Comic Transcripts

[[The characters from the previous comic have returned.]]
Dilettante: You claim to be followed by ‘icebergs’ – old projects that never got finished, and hound you like terrible ghosts.
Tophat: So cold. So forbidding!
Dilettante: What if the metaphor is what’s making it so bad?

Dilettante: Icebergs sink ships. Icebergs hide their size. Getting rid of icebergs is something a Captain Planet villain would want to do.
Tophat: That blue-skinned boy scout

Dilettante: So reframe it! What if old projects are actually coal cars?
Dilettante: Tow around too many of them and their weight adds up – but with a little sweat, you can shovel that coal into your engine and you get a huge boost of power to move forward!

Dilettante: Now old projects are sources of latent strength that can be tapped – IF you choose to pick up a shovel and do the work. OR, simply pull the pin that I’ve seen in movies, and leave them behind on the track.
Tophat: YES! Of COURSE!

Tophat: And then… burning all that COAL will MELT the ICEBERGS!
Dilettante: Well… on a long enough timeline and on a global scale, I suppose that’s kind of true

{{header: fire up some WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: at this point, the fate of the world is a sacrifice I’m willing to make}}

#1082; The Lingering Icebergs, Part 2 (of 3) transcribed by in

[[The characters from the previous comic have returned.]]
Dilettante: You claim to be followed by 'icebergs' - old projects that never got finished, and hound you like terrible ghosts.
Tophat: So cold. So forbidding!
Dilettante: What if the metaphor is what's making it so bad?

Dilettante: Icebergs sink ships. Icebergs hide their size. Getting rid of icebergs is something a Captain Planet villain would want to do.
Tophat: That blue-skinned boy scout

Dilettante: So reframe it! What if old projects are actually coal cars?
Dilettante: Tow around too many of them and their weight adds up - but with a little sweat, you can shovel that coal into your engine and you get a huge boost of power to move forward!

Dilettante: Now old projects are sources of latent strength that can be tapped - IF you choose to pick up a shovel and do the work. OR, simply pull the pin that I've seen in movies, and leave them behind on the track.
Tophat: YES! Of COURSE!

Tophat: And then... burning all that COAL will MELT the ICEBERGS!
Dilettante: Well... on a long enough timeline and on a global scale, I suppose that's kind of true

{{header: fire up some WONDERMARK.COM}}
{{alt-text: at this point, the fate of the world is a sacrifice I'm willing to make}}

at this point, the fate of the world is a sacrifice I'm willing to make

#1082; The Lingering Icebergs, Part 2 (of 3)

  — December 3rd, 2014

[ Tags: , , ]       Permalink: https://wondermark.com/c/1082/

Buy a Print

Applications open for Genius Northwest – an IRL gaming competition

May 8, 2026 by David Malki !

Last year, I participated in Genius Northwest, a gaming competition inspired by the Korean gameshow The Genius and its ilk.

It’s a reality show without the cameras — a 3-day, all-inclusive weekend retreat structured around a series of challenges and puzzles, in which personalities and dealmaking matter as much as playing games.

It’s truly a remarkable thing. I came in dead last in the competition, but I still had a great time participating.

The event is held annually in the Pacific Northwest (hence the name) and applications are now open to participate in the 2026 competition!

Learn more — and apply — at GeniusNW.com.


Recent blog posts