Barbi Twin Adventures #1 - Atop the Fourth Wall

Welcome to Atop the Fourth Wall, where bad comics burn. In this episode, Linkara looks at a comic about two Playboy models becoming superheroines.
atopthefourthwa...
Originally uploaded July 4th, 2011.
ORIGINAL INFO: “Adventures” is too strong a word. “Stumbles into nonsense” would be more accurate.
RUMINATIONS: For some reason my original ruminations did not post along with this despite me specifically putting them in. Weird.
Not much to say about this one, anyway. Harvey being able to identify the Entity is based on previous hints I had given on stuff that he enjoyed. The Entity, being as far-reaching as it is, really could have taken more people at once if it really wanted to, but it enjoys playing the game - letting other people figure things out right after it's too late.
Harvey is using my old-school brick DS as it's supposed to be used - as a friggin' DS, but as we've seen in previous episode, Linkara likes using it as a tricorder for some reason. Honestly I don't think you can hack a DS like that, but who am I to say? My experience with hacking is using cheating devices so I can put my damn Pokémon in whatever pokeball I want.

[@lizzygoldburg5442]

Wow, the original draft for Totally Spies was really, really stupid...

[@gratuitouslurking8610]

+Lizzy Goldburg Clearly they thought Clover was the best character and made everyone Clover for this draft. Big mistake...

[@Ice-Climber]

Really? I couldn't tell the difference.

[@DinosaurFan88]

Am I the only one who would read a comic depicting the fantasy adventures of a near-sighted dragon that has to wear glasses?

[@Tahkaullus01]

You mean Harry Potter? Oh wait, Harry's a near-sighted kid with the temper of a dragon. Never mind.

[@2wingo]

Tahkaullus01 Not really. Harry's very even-tempered.

[@islamroks11]

Tahkaullus01 You're talking about Order of The Phoenix Harry. And even then, it's implied that he's suffering from PTSD.

[@Tahkaullus01]

islamroks11 Well yeah, but even pre-Cedric's Cullenification, Harry had a bit of a temper on him.

[@islamroks11]

Tahkaullus01 I mean the book.

[@RandoChrisYT]

6:48 I just NOW realized her name is supposed to be pronounced "Blow-dried."

[@ursidae97]

... ... ... ... HAAH i just got it

[@TechnicalJimActual]

Huh... That actually sounds plausible.

[@egyptspivey777]

As a woman I don't mind if there's a sexy female character in a comic, as long as there's more to the character then that. I would feel the same if it was a sexy male character, if that's all there is to them then they're just one note and boring, their only purpose to the story is being eye candy.

[@Roserae16]

Kind of like Rocky from The Rocky Horror Picture Show. He doesn't have a personality, or many lines for that matter, he's just there to make whoopy with the various characters... and yet I like him more than the Barbi twins here, go figure.

[@egyptspivey777]

Yeah Rocky was definitely more interesting then these two.

[@islamroks11]

***** Thank you for displaying the common sense and judgement that many writers and fans tend to lack. People can be sexy in any medium, you just have to give them PERSONALITY. Make them snarky, rude, aggressive, shy, all of these things combined. Personality is one of the most important things needed in writing characters for without personality, we will have no reason to like or support there characters.

[@egyptspivey777]

islamroks11​ As I'm always telling my friends, good looks/sex appeal aren't enough to make your audience care about a character. It's really a sign of a poor writer who thinks that putting beautiful/sexy characters in a story is enough to make it interesting.

[@islamroks11]

***** The writing of this comic must have come from the Adult section of the website Create Your Own Story. It's all porn with little to no characterization or description of the person you're reading from and the plot revolves around trying to get laid in unrealistically quick ways. There is no sex in this comic but that is its only redeeming feature if it could be said to have any.

[@LibraGamesUnlimited]

I just developed a theory about this comic: the whole thing is their joint dream brought on by excessive use of hairspray. :)

[@henrygvidonas9573]

From Wikipedia: "Shane and Sia began modeling at the age of seven when they posed for a layout in the Sears mail-order catalog." "...Their interest in animal activism began in childhood, after experiencing, at their father's ranch, animals they'd befriended and named would end up going to slaughter." "...Their bulimia and insecurities caused them to be obsessed with crash-dieting, bingeing and purging, abusing laxatives and destructive exercise routines for up to 10 hours a day." Well, the review was fun while it lasted. I really don't want to know what else happened to those two. "Modeling at seven", you just _know_ what that means in the oh-so-wonderful world of fashion...

[@billlupin8345]

Ah! I gettit. Harvey Finevoice was playing pokemon on the gameboy, then he saw the poem again, and figured it out.

[@KevlarNinja]

You know a comic is bad when the best thing about it is the use of "Barbie Girl" by Aqua when reviewing it.

[@jfdrac]

Sad the one song they are known for is the worst they did lol

[@Wren_the_Bird_King]

Beneath the sea beside the flame Off the coast where the lost beast came To bring the world misery and shame A piece of the world is missing The path you should have never crossed The Beast exacts a heavy cost The number of the Beast is lost You will know it by its hissing The bones from hell you cannot tame Devour your life and all your fame That is the price to play its game And all while you're reminiscing

[@leeiif]

There's a difference between porn and putting sexuality in something that has nothing to do with porn for no good reason.

[@HighKingOfSkyrim37]

Ozgar Thunderhammer nothing wrong with a little random sexiness.

[@LupineShadowOmega]

ThinkAboutItMan,InACosmicSortaWayWeAreAllAssholes yeah there can be. Especially when it is so random that it takes away from the story at hand or makes a character that is supposed to be interesting or just plain badass and instead we're always looking up their crack.

[@nine_tails137]

Linkara's speech about sexism is absolutely perfect! Seriously! I can't tell you how many times I've been accused of that, over liking media with sexual content in it.

[@GrandCorsair]

Question. Did the real life women know they were being written as shallow and dumber then a rock?

[@GrandCorsair]

I'd think this would be one of those "I regret this" moves later in life.

[@Trevin_Taylor]

Kris Herkenraad most people in playboy do not “regret” it.

[@mitchbray6637]

This right here makes "Catwoman" look like Shakespeare.

[@DarknessIsTheTruth]

90's kid was right there in the room at the end. In hindsight, it should have been really obvious that he was possessed by The Entity during the story arc.

[@CodecrafterArtemis]

21:11 - I'm surprised Linkara didn't mention the fact that the second Barbi Twin has clearly succumbed to *gasp* YOUNGBLOOD'S DISEASE!!

[@williamhowe1]

I'm surprised Gary Brodsky had nothing to do with this.

[@islamroks11]

williamhowe1 I'm pretty sure that he was the man behind this travesty but without public recognition because even HE didn't want anybody to associate his name with this tripe.

[@ocallaghandesign]

The dragon with glasses (while pointless, and unexplained) is an interesting image. Too bad it's stuck in this book.

[@Sigmundfruit]

oh autocorrect, you do some great thing

[@Sigmundfruit]

+Robert Pysh things even

[@JosephEstril]

blodryed = blow dried. because, illiteracy...

[@buddermantheamazing]

Joseph Estril BECAUSE POOR LITERACY... ...doesn't make this comic better in any way.

[@gusstravel5883]

It's like a shitty "totally spies"!

[@ChiefMedicPururu]

And Totally Spies was average.

[@TheSirenNymph]

Why does Female Two Face keep showing up in comics?

[@Psychesrose]

As someone who has had broken nails on occasion, I don't find them funny. More often than not they break under the nail bed (in that pink area you can't cut), which unless treated properly will almost always eventually lead that part of the nail being slowly ripped off. There's a lot of blood, it's extremely painful, and takes forever to heal. Why is this supposed to be funny?

[@RunyaEithelNar]

Ari Liu I think this gag works with really long nails, because then more often only white part of nail is chipped of so no real damage. And rarely people have broken nail in pink part, so they don't know how much it hurts [few times I had dropped heavy thing on my nails - hurt like hell x.x].

[@ursidae97]

+RunyaEithelNar So like rich bimbos don't understand the real problem with broken nails? that is kinda funny

[@Tareltonlives]

I love how the misogynists are out in force to defend THIS comic. THIS comic.

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

And here I thought they were supposed to be Magical Girls!

[@GreatAwesomeReviewer]

That probably would have been a much better idea.

[@DarkenedArc]

No, the artwork is actually pretty good. The first artwork actually reminds me of a 70s and/or 80s Batman comic.

[@Sirenhound]

I've been watching these at 2x speed to save time and I always imagine Linkara flinging his hat off behind him when he puts in on in the opening montage.

[@juhaniaho6698]

10:14 Wolverine: Hey! That’s my sound effect!

[@TheSefirosu200x]

Yes, Linkara, because everyone knows "Thundaga" magic is the same as "Curaga". Because Lightning Can Do Anything?

[@Cdr2002]

The use of the Beast Wars clip is peak

[@taekinuru2]

Plot aside, I am in love with the detail on the hair in this comic. Hair is HARD to draw, so this is rad. Although I keep laughing at the Barbi's hairs. Makes me think of David Bowie.

[@TheNumnutRandomness]

The characters may be as shallow as melted ice cubes, but their hair is quite fabulous.

[@thewielderoftheblueflames4398]

The Entity strikes again! You know, out of all the arcs, this one sort of scared me a little.

[@davidspring4003]

"if she has magical powers, why couldn't she do anything about her appearance?" Dr. Doom is the (second) most powerful sorcerer in the Marvel Multiverse, and he hasn't fixed his face from its scar. Dr. Strange is the most powerful one, and I think his hand still doesn't work properly. Female Twoface can summon lightning (maybe). What makes you think she can do better than the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth-616?

[@jfdrac]

Dr Doom did not want to fix he felt it was a reminder of his initial failures and a drive to work harder. Strange also chose not to heal them but for a differnt reason ie that that to do so would mean he would not be worthy of the title SS

[@davidspring4003]

@@jfdrac yes, Doom totally wears his mask to hide his scars because he can totally remove the scars and just feels like he deserves them, that makes sense. The Doctor Strange one makes more sense though

[@jfdrac]

@@davidspring4003 I mean it does not make sense to you or I....but you have to think like an egomaniac to understand Doom. What seems irrational to you or me may not to a person like that as it is all about them. Not saying he can heal them any time but he has had many chances to fix them and has not ...and even once or twice deliberately rescarred himself....I do belive though right now Doom is scar free due to the actions of Reed ...but then again right now Doom has been quasi heroic

[@davidspring4003]

@@jfdrac since he IS an egomaniac, if he COULD fix his face, he definitely WOULD.

[@jfdrac]

@@davidspring4003 Not if he views his face as a failure...its like the old saying cut off your nose to spite your face ...and that si what he did

[@tooawesomepeoples1]

But how can it be a collectors edition comic if it doesn't have a limited edition Mr. T trading card.

[@DasNordlicht91]

This is the kind of comic that doesn't deserve the luxury of a limited-edition Mr. T Trading Card.

[@Stormkrow280]

Marc Quill no, no it doesn’t

[@Morningstar91939]

Dominic Fucile frankly, I don’t think Mr. T would sacrifice his dignity for it.

[@vocalcalibration8033]

Why wasn't this story about Razor? You know, the character who was mildly interesting, if only because she was a murdering psycho. Why do celebrities get comics about them, why must that be a thing?! Why can't this sort of thing JUST STOP?!

[@VeryPeeved]

and the T&A isn't even very good, it's boring, so it fails on it's only reason for existence

[@roberth.9664]

Why did the 90s make Tron look more realistic? Easy Tron was made by computer nerds that knew everything was to know about computers and when the had a make a mat painting of a office for the movie they decided to have the cubicles be look like the layout of a microchip used in old 80s computers just so order computer nerds could get the joke. The 90s was just trying to hype with the new age.

[@Nintendon85]

I have to wonder if the real Barbi twins were aware if how they were being written.

[@jeremyroskes5391]

the thumbnail was brilliant

[@SpyHunter89]

One of the Barbi Twins' names is Sia. Well, no wonder she started hiding her identity once she got famous! Also, she's got a magic gun. Where'd she purchase that?

[@Trevin_Taylor]

SpyHunter29 I’ve seen a dozen comments here about the gun, and you are the first person to have actually worded it correctly.

[@minnie3434]

Give me half a week and I can come with a much better story-line for Cry for Justice. It just takes a little thought to, and reworking.

[@Canadamus_Prime]

A much dumber version of Totally Spies.

[@Sonichero151]

I WAS ABOUT TO FUCKING BRING THAT UP!!!! OH GOD THE FLASHBACKS TO THAT IS CAUSING MY EXTREME GODDDAMN PAIN!!!!

[@Wren_the_Bird_King]

Who else actually enjoys Barbie Girl by Aqua?

[@jfdrac]

I like most fo the rest of their stuff...but not that other than it introduced me to them

[@nvfury13]

Yeah, I wonder why the identical twins who's modeling shtick was dressing and styling thier hair identically would be identical in thier comic...

[@DigiRangerScott]

I wonder if commenting on the fact that Barbie Girl's usage came through unscathed would tempt fate...

[@anonblond3563]

Linkara: a dude saying feminism like it is. Thank you

[@travismark3348]

Apparently the barbie girls are agents of whoop

[@Oedurribeiro]

"To be continued..." *flips page* "Imediatly."

[@rodimusrider8798]

Razor looks a lot like X-23 only with Shatterstar make up and a psycho smile

[@teoteous]

Somehow I completely missed the part that he was a feminist even though I've watched his show for years.

[@JinxSanity]

Hard to believe Playboy Models being popular enough to get their own comics was even a thing in the 90's. Seriously reading up on these two, apparently back in the day any place they visited would instantly draw crowds (at least going by the online old report of a Spanish country with the locals screaming "Las Barbis!!"). All that hype for them and promos to what basically amounted to models people were jerking off too really shows that we were bored and didn't have much going on in the 1990's before Social media and more diverse entertainment gave us never ending fuel for much better stuff.

[@jamesoblivion]

As if social media hasn't made a bunch of absolutely ridiculous people famous. 😂

[@davidspring4003]

hey, Linkara, just wondering, but did you do the evil laugh for the Entity, too? cause if so, that's 4 amazingly maniacal laughs under your belt, and I have, at best, one.

[@juhaniaho6698]

Blodryed. Spelled with one O and and a Y. BECAUSE POOR LITERACY... IS APPARENTLY SEXY.

[@CinemageddonReviews]

This comic sounds like a XXX Totally Spies fanfic that received a cease and desist and was forced to change its characters

[@gerisarodriguez3231]

Megatron:yyyyeeesssss lady two face:yyyyyeeeeesssss

[@dragonsword8129]

21:32 Yang Xiao Long does this way better. If you cut off even one snippet of her hair, SHE'LL GO SUPER SAIYAN AND ANNIHILATE YOU!!!!

[@vocalcalibration8033]

Yeah, but that's from a good fictional story.

[@dragonsword8129]

+VocalCalibration That's one of the reasons I said she does it better :)

[@Admin-qy4zi]

2:39 Falcon punch!

[@Tareltonlives]

I'm just waiting for them to cross over with Bimbos In Time and Sinnamon. These "sexy" "comedy" comics tend to blur together

[@Morningstar91939]

You missed an opportunity for a “Granny Goodness!” joke when Female Two-Face was introduced.

[@MrEmpoleon2010]

It would not surprise me if there was a Olsen twins comic.

[@nvfury13]

MrEmpoleon2010 There were ones for the series of movies they did as detectives.

[@theponydalek7923]

I love "acid industry" why are there dragons on my sandwich?

[@JohnPannozzi]

There was another Barbi Girls comic, which was a crossover with Zen Intergalactic Ninja. I'd love to see Linkara review it someday.

[@TheVeteranROB]

I never understood why Shane is both a boy's and girl's name, mostly because I'm a male and my name is Shane!

[@stakefr0mjatefarmvods534]

THEY KILLED HARVEY! THOSE BASTARDS!

[@nine_tails137]

Wow! I'm not the only one who expected a parody of the Barbie Dolls upon reading the video title!

[@MrRobot1984]

Betty Blo-dryed because poor literacy even confuses Linkara. Also the pink battle suits on the cover aren't the ones they wear in the actual comic, just sayin.

[@brianfuller5868]

Linkara, if you can compare this to Bimbos in Time, I feel you. That's too many bad comics .

[@matthewcusson1944]

Did anyone else get Problem Sleuth flashbacks at 10:15?

[@MrDman21]

I wonder if the guy who directed Catwoman was a Barbi Twins fan 🤔

[@benjamin_burke]

Her name "Blodryed" is probably pronounced Blow-dried. You know, like hair!

[@348joey]

20:30 Maybe she's not bulletproof and the goons just went to the storm trooper marksmanship academy.

[@Tahkaullus01]

So, just throwing it out there. The dragon is actually a perverted Harry Potter from an alternate dimension in his animagus form...still more interesting than this crap. (the comic, not the review)

[@CarozQH]

This might be the stupidest idea for a comic ever since Archie/The Punisher... but that one was actually good!!

[@dylanfrost1277]

CarozQH To be fair a good writer can make even the most impossible idea work it just needs to be given a really good writer.

[@pvthitch]

It was common practice in the Silver Age to have 3 part "epics" every issue.

[@greatsayain]

I didn't realize Harvey figured it out before anyone else.

[@SpeedyEric1]

11:33- And in the dressing room, Donald Trump watches you dress and undress.

[@juhaniaho6698]

8:04-8:07 You know, with that text and considering the red tint of the page, I’m not surprised if anyone thinks of Ganondorf playing an organ.

[@jfdrac]

Wait,,,you paid cover price?? I have seen that in the dime bin dozens of times over the years

[@joshuawilliams3886]

8:57 I was so hoping he would make that reference.

[@TeamAonn]

This comic makes my head hurt.

[@user-wx4sn6ve8y]

They dont have a good story for one comic, but they slap 2 in the same book. Life's funny that way.

[@danking9936]

6:59, I think Blodryed is supposed to be pronounced "Blow-dried"

[@thegamer9302]

Great XD barbie girls is now stuck in my head.

[@bigshambowski]

FINALLY!!! A feminist who ISN'T trying to force their beliefs down our throats and DOESN'T make up bullcrap for the sake of creating one-sided arguments (hi, Anita Sarkeesian).

[@nicodemusedwards6931]

I thought this was gonna have Swave possessing Linkara

[@Thrakus]

When it comes to a comic about real people do they have a say in it?

[@bellabesei]

That pun. It hurt my Soul! It hurt my Soul!!!

[@SpeedyEric1]

I also hate it when male writers have to write women a helpless, half-naked, and/or stupid. Not every woman in this planet is like Kim Kardashian; and it later turns out that the twins have the same IQ as her. It's really stupid for someone to make a story about twins or triplets or whatever, and give them each no different characteristics. Female Two-Face is already the most interesting character in this sexist mess, but that's not saying much. 10:26- AND this comic has officially turned out to be some clueless teenage girl's fan fic. 12:31- Shouldn't these stupid whores be in the vat of acid already 15:56- That should be played everytime Family Guy pulls another cutaway joke out of its ass. I have no idea who the hell Razor is, but I also like her outfit and choice of weapons. Makes her appear more dignified than the Barbi-Brods. 21:47- Thanks, Captain Sisko. Dear lord, what a waste of time and money this comic is.

[@egyptspivey777]

I agree that it's just lazy writing to have twins and not even try to make them have distinct personalities, it's basically just the same character twice. That's why Ouran Host Club is my favorite story about twins because the mangaka wrote them as having the same interest but very different personalities, so much so it's easy to tell which twin is who.

[@Cdr2002]

Fully agreed with your points

[@wolftitanreading5308]

I ha resently found your show and am addicted haha I will admite I like manga most of the time, but this is fun and have found an online comic that is published you should see I will admite its my favorite, kind, but would love to see you, review it Linkara its called Peter is the wolf

[@thegloriouswizard5270]

I for one act in the manner described of the Doorman at 6:00ish. But then again, I AM a cave troll.

[@Tareltonlives]

"What if we made a sex comedy without sex or comedy?"

[@Tareltonlives]

Honestly, I'm surprised there are no fashion helicopters in Modelland.

[@Tareltonlives]

The Avery Brooks Intel commercial is the gift that keeps on giving

[@DianaGohan]

Huh are there going to be any ruminations on this episode? Since there was for the Rise Of Arsenal first part that came up after this but not any for this one.

[@AT4W]

Not sure why they didn't get posted, but wrote up some new ones now.

[@DianaGohan]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall Thanks for that and nice ruminations. Though I do wonder about this line... "Linkara likes using it as a tricorder for some reason." Isn't that pretty much saying LEWIS: Linkara sure is stupid. Who would actually make him use his DS as a tricorder? Honestly what's up with that?

[@AT4W]

DianaGohan Self-deprecation and acknowledgment that pretty much ALL the props on the show are, at their core, just toys. This is later confirmed by storyline stuff that happens much later down the line. XD

[@DianaGohan]

Linkara-AtopTheFourthWall Yeah I know which is why I thought you'd say something like "but as we've seen in a previous episode, Linkara likes using it as a tricorder, probably because it WORKS as an actual tricorder. How? If you don't know future storylines will reveal the details." Since you do explain why and how Linkara is able to use items like that so it's not really a plot hole or just self depcriation as much as "oh this is how things work in my verse and I'm hinting at it now." Since though I'm all for self depcriation, with how much you've done and how hard you've worked on your stories and how well you make them flow and constantly updating each and every week with reviews don't know how hard you should be on your own stuff. I know you do it so you don't come off as a jerk. Since in the "top 15 worst comics reviews" where you point out how you're the first on Channel Awesome to have over 300 reviews you could of easily said something like "a goal most others could of reached if they were like me and you know could actually manage their schedules" instead of mocking yourself. But eh to me sometimes it seems a bit much but as long as it's all in jest it's fine and glad you do have such a strong sense of humor about yourself.

[@germanvisitor2]

21:45 Is that Avery Brooks?

[@watermelondreams5883]

Why did they make the Barbi twins look like Regina from Turnabout Big Top

[@BigA207]

0:24 Try telling that to Sargon of Akkad... *sigh*.

[@EWil313]

The fuck did I read?

[@Yust1234]

Wait they made a comic of that....man they guy that thought of this might have run out of ideas

[@JaelinBezel]

3:16 is THAT what they're saying? I always thought it was "Poppy". EDIT: and about people exploding and being happy about it.

[@TheSpawnfan]

who is this Tarot: Witch of The Black rose that was shown in one of the images?

[@juhaniaho6698]

11:27 You know, for confused 13-year-old boys!

[@PsychoRider666]

so this comic is in the catwoman guardian of gotham's universe?

[@ngozibridgeman2384]

woop does