Jeanie Bottle 490
Jun05
on June 5, 2018
at 12:00 am
and modified on November 27, 2022. at 2:08 am
Chapter: Story 12: I Dream of a Promotion
First Rodge is totally despondent (though understandably), and now Neil is ignoring the chance to hang out with a hot babe whom we know he’s attracted to? Something is rotten in the state of Denmark Florida!
1st of all, nice job labeling Jean’s surfboard. and 2nd, I hope Neil, Jean and Rodge can figure out this mess.
Ok, I may not be sure of how much Neil actually remember about that weird Natalie day, but considering how it ended it is not that weird to think he does not want to know about Jean for now.
But for Jeanie, man, I know this is a weird time to judge her behavior with Blue around and all, but is kind of amusing how much she seems to want to hang out with Neil now, either she really wants to make up for that day or now is her turn to have an out of control girly brain for the day, or she is finally giving in on her feelings for Neil, which is kind of cute, but not that amusing after the last arc. Or Blue has the hots for Neil, which may be the scariest Blue theory I have to date.
Also, points for Rodge, the whole scheme of Jeannie Bottle as the girlfriend of Jean may have not amuse her back in NY, but it seems she kept the branding.
There’s also the possibility that Jean has forgotten what work is like! And is really bored.
I think it can be somewhat safely assumed that Jeanie is still doing her job as a reviewer. Jean got invited to that reviewer party, after all.
There no telling what up with Jeannie here. There are so many veritable of what causing Jeannie to act like this. Examples:
1. Jeannie is finally getting hots for Neil and she starting show it.
2. It Jeannie way of apologizing to Neil for when she turned Neil into Natalie last time.
3. The Blue Djinn could be pulling Jeannie strings causing her to act like this for Neil.
4. The Blue Djinn could be interested engaging in girl guy relationship with Neil.
5. The Blue Djinn might be interested in getting Jeannie pregnant and inhabit the baby for himself, because the baby will be a Genie Baby and not a human baby.
There could be several more possibility or combinations of possibilities too.
Getting Jeannie pregnant? That might answer why getting those hibjab doodad things were so important for old blue eyes there. And why he is being so nice and working with a “female” genie.
And since we have not seen old blue eyes yet, and since he can inhabit another genie’s body, maybe he does not have one of his own anymore? And maybe that is his plan for getting a new body. And the reason for Jeannie’s sudden interest in hanging out…
Pretty sure he has not mentioned that part to Jeannie yet if it is! I kinda doubt she’d be hip for that role to play!
Seeing the words “hibjab doodad” made me think of one of the knights from A Dance With Dragons, who calls all of the people in the Mereen/Astapor region “Harzoo” because he can’t pronounce any of their names. Dammit George R.R. Martin, write the rest of those books!
I think it has actually been previously theorized that Big Blue hasn’t got a body, and stole a Hubun Jadid as part of his plan to acquire one.
Though now that I think about it, do we know it’s “his”? I don’t think we’ve been given any direct evidence regarding Big Blue’s gender. I’m pretty sure he was a guy in the show, but CD has happily taken pretty significant liberties with the IDOJ canon before.
@Robert, there was a flashback in MC where Kazom tells the Djin story to Melvin, and we see Blue as a big… blue genie dude with demonic features , but that could be just Melvin´s interpretation of Blue and not a true flashback. After that, all the other evidence we have is other genies referring to Blue as a he, though I still don´t know where genies stand in regards of gender identity (Kazom still refers to Jean as a she in the las story, even knowing that she use to be a man)
@Robert:
On the show, the Blue Djinn was portrayed by Michael Ansara, who, as it so happened, was Barbara Eden’s actual husband at the time. So the character was definitely male, but as you pointed out, that might not be relevant.
Eh, somone could be visually very attractive but inside… rotten to the core.
To quote one very bad movie I don’t think Neil finds her pretty any more.
I could find more redeeming features in Guano then Jeannie. The only thing she has going for her are her looks and manipulative nature.
CD put a lot in this comic. Maybe I’m reading more than he consciously put in it. Maybe not.
The first thing I noticed was the surfboard. It has a pattern like Jean’s bottle. It’s labeled “Jeannie Bottle” with two n’s, like the part that Barbara Eden played–and like the name Rodge made up for his “fiancee” on that trip to New York City in I Dream of Versimillitude.
The most recent thing I’ve noticed is that I screwed up and posted this comment before I wanted to, so I’m counting down to re-edit it. I’ll more to say in my next comment, or series of comments if I keep screwing up.
Well it seems that reality finally set in…Jean is seeing what has transpired since her transformation.
Jean seems rather… unaware of her current dual nature.
Either she’s not realizing that the Blue Djinn is taking over now and then, or else this is actually the Blue Djinn right NOW, trying to act like he imagines Jeannie does normally.
I’m guessing it’s the latter.
I was thinking that, too. But looking at it again, I’m not so sure. She doesn’t have the blue eye pupils we associate with direct control.
True, they’re black right now, but the blue-eye thing hasn’t always been consistent.
The blue eye thing has actually always been consistent. If her pupils are blue, the Blue Djinn is exercising direct control. That’s the point of the blue pupils.
I would also guess it’s the latter. it certainly has to be one of those or I think even a person like Jean would be acting out more when they have the chance.
Also I would think blue would keep in control. But also knows that has to keep a low profile so this is Blue trying to convince people that jean is still normal
The Blue Djinn probably is trying to keep a low profile and might be able to fool most of the other Genie most of the time. But, he not going to fool Neil, because, Neil know Jean/Jeannie from Junior High School, so Neil know Jeannie too well to be fooled by the Blue Djinn.
Tom Sewell on Jeanie Bottle #490, Part Deux
In an attempt to screw up less which might actually work, I plugged in my Corsair superfast gaming keyboard and started writing in Open Office Writer, which, BTW, is the best word processor to use if you want to post stuff at fanfiction.net. I’ll paste the result when I finish, which might be more than 65 minutes from now when midnight comes to San Jose, California.
In the eight panels of #490, Jean is nothing but nice to Neil. Remember from I Dream of Techicolor that the whole reason Jean moved to Florida from Cincinatti, Ohio was to be with his best friend Neil. It’s not like Jean was having trouble finding women to screw before he moved into Neil’s apartment building.
The real-life Cocoa Beach is noted for its surfing, and even holds a surf camp every summer, but it’s not Oahu’s North Shore, it’s not Santa Cruz, it’s not Mavericks, it’s not Jeffries Bay, it’s not Australia’s Gold Coast. Eddie wouldn’t go from Cocoa Beach; he wouldn’t be needed.
Why did Jean try to teach Neil to surf? To work that gut off of him. Its one of the few unselfish things Jean has done in 490 comics. Here she is trying to do it again. Why? Why now?
Look at the contrast between #490 and #488. Would the Blue Djinn do any of this? The way CD has written the rules, maybe even the Blue Djinn can’t completely override human will, at least without risk. Big Blue doesn’t seem to have a body now, even a genie body; a slip could well mean complete annihilation. And Jean isn’t trying to seduce Neil. The only time Jean did was after he found out that Bell liked sex with Neil as Jean Nessman better than sex with Jean as Jean Nessman. If Big Blue is trying to get Jean pregnant, he’s not trying in #490.
I don’t think the Blue Djinn is even conscious of what Jean is doing now. BD could be possessing someone else or just be somewhere else—or asleep. Genies need to sleep, maybe even Blue Djinns.
I do think that Jean has some awareness that the Blue Djinn is doing things, but not that the Blue Djinn is murdering other genies to steal their magic.
Going back to #490 as it is, Jean wears four different outfits: genie costume, surfing bikini, roller girl outfit, and finally the same outfit she was wearing when she took Neil to the Surf Shop in I Dream of a B-Witch. My best guess is that the surfboard Jean poofed for Neil has “NEIL” written on it in huge letters actually spilling over the edges of the board. He’s wearing a sleeveless Tee in that one, a Wife Beater or a Muscle Shirt. He started out wearing the Classic Dilbert ensemble of white shirt and boring tie, goes on to a sort of Saturday Night Fever/Vegas Elvis shirt, and ends up in the same blah green shirt he was wearing in #1.
Seven minutes to midnight. I’m out of profundities for now.
> Why? Why now?
My guess? She’s genuinely remorseful about leaving Neil stuck as a mentally feminized Natalie for so long. She seems to have only meant it as a prank, but by the time she escaped from the Palace, Natalie had had enough time to start an apparently very deep relationship with Rodge, something that Jean knows Neil wouldn’t have done.
She may have found it hilarious on the spot, but she really does like Neil as a close friend, and may now feel less humor and more horror at the results of her actions.
> My best guess is that the surfboard Jean poofed for Neil has “NEIL” written on it
Good eye . It totally does!
That’s a good look for Jeannie in Panel 6. She should wear her hair like that more often; it’s better than her usual ponytail.
And speaking of Panel 6, now I’m picturing Jeannie joining the Rat City Rollergirls. Wow, that’s a frightening thought.
I’m guessing you’re much too young to remember Joanie Weston and the Bay Bombers. I’m not.
My Roller Girl reference wasn’t a to roller derby queen like Raquel Welch in Kansas City Bomber
or the late Joan Weston in the actual sport but to the part played by Heather Graham in Boogie Nights.
I was totally ignorant of the Rat City Rollergirls until I read your post. Does this mean you’re a denizen of Seatac? I haven’t been anywhere near Puget Sound since early 1979 and was never there until early 1978, but I’ll never forget the time I was there, and coincidentally, that was in the era where Boogie Nights is set. Mostly I was in Bremerton at the Naval Station, refitting the USS Coral Sea, an old aircraft carrier which has long since gone to the breakers. I went to Seattle or Tacoma or both every weekend I wasn’t on duty, saw Star Wars at least fifty times, drove over the Tacoma Narrows bridge at least as many times, rode the ferries, saw and drove over the Deception Pass Bridge back and forth to Whidbey Island on Navy business. I also drove the pontoon bridge at the other end of the island once, before it was destroyed by a storm. The only thing I regret was that I didn’t go to the top of the Space Needle, which inspired Hanna Barbara to make The Jetsons.
Tom: I’m an hour or so north and east of the city, but I went to see one of their events once; those gals are scary. Some of them make pro hockey players look docile by comparison.
I recall San Jose fondly; I lived near Mountain View back when working people could still afford to live and work in Silicon Valley. Worked in San Jose, and later, Milpitas, driving past beautiful downtown Alviso every day. Weekends spent cruising the coast highway, hanging out at the beach or hiking the redwood canyons. I miss California as it used to be.
I know Bremerton; I used to teach over at Bangor. You didn’t miss much at the Space Needle; high prices, indifferent food and poor service. The view is nice, but no better than that from the tower at Volunteer Park, which is free. Did you ever get out to see Snoqualmie Falls? Now that’s impressive, particularly around this time of year, when the snowmelt quadruples the size of the flow.
I used to live in San Jose! I worked at Adobe’s headquarters in downtown for a summer internship and then about a year of post-college professional work. I lost that job when the economy tanked in ’08, though, and had to move back home to the LA suburbs for a few years before I could find another job.
Amusingly enough, I’ll be flying up to Seattle for an interview with Amazon on Friday. I’ve been there once before, as a stop on a road trip I took with my dad and sister up to Vancouver. I liked it there. 🙂
Woohoo! Hey, Robert; let me know how long you’re going to be here – I can give you some good suggestions for things to see, do or eat!
Seattle’s an okay city, as cities go. And not nearly as rainy as myth has it. (NY, DC, Philly, Houston and Miami all get a lot more rain than Seattle does.) We might get a sprinkle on Friday, though.
I’m arriving on Thursday night, interviewing all morning and most of the early afternoon on Friday, and leaving Saturday early afternoon. I’ve seen the Space Needle, and the museum next to it. What are some other cool things to go see?
Hi, Robert! Let’s see – Kind of depends on what you’re interested in. You can Google most of this stuff to see if you’re interested.
Next to the Space Needle, there’s the Experience Music Project, and the Science Fiction Museum. A short bus ride north of that is the Fremont District with the Fremont Troll, the Lenin Statue, the Center of the Universe, the Fremont Bridge and all the funky breweries & shops in Fremont. Just to the north is Woodland Park Zoo, and to the west are the Chittenden Locks and the underwater viewing wall where you can see the salmon migrating in.
A different bus goes to Capitol Hill and Volunteer Park, which has the Asian Art Museum and the huge brick tower which has great views from the top. (Capitol hill is the gay district.)
Downtown has Pioneer Square if you like bars, clubs & nightlife. The Century Ballroom is the place for dancing. Pike Place Market is at the north-ish end of downtown, and has a million vendors selling everything in the world; lots of weird shops & things there. Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley is a block away for good music, and the Seattle Aquarium is right down on the waterfront. The Seattle Art Museum is all modern art if you like that sort of thing. There’s the Waterfall Garden Park at the headquarters of UPS, which is around the corner from Occidental Square (lots of oddball shops.)
The University of Washington has Red Square, the Quad, and Rainier Vista which make a great walk to see some amazing architecture. Also there is the Burke Museum (Natural history and American Indian stuff). You can also rent a canoe at the UW Boathouse and Waterfront Activities Center, and explore Lake Washington’s Union Bay, and Foster Island, with the Arboretum and the Japanese Tea Garden. University Way (the main drag through the U district) has great used bookstores, foreign fast food places and a gargoyle shop.
The best night views of the city are from atop Kite Hill in Gas Works park on the north side of Lake Union. During the day you can use the sundial at the top (you stand in the center and function as the gnomon.) Kayaks can be rented on the west side of Lake Union (which is in the center of the city.) At the south end of the lake is the Center for Wooden Boats, which is endlessly interesting.
South of downtown has the baseball & football stadiums, but I’m not sure who’s playing. There’s also the private Computer Museum at Re-PC. (Small but fascinating.) Further south but reachable by bus is the enormous Museum of Flight next to Boeing Field (definitely check it out if you like aviation & space.) There’s also the Telecommunications Museum, which is amazing.
Getting around: The bus system is a little chaotic but you can call Metro at 206-553-3000 and ask which bus to take (they’re very helpful.) There are also thousands of public bicycles everywhere available for use (green and yellow, so easy to identify – just a small charge on your credit/debit card.) Downtown you can “ride the SLUT” – the South Lake Union Trolley.
Outside of town, there’s Snoqualmie Falls, the Mercer Island Floating Bridge, Mount Rainier, Mount Si and other things, but you probably won’t be able to see those without a car. You can also ride a ferry across the sound to Bainbridge Island and back, just for the experience and the views.
If they offer to take you to lunch, the Metropolitan Grill is great (very pricey, tho.) If you like amazing sandwiches, Specialties is the place. McCormick & Schmick’s has great seafood, as do both Duke’s and Ivar’s Salmon House. The Thirteen Coins is a 24-hour gourmet restaurant. Lots of good eateries around Pike Place Market, too. Expect high prices everywhere in the city; it’s cheaper farther out (but not a lot.)
Let me know if there’s anything specific that you like, that I haven’t mentioned.
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff to do and visit! You are incredibly knowledgeable!
That zoo sounds cool (I haven’t been to one in ages!), so I think I’ll try to do at least that. The Museum of Flight and Telecommunications Museum also sound great!
They are going to provide lunch, but since it’s apparently just for an hour, it’s probably either a very local restaurant or possibly their cafeteria. But if they let me choose, I’ll definitely pick one of those you mentioned.
@Robert:
Sorry, not knowing your tastes, I kind of had to shotgun it; hope I didn’t baffle you with too many choices.
Woodland Park Zoo got a makeover a number of years ago; it’s now a naturalistic zoo, with no bars or visible barriers; the animals have lots of room and natural settings. They also have concerts; I think the Violent Femmes and the Indigo Girls are coming soon. The Zoo
The Museum of Flight has lots of restored airplanes and space vehicles, including a complete SR-71 Blackbird, a Curtiss Jenny, and my personal favorite, a Vought F4U Corsair. I know at least some are kept in running order. Museum Of Flight
The Telecommunications Museum is in a nondescript building that gives no hint as to what’s inside. They seem to have every sort of device used in the last century and a half, including early computers and similar stuff. They seem to have odd hours; better check beforehand to see if they’re open. Telecommunications Museum
Enjoy your visit and best of luck with the interview!
@Robert:
Hey, how’d it go? Did Amazon absolutely love you? What’d you think?
Oddly enough, I flew down to LA for a meeting Sunday morning; got back late last night.
Agreed! Jeanie looks quite good with that hairstyle.
Jean, you blew it with Neil, big time. I suspect he either remembers a lot of what went down while you were gone, or Rodge filled him in that night. Either way, good job torpedoing the only two real friendships you had with people who knew the truth about you. And considering how you’ve acted up to this point, I don’t feel the least bit sorry for you, not one bit.
On a happier note, I like that Neil’s surfboard appears to have his name written on it, though so big that we don’t get to see the whole thing. Nice touch, that.
Jean must be REALLY bored. (which is impressive)
You know what? Forget the theories, the shipping and the fanservice, what the heck is a dinosaur store and why I didn’t have one when I was a kid?
Apparently it is a real place:
http://www.dinosaurstore.com/
I can only imagine what the shipping cost must be when they try to FedEx a brontosaur cross country.
Yes, The Dinosaur Store is a real place in Cocoa Beach. When I was in Cocoa Beach last Jan, I saw it, decided to check it out and thought, ‘Neil would probably come to this place’.
I think Jean is trying to be friendly to Neil. Spend time with Neil since she messed him up so badly last time.
Did Jean go out and get a sponsor, or is “Jeannie Bottle” a brand name. (And it has two “n”s to the strip’s one, by the way.”
That’s how Rodge introduced Jeanie to the editor back when they were at the award ceremony and Rodge was disguised as Jean Nessman. “This is Jeannie… Jeannie, uh… Bottle”.
Rodge is not particularly inventive.
The thing with 1 ‘n’ vs 2 ‘n’s is a little inside baseball trivia in the comic. Both are pronounced the same way, but characters who know Jeanie used to be Jean use “Jeanie”, and those who don’t know use “Jeannie”. That’s also why I always spell her name “Jeanie” in my comments.
Robert, if that is the case, does the two “n” surfboard indicate that Jeanie is still under the control of the Blue Djinn despite the black pupils or that Jeanie doesn’t know how to spell her own name?
Considering that Neil’s surfboard says “NEIL”, it seems likely that Jeanie’s surfboard is referencing the name that Rodge gave to her at the writer’s conference, when he said she was “Jean’s fiance”.
Jeanie is really trying to hard. The question is she feeling lonely or does she feel sorry. It could also be her inner girl has awaken or blue is influencing her to act like a good genie to keep her out of old lord bat poops radar.
As much as i find jean to be a horrible person. I do understand he has no choice in being a genie. Having some back story on why these to clearly different people are freinds would go a long way to helping this comic make more sense. The way Jean has acted towards Neil since becoming Jeanie would end any normal relationship.
As for Neil and Roger they seem to be real freinds but with Nat in the mix that has been poisoned now.
Roger loves Nat and Neil real cares about Roger. I can see how emotionaly taxing all that could be and confusing for both of them.
So far as Neil and Jeanie go i wonder if she is worred about losing Neil to Roger? Neil is the only thing he has left of his old life as Jean.
seeing Jeanie break down and say sorry and ask for forgiveness would go a long way towards redeaming her and making people care about her as a charactor CD.
The basic back story on Jean and Neil is that they use to be school friend with each other. Jean friendship with Neil started some time in junior high school in Cincinnati. Now Neil may have had other guy friend, but, Jean has never had another guy friend, because, he such a jerk. Why Neil chooses to be Jean friend or why he tolerates him even, no one knows. The only thing that we sure of, is, that Jean can’t bare the idea of being without his only ever Guy friend so he move to Co Ca Beach to be close to Neil. Where Jean like a little kid, pick up an uninhabited Genie Bottle or Totem and becomes resident Genie in Jeanie Bottle.
I admit, the back story is a little bit skimpy, but, that basically it.
Where is this in the comic or is it from a out side source? I have a pretty good memory and i don’t remember this being explained any where.
@taiming71 – there’s little references here and there. For example, Jean mentions having gotten Neil a date to the prom in I Dream of a Nerd, and one strip near the end of I Dream of Technicolor has Neil helping Jean move in when he first got to Cocoa Beach. They also use the fact that Neil and Jean knew each other back in Cincinnati during I Dream of an Escape to explain to Belle why Natalie is in Jean’s apartment. You know, little things like that.
Like what He Who Abides said, there just bits and pieces of things said between Neil and Jean, but, no serious coherent back story as such.
Like when Jeannie in training at Melvin house, she tell Melvin and crew that she 23 years old and Neil probably Graduated the same year and is probably the same age within a few months one way or the other. They both probably graduated when they were 18 years old. So Neil has had about four years to go to college to be an engineer. We know he probably still in Cincinnati until probably 22 years of age when he put out his resume to get that job in Cocoa Beach where he move. Neil been in Cocoa Beach between 6 to 10 month before Jean turns into Jeannie. From when both Neil and Jean are watching old Jeannie Bottle Marathon, which was a month or more before Jean turned into Jeannie and we have back flash of Jean moving into his apartment about two months or possibly three after he get to Cocoa Beach to be with his friend Neil.
He Who Abides, has already mentioned that it was Jean that got Neil a date on the Prom in his senor year of the 12th grade when he graduated from high school. We know that they were friends for a few years before that. If I remember right, they first bumped into each other about 8th grade. Then the relationship developed from that point onward.
this is where Neal a four gallon bottle dago red wine, a pizza, a darken room and lots and lots time to figure this all out.
A four gallon bottle of wine? To do what, stay drunk for the next decade?
Besides, I don’t think Neil is the guy that needs the solace; Rodge seems to be the one taking things hard.
I dunno, Neil is acting pretty weird here, too. Rodge is acting unusual for good reason. We don’t know why Neil is so unresponsive to Jeanie’s perky prodding.
Robert: I figured it was because he had to spend the whole day dealing with a mopey Rodge. Rodge doesn’t seem to do much work even on a good day, and now Neil probably had to pick up all the slack.
Oh, fair point!
She’s all vibrant and full of energy, like she just ate a lot of sugar! …Or, you know, stole a lot of magical power from other genies.
Poor Neil seems unhappy.
I know! Turn him into Nat again! It might help him sleep better?
Not if his pajama tops are closely fitted.
And definitely not, if it’s the wrong time of the month. Cramps are a bitch.
May we see Jeanie in that bikini( hey that rhymed) in Panal 3 even if it’s on patrion?
Sure thing., I’ll put together another High Res images post.
Neil might find Jean attractive, but he never actually tries anything.
They still remember that they had a Guy to Guy relationship for about 7 to 9 year period. That having some effect on them getting to close to each other on a Guy to Girl relationship. But, Jeanie Bottle time there has been between 4 to 6 months time since Jeannie has become a Girl Genie. So the relationship is starting to turn into a more Guy to Girl relationship and not being Guy to Girl relationship. Jeannie will probably be the first one to approach Neil in very shot hops, but, head in that direction. That where this stories going to go, but, it will make several detours and such down side trails before it get there.
I don’t think so. Jean is still clearly into women, even hitting on the female Agent Anderson.
There some people who are switch hitters out there, like Guy on Guy, then on Girl. Then there is Girl on Girl, then on Guy too. Jeannie may be moving into the switch hitting department now. She can go either way with either another Girl or Guy. There are people out there like that. So just saying that Jeannie interested in Girl, doesn’t necessarily mean that she not also developing an interest in Guys too. Which could also be interesting with her trying to do a number on another Girl and trying to do a number on Neil, that could cause some interesting problems, before the get sorted out.
I think Jeanie is almost certainly in the process of transitioning from a straight man into a bisexual woman. Remember that while she was delirious from lack of sleep, and thus her inhibitions were severely compromised, she attempted to have sex with Neil. And while her excuse was that she wanted to learn what made Neil so much better in bed than Jean, she attempted to have that sex really, really doggedly. A woman who is only attracted to women is pretty unlikely to do that under those circumstances.
That what I am thinking too. She in transition to being bisexual and also desiring men too, because, up above in these panels, Jeannie is desperately seeking Neil companionship and isn’t getting it. She even frustrated about it, when she doesn’t get it. That no the behavior of someone that not interested in someone. She is at least thinking in that direction now, where she wasn’t doing that earlier.
@Robert:
Then again, Jean isn’t a normal woman on multiple levels. He’s a man that was turned into a woman against his will. A genie woman at that.
But you have a point that Jean might be bisexual now.