Mind Control Comics Forum

Is Daffyd controlling the book, or is it controlling him?

(http://mindcontrolcomics.com/covers/hidden_knowledge-i08-p00.jpg)

Coming October 24th!

Man, that's a six month gap between comics.

You're welcome.

We're trying to move to a every-two-months schedule for at least HK and BR... let's see if it works!

I really wish there were a like button in way of response to posts.  Specifically since its only Seven Days Away!!!

*like!*

So when pupils shrink other things grow to compensate?  That is a trend worth looking in to.

I...didn't like this.

And it pains me to say that since this is my favorite MCC comic and we've waited five damn months for this issue and I was looking forward to it so much that I hid in a bathroom stall at work and read it on my ipad rather than wait to go home.

But I didn't like the girls being all zombified with the tiny pupils.  I especially didn't like that happening to Janice--she's been an interesting character, and it would have been interesting to see her adjust to being an obedient slave while still being Janice.  As Kayleigh and Tari (and presumably Ulrika) have.  Now she's some zombie robot, it seems, as are Lela and possibly (didn't really get a good look at her eyes) Marlissa.  Bleah.  Also, and opinions may differ here, those tits that he gave her in the last panel are gross.  Don't get me wrong, I love a nice huge set of tits--Keeley Hazell, Iga Wyrwal, Sasha Bonilova, almost all the girls in the first seven issues of this comic.  But the new freak show tits that Janice has at the end?  Ick.

Oh well.  There seems to be an element here where the book is acting like the One Ring, corrupting Daffyd.  That dude who's been sniffing around after him is strongly reminiscent of a Ringwraith.  It will be interesting to see if his intentions are truly as benevolent as he made out when talking to Kayleigh.

Would it be asking too much for Janice to get her personality, previous rack, and pupils back in the next installment?  Pretty please with sugar on top?

I had a very different read of this than Vidor.  I don't think Janice has been zombified or bodily adjusted - I think that's Lela at the end.  My read on what's happening is that Daffyd panicked at the end of issue 7, and is now fully enslaving everyone at the book's suggestion and in the way it said to.  (I think Gold!Tari from issue 7 is the means by which the book communicates with its owner.)  So:  Lela is 'sculpted as he pleases' (issue 7, page 5). 

I do think that the victims temporarily zombify while the commands are taking place, so I think that's what we see with the non-Lela characters throughout this issue.

One thing that is very interesting:  Clovis Levesque's power seems to be disappearing.  I take this to mean that the book has somehow chosen a new owner, and the previous owner is losing his power as a result.

My only complaint, really, is that I want to see what happens next.  I read issue 8 as a transitional one from the middle of the story to the beginning of the end.  (Now that I have made that confident prediction, you can comfortably watch as this story goes to 32 issues, and really we're actually at the end of the beginning of the story instead of getting closer to a resolution.  As I've said in other threads, I reserve the right to be very wrong.)

I won't argue with the characterization of the boobs, but that's Lela, not Janice. :)

Loved the eyes in this.  It seems to suggest that going too far with the commands fries a woman's brains.  I guess only time will tell, can't wait for the next installment.

To weigh in on the eyes. I liked the intent, but I think the artist just took it too far into the uncanny valley.

Only problem I had were with the boobs on last page. I really like a variety and I think too many of the comics now are enlarging every girls tits. I think we need some with small and some with large, mix it up a bit. I am worried future ones for this and Bearing Gifts will go down the same path.

The breast enlargement thing was telegraphed very very early in the story, though.  It's not at all a new aspect to HK.

Well, I was corrected on the identity of that character.  And I suppose Janice and Marlissa aren't permanently enslaved--it is true that all the other girls temporarily went blank-eyed when Daffyd was putting the whammy on them, and Lela might be the only one who has been left that way.

And here is where the dots might connect on HK and BR.  I think the Rubies are the brainchild of the mutant/zombie/mage whatever-he-is who had The Book and lost it.

On a side note--I'm a little depressed that Daffyd is now hovering somewhere between Bertram and the lead from Bigger on attitude and use of power.  I'm hoping he doesn't veer any farther toward Pwned, or he'll be indistinguishable from his oppenents (except for possibly limited experience, and brainpower).  That's just depressing.  Please, please, PLEASE let his innate goodness (whatever's left of it) reassert itself and I BEG you, don't let Adrian go down this path.

The connection was already made.  They exist in the same city/universe, but cheeky nods aside, are still separate stories.

Needed to delurk here to say how pleased I was to see a new episode of HK, and how nice it was to see the leap (from already very good to even better) PC's art has taken during the hiatus. However, I have to add my voice to those who are dismayed with the big breast reveal on the last page. Like Geezy said above, variety is a good thing, and I feel like the body modification (at least when it's limited to breast enhancement explosion) is a kink that only works when the artist makes it into something beautiful and/or sexy. I love love love what you're doing with that kink over in Beyond Rubies, interested but a little ambivalent about it in Bearing Gifts, but here it just seemed off to me.

I found the 'tiny eyes' signal a little over the top. We haven't seen it before but then the story line has never needed to mark quite so plainly difference between a character free and a character enslaved.

On the Huge Boobs issue: well, yes it's gross and over the top. I think that's part of the point and part of the shock as the story turns nasty. (Nastier?)

On the issue of visuals two things.

One is it me or does Daffyd look different in this issue? Slightly stockier in the face? It could be just the artist depicting his changed mood or personality.

And we finally see one of the two faces that have been kept from us, Tari's client. And what I'm wondering is if I should recognise him from anywhere. Because if a face is kept from me I'm going wonder why. And I don't get who this guy is at all. (Is this part of the reason people feel this story is sharing a setting with BEYOND RUBIES? Because again I didn't get that at all.)

I'm sort of wondering if seeing Clovis is going to make me go 'duh? what? who?' as well.

I'm still having fun! If this story does come to an end I think it deserves print publication. I'd buy it!

It's been happening since issue 1, guys.

Oh,right. Then call me Captain Oblivious....

Yes, in fairness, Daffyd's girls have always had that "tiny eyes' look when he has been putting the whammy on them.  What was different about this installment was that Lana stayed in the 'tiny eyes' zombie state even after Daffyd was done with exerting his MC powers.

First of all, thank you very much for the kind words regarding my art!
Drawing big boobs is kind of hard (for me at least). I always try to make it realistic, and gravity affects much more on huge boobs =]
I took September Carrino as my inspiration for that last panel.

I´ll make sure the boobs look sexier in the next chapter. Promise!

I'm sorry, but I don't really like where the story is going.
We already got plenty of brainwashed women. I liked the idea of them be "persuaded".
IMHO... worst episode ever.

With no misrespect, of course.

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I think they were perfect, says the editor. :)

From a story standpoint, probably my least favorite chapter so far. The rampant total mindless domination and now the lolhuge breasts are a turn-off for me.

Regardless of my quibble on the permanent tiny eyes, I enjoyed this installment. But then I like it when the male protagonists let the power go to their heads and wander down the dark path. As long as they have some redeeming qualities and there is hope for ultimate redemption for them, it's all good.

Personally, I loved this issue.  I always took The Hidden Knowledge as sort of a slow-burn story: Daffyd starts small, but over time gets more aggressive with his powers.  This issue seemed like a turning point, in a good way, towards Daffyd going full-out with his powers.  I've been waiting for him to fully brainwash Janice since Issue #1.  And really, guys... isn't this why we're here?  If I didn't want this to happen, I'd read... you know... normal porn.

Just wanted to delurk because I was surprised by all the negativity this issue got.  Nobody seems to mind when BR does the exact same thing...

PS, loved seeing the book's previous owner losing his own powers.  Really ups the ante on that side of the story, I think.

That's because I'm awesome.

Actually, I spoke up when Beyond Rubies completely subverted the personalities of the girls, too. I'm not a fan of the "PersErase" feature in Beyond Rubies, either.

Maybe this is the line that connects the issues I have a problem with.  Bearing Gifts was almost all personality erasure, Pwned was horrid personalities, a failed HAL and personality erasure.  Martian Harem is complete personality and will erausre as a fact of biology, and now we're seeing it in HK and BR.  Come to think of it, if Daffyd were toe-dabbling in personality erasure and permanent modification as punishment, his first target would be his ex, so at least THAT tracks, even if I don't like where we're going.

I actually really dug this issue. He's intelligent, but he's desperate and becoming corrupted by his power. I like that we can also see the hunter moving in to dissuade him from fully going down the route he's on.

We're here for the erotic mind-control, which has been top-notch for most of the comic.  And I am another reader who thinks "Beyond Rubies" has tailed off a bit after a promising start.

Basically I have two objections: Frankentits is gross, and turning that one girl into something of a zombie at the end troubles me.  I've been waiting for Daffyd to make Janice into a slave too; I just hope she isn't a drone. 

One of the main premises of BR is body manipulation, "Frankentits" as you call them. I don't find it gross in the slightest. For me it's the opposite because of how well HMB draws them. PK does them very well in SJI too.

Everyone has different tastes obviously, but statements like "We're here for the erotic mind-control" make it seem like you are trying to speak for everyone. EMC has all sorts of facets that make up the genre. Body manipulation is common in the genre, and at least by this reader very appreciated.

That's not what he meant. He was only answering to this:

All I can say is it seems the girls are forming a new church.

It's Branch Daffydian!   ;D

An early gift for you!
Enjoy.

(http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2012/356/5/4/thk_christmas_gift__by_eros_studio-d5otq6f.jpg)

That's so sweet! Thank you!

I like your gift
Make great card for closes friends

Thanks for the gift, you can never have enough sexy mind controlled women.

Sweet gift. Thanks so much!

Feels great to be posting again after so long! Figured I should chime in on the comic that brought me to MCC in the first place. XD

Schedule
Thanks for getting content out as often as you can. The payment situation isn't making it any easier, I'm sure.

Daffyd=Jerk
____Okay, I've argued this point before, and I feel like I need to mention it again. The only MCC protagonist so far that has any redeeming qualities is Adrian from SJI. Daffyd is a jerk, and has been since the very beginning. The only difference now is that he isn't afraid to show it because he's on a power trip.
____Right from the get go, he had that slightly pathetic/entitled "I'm a nice guy with beautiful friends, so one of them should want to fuck me" vibe. The very second he got power he didn't hesitate to snatch a random woman off the street to experiment on, despite her begging him to stop. Then when Kayleigh told him how he caused relationship troubles for Marlissa, he wasn't the least bit sorry and was instead focusing on fucking her. Finally, he broke her will when she resisted him, just like he did in this issue.
____So really, this is nothing new. He only allowed his harem the illusion of free will while they didn't resist. Now that he has settled into his powers he sees his lovers as things rather than people, so it seems like he will just stop pretending, break all their wills, and just mold them into drone fuck dolls.

"Frankentits"
____This one is a toughie for me. I like BE and body manipulation, and have no illusions about that. But it just didn't feel right in this story, nor did it fit well with PC's style. I know the point was to shock the reader by showing that Daffyd has gone too far. It just didn't feel sexy to me, and felt really jarring. I think PC can make some nice looking large breasts, but ginormous tits just don't look right on his more balanced female figures.

Drones
____I'll come out and say that I actually really like drone and personality erasure stories, under the right circumstances. In the case of this story, it was the natural conclusion of Daffyd's powers. That is the dilemma with using this kind of MC, since there is really nothing to stop the controller from using it constantly and overriding all free will.

New Developments
____I'm intrigued by golden Tari, shady evil dude losing his power, and skeletor showing a modicum of mercy. Also, I am curious what Kayleigh will do now that she has seen how far Daffyd will go. Definitely curious to see what comes of those particular elements.
____I'm not expecting anything new from Daffyd for the aforementioned reasons. Short of an unexpected character 180, I suspect he can't really develop any further as a character. At this point, I'd almost like it if he was suddenly stripped of his power and knocked down a peg. However, we shall just have to wait and see what happens.

I wish I could refute part 2 of this analysis, but events have borne it out.  I'm really NOT a fan of Bertram and his acolytes as they all tend to remind me of the truly despicable characters in that two-volume comic with the "horny HAL program."  So far, the guy in Enchanted Summer hasn't had the opportunity to demonstrate selfish power run amok, but he's the only male character with a positive development arc outside Adrian.  Daffyd, Bertram, and the husband from Bigger are all on the "absolute power corrupts absolutely" journey, speeding straight over the cliff.

I agree that he's a jerk, but I don't think it's because he's intrinsically a bad guy like Brian from Found Objects, I think it's more of power corrupting, and fear. I think he actually could do a 180 if someone had a frank talk with him.

I would hope that would happen.  HK used to be my favorite comic on the site by a wide margin and a course correction for Daffyd would bring it back to what I really enjoyed (besides the excellent art) when the story began.

Not sure why people are bothered when an MCer is a jerk--unless one is embarrassed about one's own kink and can't admit that one likes erotic mind control unless the MCer somehow stumbles into it.  Daffyd is a jerk from the very first time he used the book deliberately.  And he's used the book deliberately every single time except for the first one.

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I'd also have to agree, what's the point of the person having the power over someone if they don't use it, or they have to have a moral crisis about using it.

I'd agree.  All this talk about whether it's moral or not seems strange.  Calling it 'evil' or not is kind of a moot point since it's not real. 

Granted, this is fiction and it's entertainment.  But, one of the problems the minority voice (including me) seems to have with the way a lot of these end up playing out is that the power tends to intensify the worst aspects of the person wielding it.  This ends up making a large majority of the guys and yeah, mostly it's guys into completely irredeemable assholes who I'd rather watch accidentally immolate themselves or get crushed by ACME safes.  Here's the thing--could you ever see The Joker as played by the late Heath Ledger as the hero of a three hour film?  If they actually made that movie, would you watch the whole thing?  Some of these characters, the main characters have to at least be likeable for me to invest in the entertainment, be it a piece on the MC Forum, a film, or a comic.

You don't have to be conflicted about using this sort of power to be likeable.  It's a relatively low threshold, and impressions vary from story to story and medium to medium.  For instance, as an MCT example--I find the devious dude from The Bet and the barista from Cafe Society much more watchable than the manager from the Employee Orientation series.  My favorite film so far of the MCT oeuvre is probably Yard Sale at Hell House and the male character there is no philosopher king or tortured mystic.

However, I genuinely dislike the male characters in Bed & Breakfast and The Truth About Hypnosis 4 (some of this is probably the actor in B&B), but I enjoy both But Wait and Cafe Society.

My favorite by far among the comics on this site is SJI.  And it's not Adrian's qualms about using MC power that make him more likeable or entertaining.  So far, he seems written to genuinely care about and be interested in the women in his orbit.  Bertram, Brian, et al don't give a rip about anything or anyone but themselves and I find that off-putting.

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I think that part of the issue is that even when the story isn't a blatant "Mary Sue" type story, there is a tendency for readers to relate to the protagonist. I know on the MCForum recently, there was a thread where someone said he didn't care much for stories with alien's doing the MCing because it's not something where he can put himself in the role of the MCer, for example.

So if you get nothing but an endless series of stories where the males become utterly amoral bastards as a result of their power, you start losing the wish-fulfillment part of the story--where you say "Boy, it would be cool to have magic/technology like that! I could...ummm...well, from these stories I would become a complete jerk who destroys the lives of anyone I care about, as well as several complete strangers who just happen to have been in my general vicinity."

In the fantasy, mind control reduces its victim(s) from people to property.  But inside that frame there's still a difference in terms of how valuable the controller seems to view his property.  Some value it highly, viewing their slaves as precious, unique; others view them as worthless, disposable, easily replaced.  The latter is much more dehumanizing.  In extreme cases it comes across as misogynistic nihilism, which is pretty unappetizing.

This remains my favorite comic, even with the absolute corruption of the lead character.  This book seems to have a mind of its own and enjoys destroying lives.  I love it when the lead cannot completely trust their own MC device.  I also like when there is competition between mind controllers.