‘Abwesender Väter’ is wrong, for two reasons:
1) Väter is plural, it should be Vater
2) While correct, no one says it like that. The proper expression is ‘Rabenvater’ – literally raven father, but meaning irresponsible father (because ravens are bad parents, or at least that’s what people back then thought)
boy that first one is definitely my bad. What a dumb mistake!
Second one is more understandable I think U_U. I don’t speak German AT ALL, so a lot of slang is out of my grasp. Which I means I gotta take your word here so you better be right, buster! >:V
Good? weiiird! I would use “Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Pferd” – which is a wordplay on horseshit beeing called “horseapples”, Pferdeäpfel, in german.
Right. You don’t speak German. And guess what? A lot of your readers don’t too! if you’re going to use a language that deviates from the original language of the comic (in this case, English), please use an asterisk or something and translate the German somewhere!
It got especially confusing when I used Google Translate for one of the phrases and it gave me: “raven father of the waste falls not far from the car”
…Ooooookkkkkaaayyyy? (Yes, of course I read the comments and now it is clear that “raven father” is apparently a German idiom for bad father, and now it seems you were doing some kind of pun (?) on automobiles and apple trees(???) from the oft used English expression…(Actually, now that I think about it, there’s a lot of “apple/leaf/whatever falls from tree but lands near roots” metaphors in all different languages, isn’t there…?)
ANYWAYS. What I’m trying to say is (TLDR v.2.0):
Could you please include a translation somewhere in the comic or commentary? Especially if it regards foreign language idioms that may not necessarily translate well into English…
Really? Because it took me about five minutes on Google translate to get the right (I believe) translation for more than just this page.
I’ve never heard the slang ‘raven father,’ but I have a vague idea of what male ravens are like, so I understood it. Shockingly, in that it isn’t shocking at all, German depends as much on punctuation as any other language does. If you got that garbled mess, you clearly didn’t bother to include any and just put it all as one line.
I like the German and I didn’t exactly break myself having to Google it up. It was fun to do it on my own.
Also, I originally thought it would be something I heard recently, ‘the shit never falls far from the horse’s ass,’ or something like that. The apple never falls far from the tree is what I’m most used to, I guess. Point is, it doesn’t take a lot of effort or thought to work it out. I’m fine with the lack of provided translation.
German is consideres one of the worst languages for machine translation. If you want to know what a single word means, use a dictionary, for example this one: dict.leo.org Google translate can help you to GUESS what the sentence might roughly be about, but that’s it. Opas german is not supposed to be understandable, it is kind of a stylistic element… but Grundy is making quite an effort to make sure that a native german can actually read it without flinching. There are professional comic writers out there who just take a word from german (or any other language) in order to achieve a cool (or evil) effect without actually caring what exactly they use…
yeah, comic/game/movie writers overuse of the word dummkopf really made me shy away from it on this page, speaking of just peppering speech with single words.
That cup… he must have had it for a long time, and it’s not like he brings a lot of personal possessions with him. Damn. I think this is the saddest thing in the comic so far.
While I’m not German, I speak it and find Opa Schtein very enjoyable. The cup makes for a fantastically ironic background to the Doctor’s statement. Also it’s the first time I hear that garbage truck expression, sounds like something they invented for a drama series — since they can’t use swear words, they often get inventive.
At first I thought he was slapping him for not having a boy. His choice of pronouns is an interesting one.
I was pleased this was not the case. Slap him a few more times doc!
I think that may be a bit of dated thinking on the Grandpa’s part of assuming first born son and/or maybe a family history of having boys first. Not sure if the dead sister was older or younger (or a twin) or if it even matters long term. But yeah.
Can we talk about that mug? I’m curious about it! Did he buy it for himself? If so, was it done honestly or ironically? Was it a gift that he’s carted around forever? Did he find it and use it because it’s convenient, not caring about the words on it? ALL OPTION ARE GLORIOUS.
I really, really love this comic so much. Thank you for all your hard work on it.
Personally, I get the impression that, mad scientist or no, Orville legitimately cares about his family. (And may in fact not be as evil as we think?) So my guess is that it’s a gift that he’s carted around forever.
This is based on the fact that he’s ecstatic to learn he has a grandchild, and his first thoughts aren’t about experimentation but just…”Who are they? Tell me about them.” If not his views on Stein’s negligent mother. It will be interesting to see if he lets the other two people live. I’m kind of curious where they might be at.
I didn’t mean to say that. I also really haven’t seen anything to indicate that he’s any worse than his grandson, though. For all we know, at least, the Chicago thing could have been a horrible mistake that he’s decided to make the best of.
Just because you’re completely amoral and care not a whit about human suffering in the pursuit of science doesn’t mean you don’t care about your family.
Love the fact Grandpa was all “he” “HE” “he!” . Cuz you know, it MUST be a first born son. And then the anger at finding out his grandson is a shitty dad and calling him out on it. Human experimentation is fine, so long as you are a good parent! Which makes me think the kids he worked on had the best, worst time. Able(?) was right in not wanting to be near this guy again. Ever.
Orville is still sharp after spending so many years with only walking fungus monsters for company (or so I assume). I can’t wait to see what he’s been working on all this time. :}
I really like how animated you’ve made hi-. skipping all around the room, popping in and out of Schtein’s personal bubble like he belongs there…
Although, I am surprised Orville said ‘idiot!” in panel 6. I would think all the expletives would be in german, since that’s the nature of the beast (the brain). On another note (says Sheldon), did you know that ‘idiot’ originally meant ‘private person’ in latin?
Sometimes I don’t think see just how much effort you put into this comic. Each panel is a work of art and I wish I could look at all of the pages in super huge size like how you do some of the panels on your Tumblr. It’s really incredible.
I’ve been reading this comic for a couple of years now and you’ve improved so much, you’re such an inspiration to me.
I often find that Schtein looks older than he really is – it’s just part of him having the hair color he does and his facial shape, but this is the first set where I feel like he looks his age, just with white hair. The guy above me is right – ever panel is kind of its own separate work of art to stare at. Man, I cannot even stop myself from gushing if I start, so I won’t get into it, but I have loved watching your drawing evolve from the start of this comic to now.
everyone’s really upset about the German yet no one’s complaining Dr. Schtein wasn’t intubated for “deep sedation”???? Let’s all just give our suspension of disbelief a liiiiittle cool-down ok
Maybe he took the tube out before he was fully conscious, like he’s supposed to (removing it too late in the recovery process can be dangerous as well).
10 years. 10 years of reading English Language comics, and finally my skills as a native German pay of! Muhahaha! And i have to say, most times a (foreign) comic involves German Language, it throws me out of the experience. I mean, I understand. It’s hard to write in a Foreign Language. But what I mean to say: For someone not speaking German “At ALL”, your doing it pretty great.
I took two years of German in school but that was a decade ago and besides interesting words most of it fell out of my brain long ago. I wish I’d remembered the grammar more than anything else! that would be the most helpful.
I’m glad I’m doing ok. I try to triple check it, but some incorrect stuff gets through. Luckily I have a lot of German readers who tell me better things to put in. Whew!
Were I smart I’d run all of the dialogue by someone I know who is fluent but alas. I am not a smart man. :D
Have I told you lately how damn expressive your art is? It is like photo stills captured from a movie, they really seem caught mid motion, at just the right time that the immediately preceding and following moments are also telegraphed.
Oh sweet jesus, that mug. I nearly died, I really did.
THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING IT! I didn’t see it the first time around, and it is in fact marvelous.
‘Abwesender Väter’ is wrong, for two reasons:
1) Väter is plural, it should be Vater
2) While correct, no one says it like that. The proper expression is ‘Rabenvater’ – literally raven father, but meaning irresponsible father (because ravens are bad parents, or at least that’s what people back then thought)
boy that first one is definitely my bad. What a dumb mistake!
Second one is more understandable I think U_U. I don’t speak German AT ALL, so a lot of slang is out of my grasp. Which I means I gotta take your word here so you better be right, buster! >:V
Dont worry, hes right =)
And I love the mean lil twist you gave to the proverb “Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Stamm” =)
oh good! :D
Google translates it as “The waste falls not far from the car.” Is this correct?
Good? weiiird! I would use “Der Apfel fällt nicht weit vom Pferd” – which is a wordplay on horseshit beeing called “horseapples”, Pferdeäpfel, in german.
I was ‘oh good’ing at the rabenvater being correct.
Right. You don’t speak German. And guess what? A lot of your readers don’t too! if you’re going to use a language that deviates from the original language of the comic (in this case, English), please use an asterisk or something and translate the German somewhere!
It got especially confusing when I used Google Translate for one of the phrases and it gave me: “raven father of the waste falls not far from the car”
…Ooooookkkkkaaayyyy? (Yes, of course I read the comments and now it is clear that “raven father” is apparently a German idiom for bad father, and now it seems you were doing some kind of pun (?) on automobiles and apple trees(???) from the oft used English expression…(Actually, now that I think about it, there’s a lot of “apple/leaf/whatever falls from tree but lands near roots” metaphors in all different languages, isn’t there…?)
ANYWAYS. What I’m trying to say is (TLDR v.2.0):
Could you please include a translation somewhere in the comic or commentary? Especially if it regards foreign language idioms that may not necessarily translate well into English…
Thanks!
I would if it were necessary to the plot (actually anything important to the plot I would just have be in english).
Really? Because it took me about five minutes on Google translate to get the right (I believe) translation for more than just this page.
I’ve never heard the slang ‘raven father,’ but I have a vague idea of what male ravens are like, so I understood it. Shockingly, in that it isn’t shocking at all, German depends as much on punctuation as any other language does. If you got that garbled mess, you clearly didn’t bother to include any and just put it all as one line.
I like the German and I didn’t exactly break myself having to Google it up. It was fun to do it on my own.
Also, I originally thought it would be something I heard recently, ‘the shit never falls far from the horse’s ass,’ or something like that. The apple never falls far from the tree is what I’m most used to, I guess. Point is, it doesn’t take a lot of effort or thought to work it out. I’m fine with the lack of provided translation.
German is consideres one of the worst languages for machine translation. If you want to know what a single word means, use a dictionary, for example this one: dict.leo.org Google translate can help you to GUESS what the sentence might roughly be about, but that’s it. Opas german is not supposed to be understandable, it is kind of a stylistic element… but Grundy is making quite an effort to make sure that a native german can actually read it without flinching. There are professional comic writers out there who just take a word from german (or any other language) in order to achieve a cool (or evil) effect without actually caring what exactly they use…
yeah, comic/game/movie writers overuse of the word dummkopf really made me shy away from it on this page, speaking of just peppering speech with single words.
Dummkopf is becoming less and less common. Idiot is fine, but you could also use “Depp” http://dict.leo.org/#/search=depp&searchLoc=0&resultOrder=basic&multiwordShowSingle=on
heh yeah I saw depp in my dictionary and had a good laugh.
That cup… he must have had it for a long time, and it’s not like he brings a lot of personal possessions with him. Damn. I think this is the saddest thing in the comic so far.
Does it beat the father’s day card you can see in Dr. Schtein’s apartment in chapter 2?
dude ; n;
*sobbing noises*
I now feel obliged to go all the way back to chapter 2 to look for it. XD
shwing http://www.stringtheorycomic.com/comics/chaptertwo/page-twenty-three/
I laughed a lot about the phrase “Der Abfall fällt nicht weit vom Auto” XD where did you get that from?
idiom dictionaries are quite handy, as it turns out!
While I’m not German, I speak it and find Opa Schtein very enjoyable. The cup makes for a fantastically ironic background to the Doctor’s statement. Also it’s the first time I hear that garbage truck expression, sounds like something they invented for a drama series — since they can’t use swear words, they often get inventive.
The trash doesn’t fall far from the car? Hoo!
At first I thought he was slapping him for not having a boy. His choice of pronouns is an interesting one.
I was pleased this was not the case. Slap him a few more times doc!
I think that may be a bit of dated thinking on the Grandpa’s part of assuming first born son and/or maybe a family history of having boys first. Not sure if the dead sister was older or younger (or a twin) or if it even matters long term. But yeah.
Can we talk about that mug? I’m curious about it! Did he buy it for himself? If so, was it done honestly or ironically? Was it a gift that he’s carted around forever? Did he find it and use it because it’s convenient, not caring about the words on it? ALL OPTION ARE GLORIOUS.
I really, really love this comic so much. Thank you for all your hard work on it.
Personally, I get the impression that, mad scientist or no, Orville legitimately cares about his family. (And may in fact not be as evil as we think?) So my guess is that it’s a gift that he’s carted around forever.
This is based on the fact that he’s ecstatic to learn he has a grandchild, and his first thoughts aren’t about experimentation but just…”Who are they? Tell me about them.” If not his views on Stein’s negligent mother. It will be interesting to see if he lets the other two people live. I’m kind of curious where they might be at.
You can care about family and still be a pretty bad person.
Yeah! I’m pretty sure Saddam Hussein had a loving family that loved him right back.
I didn’t mean to say that. I also really haven’t seen anything to indicate that he’s any worse than his grandson, though. For all we know, at least, the Chicago thing could have been a horrible mistake that he’s decided to make the best of.
Exactly! Like the horrible mistake he made with his sister.
Mad doctors and horrible mistakes goes well together like goat cheese and olives.
Just because you’re completely amoral and care not a whit about human suffering in the pursuit of science doesn’t mean you don’t care about your family.
Or his legacy, in this case.
I bet his son gave it to him on like father’s day or something. A mug and a tie. Maybe some fancy coffee.
Wow….Orville really does care, doesn’t he?
Aw man I’m totally in the dark here, what was grandpa saying?
ok so 2nd one is The trash doesn’t fall far from the car. I’m halfway there, anyone kind enough to tell me the 1st?
“a very pleasant surprise!”
my thanks!
“UGH YOU’RE JUST AS BAD AS YOUR IDIOT MOTHER, WHY COULDN’T MY SON HAVE MARRIED INTO A NORMAL FAMILY”
All I can think is “you should have married the lawyer”
I found a birthday card on a table in CH. 2, but no father’s day card.
oh I misremembered. Still.
Love the fact Grandpa was all “he” “HE” “he!” . Cuz you know, it MUST be a first born son. And then the anger at finding out his grandson is a shitty dad and calling him out on it. Human experimentation is fine, so long as you are a good parent! Which makes me think the kids he worked on had the best, worst time. Able(?) was right in not wanting to be near this guy again. Ever.
The presence of that mug is funny and heartbreaking at the same time. I hope Alice and Orville get to meet someday…
Orville is still sharp after spending so many years with only walking fungus monsters for company (or so I assume). I can’t wait to see what he’s been working on all this time. :}
I really like how animated you’ve made hi-. skipping all around the room, popping in and out of Schtein’s personal bubble like he belongs there…
Although, I am surprised Orville said ‘idiot!” in panel 6. I would think all the expletives would be in german, since that’s the nature of the beast (the brain). On another note (says Sheldon), did you know that ‘idiot’ originally meant ‘private person’ in latin?
Idiot is also a german word ;)
I had another word there, originally, but I was having a hard time finding examples of it. Also idiot is common enough in german.
Yet another vote in favor of the mug, however it arrived.
Sometimes I don’t think see just how much effort you put into this comic. Each panel is a work of art and I wish I could look at all of the pages in super huge size like how you do some of the panels on your Tumblr. It’s really incredible.
I’ve been reading this comic for a couple of years now and you’ve improved so much, you’re such an inspiration to me.
think people see*
I often find that Schtein looks older than he really is – it’s just part of him having the hair color he does and his facial shape, but this is the first set where I feel like he looks his age, just with white hair. The guy above me is right – ever panel is kind of its own separate work of art to stare at. Man, I cannot even stop myself from gushing if I start, so I won’t get into it, but I have loved watching your drawing evolve from the start of this comic to now.
Cue Tom Lehrer’s “Wernher von Braun”
Unfortunately I think you have misspelled gallivanting, but the meaning is very clear. Opa has his own agenda, and Schtein had better get in/on it!
everyone’s really upset about the German yet no one’s complaining Dr. Schtein wasn’t intubated for “deep sedation”???? Let’s all just give our suspension of disbelief a liiiiittle cool-down ok
Maybe he took the tube out before he was fully conscious, like he’s supposed to (removing it too late in the recovery process can be dangerous as well).
10 years. 10 years of reading English Language comics, and finally my skills as a native German pay of! Muhahaha! And i have to say, most times a (foreign) comic involves German Language, it throws me out of the experience. I mean, I understand. It’s hard to write in a Foreign Language. But what I mean to say: For someone not speaking German “At ALL”, your doing it pretty great.
I took two years of German in school but that was a decade ago and besides interesting words most of it fell out of my brain long ago. I wish I’d remembered the grammar more than anything else! that would be the most helpful.
I’m glad I’m doing ok. I try to triple check it, but some incorrect stuff gets through. Luckily I have a lot of German readers who tell me better things to put in. Whew!
Were I smart I’d run all of the dialogue by someone I know who is fluent but alas. I am not a smart man. :D
Have I told you lately how damn expressive your art is? It is like photo stills captured from a movie, they really seem caught mid motion, at just the right time that the immediately preceding and following moments are also telegraphed.
Yeah. /relurks
oh thank you, I like drawing people making ugly faces. It’s the funnest.
Your grimaces and crazy faces are beautiful.