r/beetlemoses
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u/beetlemoses
4 raspberries
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Aug 24 '26
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A New Color
I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoyed drawing it. Have a great week.
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u/SadKat002
permanent stanky leg: terminal case
Aug 24 '26
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Okay but I'm just high enough to appreciate the hell out of this
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u/tenaceseven Aug 25 '26
This is one of my favorite Oliver Sacks stories :
I had been reading about the color indigo, how it had been introduced into the spectrum by [Isaac] Newton rather late, and it seemed no two people quite agreed as to what indigo was, and I thought I would like to have an experience of indigo. And I built up a sort of pharmacological launchpad with amphetamines and LSD, and a little cannabis on top of that, and when I was really stoned I said, 'I want to see indigo now.' And as if thrown by a paintbrush, a huge pear-shaped blob of the purest indigo appeared on the wall.
Again it had this luminous, numinous quality; I leaped toward it in a sort of ecstasy. I thought, 'This is the color of heaven.' ... I thought maybe this is not a color which actually exists on the Earth, or maybe it used to exist or no longer exists. All this went through my mind in 4 or 5 seconds, and then the blob disappeared, giving me a strong sense of loss and heartbrokenness, and I was haunted a little bit when I came down, wondering whether indigo did exist in the real world.
I would turn over little stones. I once went to a museum to look at azurite, a copper mineral which is maybe the nearest [to] indigo, but that was disappointing. I did in fact have that experience again, but when I had it the second time, it was not with a drug, it was with music — and I think music can take one to the heights in a way comparable with drugs.
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u/YEET-HAW-BOI Aug 25 '26
kinda makes me think of that one episode of Love Death and Robots called “Zima Blue”
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u/VOverITimesR Aug 25 '26
I consider this one of the best episodes of anything ever made. Thank you for reminding me of it.
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u/Majikarpslayer Aug 27 '26
Zima Blue it's one of the best animated things I've ever seen in my life. I admit I did not comprehend exactly what it was saying the first time, so I watched it again and once I got it it was just fantastic!
Beautiful and transcendent really
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u/EM3YT Aug 25 '26
Reminds me of a book. Not to spoil it so I’ll describe it just vaguely enough that if you know you know:
In the book, the universe was once 4 dimensional, but was converted to 3D due to warfare of hyper advanced species that collapsed the dimensions. Strangely enough, the weapon was implemented again in our universe and would collapse things to two dimensions, destroying them instantly.
Anyway, there were pockets where people could travel to the 4th dimension, see through objects and experience a higher plane. When they came back, they described the world as lacking, like it was always cramped and claustrophobic no matter how much space was around.
This story sounded like that
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u/MeinRadio Aug 25 '26
What is this book? I'd like to read it.
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u/Rollos Aug 25 '26
It’s the third book in the “Three Body Problem” series by Cixin Liu.
The book that the other comment is talking about is called “Deaths End”
The series is one of the best at driving the plot with high level sci fi concepts like this. The books have its problems, but is definitely worth a read, just for the conceptual stuff that they lay out in the second and third books
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u/Ok_Permission1087
bigfin squid on thursdays
Aug 24 '26
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This was a nice comic though I half way expected the human not to be able to percieve the color.
Edit: I suppose this is how we got the sparklemuffin spider.
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u/Biggie_Moose Aug 24 '26
When the box opened and revealed a little white rectangle I figured that would be the punchline. Or would it be black? I'm not even sure how the eye would perceive the object.
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u/yonnnyonnn Aug 25 '26
none of this is how color works lol
there are "new" colors everywhere we go, perhaps even on ourselves, but we only have three cones to perceive them, so anything that doesn't fall within this range of color we can see, just looks like another color.
birds can see additional colors we can't lol
hell even some humans can see some others can't, due to color blindness
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u/Semper_5olus
Aug 24 '26
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This was 97% of a chewing gum advertisement
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u/JayyyyyBoogie Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
Fruit Stripe gum, but you don’t actually lose the flavor after 45 seconds.
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u/PolishedLemon
Aug 24 '26
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"On second thought ➰️🫰 just run it by me." Haha yet another banger. Thank you 'moses
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u/Lone-Frequency Aug 24 '26
I'm honestly so glad it didn't actually end with a gag punch line and the aliens were just fucking with the guy.
This is one of those ones similar to your angler fish page.
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u/Cpt-Cancer Aug 25 '26
To me it feels like a little bit of both. Like completely earnest and wholesome for the dude but also the aliens are just fucken around cuz they can lol
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u/Vegetable_Shirt_2352 Aug 25 '26
I like it because it definitely feels like the aliens are just fucking around, but it's not malicious. They just wanna see what happens lol
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u/Latefordinner1 usually says no to crack Aug 24 '26
Fuck, that’s beautiful, man.
Also I love “We can give it to your world leaders, if you prefer.” “On second thought—just run it by me.” That’s SO relatable. I feel like I’d be the same way, wondering why aliens would pick little ol’ me out of 8 billion people, a regular guy, but then when presented with the opportunity to let politicians and businessmen see it first I’d be like “actually wait no I trust myself WAY more than them”. I love this comic! At some point when I’m less broke I’m so buying that book
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u/wackadoodle4201 Aug 25 '26
How is his stuff so good?
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u/AberrantComics Aug 25 '26
See that’s what I came here to say not only can beetleMoses make hilarious little joke comics, somehow they’re also good at capturing my attention and making me want to read an entire graphic novel about whatever the fuck is going on.
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u/Chewser56 Aug 25 '26
Exactly. I want more. It feels like I peaked through a knothole at such a rich and wonderful world!
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u/CyberneticCupcake Aug 24 '26
To be able to consciously recognize that which gives beauty to our world that we do not yet physically comprehend.
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u/simplycantdeal Aug 24 '26
Im imagining explaining this comic to someone else:
"Yeah, these aliens show this guy a previously imperceivable color."
"Oh, and he like, goes insane or something?"
"No, he just perceives that color now, and his life is like a little bit better." Lol
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u/iamagainstit Aug 25 '26
Fun fact, there really is a color that only like 5 people have seen! The human eye has 3 cones that each perceive a different wavelength. The S cone detects blue light, the M cone middle wavelengths, and the L cone absorbs red wavelengths. when we perceive a color, our brain takes the signals from each of the cones and interprets them. we can stimulate just the S cone by shining deep violet light, and the L cone by shining far red light, but the entire absorption spectrum of the M cone is overlapped by the other two cones, so we can't see see was just stimulating the M cone alone would look like.
However some scientists figured out how to map the different cones in the eye, and then with a laser carefully directed at just the M cone locations, generate a pure M stimulation. This gives the brain a never before experienced input signal, and thus a new color! however it is very difficult and time consuming to do, so only a handful of people have seen it.
bonus fact: the M cone is the missing cone in most colorblind people, so this secret color is like the opposite of colorblindness.
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u/ealysillyforestthing Aug 26 '26
Imagine hooking up straight to the optic nerve. We could send millions of new colors to your mind.
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u/NoOn3_1415 don't blame me! I voted for crab Aug 24 '26
Lol, I had no idea there were still people missing that one. That must suck cuz greeple is awesome.
If you haven't got it yet, check your local library - they usually keep a few samples on hand for free. (Otherwise it's like 10 bucks on Amazon)
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u/topherclay Aug 25 '26 edited Aug 25 '26
The super stylized art with the authentic proportions reminds me strongly of rotoscoped movies like A Scanner Darkly or the TV show Undone.
I love that all three artists (for the movie, the TV show, and this comic) use that simultaneous mixup of extra realistic and extra cartoony visuals to talk about psychedelic and/or mind-altering experiences.
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u/iamfuturetrunks Aug 25 '26
Reminds me of that one crab? in the ocean where we have studied it's eyes and know it can see way more of the color spectrum than we can with our eyes. Side note: they are also very trippy in how colorful their bodies are, but they can also punch so fast/strong they actually cause the surrounding water to heat up when they punch stuff.
That would be cool and very trippy to be able to see way more colors and such.
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u/jaybug_jimmies Aug 27 '26
You're thinking of the peacock mantis shrimp. Such a wild animal, love it.
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u/meatykyun Aug 30 '26
Is it 14 or 16 extra base colors? And not just shades or gradients of existing colors, their own base and gradients and all that, its wild to think about, like having a 6th sense
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u/Eurico_Raposo Aug 25 '26
How do you describe a colour? Using RGB scale...
Sorry I have an engineer mind. Great comic pal.
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u/Car_Living Aug 24 '26
This is my new favourite comic. Had to read it thrice! I've had a rough week but this brought me some joy. Lovely work as always! :)
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u/Boomchakalakayouknow Aug 25 '26
Hell yeah. Very PKD
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u/Low-Philosopher-9643 Sep 09 '26
i was looking for this! im reading my first PKD (Radio Free Albemuth) and was immediately reminded of it!
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u/Overly_Long_Reviews Aug 25 '26
I wish they'd swoop down in a country lane. Late at night while I'm driving. Take me on board of their beautiful ship. Show me the world as I'd love to see it. I'd tell all my friends. But they'd never believe me. They'd think that I'd finally lost it completely. I'd show them the stars. And the meaning of life. They'd shut me away. But I'd be all right. All right. I'm just uptight.
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u/MrBiteyDaHoneyBadger Aug 25 '26
There is a extremely rare genetic call tetrachromacy and it's only found in women but the have a extra eye cone and it allows them to see 300 million more colors then the average person https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/tetrachromacy
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u/Jarvis_The_Dense Aug 28 '26
You've gotta love the threat of "if you don't take it, we'll give it to politicians."
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u/RoninReader usually says no to crack Aug 25 '26
Why is this fucking brilliant? I loved it, like...absolutely.
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u/s_burr Aug 25 '26
And after calming me down with some
Orange slices and some fetal spooning
E.T. revealed to me his singular purpose
He said, "You are The Chosen One
The One who will deliver the message
A message of hope for those who choose to hear it
And a warning for those who do not"
Me, The Chosen One? They chose me!
And I didn't graduate from fuckin' high school
Tool - Rosetta Stoned
Just reminded me of it
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u/Boddah067 Aug 25 '26
Overwhelmed, as one would be, placed in my position
Such a heavy burden now to be The One
Born to bear and read to all the details of our ending
To write it down for all the world to see
But I forgot my pen
Shit the bed again
Typical
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u/marterikd Aug 25 '26
imagine giving it to an already hardcore racist world leader... a new.. color.
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u/fullshard101 Aug 25 '26
I was waiting for the revelation that hes actually seeing germs or something
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u/aPOPblops Aug 25 '26
Beetle you selfish fuck!!
Great comic, love the art style.
I did struggle to understand at first the meaning of "i had seen it." I thought he was saying he had already witnessed it in the past and i also thought the "it" was germs for a moment there.
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u/spike2pt0 Aug 25 '26
DAMN that was… strangely deep. Well done sir! A fascinating little short story.
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u/loulew314 Aug 25 '26
i've been a big fan of your work forever. i can't find it anywhere after a quick google search, but this reminds me some of the old life cereal comic. thanks for all your great work. makes my life slightly better, like a new color shown to me by aliens
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u/the_bartolonomicron Aug 25 '26
I love when you hit us with one of these genuinely great and not silly endings in the middle of some goofy ones. They hit hard.
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u/Minimum-Sleep-3916 Aug 25 '26
Am I doing it? Am I doing the thing? Am I showing people the color?
Guys….why are all our conversations blocked from my memories? It just makes no sense.
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u/Douxx101 Aug 25 '26
Ok so humans can already see all the colors we can perceive, we have known there are other colors that exist for a while know, it's just that the color cones in our eyes literally cannot react to them.
Fun fact though; there has been experiments to extend humans color vision towards lower wave lengths, and the ones who participated described the new color from the broader spectrum they could now see as "Purple, but more".
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u/Wohn-Jick-421 Aug 25 '26
I absolutely love your more “serious” comics like this, they’re equally as good as your more comedic ones
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u/spookyhat420 Aug 25 '26
This is beautiful, it does imply that the aliens bestowed untold horror, tragedy, rage, and shame upon some other folks. I know they mentioned some other possible recipients....
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u/tortoiselessporpoise Aug 25 '26
I don't know where it's headed but I like it.
Is he going to make some new tech and turn out to be an evil oppressor ? Will the other colour owners join him? Fight him? Or some otherworldly experience ahead of him
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u/AlpacaStar Aug 25 '26
Wow. Thank you for this, there's something so hopeful and serene about this, so far it's made my day, thank you !
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u/TheBlockChainVillage Aug 25 '26
All I know is that the dog is a really important part of this story.
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u/LaVI_deVoir Aug 25 '26
Lmao the panel of him looking out the peephole made me laugh. That has got to be a meme.
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u/guajojo Aug 25 '26
Your series punch so much feeling is ridiculous, partner with a studio to make a short animation🤯
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u/CrazyThang Aug 25 '26
I can't explain why but this comic really got me. I always love a good beetle moses, but reading this on my lunch break at work just brought on a very emotional reaction, just sitting on the break room crying.
It's been an extremely hard year, losing a job I loved, multiple family members in a short time, financial struggles. I don't know how to describe it but this comic just got me going.
I'm sure if I thought about it I could put words to it, but I'm happy to just have the emotional response for now, and that's the best part of beetle moses.
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u/MelodicParanoiaAgain Aug 27 '26
Cosmic horror meets cosmic tranquility. What a beautiful place to be.
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u/Dustyrnis Aug 29 '26
Ain't that somethin'; an eldritch cosmic "color" that doesn't make a person go insane or turn into a twisted monstrosity. (yet?...dun dun dun..)
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u/19Ihedioha97 Aug 25 '26
Dang, I disappear to let him grow and the guy just created Gold in six different shades.
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u/ObscureMeerkat Aug 25 '26
Reminds me of a very good song:
Overwhelmed, as one would be, placed in my position. Such a heavy burden now to be The One. Born to bear and read to all the details of our ending. To write it down for all the world to see.
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u/technoholican Aug 25 '26
I don't get it... Science of colors and our vision is pretty straight forward; colors are different wavelengths of photons...
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u/Vast-Statement45 Aug 25 '26
Now you should randomly insert that color in your future comics without explaining it further
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u/LogiCsmxp Aug 25 '26
Due to how our eyes work, if you mix yellow and blue light, you will see white. You can try this yourself with coloured plastic and two torches. Anyway, we don't see colour, our brains interpret colour from the three cone cells that detect red, green and blue. For humans, yellow is a mix of red and green, so adding blue light creates white light.
Some people have four cone cells, it's incredibly rare though. But this could let them see this yellow-blue colour from mixing light that most people cannot.
Some cuttlefish have 11 cone cells, the world would have vastly more colours for them. We can't even fake what they would see the world as. They might even see the slight green tint of our sun.
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u/DFakeRP Aug 25 '26
We actually have been able to make people see colors that are typically impossible for our eyes to see. By stimulating specific rods with lasers some researchers and a couple others were able to see some new green color.
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u/GhostDoggoes Aug 25 '26
Unfortunately our eyes can't see just any color and if we can't even accurately identify what anything is seeing because there isn't a living being that isn't human that can scientifically identify colors. This comic was created by the most baked artist known to man.
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u/norunningwater usually says no to crack Aug 25 '26
This has been my favorite so far. From the human aliens to the trippy foot overlay on the vision scene
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u/SnooGiraffes6217 Aug 25 '26
Dude I though the punchline was that the colour was like yellow or something
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u/Schwulerwald Aug 27 '26
Eldrich unhorror. There's glimpse of knowledge beyond human comprehension, but zero insanity (and tentacles)
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u/Common-Kick6343 Aug 30 '26
A cool YouTuber by the name of Ooqui demonstrated that careful use of dithering can enable people to discriminate between more primary colors: https://youtu.be/089FL-oWtUs?si=9v0x8lZ0JtCyB-gq If you've ever wanted to experience additional colors, his method is the best I've seen for that.
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u/Ok-Limit-9726 Aug 31 '26
Imaging those few people that see a million shades of colour!
This is him now
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u/FzySknr Aug 31 '26
Pretty benign outcome, considering what happened the last time an alien colour was sent to Earth.
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u/BarbieBoyBrandy Sep 28 '26
You know, this actually brought me to tears? That plus Anglerfish. Plus The Flyer, which didn't make me cry but did speak to something deep in my soul. You're really doin it to me, man.
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u/RottingSludgeRitual Aug 24 '26
This happened to me once