Zombie Cliche Lookout: A Voice in the Dark
When you walk into a darkened room and a voice commands you to drop your gun, what do you do? It might be that the person behind that voice is bluffing; they may be counting on the darkness of the room and the tenseness of the situation to spook you into disarming themselves. But then again, what if they’re not? What if, instead of trying to deceive you, they really do have the drop on you? What if they’re standing there, shrouded in darkness, looking at you down the barrel of something big and mean?
Those are the thoughts that would nag at you. Sure, they might be bluffing, but if they’re not, they’ll shoot. Is it better to disarm yourself or potentially get shot?
About this Episode:
So here’s something I keep doing wrong in the comic over and over again: almost every exterior door I build into the set has the door opening outward. What’s the problem with that? Well, in reality, most exterior doors open inward (at least on homes, commercial buildings are different). This is due to how doors are constructed, with relatively easy-to-remove hinge pins that you want to keep inaccessible from potential bad guys.
But in my defense, LEGO doors don’t have hinge pins.
On a completely different note, last week xxbminusxx asked how my minifigs are stored when they’re not being used in the comic. Here’s a photo to illustrate. You’ll notice I have some extra stuff in here are well, like furniture I plan to re-use at some point.
Yeah, it’s a bit of a mess at the moment. My OCD will kick in sooner or later and I’ll get it cleaned up.
Discussion Question: This Is Probably Pretty Obvious…
ou find yourself in more or less the exact situation as Murphy. You’re in the dark and armed, but someone is commanding you to drop your weapon. Do you listen, assuming they have the drop on you, or do you ignore them on the notion that they’re bluffing?
If I was in the situation, I’d probably drop the gun. As much as I’d like to say otherwise, I doubt I’d have the guts to call someone on a bluff in that situation, unless their was very compelling supporting evidence.
Yeah, I’m a coward.
It’s the mans house, I’d put my gun on the ground instead of dropping it.
Good point. No sense scratching it up.
If you’re worried that dropping your handgun onto the ground will damage it, you likely have the wrong brand handgun…
In all of my years of training, shooting, and handling firearms, I have only experienced or witnessed two cases of damage from dropping a weapon. The first was a set of what I suspect were off-brand night sights. The rear sight dented like Play-Doh and crushed the ampule when it fell on a concrete step. The second was when a classmate dented the feed lips on several (not just one or two) Springfield XD magazines when reloading without retention. It ruined the magazines. That’s when I decided the XD was not for me. In a WCS magazines can become a non-renewable resource.
Fair enough; I’m not nearly knowledgeable enough with firearms.
There’s a nationally-recognized trainer named Clint Smith. He regularly demonstrates the safety of modern handguns by taking a loaded pistol and throwing it down an outdoor range, to show that it’s drop-safe (that is, that dropping it will not make it discharge). A few scratches on a carry piece don’t matter.
Now, if it’s your barbecue gun, in the other hand…
(A barbecue gun is your best pistol, something you wear to, well, barbecues.)
Noises can put anyone on the edge & you don’t want the guy aiming a gun at you to feel threatened. I guess it is because I have bad expiernce with handguns, as the one I’ve most used (mostly because I’ve always been a rifle man). Have been rather dinky in it’s condition.
@Calicade – That’s assuming he’s aiming a gun a Murphy, of course.
@Bo – That’s quite interesting. I’ve only ever owned one handgun, and I totally baby it.
well i would’ve gave Brent the gun, and told him to hear in on me, and now if your in a threatning condition, out comes super Brent! With powers of pissing in the wind and filming stuff
You’d trust Brent with you’re only loaded gun?
No.
Hah, nor would I.
If it’s a dark room, I’d be like. “Uh, the room is dark. If I shoot, I’ll most likely miss.”
True enough, although I’d still not be too keen on giving someone the opportunity.
What is Lou has NODs? Even a cheap set of first gen Russian surplus would rule in that situation.
i wouldve shouted (IM NOT INFECTED!!!)
In this case, I don’t think it’s a concern about being infected. Zombies aren’t known for shooting guns (other than Bub, of course).
Dave, i saw the radio guy talking about the president’s death, you’re going to include him later?
Radio guy?
He’s referring to the former Vice President, who was giving a speech about the death of his predecessor. However, I think that’s just Sam’s boss. Didn’t he have a grey suit?
Oh. I see him now. He’s in there. Mah bad.
Ooh, right right.
I’m not sure if I’ll be bringing either character back, but I’m keeping them together just in case.
The grey radio guy wearing a gray suit, and gray hair who Sam was listening to
Storage: I don’t think its too messy or anything. You have at least stood most of the minifigures on a baseplate, I don’t think the majority of ppl think to store them this way. I personally used to have all 160 of the minifigs colletor series stored like that but then I chose to store them in individual clear bags. When I’m working on a project I tend to keep my chosen few close by on a baseplate.
I think I made you (Dave) giveaway a least one or two more characters, as I do not think we have seen some in your storage in the comic before (pointing out the older lookink man in the grey suit grouped with the hazmat crew)
As for the question: seeing as it is too dark for me to see the ‘voice’ I may try to call his bluff and say ‘what gun’ maybe he can’t see me as well as he thinks. Or maybe I turn and hold my gun by the…. (um what the other part of the gun called? You know, the part where the bullet comes out?) Well anyway I would hold it there and respond with ‘accidents happen with dropped guns, I would rather just hand the gun over’. I dunno if it would draw him out or anything but I hope it at least gets me a better understanding of how powerful this guy truely is.
All the characters are standing. The pile of figures is all the zombies from outside Ted’s house. That’s temporary.
The man in the gray suit is the current President. He was there a while back. The other hazmat suit is empty, it’s just there so I don’t lose it.
Oh right the Prez. I forgot about him
“what the other part of the gun called? You know, the part where the bullet comes out?”
That’s the muzzle.
One thing to consider in that situation is that moving makes for a difficult target. If you’re not itching to drop the weapon, get off the “X”. That means MOVE and QUICKLY. Taking two or three quick sidesteps is the difference between living and dying. Then get the heck out of the building. Get back into territory you know. Grab some cover from the street and wait a bit. That, or just keep on trucking.
The problem here is that the characters are desperate. Desperation breeds poor judgment.
I am curious to see how Murphy plays this.
“The problem here is that the characters are desperate. Desperation breeds poor judgment.”
Absolutely right, sir.
I would probably drop the gun and then tell him about our group, and how we’d like him to join and be safer. Dave you know this guy already, how would he react to this?
Hard to say. He is kind of paranoid.
I’d drop the weapon I was holding, but wouldn’t let on about any hidden weapons I had on my person, and let’s face it, if you’re eyeballs-deep in a zombie apocalypse, you will have a number of alternate weapons on you for those times when your primary fails (runs out of ammo, jams, circumstances make it obsolete, etc.).
I’d then wait and see how the situation plays itself out to determine if I need to – or can – use one of my alternate weapons or if it was a case of mistaken identity/paranoia.
Good point here.
That was exactly what I was thinking. Just because you drop the gun in your hand doesn’t make you unharmed or helpless.
Also, another benefit of putting the gun down instead of dropping it is that you know exactly where you put it, so if things go south and you need to pick it back up you aren’t fumbling around in the dark…
Question:
Well, Murphy is in Lou’s territory and has every reason to expect him to be armed. Not complying would seem to be extremely aggressive. (If barging into someone’s shop with a gun wasn’t bad enough)
Here in the UK, the odds of any given person having a gun are extremely low, however in the scenario described I have one, so I think I have to accept that someone else might too. And if there are decent odds of someone being armed, you’d need some pretty conclusive evidence to assume they’re not.
Ultimately, I think whether to comply or not depends on location. If I’m trespassing, do I really want to provoke the owner further? If I’m in my own place, though, then the invader probably doesn’t have my best interests at heart. It might be better to go for cover than to hope that they’ve broken into my house for a nice chat over tea and biscuits.
Oh, and if I do decide to comply, I don’t drop the gun. I kneel down slowly with my hands up and place it on the floor. Modern guns are drop-safe, but that should give me a few more seconds to try and spot the guy. Of course, if he’s smart I won’t be able to see if he’s really armed, just the light he’s shining in my eyes.
Interesting point as far as the availability of guns by location. The comic is based in Michigan, since that’s where I’m based (and I like Michigan). Lots of guns here.
You say its based in michigan, does your comic have a city name or at least something you have made up?
Indeed it does, but it hasn’t come up in the strip yet. The town they’re in is call Meridian. I live near Meridian Township, MI, but the comic town was named Meridian long before I moved here.
Love the lighting on this episode. Dark house but the sun through the windows looks totally natural. Good job.
Thanks. I played a lot with the lighting here to get this effect. I’m not 100% happy with it, but it’s pretty decent.
Drats. Another cliffhanger comic. 😛
So, I’m gonna go with the crowd here and say that I’d drop it. However, I’d be talking to them, trying to portray myself as the nice guy I am. In this particular situation, where I think this is my friend, I would be saying things like “Hey, I haven’t seen you since *misc. random occurrence or date*.” But if it’s someone I don’t know, it’s more of a “Okay, don’t shoot buddy.” sort of deal.
Oh, and I think it would be pretty hilarious if it turns out his name isn’t Lou.
In the script for this episode, he’s just identified as “Voice”. Not that it means anything, of course.
To answer the question, I would not enter the building in the first place. Going into a dark, unknown building by yourself is about the most stupid, or desperate, or both, thing I can think of.
Have I told my story about that?
OK, I was taking a pistol class at a large facility south of Salt Lake years ago. I knew this SWAT cop that operated a school. The school used to rent this facility regularly. Since I was an alum I could take classes really cheap, so I was down there about quarterly. One of the resources there is a shoot house. The shoot house is a building with a spartan, customizeable interior. The instructors can put shoot and no-shoot targets inside to teach students to clear buildings.
One of the first rules of clearing buildings is that you don’t do it alone. Two is minimum, Four or more is better. So these two SWAT guys are setting up scenarios- solo scenarios.
When it gets to my turn, one of the instructors says, “OK, here’s the story: You’re on your way to the dentist’s office, when you hear shots coming from inside the building.”
“Then I’m not going in,” I reply.
“What?!”
“I’m not going in. First, I am at a severe disadvantage. I don’t know who’s in there. I don’t know who the good guys or bad guys are. I don’t know the layout of the building, where the exits are, or where the choke points and hidey-holes are. If I go in there I’ll get slaughtered. Second, I have no compelling reason to go in there. I could go in there, save the day, and still end up in jail, sued, or both.”
They changed the scenario to say that my wife or kid or some such was in there, just so I could get the experience of the shoot house.
Moral of the story, you can do everything right in a gun fight and still die. Best to limit that possibility by all means.
Awesome story here, Bo. Don’t be Batman, folks. You’ll get dead, incarcerated, and/or sued.
Lol. That reminds me of the pixar movie The Incredibles. The heros get sued for saving lives and ultimatley there are no more heroes.
“Heroes” are folks that are indemnified and protected from lawsuits.
“Self-defense” is what you do for you and your family. Folks that talk about jumping into another’s shoes need to consider who will pay their legal fees if there is a suit. Think George Zimmerman. Even if the shoot is clean, even if the county prosecutor or district attorney’s office doesn’t push for a bill, even if you’ve done everything by the book, you can still lose everything. The next of kin can bring a civil suit, as the Mr. Incredible example. Then you’ll have to live with the Mark of Cain Syndrome. You’ve killed someone. You’ll have to deal with PTSD and flashbacks. You might have mental illness for years.
These are things to consider before you decide to be a Murphy. Now, if it’s the end of the world, then ABAO. YOYO. HAND.
Damn, my tinniest violin is out getting fixed
I don’t have a hell of a lot of sympathy for Zimmerman, but I still think this is a good point. There are a hell of a lot of costs that come along with using violence to resolve a situation, many of which will be around for the rest of your life.
I’d probably put it down, it would depend on the hairs on the back of my neck standing up or not and what my gut instincts said for the heat of the moment. But I think as a matter of trying to prolong a my own life… I’d set the gun down.
That looks very close to how I store minifigures for RoO.
Never underestimate your gut.
Also; it’s really cool that you use a similar method of organizing your characters. It’s simply, but it works.
Hey Dave, the other day i had a zombie theroy, maybe zombies at first have to eat human flesh, because they can get into any food, so what do humans do when theres no food and they’re starving? They eat each other, then i had the theroy of adiction, maybe its after they get that one taste of human flesh they’re addicted, i know what happens when they don’t get what they want, they will do anything for it, thats what i think zombies are.
I must have missed that. So zombies start because starving people resort to cannibalism and get addicted to it? Could make an interesting origin story.
well to soothe the addiction, if you fed it any kind of flesh, they would be okay for a day. Maybe that would’nt make a bad story after all, maybe a scientist’s notebook, and of course if i made the book i would sponser BOTD, and maybe brickarms, which i’m getting tommorrow for my birthday, (Just thought that i should point that out)
Yeah. That would be a good story.
Oh, and as for what I would do in that situation. I’m assuming our hero knows the guy, in which case it would be reasonable to my mind to put the gun down and talk it out. The whole point of going there was for his help, and I don’t see how getting in a firefight when he has the drop on you accomplishes anything approaching that goal.
On the other hand, if this is not in fact Lou and our hero can tell by the voice, it might be better to just throw yourself out the door as fast as possible and get behind something solid once outside. I’m all for running away to fight another day…
Excellent thoughts here, Bob. Perhaps Murphy assumes this is Lou, and is of the same mind as you.
Nice lighting! It makes it look like the power is out but the sunlight is barely lighting the place!
That’s exactly what I was going for! I’m really happy people are seeing it.
To lazy to log in! 😛 I would be hesitant to drop it. Maybe because it’s dark pretend drop it but actually still have, just a little hidden. Hey Dave, one question. Do you have a master plan, and of so, do you have almost all the episodes “sketched out” in a way?
*Have it, so sorry, I’m tired.
I’d probably say “Why?” in a curious calm voice. Such a simple question usually confuses everyone. If I felt like I had to drop my gun and it wa dark I’d try dropping something else and step sideways everytime I talked to change location to from where I was last heard.
Haha! Brilliant!
Maybe start speaking another language that not many people know. That would confuse the heck out of them (Sorry if you consider that a swear, no offense was intended).