I think the thing i like best about this one, oddly enough, is Phineas walking away. That casual stroll is just so incongruous with Peterson’s face and the fact that they’re all, you know, in prison.
“Then on occasion I shoot heroin between my toes. Every Sunday I use
LSD while listening to the grateful dead. Then if I’m in the mood I use ruffies on my vic-girl friend when she says no…”said doctor schtein next page.
Oh, you can perfectly smoke heroine. Connaisseurs say this ain’t the same thing as a shot, tho’.
hehe, booze, speed, pills and pot. You have to love the guy :)
OTOH, if he suffered delirium AND amphetamine withdrawal it is a small wonder he’s still alive…
Yeah. Most people can handle withdrawals from one substance at time, but in doc’s case there were at least the sleeping pills (ether opiate or benzodiazepine), alcohol and amphetamine too. All them at once -not gentle at all for psyche.
Though there is a plot hole: When Osgood dragged doc back to the lab to help her finish the teleporter, they worked non-stop for two days -enough time for hangover from weeks heavy drinking to kick in. So, did Schtein have an emergency stash of all three of his main addictants in the lab or didn’t we take everything into account?
No, they were only working for an evening, three or four hours, just to set up all the systems so they could run the experiment again. He does keep stashes anywhere he can, though. Or did.
So have the doc say “Let’s keep the list short. What illegal drugs haven’t you taken?” Then Herville hem’s and ha’s a bit before before asking “This week?”
I agree, he’s done what pretty much any college student has done. I was expecting a really hardcore one to pop up, like cocaine or crystal meth.
But it’s kinda funny that he’s getting all ashamed over doing “soft” stuff while sitting in a prison that’s probably filled with heroine and PCP addicts.
I’m thinking maybe this list isn’t complete, though. Withdrawal from speed and sleeping pills shouldn’t cause the kinds of withdrawal symptoms he’s having. Although alcohol withdrawal accounts for most of his symptoms.
Sure! Decided to go to college and work hard to get a PhD in a difficult subject instead of dropping out of high school to backpack across India, eventually waking up in an Urdu dumpster at the age of 55 with the realization he has no marketable job skills and has wasted a brilliant brain!
And don’t forget about the time he’s forced to sell his body to a low-caste physician in exchange for emergency care. Which never addresses his perpetual case of scurvy. (Which he gets from living penniless on the streets, not from India being more disease-ridden than any other country.)
In my experience people on ayahuasca don’t really do much (except barf everywhere). Unless they start freaking out, and then they just hide under a bed for a few hours.
Must say – I love it when awesome characters get even more flaws. :) He looks rather smug when calling himself a raging alcoholic. Then nervous when, oh noes, he does more than he thinks.
Thank goodness they didn’t do random drug testing at his work!
Like a lot of jobs they threaten to do random drug testing, but it never seems to happen! Thank goodness! Or, maybe not, because then he might have gotten help for his problems.
Hey now, I really like The Venture Brothers and Superjail! quite a bit. Also Harvey Birdman was excellent. They have good shows sometimes when they’re not filling their schedules with Seth Macfarlane’s droppings.
No, they’re still illegal. But it’s not like drugs are hard to get, anyway. No subterfuge required. Even out in the middle of nowhere like a military base. All you have to do is know a guy. Or know a guy who knows that guy.
It’s not too much information at all. Actually, the pacing and flow is the most stand-out quality of the comic. Art – yes, totally professional. Expressive, marvelous palette, very evocative. Character design? Great. Right up with the best, truly. But if your characters are boring or unimaginative, if the story is trite or predictable, you got gornisht. This is excellent. Always brings me back.
Yesh, we are seeing some scenery again. My favorite thing about this page over all is Phineas in panel three. I just love the balance of light and shadow on him!
The more I learn about Schtein, the more I hate to love him.
It’s just so hard to stop! <3
Also, this page really stands out for me. Too many aspects to name however.
This is really kind of unrelated to the page though I was flipping through some of the first pages in this chapter and as I progressed, I noticed the significant difference in the quality comparative to the last pages. The comic is well done at its current state though as you say Beckey you can always have room for improvement. Congratulations for how far you’ve come.
Oh, thanks, that means a lot. Somtimes when I’m feeling down I’ll go back and look at older pages for the purpose of seeing if I’m improving or not. I’ll have to keep working hard so I won’t stagnate. It is sad when artists let that happen, but I can see it being pretty easy.
Haha, OMG, Schtein… *faints* You really crack me up. Poor thing, though.
And a random note: that doc looks a whole lot like a person who hangs around at my work. Just… older. XD
I am reminded of a quote from Absolutely Fabulous:
“Why do you have to pick on everything I do? Darling, all I want is a few little things, a few little pleasures, a few little crutches to help me get through life, darling.”
Hmm. If he has been doing drugs for a long while, wouldn’t he have had some kind of seizure back at the beginning of the story? Please pardon my lack of experience with drugs. :(
Sounds fairly mild to me.
But taking sleeping pills after amphetamines is sooo, so, such the worst thing to do Schtein. You should know since, well, SCIENCE.
Actually, certain sleeping pills are perfectly safe to take with amphetamines, and are even prescribed in conjunction with amphetamines to counteract the insomnia side effect. I was given Adderall as a kid, and as soon as I complained of sleeping problems, they said, “Ok, take Clonidine nightly, we usually prescribe this with Adderall.” Ambien is also safe.
It’s randomly combining “uppers” and “downers” from the street that can kill you. Only a medical professional can tell you what’s safe to combine.
OMFG I USE THE AMPHETAMINES AND SLEEPING PILLS TOO!
Both prescription.
BUT YEAH THE AMPHETAMINES TO HELP ME STAY ALERT AND CONCENTRATE, AND THEN THE SLEEPING PILLS CUZ THE AMPHETAMINES KEEP ME AWAKE!!!
Adderall, Clonidine, and Ambien! Couldn’t have gotten summa cum laude without them!! Drugs are GREAT, kids!! Ask your doctor to prescribe you speed TODAY!!
Fun fact: Sigmund Freud and Sherlock Holmes both used Cocaine regularly! Made their minds sharper, and, in Freud’s case, helped him tolerate the pain from the throat cancer the got from smoking those cigars.
Wow. Really good comic. (I’ve already told you on dA).
Do you have a 200x40px banner to link to you? (Cause the banners on your extra page aren’t showing up for me.) (If you’re too busy right now to make one, I can just edit together one.)
It’s like he didn’t even realize until he started listing. Poor Schtein. D=
XD That’s the best part!!
I absolutely love this page, especially the face at the bottom right. He just looks kind of feral there, might this play into later pages?
Whoa, he’s done a lot of different drugs enh? He looks positively nervous.
Aw, poor doc. Nervous unrealizing drug addicts are the cutest kind. :3
OH! And I’m guessing, hmm, alcohol withdrawal is his sickness? He certainly drinks enough for that to be the case.
Yeah, he had the DTs. Poor guy!
DT is very horrible I hear! Poor doc. I hope he gets some booze in him soon!
I think the thing i like best about this one, oddly enough, is Phineas walking away. That casual stroll is just so incongruous with Peterson’s face and the fact that they’re all, you know, in prison.
He just walks around like he owns the joint.
I know XD I like the beam of light you put over him, like he’s the star of this whole comic.
I’m liking this new doctor’s design. Winged eyebrows and uncombed hair~ Probably packing heat.
“Then on occasion I shoot heroin between my toes. Every Sunday I use
LSD while listening to the grateful dead. Then if I’m in the mood I use ruffies on my vic-girl friend when she says no…”said doctor schtein next page.
Dr. Schtein, as a rule, doesn’t do any drugs that involve needles. So no heroin for him. :C
Hahah roofies.
Oh, you can perfectly smoke heroine. Connaisseurs say this ain’t the same thing as a shot, tho’.
hehe, booze, speed, pills and pot. You have to love the guy :)
OTOH, if he suffered delirium AND amphetamine withdrawal it is a small wonder he’s still alive…
Yeah. Most people can handle withdrawals from one substance at time, but in doc’s case there were at least the sleeping pills (ether opiate or benzodiazepine), alcohol and amphetamine too. All them at once -not gentle at all for psyche.
Though there is a plot hole: When Osgood dragged doc back to the lab to help her finish the teleporter, they worked non-stop for two days -enough time for hangover from weeks heavy drinking to kick in. So, did Schtein have an emergency stash of all three of his main addictants in the lab or didn’t we take everything into account?
No, they were only working for an evening, three or four hours, just to set up all the systems so they could run the experiment again. He does keep stashes anywhere he can, though. Or did.
But he needs a BIGGER list in my opinion if he every hopes to die at 45…
:)
So have the doc say “Let’s keep the list short. What illegal drugs haven’t you taken?” Then Herville hem’s and ha’s a bit before before asking “This week?”
I agree, he’s done what pretty much any college student has done. I was expecting a really hardcore one to pop up, like cocaine or crystal meth.
But it’s kinda funny that he’s getting all ashamed over doing “soft” stuff while sitting in a prison that’s probably filled with heroine and PCP addicts.
I’m thinking maybe this list isn’t complete, though. Withdrawal from speed and sleeping pills shouldn’t cause the kinds of withdrawal symptoms he’s having. Although alcohol withdrawal accounts for most of his symptoms.
But, he did mention cocaine…
No need to list all the things he’s tried, only the ones he uses with any regularity.
Delerium Tremens accounts for all of his symptoms displayed, though, yes.
He already look like a crackhead (looks 60 is 34)
Ahh, finally a nice bit of scenery. I notice that it’s also probably Schtein’s first look.
…wow, Schtein, not addicted at allllll.
… just out of curiosity, has Schtein ever made a *good* decision in his life?
he quit smoking cigarettes a while back. Uh… Other than that, I don’t think so.
Sure! Decided to go to college and work hard to get a PhD in a difficult subject instead of dropping out of high school to backpack across India, eventually waking up in an Urdu dumpster at the age of 55 with the realization he has no marketable job skills and has wasted a brilliant brain!
And don’t forget about the time he’s forced to sell his body to a low-caste physician in exchange for emergency care. Which never addresses his perpetual case of scurvy. (Which he gets from living penniless on the streets, not from India being more disease-ridden than any other country.)
Talking about anyone in particular, here? I’d like to hear the story.
Agh, I love this comic and I’ve finally started commenting. Schtein’s expressions are brilliant.
“..tripping balls on ayahuasca”, hahaha. Oh, now that’s something I’d love to see. I’d pay for a sketch of that.
In my experience people on ayahuasca don’t really do much (except barf everywhere). Unless they start freaking out, and then they just hide under a bed for a few hours.
Phin’s smirk is utter win in panel 1.
UTTER WIN.
And then the grumpy doctor came in with his squashy face and I knew it was gonna be a good comic. Nevermind embrassed!Schtein at the end.
(But what’s happening BACK AT THE APARTMENT??? O, the suspense!)
The art is really great in this one!
Must say – I love it when awesome characters get even more flaws. :) He looks rather smug when calling himself a raging alcoholic. Then nervous when, oh noes, he does more than he thinks.
Thank goodness they didn’t do random drug testing at his work!
Like a lot of jobs they threaten to do random drug testing, but it never seems to happen! Thank goodness! Or, maybe not, because then he might have gotten help for his problems.
Or it could be like House: everyone knows but because he Makes Shit Happen, they’d ignore it! :O OH MAI.
He IS a doctor.
It’s probably lupus.
It’s never lupus.
I just stumbled across your comic the other day. I am liking it so far. I could see this as a mini series on Adult Swim.
Aaand now I want it.
Oooh, mini-series. MINI SERIES!!
Fourthed
No way. This is too good for Adult Swim. String Theory doesn’t meet the LOW LOW quality standards of AS at all.
Hey now, I really like The Venture Brothers and Superjail! quite a bit. Also Harvey Birdman was excellent. They have good shows sometimes when they’re not filling their schedules with Seth Macfarlane’s droppings.
Go Team Venture!
hehe I love your comic beck!
How did he even get all those drugs at Station 12? I imagine he knew all the dealers in the area by first name.
Also, whatttt is this society?
No, they’re still illegal. But it’s not like drugs are hard to get, anyway. No subterfuge required. Even out in the middle of nowhere like a military base. All you have to do is know a guy. Or know a guy who knows that guy.
Or a _correct_ diagnosis for AD(H)D…
That background is fantastic, and I love the color scheme of this page. Great work!!
It’s not too much information at all. Actually, the pacing and flow is the most stand-out quality of the comic. Art – yes, totally professional. Expressive, marvelous palette, very evocative. Character design? Great. Right up with the best, truly. But if your characters are boring or unimaginative, if the story is trite or predictable, you got gornisht. This is excellent. Always brings me back.
Wow, thanks! My biggest concerns are the pacing and story, I’ve been trying very hard to improve in those areas especially.
Yesh, we are seeing some scenery again. My favorite thing about this page over all is Phineas in panel three. I just love the balance of light and shadow on him!
The more I learn about Schtein, the more I hate to love him.
It’s just so hard to stop! <3
Also, this page really stands out for me. Too many aspects to name however.
This is really kind of unrelated to the page though I was flipping through some of the first pages in this chapter and as I progressed, I noticed the significant difference in the quality comparative to the last pages. The comic is well done at its current state though as you say Beckey you can always have room for improvement. Congratulations for how far you’ve come.
Oh, thanks, that means a lot. Somtimes when I’m feeling down I’ll go back and look at older pages for the purpose of seeing if I’m improving or not. I’ll have to keep working hard so I won’t stagnate. It is sad when artists let that happen, but I can see it being pretty easy.
Schtein has so many issues. I love him. XD
Oh hey!
It’s beetlejuice… before he died!
JK Gosh I really love you updating, it’s my fetish now.
Doc is tough to talk to Armstas like that.
Haha, OMG, Schtein… *faints* You really crack me up. Poor thing, though.
And a random note: that doc looks a whole lot like a person who hangs around at my work. Just… older. XD
I am reminded of a quote from Absolutely Fabulous:
“Why do you have to pick on everything I do? Darling, all I want is a few little things, a few little pleasures, a few little crutches to help me get through life, darling.”
Hmm. If he has been doing drugs for a long while, wouldn’t he have had some kind of seizure back at the beginning of the story? Please pardon my lack of experience with drugs. :(
The doctors next line: “Let me see your pupils… no, never mind.”
Sounds fairly mild to me.
But taking sleeping pills after amphetamines is sooo, so, such the worst thing to do Schtein. You should know since, well, SCIENCE.
Actually, certain sleeping pills are perfectly safe to take with amphetamines, and are even prescribed in conjunction with amphetamines to counteract the insomnia side effect. I was given Adderall as a kid, and as soon as I complained of sleeping problems, they said, “Ok, take Clonidine nightly, we usually prescribe this with Adderall.” Ambien is also safe.
It’s randomly combining “uppers” and “downers” from the street that can kill you. Only a medical professional can tell you what’s safe to combine.
OMFG I USE THE AMPHETAMINES AND SLEEPING PILLS TOO!
Both prescription.
BUT YEAH THE AMPHETAMINES TO HELP ME STAY ALERT AND CONCENTRATE, AND THEN THE SLEEPING PILLS CUZ THE AMPHETAMINES KEEP ME AWAKE!!!
Adderall, Clonidine, and Ambien! Couldn’t have gotten summa cum laude without them!! Drugs are GREAT, kids!! Ask your doctor to prescribe you speed TODAY!!
Fun fact: Sigmund Freud and Sherlock Holmes both used Cocaine regularly! Made their minds sharper, and, in Freud’s case, helped him tolerate the pain from the throat cancer the got from smoking those cigars.
Strange, the people I knew who had cocaine problems did not at all gain sharper minds. It made them stupid and crazy.
I thought it was opiates with Holmes. Or, you know, everything…
Wow. Really good comic. (I’ve already told you on dA).
Do you have a 200x40px banner to link to you? (Cause the banners on your extra page aren’t showing up for me.) (If you’re too busy right now to make one, I can just edit together one.)
yeah, I’ve got a few, I just haven’t readded them to that page because… uh… oh dear. Lazy.
http://stringtheory.nfshost.com/images/200x40orange.png
http://stringtheory.nfshost.com/images/200x40original.gif
I need to make some new ones, these are fairly old, but they’ll do.
When Schtein mentioned being offered coke at a party, I wanted to say,
“I tried snorting coke once, but the ice cubes got stuck in my nose!”
… but then I realized, that with the size of Dr. Schtein’s nose, he would’ve been able to handle the ice cubes no problem.