Darko’s final phrase in today’s comic is not of my own invention, I must confess. I first heard it be said by a friend of mine, several years ago when I had just graduated from highschool and was spending a year in military service. We were talking about cars, and about how a sergeant from our station had been investing a great sum of money into customizing what we both considered a car that simply wasn’t worth it. It was a Renault 12, if I’m not mistaken.
Our conversation took us along the path of many cars (most of them Renault, as well) and finally we landed upon the Renault 4, a car that was fairly popular here were I live. Clearly he despised the car, considering it ugly and lame - and of course, he had a taste for sporty, rather expensive cars and a passion for car customization. Keep in mind, also, that back then the world wasn’t sunken so deep into its obsession with nostalgia as it is today (and I’m not talking about that far back in time, either… something around 1997) so the value the car might have had today in the eyes of those that appreciate anything that would’ve been tossed aside as junk in the past was simply not considered.
Personally, I knew nothing about cars, and I still don’t. I didn’t like the car all that much either, but I have always been very much aware of my ignorance in regards to all things mechanic, and quite often I have been surprised by cars that didn’t look like much, but packed quite a wallop under the hood. Nevertheless he seemed quite adamant in his opinion, and that was when expressed it with the phrase I give to you now in today´s comic:
“A Renault 4 is a car for people who can’t afford a real car and don’t have the balls for a motorcycle”.
Of course, I modified it for today’s comic, and directed it towards scooters - but before all you moped-riding readers get all offended and start writing your hate mails and posts, read on for a bit more.
Later that year, I bought myself a scooter - a Piaggio Vespa, to be more precise (but red). I bought it because I honestly couldn’t afford a car, and while I would’ve joyfully mounted a big motorcycle and roared away into the sunset I really couldn’t afford that either. Also, my father was terrified of motorcycles and hated them with zealous resentment. He always said that if he were in charge of things, he would outlaw all bikes. I never really understood why he hated them so much back then - but nowadays, seeing how motorcycles are so incredibly common and plentiful here, and how they swerve and snake through cars amidst traffic I understand a bit more, even if not entirely.
Anyway, I didn’t have money for a car, and I wasn’t allowed to have a big motorcycle - so a scooter was pretty much all that was tolerated (barely). Later that year I bust my right knee during martial arts practice (and for some reason my father blamed it on the bike) and couldn’t ride anymore. I had to sell it, even though I really loved that little rolling toilet.
So yeah, I too was the proud owner of a scooter, and I defend them from experience. But it’s also from experience that I say that they’re nothing like the bigger motorcycles, and that riding them is an entirely different experience. But anyway, that’s where today’s phrase comes from, and that’s the story of my experience with scooters.
I mean, in case you wanted to know.
Good hunting;
O
Love the eye, and the ninja
Gothsake seems even more pathetic and i had thought his real name(mentioned in halloween of 2007 i recall) was bad enaugh but now despite being a zombie he is even bigger failure as a goth.
Also O has nice register plate. And Darko will be rather pissed when he sees the two of them missing with his harley.
ninjas got wood
A Piaggio Vespa? Mamma mia! This line of scooters is a true CLASSIC, it has had a nigh-cult status for at least fifty years!
Congratiulations O, this time I almost missed the ninja… they’re getting better and better in hiding… and you’re getting better with the ideas…
fuck cars and motorcycles, I WANT A MECHA
now THATS a good ninja.. and lol @ dragonsdale.. a mecha.. that would be sick!
Yeah… but think what world would be if everybody were riding mecha…… they all would like to have car or bike…
GREAT ninja O, missed it first time.
This is the first post I’ve read over here (normally I just read the comic, chuckle to myself, and continue through my RSS feed every morning), and only because of the brilliance of the scooter statement. In San Francisco, scooters have taken on cult-like status and apparently it’s cooler to ‘hop up’ a scooter to something like 30hp than to get a 75hp motorcycle that has proper suspension and brakes… for the same price. It doesn’t make any sense to me, but I think you hit the nail directly on the head. If you can’t afford a proper bike (or motorcycle license), then a scooter/moped is a great idea! Oh, and Gothsake is the epitome of the people I’m referring to, a sad, pathetic excuse of a person whose only real concern is their outward appearance. I just think I like Gothsake more, he says funny things from time to time
Wow. Can we say “boned”? Seems the zombie horde is about to increase by 1.
The Renault 4 links sends me to a picture of a Corvette. Which I find quite funny, imagining that some reader with absolute no knowledge thinks: “What, O’s pal hated that car?”
This is a Renault 4:
http://www.ecovent.de/r4/images/renault4-14-800.jpg
Odd. it sends me to a pic of an R4. Anyone else have the same problem?
Yep, that’s not a Renault 4. Have the same problem here.
screw mechas,cars and motorbikes i’d mod myself with cyber implants to be faster than them all!!
@O, It shows the corvette because it thinks you’re hotlinking the image (stealing bandwidth)
put another link, maybe something like wikipedia?
@Adrian; Thanks! I linked all three to their respective Wikipedia entries.
Oh god, that ninja startled me. Brilliant, love the joke there.
Actually I know one goth guy riding a scooter, haha, funny how they want to be so grim and dark and then ride scooters.
I have a weird feeling that the ninjas have been watching the whole affair for a reason… Seeing as how they never appeared before this story arc. Maybe since both O and Cthulhu are both ninja, the other ninja are watching the duel because it is between two ninja.
Ah… the name Piaggio brings back some memories… My cousin owns a Piaggio Ciao http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piaggio_Ciao and I have a Vélosolex (which ironically is called a Knallert in Sweden, which basically means moped in Denmark… but I think that is because you could only buy them from Denmark) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solex and wwe used to race them when we hanged out at our summerhouse when we where kids.
O, isn’t Gothshake rich ? If i remember correctly he had a mansion and the butler. How couldn’t he afford a car ?
@azureink:
Ninjas never appeared before this story arc? Did you ever read the archives? Ninja are an essential part of Commissioned since I-don’t-know-when - the only new thing for this story arc is, that O is hiding them als little extras in almost every strip now
I love how he holds his eye in his fingers. LOL!
four stroke scooter are very popular in Europe, what about gy6 in the US ?