Upset!

-Black Vatican City, July 16
In a stunning upset, the Ball Dodgers (AKA "Rules Nazis"), won their first game this evening. Their opponents, the aptly named "Sitting Ducks" were 2-2 coming into the match, and seemingly had no idea what was in store for them. Playing without their manager/coach Troy Scott, and anchor dodger, Maggie Scott, it looked like the 0-4 Dodgers would have a rough time of it, but clutch performances from interim captain Britt "the Squid" Standage and Brendon "Vanilla Fresh" Orr, along with a great walk-on performance from newly acquired free agent "Big Gay" Jim Osborn, helped the underdogs squeak out a victory against the stunned Ducks.

The Dodgers took a more defensive strategy, following the lead of injured thrower, Linus "the Gimp" Furious. "We just started working the back line, and let them throw themselves out" said Furious after the game, with his destroyed elbow in a bucket of ice and Coronas with lime. This defensive strategy paid off, as all of the Dodgers had catches, a first in team history.

The Dodgers have a well-timed bye next week, hopefully allowing them to field a healthy team as they square off against Cinci D's on July 30th. Cinci D's is heavily favored to win.

Black Vatican #11

Artist's Comments:
This comic was originally meant to be posted after the final strip of Flynn's Lab (which will be up later this week) but after some thought I talked the good Reverend into reversing the order. The next comic will mark the end of chapter one - with a cliffhanger.

Now, about the art... This was another one of those that took more time in character design than usual. I wanted to make sure that the Alter Boi was just right for her debut, and I'm pretty pleased with how it came out. I think that the comic's style is coming more easily now, which means it can only get better from here.


The Reverend's Comments:
When we were discussing characters for the Black Vatican web comic, I knew that I wanted a character who could be a springboard for exploring GLBT issues. I also wanted someone in the Black Vatican who would be young enough to explain to HSBP exactly what those "damn kids" out there were doing, and why. I also wanted a little protege for Nerdy, and Flynn suggested that we needed something cute and fuzzy...

Playing all those roles and more, we give you the Alter Boi - beloved left hand of the Black Pope, pathologically afraid of wookies, and the primary reason we can't have nice things. Like many BV characters, Alter Boi is based on a real person, but we left out Squid's common sense and grace - which is hard to imagine. Also, Alter Boi is much more sexually adventurous than Squid; for example, the real Squid would never get busy with a boy in her bedroom for hours while the rest of the Flock was all in the next room, or just hook up with some random lesbian from out of town on Jim's pull-out couch. Except for that one time...