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"Run Rabbit"
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Run Rabbit

by Paul Taylor on February 18, 2011 at 12:00 am
Story: Wapsi-Archive
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Discussion (139) ¬

  1. Shizuka
    February 18, 2011, 12:50 am | # | Reply

    Ah, the Wind…

    • The Old Wolf
      February 18, 2011, 1:15 am | # | Reply

      Looks like she’s having fēng with that bow and arrow…

      • NOTDilbert
        February 18, 2011, 1:39 am | #

        How about how the target shuis in the wind?

    • Count
      February 18, 2011, 2:50 am | # | Reply

      This brings up an important question. What language is Shelly wearing? The character is both Chinese and Japanese, and apparently used in the Korean language as well.

      • illiad
        February 18, 2011, 4:01 am | #

        LOL I would not trust what the character means, It was most likely chosen by the way it looks artistically….
        Did you hear the one about a guy got fancy Chinese letters tattooed, thinking they meant something sexy, when they actually meant ‘English idiot’ 🙂

      • Darkbunny
        February 18, 2011, 8:01 am | #

        There was a tattoo artist in San Antonio that was sued a few years ago for something similar. A guy ordered “sex god” in Japanese across his chest. He got “tiny penis” instead.

      • Paul Taylor
        February 18, 2011, 10:38 am | #

        Do you remember Shelly’s answer to Phix? Then take a closer look at what symbol she has on her compression thermal.

      • illiad
        February 18, 2011, 1:13 pm | #

        Ah! velly insclutable!! :E 🙂

      • Rycr
        May 28, 2011, 8:30 pm | #

        Aha! I knew I recognized that symbol!

      • Fyrehawk
        February 18, 2011, 7:31 am | #

        Kanji is the written language of both China and Japan. It means the same thing in both languages, just the spoken word(s) are different. The Japanese had no written language before Chinese Monks brought it to them around 500-600 C.E.

      • Eee
        February 18, 2011, 8:08 am | #

        Can’t speak to Korean, but when the Japanese were developing a writing system for their language they swiped most of it from written Chinese. This is why, if you can read Japanese, you can sort of read Chinese, too. So this character is BOTH Chinese and Japanese, and is the symbol for wind. Which is traditional for an archer…

        Given the nerd level in WS, though, I’d assume it’s Japanese. Kaze.

      • Uncle Rice
        February 18, 2011, 9:18 am | #

        Koreans typically use the Hangul which tends to look quite different from Kanji, Hiragana, or Katakana. From the style of the shirt my guess is that it is a Hanzi symbol. Beyond that, I don’t know.

      • DinkyInky
        January 13, 2018, 6:06 pm | #

        Ages late, but I never could get this system here to work consistently.

        바람 (balam) is Wind in Korean.

        Chinese Calligraphy was only used by scholars until King Sejong created Hangul so he could know the true will of his people.

    • txmystic
      February 18, 2011, 10:18 am | # | Reply

      Given that Shelly is a total spaz and she has the wind character on her person, I’m guessing she’s a Gemini?

    • The Old Wolf
      February 18, 2011, 11:22 am | # | Reply

      Japanese and Korean have taken many of their Kanji from China, but the meanings have often been modified. You can trust the meaning of the “wind” character, although it can mean “air,” “manners” or “atmosphere” as well. The Japanese pronounces it “fū,” “fu” or “kaze”, the latter being part of the word “kamikaze” or “divine wind.” An example of meaning shift can be found in the Chinese character “是” (shì), meaning “to be,” whereas the same character in Japanese is “kore” (this). This character is no longer used commonly, however, and is usually written これ. It can appear in other meanings, however, such as “just so” or “justice”.

  2. Bucc-i
    February 18, 2011, 12:51 am | # | Reply

    I am loving the stick figures Paul. Please keep it up!

    • Paula
      February 18, 2011, 1:41 am | # | Reply

      seconded 🙂

      • jwhouk
        February 18, 2011, 7:47 am | #

        Thirdeded. I’m thinking that’s the way Shelly’s “conscience” communicates her thoughts. Think way back when little girl first appeared – she showed up when Shel found some old drawings she made in the closet (right before the bowling ball fell).

    • Nadia Heller
      February 18, 2011, 7:00 am | # | Reply

      and I also agree! The thought-toons are adorable!

  3. ProleBoi
    February 18, 2011, 12:52 am | # | Reply

    I do get a kick out of the ‘thought-toons’…

  4. geekoncall
    February 18, 2011, 12:55 am | # | Reply

    Wow! The Sagittarius in me likes! A LOT!!!

  5. d0dger
    February 18, 2011, 12:57 am | # | Reply

    I love her expression in the last panel!

    f’toink! …. little bastard!

  6. SoWhyMe
    February 18, 2011, 1:02 am | # | Reply

    Hey! Didn’t your mother tell you can put out an eye that way! Not your eye, but still. She had intention to do serious bodily harm even as a kid apparently.

    Now if one of the little cowboys had just gotten a BB gun for Christmas, things would have evened out again. OTOH, they could have taken up the bow as well in retaliation. Eye for an eye. Sort of.

    • NOTDilbert
      February 18, 2011, 1:54 am | # | Reply

      If as many kids lost an eye as all those generations of parents thought, we’d have an awful lot of eye-patched proto-pirates in our population now.
      “It’s all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.”

      • AimOfDestiny
        February 18, 2011, 8:16 am | #

        “Then it’s fun and games without depth perception.”

        …

        What?

      • ProleBoi
        February 18, 2011, 8:46 am | #

        …if we’re talking about archery or shooting, anyway. My friend Eric is blind in one eye, and is a crack shot. Apparently, it helps.

      • Fairportfan
        February 18, 2011, 8:04 pm | #

        My cousin was hit in the eye with a field point arrow – he didn’t completely lose the eye or the sight, but pretty close.

      • jae
        February 20, 2011, 5:45 pm | #

        But it wouldn’t matter anyway, because if parents had been right, we’d all (or most of us) be blind anyway 😉

      • Prester Fred
        February 14, 2012, 2:24 pm | #

        “Then it’s even more fun, because you can play with the eye.”

    • arjay2813
      February 18, 2011, 8:15 am | # | Reply

      you mean you’re parents didn’t give you a bow and say “go crazy?”

      • Jabberwonky
        February 18, 2011, 1:23 pm | #

        My parents told my brother and I, “No fatalities.”

    • StJason
      February 19, 2011, 2:29 pm | # | Reply

      Been shot with a BB gun. Been shot with a blunt-head arrow. I’ll take the BB gun any day.

  7. Atomic
    February 18, 2011, 1:02 am | # | Reply

    Turn-about is fair play! Hahah!

  8. unWesen
    February 18, 2011, 1:33 am | # | Reply

    With all those ‘semi-divine’ creatures and that kanji, Shelly seems to go ‘half kamikaze’ on her journey to Europe…
    Or is she now called Arte-Shelly? Or Shelly-Mis?

    • Julie
      February 18, 2011, 7:54 am | # | Reply

      I dunno…Artemis wouldn’t have had a boyfriend who spent several nights in the same bed…

  9. vince
    February 18, 2011, 1:36 am | # | Reply

    I think even if those other kids got their own bows and arrows, Shelly would have the better range of fire and would still have the advantage…

  10. Paula
    February 18, 2011, 1:44 am | # | Reply

    Seeing shelly as the person who can crush metal – its kinda hard to reconcile her to a little girl who got picked on. Wonder if thats WHY she went to the gym and got so buff?

    Nice responce though.
    Didnt hurt the kids but made darn sure they thought twice about taking on Pokashelly.

    • Fairportfan
      February 18, 2011, 3:33 am | # | Reply

      Well, by high school (or whenever she met Owen), she was already pretty imposing, apparently.

    • SoWhyMe
      February 18, 2011, 1:56 pm | # | Reply

      So it would be ok with you if someone was shooting uncupped arrows at your child?

      • Fairportfan
        February 18, 2011, 8:07 pm | #

        I’d consider the case – if it was the kind of toy bow i remember from when i was a kid, not only would it be almost impossible to cause an actual injury anywhere but to the eye, if it had a range of more than two or three yards – total range, not accurate range – i’d be surprised.

        Let’s just say it would be a lot less worrisome than the slingshots that a lot of parents don’t seem too concerned about…

      • ProleBoi
        February 18, 2011, 10:06 pm | #

        Our parents and grandparents had a pretty loose definition of what a “toy” was, and my sibs and I made it to adulthood relatively unscathed (okay, I have a piece of glass in my hand from a bike accident when I was 8, but that’s about it). If a kid’s not afraid of fireworks or lawn darts, but knows what can go wrong, a kid can be remarkably astute at handling ’em. I don’t believe Nerfing the world can possibly be a good thing. If you set a good example and allow your childern to follow your example when you think that they’re ready, their play will be mostly benign, right? Disclaimer: I don’t have kids…but I do have some great nephews 🙂

      • Fairportfan
        February 18, 2011, 10:26 pm | #

        I sometimes wonder how kids of my generation (mid-Baby Boom) ever survived to grow up.

        Imagine if the bicycle had never been invented … and someone invented it and tried to sell it for use by kids…

      • W.
        February 20, 2011, 10:05 am | #

        Very astute observation. In this “Big Brother” driven environment many of the inventions that we take for granted wouldn’t have been allowed on the market because “they’re too dangerous” for the general public. Take the automobile for instance. Do you think they would allow a machine that kills around 40,000 people a year to be manufactured and sold to the public in today’s climate if it hadn’t been around for years? Oh how did we survive without bike helmets and seatbelts and kneepads and shinguards? Lawn darts!? Toy guns that actually looked real. Pocket knives, butane lighters. Chainsaws. It’s enough to make a lawyer drool and a concerned politician to grab a pencil to look useful. I wonder how many cool inventions we’re missing that have been axed because of potential liability lawsuits.

      • SoWhyMe
        February 20, 2011, 2:54 pm | #

        Husqvarna, the Swedish chainsaw mfg. has a warning in their American version of the instruction manual that admonishes the user not to use to cut off their hand. Apparntly the people of Sweden know not to do this as there is no such warning in their version of the manual. And, yes, they have to do this because someone in the US actually won a lawsuit against the company based on the fact there was no such warning before.

        And now, the trike as designed by OSHA to keep speed down: http://tinyurl.com/45kcy7j

      • Fairportfan
        February 20, 2011, 6:20 pm | #

        When i was wondering how we survived to grow up, i was remembering three or four specific instances from my youth that ought have killed me.

        Crashing through the ice in water over my head when i was about four or five … and winding up on the other side of the stream, unable to get back, as my soaked snowsuit froze…

        Riding my bike standing up, arms folded, down the steep hill near my house, when i was about thirteen or so…

        Jumping out a loft into the hay below and then discovering that there was a pitchfork i hadn’t noticed that wasa about two feet left of where i landed…

        …and so on.

        The remark about the bicycle was sort of a secondary thought.

  11. Fairportfan
    February 18, 2011, 1:49 am | # | Reply

    I’d expect that compound bow to put the arrows completely through those targets, especially at a range so short that she’s aiming flat like that.

    • NOTDilbert
      February 18, 2011, 1:56 am | # | Reply

      Square-pointed target arrows.

      • kramegame
        February 18, 2011, 10:18 am | #

        good point, i just thought it was because we were too far away …

    • kramegame
      February 18, 2011, 1:56 am | # | Reply

      and if that’s Shelly’s compound, it’s adjusted for her strength, which means there are actually three or four targets between her and the target depicted….XD
      and i don’t think she is aiming flat, it’s just the angle we’re viewing her from, because in the second panel, she is aiming down.

      • Dauric
        February 18, 2011, 1:58 pm | #

        In the second panel she’s not aiming, she’s looking backward towards Bud. The bow is aimed slightly down (the top arm is farther forward than the back arm), the arrow is level to the ground, but once the bow comes up to fully upright the arrow will be slanted up slightly, which is one way to adjust for drop over range. There’s really no other indications of actual distance. As a (somewhat) archery geek it’s not perfect, but close enough.

        Besides, the point isn’t the technicalities of archery, the point is the plot and the character development.

      • bmonk
        February 18, 2011, 2:36 pm | #

        I’m reminded of the scene in “The Full Monty” where the dance instructor is showing the boys “Flashdance”, and they are commenting on her welding flame, not her dance form.

    • Fairportfan
      February 18, 2011, 3:41 am | # | Reply

      Further thoughts – i suppose her sleeve might be a passable arm-guard, but no glove or tab?

      • Fatuncle
        February 18, 2011, 4:13 am | #

        That was the very first thought in my mind – no arm guard, and no shooting glove or other finger guard. As someone who wore some nasty blisters on his fingers in very short order, I can tell you, they’re needed.

        ‘Course, I wasn’t using one of the new rigs, just a standard re-curved bow. Shore could of used one of those new-fangled fancy thangs back when I was hunting them hairy elephants.

    • illiad
      February 18, 2011, 4:19 am | # | Reply

      Well I doubt Paul is as much of an ‘archery geek’ as you guys, so that would excuse the position of various things.. 🙂

      I did a bit decades ago, and I still remember, that AFAIK..
      1) the ‘shooting strength’ depends on the bow, not *your* strength…
      2) You ‘draw’ the bow pointing it **downwards** for safety!
      3) we are not shown her actually releasing the bow, so cannot see her technique… 🙂

      • Biker Matt
        February 18, 2011, 8:54 am | #

        As a D&D geek with a gun/bow nut as one of my fellow players/GMs, I’d also done some research to keep on par, and have some replies.

        1: that’s essentially correct, though if you lack the strength to use it properly, the results are a little weak (obviously not the case here!) Also, it may have been callibrated to it’s maximum strength.

        2: Absolutely!

        3: True, but there are also holding styles, where the placement on the string is used in place of the angle of the bow itself (something I did myself). People are likely to tell you you’re holding it wrong until you start making shots “that shouldn’t work”! 😀

      • kramegame
        February 18, 2011, 10:34 am | #

        I was gunna say the same thing! (well minus being a D&D geek, I was never offered to play, and i didn’t bother looking for the opportunity) and your third point about different holding styles can be especially true if the archer is right handed but has a dominant left eye… i’ve adjusted over the years…

      • bmonk
        February 18, 2011, 2:41 pm | #

        Don’t know archery from Adam’s off-side boomerang, but I do know that I have a peculiar, perhaps even unique, way to throw frizbees–so that sometimes people tell me I’m doing it wrong. But I have more speed and accuracy than many of them…

      • Danzier
        February 18, 2011, 3:24 pm | #

        All of which goes to show, if you know what you’re doing (and it works right), don’t take advice. 😀

      • Fairportfan
        February 18, 2011, 8:08 pm | #

        If it’s stupid, but it works…

        …it ain’t stupid!

  12. kramegame
    February 18, 2011, 1:49 am | # | Reply

    as an archer, Shelly just became my number 2.
    as a nerd who had a childhood filled with “traumatic” experiences, i wish i had thought of that……

    • Jay-Em
      February 18, 2011, 2:12 am | # | Reply

      A friend of mine did..Tiny detail: He used a 20 pound “Baerentoter” for it. Let’s just say, a couple of bullies had trouble sitting for a few days, he was never bothered again….

      Sadly, I had my beautiful, wooden 35LB bow stashed close to a heat source(stupid, I know) When I tried to string it after a year, it completely snapped in pieces..sniff…

      • kramegame
        February 18, 2011, 10:24 am | #

        yea… i had a wood 42, it was an old cadet bow from West Point, and i sold it recently because of two things, i was storing it in my basement, which was quite moist, and i had fallen out of practice because of college. (assembling arrows gets expensive after a while) So i rather see someone else get some use out of it than watch it rot…

  13. My2Cents
    February 18, 2011, 1:52 am | # | Reply

    I wonder what draw weight Shelly prefers given her physical conditioning. 70# seems possible.

    • StJason
      February 19, 2011, 2:34 pm | # | Reply

      I shudder to think of the recoil off a #70.

      I’m a wimp. I shoot occasionally for fun (and on random chance, manage to hit the target). #15.

    • Ratcatcher
      February 21, 2011, 5:23 am | # | Reply

      The English Longbows are reported to be about 120 pound bows some as high as 170. And I agree ouch!

  14. Artemisia
    February 18, 2011, 3:50 am | # | Reply

    I’d be an archery type if I could aim worth a damn, Always wanted to play the harp and do archery… i know WAR HARPS put the arrows on each string and pull them back in turn it could have been the ancient equivalent of the machine gun!

    • Fatuncle
      February 18, 2011, 4:15 am | # | Reply

      No wonder the damned things wouldn’t stay in tune.

  15. gee1a
    February 18, 2011, 4:27 am | # | Reply

    “Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
    The Slings and Arrows of outrageous fortune;”

    • jwhouk
      February 18, 2011, 7:48 am | # | Reply

      PHWEEET! Two minutes for inciting a bad Shakespearean joke.

      • Julie
        February 18, 2011, 7:57 am | #

        Shakespeare is ALWAYS a win!! 😛

    • Danzier
      February 18, 2011, 3:26 pm | # | Reply

      …”Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by so doing, to end them.”

      Know what Shelly picked!

      • ProleBoi
        February 18, 2011, 10:11 pm | #

        “Screw your courage to the sticking-place”? (That was Lady Macbeth, being quite evocative)

    • bmonk
      February 19, 2011, 7:29 pm | # | Reply

      I hesitate to ask whether those slings are the type that shoot bullets, or the type that hold exuberant flesh in check . . .

  16. gee1a
    February 18, 2011, 4:30 am | # | Reply

    (That famous day in history, the men of the 7th Cavalry went riding on)
    (And from the rear, a voice was heard)
    (A brave young man with a trembling word rang loud and clear)
    What am I doin’ here??

    Please, Mr. Custer, I don’t wanna go
    Hey, Mr. Custer, please don’t make me go
    I had a dream last night about the comin’ fight
    Somebody yelled, “Attack!”
    And there I stood with a arrow in my back.

    Please Mr. Custer, I don’t wanna go (forward Ho!!)–aaww

  17. Jay-Em
    February 18, 2011, 4:35 am | # | Reply

    Shelly+Tight sleeve-shirt+Archery=Utterly cool!!! “Tough chick at it’s best” (and sexiest)

  18. Jim
    February 18, 2011, 5:37 am | # | Reply

    Thwack!

  19. Ana
    February 18, 2011, 6:07 am | # | Reply

    Thank you for taking the time to research what a compound bow looks like.

    However, you’re completely missed how people actually draw a bow. There is one finger above the arrow, and two below. The pinky curls into the hand. The bow string is held at the first knuckle, closest to the fingertips, and at a full draw the hand is about an inch from the cheek.

    I really hate it when artists do this.

    • sq_rigger
      February 18, 2011, 10:58 am | # | Reply

      Given that no shooting glove is shown on her right hand, she’s probably using an asiatic-style thumb ring. The thumb ring was used extensively by horse archers since the draw weight of the compound recurve bows they used tended to shred shooting gloves and the like. I’ve heard of archers using modern equipment and thumb rings, although the three-finger draw you mentioned is more commonly taught in the US.

    • Fairportfan
      February 18, 2011, 8:12 pm | # | Reply

      How did the Indians do it?

      As i recall (from about fifty years ago) at summer camp i was taught to draw the bow with the index and second fingers only.

      Of course, the bows were inexpensive fiberglass recurves with a built-in (right-handed) rest, and i’m left-handed (and strongly left-eyed), so i didn’t get much of anywhere…

      • NOTDilbert
        February 20, 2011, 12:53 am | #

        I’m also left handed, but for some reason I shot a bow ‘right handed’ – bow in left hand, draw arrow with the right, but always shot long arms left-handed and if shooting a bolt action did a ‘border shift’ to work the bolt between shots – always had to create a new sight picture. For autoloaders, was no problem – until the ejected shell drops down your collar (hot hot hot!)

      • bmonk
        February 20, 2011, 4:19 pm | #

        I do some odd things left handed–like deal cards. Also, when I juggle one-handed, and drop a ball, I always use that hand to pick it up–even when it’s holding the other ball…

      • Fairportfan
        February 20, 2011, 6:13 pm | #

        Firing the M1 carbine prone left-handed is a fascinating experience – the hot brass lands smack in the small of your back.

        Meanwhile, the British issue assault rifle cannot be fired left-handed; it’s got a bullpup action with a right-side charging handle that (unlike the M16, which is, i think, technically a bullpup) rides back and forth with the bolt.

        Try to shoot it lefty and it’ll break your jaw.

        Of course, the hot brass flying straight across about an inch in front of your nose when firing an M16 lefty is fascinating, too.

      • bmonk
        February 21, 2011, 12:21 pm | #

        Your description reminds me of the opening scene from “Saving Private Ryan” where the American sharpshooter is a rightie–but he reaches over his Springfield (?) with his left hand to work the bolt.

  20. Sweetman
    February 18, 2011, 6:45 am | # | Reply

    In the last panel, one of the nicest drawing of hands I’ve seen Paul create. Anatomically believable, well proportioned in his illustrative style, and I can believe Shelly is holding a bow. Paul, it looks like you used some reference and I applaud the effort.

  21. Brady
    February 18, 2011, 7:22 am | # | Reply

    Like Shelly’s threads.

  22. Julie
    February 18, 2011, 7:59 am | # | Reply

    It has been ages since I’ve held a bow…I miss getting exposed to fun sports. Yay Shelly for being surprisingly (to me at least) talented in that arena!

  23. DneprDave
    February 18, 2011, 8:49 am | # | Reply

    Though a compound bow looks cool, I’d have thought Shelly would have chosen to use a recurve bow. To me, there is something a little wimpy about people who choose a compound bow and Shelly is not wimpy.

    • W.
      February 18, 2011, 10:27 am | # | Reply

      If she is into archery, she’ll probably have several bows. There are different classes of shoots. Thinking that she is wimpy for shooting a compound is like thinking someone shooting a .22 pistol is a wimp. He/she may also compete in a major caliber class as well.

      • DneprDave
        February 18, 2011, 11:34 am | #

        Well, yeah, shooting a .22 in competition is kinda wimpy too! lol

        A friend was on the Olympic woman’s archery team, she was the only one who used a recurve bow. I think I got the “wimp” attitude about compound bows from her.

      • W.
        February 18, 2011, 3:14 pm | #

        I’ll be sure and tell the U.S. Army that.

    • SoWhyMe
      February 18, 2011, 2:12 pm | # | Reply

      True. The compound bow was created for two main reasons. More powere in a smaller space and making it easier to hold the string back for a much longer time while you aim. Of course we know Shelly has a lot of “instant” strength, but I’m not sure how much that would translate into endurance. The type it takes to hold the string back and aim over and over on a recurve bow. Competition is a quite different from practice in that competition shooting requires only the ocasional shot, then waiting for another turn.

      • Jay-Em
        February 18, 2011, 4:18 pm | #

        A collegue of mine, a 6ft 7″ Monstertruck-sized fella explained the finer points of why he used a compound, and it was indeed to use that last bit of less-loaded string to keep the aim stable.

        Anyone calling him a whimp would have about 3 seconds left with all his extremities still attached.

      • Jay-Em
        February 18, 2011, 4:21 pm | #

        By the by, he was also pretty pleased by the correct way Paul had drawn the bow.

      • DneprDave
        February 19, 2011, 10:18 am | #

        Wimpyness isn’t about size, it’s about attitude.

      • Fairportfan
        February 19, 2011, 9:56 pm | #

        We have two cats, Miss Kitty and Junior,

        Miss Kitty has been with us for six years or so, and is about the size of a minute – seven pounds last time at the vet, and lost a little weight since then, i think. Junior joined us when we moved in January – he nominally owned another family in the complex, but refused to go into their apartment … possibly something to do with five boys all under the age of eleven and a moose they fondly believed was a dog.

        Junior is easily twice Kitty’s size – quite possibly more than three times her weight; he’s just about the biggest cat i’ve ever seen. Also, he has not been broken. (Not “fixed” – the cat was in perfectly good working order before the vet got hold of it…)

        I decided today that the best term for the situation is that he’s kitty-whipped.

        She was snoozing under a footstool today when he came wandering along; i think she may have said something. He turned to face her and lifted a paw … and she definitely said something.

        He stood there looking vaguely confused, then with an air of “Who, me? No – I wasn’t looking for trouble…” dropped his paw and walked away trying very hard to look as if he meant to do that.

  24. Vorlonagent
    February 18, 2011, 10:01 am | # | Reply

    IIRC, the way a compound bow works, on average an archer can use a bow of twice the poundage of a normal recurve bow. So if Shelly could shoot, say a 100-150lb recurve, she could shoot a 200-300lb compound.

    If sclepping engine blocks actually comes easy to her, a bow that made full use of her strength would have the range and power of an english longbow.

    • Vorlonagent
      February 18, 2011, 10:03 am | # | Reply

      Oh and Paul? I’m a sucker for catsuits. That’s about the sexiest you’ve ever drawn Shelly from my perspective.

      • Jabberwonky
        February 18, 2011, 1:15 pm | #

        I agree, VA. Panel three may be the sexiest Shelly ever.

    • bmonk
      February 19, 2011, 7:31 pm | # | Reply

      Is that a simple bow a recurve, or a compound bow of that size?

      • bmonk
        February 19, 2011, 7:32 pm | #

        Or, given her strength, maybe a crossbow with a steel bow of that size??

      • Fairportfan
        February 19, 2011, 9:48 pm | #

        My brother has written three fantasy novels (Oath of Swords and The War God’s Own and Wind Rider’s Oath, featuring one Bahzell Bahnackson, described by David’s editor (quite aptly) as an “Orc Paladin”.

        Bahzell carries a crossbow most normal humans would have trouble spanning with a goat’s foot, and spans it easily with one hand…

      • Songdog83
        February 21, 2011, 7:25 pm | #

        Ive actually read those books, tell your brother thanks for a great read!

  25. T.S.Millar
    February 18, 2011, 10:03 am | # | Reply

    As someone who grew up around archery, let me just say that you drew Shelly with AMAZING form.

    Kudos!

  26. txmystic
    February 18, 2011, 10:22 am | # | Reply

    So she’ll be using her archery skills to protect Bud in Ireland? This should be totally awesome…

    • SoWhyMe
      February 18, 2011, 2:14 pm | # | Reply

      “Protect Bud” sounds like an oxymoron to me.

  27. txmystic
    February 18, 2011, 10:44 am | # | Reply

    Run, rabbit run.
    Dig that hole, forget the sun,
    And when at last the work is done
    Don’t sit down it’s time to dig another one.

    For long you live and high you fly
    But only if you ride the tide
    And balanced on the biggest wave
    You race towards an early grave.

  28. kingklash
    February 18, 2011, 12:13 pm | # | Reply

    Back in the day, Comanches were known for being well-trained with bows, spears/lances, the occasional war club, knives, bare knuckles, and when the Europeans brought them, guns. One of America’s crankier tribes, and then you give them long-range ballistics.

    I know where Shelly’s coming from. What old Hollywood Western didn’t have an attack from a supposedly Plains tribe, and for one thing, they dress up like a mix of Navajo and Chirichaua Apache? A lot of pent-up frustration right there, the old Pop Culture image of the American Indian. Even the most laid back of us have at least one thing than can set us off. But there’s always something one can be groovy with. Just check out my Gravitar!

    • txmystic
      February 18, 2011, 1:48 pm | # | Reply

      I’d like to see how long any of those who stereotype the American Indian would last in a real sweat lodge. Less than 2 minutes, I’m guessing.

    • W.
      February 18, 2011, 3:19 pm | # | Reply

      They were also some of the best horsemen that ever bestrode a horse.

      • Fatuncle
        February 20, 2011, 4:28 am | #

        Oh, yes. If they had had the population density to support such aggression, they would have overrun the continent, much as the Mongols overran most of Asia. No finer horsemen ever graced history.

      • Fatuncle
        February 20, 2011, 1:59 pm | #

        I recommend, for those who want some history, Empire of the Summer Moon. It is the tale of the Comanches, and of their last and greatest chieftain, Quanah Parker.

        Empire of the Summer Moon
        S. C. Gwynne
        ISBN 978-1-4165-9105-4

    • Jay-Em
      February 18, 2011, 4:31 pm | # | Reply

      Not to mention the fact that I nairly saw a real Native American in movies (especially in the plethora of Spain-shot, spaghetti-westerns we, in Northern Europe got fed), but only latino- and mediterranean guys as Indians…Seriously skewed my childhood-interpretation of Native Americans, to say the least.

      I was utterly baffled when meeting a “real” Indian, that he looked decidedly like a lighter-skinned Indonesian or moluccan, and not a square-jawed Italian…:lol:….

      Luckily I had an aunt in Grand Rapids, and she -bless her good heart- got me several serious ,and not-so-serious-books and coffee-table softcovers about Native Americans /First People for my 13th birthday.

      • Fairportfan
        February 18, 2011, 8:27 pm | #

        Jay Silverheels (Tonto on the TV “Lone Ranger” series) established an acting school for young American Indians, and also had a small agency that specialised in placing Indian actors … and charged less than most regular agents.

        An Indian friend of mine (who was active in Indian-rights circles) knew Silverheels. He told me about having asked him why he was so almost-evangelical about getting more Indians into the movies.

        He said that the answer was “Michael Ansara”. When he looked bemused, Silverheels expanded on that:

        “Every time there’s a major role for an Indian in a film … they get that damned Lebanese!”

        ========================

        Speaking of Italians or Lebanese or whatever playing Indians – one of the most famous Indian actors (he was the Indian in a famous anti-littering TV spot), Iron Eyes Cody, was revealed late in life to actually have been Italian. In 1995, Wikipedia says,

      • Jay-Em
        February 19, 2011, 12:12 am | #

        Ooh..nice. Another tid-bit of knowledge that goes in the “You’ll never know when it could be handy” file-system in my head.

      • Fairportfan
        February 19, 2011, 9:36 pm | #

        In the movie The Hallelujah Trail, Martin Landau plays an Apache chief, identified by the narrative voice-over as

        “Chief Walks Stooped Over”, also sometimes known as “Chief Blue Eyes”, due to some … eh … irregularity … of parentage…”

    • Danzier
      February 20, 2011, 1:55 am | # | Reply

      I’ll throw my two cents in on this one.

      One of the worst things in the world is to be stopped by people and asked, “Hey, what tribe are you?” and having to answer, “I don’t know, my great-great grandmother refused to tell.”

  29. Dauric
    February 18, 2011, 2:22 pm | # | Reply

    I agree with this to an extent, though I think it’s more that Shelly hasn’t had a real “Character Growth” arc.

    In Babylon 5 the Narn Ambassador G’Kar (played by Andras Katsulas) starts out as a belligerent backstabber who’s pretty clearly a villain, but over the arc of the series the character learns and grows to become a deeply philosophical and enlightened character (and the portrayal was done beautifully by Mr. Katsulas) and ultimately one of the key ‘Good Guys’ of the series.

    I don’t think that Shelly’s had the focus to really show that kind of character growth. She’s been the “Bully”, and early on in the series it was clear that she was no longer -entirely- the bully that she used to be, though she’s continued to be insensitive and self-absorbed (the incidents with the yoga classes come to mind) and looks back a little too fondly on her bullying days.

    What I think Shelly needs in this regard is a “Redemption arc”. It’s one thing to go from ‘Bad’ to ‘Normal’ the balance however remains on the negative. Her arc needs to take her from her past as a “Bad” (IE: Bully who hurt others because of her ow fears) past the neutral and well in to an enlightenment stage to balance her out. (Perhaps a “Wisdom” to Monica’s “Intelligence”).

    She’s been on a vision quest so she at least has some leaning towards developing a broader enlightenment, but it was interrupted by the shenanigans of other “powers that be”, and ended up fusing her personal demons in to the worlds first embodiment of a conscience. However the grand upshot of her vision quest and Conscience doesn’t seem to have been resolved.

    Comic linkage
    http://wapsisquare.com/comic/puts-up-with-you/

    Now Shelly and Conscience are showing up a lot more in this arc, so perhaps we’re about to get that resolution, and Shelly’s going to take steps closer to balancing her past with her future. Only time (and a certain Mr. P. Taylor) will tell.

  30. SoWhyMe
    February 18, 2011, 2:35 pm | # | Reply

    I tend to agree with your points. May is at the bottom of my list, but Shelly is getting down there more and more. She must not have been very popular with other kids or parents. It’s no wonder she had problems growing up given her penchant to escalations in violence. All in all it seems like most of her problems are of her own hot-headed personality. It’s a wonder she didn’t turn out to be a biker chick. Or, more likely, a biker chick with her own cycle and biker chick. Heck, her own gang for that matter. Most kids like her would have been in and out of juvenile incarceration facilities all their young lives.

    • W.
      February 18, 2011, 3:32 pm | # | Reply

      Her dad kept her busting her butt at the garage. No time for that other stuff; when there was time, she was too tired.

  31. Danzier
    February 18, 2011, 3:35 pm | # | Reply

    Ok, maybe this is just me… but up here in da frozen nort’, bows aren’t for sport or competition shoots unless it’s summer. Bowhunters get a longer hunting season than gun hunters, and there’s some serious arguement about whether the weapon makes the hunter better (etc.). I’ve thought about joining the local archery club, but the guys always expect you to come in with a six-point buck in November. I’m not into the “sit in the woods up a treestand” bit.

    So… Does Shelly go hunting?

    • SoWhyMe
      February 18, 2011, 6:48 pm | # | Reply

      Well, she does have a record of stalking and bagging attractive hunks.

      • Jay-Em
        February 19, 2011, 12:09 am | #

        Yes, but for cute guys, she leaves the suction cups in place, and ties some sturdy string to the arrow to reel in said hunks….

      • Fatuncle
        February 19, 2011, 9:33 am | #

        Yeah, but she used an IED to do so.

  32. Jay-Em
    February 18, 2011, 5:07 pm | # | Reply

    Hmm. I understand Your points, but cannot find Shelly unsypathetic or something.

    She is carrying quite a burden: Her angsty, scared self.
    She’s continually afraid people leave her, to be alone. It is almost a pathological disorder with her.

    Shelly rather screams at all that bugs her, than truly facing what is going on.

    She reminds me sooo much of the scarred kids in the Youth-facility (You Americans call it “Juvi-Hall” I believe?) where a family relation of mine is the behavioral therapist, that it’s scary.

    Most of them have this beliggerent, obtuse attitude. A lot of them try to solve things by violence, violence to themselves(!), violence towards anyone that dares encroach their walls of reservation, because if they sat down and faced all that has gone on in their past, let it come over them, (abuse, loss, betrayal of trust etc.) they would break down and not be able to get up again. The therapist’s task here is re-connecting the kids with their true-self, offer them a relatively safe environment, and teach them how to function proprerly in society. In most cases it takes some time, but the moment the kids find out they are quite safe in the care of the institution, they mostly open up.

    I am ,of course, not talking pathological narcissism, or sociopaty. Those kids are more of a headache, and the best therapists can do in their cases, is learning them to accept (!) – and function within- rules&boundaries.

    Shelly is decisively not a narcissist or a sociopath. She’s, however, still a scared, guilt-ridden little kid inside. that’s the main problem here. Her fear still makes her push people away.
    What better solution to losing anyone, than not connecting in the first place?

    Shelly feels that too in her subconscious. So, by times, she screams, hits and tries to find a cause for “all” in the world around her ,allthewhile, not really able (out of true fear, me thinks) to look at herself and make a good assessment of what should be done.

    Yes, she’s prime material for therapy. No doubt there, yet, I still cannot not like her. She set aside her fear of “magic and uncontrollability’ and did what had to be done to save the world. She’s loyal. She is hilariously un-tactical with people, but actually means well. (I once stated that she reminded me of myself: an Asperger)

    Shelly’s growth began actually when she accepted Lakshmi to be Owen’s girlfriend. After that she also learned to accept Heather into her mental shelter as a friend, despite her angst about Heather’s Lesbianism.

    So, in short:The only caveat I have with her, is her unpleasant habit of “blaming” everything on external factors when under pressure, but I understand where that comes from. To me it softens that flaw a bit.

  33. SoWhyMe
    February 18, 2011, 7:07 pm | # | Reply

    I always enjoy digging clues from images. Given the shadows of the arrows, and that they have already had lunch, I would say the right of the image is west and the time is about 2PM. Waddaya think?

    • kramegame
      February 18, 2011, 11:19 pm | # | Reply

      did you know the symbol on Shelly’s shirt means wind? which is the answer she gave to Phix. which means this is one big old case of foreshadowing. XD

    • NOTDilbert
      February 19, 2011, 1:15 am | # | Reply

      Sounds good to me, unless it’s an indoor shooting range. And judging by the way they’re dressed, might be likely.

      • NOTDilbert
        February 19, 2011, 1:19 am | #

        Except, now that I go back and look, the vague backgroud looks ‘outdoorsy,’ as do the target stands. Plus, Bud doesn’t care HOW cold it is. So, yeah, like you said.

      • Paul Taylor
        February 19, 2011, 1:37 am | #

        It was a balmy 51 degrees for one day here in the Twin Cities this week, I saw that in the forecast and went with it. Everyone was out doing something outside that day. =)

  34. Fairportfan
    February 18, 2011, 8:00 pm | # | Reply

    scoff scoff

    • Jay-Em
      February 19, 2011, 12:06 am | # | Reply

      Well..yeah. Didn’t want to be the first to say that though.
      I like Shelly more&more, especially now she opens up a little. Seeing her (daring to) connect with Bud is great.

      Shelly, is so delightfully “Human”, as are the other characters of the cast, demon-collectives included 😆

  35. Little Sister
    February 19, 2011, 1:08 am | # | Reply

    Shelly Rules!

  36. txmystic
    February 19, 2011, 11:35 am | # | Reply

    meh

  37. kingklash
    February 19, 2011, 12:35 pm | # | Reply

    While this was a nice peek into Shelly’s kidhood, I would like more about school days. There was a time, back in the Left Coast days, when my Siblings and myself, were the only Native Americans in the entire school. And we weren’t even local tribes. Not to forget, me and Little Brother wore our hair in braids, Kiowa style. To a lot of the kids, that was as exotic as if we were from the opposite side of the world, instead of the Sooner State, but that was another set of preconceptions right there. I’m sure there was a point where picking off pretend cowboys among surburbanite younglings was a damn sight better than trying to explain where they think wrong for the ad nauseate time.

  38. Fairportfan
    February 20, 2011, 7:33 pm | # | Reply

    Three-and-a-half hours…

    • Fairportfan
      February 20, 2011, 7:33 pm | # | Reply

      Four-and-a-half.

      Oops.

  39. Little Sister
    February 20, 2011, 11:09 pm | # | Reply

    I would like to take up archery. 🙂

  40. Kit Mayer
    February 23, 2011, 6:40 pm | # | Reply

    Being a Toxophile myself, I’m hip…

  41. SteamPoweredSunglasses
    May 31, 2012, 3:06 am | # | Reply

    Reasons we love Shelly, #1386…

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