4 More Obscure D&W Easter Eggs (Patreon)

My roundup of the stealthy sci-fi namedrops tucked into the far recesses of the comic seemed to go over well, so here's another four for good measure. 

The Happy King (Wirepedia: The Black Rot)

The Black Rot - a flesh-eating pandemic that spurred the rise of modern cyberware - only recently made its debut in-comic, but it's a big enough part of D&W's alternate history that it got not one but two Wirepedia writeups back in '16. And for readers who really know their Philip K. Dick, the name of the Medical Center where the bacterium was first discovered might've rung a few bells. 

Felix King - or rather KING FELIX - traces all the way back to VALIS, one of Dick's most personal and cryptic novels, where it's described as a two-word cypher signal "not intended for human beings but for the descendants of Ikhnaton, the three eyed race which, in secret, exists with us." 

(Like I said: cryptic.)

Step to the Counter (Chapter 6, Page 16)

After many hours of waiting to file her police report, Troy's number is finally called. If she knew its backstory, she might prefer to stay put. 

"247681" pops up in the opening of "Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love)" from New York rapper (and latter-day Jewel Runner) El-P's exquisitely titled second album, I'll Sleep When You're Dead. There, it's the identifier for a prisoner being called up for summary execution in a near-future dictatorship - although after a few days of Stradanian bureaucracy, that firing squad might just seem like a viable alternative.

The Kamakiri (Chapter 6, Page 2)

It wasn't planned that way, but our William Gibson references turned out to be some of the most well-cloaked in the entire comic. Maybe it's subconscious compensation for that whole "Dan is actually Case from Neuromancer" thing, but anyhoo:

Early on in Chapter 6, Troy strongarms Dan into an almost-dramatic getaway from the Digital Serenity trio. After Troy complains about the less-than-impressive pickup on Dan's beater, Dan retorts: 

Lo and behold, one reader actually picked up on this one: Kamakiri ("Praying Mantis") is a fictitious make of high-tech car featured in Kamakiriad, the second solo album by Steely Dan co-founder Donald Fagen. And if that seems like a slight detour from my usual fields of reference, you're right: it's a nod to one of William Gibson's own nods in 1988's Mona Lisa Overdrive, which featured a street gang named after Steely Dan's 1977 hit "Deacon Blues".

Vlad's Notable Quotables (Fear_and_Loading)

We're not just about the wildly obtuse science fiction references here in D&W Land, though. Wannabe philosopher Vlad is a big fan of quoting fellow Satanists in the pages of Fear_and_Loading after he unceremoniously seizes control of the zine, starting with his smug self-interview:

But look up the quote itself, and you'll realize the Prince of Dorkness has a bit of a problem getting his attributions right. "Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong" is a good one-liner, but was never uttered by Aleister Crowley - it's a Gandhi aphorism. 

Another pearl of wisdom featured in the Kickstarter-only edition of FnL: 

This time he's misappropriating a quote from the famous American deaf-blind author and activist, Helen Keller.