Warbot_006: Angela

[Zack Finfrock]

Oh Warbot. What will you do next?

[Meister]

What exactly would he have done once she picked up, anyway?

[Kurosen]

I'm not sure he thought that far.

[Invisible Queen]

This is why I don't like phones. Why not just visit each other in person?

(Not that Warbot seems to be much more impressive in person.)

[Magic_Marker]

Everytime I read this comic I makes me happy I'm not a robot. Is that werid?

[Dracorion]

Every time I read Warbot, I imagine what it would be like if my life were like that, and it makes me want to weep.

[Lost in Time]

I find it so funny that he can't pick up a phone but can tape a tiny bluetooth dongle to his side.

I found this comic more funny than sad this time.

[R|Я]

And he's using the wrong side of the broom! Man, Warbot just does not think these things through.

[Bells]

Well, at least this time he got past the first date!

SCORE 1 FOR WARBOT!

...that makes it like, what? -5 now?

[Invisible Queen]

I just realized something. Since Warbot can only do stuff when we're not looking, it would be most merciful for you to not make any comics! Not that I want that. Warbot's suffering caused by his universal on-panel ineptitude is like candy to me. But if you wanted to give him a break all you'd have to do is not draw the comic, and let him keep doing those marvelous feats he always manages in between panels without our observer's influence.

On reflection, maybe the comics - where he fails at everything - are necessary, because without that suffering to contrast the aforementioned feats that succeed off-panel they would be far less wondrous. This is some deep shit. . .

[Hawk]

Well, at least this time he got past the first date!

SCORE 1 FOR WARBOT!

...that makes it like, what? -5 now?

I think the death of his self made daughter counts for at least a -8 on its own.

[Kai_Svenson]

Everytime I read this comic I makes me happy I'm not a robot. Is that werid?

Maybe not.

Perhaps Warbot was cosmically destined to be spawned to counter-balance the pro-singularity-ness of the Dresden Codak?

[Mirai Gen]

This is fucking horrible. This is completely horrible and you are awful, awful men.

See you next week.

[Kepor]

I rather liked this one. The pigeons on top of Warbot were a nice touch. Of EVIL!

Also, Zack, you're posting on the front page now? Be careful with that. Shiney posted on the front page. Do you want to end up like Shiney? Although this
I think Brian is a dumb jerk.
makes me think there may yet be hope.

[Zack Finfrock]

I think everyone should read this. (http://twoflower.livejournal.com/552354.html)

[Kurosen]

Just in case it's not clear, today's comic represents the full story behind the first date from this comic (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/04/15/warbot_003-online-dating-service/).

[Kepor]

I think everyone should read this. (http://twoflower.livejournal.com/552354.html)

Well how about that. Is that what you guys were going for?

[Shadow Bunny]

Also, Zack, you're posting on the front page now? Be careful with that. Shiney posted on the front page.

Was his front-page avatar the Mega Man one?

[Kurosen]

Not at all. It's an interesting interpretation though.

Was his front-page avatar the Mega Man one?
Yes.

[Zack Finfrock]

Well how about that. Is that what you guys were going for?

I'm not sure Brian and I have really thought about where we're going with Warbot.

It's just cool to see others looking deeper into our comic then we do.

Edit: Damn, too slow.

[Mirai Gen]

I think everyone should read this.
That's...huh.

[Kepor]

I think he makes a good point. There are some interesting parallels between Warbot's life and real-life disability issues.

[Harpell]

So you guys have been secretly making me laugh at disabled people?

I feel terrible. You guys are terrible people.


/kidding





EDIT: On a serious note; That's a pretty cool interpretation. I must admit that I haven't read anything by the guy since Sailor Nothing. Good read, that.

[Magic_Marker]

Now I'm even more depressed.

I hate you Brian. I hate you Zack. Both of you should die in a fire.

BTW When's the next one come out?

[Possum Knight]

That interpretation almost ruined this comic for me. ALMOST


This
one was great, I loved the little birds sitting on warbot on his date lol

[Grognor]

We already saw those birds on the one panel of this date we saw in comic 003.

A subtler detail is that Warbot didn't eat, which makes perfect sense. What makes less sense, though, is that he ordered a specific meal. Maybe she ordered it though. Whatever.

I've been reading 8-Bit Theater since just after the class change, but this comic hits at a truly personal level. I like this comic in the same way that I did not like Oedipus Rex, or the Odyssey, or some non-Greek tragedy. This is pure sympathy sprinkled with a dash of pity, and the only way this could be made worse would be Warbot's death, with abject apathy from everyone around him regarding the demise. And Warbot never got to accomplish anything. That part is important too. For here we would have the detailed story of a mind suffering for a lifetime, then ending. Who else but Clevinger and... Finfrock would so bold?

I hope no other Warbot readers read through or have read the completed webomic/thought experiment 1/0. It may or may not convince you that everyone from Gilgamesh to Warbot himself actually exists. And then the universe collapses into a singularity and the infinity creations of nothing unconsciously suffer infintely endlessly.

[Seil]

I'm not sure he thought that far.

He's a robot? Doesn't he have some kind of data processor or something? At least something that makes him smarter than most humans?

[Invisible Queen]

Now now, just because man can make something better than himself doesn't mean he would. :)

[Spekkio]

He's a robot? Doesn't he have some kind of data processor or something? At least something that makes him smarter than most humans?

Pick up a Cognitive Psychology textbook, and read a bit. Compared to a human brain, the most powerful computers currently in existence are pathetically simplistic and stupid. They're just more specialized for doing certain types of calculations.

Your brain contains 180 billion neurons, most of which synapse onto over 1000 of the others, which are immediately adjacent to them. There are over four times more synapses in your brain than there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. You have algorithms and heuristics running in your brain for the most basic acts of perception that you aren't even aware of, all the time. To make a robot do the things that Warbot has done, ineptly though he may have done them, dozens of incredibly complex programs that don't even exist yet would have to be written.

In short, the intelligence of a Robot has had to be substantially exaggerated just for Warbot to be able to do the things he has done, so far.

[Runswithnopants]

I think Warbot is one of those comics that hits everyone somewhere. I think we'll see a lot of different, surprisingly deep interpretations of it, because it touches on something universal: Suffering.

[Zack Finfrock]

And here I thought it was just going to bomb because of the suffering.

[Ggolbez]

Oh Warbot. What will you do next?

How is it that a Warbot can be Governor and not have a speech responder chip or speaker? I mean seriously, what's the point of having an AI that can't talk? Who would invent such a thing?

Oh wait... Government... Nevermind.

[Satan's Onion]

And here I thought it was just going to bomb because of the suffering.

Bless your heart, but you've probably underestimated just how many of us here indulge in schadenfreude. And this comic is nothing if not downright schadenfreuderiffic.

[RanceKoopa]

I just signed up to say that while I usually feel that comic characters shouldn't be made to suffer, Warbot is the one exception. Don't change a thing. In fact, go harder on him. The only guideline is that he cannot lose his job, or he'd be Warbot in The Unemployment Line.
Wait. That sounds funny....

[Magic_Marker]

And here I thought it was just going to bomb because of the suffering.

Clearly you have overestimated the webcomic "community."

[george144]

Awwww isn't he cute. Also his suffering amuses me.

[Hawk]

Warbot in The Unemployment Line.

I want to see this. Now!

[Si Civa]

First we must see Warbot making his CV.

Also slapstick humor works better with film. :|

[Hydria]

I love the irony in Warbot wearing a smiley face tie when failing to do something that would give him happiness.

[Rokrin]

I'll just go ahead and restate that we take great pleasure in the suffering of others and in this case the other just happens to be fictional and a robot.

Don't change a thing. This comic made me a little sad though for the thing. Maybe he just needs a Wall-E-esque girltype.

[Mirai Gen]

Oh man, I just noticed the bent-and-smashed chair under Warbot's foot in the first panel.

Tiny details rule.

[Kurosen]

Our very first piece of Warbot in Accounting fan art (http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/atomicrobo/warbot3DPic.jpg).

[NonCon]

That is super badass.

[Kepor]

That's pretty funny. Who drew it?

[Zack Finfrock]

That's pretty funny. Who drew it?

A guy who goes by the name Chris W.

And the best part is; that's not a drawing, but a 3D model.

[Kepor]

And the best part is; that's not a drawing, but a 3D model.

It's like drawing. Only completely different.

And Warbot's sign is what we're all thinking. One thing bothers me: how did he even make that sign?

[Si Civa]

And Warbot's sign is what we're all thinking. One thing bothers me: how did he even make that sign?

His employer probably gave it to him. So he wouldn't feel like being useless.

Because it would be racistic not to have one warbot in your office. Thus Warbot is like a black guy or a gay. One is needed to shut up the press.

[Astrobot7000]

Warbot's feet would simply be crushed if his proportions were as that 3D image suggests. Still... that is AWESOME.

[synkr0nized]

ha ha ha A broom? For a moment, I thought he might consider shooting at the numbers.

He should get a rotary phone, maybe.

[Megaman FTW]

You two are so burning in hell for this.

Keep up the good work.

[Grognor]

Fanart already just shows how easy it is to get popularity by using another comic's spine as a springboard.

[Eldezar]

Could also have gained popularity by using a pretty kick-ass (http://www.superherohype.com/news.php?id=7066) author's spine (http://www.psychonoble.com/archives/reviews/7.htm) as a springboard. Having the spine of a kick-ass artist (http://www.zack-finfrock.com/) helps, too.

[So Money]

...

Okay, I just read the six comics that are up so far, and, uh, I'm afraid I don't get it. Call me a sucker for storyline, or characters development, or humor, or not-reading-things-that-make-suicide-seem-like-a-good-idea, but...isn't catharsis the whole point of tragedy?

Let me know when and if this comic becomes more than a recount of unbelievably depressing things that happen to something that clearly has no ability to deal with any of it on an emotional or practical level. Maybe you could throw in some child abuse, too, for kicks.

(Sorry if that offends; I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. But making a comic with a theme like this is just, I don't even know. It's like you're deliberately channeling Shel Silverstein.)

[katiuska]

Maybe you could throw in some child abuse, too, for kicks.

Already been there (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/04/15/warbot_003-online-dating-service/).

[Satan]

Already been there (http://www.nuklearpower.com/2009/04/15/warbot_003-online-dating-service/).

Keep up the good work guys. I'm a big fan.

[NonCon]

...

Okay, I just read the six comics that are up so far, and, uh, I'm afraid I don't get it. Call me a sucker for storyline, or characters development, or humor, or not-reading-things-that-make-suicide-seem-like-a-good-idea, but...isn't catharsis the whole point of tragedy?

Let me know when and if this comic becomes more than a recount of unbelievably depressing things that happen to something that clearly has no ability to deal with any of it on an emotional or practical level. Maybe you could throw in some child abuse, too, for kicks.

(Sorry if that offends; I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. But making a comic with a theme like this is just, I don't even know. It's like you're deliberately channeling Shel Silverstein.)

Someone needs a little lesson in German... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtYzsRMaQpo&fmt=18)

[Runswithnopants]

...

Okay, I just read the six comics that are up so far, and, uh, I'm afraid I don't get it. Call me a sucker for storyline, or characters development, or humor, or not-reading-things-that-make-suicide-seem-like-a-good-idea, but...isn't catharsis the whole point of tragedy?

Let me know when and if this comic becomes more than a recount of unbelievably depressing things that happen to something that clearly has no ability to deal with any of it on an emotional or practical level. Maybe you could throw in some child abuse, too, for kicks.

(Sorry if that offends; I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. But making a comic with a theme like this is just, I don't even know. It's like you're deliberately channeling Shel Silverstein.)

If it's like they're channeling Shel Silverstein, then that's a compliment.

[Fifthfiend]

Our very first piece of Warbot in Accounting fan art (http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa150/atomicrobo/warbot3DPic.jpg).

It's like drawing. Only completely different.


3D modeling is like drawing if you took a jackhammer to your own eyeball for half an hour every time you felt like drawing a curve.

Anyway man I really like how that model came out. Who's the artist?

Fanart already just shows how easy it is to get popularity by using another comic's spine as a springboard.

What under God's blue sky was the point of this post supposed to be?

[Kepor]

I can't seem to find anything about Chris W. Could you guys provide a link?

Also, Brian, your photo gallery is pretty cool.

[So Money]

If it's like they're channeling Shel Silverstein, then that's a compliment.

Well, I wasn't trying to insult, if you thought I was. I still don't think it's a good thing, however.

[NonCon]

I still don't think it's a good thing, however.

What's wrong about laughing at the suffering of a fictional entity? I'm starting to think you learned nothing from my educational video.

[Roebeast45]

As someone who often feels like a lumbering behemoth in an alien world of cubicles I understand the absolute sense of loneliness that Warbot embodies.

This strip is the Peanuts of our generation.

[Kurosen]

...

Okay, I just read the six comics that are up so far, and, uh, I'm afraid I don't get it. Call me a sucker for storyline, or characters development, or humor, or not-reading-things-that-make-suicide-seem-like-a-good-idea, but...isn't catharsis the whole point of tragedy?

Let me know when and if this comic becomes more than a recount of unbelievably depressing things that happen to something that clearly has no ability to deal with any of it on an emotional or practical level. Maybe you could throw in some child abuse, too, for kicks.

(Sorry if that offends; I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. But making a comic with a theme like this is just, I don't even know. It's like you're deliberately channeling Shel Silverstein.)
There is nothing wrong with this reaction. Warbot in Accounting is unnecessarily sad and not wanting to read it is perfectly valid.

[Lost in Time]

The comic that punishes you for reading.

"That'll teach you!"

[RoyoR]

The comic that punishes you for reading.

"That'll teach you!"

I dont know why, but this made me laugh.


Also, while it's understandable not to want to read this comic, it is not a bad comic. Some people like a darker sort of humor.

[Spekkio]

isn't catharsis the whole point of tragedy?

Allow the local theatre (as in stage-acting, not 8BT) geek to enlighten.

Catharsis is, in a very cut-and-dry definition, the ritual purging of fear and pity. The Greeks invented it, and achieved it by writing plays like Oedipus Rex and Medea. In the former, a king discovers that he has unknowingly murdered his own father and married his mother. He responds by gouging out his own eyes and going into self-imposed exile. In the latter, a woman's husband leaves her for someone younger, better-looking, and more suited to his station. She responds by murdering her husband's lover and her father by setting them both on fire, and then stabbing her own children to death, before getting away Scott free.

You're right. Warbot isn't cathartic, at all. It needs more violence and death, and maybe a hint of incest, to boot.

In all seriousness, though, real catharsis involves watching terrible things happen to someone, and then wailing and moaning about it, so you can go home emotionally exhausted. That's Warbot, all over. The only difference is that we choose to laugh. Not surprising, given that, with how terribly things go for poor Warbot, it's all we can do to keep from crying.

[Sandwichboy]

I just don't get it. I don't find it sad, insulting, cruel, and certainly not in even the tiniest bit humorous. So far I've found every entry to be banal, boring, and simply unfunny. I really have no idea what the point of it is beyond "oh look, it's an outsider in a world he can't interact with" which is apparently very hard to pull off while still being amusing. As it stands I've read through 6 strips and felt nothing at all.

[NonCon]

I really have no idea what the point of it is beyond "oh look, it's an outsider in a world he can't interact with"

That's pretty much it, really. I love it, though.

[Kurosen]

I just don't get it...As it stands I've read through 6 strips and felt nothing at all.
It is a very polarizing comic.

[Roebeast45]

I think the real tragedy in this strip is how oblivious all of his coworkers are in the midst of a very obvious killing machine. In a world of Casual Fridays and Employee Appreciation Weeks, both events designed to erode the soul of humanity, Warbot is the elephant in the room that no one seems to even see. And the punchline is that he tries to be like them at every chance.

Or perhaps on a deeper level this is a drama illustrating a returning soldier's difficulty in adapting to civilian life (although I doubt it).

Either way I find the whole thing endearing and very amusing.

I really find Garfield Minus Garfield to be funny as well.

[LTGM]

I don't know if Schadenfreude is the word I would use to describe this comic (or rather my reaction to it) but it's the only thing I can think of. Every time a new one comes out it depresses me and yet...I can't stop reading. I already love this comic just as much as 8BT but for entirely different reasons.

[Grognor]

What under God's blue sky was the point of this post supposed to be?
Sorry for the late reply and all that. It was a counterattack to Brian's thinking that Warbot in Accounting might not have an audience. The abrasiveness of the post is probably due to its having been written at past 1:00 AM.

[Fenixdowner]

Just in case it's not clear, today's comic represents the full story behind the first date from this comic.

Heeeeeeyyyyy... Does that movie poster say Atomic Robo?

[Kurosen]

It does. That was Zack's idea and we're rolling with it in the next comic.

[tacticslion]

... why don't they make industrial strength stuff for various warbots since, as is obvious they are attempting to integrate them into society. Further, that makes me wonder how Warbot gets up to his apartment? How much does one of those puppies weigh? Heck, the clip-on tie alone... wait. How did that get there? Dang it Clevinger, you're just making more questions than answers! How did it even fill out a job application? How? When? Where? Why?
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait.
...
Ok wait.
...
What?

[Kurosen]

why don't they make industrial strength stuff for various warbots
Warbots are very rare, less than 200 total I'd say, each one is a little different, and an effort was made to keep them away from each other geographically. The cost of providing goods or public spaces/facilities for these behemoths is then prohibitively high, and their lives are miserable because they can't truly be a part of society. This is actually my dumb little statement about America's habit of disposing of inconvenient peoples. Native Americans were inconvenient to have during colonization and expansion just as (though to differing degrees) blacks were inconvenient after the Civil War. Both groups were just shoved to the side in the name of Anglo-Progress, completely ignored/oppressed, and then blamed for being ignored and oppressed.

Heck, the clip-on tie alone... wait. How did that get there?
'Cause it's funny.

[Magic_Marker]

you're just making more questions than answers!


And I for one will not stop reading this comic until they are all answered no matter how inane.

Suspension of Disbelief my ass!

[tacticslion]

And I for one will not stop reading this comic until they are all answered no matter how inane.

Suspension of Disbelief my ass!

I'm with you! Your pet donkey, on the other hand... sheesh, someone needs to get him with the program! Of holding Brian accountable! For questions!

Also: Yeah, I kind of figured there was subtle political commentary in there, however I didn't realize how few warbots there were. That's... that's actually kind of interesting.

And: why do you hate your own kind so? We Whites* aren't all bad! ... At least not always! ... Sometimes... sorta. Crap, Fifth is one of "us", isn't he. Nevermind. We all suck.

*This is despite my being technically 1/16 Cherokee. Where did it all go? I mean seriously. Most people get cool skin and resistance to sun burn. Me? I get heavy-set eyes, nearsightedness, a propensity toward obesity without working out ALOT, and the tendency to get burned if I'm in the sun for more than five seconds**. Sheesh. And here I thought my Scottish ancestory was cool or something.
**Actually that's an exaggeration. It's ten seconds.

[Nique]

This is actually my dumb little statement about America's habit of disposing of inconvenient peoples. Native Americans were inconvenient to have during colonization and expansion just as (though to differing degrees) blacks were inconvenient after the Civil War. Both groups were just shoved to the side in the name of Anglo-Progress, completely ignored/oppressed, and then blamed for being ignored and oppressed.


Then I find it even more hilarious that a WMD is our protaganist/ sympathetic charecter.

[Meister]

Warbots are very rare, less than 200 total I'd say, each one is a little different, and an effort was made to keep them away from each other geographically.
Logical if they were networked among each other for efficiency. And a good reason why Warbot has to use the internet via mouse and keyboard like everyone else: a direct warbot-to-net interface would potentially allow all of them to link up again.

Not completely serious but you do have an eminently interpretable comic on your hands here.

[Nique]

I dunno if the 'bots even care about linking up again. At least, Warbot seems perfectly happy trying to live a 'normal' life. It's everything around him thats making it frusterating. Surprising he sticks with it. Maybe he wasn't a very good war-bot either?

[Double]

I dunno if the 'bots even care about linking up again. At least, Warbot seems perfectly happy trying to live a 'normal' life. It's everything around him thats making it frusterating. Surprising he sticks with it. Maybe he wasn't a very good war-bot either?

Now that would be just too perfect.

[Kurosen]

Naw, we've got to give the poor guy something...because it's worse for him now that we've taken it away.

[tacticslion]

Ah, you mean like turkeys. (http://www.fortunasaga.com/index.php)* Cool, cool.

*This link doesn't work because, unfortunately, it seems neither does Fortuna Saga at the moment.

[Nique]

Naw, we've got to give the poor guy something...because it's worse for him now that we've taken it away.


Do Warbots recieve medals for valor and such? He doesn't seem to have anything to remind him of his past life, although we haven't seen much of his house/apartment yet.

[Megaman FTW]

Agreed. You should give him an entire wall full of medals and war trophies.

[Kurosen]

Hadn't thought about it, really. My initial reaction is that he doesn't get any. Current unmanned vehicles don't get official decorations. To the military, a warbot is just a weird tank and tanks don't get medals.

[Lumenskir]

You should give him an entire wall full of medals and war trophies.
At the very least, a scrapbook filled with articles about how Warbot succeeded in battle would be good enough for at least ten posts of "HOW DOES HE MAKE SCRAPBOOKS WITHOUT HANDS!"