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that’s so sad : ( how old is he? the steering wheel is almost bigger than he is! also i agree with kate, at least when i ate stupid shit it wasn’t poisinous and i was wearing clothes
A friend of the family once bit on a thermometer as a kid and swallowed the mercury, was always a bit funny after that. Is that the secret behind Maria’s personality, long term affects of Beserker mushrooms?
I think Maria eating the crazy mushrooms is the reason the two of them were taken away from mommy and daddy. They look to be about the age they were in the picture. Possibly?
Warlach: Mercury is waaaaaaaaay worse than mushrooms for aftereffects. (if you survive the mushrooms)
The Mad Hatter (Lewis Carroll) was based on the fact that in the 19th century factory workers who made hats went crazy. It turned out that the mercury they were absorbing through their skin wasn’t very good for them, a fact that no one knew about, or cared if they had known. Quicksilver was a popular treatment for syphilis in this same time period. Expensive treatments would have doctors monitor you and help you with a procedure so you would *probably* survive, although your health would be compromised (for instance, all their teeth would fall out). Inexpensive treatments in back allies, the only ones available to the common man, would leave you dead.
“Most mercury compounds are potent but unspecific enzyme inhibitors, affecting membrane permeability and hence nerve conduction and tissue respiration. In this respect, the biochemical effects of mercury resemble those of black widow spider venom.”
If you look up the clinical symptoms of mercury toxicity, it’s really horrible to think of all the things mercury used to be used in. It’s still used in amalgam fillings. O.O
I just found this site from a “Templar, Arizona” link, so I read them all in order yesterday. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but…
-Anders cut down a tree and found a nest with two eggs.
-Trying to save them, he wrecked them, and had to finish one off horribly.
-Maria’s family cuts down trees.
-Maria and Tina are shown, at one point, in the same family-looking portrait.
-We never do see Maria’s mom and dad together, now do we? Is Maria’s mom’s fate ever established?
My guess is that Tina and Maria are either half- or step-sisters. Anders seems to be in the process of wrecking them both. The question is, which one does he have to finish off?
Mercury is also in those compact flourescent bulbs everybody’s so excited about these days. It’s printed really small on the packaging, but when they burn out you have to take them to a hazardous wastes facility and not just throw them out. Incandecsents have lead in them so they’re not much better, though.
Maria’s mom was in the flashback where Maria and Bjorn’s relationship started, remember? We all thought it was Maria herself? She’s shown telling the dad to shut up or something, right before Maria and Johan left the house.
hydrogen is pretty nasty stuff, too. look at the hindenburg! it can kill you! it’s explosive! and… omg… we absorb so much of it every day in such “innocuous” compounds as food and drink that our bodies are LACED with it! panic!
seriously, though, the mercury in amalgam fillings is just that… in an amalgam. it’s bound and pretty much harmless. you’ll absorb far more mercury (and even then the amount is quite small) through inhaling dust when having them drilled out and replaced than you would through an entire lifetime with a mouthful of properly-done amalgam fillings.
but that dihydrogen monoxide is nasty, deadly stuff. inhaling even a teaspoonful can possibly kill you. you should look out for it.
Kate Says:
March 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
If you look up the clinical symptoms of mercury toxicity, it’s really horrible to think of all the things mercury used to be used in. It’s still used in amalgam fillings. O.O
@ libbydibby: I’m a chemistry minor, and for my fieldwork in teaching, I did a presentation on the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. I don’t think anybody but the prof knew what the hell I was talking about. But then again, I work at Dow, who has water and soap as yellow-label products, because they cause skin irritation.
Really? Was this thermometer by any chance huge and stuck to him for several years? (I jest ) Because otherwise I don’t think the small amount of mercury you’d ingest after breaking a single thermometer would do anything long-term to you…
I know mercury is extremely toxic in large doses (i.e. ‘Mad Hatters’ generally worked with it every day for years to make the felt for hats) and it should not be messed with now that we know this. But if you ask a lot of older people with any chemistry background (over 50 or so) they will tell you that they used to play with beads of mercury bare handed, and in the case of one of my chem professors, even regularly eat beads of it as a party trick (apparently it goes right through you, lol).
I am willing to believe I’m wrong; maybe it somehow stayed in his system for a long time or something. But mercury in small doses is really not the big deal it’s made out to be.
And now that I’ve gone off on a horrible know-it-all tangent, I think you should know that your comic is amazing, Rene. But hopefully you already knew.
Oh, poor Johan!! He is quite quickly becoming my favorite. Maybe its just because I never had a big brother to look out for me. Panels 3 and 5 just make me want to give him a hug.
Hey! I just caught up with your comic, and I’m totally sold.
I had this link saved in my favorties for so long, but I had so many other webcomic archives to read thru.
I think I found this from the Octopus Pie site, and it’s one of my top favorites.
Well done, miss!
amazing, amazing plot so far, but just a thought? Isn’t it time for some cast updates in the “about” section? there seem to alot more characters to know about now
When I first thought about the flashback with Anders it was before Tina had really come into the picture at all since the flashback was so long ago. My initial reaction was that it was a reference to Maria and the baby.
The hindenburg was coated with aluminum somethingorother…. it’s explosive. The hydrogen just made it a bigger boom. I remember this much from chem. ;D
Chem=not my thing
Chem movie+darkened room+no sleep=naptime!
P.S. I didn’t mean to imply that mercury in fillings would automatically kill you. Being a history freak, I wanted to share the mad hatter thing and the syphilis thing. But now that i think on it, I believe that was actually in the 17th century, but I’m not sure. I’d need to check.
wow, everyday when i read this comic i have to look at each panel like 5 times, just to take in all of the little nuances in the art. such a great comic. i NEED to know what happens!!
mad as a hatter, mercury… incidentally, I heard this story when in camden a few years ago, while totally high on mushrooms. History comes alive!
So I’m guessing the tina hate then is one sided, born out of jealousy and shame and anger. Not a big town, probably everyone is going to know their family business to some extent… very troubling for a kid. and tina just feels…pity? To some extent explains maria’s keeping mum about her history, and maybe influenced her mindframe in the spraypaint fiacso.
To briefly weigh in on the mercury issue, mercury in its liquid form (such as in thermometers) is largely harmless. The high surface tension and lack of solubility means that you get very small exposure even for, say, drinking a glass of it. (Note: Do not try this at home).
On the other hand, when it’s vaporous (as in fur treatments for hats) or already distributed through tissues (as in some fish), or in a mercury containing compound that itself may be soluble (as in drugs) then much much more of it is absorbed, and thats why such things are dangerous.
As a side note, what does the title of this comic translate into?
I have a problem: I can never remember your full URL, and always end up googling for you. Rather than whine, I thought I’d do something about it.
I registered ‘anderslovesmaria.com’ and pointed it (and www.) at you. I understand the potential trademark stuff involved, so if you want the domain you can have it; I’ll hook you up with a custom login to my control panel, and when it expires, I’ll coordinate with you to get it transferred at my expense.
Haven’t bothered to read through every single comment, so sorry if this has already been said, but:
The gas in the Hindenburg did not catch fire at all. The flames were the wrong colour. It was actually what the balloon was made of that caught fire. The gas had nothing to do with it.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:09 pm
omigoodness, I totally saw this one coming.
I’m onto you, Rene!
Ugh. Scary. This totally could have happened to me, except I happened to eat nonpoisonous things. And I usually wore clothes.
The first panel is gorgeous.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
that’s so sad : ( how old is he? the steering wheel is almost bigger than he is! also i agree with kate, at least when i ate stupid shit it wasn’t poisinous and i was wearing clothes
March 5th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Johan is around 10-11 years old here.
March 5th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
It’s very sad poor Johan!
March 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
A friend of the family once bit on a thermometer as a kid and swallowed the mercury, was always a bit funny after that. Is that the secret behind Maria’s personality, long term affects of Beserker mushrooms?
March 5th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I think Maria eating the crazy mushrooms is the reason the two of them were taken away from mommy and daddy. They look to be about the age they were in the picture. Possibly?
March 5th, 2008 at 2:56 pm
Aw, poor Johan. Go ahead and travel ahead fifteen years and go pummel Anders. You’ll feel better!
March 5th, 2008 at 3:01 pm
Warlach: Mercury is waaaaaaaaay worse than mushrooms for aftereffects. (if you survive the mushrooms)
The Mad Hatter (Lewis Carroll) was based on the fact that in the 19th century factory workers who made hats went crazy. It turned out that the mercury they were absorbing through their skin wasn’t very good for them, a fact that no one knew about, or cared if they had known. Quicksilver was a popular treatment for syphilis in this same time period. Expensive treatments would have doctors monitor you and help you with a procedure so you would *probably* survive, although your health would be compromised (for instance, all their teeth would fall out). Inexpensive treatments in back allies, the only ones available to the common man, would leave you dead.
“Most mercury compounds are potent but unspecific enzyme inhibitors, affecting membrane permeability and hence nerve conduction and tissue respiration. In this respect, the biochemical effects of mercury resemble those of black widow spider venom.”
March 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
If you look up the clinical symptoms of mercury toxicity, it’s really horrible to think of all the things mercury used to be used in. It’s still used in amalgam fillings. O.O
March 5th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I just found this site from a “Templar, Arizona” link, so I read them all in order yesterday. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but…
-Anders cut down a tree and found a nest with two eggs.
-Trying to save them, he wrecked them, and had to finish one off horribly.
-Maria’s family cuts down trees.
-Maria and Tina are shown, at one point, in the same family-looking portrait.
-We never do see Maria’s mom and dad together, now do we? Is Maria’s mom’s fate ever established?
My guess is that Tina and Maria are either half- or step-sisters. Anders seems to be in the process of wrecking them both. The question is, which one does he have to finish off?
Or I could be totally turned around about this.
-G.
March 5th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Mercury is also in those compact flourescent bulbs everybody’s so excited about these days. It’s printed really small on the packaging, but when they burn out you have to take them to a hazardous wastes facility and not just throw them out. Incandecsents have lead in them so they’re not much better, though.
Anyway, poor Johan. He has a good heart.
March 5th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Maria’s mom was in the flashback where Maria and Bjorn’s relationship started, remember? We all thought it was Maria herself? She’s shown telling the dad to shut up or something, right before Maria and Johan left the house.
Nice theory, though…
March 5th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Greg: Ha! I love stuff like this. I hadn’t noticed any of that until you pointed it out…it’s interesting to think about!
March 5th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
@ Kate 3:04 pm
hydrogen is pretty nasty stuff, too. look at the hindenburg! it can kill you! it’s explosive! and… omg… we absorb so much of it every day in such “innocuous” compounds as food and drink that our bodies are LACED with it! panic!
seriously, though, the mercury in amalgam fillings is just that… in an amalgam. it’s bound and pretty much harmless. you’ll absorb far more mercury (and even then the amount is quite small) through inhaling dust when having them drilled out and replaced than you would through an entire lifetime with a mouthful of properly-done amalgam fillings.
but that dihydrogen monoxide is nasty, deadly stuff. inhaling even a teaspoonful can possibly kill you. you should look out for it.
Kate Says:
March 5th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
If you look up the clinical symptoms of mercury toxicity, it’s really horrible to think of all the things mercury used to be used in. It’s still used in amalgam fillings. O.O
March 5th, 2008 at 6:08 pm
Ten to eleven? Jesus, way to take the reins Johan…
March 5th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Or just eat fish north of the Arctic Circle. That’s a good way to get plenty ‘o’ mercury in your system.
March 5th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
@ libbydibby: I’m a chemistry minor, and for my fieldwork in teaching, I did a presentation on the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide. I don’t think anybody but the prof knew what the hell I was talking about. But then again, I work at Dow, who has water and soap as yellow-label products, because they cause skin irritation.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Uh oh! Intrigue! *Dun dun duunnnnn*
March 5th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
GOD that first panel is so lovely. :O
March 5th, 2008 at 8:34 pm
@Warlach:
Really? Was this thermometer by any chance huge and stuck to him for several years? (I jest
) Because otherwise I don’t think the small amount of mercury you’d ingest after breaking a single thermometer would do anything long-term to you…
I know mercury is extremely toxic in large doses (i.e. ‘Mad Hatters’ generally worked with it every day for years to make the felt for hats) and it should not be messed with now that we know this. But if you ask a lot of older people with any chemistry background (over 50 or so) they will tell you that they used to play with beads of mercury bare handed, and in the case of one of my chem professors, even regularly eat beads of it as a party trick (apparently it goes right through you, lol).
I am willing to believe I’m wrong; maybe it somehow stayed in his system for a long time or something. But mercury in small doses is really not the big deal it’s made out to be.
And now that I’ve gone off on a horrible know-it-all tangent, I think you should know that your comic is amazing, Rene.
But hopefully you already knew.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:37 pm
What’s the age difference between Johan and Maria?
March 5th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Oh, poor Johan!! He is quite quickly becoming my favorite. Maybe its just because I never had a big brother to look out for me. Panels 3 and 5 just make me want to give him a hug.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
@ Greg, the same thoughts crossed my mind before too. The flashback with Anders seems like a large chunk of foreshadowing.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Greg and Ashley get gold stars.
March 5th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Hey! I just caught up with your comic, and I’m totally sold.
I had this link saved in my favorties for so long, but I had so many other webcomic archives to read thru.
I think I found this from the Octopus Pie site, and it’s one of my top favorites.
Well done, miss!
March 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
God, Johan really does love his little sister. I mean, hell, he’s the best freaking brother ever.
March 5th, 2008 at 9:24 pm
yaaaaaaaaaaay!!
March 5th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
amazing, amazing plot so far, but just a thought? Isn’t it time for some cast updates in the “about” section? there seem to alot more characters to know about now
March 5th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
When I first thought about the flashback with Anders it was before Tina had really come into the picture at all since the flashback was so long ago. My initial reaction was that it was a reference to Maria and the baby.
March 5th, 2008 at 10:33 pm
Megtastic: 5 years age difference.
Everyone: I took down the cast info. Update coming soon.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I remember being very little in poland and told never to even touch those mushrooms. poor maria.
love where the story is going, rene.
March 5th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
The hindenburg was coated with aluminum somethingorother…. it’s explosive. The hydrogen just made it a bigger boom. I remember this much from chem. ;D
Chem=not my thing
Chem movie+darkened room+no sleep=naptime!
March 5th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
P.S. I didn’t mean to imply that mercury in fillings would automatically kill you. Being a history freak, I wanted to share the mad hatter thing and the syphilis thing. But now that i think on it, I believe that was actually in the 17th century, but I’m not sure. I’d need to check.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:17 am
Heh heh. Dihydrogen monoxide. You crazy kids.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:19 am
wow, everyday when i read this comic i have to look at each panel like 5 times, just to take in all of the little nuances in the art. such a great comic. i NEED to know what happens!!
March 6th, 2008 at 12:55 am
explains a lot about Johan’s reaction to Maria and Bjorn as well as Tina…
happy with this comic, I am.
uhm and sound like yoda, I do.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:59 am
P.S. I marvel at Greg’s fansmashticness
March 6th, 2008 at 1:27 am
Oh, they’re riding in a car in the middle panels. I’d never have figured it out unless for the comments here.
March 6th, 2008 at 1:31 am
Everything is a little hazy here Amake. As if from memories.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:19 am
A tip of my hat to you, Rene. You do good work.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:53 am
mad as a hatter, mercury… incidentally, I heard this story when in camden a few years ago, while totally high on mushrooms. History comes alive!
So I’m guessing the tina hate then is one sided, born out of jealousy and shame and anger. Not a big town, probably everyone is going to know their family business to some extent… very troubling for a kid. and tina just feels…pity? To some extent explains maria’s keeping mum about her history, and maybe influenced her mindframe in the spraypaint fiacso.
March 6th, 2008 at 2:54 am
… oh and Ren you don’t think my dad reads the comments too, right??
March 6th, 2008 at 6:40 am
To briefly weigh in on the mercury issue, mercury in its liquid form (such as in thermometers) is largely harmless. The high surface tension and lack of solubility means that you get very small exposure even for, say, drinking a glass of it. (Note: Do not try this at home).
On the other hand, when it’s vaporous (as in fur treatments for hats) or already distributed through tissues (as in some fish), or in a mercury containing compound that itself may be soluble (as in drugs) then much much more of it is absorbed, and thats why such things are dangerous.
As a side note, what does the title of this comic translate into?
March 6th, 2008 at 9:32 am
Hey, Rene.
I have a problem: I can never remember your full URL, and always end up googling for you. Rather than whine, I thought I’d do something about it.
I registered ‘anderslovesmaria.com’ and pointed it (and www.) at you. I understand the potential trademark stuff involved, so if you want the domain you can have it; I’ll hook you up with a custom login to my control panel, and when it expires, I’ll coordinate with you to get it transferred at my expense.
March 6th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Lafing Cat: It translates to “The Boy Who Went Wrong”
March 6th, 2008 at 10:11 am
that first panel, with maria’s skinny stick legs splaying out all sickly-like, the terrifying woods with their sinister mushrooms…
that is some seriously expressive work right there. I love it.
March 6th, 2008 at 11:33 am
This is an eerie reminder of when my little brother and I were playing in the woods and he buried an axe in his leg while trying to chop down a tree.
I think I know how Johan feels and I can’t say I hate him anymore.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
Haven’t bothered to read through every single comment, so sorry if this has already been said, but:
The gas in the Hindenburg did not catch fire at all. The flames were the wrong colour. It was actually what the balloon was made of that caught fire. The gas had nothing to do with it.
That’s my bit of chem for the day.
XD I love this! Can’t wait for more.
March 6th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
This is hilarious! I love that you guys are discussing the Hindenburg! Can we talk JFK next strip?