43: Red Spiders 2
| Red Spiders 2 |
 Title text: This was actually drawn years before Red Spiders |
Explanation[edit]
This is the second published comic in the red spiders story arc, published just over 2 months after the first one. Like its predecessor, it is more of a sketch than a comic. The titular spiders appear to be ascending —or possibly building— a structure, probably to get into the window at the top of the picture. Two spiders at the top appear to be passing a block between them, implying that they are, at least, trying to change the structure.
According to the title text, it was drawn years before the previous Red Spiders.
The full series of Red Spiders comics:
- 8: Red Spiders, the first one.
- 43: Red Spiders 2, this one.
- 47: Counter-Red Spiders, in which the humans begin a counter-offensive.
- 126: Red Spiders Cometh, in which the spiders attack a city.
- 427: Bad Timing, in which, in a style more typical to xkcd, the spiders attack a couple in the middle of a serious relationship discussion in a hot-air balloon.
- 442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel, in which it appears briefly in the 14th panel crawling over a cube.
Transcript[edit]
- [Nine red spiders, with round appendages at the end of each of their six legs, are seen navigating an environment of blocks and other geometric constructions. The second-from-the-top spider appears to be holding a block down for the spider just below to climb on to help it up, or they might be lifting the block together. One is almost outside the frame at the top.]
Trivia[edit]
- This was the 40th comic originally posted to LiveJournal.
- The previous was 38: Apple Jacks.
- The next was 39: Bowl.
- Original title: "Friday's Drawing - Red Spiders 2"
- Original Randall quote: "And lo, they still have six legs. "
- In the comments on LiveJournal, he made the following remark. "This is the original that inspired the other one. It's my favorite of the two."
- This latter comment is reflected in the title text the comic received when posted on xkcd.
- It shows that the original comment did not really make sense, since it was really the spiders in the first, 8: Red spiders, which still had six legs.
- This comic was posted on xkcd when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
- It was posted along with all 41 comics posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
- The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
- One of the original drawings drawn on checkered paper.
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