :)
That awkward moment when you realize the ‘loser’ has better powers than you
Isaac being awesome? Strange.
Maybe his magical lightning powers help with his competitive laundry.
It’s how he gets rid of static cling.
Gives his clothes that extra fresh rinse and outdoor smell.
“Outdoors” smell, or “Ozone” smell?
I wouldn’t be standing so close to someone with lighting bolts coming out of their feet while holding a metal bat..
Poor Max doesn’t know the Magneto > Storm.
well, first time in about two weeks my gravatar isn’t the sphinx. I could have done that, but panel two is just too epic.
I guess the sphinx is fair game then :D
I gots me a speech bubble.
I grabbed me Max’s face.
hold on, I got his face. It’s mine.
Ha! I just now realized it: the speech bubble makes it look like Admiral’s saying “Raa!!” :D
speech bubbles…
Yes. Speech bubbles.
speech bubbles are cool.
Why thank you. :)
.. I liked Isaac before he was cool >_>
i’d be mad too if someone just made my new super powers look stupid
BAW Max, you’re cool too.
Lovely page as always! Likin’ Isaac’s character more and more!
hughghjfds holy crud this page is awesome.
isaac is awesome.
(gotta feel bad for max though, he just got one-upped)
He just got like … 4-upped. Max has magnet powers. Issac has thunder powers, rain powers, wind powers, and probably also ice/snow powers.
He has ALL SUPERPOWERS.
*squeals* *dies from Isaac’s awesomeness*
Don’t give in Maaaax, you just started to get your powers and Isaac is more experienced in this field for the moment. Your time will cometh.
I think what you meant to say is that Isaac has Polish Lightning powers of Negotiation.
Polish lightning? How is that different from, say, German lightning, or Scandinavian lightning?
PROTIP: Hover your cursor over the image. And note the sound effect.
Isaac is the baddest of asses.
He should totaly call out his moves
Isac: THUNDER KICK-LASH!!
Max: Um… Summon random junk?
No wait, BAT TO THE FACE ATTACK!!
Where’d he learn to negotiate like that?! :D
Bruce Willis.
Issac’s powers are the best powers.
So he has the power to destroy asteroids and terrorists too?
I dunno. Maybe meteorites and the elderly…
I just re-read the whole comic. Nice little callback here, Mr./Ms. Muss!
Bruce Willis? No way. Wolverine!
Those last three panels made my day. Thank you.
Oh my gosh let’s hope that electricity doesn’t get to his bat. That could end badly.
Max wants to be hardcore but his powers won’t let him.
Oh.
KRAKOW.
Heh.
Polish lightning powers. I get it.
Nicely done.
KRAKOW?
Reminds me of Calvin and Hobbes.
:D
KRAKOW! KRAKOW! TWO DIRECT HITS!
Lol. When Isaac says, “let’s negotiate, the scratches on the left side of his face magically healed. I love this page!
Oh Zack, someone called you out on it!
I wish I had electric foot powers
Issac never looked BA, nor has any 12 year old
Amazing as always, Zack! I gotta admit, I’m a bit jealous. :|
Hey Zach, I have a question. My friend is a die-hard Isaac fan, and she wants me to make her a cake that is Isaac-themed. Unfortunetly, I had no idea what to do. Are there any objects or colors (other than the color of his spectral energy) that make you think of Isaac?
i really like what you did with the background zack. looks good, like it adds a certain feeling of style or something, or like a theme. feels ‘paranatural’ in someway, like a trademark style of drawing? idk how to explain it
Don’t be jealous, Max. You can fly*. He can’t (as far as we know).
* Well, magnet-hookshot through the air. Or something.
But Isaac can leap over tall fences whenever he wants, whereas Max can only “fly” if there’s a metal object near the spot where he wants to be!
I wonder if Max will be able to not only be able to “jump” by attracting or repelling from metal objects, but actually “fly” when someone in class points out that the Earth is covered in a giant magnetic field.
That would be sweet!
Oh great, and then he’s gonna hold the world hostage by disrupting the Earth’s magnetic field?
Hey, that’s not a bad idea.
That face + that comment + that name…. kind of scares me.
Didn’t Magneto do that in Ultimatum?
Was it in Ultimatum? If I remember correctly, that was how he got Genosha…
So why does Isaac come off as the butt-monkey of the club?
No Tool, maybe?
Hm. Maybe.
Mr. Spender doesn’t count, cause even though he doesn’t have tool, he’s the teacher in charge of the club.
I wonder if it’s because they don’t know the full extent of his powers, id if he was the newest member before Max showed up.
I can agree with that. I also think that it may be on his views on fighting spirits. Isaac seems less prone to wanting to kill spirits and make em turn into the white floaty things that can possess objects, as opposed to Ed or Isabel who seem to run into battle and kill their opponents without a second glance (hence Isaac’s comment that they only like fighting). I suppose we’ll find out as the comic progresses.
I’m pretty sure Mr. Spender’s glasses are his tool. Look at the top of the page, the header has pictures of the bat, Isabel’s book, Ed’s paintbrush, which are all confirmed tools…and Mr. Spender’s sunglasses.
Using the same logic behind that, I could be in a picture with a bunch of penguins and be considered a penguin. I honestly think a more likely reason behind Mr. Spenser’s glasses being included with them is that those are all objects we associate the characters with. As Isaac doesn’t really have any such object (with the exception of his hair and weather powers, which can’t really be drawn separately), it would make sense that he’s not included.
So what are we supposed to make of your love of tuxedos and fresh fish then?
I am clearly a magician with a passion for seafood. Wasn’t that obvious from the start?
Maybe the key would be there, then.
I dunno, I think that if that was just a jumble of items that represented each character, it wouldn’t be the characters from the activity club. It’d be all the important characters, right? And even if it was just to represent the club the webcomic is named after (which admittedly makes a lot of sense), then why is there no item for Isaac?
I’m pretty sure those are all tools, given the context.
Because everybody forgets about Isaac. Except the readers. And Zack.
which happen to be everyone :P
It could be that Mr. Spencer is secretly jealous of Isaac’s powers — not that we’ve seen what his powers are yet.
Because he’s still got that stick stuck in his bag strap making him look like a fool. Isabel or Ed would have casually pulled it out with their tool or something, to show off how insufferably cool they are. There’s a lot of other reasons, but that stick kind of just sums it up.
Max is looking like he’s feeling pretty inferior xD
Diplomacy is for people who CAN’T shit lightning.
If you can, you do that instead. There are few, if any problems, that can’t be solved through application of lightning. Most of those problems include bathing.
Does that mean that when Isaac has gastric distress, he has Thunderpation or Thunderea?
He’s got rain for that, haha.
I assume his farts sound like a thunderclap. :P
Yeah, I went there. They’re 12 y/o boys. Farts are a point of pride for them.
Isaac eats lightning and craps thunder.
Weather, huh? I figured it would be elemental, given that all we’d seen him do was sending things flying (air) and pouring water on people (water). But this makes a lot of sense as well, and way cooler.
great page
Concur’d. :D
Beautiful
I just realized… Look on the chapter art page and you see storm clouds around the sphere thing….
I thought at first it would rain, but this is sooo much cooler. lets see, we still have a big red door to go, and that’s all that was in the sphere-thingy. well, that and mayview.
WHY CAN’T THIS BE REEEEEEAAAAAAL???
-cries single tear-
Isaac has been my favorite for quite a while now. This just confirms everything.
Bro, you have mad lightning-kicking skills of badassary.
I’m seriously digging Issac’s epic lightning move just then.
Powers envy.
so back in Ch1P38, when isaac shone a light from his finger, was it weather-powers as in the sun, or a generic spectral power? does spectral energy generate its own light?
also, 100+ comments in 1 day! it used to take a week or more like 10-15 pages ago. good times.
I assumed he was charging his lightning.
Paranatural: Come For The Comic, Stay For The Comments
It seems to be that manifesting one’s spectral power as an energy attack causes light to radiate, which only spectrals and spirits/ghosts can see. A handy trick if you’re ever playing games in the dark.
The Activity Club vs. the Newspaper Club in BLACKOUT!
Yes, this.
Which seems to suggest that when Max learns this trick, we might see some very funk-ay scenes (Black Light = Ultraviolet = Fluorescent colours?), assuming normal physics applies to spectral powers in any way.
lighting powers and a magnetically charged bat, does anyone else see the possibility of a very powerful team-up. Really, their only option at this point is to team up or fight like cats and dogs.
Ooh, it’d be so awesome if they actually did team up! :D
Does the arc of the lightning make anyone else want to play Super Smash Bros? Preferably Melee…
My first thought was “Oh hey, he’s Pikachu now… or Pichu if he hurts himself…”
Oh yeah, magnets are cool…… much cooler than lightening (sarcasm)
Hey Zack, if you could associate a song with Paranatural, what would it be?
Fun question. That’s hard. Possibly this?? I think it has the right feeling. If not the feeling the comic has now, then the one I want/plan for it to have eventually.
Oooh! That sounds neat! :D
Poor Max is getting left in the dust behind Isaac, Johnny, and Suzy D:
He requires awesome magnetness examples to help with his power envy.
All these neat powers. Make’s me wish for a fighting game.
PARANATURAL
ぱらなつらl
SUPER FIGHTER X
*ahem*
Actually, it would be spelled like this, in Katakana:
パラナチュラレ。
You’re spelling it in Hiragana. Katakana is what you use for words that have no equivalent in Japanese.
Lol, sorry, couldn’t help myself.
It’s true! Katakana. And I can read them. I knew I’d get to use what I learned in beginner japanese class one of these days!
I know it’s more a matter of taste, but does anyone really hold a bat upside down even when they’re looking at it? (also I must be really slow in picking up that Max is left handed)
I just had a realization: With those powers, Isaac WOULD be able to destroy both Isabel and Ed at competitive laundry.
All Max really needs is some iron dust like we used to play with as kids, and some creative control of his newly-acquired magnetism power.
Bam, batsword, bat-axe, bat-lance, bat-shield.
Bat-man?
clapclapclap
But wouldn’t the iron dust just go through the spirits? Leaving just the bat as a point of contact. On the other hand, could Max reshape the bat with his magnetism? We’ve already seen Ed and Isabel do something similar.
Well, the physical objects that Ed and Isabel manifest with their tools affects spirit, so it may be a safe bet that anything affected by Max’s magnetic powers might affect spirits. If not, I’m sure Max will come up with lots of indirect ways to affect spirits with his tool.
Actually, earlier Zack said that the stuff Max moves around with magnetism doesn’t affect spirits. I guess it makes sense, since Ed and Isabel create the objects with their tools, while Max manipulates existing objects.
Oh. My. God. Isaac looks incredibly bad ass right now.
He iiiiis incredibly badass, though.
J’ai trouvé cette page pour être drôle.
Merci.
Vous êtes les bienvenus. :)
Tu parle francais? Hey, ralenti la. T’a trop de talents.
I am just plugging stuff into Google Translate. :P
I just realized that Johnny wrecking the scooter might have been through the bat possessing him.
Which could have been the bat attempting to teach max about magnet powers.
He learned about his megnetic powers between chapters 2 and 3.
And how they work…OLD JOKE IS OLD!
Hold on, while I go find a drum to hit my bat against.
*Ba-Dum-Cshh!*
Dat lightning kick O_O
C’est génial, non?
Vous parlez français. Je suppose que vous pouvez lire l’anglais. Ou est-ce que vous n’aimez les photos?
Euh … Euhhh …
Je suis un fantôme. Je peux le faire … ces choses.
Wow. I think this is just the best thing ever. Our poor protagonist is extremely outclassed. Well, I guess it only makes sense. Isaacs /does/ have spiky hair, after all.
The cool thing about magnetic fields is that they affect gravity by effecting space.
Oh my god, Isaac…..WHY ARE YOU SO WONDERFUL? I want to hug him right now. ;-; Well…not now, while he’s in Total Badass Mode.
Also, I have a theory, which I think is slightly evidenced by Isaac’s last two panels. Could anyone else see him turning into, like, a total pyscho or somethin’? Think about it. Awesome powers, with a potential dark side (I mean, look at his face in those last few panels!), and he’s pretty much looked down upon by his fellow Club members, which could drive our spikey haired friend to insanity. Or I’m mist over thinking this. That could be it too.
“Please. I’m not useless. I could completely destroy Ed and Isable together.”
Yeah, I see where this could be heading.
Isable? lol
Wait, if Isaac has weather powers, does that mean he can summon snow? :D Or even things as powerful as tornadoes?
Could be interesting yo
Holy poo.
Stopping time can be done with control over gravity. If Max has magnetic powers eventually he will learn to control space and controlling space leads to controlling gravity.
“WHy can’t I do stuff like thaaaat?”
I knew Isaac would be my favorite character since the second I saw him hiding behind his locker door.
Max look at him, then back to you, back at him, then back at you.You are not him he more badass and his power is cooler than yours
Max is feeling a little inadequate.
Jeff is the best character guys, come on.