It’s a radio DJ talking, I’m not sure it really matters if he is using textbook grammar. More important to write people talking like, you know, humans.
I am impressed. Cars and buildings. Two things I have a complete inability to draw. Good show. *applauds heartily.
It looks like that truck in the left bottom panel is taking up 2 spaces. What a jerk. He really needs to work on his parking skills (or hers, I suppose)
This is gorgeous! I really appreciate how much time and effort you’ve put into this, as well as in all your recent pages. And I love seeing Delia again.
Those beautiful, beautiful cars have made me regress to childhood. I swear, the first thing I’m going to do when I get back home is go to the cellar, empty out that box, clear the carpet and start ZOOMING things.
“An impassioned” or “a passionate.” And Delia’s expression in the third panel is great. I’m always happy to see String Theory pop up in my RSS reader. : D
Just stunning, so much detail, every time I look at this page I see something new. The improvement from page to page is astounding, it’s a real pleasure to see just how far you go with every new update. If you ever put this to paper I’ll be first in the queue to buy a copy, honest! Oh yes, and I love Deliah <3
Hmm, last panel, the red digits on the card she’s holding. 7:30 – a mirrored ‘2’ – and ‘305.’ Possibly an appointment time and room number? She was getting ready for something in the last page, so I would wager that she’s not going to work.
As always, the art is sensational. I really get specific vibes from your art. One example would be the first panel; It’s morning, and the temperature is just starting to rise. A glimpse of the water to the right of the panel draws the attention to the hot asphalt of the bridge. The accompanying flora in the distance completes the image. I would also like to say ‘thank-you’ for having had keeper consistency in terms of the location of the sun. So many artists forget about it. Can’t wait for the next page!
Isn’t that message “7:30 S 305”?
As in “time of meeting” (clearly AM, since I bet a government agent would use the international standard “military time” anyway rather than the 12 hour clock in use in the US and Canada) + “place of meeting” -“Suite 305”.
Hard copy bound editions want!!
Love your work like too, too much – I have jealous for teh skillz! The art is somehow still improving beyond perfection, and this story has got narrative hooks digging all into my brain’s need-more-dammit-now centers. One small problem; the excellence has gotten to the point of implausibility! I need to continue to believe in your existence, Beck, but the awesome you’ve put into ST is just about too incredible to be an actual thing. (^_~)’
Seriously, though.
Also: Hard copy bound editions want!!
I love how you actually reference off of actual cars, buildings and roads. A good majority of comic artists just fly with it and do whatever they feel like doing. Have I failed to mention that I am now too impatient to wait to find out what that woman has been up to? Looks like I’m going to have to stalk hardcore now.
I am blown away by the attention of detail on this page. Both the “John Phillip Sousa Memorial Bridge” over the Anacostia river and the J. Edgar Hoover Building are instantly recognizable to someone who used to live in the area (about a million years ago, or 2004, take your pick). I’m sure you must have used photographic reference, but even so it’s mighty impressive. I also like it how you’ve given Delia a believable route to her destination. Now we know she most likely lives in Maryland in either Prince George’s, Calvert County or possibly the southern part of Anne Arundel County, because if she lived anywhere else, there’d be more direct routes for her to take to the FBI Headquarters.
Heh, I like being right.
Actually, I only have a working knowledge of the area and access to Google maps…
Also, I just noticed you drew the windows of the FBI headquarters flush with the façade of the building, whereas in real life they are recessed by a good half a meter or so. Is this a pragmatic adaptation to the world conditions in the String Theory universe, an extra layer of windows to block all that nasty background radiation? (I bet it was also a lot easier to draw though)
heh. Fair enough.
Considering the level of detail that went into the whole page, making the windows as they appear in real life would have been a bit overkill since nobody would have noticed anyway.
But now if anybody else asks you can always tell them it’s radiation shielding.
As someone who lives in DC and is used to it looking entirely wrong in movies and shows, I’m kind of blown away how accurate you’ve gotten even an alternate universe version. How much you pay attention to detail is another reason I love this comic.
There’s an entire section of architecture named Brutalism, and it was built in this style. Even the name sounds sinister! They’re all very imposing buildings. Very blocky, concrete, the sort of stuff you’d imagine drone workers doing boring paperwork in. DC is covered in brutalist architecture.
Also the fact that this building is named after J. Edgar Hoover isn’t helping either! Menacing!
Ugh, don’t get me started about Brutalism… the Architecture University I went to has an old turn of the century part which looks like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Fac_ahitectura_Ion_Mincu.jpg and then a newer one, built in the 70s, which looks like this: http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=1703&with_photo_id=48208246&order=date_desc&user=2482426 (the building behind the church)
The worst part about this style of architecture is that the bare concrete has aged badly, and in some instances, it was discovered that the damage is far from aesthetic – since concrete itself is permeable to water, the reinforcing bars inside are at risk from corrosion, especially after cracks in the concrete allow them to come into contact with oxygen.
This was originally deemed a “negligible risk”, but it was found out when tearing down 60+ year old reinforced concrete buildings that in quite a few cases the rebar had lost a substantial amount of it’s strength through rusting after the protecting concrete has been cracked due to carbonatation or any of the other pleasant degradation processes such as chloride corrosion or alkali–silica reaction…
And of course, without the reinforcing bars, the ferro-concrete loses all its tensile strength, since concrete by itself can only be subjected to compression forces. Need I elaborate any further on what happens if an earthquake, tornado, heck, even a stiff breeze decides to stop by?
Yeah, it always annoyed me to no end that it takes you more time to get from Dulles International into Washington proper than it takes you to get from Dulles to Baltimore – and the last one takes about two hours, half of which is trudging along the Beltway to get to I95…
So, ya know … take the Dulles toll road and run up 29 north. Usually, that spares you a bit of the traffic lag from the 95 juncture. Sure, you hit a few red lights coming off the Beltway, but once you’ve gained the highway north of the neighborhood it’s rather smooth sailing. Just swing out on route 100 east from there and drop right off on Dorsey Road. That’ll sit you directly across from the airport loop. You’d probably come in under two hours.
Thanks a lot for the tip, I never even thought that taking the 29 north would be faster than going up the interstate.
Unfortunately it’s a bit of a moot point, since I moved from Maryland to Colorado back in 2004 and I now reside in Romania, in the European Union, where I don’t even own a car…
I’ll keep it in mind if I ever find myself back across the pond and in need to get from Dulles to Baltimore in a hurry, though.
Ooh, finding out more about the state of the States.
Typo alert: “out city”
not anymore refresh the page. I must chastise my proofreader. He did catch a lot of grammar errors on the plus side.
Also, “passioned,” while technically a real word, isn’t really the one you want here. It would normally be “impassioned.”
the word you’re probably looking for is passionate.
It’s a radio DJ talking, I’m not sure it really matters if he is using textbook grammar. More important to write people talking like, you know, humans.
I am impressed. Cars and buildings. Two things I have a complete inability to draw. Good show. *applauds heartily.
It looks like that truck in the left bottom panel is taking up 2 spaces. What a jerk. He really needs to work on his parking skills (or hers, I suppose)
trucks do that a lot. >:(
IThis page must have been almost painful to draw O.O the detail and acuracy put into the page is adtounding
Amazing environments as usual Beck! I can practically smell the air. And it doesn’t smell good…
I spot asshole parking! haha, all this amazing detail and I wanna comment on that xD
seriously though, lovely page :)
This is gorgeous! I really appreciate how much time and effort you’ve put into this, as well as in all your recent pages. And I love seeing Delia again.
I’ve been wondering what Delia’s been up to.
well, have I got a chapter for you! <:D
Brutalist architecture!
It is an accurate drawing of the current FBI headquarters in Washington DC. The J. Edgar Hoover Building.
Good catch!
Those beautiful, beautiful cars have made me regress to childhood. I swear, the first thing I’m going to do when I get back home is go to the cellar, empty out that box, clear the carpet and start ZOOMING things.
“An impassioned” or “a passionate.” And Delia’s expression in the third panel is great. I’m always happy to see String Theory pop up in my RSS reader. : D
http://www.wordnik.com/words/passioned
Just stunning, so much detail, every time I look at this page I see something new. The improvement from page to page is astounding, it’s a real pleasure to see just how far you go with every new update. If you ever put this to paper I’ll be first in the queue to buy a copy, honest! Oh yes, and I love Deliah <3
Hmm, last panel, the red digits on the card she’s holding. 7:30 – a mirrored ‘2’ – and ‘305.’ Possibly an appointment time and room number? She was getting ready for something in the last page, so I would wager that she’s not going to work.
As always, the art is sensational. I really get specific vibes from your art. One example would be the first panel; It’s morning, and the temperature is just starting to rise. A glimpse of the water to the right of the panel draws the attention to the hot asphalt of the bridge. The accompanying flora in the distance completes the image. I would also like to say ‘thank-you’ for having had keeper consistency in terms of the location of the sun. So many artists forget about it. Can’t wait for the next page!
Isn’t that message “7:30 S 305”?
As in “time of meeting” (clearly AM, since I bet a government agent would use the international standard “military time” anyway rather than the 12 hour clock in use in the US and Canada) + “place of meeting” -“Suite 305”.
Ahh I know that building. :)
Never change, DC crime rates.
GURL! That nail polish is To Die For!
He he!
Wow, astounding first and last panels! And the cars. Great page man!
Typical me, I never notice those types of girl stuff. But hey, the nail polish goes well with the tie!
Hard copy bound editions want!!
Love your work like too, too much – I have jealous for teh skillz! The art is somehow still improving beyond perfection, and this story has got narrative hooks digging all into my brain’s need-more-dammit-now centers. One small problem; the excellence has gotten to the point of implausibility! I need to continue to believe in your existence, Beck, but the awesome you’ve put into ST is just about too incredible to be an actual thing. (^_~)’
Seriously, though.
Also: Hard copy bound editions want!!
I love how you actually reference off of actual cars, buildings and roads. A good majority of comic artists just fly with it and do whatever they feel like doing. Have I failed to mention that I am now too impatient to wait to find out what that woman has been up to? Looks like I’m going to have to stalk hardcore now.
Me, I’m diggin’ the shapes in her hair in the last panel. Boss work as usual…I wonder what’s gonna happen…
I am blown away by the attention of detail on this page. Both the “John Phillip Sousa Memorial Bridge” over the Anacostia river and the J. Edgar Hoover Building are instantly recognizable to someone who used to live in the area (about a million years ago, or 2004, take your pick). I’m sure you must have used photographic reference, but even so it’s mighty impressive. I also like it how you’ve given Delia a believable route to her destination. Now we know she most likely lives in Maryland in either Prince George’s, Calvert County or possibly the southern part of Anne Arundel County, because if she lived anywhere else, there’d be more direct routes for her to take to the FBI Headquarters.
Oh, you’re good. It’s Prince George’s.
Heh, I like being right.
Actually, I only have a working knowledge of the area and access to Google maps…
Also, I just noticed you drew the windows of the FBI headquarters flush with the façade of the building, whereas in real life they are recessed by a good half a meter or so. Is this a pragmatic adaptation to the world conditions in the String Theory universe, an extra layer of windows to block all that nasty background radiation? (I bet it was also a lot easier to draw though)
hahah, uh, that’s not a story thing that’s just me being lazy. <:D I figured the windows were dark enough that it wasn't a needed detail.
heh. Fair enough.
Considering the level of detail that went into the whole page, making the windows as they appear in real life would have been a bit overkill since nobody would have noticed anyway.
But now if anybody else asks you can always tell them it’s radiation shielding.
Is that a 78 camaro?
That was my first thought. Maybe America finally got it’s head back on right and started making kickass muscle cars again in the future.
As someone who lives in DC and is used to it looking entirely wrong in movies and shows, I’m kind of blown away how accurate you’ve gotten even an alternate universe version. How much you pay attention to detail is another reason I love this comic.
MAN that FBI building looks evil and/or intimidating.
There’s an entire section of architecture named Brutalism, and it was built in this style. Even the name sounds sinister! They’re all very imposing buildings. Very blocky, concrete, the sort of stuff you’d imagine drone workers doing boring paperwork in. DC is covered in brutalist architecture.
Also the fact that this building is named after J. Edgar Hoover isn’t helping either! Menacing!
Ugh, don’t get me started about Brutalism… the Architecture University I went to has an old turn of the century part which looks like this: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Fac_ahitectura_Ion_Mincu.jpg and then a newer one, built in the 70s, which looks like this: http://www.panoramio.com/photo_explorer#view=photo&position=1703&with_photo_id=48208246&order=date_desc&user=2482426 (the building behind the church)
The worst part about this style of architecture is that the bare concrete has aged badly, and in some instances, it was discovered that the damage is far from aesthetic – since concrete itself is permeable to water, the reinforcing bars inside are at risk from corrosion, especially after cracks in the concrete allow them to come into contact with oxygen.
This was originally deemed a “negligible risk”, but it was found out when tearing down 60+ year old reinforced concrete buildings that in quite a few cases the rebar had lost a substantial amount of it’s strength through rusting after the protecting concrete has been cracked due to carbonatation or any of the other pleasant degradation processes such as chloride corrosion or alkali–silica reaction…
And of course, without the reinforcing bars, the ferro-concrete loses all its tensile strength, since concrete by itself can only be subjected to compression forces. Need I elaborate any further on what happens if an earthquake, tornado, heck, even a stiff breeze decides to stop by?
My first thought was, no way the Beltway could be that free of traffic unless it’s 3 am. Then I remembered, ALTERNATE UNIVERSE.
Yeah, it always annoyed me to no end that it takes you more time to get from Dulles International into Washington proper than it takes you to get from Dulles to Baltimore – and the last one takes about two hours, half of which is trudging along the Beltway to get to I95…
So, ya know … take the Dulles toll road and run up 29 north. Usually, that spares you a bit of the traffic lag from the 95 juncture. Sure, you hit a few red lights coming off the Beltway, but once you’ve gained the highway north of the neighborhood it’s rather smooth sailing. Just swing out on route 100 east from there and drop right off on Dorsey Road. That’ll sit you directly across from the airport loop. You’d probably come in under two hours.
Thanks a lot for the tip, I never even thought that taking the 29 north would be faster than going up the interstate.
Unfortunately it’s a bit of a moot point, since I moved from Maryland to Colorado back in 2004 and I now reside in Romania, in the European Union, where I don’t even own a car…
I’ll keep it in mind if I ever find myself back across the pond and in need to get from Dulles to Baltimore in a hurry, though.
This page. This page is gorgeous.