Sidekick Girl

Saving the City: Sans-Spandex

beep boop.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

78 responses to “Moving Up VII”

  • Amethyst on May 5, 2021 at 1:52 AM

    All this time later her reaction to finding out he was the Vigilante still feels off to me. It was just so wildly out of character. Shocked, angry, hurt, confused and need time off to think? Sure, totally understandable. Instantly cutting all ties like that? Even in a state of shock and confusion that flies in the face of everything we know about Val. A year and a half later it still bugs me.

  • The Passing Critic on May 6, 2021 at 12:36 AM

    That awkward moment when a registered villain does more to improve the city than all the heros combined.

  • Jade on May 6, 2021 at 6:23 AM

    Oh, so that’s the third option.
    Good for him.
    I mean he’s in trouble but good for him.

  • Red Admiral on May 6, 2021 at 8:31 AM

    I agree with Amethyst that Val’s reaction really bugged me at the time, if she does try to get back together with him, she should be the one doing the apologising. She knew the system was broken and the situation he was in, but decided to break up anyway, potentially causing him to go full dark side.

  • Ebonbolt on May 6, 2021 at 8:13 PM

    Fighting crime, legally this time. Although why he let the hint slip is what confuses me…

  • billydaking on May 7, 2021 at 2:35 AM

    It bugs me that some readers are bugged about Val’s reaction.

    No way in hell should she ever apologize. She wasn’t the one who lied and didn’t trust the one person who should be trusted, who already put her own future on the line having a relationship with him.

    It wasn’t about the system. It was about them.

  • billydaking on May 7, 2021 at 2:49 AM

    From Bridge Talk III:

    “I feel for you, I really do, but you’ve been lying to my best friend for a LONG time about something you knew was really important to her. She trusted you, red card and all, over all our objections.

    She knew you were a good guy in a bad spot and tried really hard to find ways to help you out and make things better, and she thought you were being straight with her, and you weren’t. She maybe, MAYBE, would have been understanding of why you wanted to do what you were doing, and MAYBE been able to help…..

    …And yannow, I was pretty bummed about it for both of you cuz you ARE a good guy, and you weren’t trying to hurt her. But you DID hurt her. Not to protect her, to protect yourself. You had a choice, you made it, and this is what happened. And to be straight with YOU, I don’t think anyone who dumps that kind of betrayal on somebody can expect anything OTHER than “that level” of mad.”

  • Black Rose on May 8, 2021 at 8:48 AM

    Well if Isauro is the Vigilante, what if it turns out there are TWO Vigilantes!?

  • MercuryGreen on May 8, 2021 at 11:36 AM

    I still say we’re going to find out he’s been a secret blue card since he saved Agent Grey!

  • Jordan on May 9, 2021 at 12:33 PM

    Oh boy… Isauro, I hope you know what you’re doing buddy.

  • Totes McGoats on May 11, 2021 at 5:21 AM

    @ billydaking : I don’t think anyone is excusing Isauro’s actions, but Val’s reaction to them was out of character and hypocritical. Breaking up/ cutting ties with your significant other on the grounds their actions or choices are selfish is one thing. However, basing your decision solely off of your feelings on how their actions or choices affected you personally is selfish as well. While there are exceptions to this, Val could’ve given Isauro a chance to explain himself at the very least, but she didn’t. Even some short and awkward ” we’re on break, but I miss you ” texting between them that somewhat gives the impression Val has calmed down some would’ve been cool for me. She just refuses to see beyond her feelings.

    I’m glad they broke up honestly. Their relationship never felt believable to me anyways.

  • Poetically Psychotic on May 13, 2021 at 12:01 AM

    @Ebonbolt He had to implicate the Vigilante, because otherwise people would assume it was an inside job. Which it *was*, but that’s not something he wants people thinking too hard about.

  • Kia on May 13, 2021 at 11:09 PM

    She’s back y’all! Adorable Reporter lady! We haven’t seen you in almost 3 years! It’s been too long!

  • Xero on May 14, 2021 at 1:01 AM

    @Amethyst one of her closest friends is dead and another is in prison because of his actions

  • MauveCloud on May 14, 2021 at 11:19 AM

    As far as I can tell, nobody brought up the possibility during the “Revelation” story arc, but the Vigilante might not really be Isauro – he could have been someone else disguising himself as Isauro with copied/extracted memories in order to get Val to stop fighting him (at least temporarily) and possibly also to break up their relationship.

  • Jade on May 15, 2021 at 8:33 PM

    @Xero: If you are talking about the sibling duo, I’m pretty sure that was because of the evil doctor dude?

  • David on May 16, 2021 at 7:37 PM

    So, Isauro is counting on none of the Mayor’s crew knowing who the Vigilante is. Interesting.

    Of course, if someone clues them in, things will get ugly for him in a hurry. I really, Really hope that Val will realize that this is Isauro _trying_ to do the right thing for a change. That, instead of “taking care of the problem,” vigilante-style, Isauro has adopted a completely new tactic of exposing the bad guy, and letting the cops and the genuine blue cards deal with it. She ought to at least be happy that he is still trying to fight the good fight, and he is also trying to play by the rules. I’m not saying she should want to get back together with him, but this is an improvement of her world by any measure she cares to apply.

  • The Passing Critic on May 19, 2021 at 7:23 AM

    @ David
    Actually hes not changed at all,Hes just scaled up his operation,and lets face it the bluecards would never achieve something like this cause theres no merchandising in undercover ops and 90% of them are too dumb to pull of something this cunning.The hero and Villain system is all about monetising blatant crime rather than eliminating it which means the best it can do is maintain the status quo.

  • Ebonbolt on May 20, 2021 at 7:41 PM

    My perspective on the “Val’s overreacting” debate is thus (disclaimer: my opinion only):
    Val worked very hard, went to school, put her entire life into the quest to become a Hero… and got shot down, shut down, & basically told she’d never make “Hero” status, because she doesn’t have the right image. She didn’t like that, but she accepted it, worked around it, & became a sidekick, working inside the system (one she knows is flawed) to do what she had dreamed of (helping people) even without the big H. She was peeved about the Vigilante from the get-go because he’s just that: a vigilante, not a hero. Sure, he stopped some crimes, but he wasn’t working with the system (any system), just dealing out punishment as he saw fit.

    Isauro was stuck in a bad spot, sure. But Val told him the reasons she was against the Vigilante’s actions, and not only did he not tell her (understandable), he KEPT DOING IT. The lie of omission would be, as the argument goes, a matter of a step back to consider. The continued action as the Vigilante, however, takes it into the realm of going behind her back to do something she finds unacceptable, something she is morally opposed to. And he knew it. He also behaved as if he were trying to do things her way (leaking villain plots, etc.), implying that he was in complete agreement. The implicit lie was the biggie, here.

    I’d like to think that there’s a method for turning Villains, allowing them to become Heroes (as there is a process for the reverse). Unfortunately, sidekicks & minions are a little bit ignored, being less readily “monetized” than their more prominent coworkers. Maybe, if a few Heroes push strongly enough, there can be some change in the system. One can hope.

  • Gilly on May 20, 2021 at 11:39 PM

    Val is a human with all the emptions and irrationality that usually comes with that.

    Typo: panel 1 “propert”

  • David on May 21, 2021 at 8:28 PM

    Pass back to the critic!

    Isauro is in an odd place. Val is PO’ed at him because he was, very publicly, a vigilante; she didn’t mind a bit when he was a red-card minion with amazingly convenient moments of incompetence that benefitted the blue cards. She didn’t object to him telling her what the real villains were up to.

    Isauro is doing what she always approved of, but with a twist: he’s crediting the Vigilante persona which he appears to have completely given up. Now, Isauro is doing this for, in my opinion, a Very Good Reason; if he doesn’t cover his posterior, the mayor and all the heavy metals might figure out it was him, and come down on him like a ton of lead. Heck, they still might.

    The question is, does Val realize that – instead of Isauro going vigilante on Mr. Mayor and the Metalheads – he did what she always used to approve of? He may have arranged for “the Vigilante” to take the credit, but he ISN’T pretending to be a blue card. Any citizen can call in a hot tip. Any citizen can send evidence to the cops. And Val knows Isauro was working his way up inside an Evil organization. What did she think he was going to do when he found the top of the dung-heap? Would she have preferred he call her for help??

    Personally, I think Val is still too angry to realize that Isauro is doing exactly what a red-card-minion with blue sympathies ought to do. But I am counting on Mackenzie, Chris, and Jasper to help her come to grips with it. Isauro isn’t going to cease to exist. Or is he?

  • Splice on May 24, 2021 at 12:14 AM

    I always thought Val was on the edge after the policewoman val told her that her universe Issauro had done her dirty, cause if you remember the Dark saga, she’s really affected by the words of her “other” selves, but then again, thinking about the Dark arc… I wonder if they will get back together, or worse, she’ll regret her choice forever

  • Alex on May 25, 2021 at 11:33 PM

    It looks like the green nailed villain may know what happened, in which case Isauro is in big, big trouble.

  • Gilly on May 28, 2021 at 1:02 AM

    Is this a once-a-month comic now? I do not see it in the header anymore, nor a comment, but I thought it was every Thursday with breaks? Not complaining, I just want to know how often to check in.

  • Sidekickgirl on May 29, 2021 at 1:46 AM

    *Heavy Sigh.*

    So…the short answer is that I suck. We’re SUPPOSED to be rocking along at once a week with a reasonable delay here and there. (Technically the day is Wednesday, but if it doesn’t go up until Wednesday night, some folks prefer to check on Thursdays. Not really the issue.)

    But the thing is, work is killing me. (softly. with this song.) During the workweek, I’m typically getting home around sevenish. Getting to bed at nine, after having a little puppy time and a little breakfast and maybe exchange a grunt with the family. Then sleeping until five. And spending the next fivish hours stumbling around in a fugue of exhaustion, dozing off watching youtube, and utterly failing in getting anything reasonable done. By Friday afternoon, I’m beat. Then I have roughly 48 hours to get done every chore for the week, give all my pets the attention they need, and actually see friends and family. It’s left so little time for any of my hobbies and projects, including this one, that it makes me pretty sad.

    And of course, Laura is working food service during THESE TIMES, so every once in a while she’s overwhelmed as well.

    This whole comic thing for some reason seemed a lot easier when we were in our twenties. IMAGINE THAT.

    I wish I could say that coming up there was a date that everything ought to settle down and things will be better. But I honestly don’t know when that will be. I can only say that we’re doing our best in a really exhausting time, and we’re not going to step away from the comic, no matter how weird things get.

    As for when to check back? Well, if you don’t want to check every week, that’s cool. Really, check whenever you feel like it. Maybe you’ll find one, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll find two!

    Thanks for your patience, people.

  • Gilly on May 31, 2021 at 12:30 AM

    Thank you for the reply. Yeah, all those articles about having free time in the pandemic seem like taunts. While occasional updates are still nice, maybe you need a break? Depends on how you work, but if an hour a week over a few months to get a bit of a buffer is a better pace where you can still enjoy the webcomic process, well, I would like to see you happy and not abandon the project more than keep trying and get burned out. ^.^;; purely selfish motivation there though. I prefer to marathon projects though so I dunno if an hour a week pace would work for me, depends on how much I missed the making… so it really is about you figuring out how to find yourself settled, huh? I know that is hard, still figuring that out myself… and until I do I procrastinate by checking webcomics.

  • Opus the Poet on June 4, 2021 at 12:38 AM

    Nice Roberta Flack reference, it explains the lack of energy to do multiple projects. You’re about the same age as me and I can barely get the spoons to complain on social media on some days.

  • Twitch, Lurking SideKick on June 13, 2021 at 11:47 AM

    While I would enjoy more updates, I’m 100% behind you ladies needing to slow down.
    2021 is basically ‘In the Second Year of the Plague.’ It’s a siege, not a fight. Everybody is worn out.

    Do what you gotta do you keep food on the table and stay relatively sane.

  • Someone Else on July 3, 2021 at 3:04 PM

    Just popping by to say that you definitely don’t suck, and that’s a completely understandable reason not to be working on the comic. Whenever you have the time to start again will be soon enough. Take care of yourselves!

  • Dr. Mercurious on July 13, 2021 at 7:59 PM

    Honestly, the entire superhero licensing system can fall down a deep hole and break its neck as far as I’m concerned. At least the villains are honest about being villainous. The organization discriminates against body-shapes or appearances that aren’t ‘porn star’ or don’t fit a particular trope they’re looking for. We’ve never seen ANY sign that there’s any sort of out-reach program for heroes who get maimed or killed.

    Y’all DO remember how a certain character got her gravity-control abilities?

    Meanwhile, Isauro is LITERALLY living with a Damascus blade over his head and he has to put up with being the RAPE-TOY of his boss. And some of you actually have the GALL to wonder why he’s trying to gain some semblance of control over his life?

    Sidekick Girl lost a lot of hero-cred in my books with her holier-than-tho shriek-fest. She proved she’s nothing more than a punch-clock hero at best…and a jack-booted thug at worst.

  • Ed Rhodes on July 16, 2021 at 6:45 PM

    My two favorite super hero strips (this and PS-238) haven’t updated in months!

    I am concerned.

    (The other “Strong Female Character,” just stopped!)

  • Ebonbolt on July 16, 2021 at 8:07 PM

    @Dr. Mercurious: I addressed this one earlier on this page. I never said he didn’t have a right to be outraged, even to attempt to free himself from the situation, and SG agreed with that & that the system needs fixing (or even to be completely rebuilt). She isn’t mad about that, she’s mad about him ignoring her moral stance on vigilante activity, and basically intrinsically lying about it. If that makes her a “jack-booted thug,”…

  • Ed Rhodes on July 29, 2021 at 1:08 PM

    There was a contest going on between Sidekick Girl and PS-238 as to which would last the longest without updating. PS-238 just blinked.

  • Gilly on August 14, 2021 at 12:50 AM

    Ed – PrequelAdventures has not had a new page since Dev 17, 2020.

  • khlovia on August 17, 2021 at 2:35 AM

    You are incorrect. You do not suck. you are nonsucky. Don’t argue with me; I am very smart. What you are is a (nonsucky) human who is juggling a very busy human life and who has forgotten that humans need regular sleep in order to be healthy and strong enough to be creative. Creativity demands whole drawerfuls of spoons. Furthermore, it seems to be typical of webcomic creators for some reason that when they decide they need to drop one of their time-consuming activities, they all too often choose to drop sleep.

    Go lie down.

  • Brad on August 27, 2021 at 5:20 PM

    I look forward to your triumphant return! (patiently)

  • David on September 1, 2021 at 12:22 PM

    I’m just relieved that she didn’t push Isauro into signing on all the way with Team Evil.

  • Kiatana on September 1, 2021 at 2:51 PM

    Val reacted this way because she has spent her entire career trying to fix the system from within. She wanted to show others like her that being a sidekick doesn’t mean you are a second class citizen. So Isauro taking matters into her own hands knowing her struggles is the ultimate betrayal. It doesn’t matter if what he does cuts down on crime, it’s still a slap in the face.

  • Joseph LaPage on September 10, 2021 at 7:35 PM

    Hey sidekickgirl how are you doing? I hope things are getting better.

  • Opus the Poet on October 5, 2021 at 3:26 PM

    Hang in there, Blood Spattered Socks hasn’t updated in months, longer than here even, and Kiwi Blitz just updated after over a year.

  • Gilly on October 6, 2021 at 10:14 AM

    Monsterkind has not updated since Nov 1 2019. http://monsterkind.enenkay.com/comic/486

    Again, prequeladventures is since Dec 2020.

  • Opus the Poet on October 11, 2021 at 3:56 PM

    Blood Spattered Socks is a sci-fi comic set in the far-off year of 2017, but because of injury and illness has only been updating intermittently since 2015. Last update 29 March 2021

  • MauveCloud on October 16, 2021 at 6:17 PM

    As long as the site remains accessible and the authors are still alive, I will continue hoping for more pages – I used to consider webcomics dead if they went 4 years without an update, but Sailor Ranko recently resumed after a 10-year hiatus, so I may have to re-evaluate my rule.

  • Anvildude on November 10, 2021 at 5:19 PM

    Heck, Thunderstruck had a whole “The comic is over! I’m going away and not writing it anymore!” thing, and then came back years later!

  • Opus the Poet on November 30, 2021 at 4:45 AM

    Since we seem to be on a roll of who updates last, Alien Hand Syndrome last posted filler May 30, 2019. Last story comic was in 2017.

  • CheshireMadcat on December 25, 2021 at 4:18 PM

    Has anyone heard anything? I’m starting to worry about them, with covid and all, I would hate for something to of happened to them.

  • Opus the Poet on December 28, 2021 at 2:00 PM

    Still checking in for a report/update. Best wishes for the creative team.

    And found another comic that has gone years without an update: Atomic Laundromat hasn’t updated since April of 2017.

  • David on January 8, 2022 at 5:41 PM

    Just so I’m not missing anything, is there a Patreon page or GoFundMe that I should be contributing to in order to help the heroes who brought Sidekick Girl into our lives??

  • Caf on January 19, 2022 at 9:27 PM

    Another reader here who is still checking for updates and hoping that the creative team is doing OK.

  • Opus the Poet on February 8, 2022 at 5:17 AM

    It’s been a while, everybody still among the living?

    I hope y’all are doing well, and I’m worried about you for what it’s worth.

  • Copy-Teditor on February 17, 2022 at 2:38 PM

    Found this place via TVTropes. Archive-binged it until four in the morning. Interesting. I wonder if Izzy could generate other super-identities?

  • Opus the Poet on April 20, 2022 at 7:54 AM

    Hello? Anyone home? It’s been a couple of whiles.

  • CheshireMadcat on April 27, 2022 at 4:23 PM

    No word from the author, but some of us still come around

  • Opus the Poet on May 5, 2022 at 5:22 PM

    Well this makes a full year without an update, anyone heard from the creative team yay or nay on being alive? Seriously concerned about them now.

  • Opus the Poet on May 14, 2022 at 12:44 AM

    Well this stinks, I have another comic I follow that the creator just went web-dark, no Twitter, no Facebook, and no response to Patreon messages. She has been attacked on the street in the past, and she was telling us she had comics queued to run in a couple of days and that was a month ago.

  • CheshireMadcat on May 15, 2022 at 6:04 PM

    I hope they didn’t fall victim to something and are gone. Be it accident or sickness…

  • Opus the Poet on June 21, 2022 at 8:13 PM

    Well, I have a new personal “best” at “dead webcomics updating”, Love Me Nice previous update was September of 2019, just did a 2 page update last week.

  • Opus the Poet on July 8, 2022 at 5:09 PM

    I still check in once a week for something from the creative team. Y’all have my email, let me know if there’s something I can help you with.

  • Chaos-of-cats on July 11, 2022 at 7:58 PM

    White Noise by MadSniper has been on/off for a long time.

    Best wished to Erika and Lore!

  • Chrysafiasco on July 21, 2022 at 4:29 AM

    Has anyone contacted them via email or social media?

  • Berbalang on July 27, 2022 at 10:25 AM

    Still checking in once a week. Hope they are okay, too many voices have fallen silent the past two years.

  • Opus the Poet on August 14, 2022 at 1:33 AM

    That webcomic I mentioned that had stopped updating has gone back to updating regularly, the creator had severe burnout from the Day Job and had to take a Mental Health Break. She’s back at it but the buffer is literally an episode ahead.

  • C. on August 21, 2022 at 2:19 PM

    I know the comic hasn’t updated in over a year, and I hope the creators are okay.

    I’m been rereading the archives and some comics are missing. Chris’s introduction, for example.

  • Opus the Poet on October 14, 2022 at 11:19 PM

    I checked the contact page for names and then checked those names against death notices, and had zero matches so to the best of my ability they are all still among the living. I hate when things like this happen and I have to use my deductive and search powers just to make sure nobody is dead.

  • Opus the Poet on January 25, 2023 at 8:30 PM

    You know this isn’t the worst place to end the comic, just not the best. There are too many stories unfinished for one thing, but I would have to reread the entire archive to say what they are now. Isauro’s status immigration and otherwise just off the top of my head, but Sidekick Girl’s status was still not completely settled in the previous arc. Stuff like that.

  • Nora on March 1, 2023 at 10:13 PM

    So… I remember reading this and falling in love with it way back in the day. I hope this continues at some point because I care about the story. That said, good luck with whatever you do in the future, and I intend to remain a fan, even though I beat Doctor prescribed 2% chance to live. I learn a lot from everything going on, and hope for the best for other people. Ciao!

  • Gin on March 16, 2023 at 10:50 PM

    Wow it’s been a minute. Hope everyone is still hanging in there.

  • Gilly on April 17, 2023 at 12:49 AM

    Saw an update from navcomic’s author and thought to check all my in progress stalled story bookmarks.

  • Naomi on May 3, 2023 at 12:01 AM

    Almost the 2 year mark.

  • Glenn the Frog on May 11, 2023 at 12:08 AM

    Wow, sad to see we still haven’t gone anywhere in a bit, but I have to agree with Opus that this isn’t the worst pla to end things.

    Also wanted to chime in that I think Isauro is in the right and Val is being a stinkbutt. That was my opinion when I first read this comic, and it remains unchanged a couple years later.

  • The Passing Critic on May 24, 2023 at 11:36 PM

    Its a shame this hasnt updated in a long time.This story alone represents a huge change in the status quo and Id love to see how its recieved.

    “The Vigilante”‘s success in something so big and blatantly public is bound to garner a lot of public support while drawing a lot of criticism on heros in general regardless of what they do but especially if this public embarrassment causes them to aggressively hunt him down.In fact catching him at this point would hurt them alot.

  • Ben on November 10, 2023 at 1:26 AM

    Just letting you know that some of us still check in now and then to see if there is an update. Hope you are doing well, in whatever you are doing.

  • CaptRory on January 3, 2024 at 12:21 PM

    Well, it is 2024 and no one has heard from anyone afaik. We might have to stick a fork in this comic. =-(

  • Opus the Poet on March 30, 2024 at 4:00 AM

    The site is back up, there may yet be hope!

  • Opus the Poet on May 6, 2024 at 3:15 AM

    Well this makes 3 years since the last update, but the site went down and was brought back up twice in the interim, so there is still hope.

  • Storel on July 13, 2024 at 1:53 AM

    Maybe, but why haven’t they *said* anything? That’s what worries me the most.

  • Lance Taylor on August 14, 2024 at 3:26 AM

    This is for the creator of this comic, we love you and miss you. ❤️

    We know you will return someday,and we will be waiting with joy in our hearts for when you are finally able to return. This comic is fantastic, we all love it, and this comic is worth waiting for. ???? ????

  • Someone Else on October 8, 2024 at 2:47 AM

    Just finished a reread of the comic. I hope things are going well for you both, and thank you for keeping the comic up, because I know that’s not free.

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