This may smell bad, kid
Notice how there is no blood when Han slices open Samantha the Tauntaun in the film? I blanked for a moment while coloring today’s strip and instinctively made the organs and splash red. Then, Leanne reminded me I’d got it wrong. Which, in turn, brought the obvious lack of blood to my attention. I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that they did this to skirt around the film censors so they could get a family rating and make more money. Crazy that you can show the hero’s hand being chopped off, Walrus Man’s arm, a Wampa’s arm, and a slightly cute Tauntaun being disembowled, and its basically okay if you just go easy on the blood. Isn’t the act itself really the issue? I mean, if you’re hung up on censorship then haven’t the censors got it wrong? Just something to think about.
–EDIT–
Okay, before I get accused of having no common sense, I know that lightsabers are supposed to cauterize the wounds, but in THIS case? Look, this isn’t a limb bring chopped off. The innards are bursting out after the incision. Not even a hint of blood. I know we all like to justify every little slip up, but just admit it, it’s not very realistic. I still love the film and the scene.
GALACTIC GIRL: ATTACK OF THE STARBARIANS
As you may know, I have many talented friends, and Jon Hoche isn’t one of them. Oh wait! J/K. Jon is a great guy, a lot of imagination and the ability to turn that into something polished and entertaining. Blue Milk Special is just an out and out parody of Star Wars, so I have great admiration for the Star Wars fans among us who take the risk to create their own original stories. It takes courage and belief to put these works before an often brutal and unforgiving world.
Jon is the writer/director/producer of “Galactic Girl in: Attack of the Starbarians”. It will be the first ever play from the Comic Book Theater Festival and the talented players of The Brick Theater. This tongue and cheek sci-fi story that pits the heroic and hot Galactic Girl against the savage Starbarians. If you like Star Wars and you like comedy (which, I assume, is why you read Blue Milk Special) then I think you will love this show. However, to get it off the ground, Jon is currently fundraising and looking for donations.
If the title and the image below doesn’t get you excited then check out this promotional appeal put together by Kevin Conn of Unemployed Skeletor fame.
Galactic Girl and the Starbarians pinup by ReJean Dubois
GALACTIC GIRL: ATTACK OF THE STARBARIANS
In a futuristic world reeling from a Dark Infinite Civil Crisis, Galactic Girl leads the charge in bringing peace and order to the Cosmos. She’s the best at what she does with a booty that just don’t quit. Under the command of General Fu Fu, Galactic Girl journeys to the planet of Starbaria with her compatriot Pixel and new recruit Moxie-5 to capture the leader of the Savage Starbarians. Unexpected obstacles lead Team Galactic Girl on a wild ride. Come see Galactic Girl in: Attack of the Starbarians, a Sci Fi adventure jammed packed with hot girls, great fights, dance breaks, laughter and so much more.
Follow them on the Galactic Girl Blog and Facebook.
Lightsabers instantly cauterize the wounds, meaning no blood 🙂
I understand that, and that might be a good explanation, however look at the size of that open wound and the protruding intestines and organs. I’m no expert, but I would think the reason we see some blood from Ponda’s arm and the Wampa’s arm is that it is unavoidable for larger wounds. But, whatevs.
When a limb is severed, the large arteries present spurt blood (they carry enough pressure to break open a a partially cauterized area). When you cut an abdomen open, there are small blood vessels along the surface (which are easily cauterized or friction sealed), but the large ones tend to be located much farther in, under the organs.
Unless Han punctured the organs, there would be surprisingly little bleeding, even if he hadn’t used a lightsaber. At least, when you cut a patient open in the OR (especially down the center) they don’t bleed much at all. How similar are taun-taun and human circulatory systems?
same with a deer, or any other animal i’ve hunted…yes i hunt. often. for food.
as long as you haven’t punctured anything inside the sac – a really kewl membrane with mesh-like structures (Heather may know the name of that sac) – the only blood you’ll see is when cutting the abdominal muscles.
The tauntaun is dead by the point Solo cuts her open, if memory serves. Dead bodies do not bleed as the heart is no longer pumping, regardless of cauterization (or lack there of) or the cut
Samantha the Tauntaun, that’s perfect!
“His Tauntaun, Samantha” Ha – brilliant. And a bit scary…
The taun-taun died of the extreme cold, didn’t it? Is it possible that the blood froze, thus no blood when it was cut open? The thing that always got me was the difference between the end of Empire and the Cantina scene in A New Hope. The lightsaber cauterized Luke’s hand so he didn’t bleed to death, so why didn’t it also cauterize Pondo Baba’s arm on the floor of the Cantina?
Hey, Rogue026 back to work, less comments and more awesome Penguin Comics! 😉
Lol, TEAM GALACTIC girl, I see what you did there >:3
So, maybe Tauntaun’s don’t have copper-based blood, so their blood/ichor/whatever isn’t red?
My fanon says their circulatory fluid is 30% ethanol. Check Woookkeeepeedia (in about 30 minutes) in you don’t believe me. 🙂
LOL! I almost believe you.
Now THIS scenario with Han creating the Tent-In-A-Tauntaun is far more believable than what was shown in ESB. X D
Tent-In-A-Tauntaun! Now that’s something the Smoking Jawa could sell.
Or would it be a Tauntent?! (that’s trademarked now)
On Hoth, totally. Probably a big seller among the non-Wampa set.
Will we also be seeing the other Sex and the City Tauntauns?
My question is; why didn’t they cook some of the yummy Taun Taun innerds with the lightsaber and have a warm meal?
They prefer them raw and frosty?
Don’t talk tripe.
Does no one else read detective fiction? Dead men don’t bleed and all that. 😉 There would probably have been some small amount of blood (like with Ponda’s arm), but not a great gout like you want to imagine when slicing someone open that way. Still, no blood at all is weird and I have trouble buying the censor excuse since, as mentioned, there was some blood in the first film.
have you seen the tauntaun sleeping bags that are being sold? http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/plush/bb2e/?cpg=froogle
Yeah, I was going to post that in the Monday blog.
Why do Tauntauns freeze in the cold long before humans? Presumably they are indegenous to Hoth, so you think they’d withstand cold better than people. What the hell do they eat anyway? I see no plants (they look like hebrivores) anywhere.
I am guessing the Expanded Universe already has the answers. The probably live in caves and eat fungi or some BS like that. The blizzard was probably an unusual temperature drop… or they just normally don’t venture outside the caves. The caves I made up.
It’s got to have something to do with Forciness, don’t forget the Forciness excuse!
Of coursiness! How could I forget “Forciness”?! 🙂
It’s a combination of Forciness, ethanol, and Heatichlorians. (“Feh.”) Mostly Forciness, of course. Everything’s better with Forciness.
(“Even Samantha doesn’t have a Heatichlorian count that high!” would make a great tee-shirt)
LOL
This kind of begs for a T-shirt, doesn’t it?
this made me think: Yoda DOES look at bit reptile-ish, doesn’t he?
Also, I expect that when SW:ToR is released, when you can travel to hoth it will probably be full of lore-stuff about how tauntauns and wampas, etc, can live on this planet. EVERY go-darned MMO is full of thoselore-based “side-quests” ^^;
And the animal wasn’t wearing a futuristic jacket. Hans’ jacket may look normal, but I’m guessing there’s some sort of electrical device or something that keeps you warmer.
Mabey they have a cauterize setting?
Comic and art fans -if you are not following this as it unfolds, then I suggest you do so right now! http://www.facebook.com/RobertGranitoIsAFRAUD
Check out Unemployed Skeletor’s shout out to Rob Granito.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjoTD5FXjBA
Could Samantha the Tauntaun be a nod to the BANTHA named Samantha in the Star Wars ABCs?
It would have been funny if the animal was still alive! lol Great Comic!
Hey, Rod, I thought of updating you on the latest OT-appearance in the CW: in the latest Episode Chewbacca is one of the main stars. He, togheter with Ashoka (Ani’s CW-padawan if you don’t remember) and two other jedi younglings are trying to escape a planet where they have been stranded for sport by thrandosan hunters. here’s a link: http://www.megavideo.com/?v=3VTPNEEM altough I though tit was a good episode, it is more of a tie-in to his cameo in ep 3 than the OT, but it will be worth your time checking it out 🙂
This is my first comment, but I had to say it-seeing a Tauntaun that shares my name be disemboweled was weird! I love BMS though, so it’s all good. :p
Am I completely hallucinating the strip where Han tells the rebel to go to hell and the guy mutters that Han had better take care of Samantha? Or is that a joke used somewhere else that my memory tricked me into thinking was used for that part?