120 – Marketing
Once again, Mimi is in dire need of role models. Even if it includes a Naruto headband.
I’m pretty sure she went straight into the “boys’ section” so she could complain about it.
Semi related : I really hope this superhero craze will die soon.
I would like to give a big thank you to the few people who made a donation for my tablet fund last week. You guys are awesome and I really appreciate your wonderful gesture.
We’re starting a new month, so please vote for me on Top Web Comics. You can vote every day to keep me in the top 100 and increase my visibility! Just click on this link, it’s super easy, and I’d really appreciate it.
Who needs superheroes when you have magical girls and besides they make for much cuter/sexier figmas.
Haha, surely M-N totally agree :)
Superheroes tend to have a higher base punching ability. Magical girls specializing in punching can often leave them in the dust, though.
Do those even exist? I thought they were about scrawny girls in sickeningly girly outfits waving girly objects to send magic attacks at monsters of the week…
Some are. I rarely watch magical girl stuff, but when it is, it isn’t that.
I only knew this series by some gifs I’ve seen of the protagonists brutally tag-teaming monsters, so looking it up made me laugh at how cheesy it is while loving every swing.
There’s loads more to be found, too, so I’ll break comment etiquette and link the devourer of souls.
Not all Magical Girls are the cutesy type of show. Haven’t seen Disloyal’s example, but Daniel the Human showed me Puella Magi Madoka Magica, AKA Madoka Magica (Warning, TV Tropes link). Looks cutesy at first, then things start happening…
…Things get…dark…
Heads up, anti-witch battle vid contains spoilers…
Madoka is the only magical girl stuff I’ve personally watched, and from the Charlotte doll Juju pointed out I assume Dez is familiar with it. The show I linked, Futari wa Pretty Cure, is the first of the Pretty Cure shows; apparently, each show’s team have a specialty, and Black Cure and White Cure, as the original and the best, are melee specialists. It’s near the top of my list of shows to watch whenever I get around to picking up anime again, along with Lyrical Nanoha, whose magical girl protagonist has been hailed as the patron saint of friendship through superior firepower.
Dez, the site’s been eating comments today. Thought you might want to know.
Yup. Of course, I know Madoka.
Eating commments? Things haven’t been too stable with my host this week it seems…
Madoka isn’t really a magical girl show though. And it’s definitely not aimed at little girls. It’s more of a deconstruction of one.
Figmas are definitely not kid-oriented figures and you wouldn’t find them in your usual mainstrea Canadian toy store though.
Also I never got Magical Girls.
there is a few things i really like about magical girl shows.
the hero’s typically are human, but have good character. as they are not perfect, you can relate to them. even while idolizing them for their good nature and deeds.
the girls/women’s feminine traits are portrayed as not only good, but also a strength.
the villains of the stories tend to have real motivations for what they do, and reasons as to why they act the way they do.
contrast this to superhero shows made for boys where, being anything less than perfect is a sign of weakness.
showing kindness, forgiveness, sacrifice, and love, is once again, a sign of weakness.
the villains tend to have little motivation other than, “i wanna conquer n’stuff”.
not all of them are this way. but magical girl shows tend to be written well and have more character development. this makes what fight’s they do have more meaningful. even when things are played for laughs, they seem to put a little more effort in writing wise.
When I last checked your ranking in the Top Web Comics site, Frivo was #162th.
Freefallesque.
I checked again today and Frivo has risen to #120.
Today it’s #123rd
Woow! Nice :) The kid had a future as designer.
Didn’t M-N have some? Or are they all just figures without “action”?
BTW, was Dr. Who around or something? :P
Mimi will rock the house with her progressive ideas.
Marie-Neige’s figures are mostly inactive, and they’re definitely not sold in your average Toy Store.
Doctor Who? What? Is there a Tardis somewhere?
“Doctor Who? What?”
Ok, ok, not the same I know :) but…
Anyone get it? ;)
I absolutely do not get it.
One of the regular commenters at DoA goes by Doctor Who.
Well, I thought that the similitude between what Saki is wearing and an “impractically long scarf” was pretty obvious but it seems not :) My mind does that kind of silly things every now and then. Never mind ;)
Aaaah! I didn’t make the scarf connection… It’s more of a ninja scarf, I thought…
Hahaha! “Frivolesque: the game” Love it :)
Man, if the library was hard this store must have cost tears. Excellent work in fact.
Again, I’m not surprised you saw the game.
And wait till you see next week’s comic.
It took me a while … but there is a box with what looks like the Frivolesque logo.
Under the purple moose with the mauve antlers.
So when is the game coming out?
Clementine! i saw Clementine! :D
and Mimi was a spiderman fan o.o
http://frivolesque.com/archives/comic/chloe
Oh, she is.
It just struck her how they’re all guys, though.
Yup :) I bet The Girl of Many Jobs will be the cashier ;P
You’ll see.
and who knows if there’s another nergal in this toy store :D
Haha! Nothing escape you guys. She’s there for a reason too.
to buy some… toys? :3
I see what could be a Madoka Magica witch doll in panel 2. did you copy it off a pic on the net, or was my introductory speech for Madoka Magica ^earlier^ aimed at someone who already knew about it…? :P
Hey, I used a big word… X) Introductory…
It was definitely aimed at someone who already knew about it.
Obviously. :)
A Saki toy would be a cool idea but it needs some tweeking. First change her to a boy, give her a machine gun, call her Ninja Man. Boom! Now that’s a toy!
Sadly true.
Seven girls in one strip, that’s a new record!
Oh Mimi, you will like Iron man eventually, you just need to grow up little bit ;)
She might already; her point is still valid – awesome as Stark is, he’s no She-Hulk. I wouldn’t really know, but this strip is giving me the impression that superheroines don’t tend to get action figures… pretty sure a friend of mine has a Wonder Woman on her desk, but she kinda has top billing in DC. A Hawkgirl would be nice.
Actually there’s plenty female action figures, but they are mostly “men oriented” if you catch my drift. I guess Mimi wants more positive role models :)
Like a merciless badass assassin, yes. Shut up. :P
Yup!
Again, female action figures exist in Japan, and collector oriented figures. Found in hobby stores, geek shops or whatever… I’ve never seen one in an actual toy store.
So… X23?
Wonder Woman seems to be the sole exception… Marvel never pushed a female superhero though… Heck, even Black Widow is usually missing from Avengers toylines.
There is a IronWoman, Pepper Pots gets a suit made for her in several Universes. Her name in armour is Rescue, & in the 1 version I’ve seen her it in so far she does actually save her 2 teen teammates. She gets a suit if a few others too, I’ve seen pics. Oh yes, the pics…fdgsdg
Hey, Daniel the Human here. Screwball’s kinda off in his own little world daydreaming (or whatever Cybertronians do) about the fact Rescue is a typically attractive Human woman in a suit of high tech armour. He’s mumbling picture’s “names”, so at least I know he’s not going for the teenage Ironman: Armoured Adventures version…
I haven’t seen a Rescue figure in stores locally, but apparently they are out there. Have seen a few other female Heroine figures tho, so there is hope yet for the little lady…
And in the same panel too!
The actual record was “Invasion”, with 17 girls (plus Phoebe), 18 named characters (now plus Delphine), and 26 “with face” characters (plus DEZ) in one panel. But that was just Flore’s imagination, so yes this one is the “real life” record :)
Trivia: this same seven characters first appeared together in Solitude, Kimoco’s guest strip
I can’t believe you noticed Delphine in there. T_T
And yes, that panel didn’t really count…
But you’re right, Kim beat me to it.
I need to beat her record.
This arc isn’t gonna get easier to make… T_T
Nice strip. Not only a chance for Mimi to make a good point, but it’s also a small but potentially potent boost to Saki’s ego. And yes, I spotted Clementine too. I’m not sure though where you could work her into this storyline. We’ve already got a lot of girlpower at work here.
Oh, don’t worry. I got something for her.
And lol, I really wanted to give Saki a break with this one. :)
I was half expecting one of the customers from Shortpacked! to pop up.
Actually, I don’t know anything about Shortpacked!, aside from the fact many characters from Dumbing of Age originated there. I never read the comic. Well, I tried, but all the Transformers and comic book references totally went over my head, so I guess I wasn’t the target audience or something?
Hell, I didn’t get half the Transformers references and I grew up with them.
Awww… *Walks away hurt…*
Ethan arguing about Batman…
Too cool! I want one too! :)
I guess I need a 3D modeler to help me create blueprints for a 3D Printer. :)
you called?
Man. I could use to have you around more. ;)
So when are the Frivolesque action figures are for? Also, Charlotte from Madoka Magica?
“Charlotte from Madoka Magica?”
Pretty possible, good eye :)
Knowing DEZ, they should be something, but my knowledge on those topics is rather limited.
For once, someone notices something that Fred hasn’t noticed yet. ;)
Teaser :P
For some reason I went looking for her other form.
Find me a 3D Modeler. :)
And absolutely. I wondering if someone would see her. There’s also a Cactuar from Final Fantasy in there.
Ah, that’s the green thing? I thought it was an alligator or something :)
Nope. It’s a well known Final Fantasy critter.
Heh :) No, I meant in your strip, I thought it was an alligator plushie.
I didn’t know the Cactuar though, nor Charlotte actually :) While I like them I have done little on anime and almost nothing on games.
Do I need to remind you that this still exists?
I pledge, that I’ll make 3D printable models as soon as I have free time.
Wow! :)
Aw man.
I was really enjoying where this was going too. :)
I want to add my Thank You! to all the readers who donated :)
Anyone who helps to keep such a great webcomic as Frivolesque up for we all to enjoy, have my admiration and gratitude. Well done!
DEZ: We know that keep a webcomic is anything but free, from server costs to the many hours without pay spent on it. So, don’t be shy and keep the “Donate” button as part of the page. A reader could have a dollar to spare and want to help you at any random moment. You wouldn’t want to deny them the pleasure, right? :)
I need to find a better alternative to the button.
I’ll have to check out Patreon when I get back from my vacation.
But you’re right. I love doing Frivolesque, but the whole thing definitely isn’t free.
Clem in the background! My withdrawal symptoms have eased slightly. Thank you, Dez! ♥
Get a load of next week’s comic.
Is that a “Frivolesque” board game in the background? :D (maybe this was addressed before, but I haven’t read it)…
Nothing escapes you.
And you’re right. Although it was indeed entioned earlier. :)
I’d buy Marie-Neige! Or rather, her figurine ;)
Aww, isn’t that sweet ^^
Glad you like! :)
so, is Saki happy to be the hero for once?
She seems to be smiling, at least. She might not admit it though.
Strider Saki.
That looks a bit like Librairie Donjon or even L’Imaginaire. Haven’t lived in Quebec city in a decade though so i may be out of date. It’s fun to see bits and pieces of downtown in your comics. Since they are all english, did the girls go to St-Patrick’s or QHS? Can’t wait for the free-for-all battle between Gaia and Maki on the plains of abraham, or in chateau frontenac!
Actually, it’s a made up store. I didn’t have the permission to set this comic where I really wanted to. (I always ask before using real stores in Frivolesque)
The girls aren’t actually speaking english, though. They’re all (mostly) french Canadian girls speaking french. You’re just reading an english rendition for the audience’s convenience. :)
And out of the main five, Flore is the only one who actually grew up in the Vieille Capitale. Saki is from BC (but has a french Canadian father), Gaia is from god knows where, while Chloe and Marie-Neige (along with Ben and Frederic) are from the Mauricie region.
I really hope this superhero craze will die soon.-
I think Gaia counts as a superhero as well as Saki.
Yeah, but Mimi didn’t really interact much with Gaia so far, I guess… (nor will she in this storyline, pity…)
one year later, the craze continues…
I’d buy those figures too.
Aw, I gotta make them.
Someone should tell Saki that ‘loose socks’ are sooo last millennium.
She WAS created in the last millenium. I kept those as her legacy item. ;)