The Naked and the Dead
The Naked and the Dead | |
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Comic Strip Info | |
Released: | January 10th, 2017 |
Number of pages: | 274 |
Artist: | makani |
Writer: | Jay Pinkerton & Erik Wolpaw |
The Naked and the Dead (also known as Team Fortress Comics #6) is a comic released on January 10th, 2017. It is the penultimate issue of a seven-part comic series, picking up where Old Wounds left off.
Synopsis
The story begins with Miss Pauling lying face-down in the middle of a golden desert. Upon awakening, she spots a single unlocked door standing in the middle of nowhere; once she opens it, she is greeted by the Administrator, who sits in the middle of a control room lit green by multiple monitors, all of which show live footage of her face. She answers Miss Pauling's confused questions by explaining that this is the afterlife; they are both dead, and Miss Pauling has failed the Administrator's mission. Miss Pauling bluntly accept this fact, even informing her that all of the world's Australium was gone, but, given that she already failed the mission and was determined to understand the Administrator's motive behind the war after a decade of unyielding trust, asks the Administrator "what it is she wants". The Administrator simply replies with a grim "Blood. It's not enough. Give me more", while Miss Pauling watches helplessly as the monitors begin to flicker with her own horrified expression.
The comic cuts immediately to the outside of the TFC base, where Old Wounds left off. The previous events were all simply a hallucination by Miss Pauling, who regains consciousness to find the Medic and Zhanna rushing about and collecting blood to save Miss Pauling and the Soldier. When asked how the Medic managed to save their lives when they were presumably dead from the TFC team's blood-draining robots, the Medic simply responds that he collected all of the blood drained by the robots and put it back into their bodies, while literally dumping a bucket of blood and debris into a smiling Soldier's open chest, much to Miss Pauling's disgust. When further questioned if he had even separated each of their blood types, the Medic quietly mentions that he used his own underwear to sponge up the blood, and that the blood type would be the least of their problems as of now.
As explanations go down, Miss Pauling catches a glimpse of the Demoman wildly taking on a bunch of robots all by himself; the Medic reasons that the high alcoholic content of the Demoman's blood must have given the robots alcohol poisoning, thus weakening them. However, Miss Pauling notes that the Demoman had not taken a single drop of alcohol since arriving on the island, making it impossible that he could be drunk. At this moment, the comic immediately cuts to a hallucination being experienced by the Demoman, in which he commands his heart to convert his various organs into distilleries after inventing a way to ferment his bone marrow. His liver even returns after leaving during the events of Old Wounds, and makes up with the Demoman by making out with him.
Pages
Trivia
- Parts of several classes' names are mentioned for the first time.
- The Spy calls the Scout "Jeremy" while he is disguised as Tom Jones. This may be inspired by Jerma985, a Youtuber with the same real name who was well-known for his resemblance to the Scout, including being born in Boston and having similar facial features.
- The "Devil" addresses the Medic as Mr. Ludwig, a common German name.
- On Page 155, the Spy mentions that his jacket is made by a brand named Louis Crabbemarché. Loosely translated, "Crabbemarché" is French for "crab walking", a homage to the Spycrab fad, while "Louis" is a reference to the designer brand Louis Vuitton.
- The Scout's personification of "God" interrupts his sentence ("But your father isn't-") when the Scout jokingly mentions that his father is Tom Jones. This continues the running gag and theory that the Spy is the Scout's biological father.
- The scene in which Saxton Hale jumps out of his plane with Jerry clinging onto Maggie on the way down is similar to Page 7 of Ring of Fired.
- On Page 256, the Medic is seen cradling a bandana-wearing baby baboon in the background, seemingly hinting at the success of his "Baboon Pregnancy Inducer" and the TFC Heavy's fate.
Cover page
- The cover page for this comic is based on the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths Book 7.
- The Medic is shown with two large wounds that would fit the injuries made by the TFC team's robots, instead of the Pistol wounds caused in the comic itself.
- The background showcases every notable character who has made an appearance in Team Fortress 2 comics and media, excluding several characters such as Francis the Talking France.
- There is a lamp wearing a Magistrate's Mullet on the left side, above the Heavy Robot. This is a reference to Page 22 of Unhappy Returns, where the Scout mentions that he once had a lamp for a public defendant.