Shortpacked! by David Willis
Toys are serious business.
Convention appearances:
Calgary Expo Calgary, AB: April 26-28
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Phoenix Comicon Phoenix, AZ: May 23-26, 2013
BotCon San Diego, CA: June 28-30
San Diego Comic-Con San Diego, CA: July 18-21
SPX Bethesda, MD: September 14-15
Multiplex
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
Sorcery 101
Templar, AZ
The Transformers Wiki
Hail to the Slash
80 page GIANT
Axe Cop
The Book of Biff
Butt-Taco
Comics Curmudgeon
College Roomies from Hell!!!
Diesel Sweeties
Dinosaur Comics
Dr. McNinja
Dresden Codak
Fans!
Fleen
Gastrophobia
Girl Genius
Girls with Slingshots
Goats
Hark, a vagrant
Hijinks Ensue
Intrepid Girlbot
Legend of Bill
Medium Large
Not Invented Here
Octopus Pie
Overcompensating
Penny Arcade
PhDcomics
Power Nap
Questionable Content
Real Life
Rob and Elliot
Bad Machinery
Schlock Mercenary
Sheldon
So Far Apart
Something Positive
Two Lumps
Wapsi Square
Wonderella
Wondermark
Frumph.NET
Tags
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©2005-2013 David Willis | Powered by WordPress with ComicPress | Subscribe: RSS | Back to Top ↑
OH MY GOD A LOCATION
I see we are not even trying anymore.
LOL! The internet has taken over everything! Where’s the fun in toy searching now!
Looking at the pretty pictures.
I think toy hunting is still fun. Plus you save on shipping. Shipping is a pain.
If I recall from this weekend, a one-way trip on the BART station closest to where Ethan lives to where he’s going is about nine bucks.
That’s shipping right there.
And that’s not even counting the trip back home or the trip from his house to the BART station itself. Or that he’s not sure if he’ll find anything and has to make that trip a number of times later that week just to find one toy which may or may not cost less than what he’s paying for the BART trip.
At that rate, shipping is a friggin’ steal.
You recall incorrectly! If they’re going to Millbrae, a one-way fare might break $4, tops.
http://www.bart.gov/tickets/calculator/index.aspx
Aha! I do not recall correctly, it’s just that my recollection is irrelevant. I was traveling from the airport into downtown. Any time you take a train to or from the airport, the fee is increased about four bucks. But Ethan wouldn’t be going to the airport, he’d be getting off one stop short.
However, the round trip would still be the cost of shipping, sadly.
But when you’re there in person, it’s no longer just shopping. It’s an EXPERIENCE! And amusement centers are allowed to charge admission, so it balances out.
Kind of. Sort of. If you squint at it right.
Damm straight Walky.
With the massive drought of new stuff hitting with any kind of regularity, buing online is the safest bet, if not the most fun option.
And with gas between 3-4 bucks a gallon, unless you live right near a major shopping area you’re going to be spending more in shipping right there!
So yea, online isn’t as much fun and there’s the lost ‘thrill of the hunt’ but I’d rather do that than spend all that extra cash on gas and still not find anything.
Hell, last thing I found was RTS Prime, and he was the ONLY fgure I’ve seen in two months and he came out of the package broke.
Man, BART travel is THAT much?! I’m suprised that thing is still running. Get a moped!
It’s not that steep unless you’re going to or from SFO. There’s a pretty hefty airport surcharge. Ethan’s trip should be half that, at most.
It’s still pretty pricey as mass transit goes, though.
A one way fare on the bus here is 2,55 and if I time myself right I can transfer to a different numbered bus to get back home, saving me the return ticket.
Plus if you use mass transit often then you might have a monthly pass meaning you can just waver that as part of what you were already paying.
Plus I live in Canada so shipping is often more expensive…then again we pay way more for toys so maybe its all a wash…
Honestly if I let myself order online I just order too much, I can show more self control with the product in my hand and going ‘yeah its not that cool…’.
So I guess it depends on all sorts of situations.
BART doesn’t have monthly passes. It’s zone priced, not per-ride. They do have high-volume ticket discounts, though.
Now it’s the suspense! When will HTS have Windcharger in stock? Once you hear about it, will you make there in time? Tune in next week to find out–same Has-time, same Has-channel!
Im on Vacation this week.
I’ve been keeping a window open at HTS and checking for WC’s every little bit.
I hate crap like this.
Put that Wondercon trip to use! Location scouting makes it a tax write off!
For those non-Bay Area folks, BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit. Combination elevated train and subway, based on where you are.
e:f;b
Figures I would suddenly look less clever a second after posting =p
Actually, that’s a common myth. BART in truth stands for Bad Ass Rocket Trains.
http://sf0.org/sunshineduk/BACKRONYMS/
#themoreyouknow
+Sunshine
I wish. I’d get to work on time more often if that was the case.
Heh. Technically, as I was in the city for a convention, it was a tax-write-off already! That’s a business trip, friend.
…O’RYAN?!?!?!
D=
Oh LORD… I haven’t lived in California for nearly six years… and those seats… I was just squinting at them like ‘Is that a BART train?’ … my girlfriend who has never really done more then visit California a time or two just sort of…gave me a look when I suddenly guffawed at the title of the comic and the subsequent explanation…
Two beat panels! That’s twice as much beat panel as the human body can hold!
It strikes me that these two might have the most normal friendship in SP by now, entirely unencumbered by past crushes, present crushes or sexual histories. Being straight-up gay has its advantages!
Hmmm, still got the “Daddy Issues” chapter title.
Not really a new storyline yet. More like an intermezzo.
This is also one of the most “realistic” conversations I’ve seen in a web comic. Normally characters (this strip or others) have exaggerated cartoon dialogue, because, well, they’re cartoon characters so that’s expected. But I can actually hear real people having this conversation, including the friendly teasing at the end; it makes them feel real in turn. Good job Willis!
Cartoon I Can’t Draw #58:
DREW (to ETHAN): You hear they’ll film THE DARK KNIGHT RISES in PITTSBURGH?
A scene of Batman in the stands of Heinz Field during a Steelers game, with a large cup of Iron City in one hand and a Terrible Towel in the other.
Mmmm, Primantis Bros. Sandwiches. Mmmmm.
Goes and drools.
While I like having backgrounds, I couldn’t figure out where they were until really thinking about it. Something about the pole in the first panel threw me. Is there a reason you didn’t put them in the same seat? I think that might have made the “bus” aspect more noticeable.
Generally, people travelling together on the bus do not sit at the same seat.
…It’s not a bus. BART is a train.
South San Francisco: The only city bad-ass enough to come with it’s own ‘scene setting caption’.
Ethan is heading north, putting his home location somewhere on the peninsula…
Aha, I’m not the only one who caught that.
I’m pretty sure it’s been established that the main cast lives in SF, though. At least, Ethan could stumble home down Lombard (that might have been the old apartment though). I think this is an “opening of The Graduate” situation.
I know where that is! Yay for comics set near where I live!
I was just on one of those Bart trains Monday!
So was I!
It was kinda weird coming home from work taking BART, doing the webcomic rounds, then seeing BART again.
Is that a Richmond bound train or a Pittsburg/Bay Point train?
He is a gay obsessive toy collector. She is a lesbian toy store employee with serious abandonment issues. They fight crime. /promo
Oh God, and you’d know I’d buy every single DVD.
/obscureShortpacked!reference
Leslie looks so sad, and Robin does too. I understand Leslie’s hurt, but she knew what she was getting into, right? Clueless people like Robin and I deserve get out of jail free cards! In quantity!
I love it when you show more of Bay Area. And seeing them on the BART is just awesome! (I miss San Francisco…)
I really like that Ethan and Leslie have been hanging out more. I’m looking forward to seeing what adventures they get into.
Something gay no doubt.
Is it even possible for a man and a woman to do something gay together?
…I have an answer to that, but it’s probably best if I don’t say it.
Also, they are in San Fran… I really hope the next strip ends with them in the Castro looking at “toys” and just suddenly wondering “Wait, how did we end up here exactly?”
You know, light-hearted, fancy-free, mothers lock up your daughters! Ethan is on the town!
Do you mean “lock up your sons! Ethan is on the town!” …or perhaps “lock up your daughters! Leslie is on the town!”
Hmm. They heading to the Tanforan target?
Hmm. Where’s Ultra Car? Did he finally get tired of being the car to them all?
I imagine Ethan doesn’t want to risk getting dumped in the Amazon.
Awesome. I used to work in South San Francisco and saw that hillside every day!
You know, in the future we will probably just order from a catalogue online and 3d print it at a place down the street. Currently full colour costs about$100-200, but it will go down.
Then there wouldn’t be any searching or limited supply for anything.
An inexpensive fabrication unit in every home, powered by orbital solar and using bulk materials mined from the asteroids.
That’s the dream.
Me for Emperor in 2012.
South City represent!
Wait. Shortpacked! takes place in San Francisco?
Hey, I know where that is!
A little confused about the directions here. From the position of the lettering on the hill, it looks like they’re sitting backwards. No problem there, you can do that on BART. But IIRC if it’s on that side of the train, that would mean they’re headed up into SF, not down into the peninsula. Then again, I never take the train that far, so I could be wrong.
So when is Ethan coming to Pittsburgh to see them shoot the new Batman Movie? He can stop at Eides in The Strip while hes here.
Considering that the only elevated segments of BART in San Mateo County are the area around the Daly City station and the area right by the Airport, I’d say that train is probably a Northbound train leaving the airport and heading for Pittsburgh/Bay point.
So, David, what does it take to get into commenting? I feel somewhat frustrated that my polite discussion entries are not passing muster. Have I done something to offend you?
Based on what I’ve done and seen others do, the best way to get responses is to be 1) rude, 2) stupid, 3) better yet both, or 4) extremely amusing or clever. Guess which one’s hardest to pull off?
Most times we’re all just part of the faceless crowd – it’s not that we’re hated, it’s that our comments are not distinct *enough* to merit reply. Personally, if I realize that a comment will only feel like it was worth posting if I elicit a reply, I just don’t post it. The posting should be its own reward or you’ll be disappointed often.
Actually, what I was asking about was getting past “Waiting for Moderation”. For some reason my posts were disappearing and not getting to the board, and I wanted to know I was getting snubbed. It may have been a glitch, but it seems like I made it this time, so maybe it is fixed.
Your posts were awaiting moderation because, surprise, YOUR POSTS WERE WAITING FOR MODERATION. I am the moderator. If I am not at home approving posts right that minute, your posts will not show up.
But thankfully, I have approved your posts, putting you on the Approved List, so from now on you can accuse me of whatever insane paranoid stuff you want without me having to first give my okay. Congratulations!
You are not up waiting for my posts at 2AM? And you call yourself a moderator…
I will try to live up to your expectation of insane raving accusations. To start off, I now ask that you return the stapler from my desk. It has been missing for over a year.
I love it when stuff local to me gets worked in! I’m a sucker for bands that work the Bay Area into songs as well. I am easily bought.
Also, BART is like a rolling petri dish.
Nah, petri dishes are cleaner at leasy some of the time. And may get you to your destination faster.
*least
Awwww, they’re shirts are color coordinated.
In unrelated news, I just found another Mike. They’re spreading.
http://www.unshelved.com/2011-4-6
Even though I’m in SF, I had never really thought about what a pain it would be to toy hunt out here until this strip. You WOULD have to go down to the south bay in order to find a Target. Also, fantastic job on the BART likeness.
Not sure you’d have to go THAT far, according to their store finder there are ones in Colma and Emeryville. Though I’ve never actually SEEN the one in Emeryville despite living there, so it may be hidden in some pocket dimension.
Leslie is awesome.
Thank you, two of my favorite things, shortpacked and trains/transportation, in one place. My day has been made!
oh, the SSF hill…
and having BART in a comic made my horrible day a lot better
I love these two together, they’re really like brother and sister in how they get on sometimes!
Where are all my fellow SF-based TF fans hiding? I never see you guys in Jeffrey’s toys shaking your fists at the prices.
Squeee! BART! I am so in love with BART.
I took ten or so seconds to try and figure out why Leslie was avoiding Mike… then I realized that someone else was also living with Amber; I am bad at humans.
In my defense, there are lots of reasons to avoid Mike, I just couldn’t think of any out of the ordinary ones at the moment.