Alex is thinking, I could’ve finished my report two pages ago if not for all the lousy interruptions!
An update for everyone who is patiently waiting for Book Three to be released: the delay has been not with finishing up the book– in fact, it’s all ready to go to press now– but rather with putting together the Indiegogo campaign we want to launch to help fund the printing. As it turns out, this process takes a lot longer than we’d thought! Although I can’t at this point give a date when we’ll finally launch the campaign (soon, I hope), rest assured I’ll post the news here when we do!
Col Anderson is one of my favorite characters. I’m not sorry he didn’t finish speaking his piece two pages ago. It’s nice to see him take center stage for a little while after so much time in the background. I’m not sure about the hashmarks in the panel five word balloon but I get the impression that there should be little icicles dangling from it.
Aaand, no matter what Alex can do to keep his peace of mind, «The Garneau Theory» will go into history.
I must admit, Einstein was better prepared.
Alex sure is getting peeved, isn’t he! These IP people need to loosen up a little.
Count me on board that campaign as soon as it launches.
Or the Galaxion’s crew needs to stop acting like they’re all drinking buddies?
I don’t know. A little of both would work.
Speaking as a former USN officer, I have to say that the IP folks in this story are rather more tight-assed and high-handed than is called for – at least the LtCol and the Brigadier. I haven’t gone back into the archives, but it seems likely that Mal and Alex are of similar ranks, meaning using each other’s first names in a high level staff mtg would be completely appropriate. As would Alex using Mal’s first name if he in fact outranks him (but not visa versa unless explicitly invited).
Also, I understand the reason – from a story-telling perspective – for Scavina’s hand-wavy “just cut to the chase, please” interuption of Mal. But having such short attention about the absolutely pivotal question of where they are (and just *how* they came to be there) seems out of character – for her specifically (she obviously has the intellectual chops to “follow the math”), and for a mission commander in general. She’s the one upon whom rests the ultimate responsibility for any crew action. Ie, any mistakes, missteps, errors, injuries…or deaths…will be explicitly her fault. When you have that sort of responsibility you want to be able to understand, not just trust, what your people are telling you.
I can add additional perspective to Jeff’s remarks as I have worked with combined civilian and military officer staff for many years. Every group of command staff is different; the way they interact depends a lot on interpersonal dynamics. Some groups get along well on an informal first name basis and allow a limted bit of snarking during meetings, some are very formal and would not tolerate it. The operational tempo of the group changes over time as people come and go. The Galaxion crew appear to be stuck with each other for a very long time to come.
If I were to analyze this meeting from a management perspective, the mismatched signals here indicate that both Captain Mierter and General Nelson have further work to do to get this crew to pull together. The actual chain-of-command appears muddled to me, perhaps the characters feel the same way? To me, it appears that General Nelson is the mission leader and Captain Mierter is responsible for ensuring her crew carry out the General’s lawful commands. Granted, the Captain’s command style is completely different from that of the General but she is responsible for maintaining a professional attitutde and ensuring that her personnel adapt and comply.
Gen. Nelson – mission commander
Capt. Mierter – spacecraft commander
Hi Tara! Why Indiegogo instead of the more popular Kickstarter?
Hi Kev! Kickstarter isn’t available for Canadian campaigns yet. Some Canadian folks have managed to do a workaround by having business partners in the States, but for us it was simpler to just use Indiegogo.
I love the weary expression in the fifth panel.