Sweaty doorknobs.
Hey guys, there will be an announcement posted on the site within the next few days, so keep your ears peeled (gross).
Sweaty doorknobs.
Hey guys, there will be an announcement posted on the site within the next few days, so keep your ears peeled (gross).
Omfg omfg im first :O
All srsness though, thats pretty fricking creepy. Where was the second voice coming from, his bat? I think we can safely assume it’s the spirit inhabiting his tool, but it looks like it could be speaking with like, two voices from max’s mouth.
I have a strange sneaking suspicion Max is both possessed AND a tool-weilder.
Maybe. It certainly SOUNDS like the kind of thing that happens to main characters.
the snake speaks through max using it’s and his voice
The Hand-Eel has 2 mouths, and thus, 2 voices.
I actually think because its max’s voice plus that other one one. example: your mom and uncle say the exact same thing at the exact samr time and it sounds like youruncle
Getting better and better, can’t wait!
wut
Was half expecting Max’s head to start spinning around then start spewing green ooze.
Only half?
Ok well more like 47%, but I rounded for simplicities sake.
Wait….. I… Uh……um…..that……
No words
Time snake is a bad influence on Max.
Baaaad time snake.
(Or maybe Max is a medium)
The snake must be a medium, though because Max is a large, right?
BAZINGA! haha, that’s a good one!
Depends on what you’re comparing Max to.
Max is definitely a Small.
In more ways than one.
wat
The magnetism from the bat must have just jumbled his brain. That’s how that works right?
IT’S HAPPENING
Clearly Max is a secret Goa’uld.
Jaffa Kree!
http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lyszsigY141qm36c1o1_500.gif
Jaffa Cakes!
The BEST.
That time snake did have a certain resemblance..
I understand that reference.
I’m ridiculously happy to know that you understand that reference!
The demon currently speaking through Max is the Hand from earlier,isn’t it? It just occurred to me. Of who’s body is Lefty a part of anyway?
My favorite reply ever.
whoa what
Well, I guess I’m the one saying the obligatory quote, then.
“Max is secretly Herobrine”
My exact reaction was “What the hell just happened??” while staring at the screen for a few minutes.
That…. was completely unexpected and very troubling. Someone call a freaking exorcist or something.
QUESTION TIME! Is that an actual language, an actual made-up language, or just jibberish? Because if it’s one of the first two, someone needs to try to translate that.
I think that that’s spirit language, as creepy max had understood it perfectly.
I think it’s an actual made-up spirit language but Zack didn’t really take the time to invent a whole language/alphabet so those runes won’t actually translate.
I don’t even
Me neither
An awesome comic..
Same.
O…kaaaay… Things just got very bad very quickly. Characters speaking in tongues is without pupils is never a good sign, and one has to wonder exactly why Doorman in in hiding, and from what. Eagerly awaiting the next page, and hoping that this slow and steady build up leads to even more fantastic stuff than I can hope for.
If you spoke using a tongue with pupils I’d be worried anyway. Maybe it’s just me, though.
A door to anywhere is a powerful utility, with great potential for use both in good, and in evil.
If I capable of such utility, and aligned as good, I would hide for both my own protection, and for the protection of others.
And now, the bad guys have re-found him.
Cue foreshadowing of main arc plot.
ho. lee. she. it. did not see that one coming.
also: genius way of making Max speak in a doubled voice, don’t think I’ve seen it before in any comic I’ve read. If I ever see it again I’ll check the dates because I think you did it first.
I’d swear I’ve seen it used before, but no idea where. It’s such a simple and clear way o doing it that I’d be surprised if it hasn’t been done before.
I was going to say the same thing, very cool.
Woah, woah, woah, wooooah. What?
AWWWWW YIS
Yeahbuhwha?
So…I’m guessing Max couldn’t understand what he was saying because he wasn’t apart of the contract?
OH SHIT
I THINK HIS SPIRIT JUST POSSESSED HIM
OH SHIT
WHOA
THAT’S AWESOME
“I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.”
DUUUUUUDE he’s part of a larger whole of some kind. Someone else DID end up with the sense of humor and this guy just got … the snarkiness or something. It’s like how Kadaj + Loz + Yazoo = Sephiroth aaa so coollll GIVE ME MOOOOORE
I found this unexpected, meanwhile I can’t wait for that exciting next installment
What. Just…what?
Ah doorman, all you did was ask a simple question and now you are threatened by a possessed Max
So Max is the villain huh? I knew you couldn’t be a ‘good guy’ with magnet powers.
Hey buddy don’t let me enemy’s know I’m here.
That is so funny I am your enemies.
Also the way Ghost Max talks about children reminds me of a very awesome cynical teacher I once had.
I really want to know about the esoteric language Doorman is speaking, is it something we can look up or is it meant to be a mystery…. for now?
I am excite.
WHO KNOWS??
I can name at least 3 people who know
I know Zack knows, but who else knows?
Ahem. To quote a line from my favorite blog:
“My… my words… they are gone… left me for greener… green things. I don’t even that I just accidentally the verb.”
Right. Now… DID HE/SHE/IT JUST SAY MY FACTION ?! Let the WMGs begin!
Obviously the spirits are organized into different factions. Red is powered by passion, yellow by fear and annoyance, green by willpower, blue by hope, and…wait a minute.
On a (slightly) more serious note, who wants to bet that spirit factions really are organized by color.
I would bet my two front teeth on it, just so I can ask for them back for christmas if I’m wrong
And the Indigo Tribe?
I don’t. That’s what I thought at first as well, but I don’t really see the Sphinx and Doorman being on the same side. Though this does bring into question as to exactly who the Sphinx was referring to when he said “the others”…
Nobody likes the Indigo Tribe. Buncha psychopathic hippies.
Both lawfully aligned.
One is lawful good, the other neutral.
I thought that it was Violet (Star Sapphire) that was powered by passion, and Red by anger.
Violet is powered by love. I had to muck with the definitions a bit to have the joke make sense, since Spender has a yellow aura and Doorman has a red one. The animated series makes the sense that righteous fury works just as well in rage, and in this case Doorman could be powered by passion…FOR JUSTICE (read in Crimson Chin voice). Annoyance works better than fear for Spender, since no one really seems to fear him. And he has to be pulling this cryptic mentor crap for some reason. And…I just killed the joke, didn’t I?
GUYS, MY STUDIES OF LANGUAGES IS FIANLY BEING PUT TO USE AT LAST. THIS IS MY PURPOSE. TIME TO DECIPHER.
LET US KNOW IF YOU DECIPHER IT OH WISE ONE!
Zack, you have sucessfully stunned the entire fanbase in one page, well done….
PREDICTION TIME! I’m guessing that the snake thingy in Max’s bat is evil(duh) and later they will have to fight it when it is charged up by Max’s energy :I
also I want to see Splendid’s evil brother
that’s two comics in one day. the “fancy adventures of jack cannon” did a very stunning plot today
Oh, man, yeah I was gonna say. Is today just “creepy shit happening to protagonists” day?
You mean the one where Jack got sucked out of his hospital bed into a singularity? That was yesterday.
BUT WHAT IF IT’S MORE COMPLICATED? :L
(which it almost certainly is if Zack is revealing details this early on. There’s got to be a lot more left to reveal. :3)
I will be very surprised if the time eel that is (hypothetically) in Max’s bat turns out to be evil. Eel, snake, or otherwise serpent-like entities that turn out to be evil are so common in fiction its a cliche, and Zack’s usually been pretty good at stomping those to pieces.
Duuuuuuude, that is messed… you know, in like an up direction.
no, it’s messed down
I was thinking in more like a left orientation. But, that’s just me.
More like just right, aheheheh
Wait…
XD
No, no, you’re all wrong! It’s messed BACKWARDS!
It’s “messed” running round and round in circles, waving its arms and screaming lyrics from The Barber of Seville in Swahili at the top of its lungs.
I think this comment deserves a Starchman Star or ten.
Not for Zack.
Well, this episode did cause people to mess their nethermost garments, so I think I agree with you.
NOOOOooo I can’t see the comic from this campus wifi for some reason! D:
Mine wont let me either :P i have to read comics to fill my almost-obsessive love for this comic until i get home
Duuuuuude, that is ERRIE.
I got it to show the page. And I am at a loss for words.
I am at a loss for words.
Just give me a bit to take it in.
okay, crazy theory here. DoorMan Recognizes the voice max is speaking in. think about it. Max(Hereon refered to as the Voice) spoke one sentence, and doorman freaked out. given what we’ve seen of his personality, DoorMan would probably say something like “are you well, Max?” instead of looking confused and freaked out. and DoorMan is an escaped laborer for the Voice, so he’s speaking very fast and in Spirit to explain himself.
Ohhhh I like this theory too.
I was under the impression that he did recognize the voice as well, though it doesn’t appear as though Doorman is an escaped minion for the Voice.
well, if he wasn’t, why would he be sweating so much?
Likely part of a ‘faction’ that opposed the voices faction, I’m betting there are several.
yeah…and they lost a war to them, and got captured. later doorman escaped inprisonment and thats why he’s hiding! oh brilliant!
Yes! And yet… It doesn’t mean any one faction has to be “evil”.
So… they locked up a door?
His behavior strikes me as praying to a god for safety from a stronger being.
“She would, if she could”
first thing I thought was “dear god protect me from this evil”
Begin the insane theories now. Well I’m a bit late…
Don’t worry. I can help with the “late” part.
want to begin insane theories? read the original comment one above you :P
Time to decipher the language before it gets revealed.
What the actual fuck.
Bonus points for the most amusing profanity of the entire thread.
A fan of profanity I am not, but concur I must.
Oh my god. This is the most awesome thing.
HOLY SHIT, PLOT TIME.
This is exciting! A page fully dedicated to plot shenanigans! Okay, let’s see what I can gather from this.
First: Doorman’s master is most likely a woman. Judging by the flow of the conversation and Doorman’s personality, I think the first thing he told ‘not-Max’ was “When my Master finds out you were here, she’ll find you and take you down” or something like that, to which not-Max responded that she should try, but she was going to fail.
Second: I doubt the spirit on the bat was doing the talking. Ever since chapter 2, I’ve had the lingering suspicion that Max is currently in a relationship (NOT THAT KIND OF RELATIONSHIP) with 2 spirits, one in his tool and another one possessing him, the latter being the time-stopping serpent. The reason I think they’re different entities is that they have very different powers: one can hold time still (complete with creepy apocalyptic visions) while the other is magnetic.
Third: Factions? More like fractions! Doorman’s response to “not my ears, exactly-” prompted a following response that had to do with a “faction”. The only way one can make sense of that is to think that Doorman took that line wrong, thinking someone else’s ears were involved. That, and the fact that the spirit talking through Max did say that he “didn’t end up with the sense of humor”; which means that obviously someone else did. These things only indicate that the spirit talking through Max is part of a bigger whole, and not just in the metaphorical sense: it is a fraction of a bigger spirit.
Fourth: Shit is going down. Shit is going SO DOWN. And it’ll be glorious.
Well for the sake of argument
he could have used a bit of an ellipsis, actually meaning ‘the sense of humor required to laugh. It wouldn’t be an obtuse way of speaking.
Why are you speaking of a ‘master’?
Wow that is a lot of really interesting ideas but… Why can’t it just be that it’s referring to using Max’s ears since it’s possessing Max?
Second, we really can’t infer much about Max’s vision and for all we know it only felt like time stopped or that was all an illusion or perhaps it’s not a specific power and that’s what all such visions tend to feel like… Time Eel might not have time powers at all. Hard to say.
Third… The spirit was talking about Max’s sense of humor. It didn’t inherit his snarkiness. But it still seems to have a little bit of a sense of humor on it’s own. But only a little.
Fourth: Interesting point about Doorman’s master.
Hmmm judging by this time-stamp and that first comic and the time where I am… it seems as though I’d have to check at about 5:30 in the morning to catch the updates.
To the first thing you mention: Yes, I know the “voice” is referring to Max’s ears. I was talking more about the flow of the conversation:
The voice says his comments are wasted on the ears that aren’t really its own, but Max’s.
Enter my speculation: Doorman misunderstands that last part, thinking the voice is referring to another set of ears, most likely owned by the whole being the voice is a part of (my other speculation); he then mentions this ‘faction’.
The voice replies: no, he wasn’t talking about that, actually.
To your second point: Well it did feel like time was stopped, stretched, or otherwise manipulated. Everything was at a standstill except for Max and the serpent. It could, indeed, also be a “perception change” granted by the serpent, but hey, still a different power than magnetism.
To the third one, I really doubt the voice means Max’s sense of humor. IMO, the line would have been worded differently, like “I don’t share this boy’s sense of humor” or something like that.
Uhhhh, bro, I’m pretty sure the “time-stopping” bit had nothing to do with the snake’s powers, and was just what happens when a spectral meets their spirit-bro. Not to mention that the snakey meetup time happened just after Max got the bat and before his magnetism powers awoke. But I won’t deny the possibility of Max having a second spirit somewheres.
Yeah, I really liked that two-spirit argument El Huesudo II put forth until this occurred to me. It’d be a great twist but I’m not sure if it’s really supported by what we’ve learned so far / Occam’s Razor. And the Hand-Eel is still pretty darn shrouded in mystery…
We have no proof of the spirit in Max’s bat, or any other spirit associated with Max having any kind of time-related powers. Max saw a vision of the Hand-Eel, in a different time and place, with nothing but a shadow of the Racist Whalefrog present. It seemed to be more of just a vision, which need not take up any time at all, rather than actual time-stoppage.
The community just kind of went berserk with the time-powers assumption, and we’ve seen no evidence of it being anything other than just a split-second vision. The Hand-Eels “time powers” seem to be more folklore than fact, IMO.
There’s no real evidence of Max becoming a Medium in any of the earlier episodes of the comic, so I think that supposition is not supported by what’s been presented so far. For all appearances, the two-mouthed Hand-Eel spoke through Max, as evident by the lingering black spectral energy coming from the bat (not Max) at the end.
A few of these questions will be answered within the next few pages. Specifically the “time powers” question, and some other stuff about spirits in tools/people.
Oh god the anticipation.
I get the distinct feeling that I am going to have to change my name in the upcoming weeks.
What will we call you, then? I’m thinking of changing my name here as well…
Isaac’s explanation might not have been complete. There’s still the weirdness of why books would get a spirit with paper powers and a brush getting ink powers and a metal bat getting magnet powers. It might be that the spirit’s powers are filtered through the tool that they possess, and end up strangely. So while the bat has magnet powers, the spirit may have other powers. Or something like that.
It might not be time-stopping. I think Doorman’s “riddles and word games” comment was literal, but that’s besides the point.
Also: I posted this down somewhere else, but I’m gonna repeat that glowing eyes and headaches occurs once before, when Max activates his bat as a tool for the first time. http://paranatural.net/chapter-1-page-59/
Speaking of spirit colors and the first chapter, what color is Derek’s spirit energy? It seems orange, but on other pages he appears to be letting off black spirit energy.
The spirit from chapter one has orange energy.
My God…with the buses arriving…will Johnny and Ollie be late for school?
They’re cutting.
DUN DUN DUNNN!!!
THE BIGGEST PLOT TWIST OF ALL!
(also new gravatar)
Shiver my timbers.
[[yYARr hHARr hHARr...]]
//
>pO
Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day is September 21.
[[Not for me, it isn't...]]
/ /
dpO<–<
So…is it Opposite Talk Like A Pirate Day?
Why does it surprise you so much that they would be playing hooky?
But Johnny highly values his education!
What just happened?
Zack magiced again.
WHAT
New Gravatar yay!
Connors and G0vnah are both speechless.
Strong page.
I was speechless for a while. You are correct.
WHAM!
YO WHAT?
I don’t even.
Max’s spirit must be something -crazy- to exert… wait is he maybe actually possessed too? A medium with a tool? Is that a… Oh jeez
Jeez good lord oh mygawd
So many questions
so many theories
<3
Aw man this is awesome, so fantastic. Since Zack said that paranatural doesn’t have a super long story, I figured some twist to the events was coming up soon. But man, this is just…tantalizing.
Oh geeze, it’s happening.
This comic is getting better and better!
You know what it is? The last page was trying to be serious, but Max doesn’t like to go with that, and the comic has such a cartoonish nature that you don’t see it coming when creepy stuff happens. Granted the first two chapters have a lot of mood swings but in this third chapter we haven’t seen any dark stuff yet; that is why this page really stands out. It surprises you. I think it was just about perfect timing and great pacing overall. Zack planned this out well.
i’m the first to say it on this page: Concur’d.
Truly the biggest shock on this page is that a doorknob can sweat.
Spirit sweat canon
Awesome. But what about spirit sweat cannon?
Fanon Canon
Beautiful
Does this mean that all spirits are a little bit Anime?
Whoa man u ok Max
(Is it just me or is the Voice (as it has apparently been dubbed) rapping.
It’s just me)
…She would.
Would if she could.
The comedy
your ignorance breeds
is wasted on my ears…
Hell. Yes. I will never look at this page the same way again. I am laughing so hard right now.
So is his/her/its rapper name Young Master too?
Yep.
hWHAT IS HAPPEN
(this comic is rad)
OHH DANG HERE IT COMES DAANG THIS IS AWESOME
SO totally unexpected.
I’ve gotta say Zack, you’ve got one hell of a way with words.
Thanks! :)
Is perhaps this second voice the others?????
Max isn’t actually possesed, the glowing eyes are a party trick and he likes to practice villain speak for personal reasons
Do the placements of the dots have any non-letter indication in Doorman’s language? It seems like they’re placed here and there on runes that look pretty similar, but not necessarily all the time (With the exception of the rune that looks like a backwards C with a dot over to the side). Furthermore, they’re not placed in the same place for different runes, although they’re pretty consistently placed on the runes which look the same. This leads me to believe that the dots serve as some means of indicating punctuation, capitalization, or word order (like, every time that the runes switch having dots and not having dots = a space between words).
Or is this one of those times that we just have to gird our loins, wait, and see?
WHO KNOOOOOOOWS
Look at the white spaces, not the dots themselves.
He said gird our loins.
I was TRYING to forget that.
I wonder how many factions are there, you know, among the spirits. I’d like to think the sphinx-cat belongs to one, the owner of the voice in this page belongs to another one, and Doorman to yet another one?
SPIRIT GANG WARS
you don’t mess with the boo-tang clan
*starts snapping fingers*
In case you forgot, Zack has said that the spirits in the tools can have some influence on the outside world. SOME more than OTHERS.
Think about that for a moment.
ALso, he mentioned that the spirit in the bat may have used that influence, even if only slightly, to help make sure that somebody found it. Maybe it helped start the whole fiasco in the hallway, or maybe it just made sure Max would notice the bat when he got close.
Just like any trapped spirit, it wants to get out.
That’s an interesting theory….
Oh yeah and if the Doorman is freaked out it’s because he’s been discovered by someone besides the kids.
no way dude he RECOGNIZED that guy, I don’t think it was just “OMGOSH ANOTHER SPIRIT” because just like he’d have no reason to assume Max meant him harm because he’s a friend of Isaac, he’d have no reason to assume a spirit possessing Max would mean him harm either, at least not to the extent that his instant reaction of !!!! and sweating just absolutely everywhere would indicate, I mean he’s scared to death
I really think they know each other, and another reason why is that DoorMan launched into a language that Possessed Max both described as “esoteric” (or not-well-known) and also clearly understood … implications?? 83 it’s all so exciting…
I agree, I think he was scared because he recognized it but, not because it was another spirit I think it was a powerful one that was a total badass and that’s why he got spooked.
As a being that can only be seen by spectrals, ghosts and other spirits, it’s a pretty safe bet that the ones he’s hiding from are one of those three. Considering that he let a Spectral know where he was, and that ghosts have limited powers, it’s a safe bet that he’s hiding from Spirits.
A Spirit knows where he is now (other than Isaac’s storm spirit). I don’t think that says anything more than Doorman is nervous about another Spirit in general knowing where he is — a spirit that seems knowledgeable of historical events in the Spiritual/Ghost/Spectral world in general. It doesn’t necessarily support the idea that Door man recognizes the spirit in Max’s bat, other than maybe the suggestion that it was a well known spirit before it was confined to that bat.
wait, should he even be able to talk to max if he was in the bat, and if that time snake thing is the thing talking, it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with magnetism. My theory: Max is a medium and using a tool
Case closed let’s go get drunk
WHY does everyone have to assume because it has the power of magnetism that that must be it’s only power? I mean look at Isaac’s power, and the Sphinx, and especially the supersized Frogwhale Dude.
Isaac has weather powers.
Riddle Sphinx has condition-setting powers.
Racist Whale-Frog has reflection powers.
Yeah. One power each. Theirs are just more versatile. Max(‘s bat) has magnet powers, unless it’s something like metal manipulation powers.
What if it’s just “attraction” power? Max could be quite the little mischief-maker on Valentines Day if the bat also has the power to attract people to each other. :P
Who dares summon the Time Eels of Shipping?
Wait a second. Does this mean that spirits have a religion?
IF THEY’RE DEAD THAT MEANS THAT THEIR RELIGION HAS TO BE 100% CERTAIN ABOUT THE AFTERLIFE.
What gave you this idea? :|
The snake described the Doorman as sanctimonious, pious, and as a priest. It likely has something to do with the doorman’s leaning towards “justice”. Probably there is a reason spirits try not to attack, or even go so far as to try to help humans, as the doorman does, and that reason likely has something to do with morality or even perhaps religion. Doorman is very moral, and Max’s snake most likely is not, therefore the snake scoffs at the doorman for being a “priest”.
Maybe, maybe not. Personally I think that’s looking a bit too deep into things when not that many have been revealed, but I will admit it sounds plausible. If I may throw in my two cents though, I don’t think the reason most spirits are passive have anything to do with morality. I’m more inclined to think they just don’t have any purpose in doing so. Also, I think Doorman helps Isaac specifically because it’s his only way to convince Isaac not to give his location away (in addition to the whole “true agent of justice” thing).
Then again, the whale frog and the Sphinx did mention they eat other spirits. And now we have the notion of different factions. Hmm… In any case, the Voice said “choose a proper priest”, implying that he/she/it doesn’t actually scoff at the idea in itself, just in Max (or Isaac?)’s choice. Oh, and I doubt he/she/it was referring to actual priests. It was probably for poetic reasons.
A person (or Spirit) can be sanctimonious and pious about things other than a religion. The terms of religion are actually borrowed from different sources, with even the actual term, “religion” originally meaning any kind of consistent, predictable pattern of events; like a football player that always wears the same pair of lucky socks, or the Butt-Addict that needs a cigarette first thing in the morning.
The Hand-Eel could have been using such terms as a metaphor. I would expect no less from Zach.
Metaphor, yeah. I also liked the alliteration.
About the afterlife:
Apparently, some ghosts move on and others don’t.
Spirits are something else entirely.
Therefore, how can any of these characters possibly know what the afterlife holds for humans? Oh well.
Mr. Spender did make an offhand remark about how spirits are “born” from the emotions or energies from the death of living beings, sort of like how bdelloid rotifers reassemble their genome from whatever they find lying around. So spirits might have some relation to life after death.
As for ghosts, I think I have a very good idea why some move on and some don’t. And it ain’t pretty.
RAMBLE TIME!!
1) I really like the way that DoorMan is super tall and casts bright light into a dark room cause while at first those elements aren’t played with too much, when things get creepy Max is suddenly super foreshortened from DoorMan looking down at him and the area around him super dark
and this helps him look more menacing and makes his possessed eyes stand out even more which is really cool and ALSO
2) I love all of the emotions going on here like DoorMan is suddenly SUPER FREAKED OUT he basically has a heart attack in panel 5 and you illustrated that super well, like that feeling you get when shock shoots through you YES THAT PICTURE THERE THAT IS EXACTLY HOW THAT FEELS
and then the way Possessed Max is nonchalant but not in a really cocky smirky way, it’s like he knows he’s got DoorMan in a tight spot but he’s not super sadistic about it or anything, honestly he seems kinda bored but not so bored as to be totally uninvested idk ?? I try to describe these things but the comic itself does a much better job of it …
and also also 3) reading the last few pages I love the way Max goes from babbling about random stuff and complaining about feeling dizzy (NOW WE KNOW WHY ??? ) to listening to the DoorMan’s request and starting to respond with a simple and cutting “I’d laugh…”
which makes DoorMan just go ?? because the mood shift was almost too abrupt to be really comprehended, it alerted him with that horrible strong sensation of “something’s not right” that nobody ever wants to feel
and like the idea that saying to a friend-of-a-friend “I need you to not give away where I’m hiding” would be met with a laugh is just so COLD, it’s just such an “oh cra-” type moment cause a second ago Max was just a normal old weird kid
AND ALSO 4) DoorMan’s character design is just awesome I MEAN THEY’RE ALL JUST AWESOME it’s like you’re some kinda genius who knows how to bring out just the right flavors of a personality like you’re mixing colors or something (synesthesia ?? whatever it is you’re a genius)
and in DoorMan’s case he’s this mix that’s hard to describe, he’s like tryna be a shepherd and instructor for Isaac despite not being (as the Voice put it) a “proper priest” (they must know each other somehow, wonder what dirt Voice has got on DoorMan?) and he seems kinda strange and mechanical but his reaction to the Voice’s appearance is anything but and he’s clearly more mature than the kids and at first he’s like this responsible parental figure but as soon as the Voice starts to talk he just dissolves into sweating and shaking and it makes me so curious about the Voice and the DoorMan and their past and who “she” is and so forth just WHAT IS GOING ONNNNNN
THIS IS SO GOOOODDDDDDD
HAHA AM SORRY FOR THE WALL OF TEXT
tl;dr there are four things I really liked about today’s update and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
Just telling ya that I read all of that. Every single word. Cool :D Interesting observation there, point number three.
(though next time, I think it would be far easier on everyone’s eyes if you break it into paragraphs or numbered points. Like what El Huesudo II did up there)
THANK YOU FOR READING IT ALL MAN next time I will try harder to make it legible (IF THERE IS A NEXT TIME?? this update was so exciting and I had to get it all out so maybe I’m drained but we’ll see)
I may even try to throw in some html or something but that might create some sort of unholy nightmare
I could hardly have said it better… ;)
Wait- what just- Is Max- ….
WHAT IS GOING ON
Zack is being awesome again.
Doorman looks like he’s gonna shit so many bricks that he’ll become Houseman.
Because he like, freaked out man.
He needs to get together with Window Woman first.
And Plumbing Lad…
And Electricity Lady.
Issac can supply the electicity.
Isabel can supply the wallpaper, and Ed can supply the paint.
Wow, Max has a lot of game then.
I guess Max can always help around with the metal frames.
By all your powers combined, I am…A HOUSE!
This is getting good…
Why do I think shocked-lines around Doorman’s face is completely normal?
Hmm… trying to translate this… sounds fun :3
SHIT JUST GOT REAL
I’m primarily curious about the “She” this is referring to. I’m predicting that the rest of this chapter will be fairly “normal,” in the sense of Max interacting with the Activity Club members a bit more, and that next chapter will probably be the next time we get more wild and crazy plot like this.
But in the words of Zack, “WHO KNOWS??”
a mysterious “she”, the someone else that Doorman was expecting, Mr. Walker…
Too many character teases whyyyyyyy
Congratulations Max, you just scared the living daylights out of me in a way I didn’t think someone with your character design could. Also, I’d really like to know whatever language it was that Doorman just broke into, or, more specifically, what he was saying in it.
Paranatural transitions unnervingly well between light and funny and then terrifyingly serious. This occurred to me when I reread chapter 1, and then now it’s just hitting me in the face again.
Since people are talking about being both a medium and a tool-user, I figure I should point out I asked about this last chapter :P
I’ll say the page if I can find it but I’m on my phone so dont count on it
Okay, I’m an idiot and can’t find it. The beginning of this chapter feels so far away thay I forgot it wasnt the previous chapter, but I feel like it would have been on one of the pages where spirit stuff starts bein ‘splained.
I know i asked about this and Zack said something about it being explained later… :<
So here’s a question, Zack: the ghost possessing Max says “I wasn’t referring to my faction”, but he never mentions any factions. Is he referring to his previous sentence about Doorman not having adequate protection, and “wasn’t” is just a typo and should be “not”?
In response to the Doorman’s unkown spirit-speak, where he probably said something about some sort of group the Voice belongs to.
Ah, but the ghost said “I wasn’t referring”, which means it was something the ghost said, not Doorman.
I don’t think that’s Max; he used the word esoteric properly.
Fair enough.
The doorman is totally lawful-good.
And pissing himself.
Is Lawful Urine an alignment?
Yep. As are the others.
Courtesy of /co/:
>I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.
>BROKEN GODS. NOT FEAR MASTER DOES SCHEMER MY CHANGES NOTHING, YOUR RETURN.
>She should. Would if she could. The comedy your ignorance breeds is wasted on my ears. Well, not my ears, exactly-
>WORD GAMES OF RIDDLES AND NOTHING TO BE AFRAID. YOUR POWER IS ARROGANCE.
>From which speaking esoteric language won’t protect you. And I wasn’t referring to my faction, though you do underestimate us.
Translation’s still rough, but they’re working on it. “She” apparently refers to Doorman’s master.
Based /co/llective
Hell yeah /co/mrades
Here’s the archived thread if anyone wants to follow the thought process:
http://archive.foolz.us/co/thread/46773725/#q46773725
So far we’ve worked it down to
>I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.
>Your return changes nothing schemer. My master does not fear broken gods
>She should. Would if she could. The comedy your ignorance breeds is wasted on my ears. Well, not my ears, exactly-
>Arrogance. Your power is nothing to be afraid of Word games and riddles.
>From which speaking esoteric language won’t protect you. And I wasn’t referring to my faction, though you do underestimate us.
Now we need typesetters and cleaners for out Ghost Manga scanlation group so if you want to apply just go to…
Further updated version:
>I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.
>Your return changes nothing schemer. My master does not fear broken gods
>She should. Would if she could. The comedy your ignorance breeds is wasted on my ears. Well, not my ears, exactly-
>Arrogance. Your power is nothing to be afraid of Word games and riddles.
>From which speaking esoteric language won’t protect you. And I wasn’t referring to my faction, though you do underestimate us.
So, the spirit possessing Max is a “broken god”, the implications of that term being manifold. Coupled with the earlier statement “I didn’t end up with the sense of humor” I interpret it to imply that said spirit is a fragment of some more powerful whole. This spirit also seems to be at odds with whoever “she”, Doorman’s master, is. There are also apparently some factions of spirits who are apparently at odds as well. I look forward to seeing what comes of all this.
What…what the…
The letters are formed by the empty spaces around the marks, that got us the first part. Then we realized that the line order is reversed and it got us the final form.
Epic levels rising rapidly.
Concur’d.
Double Concur’d.
Triple Concur’d.
Overconcur’d.
Concur-tacular!
Indeed.
Concur-TROCITY!
On a scale of concur’d to unconcur’d…
Concur’d. Again.
Concuramanjaro!
concurampage!
Concurjoy
Concur-ionaire!
Nice work, /co/. You adorable hive mind you
I think its just the Apotheosis Principle. As the power level of a given character increases, the probability that that character is treated or worshipped as a deity approaches 1, even if the only difference between that character and others is that the character in question won the Superpower Lottery.
You see this in a lot of stories where you have “superpowers that all come from a single common source but differ from person to person”.
/co/ achieving man…
We can do it every now and then
hmm… the first sentence in that makes a odd amount of sense if you read the words in sets of twos from the end of the sentance to the begining (i know i didnt explain that very well but whatever) “your return changes nothing, schemer my master does not fear broken gods”
the second makes less sense, but still (kinda) works: “is arrogance. your power be afraid nothing to riddles and games of words”. huh.
wait no sorry you updated that before i posed this, ah well
Yeah, we already picked up on that — the line order is reversed. Probably has something to do with how the whole thing is tilted ninety degrees, it still ends up going left to right and top to bottom that way. Look at the other comments for the final translation.
WHAT.
I never comment on this comic no matter how insane it gets but this
Just.
WHAT.
Translation from /co/:
>I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.
!!!!!
>Your return changes nothing schemer. My master does not fear broken gods
>She should. Would if she could. The comedy your ignorance breeds is wasted on my ears. Well, not my ears, exactly-
>Arrogance. Your power is nothing to be afraid of Word games and riddles.
>From which speaking esoteric language won’t protect you. And I wasn’t referring to my faction, though you do underestimate us.
Dialogue continues to amaze me.
hold on /co/mrades, one post at a time.
I was genuinely shocked /co/ managed to pull something out of this. I sat there and watched it happen, but I still can’t believe it.
NO! NO! NOOOOOOOONNNOOOOONONONONONONONONOOOOOOOOOO! THIS WILL NOT GO DOWN! NOPENOPENOPENOPENOPNEOPNNOPENOPENOPNEONPOENENOPENOPNEONPEONOPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WUT?
But wait! what!? WHy snake thing evil? why!?
Can’t wait for the next page! Can’t wait for EVERYTHING!
Max – The boy who would be a God
That’s just scary.
SOMEONE, PLEASE!!!! TAKE ME NOW!!!
This comic took a sharp turn to the worse. DDD8
WORSE or BETTER?
Better for plot. Worse for the kids!
For some reason, I smell the apocalypse based on Max’s visions.
so i spent hours trying to solve the code thinking it all was some sort of alphabet or maybe even its own language only to find out /co/ beat me to it and you just had to write between the lines and dots. welp
http://i.imgur.com/Urll6Qa.png here’s an image proving it so i end up feeling at least a little useful after wasting 3 hours doing it wrong kthnxbye
WHOAAA
Thanks for this man, we appreciate your efforts :) Don’t feel bad, it’s near impossible for one man to beat a hive mind to the punch. You did a fantastic job!
HOLY AWESOME. Comment of the week.
:L
“I’d laugh, but I didn’t end up with the sense of humor.”
(My master does not fear broken gods.)”She should. Would if she could”
After reading some stuff about there being factions of spirits/ghosts depending on color and rereading this in context of translation, I can’t help but wonder… could the various colors of spectral energy be linked to emotion, with each color having some ‘leader’ that embodies that particular emotion? Perhaps that’s what determines a spectral’s smoke color as well…
Or this could all be silly over-reading.
the alt text guys
THE
ALT
TEXT
Here’s a little theory:
The being that possessed Max is either the spirit within his bat or a different entity altogether. If it is a different entity it may very well enable Max to be both a medium and a tool-wielding spectral, if possible.
When we saw a glimpse of what appeared to be the spirit within the bat during Chapter 2 it appeared to be feral and unable to use complex vocabulary, let alone even talking. All it did was just hiss.
But then again we still don’t quite know what the snake is in terms of personality if it has one. All we really know about it is that it’s responsible for Max’s magnetic bat’s properties, and appeared during Max’s fight with the Whale Frog.
^ ;)
Almost definitely the bat. Max’s eyes got glowy and his head got achey once before, when his tool activated. Perhaps this indicates a particularly powerful or noteworthy spirit? Or maybe it’s a normal effect of tool-users and media.
See here: http://paranatural.net/chapter-1-page-59/
Oh my God, you’re right! This isn’t Glowy-Eyes Max’s first appearance!
We overlooked this because we assumed it is normal to the Paranatural world but I fell off my chair when I realized this.
Oh my gosh.
OH MY GOSH.
OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!
Wellllllllllllp.
I hope the announcement is a more frequent update schedule, especially after this comic, shit’s getting real guys. I would be fine with merchandise too.
personally i’m rooting for merch. i need some clothing.
i mean i’ve got plenty of it but it’s not clothing brand clothing
also, I want some Insolent children hoodies
Back in December, Zack said something about there being t-shirts available in the new year, so that could be it.
Zach does need to make sure it’s worth the expense of producing such products. While his following is dedicated, even fanatical, we’ve only had about a dozen people, at most (myself included) saying that they would be interested in merchandise. Only Zach knows the number of people who are visiting his site, so he has to judge the possible overall demand for such products. I’m sure they will come eventually, but we do have to remember that merchandise is an initial large investment for Zach. That kind of money can take time to come up with; all the while trying to determine how much of any product he should make.
I’m betting it was whatever is possessing the bat.
Symbiotic Relationship was mentioned during the fun explainey time. meaning it works BOTH ways.
Meaning whatever is in that bat apparently knows Doorman?
What if the spirit trapped in Isaac is Doornob’s boss and he’s just playing along with what Isaac wants until he can get her. That’s why ghost max said “she would if she could.”
Who is she?
Zack is a drug dealer because, this comic is like heroin, and the readers are the druggies.
I like to think that after posting this comic you leaned back in your chair and stroked a cat, or possibly a lizard, and waited for the panic to commence.
Awww fuck.
We officially just went full Kids and Fun.
YES. KIDS AND FUN.
Though I doubt Zack would want to go all the way and throw horny teenagers (c wut i did thar?) into the mix.
I can can see why people think that Max might also be a medium, but the last panel shows the bat exuding a spectral trail as if to taunt the Doorman.
Me thinks the Bat is the one that spoke and Max is not a medium.
No, Max is a large.
(I’m thinking the same :D)
Whelp, I was hooked on this series from the get-go, but now…
(sigh)….
WHY U SO AWESOME COMIC, WHY????
Also:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z59AnkxekfI
I choose to assume he is part wielder but also part tool :P
Zach, you are a storyteller on an epic scale. If, in 10 years, your name is not spoken with the casual frequency of the likes of Stephen King, then I will start banging heads together until it is.
P.S. Will Ollie be available in 10 years?
I don’t think so. Ollie is in a serious bromance commitment with Johnny. Someone has to keep him people, after all.
I personally think it’s the bat talking, not a possessed max. The bat is giving off evil vibes in the last panel. Just sayin.
no, that’s just spectral energy. black is the most common….woah. if the factions ARE divided by color, what if their divided by their spectral color? anyways, that’s black spectral energy, not the bat
The energy is coming off the bat, though. It’s pretty much implying the one talking was the spirit in the bat.
“The Voices” faction is underestimated…and black is the most common color of spectral energy…:|
Well first, no one ever said black is the most common, it’s just a fairly common one, not necessarily the most common. Second, even if it is, it would hardly have anything to do with “the Voice”‘s faction being underestimated :|
Zack kind of implied that although spectral with black spectral energy are common, spirits with the same color are relatively rare.
True. But what with two new red-aura spirits appearing in this chapter alone, I think that’s gonna change soon. I’m eager to see some more black-aura spirits!
Zack I wouldn’t be suprized if you were related. To grant Morrison
Okay, going off the translation /co/ figured out, I can’t help but think it’s a little strange that Doorman made mention of a faction whose power is ‘word games and riddles’ in a chapter where the boys took on a sphinx–whose response to being beaten was ‘the others will hear about this.’ Is there a link here?
I doubt it. Seems more likely that Doorman was antagonizing the spirit by saying that he lacked any real power, all bark and no bite, so to speak. All he can do, for now anyway, is talk big.
The sphinx might be more related than you think. It was mentioned earlier that the sphinx would be returning in a more consequential way here: http://paranatural.net/chapter-3-page-33/#comment-7448
And the sphinx does mention “the others”.
Also Doorman switches to an esoteric language, presumably to try to protect himself from the bat-spirit’s language-related powers.
Also, “word games and riddles” are literally the Sphinx’s power!
If black is supposed to be common, how come Max and the bat are the only ones shown giving it off? So far, red is the most common, as four characters have had it to my memory (the book girl (Isabelle I think), her book, the sphinx, and doorman).
And Splendid might have been joking or hiding something when he said that black was “fairly common”. His inital reaction to it was shocked/suprised (BLACK spectral energy?!), sort-of little like how doorman just got shocked, but he stopped and did the common thing.
Also, seeing as how Max’s bat was just referred to as a broken god (and made doorman flip out), I’m going to assume that it’s not just a random nothing-special spirit-in-a-can.
Theorizing yay
Black is fairly common. The black being fairly common thing was just a joke about how protagonists usually have special/unique qualities. Recent events would suggest that Max has special/unique protagonist qualities after all, but it’s nothing that sets him apart from the rest of the cast in any huge, insurmountable way, really. If a character ever has super special one-of-a-kind abilities, you’ll know because I’ll make fun of them for it (WINK).
Sometimes the urge to use plot cliches is…hard to control. *sparkles*
Isabel: STOP BEING CLICHED!
YO WHAT
You see, this is what happens when you fail to perform regular speech balloon examinations- he’s got a serious case of Speech Balloon Cancer, and they’re coming out all deformed.
I also just realized that this might be potentially hilarious in the future if GEM (Glowing-Eyes-Max, as I will address Max’s interesting second personality until we figure out what+who the flip it is) meets someone who doesn’t know what it is and, consequentially, does NOT immediately panic as Doorman did. Because let’s be honest, GEM is kind of trying to be threatening in the form of a twelve-year-old kid with a scooter.
Though, now I really want to know WHY Doorman suddenly shifted languages. It could be that’s his native tongue and when he panicked he reverted to it, but GEM referred to it as an “esoteric language”. Maybe Doorman didn’t know how aware Max was and didn’t want to blab sensitive information when Max could potentially also hear? Looking at the translation, what he has to say is pretty dang ambiguous to begin with, but it’s more ambiguous in the we-both-know-what-we’re-talking-about-and-feel-no-need-to-belabor-it-so-an-intangible-audience-can-understand-it way, rather than being intentionally cagy with information.
Also I feel like Isaac isn’t quite going to let Max off the hook for that last comment from GEM, especially since Max has already bragged a few times/made it apparent that he’s a spectral who just came into his powers. Whether or not he says anything to Max, I wonder if he’ll mention it to Mr. Spender… as we saw in ch. 1, even if Isaac doesn’t like Mr. Spender’s beating around the bush, he trusts him enough to report weirdness to him and they sort of get along (“I will dance on your grave, sir” and the crack about team mascot, or more that neither of them seem to take it seriously, tells me that they’re at least familiar with each other, if not as close as Isaac and Doorman)
At this point we really don’t know nearly enough about the spectral world and its inner workings to make heads or tails out of GEM. He seems to be a special case, and we don’t even have working knowledge of the normal cases. We don’t even know if GEM is a new development or one that Max has had for a while, connected to the bat or not. Word of Zack confirmed that tools can affect their wielders a little, but something as dramatic as a full body takeover with glowing eyes strikes me as a little more than just ‘affecting’. So basically what we can do is we can theorize, we can go over the archives with a fine-toothed comb, and wait for more updates.
In other news, dangit Zack, I never see any of these plot developments coming. Didn’t expect Doorman, didn’t expect Johnny showing up earlier, didn’t expect GEM, didn’t expect Isaac having weather powers. ALL OF THE PLOT DEVELOPMENTS.
And I hope GEM gets enough screentime for something funny to surface about him because right now he seems seated squarely in the valley of absolutely terrifying while all around him Paranatural continues to be lighthearted and funny. We don’t even know that much from his three speech bubbles, but the fact that he comes completely out of left field, disappears without imparting any information other than he’s there, and the fact that Doorman 1. realizes who he’s talking to near instantaneously and 2. subsequently FREAKS OUT tells us we’re dealing with a bad dude.
Holy crap I didn’t think I was talking that much.
When commenting on the product of Zack’s awesomeness that is Panatural, sometimes talking is… hard to control *sparkles*
Its all fun and games until the spirit possessing you turns out to be evil…which actually should’nt be THAT surprising in retrospect
Fact: all magnetism is just a giant invisible hand-eel that loves metal so it grabs it and tries to hug it. Or it enjoys writing horrible fanfics about certain metals and is all like “NOW KISS!”
Nickel/Iron is my OTP.
That comment is even better with your gravater omg
I just thought of something. Is Max even aware of the spirit that resides in his bat? Because I think it just possessed him.
guys, keep commenting! we might break the 300 comment mark! :D
I’ve been waiting for the 300 mark all day! :D
So, what I’m gathering from their cryptic dialogue is:
1: Voice lacks ‘the sense’ of humor, which means that someone else has it, as people have noted. I like the idea of a split entity, which I think is what doorman means by “broken god”. I also think that Doorman’s master might be similarly “broken”, or a piece of something else.
2: I think that the Voice is implying that Doorman’s master doesn’t have the ability to fear, much like he has no sense of humor. “She should. Would if she could.” …but I’m guessing she can’t.
3: It seems kinda ironic that a being with no sense of humor understands humor well enough to say Doorman’s ignorance breeds comedy… What the heck do you know about what makes things funny?! I think this guys actually going to be one of the funniest characters, completely by accident. “What. What did I say? Why are you laughing? I don’t understaaand!”
4: Voice says Doorman’s language won’t protect him (from Voices wordsmith ability’s?). Maybe Doorman switched languages because he thought his native tongue couldn’t be used against him as easily, or at all.
these are some cool developments
Zack, you’re a cool dude with some cool talents. Both your writing and art are well average, and that puts paranatural smack dab in the COOL ZONE
In response to all the broke god, split spirit things, what if Max is both possesed and in possesion of a tool of the same spirit, which is why he can get so much contol over Max, thiers two peices connected to him.
Sorry about this guys, but: 300th comment! YES! Viva la Paranatural!
Oh, dear. Seems like the Doorman’s secret is out.
Nicely done, Isaac, ya big stupid blabbermouth.
okay guys! now we shoot for the 400 mark!
Just realized about the can throwing itself in the store. That was Max’s magnetic bat at work. Took me long enough…
I don’t think so. I think that was Brush Boy (I hate myself for forgetting his name) trying to get the spirit’s attention. Admittedly, it could be, though.
Yeah I think it was Ed.
On the second-to-last page of chapter two, Ed says he didn’t throw anything. It’s easy to overlook, though.
Finally reading through the comic a second time.
And I found the best Johnny avatar. :D
Until Zack draws the next best Johnny avatar anyway. :P
Ah yes, we’ve made it to that very special part in certain stories were takes a break from consciousness to let that someone…or something…pop up for a spell to let you know its there. And usually none too chipper about it either.
We are on Def Con 3 of the “$#@& IS ABOUT TO GO DOWN!” phase. :|
okay, that was a little creepy
In other news, I wonder what Doorman’s language sounds like phonetically.
Just take a vocal of the dialogue and screw with it, maybe by reversing the audio and then lowering and raising the pitch in some places, I would imagine. Although, even if it is a cipher as /co/’s hive mind has discovered, it doesn’t necessarily mean it would sound remotely like the English language. I just think it would be cool that way.
*Even though
Not even if, whoops
300+ comments and the weekend’s only just ended? Wow.
It’s the first “big” twist so far. The fandom’s-a-rustlin’
Yet the first “big” twist was (in my personal opinion) the revelation that Johnny saw Max and Isaac use their powers…
I agree, I was shocked that that happened, it will defiantly be a game changer later on
Then we must be cautious not to spook the fandom any further, as it could result in a full-on fanpede!
(Slowly Pulls out Large firework)
Just keeps making me wish we could get updates on a daily basis. :S
would be ok for 2 times a week
wow 300 + i thought the shock of max being a tool would lessen the comments a bit. i thought wrong.
What if whatever’s possessing Max is the “schemer” part of a broken god? And the reason it didn’t end up with the sense of humor is because the “joker” part did, and that one’s roaming around free?
Ya wanna know how I ended up in this tool?
My spectral was… a drinker… and a FIEND. And one night, he goes off crAZIER than usual…
Leaning over, my spectral, he looks at me and asks
“Why so serious?”
Fiends not canon.
I wonder if the only advantage spirits have over shades and humans is that they are absolutely efficient in a certain patterns that live through. The spirits have that efficency because anything less and the spirits would die.
If I had to guess Max has only one spirit. The abilities of this spirit are manipulating magnetic fields and manipulating time. In science the two abilities are related; magnetic fields manipulate space, space manipulates gravity, and gravity manipulates time. In order to build a machine that would do this, the machine would be as big as the moon and require converting Jupiter into energy to work.
This spirit is so absolutely efficient in the pattern of magnetics to space to gravity to time only takes the energy of the magnetic field of the body of Max but can only stop time for a few moments.
I do not think the spirit in Max’s tool is possessing him. I think that both voices are speaking at the same time because both Max and Time Eel spirit agree on what to say. The doorman is nervous because the level of power necessary to stop time is more than bridging two areas of space. The doorman spirit probably built the body its in using the ability to manipulate space.
Spirits have factions some support forces of nature and some support humans. Out of those some are hostile and some are not. This makes four factions so far.
Macman is now mac77471.
Aw, no, don’t be mean to the Doorman! That’s… that’s like… kicking two puppies in the face simultaneously with steel-capped boots while denouncing every principle they ever held and trampling their dreams into the cold mud of reality D:
Why would you do that, possessed Max? Why?
WHAT
THE
F***CK??
For a while I thought I was following this comic for the superb art and even more superb writing. Plot slapped me in the face, haha! ^-^