I’m actually with Jin on this. Is it fixed or not? Cause if we gotta do this all over again (insert exasperated something here)!!! I don’t think her wits could take another go around.
Did Jin not see what happened with Shelly, and her epic ink explosion? Bud looks like she went through hell and back, returned with somebody (survey says Jin’s mother, hopefully tomorrow will confirm or deny that), and all she can think about is that stupid Xerox machine? Apparently having it sucked into Monica’s tummy is not enough.
Jin has been unfocused and in ‘vapid’ mode since they gathered to tackle the machine. Odds are she may not have noticed any of that at all. Or, she took it in but is too out of touch to have it register.
I wonder if it could be Tina caught in limbo when she was killed. Wapsi’s good for twists. Jins mom is so obvious though. (Still… I have no idea. Love the strip irregardless!)
i wonder what jin thought would happen if the calender would be fixed.
i mean … i spose if the calender has been broke her life would have ended (kinda) every time at the same point and year..
this time..i wounder if she thought she would poit out of exsistance?
Tepoz SAID she expected to go back to what she was when the Machine started – not a superpowered clay golum, but human and mortal – and would age and die normally. Which she was apparently looking forward to. Tepoz untruths a lot, possibly unintentionally, but if he was right and it dawns on Jin that that DIDN’T happen… Given her current mental state, that could be unfortunate.
Untruths? You mean lying, right? Most people call it lying. And that lying little bastard has yet to make his play, so who knows what he will do when Monica comes back.
A lie is an intentional untruth. A mistake or misinformation is unintentional. As when someone else lies, and you repeat it–you aren’t really lying, just wrong.
So whoever this is spent about 80,000 years on the “other side.” I would assume that’s 80,000 of our years. I can’t see how any person could take being “alive” for tens of thousands of years in some dark void. Heck, I can’t see how anyone could take being alive here on earth for thousands upon thousands of years for that matter. I mean, what do you do all that time? You can’t die. You can’t get out. How could you stay sane? I wonder if demons are just satient beings of some sort who simply couldn’t handle eternity and went bonkers. Angels, demons, gods … sometimes I think they’re all insane for that very reason.
Endlessly. Of course, that’s assuming I’m on Earth and have access to yarn and animals with which to get the wool.
In a dark void… frankly, after a while, catatonic. Probably sleeping a lot, if I didn’t need food or drink. Which makes me wonder if the person (presumably Jin’s mother) got hunger pangs. She commented on being able to smell dirt, that’s not a good sign.
I suspect time passed at a different rate in the demon realm. Reason for this is rather obvious: if that is, indeed, Jin’s mom, she looks like she is only a few years older than Jin in appearance (which is likely how old she really was when she got “sucked in” to the calendar machine originally).
Now, here’s my other thought, and I really hope Pablo doesn’t go there – “Tochtli” was one of many “children” of Mayahuel. What if this isn’t mom, but is instead… Jin’s sister?
Here’s an idea that may or may not be original, but it was original to me as I just thought of it, not having read it: What if “Time” in the demon realm is an illusion. (Yes, I know of philosophies about time being an illusion in THIS realm, but it is measurable and it is only as much an illusion as any OTHER bit of reality here.) What if time in the DR is just like when you’re a kid. If you don’t pay attention to it, you don’t notice it, but when you have to stand in a corner for 10 minutes and be aware of every single friggin’ minute… It feels like hours and beyond. So, Bud, thinking “The portal isn’t open yet, because I told Shelley to give Brandi the slip of paper a few minutes after I went in, so, I just need to get to Maya as quickly as possible and then get the hell out of here as quickly as possible so the whole “LOCKING THE DOOR TO THE DEMON REALM” wasn’t pointless to begin with.” So, she was every of every single moment (not minute) and hence why it looks like she spent half an eternity in there. This same theory may also explain why not every single thing on Jin is completely dissolved (unless they had very VERY sturdy fabrics). Yes, time had “stopped” for Jin and Jin’s mom, due to the exposure to the calendar machine, but, apparently cloth exposed to the machine has a limit. And after 80,000 years, well, it should probably have broken down entirely (what use do demon’s have for clothes? so There probably weren’t any clothes in the DR, unless, of course, Jin’s Mom skinned some demon’s “alive” and MADE her own cloths FROM the hides of the demons, which would be pretty damned badass.) So, perhaps she could “let go” of time, ignore it, in a sense, and the 80,000 + years weren’t as long as they could’ve been. Either way, the point is moot now.
If it is Jin’s mom, after finally getting rid of the calendar machine after 80,000 years, it might not have been a really good idea to bring back the one person who could build a new one.
At first it seem like the story line was being elongated. We have a bunch of quick action pack happenings, suspense building semi-hidden plots, with “we may have to wait till next Monday” type small dialog …
BUT … try and pry me out of my seat as I pull up the newest page of Wapsi Square. I am too entranced with “what will happen next?”, “she said what?”, “she is going to do what?”,”WOW! Neat drawing.”, “can she do that?”, and a few more I don’t need to say it – because they were already said by someone else.
(Warning!!!: The above-linked content is hilariously funny. It is also NSEW, and not recommended for people with misgivings about short words beginning with “F”.)
Personally I am glad that the calendar machine arc has had some manner of action. I doubt that there is any true conclusion as it appears that we will be focusing on this basic group of 6-7 characters for some while yet.
I know that for many (most) people these half dozen are popular and readers have been on the edge of their seats waiting to know what happens to them next. Unfortunately many of them are some of my least favorite. Sorry, that is just my take.
I have heard Paul Taylor in interviews mention that he would like to do other stories in Wapsi – my hope is that they include more of the “original cast” – the ones that brought me and kept me at the strip in the first place. (before 11/4/2004)
However judging from the newer “Cast” page that might be a lost cause. Great art as always!
Well, bear in mind that this story line is now going on ten years old. I suspect that with that much time to think about it, the plot line isn’t quite as Mr. Taylor began it. It’s most likely gone off into new directions, as the characters grew and took on life of their own. They tend to do that ….
I would say character popularity vs. character growth.
11/4/2004 is when the Golem Girls appeared – so in my mind that is when this arc really took hold. Let us say then at least the last 5 years.
I agree that the story has tracked differently that originally envisioned due to pressures along the way.
I doubt it was pressures – characters have a tendency to develop minds of their own and hijack plot lines off in directions the author never intended. Ask any writer – Stephen King has frequently commented on this, as have many others.
Brandi’s always been the sensitive nurturing one up to this point and Bud seemed to be the least likely to forgive Jin. They both finally seem to have figured out that Jin was just as wounded in the ordeal as they were. Hopefully Jin quits spacing out, she’s a disaster waiting to happen at the moment. If it’s Jin’s mother, we can only hope two things, she’s kept her sanity, and she doesn’t want to change the world any longer by any means.
Hmm, maybe the (broken) calendar machine going away, left a void that must be filled by a (working) calendar machine. And the only one that can build a (any kind) calendar machine is Jin’s mom. Just musing. I’m along for the ride.
It occurs to me that we’ve never seen any of the GGs in the clay golem state. Given that they were created to guard the calendar in the first place, I hope we’re not going to see them permanently revert — along with Jin’s newly arrived mom, who’s also a golum — now that their reason for being is no more.
Judging by the profile in Panel 2, Jin’s mom is a cutey.
If Jin’s mom is anything like Jin in her approach to the opposite gender, and given her age (and Jin’s), would “cougar” be anywhere near descriptive enough?
Considering how literally split people’s personalities can become in this sequential art piece, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jin and her ‘mom’ decided to open a small hotel.
Yup. Jin’s mother.
Bud sure has had a lot of surprises up her sleeve. This one seems to be unexpected by Brandi and Jin.
Oh Jin…. I think she really is off her nut. =(
Perhaps she’s gone blind?
After doing a little “Dante’s Inferno” digging, i have only the minorest of ideas what Jin’s mother was going through.
I’m actually with Jin on this. Is it fixed or not? Cause if we gotta do this all over again (insert exasperated something here)!!! I don’t think her wits could take another go around.
Did Jin not see what happened with Shelly, and her epic ink explosion? Bud looks like she went through hell and back, returned with somebody (survey says Jin’s mother, hopefully tomorrow will confirm or deny that), and all she can think about is that stupid Xerox machine? Apparently having it sucked into Monica’s tummy is not enough.
Jin has been unfocused and in ‘vapid’ mode since they gathered to tackle the machine. Odds are she may not have noticed any of that at all. Or, she took it in but is too out of touch to have it register.
@Anji: Yeah, I’m with you. It would really suck to have to do this all over *again*.
Hee! Our avatars both have “that look.”
I wonder if it could be Tina caught in limbo when she was killed. Wapsi’s good for twists. Jins mom is so obvious though. (Still… I have no idea. Love the strip irregardless!)
Ok… we have some possibilities here:
1. Jin’s Mom
2. Tina 1.0
….or….
3. Jin’s mom’s Demon IS Tina 1.0?!?
My head hurts….
What if she’s/it’s Jin’s soul/demon/mortality?
What if Jin is the machine….
i wonder what jin thought would happen if the calender would be fixed.
i mean … i spose if the calender has been broke her life would have ended (kinda) every time at the same point and year..
this time..i wounder if she thought she would poit out of exsistance?
Tepoz SAID she expected to go back to what she was when the Machine started – not a superpowered clay golum, but human and mortal – and would age and die normally. Which she was apparently looking forward to. Tepoz untruths a lot, possibly unintentionally, but if he was right and it dawns on Jin that that DIDN’T happen… Given her current mental state, that could be unfortunate.
Untruths? You mean lying, right? Most people call it lying. And that lying little bastard has yet to make his play, so who knows what he will do when Monica comes back.
Tepoz only told Monica what he heard from May and Jin. =)
A lie is an intentional untruth. A mistake or misinformation is unintentional. As when someone else lies, and you repeat it–you aren’t really lying, just wrong.
“Irregardless,” like the splitting of infinitives, is something up with which we should not put.
Heh. I love surfing after 1:00am. The brain is so slippery…..
So whoever this is spent about 80,000 years on the “other side.” I would assume that’s 80,000 of our years. I can’t see how any person could take being “alive” for tens of thousands of years in some dark void. Heck, I can’t see how anyone could take being alive here on earth for thousands upon thousands of years for that matter. I mean, what do you do all that time? You can’t die. You can’t get out. How could you stay sane? I wonder if demons are just satient beings of some sort who simply couldn’t handle eternity and went bonkers. Angels, demons, gods … sometimes I think they’re all insane for that very reason.
I’d second that. Anyone that old would most likely appear less than sane by human standards.
Whether or not humanity qualifies as sane is, of course, a subjective matter.
I’d knit.
Endlessly. Of course, that’s assuming I’m on Earth and have access to yarn and animals with which to get the wool.
In a dark void… frankly, after a while, catatonic. Probably sleeping a lot, if I didn’t need food or drink. Which makes me wonder if the person (presumably Jin’s mother) got hunger pangs. She commented on being able to smell dirt, that’s not a good sign.
I suspect time passed at a different rate in the demon realm. Reason for this is rather obvious: if that is, indeed, Jin’s mom, she looks like she is only a few years older than Jin in appearance (which is likely how old she really was when she got “sucked in” to the calendar machine originally).
Now, here’s my other thought, and I really hope Pablo doesn’t go there – “Tochtli” was one of many “children” of Mayahuel. What if this isn’t mom, but is instead… Jin’s sister?
As i said about another thought, a bit further down the comments:
eek.
Here’s an idea that may or may not be original, but it was original to me as I just thought of it, not having read it: What if “Time” in the demon realm is an illusion. (Yes, I know of philosophies about time being an illusion in THIS realm, but it is measurable and it is only as much an illusion as any OTHER bit of reality here.) What if time in the DR is just like when you’re a kid. If you don’t pay attention to it, you don’t notice it, but when you have to stand in a corner for 10 minutes and be aware of every single friggin’ minute… It feels like hours and beyond. So, Bud, thinking “The portal isn’t open yet, because I told Shelley to give Brandi the slip of paper a few minutes after I went in, so, I just need to get to Maya as quickly as possible and then get the hell out of here as quickly as possible so the whole “LOCKING THE DOOR TO THE DEMON REALM” wasn’t pointless to begin with.” So, she was every of every single moment (not minute) and hence why it looks like she spent half an eternity in there. This same theory may also explain why not every single thing on Jin is completely dissolved (unless they had very VERY sturdy fabrics). Yes, time had “stopped” for Jin and Jin’s mom, due to the exposure to the calendar machine, but, apparently cloth exposed to the machine has a limit. And after 80,000 years, well, it should probably have broken down entirely (what use do demon’s have for clothes? so There probably weren’t any clothes in the DR, unless, of course, Jin’s Mom skinned some demon’s “alive” and MADE her own cloths FROM the hides of the demons, which would be pretty damned badass.) So, perhaps she could “let go” of time, ignore it, in a sense, and the 80,000 + years weren’t as long as they could’ve been. Either way, the point is moot now.
Actually, my first thought was that it looked like Katherine.
If it is Jin’s mom, after finally getting rid of the calendar machine after 80,000 years, it might not have been a really good idea to bring back the one person who could build a new one.
Didn’t Jin’s mother try to sabotage the calendar machine?
Yes, but she’s also the one who designed it in the first place.
At first it seem like the story line was being elongated. We have a bunch of quick action pack happenings, suspense building semi-hidden plots, with “we may have to wait till next Monday” type small dialog …
BUT … try and pry me out of my seat as I pull up the newest page of Wapsi Square. I am too entranced with “what will happen next?”, “she said what?”, “she is going to do what?”,”WOW! Neat drawing.”, “can she do that?”, and a few more I don’t need to say it – because they were already said by someone else.
I am the Walrus
The Walrus is Paul.
“Paul wasn’t the Walrus! I was the Walrus! I was just saying that to be nice!”
(Warning!!!: The above-linked content is hilariously funny. It is also NSEW, and not recommended for people with misgivings about short words beginning with “F”.)
Boy got into some bad acid, there.
It is his actual words, from the Rolling Stone Interview (mostly).
Personally I am glad that the calendar machine arc has had some manner of action. I doubt that there is any true conclusion as it appears that we will be focusing on this basic group of 6-7 characters for some while yet.
I know that for many (most) people these half dozen are popular and readers have been on the edge of their seats waiting to know what happens to them next. Unfortunately many of them are some of my least favorite. Sorry, that is just my take.
I have heard Paul Taylor in interviews mention that he would like to do other stories in Wapsi – my hope is that they include more of the “original cast” – the ones that brought me and kept me at the strip in the first place. (before 11/4/2004)
However judging from the newer “Cast” page that might be a lost cause.
Great art as always!
Well, bear in mind that this story line is now going on ten years old. I suspect that with that much time to think about it, the plot line isn’t quite as Mr. Taylor began it. It’s most likely gone off into new directions, as the characters grew and took on life of their own. They tend to do that ….
I would say character popularity vs. character growth.
11/4/2004 is when the Golem Girls appeared – so in my mind that is when this arc really took hold. Let us say then at least the last 5 years.
I agree that the story has tracked differently that originally envisioned due to pressures along the way.
I doubt it was pressures – characters have a tendency to develop minds of their own and hijack plot lines off in directions the author never intended. Ask any writer – Stephen King has frequently commented on this, as have many others.
As i recall, however, Monica’s “suicide attempt” was part of the background from the beginning, and that relates to the Golem Girls and this arc.
(Unless Jin’s involvement is a retcon.)
And when was Shelly’s mother’s death and her vision quest first mentioned?
To quote one of the lesser-known lines from the FST, “Author responsible for all character he create!”
(For full effect, you have to imagine this being said in a cheesy B-movie “Japanese” accent.)
“Authol Responsibre Fol Arr Chalactel he Cleate!” *Mouth still moving in the background*
Meanwhile, the dog’s busy racking up a impressive pizza tab…..
Nah – she brings them free, because he’s such a great … friend.
*sigh* you just made me think of Brian and Lois from Family Guy… ew… just… EW!
Brandi’s always been the sensitive nurturing one up to this point and Bud seemed to be the least likely to forgive Jin. They both finally seem to have figured out that Jin was just as wounded in the ordeal as they were. Hopefully Jin quits spacing out, she’s a disaster waiting to happen at the moment. If it’s Jin’s mother, we can only hope two things, she’s kept her sanity, and she doesn’t want to change the world any longer by any means.
Hmm, maybe the (broken) calendar machine going away, left a void that must be filled by a (working) calendar machine. And the only one that can build a (any kind) calendar machine is Jin’s mom. Just musing. I’m along for the ride.
eek
Double Eek! And they’ve got about two years to do it! :O
It occurs to me that we’ve never seen any of the GGs in the clay golem state. Given that they were created to guard the calendar in the first place, I hope we’re not going to see them permanently revert — along with Jin’s newly arrived mom, who’s also a golum — now that their reason for being is no more.
BAM BAM BA DAM!
Judging by the profile in Panel 2, Jin’s mom is a cutey.
If Jin’s mom is anything like Jin in her approach to the opposite gender, and given her age (and Jin’s), would “cougar” be anywhere near descriptive enough?
If that’s Jin’s mom. “All signs point to ‘Yes’,” but don’t believe everything you read. Know-wut-I-mean, Vern? ;^)
Poor Jin, she’s gotten so close to this moment so many times. Only to have it usually yanked out of her hands at the last moment.
Now she’s finally accomplished what she’s always wanted, and she’s almost completely out of her skull because of it.
Imagine if Elmer Fudd had ever gotten Bugs or Daffy, That’s how I imagine Jin feels.
She can’t believe it’s really happened, the dream has finally, finally, came true.
General thought: She looks like Monica’s Doubt.
Here’s a possibility that hasn’t been brought up yet… what about Tina’s Soul?
Jin’s mom was the Pizza Girl. This is actually Roy.
Considering how literally split people’s personalities can become in this sequential art piece, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Jin and her ‘mom’ decided to open a small hotel.
Oh, it’s Jin’s mom! I thought it was Boiler Room Girl.
That blank eye look is right out of Eerie Indiana…
I just realized something… it looks like Jin is taking her pulse in the 3rd frame… almost checking to see if she was human again….