UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

9 thoughts on “542 – Catching Up”

  1. Keith

    Some friction, but yeah. IRL, I’d like these two…they should have kids. 😉

    1. Dawn

      I might have to draw out what their kid would look like. First thought is that their kid would look like Ongo Gablogian from “It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”

    2. Scarsdale

      He’s pushing 60, she’s maybe 30, more likely less. Chuck is most likely shooting blanks, and besides, he’s talking to her like a baby sister than a love interest.

      1. Keith

        Up in these hills, sometimes family is all y’gots. 😉

  2. ConcordBob

    It is really hard to have a favorite character, as there are so many good ones. But I think Rosa is my favorite. Chuck is a good accomplice in sneaking work, but not much for romance. Uugh.

  3. Otaku

    I mean, if they don’t have at least an inkling of what’s going down, I’m actually disappointed in Clearstream. If anything, I’m starting to wonder if they caught on and realized “Wait, we can use this.”

    Because of course they can. 😉

  4. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    I’m way ahead of you – I’ve been waiting for you to catch up. From November 2020:
    I would hope for nothing less – her and Chuck have the potential for a great deal of positive mischief.
    Speaking of which, I received the email notifying me that my order for the NSFW “Chuck and Rosa Finally Do It” (age verification required) limited edition hardcover is going to be delayed due to the pandemic. I think it’s really cool that you’ll be adding some additional stretch goal goodies when it ships – thanks for all your story and art.
    As for the inscription, ” We owe it all to you ” will be sufficient.

  5. Crazyman

    Partners in crime! 😈

  6. TKG

    A crime so perfect she went full on wall-eye!

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542 – Catching Up
Posted on April 9, 2025 by Dawn

Who drew first blood?

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Clint
First_blood_posterSo this last week, I addressed an odd quirk in my movie experiences regarding the Rambo franchise. Namely, that while I have over the years watched Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rambo III, and even the more recent (just plain) Rambo, I never had viewed the original First Blood. I knew the gist of it: Sylvester Stallone’s Vietnam vet character freaks out after mistreatment by corrupt small town law enforcement and a big manhunt ensues… but since John Rambo turns out to be a green beret, who is hunting whom? I don’t know quite what I was expecting. The sequels aren’t exactly thought provoking, although they’re certainly entertaining as long as you’re in it for the gunfire and the explosions. I wondered if First Blood would have anything different on the table, before all the formulaic violence was established and John Rambo became more of a jingoistic cartoon (and I do mean that literally). So here’s the thing: the climax of First Blood does indulge itself in the sort of over-the-top, almost laughable action that came to define the franchise, as John Rambo wields an M60 from the hip to blow up cars and gas stations. Prior to that, though, it’s surprisingly low key. Rambo’s opponents aren’t trained soldiers, and the script respects that… even the National Guardsmen are “weekend warrior” types who have never really been shot at and react appropriately when it happens (ducking for cover and being very reluctant to move from it). The actual body count is incredibly low, and I’ve said before that when you keep it that way it makes each actual death mean more. First Blood could in fact be said to have only one “confirmed kill”, and it’s more of a tragic accident than anything, born out of desperation on one side and the darkness of human ego on the other. Now there’s a police car later on which is inexplicably made of explodium and thus it’s difficult to imagine the cops inside surviving its crash, but that moment happens to be my dividing line between all that goes before and the aforementioned M60 rampage, the moment where the movie goes somewhere entirely different (and less interesting to me because I’ve seen it before). But up until that division, there is this fascinating film of a situation spiraling out of control despite efforts on both sides to defuse it. Maybe in that sense the climax isn’t totally out of place, because as a small town goes up in flames you remind yourself every last bit of this happened because the Sheriff didn’t want a “drifter” stopping for a bite to eat in his city limits. On the other hand, calling the Sheriff corrupt might be simplifying the issue, because there’s also a moment where a different John Rambo swallows his pride and moves on after the Sheriff drops him off (closer, it must be said, to his intended destination). This John Rambo turns around and comes back. Both decisions are made out of pride and perfectly justified from the points of view of the characters involved, but from these small beginnings, these nothings, comes catastrophe. Stallone often gets short shrift as an actor, but every time someone grabs at John Rambo you can see the reflex for him to defend himself barely held in check, even as his expression remains numb… the symptoms of PTSD in action back when that was barely recognized as a thing. Of course, eventually it becomes too much and the freakout begins, but even then once a man lies dead there’s a sad moment where he tries to turn himself in, horrified at what’s happened. But a stray(?) trigger pull ends any hope of things being resolved. The bullets whine around him, cutting his cheek as he flees. First blood is drawn, and that’s when Rambo really starts getting mean. Brian Dennehy turns in a great performance as the Sheriff as well. He’s nominally the villain, but if you walk in his shoes, with what he knows, well, he’s probably thinking he’s the hero. He doesn’t seem like a bad guy, or a corrupt one. In fact, he and most of his deputies seem like decent enough sorts in their daily lives. But his all-too-human ego won’t let him rest once things start escalating. There are many people who just really end up hating him, but I suppose I didn’t really, I just felt sad for everyone. I mean, heck, I wrote Muriel as someone convinced she was the hero as well, and her actions were much less sympathetic. So, yeah, that first arc of Zombie Ranch I wrote was sort of my own study of a catastrophe that could have been avoided (or at least minimized) but for circumstance and ego, even with an unseen hand nudging things along. That’s probably why I’m a sucker right now for fiction that does similar things. Who drew first blood? When the dust settles and the sun rises on the wreckage, the most tragic truth is that destruction doesn’t care about human justifications. But time and time again, we find ourselves unable to just walk away.