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"Lift Weights"
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Lift Weights
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Lift Weights

by Paul Taylor on December 1, 2010 at 12:00 am
Story: Wapsi-Archive
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Discussion (105) ¬

  1. Jim
    December 1, 2010, 12:04 am | # | Reply

    Hmmmmm .

    • Fatuncle
      December 1, 2010, 4:41 am | # | Reply

      And Oh?

      • txmystic
        December 1, 2010, 9:01 am | #

        And Uhhhhhh……

    • DJenser
      November 18, 2011, 11:35 pm | # | Reply

      FINALLY someone acknowledges that Shelly’s strength is freakish!

  2. Jon B
    December 1, 2010, 12:04 am | # | Reply

    I <3 her look in panel 3

    • txmystic
      December 1, 2010, 9:02 am | # | Reply

      Yes, she is quite beautiful right there…

    • Dantelives
      December 1, 2010, 10:00 am | # | Reply

      Ditto. Paul’s ability to draw excellent facial expressions is one of the major draws to this comic for me.

      • slywlf
        August 7, 2011, 8:37 pm | #

        Yup – I’m still working my way through what is my first re-read, and I remember this one vividly…

  3. Jabberwonky
    December 1, 2010, 12:05 am | # | Reply

    I knew it but never voiced it. I don’t care how much you lift weights, you can’t toss V-8 engine blocks.

    • Fairportfan
      December 1, 2010, 12:10 am | # | Reply

      Or lift large weight-set plates with a string tied to your big toe… (Haven’t got the reference handy, but…)

      • StJason
        December 1, 2010, 2:34 am | #

        Or survive a close-proximity propane gas tank explosion?

      • Fairportfan
        December 1, 2010, 1:40 pm | #

        It wasn’t the tank that exploded – it was a small quantity of it trapped under the grill hood.

        And i seem to recall that Paul said it was based on something he’d done (and, i assume) survived himself.

      • Rycr
        May 28, 2011, 7:59 pm | #

        Plus, it was specifically shown that she poked the start switch from a safe distance with a stick or something.

      • Jabberwonky
        December 1, 2010, 2:54 am | #

        Yeah, I recall that one, now…

      • the Fansheep
        December 1, 2010, 4:15 am | #

        Well she wasnt standing that close to the propane gas altrough it is still quite dangerous

    • SoWhyMe
      December 1, 2010, 12:26 am | # | Reply

      Right, but I just figured, it’s a comic. It’s exageration. Get over it. At least that’s the response I tend to get when I point out stuff like that. Apparently this one time, anyway, it’s not just comic exageration.

      So, superpower status has just been conferred on Shelly. Now, lets see if she can leap tall buildings in a single bound.

      • NOTDilbert
        December 1, 2010, 1:17 am | #

        Or jump Justin’s bones in a single – eh, perhaps NSFW. Fill in the blank, make up your own joke. 😉

      • Xavienne
        December 1, 2010, 7:20 am | #

        LOL! I’m glad I am not the only one who thought that!

      • SomeUnregPunk
        December 1, 2010, 11:59 pm | #

        or break Justin’s bones in a fit of wrongly placed anger.

      • jordinyc
        December 1, 2010, 1:20 am | #

        EPIC REVEAL!!!!

      • Jabberwonky
        December 1, 2010, 7:26 am | #

        Yeah, I figured it was the ‘if it’s funny it’s not dangerous’ clause, too.

    • NOTDilbert
      December 1, 2010, 1:25 am | # | Reply

      So, do we chip in and get her the bullet-deflecting wristbands for Christmas?

  4. Fairportfan
    December 1, 2010, 12:09 am | # | Reply

    You know, i remember seeing exactly that same expression at an SF convention in 1978 – four of us were playing Hearts in the convention Hospitality Suite, and a friend’s youngest kid (about six, i think) was bothering us.

    Finally, one of the others pointed over on the other side of the suite, where there was a sunken conversation area, and a friend was sitting with his back to us.

    Guy said “Eric? Do you see Mr Celko sitting over there? He just loves it when little boys come over and kiss him on top of his bald head.”

    Eric gave him exactly the look Tina has in the final panel.

    When i told his mother the story later, she said “Eric has two older brothers…”

  5. jwhouk
    December 1, 2010, 12:17 am | # | Reply

    1. That look is both annoying and precious at once.

    2. That look also reminds me way too much of Phix.

    3. Or Monica.

  6. vince
    December 1, 2010, 12:19 am | # | Reply

    There’s lifting weights, and there’s being close to, if not already superhumanly strong…

  7. Greyryder
    December 1, 2010, 12:23 am | # | Reply

    I can’t look at the last frame without chuckling. I love her expression. Classic!

    • jordinyc
      December 1, 2010, 1:29 am | # | Reply

      I’ll say XD

  8. DJ
    December 1, 2010, 12:25 am | # | Reply

    Is that a crap load of washing hanging on a bunch of lines behind Shelly?

    • TlalocW
      December 1, 2010, 12:32 am | # | Reply

      No, those are called Papel Picado – normally large sheets of tissue with holes cut out of them to make designs. Most commonly found in Mexico. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3350/4617294473_9f777f8dda_o.jpg

      • StJason
        December 1, 2010, 2:36 am | #

        Huh. I guess that makes more sense then the Tibeten Prayer Flags that I was thinking they were…

  9. Julie
    December 1, 2010, 12:34 am | # | Reply

    She has a point you know. 😛

  10. Alex C.
    December 1, 2010, 12:39 am | # | Reply

    HA. Tina’s “oh, please” expression is perfect.

  11. SoWhyMe
    December 1, 2010, 12:45 am | # | Reply

    This also indicates Tina knows much more than she lets on. Not unlike when Phix showed up to tell her the rogue demons had been delt with. She knew about it before the judging.

    Heck, now I’ll be paranoid thinking every abnormal thing is not just comic exageration. Like Monica’s dog, for example. Even Amanda’s kitty who knows what to shred and not. Odd how it just showed up out of the blue like that. And there’s Katherine’s seemingly understanding fish. Is Monica’s boyfriend really as naive about all this as he seems? Is Jin’s boyfriend just a plant to help keep her calm? How can he take her power and survive? Maybe he’s actually a … a ROBOT!!? There! I said it! And what about that all-knowing bartender? Huh? HUH!?

    • NOTDilbert
      December 1, 2010, 1:21 am | # | Reply

      I think Shelly needs to talk to a little floaty girl that hangs around the boiler room – and also search her memories of her Vision Quest.

    • illiad
      December 1, 2010, 4:21 am | # | Reply

      ahhhh… only pablo knows….. 🙂

    • ShadOBabe
      December 1, 2010, 8:54 am | # | Reply

      YEEE!! THE POSSIBILITIES!!

      I love this comic…

    • eschmenk
      December 1, 2010, 5:17 pm | # | Reply

      What about Katherine’s hands and many things like that?

    • eschmenk
      December 1, 2010, 5:29 pm | # | Reply

      “This also indicates Tina knows much more than she lets on. Not unlike when Phix showed up to tell her the rogue demons had been delt with. She knew about it before the judging.”

      Well, not always. I think she knows more about what is happening in the demon realm, though. That’s one reason that I’m not sure that Tina is talking about specifically about Shelly’s physical strength. IIRC, Shelly told Tina about defeating her demons or talked to Monica about it in the coffee shop. She may be talking about the strength required to do that, which might also be manifested as physical strength, too.

  12. Kuizooy
    December 1, 2010, 12:50 am | # | Reply

    So does this mean that Monica’s dog is something supernatural, too?

    • Dusty668
      December 1, 2010, 4:32 am | # | Reply

      He opens the fridge to get water, calls the pizza joint, uses proper saftey equipment when using a pickaxe. I gotta vote Yes on this one.

    • Julie
      December 1, 2010, 8:08 am | # | Reply

      Meh…probably only as supernatural as Snoopy. 😛

  13. geekoncall
    December 1, 2010, 1:05 am | # | Reply

    That look in the last panel…
    Mommy!

    • Danzier
      December 1, 2010, 1:24 am | # | Reply

      That IS the mommy look–the one I give my daughter when she says she can’t read because she wants out of her homework.

    • illiad
      December 1, 2010, 4:23 am | # | Reply

      he he.. If you had mischievous sisters when young, you will know the ‘I have a wicked plan’ look… 😀

      • Julie
        December 1, 2010, 8:09 am | #

        Huh…I see the “I call BS” look. Then again, I’m an only child.

  14. Big Will
    December 1, 2010, 1:09 am | # | Reply

    It seems no one noticed the images of (what appear to be) Dietzel all along the room where the calendar was… http://wapsisquare.com/comic/look-at-the-time/

    • SoWhyMe
      December 1, 2010, 2:10 am | # | Reply

      Actually, someone did mention it, but it kinda died there.

    • Shizuka
      December 1, 2010, 10:30 am | # | Reply

      Kinda look like lions or some other big cat to me…

    • W.
      December 1, 2010, 11:12 am | # | Reply

      Meso-American art, I believe it would be jaguars.

      • GEEKONCALL
        December 4, 2010, 5:19 pm | #

        It still looks more like Dietzel to me than any feline.

  15. NOTDilbert
    December 1, 2010, 1:14 am | # | Reply

    Oh no, it’s the ‘Look that means so much it would take four panels to say it so we’ll just do The Look’ look.

  16. Kyle Stelios
    December 1, 2010, 1:17 am | # | Reply

    Y’know, i always didnt think that her abilioty to lift engines and bench press heavy machinery was a thing for her, guess I was wrong! 😀

  17. OOF
    December 1, 2010, 1:58 am | # | Reply

    Did anyone else see Unbreakable?

    “How much weight is that, son?”
    “… all of it.”

    • The Old Wolf
      December 1, 2010, 6:44 am | # | Reply

      LoL – great analogy. Tina’s look screams, “Riiiiighhtt….”

    • Julie
      December 1, 2010, 8:10 am | # | Reply

      Ooo…I’d forgotten about that scene. 🙂

  18. Bubbleob
    December 1, 2010, 2:04 am | # | Reply

    I love the way Shelly’s hair looks in that 3rd panel.
    And that look from Tina is absolute gold

  19. Stephen
    December 1, 2010, 2:59 am | # | Reply

    Shelly’s not living up to her potential level???
    By the look Tina is giving Shel … it’s going to be A LOT!!!

    • SoWhyMe
      December 1, 2010, 3:25 am | # | Reply

      Dragon Ball-Z, Super Saiyan transformation!!

      • Jabberwonky
        December 1, 2010, 7:28 am | #

        She’s already got Dragon Ball hair…

      • SoWhyMe
        December 1, 2010, 7:38 am | #

        This is true.

      • Julie
        December 1, 2010, 8:11 am | #

        Dragon balls have hair?

        Sorry…I had to…

      • txmystic
        December 1, 2010, 8:57 am | #

        grrrrrrrrrr

      • Julie
        December 1, 2010, 12:53 pm | #

        😀

      • Fairportfan
        December 1, 2010, 1:42 pm | #

        Of course not!

        Dragons aren’t mammals.

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 4:28 pm | #

        Some people aren’t too clear on the dragons are not mammals concept. People really do refer to bearded dragons (a type of lizard) as hairy dragons.

      • bmonk
        December 1, 2010, 9:46 pm | #

        I guess if you are going to come up with a mythical animal, you can do anything you want with it. I always wondered where dragons fit in the Reptilian group–Dinosaurs? Probably not. More like Postosuchus.

    • W.
      December 1, 2010, 8:26 am | # | Reply

      Over 9000!?

  20. SoWhyMe
    December 1, 2010, 3:22 am | # | Reply

    Oh yeah, and there was the bowling ball incident she survived by having a thick skull. Not to mention what it would do to her neck and spine bones. Perhaps she has super thick/strong bones all over, explaining how her small frame could withstand the counter force throwing an engine block would produce.

    • ProleBoi
      December 1, 2010, 10:34 pm | # | Reply

      For some reason, my imagination wandered off on a Wolverine tangent. Shelly could have a really tough skeleton, be very strong, handle extremes of heat and cold well… and have a spiky personality she could extend or retract at will, potentially causing great havoc! 🙂

  21. kingklash
    December 1, 2010, 3:25 am | # | Reply

    Well, yeah. There’s only so much that can be attributed by Comanche heritage. Shells has done things that prove a durability beyond just plain ol’ being hard-headed, as my grandma’s people are known to be. Or even being Ah-Day mah-tahn (only girl), with older brothers to make her tough and ornery. But, since she never found above average strength to be out of the ordinary, we may need to consider her life before we met her. Have any other family members displayed similar traits, and have they cropped up often enough to not seem unusual?

    • Shizuka
      December 1, 2010, 10:33 am | # | Reply

      You’ve got a point. Her dad never seemed to overreact when she threw the V-8. Something tells me this kind of thing happens all the time at Shelly’s house…

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 5:11 pm | #

        Shelly never mentioned siblings. I think it’s just Shelly.

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 5:19 pm | #

        Her dad did overreact at the time, just for different reasons.

      • Paul Taylor
        December 1, 2010, 6:03 pm | #

        She has seven older brothers. 🙂 http://wapsisquare.com/about/cast/attachment/shelly-wahnee/

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 6:15 pm | #

        😳

      • jwhouk
        December 1, 2010, 7:09 pm | #

        Wow. I only thought she had one older brother.

  22. The Old Wolf
    December 1, 2010, 4:57 am | # | Reply

    Oh. Oh. Oh.

    Oh.

  23. Rayjay
    December 1, 2010, 6:49 am | # | Reply

    No one else noticed it?

    “…Your Guy’s abilities…”

    Tina trying to clue Shelly in on something?

    (in other words, is she equating sergeant sexxor’s abilities with the current paranormal party girl brigade? if not, then what is she hinting at?)

    • Ross
      December 1, 2010, 7:12 am | # | Reply

      She said guys’, the plural possessive. At least two of the guys. We have a lot to learn about these male characters.

    • Xavienne
      December 1, 2010, 7:22 am | # | Reply

      I took that as the way girls will refer to each other as “the guys” as opposed to talking about their Guys. Around here at least, “Your guys’ abilities” could mean Shell and Monica’s abilities. Trying to get it through Shell’s head that -she- has abilities too other than just being a great canvas for a hugeass tattoo.

      • Jabberwonky
        December 1, 2010, 7:29 am | #

        That’s the impression I got from it too…

      • bridgetter
        December 1, 2010, 7:37 am | #

        I agree. ‘your guys’ is not a gendered term and in this instance refers to the collection of ladies involved in saving the world, not the boys they’re romantically/sexually involved with.

        I will confess however, that I never gave much thought to Shelly’s strength. I suppose too much time at the gym and assuming it’s just an exaggeration from some of the ladies I know.

      • jordinyc
        December 1, 2010, 10:19 am | #

        It’s one of those few times in grammar when you use a hammer to turn a screw just coz everyone does it and it works.

        Like when you say “they” to refer to one person because you either don’t know if it’s a he or she or noone exists in that context yet. We don’t have a Vosotros (or whatever the word is in Spanish).

      • Jabberwonky
        December 1, 2010, 11:16 am | #

        If Tina had been from Jersey she’d have said ‘yoose guys’…

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 4:43 pm | #

        I think another thing that could be creating confusion is the word “your”. Tina meant “Your (plural) abilities”, then added “guys'” to make it obvious that your wasn’t singular. It would have have been better as “You guys’ abilities,” (Shelly doesn’t own the people) but that’s a common mistake.

      • eschmenk
        December 1, 2010, 4:47 pm | #

        If Tina had been from down south, she would have said, “Ya’ll’s abilities.” But that can be singular, so it wouldn’t help. “Ya’ll’s guys’ abilities?”

      • Xavienne
        December 1, 2010, 6:58 pm | #

        If she was from down south it would have been “All y’all’s abilities.” “Y’all” is singular.” 🙂

      • Otter
        December 1, 2010, 11:48 pm | #

        Noooooooo!!! Only Yankees misuse “y’all” as a singular pronoun. Y’all is never plural when used by a Southerner.

        For example, when a Southerner says to an individual “Y’all come over for dinner sometime,” Yankees will misinterpret that as the singular. The invitation is being extended to you, your family (aka “mommernim”), or whomever else you might bring. For Spanish speakers, “y’all” is exactly analogous to “vosotros.”

      • Julie
        December 2, 2010, 4:05 pm | #

        I’d like to point out that it makes me happy to see people put the apostrophe in the right place in the word “y’all.” 🙂

  24. TlalocW
    December 1, 2010, 7:24 am | # | Reply

    I hope Paul does a tribute to the first Action Comics cover from 1938 where Superman has lifted a car over his head but with Shelly in Supe’s place.

  25. txmystic
    December 1, 2010, 8:58 am | # | Reply

    SuperShelley FTW!

  26. ShadOBabe
    December 1, 2010, 9:26 am | # | Reply

    I really love today’s comic. That was quite unexpected. Like a few other people I always chalked Shelly’s strength up to simple, over-the-top cartoon humor. Quite interesting to find that she’s actually got some sort of powers.

  27. eschmenk
    December 1, 2010, 9:50 am | # | Reply

    So, what does Tina’s look mean? “Yeah, right!” or “That’s not what I meant and you know that.” or “You are clueless.”

    I’m not sure that Tina was talking about Shelly’s physical strength. Tepoz didn’t mean that when he talked about Shelly being too strong for her own good. Shelly defeated her demons and cut off communication to the demon realm and that required a different kind of strength.

    How would Tina know about Shelly’s physical strength? Monica (or less likely one of the GGGs) might have told her, but as far as I know, neither Monica nor Tina have seen Shelly lift anything a normal person couldn’t lift. That doesn’t sound like something Tina would pick up from Shelly’s aura, either. Then again, perhaps word is getting around that Shelly is impossibly strong. That would tie in with Tina’s comments yesterday, but today Tina said “If” as if that hadn’t happened yet.

    • eschmenk
      December 1, 2010, 6:14 pm | # | Reply

      Here is where Tepoz says “Maybe a little too strong for your own good!”

  28. redbeard
    December 1, 2010, 10:47 am | # | Reply

    I’d call Tina’s look there “yeah, right, pull the other one, it’s got bells on”. XD

    • NOTDilbert
      December 2, 2010, 1:16 am | # | Reply

      Love the Diskworld ref’ 🙂

  29. Centaur1971
    December 1, 2010, 11:00 am | # | Reply

    ‘I lift weights, so what?’ Tina looks at her incredulously and thinks; ‘how many girs could lift a goddam CAR???’ 😛

  30. Centaur1971
    December 1, 2010, 11:05 am | # | Reply

    Hey, remember waaaay back when Shelly hurled that engine block like it was a toy? (And almost took someone’s head off in the process) Even a Honda Civic’s 4-banger block weighs in at 500-600 pounds!!! Even her old man agreed she’s one step down from She-Hulk; “DAMMIT SHELLY; THOSE ENGINES COST MONEY!!!”

  31. kingklash
    December 1, 2010, 11:25 am | # | Reply

    “Tzadle-bay!“, as my grandma would have said, whenever somebody displayed oblivious behavior.

  32. PCachu
    December 1, 2010, 12:27 pm | # | Reply

    See, Shelly? This is what happens when you sleep through your Secret Superhero Origin. Now you get to sit through the orientation classes AGAIN.

  33. Page-Mistress
    December 1, 2010, 1:53 pm | # | Reply

    Shelly, normal people who lift weights can’t throw engines. And the Golem Girls don’t count, they’re made of clay.

  34. Diamond B
    December 1, 2010, 2:39 pm | # | Reply

    Why do I get the feeling I’m about to get hit with a dropping shoe?

    • jwhouk
      December 1, 2010, 7:11 pm | # | Reply

      Oh, no, Pablo doesn’t drop shoes. He throws them at you. 😉

    • bmonk
      December 1, 2010, 9:53 pm | # | Reply

      As long as the other shoe does drop–unlike “Obstinate Uncle Otis” by Robert Arthur

  35. Centaur1971
    December 2, 2010, 1:10 pm | # | Reply

    Actually Page-Mistress, After her break-up with Whatsizname, Her adrenaline level was throught the roof and into the ionosphere; when that happens, you’d be DAMN shocked at what people can do… 😉

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