Tales of Gnosis College



""No jokes, please. This is science in action"."

- Professor Corwin (admonishing one of his experimental subjects)

Tales of Gnosis College is an adults-only webcomic written by the pseudonymous ?Dr. Faustus? and illustrated by Lon Ryden. It is set in the eponymous fictional midwestern liberal arts college. At Gnosis, the reckless, oversexed students are taught by a faculty rich in mad scientists, many of whom regard the students as convenient fodder for their experiments, or, as the case often is, sexperiments. In between (and sometimes through) bizarre sex scenes the comic also implicitly explores philosophical themes related to ethics and personal identity.

The first two volumes of Tales of Gnosis College, ''The Apsinthion Protocol and Study Abroad'' have been published in full. The third volume, Progress in Research. is being published now.

The webcomic, which posts on average a new page every day, is published under a [Creative Commons license] and made available for free at Dr. Faustus?s website.

=== Tales of Gnosis College contains examples of: ===

made of the stuff. fetish fuel for him, while Lon Ryden sure likes drawing naked women. and an unfortunate Russian girl who speaks her own language. [Goo Girl Genesis] in which a female undergraduate is turned into one of these as an experiment. lure female undergraduates into weird experiments the involve changing their state of matter or intimate contact with tentacle beasts, but he draws the line at using is technology to make duplicates of people, even when that would be handy. He?s also intensely loyal to his own subordinate. of the female characters at the end, and Dr. Faustus has also commissioned and published a variety of art connected with his Gnosis College stories here. Three-ending pin-up of The Apsinthion Protocol to complain about the fact that her character didn't even get a name or a dialog line in the preceding chapter. point. end of The Apsinthion Protocol when Anwei is threatened by Senator Madder. aircraft carrier. does the name "Joseph Corwin." FBI custody.]] College is located, appears to be just an ordinary small American city. after things go pear-shaped in Corwin's laboratory.]] Newman." as if it had been printed as well as set in 1888. other characters as well. these through the use of drugs and hypnosis. reads aloud a passage from Procopius in the original Greek. Millie scandalizes him by showing that she understands what he is saying. Corwin uses Greek to label things in his lab, and a prominent statue on campus has a line from Pindar (γένοι᾽ οἷος ἐσσὶ μαθών) on its pedestal. means of disposing of politically embarrassing evidence. for a time as a voluntary member the Sultan of Pazar's harem. where Iris Brockman takes a job. Device. necessarily for those for whom it was intended to be humiliating]]. Professor Corwin's laboratory. spoiler:Moira and Nanetta learn something very important from it, though. example, his colleague Dr. Emil Strangeways much less so. Apsinthion Protocol. college... happens'' to work this way. institution called St. Mary Magdalene College, run by nuns with some peculiar ideas about discipline. around his laboratory on a regular basis, but he's focused on science. most of the other younger-than-middle-aged adults in her culture. overthrow the hated dictator of Monte Blanco appears to consist of two people, one of whom is mute. present day Gnosis College fictional universe ever saves anyone from mad-science danger. Indeed, much of the time they're oblivious to the existence of dangers. within a few minutes of their Freaky Friday Flip. her identity in spite of her strange experiences. Some of her friends don't seem quite so sure, though. student named Cassandra executes one of these, which involves arranging for herself to be Swallowed Whole by a mysterious, barely-seen creature. She implies in a final statement that she has a very serious reason for doing this, although it isn't specified for the readership. and Ashley is another. Les Vampires on her dorm-room wall, and Moira is often shown reading serious contemporary works of philosophy that have actually been published  --> --> in the real world. main Gnosis College library. laboratory. well.]] Hoffmann's lab. students come from a variety of backgrounds and points of view. beginnings of which only become evident at the end of Volume 1.]] other utilities under the Gnosis campus and its environs. Willie looks it up on old architectural plans and, with Aloysius's help, uses it to sneak into the neighboring Catholic women's college. This stunt leads to a fraught encounter with Naughty Nuns. for starters.
 * Academy of Adventure.
 * Ambiguously Jewish: Moira.
 * Applied Phlebotinum: Gnosis College and its environs seem to be
 * Author Appeal: Dr. Faustus unabashedly admits that mad science is
 * Badass: Pedro at the Omega initiation.
 * Be Careful What You Wish For:
 * Bilingual Dialogue: Between the Sultan of Pazar, who speaks English,
 * Blob Monster: There is a bonus CG illustration sequence called
 * Blue and Orange Morality: Professor Joseph Corwin is more than happy to
 * Bonus Material: Every chapter in the first volume has a pin-up of one
 * Breaking the Fourth Wall: Iris Brockman does this from the Chapter
 * Calling Your Orgasms: Nanetta does this in an interior monologue at one
 * Combat Tentacles: Howard the Tentacle Beast manifests these near the
 * There's also an imagined panel of huge tentacles attacking an
 * Cthulhu Mythos: Howard's appearance (and name) hint at this, as
 * Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?
 * Dressing As the Enemy: [[spoiler:Corwin and Anwei do this to escape from
 * Everytown, America: Pleasant Prairie, the fictional town in which Gnosis
 * The Exile: [[spoiler:Corwin and Anwei and forced to flee the country
 * FBI Agent: Macneil and Smith.
 * Flash Back: The Victorian-era pendant story "The Strange Case of Millie
 * Flashback Effects: "The Strange Case of Millie Newman" is sepia-toned,
 * For Science!: Probably Joseph Corwin's primary motivation, and that of
 * Full-Frontal Assault: In both directions at the Omega initiation.
 * Freaky Friday Flip: Willie and Professor Rebecca Waite achieve one of
 * Gas Mask Mooks: Senator Madder's "security detail."
 * Gratuitous Greek: In "The Strange Case of Millie Newman," a professor
 * Heroic Sacrifice:
 * Heterosexual Life Partners: Moira and Nanetta.
 * Hidden in Plain Sight: Special-Agent-in-Charge Macneil does this as a
 * High Class Call Girl: In Study Abroad Bridget O'Brian is one of these
 * Honey Trap: The mission Jill Keeney accepts on Monte Blanco.
 * I'm a Humanitarian: The point of the bizarre and decadent restaurant
 * I'm Melting: ...and I love it! An effect of Corwin's Apsinthion
 * Initiation Ceremony.
 * The Omegas have one that is quite humiliating [[spoiler:although not
 * Tondelayo and Cleo in Study Abroad undergo one that is horrific.
 * Insecurity System: It is surprisingly easy for Ashley to break into
 * Jerkass: Senator Madder.
 * Jerk Jock: Biff certainly counts.
 * Kent Brockman News: Deep questions of human meaning, followed by sports.
 * Lonely Rich Kid: Ashley.
 * Mad Scientist: Professor Joseph Corwin is a comparatively benign
 * Mad Scientist Laboratory.
 * Male Frontal Nudity: At least five examples in Chapter Five of ''The
 * Man of Wealth and Taste: The Sultan of Pazar in Study Abroad.
 * Masquerade: Most people think of Gnosis as just another elite
 * Naked On Revival: Professor Corwin's reconstitution technology just
 * Naughty Nuns: Next door to Gnosis College there is an all-women's
 * Nerds Are Sexy: Many examples, of whom Moira is probably the most salient.
 * Not Distracted By the Sexy: Professor Corwin has naked coeds running
 * Nubile Savage: Tondelayo in Study Abroad certainly counts, as do
 * Oddly Small Organization: Before Jill Keeney joins it, the conspiracy to
 * Old Cop, Young Cop: Macneil is the Old Cop, and Smith the Young.
 * Our Mermaids Are Different:
 * Plot With Porn.
 * Police Are Useless: Neither the old-time constabulary nor the FBI in the
 * Professionals Do It On Desks: Willie and Professor Waite, apparently
 * Quest for Identity: Averted with Iris Brockman, who is in no doubt about
 * Self-Sacrifice Scheme: In a pendant story, a Gnosis alumna and graduate
 * Shameless Fanservice Girl: Laura Sato-Bevilaqua is one salient example,
 * Shout-Out: Ashley has a poster of Irma Vep from the 1915 silent serial
 * Sidekick: Anwei functions as one to Professor Corwin.
 * Sleazy Politician: Senator Madder.
 * Spooky Silent Library: The tenebrous "locked stacks" deep inside the
 * Spy Catsuit: Ashley wears one of these to break into Professor Corwin's
 * Stalker With a Crush: Ashley for Corwin. [[spoiler:It doesn't work out
 * Steampunk: "The Strange Case of Millie Newman," especially Professor
 * Strawman U: Largely averted. Gnosis is a successful college whose
 * Swallowed Whole: Cassandra Kam, in a pendant story.
 * Taken for Granite:
 * Transformation Sequence: [[spoiler:Anwei has very slow one, the
 * Tunnel Network: There is a set of tunnels designed to carry steam and
 * Wacky Fratboy Hijinx: The Omegas.
 * Weird Science: Professor Corwin's girl-liquefying Apsinthion Device,