Nudge? Nope, Nudge would have sent giant spiders or spider daedra.
This stinks of Phix. A test to see how Shelly’s protecting skills fare against giand, rabid hell-hounds, I mean, loók at them, they are three-quarter the height of the room… O_o
I would not be surprised if the hell hounds start running up to them and then…give them both a big slobbering kisses. My guess is it’s a test/lesson on control. A lesson on “not to let the cat out of the bag”, so to speak, unless Shelly wants to or needs to.
Remember how we all thought Shelly’s blowup with Justin was some kind of holodeck test? THIS could be a holodeck test.
I think what it’s mapping exactly how Shelly’s sphinx psyche works. Of course she’ll protect Justin. She loves him. Sphinxiness wouldn’t enter into it. But how she does it. How feral does she get, how it expresses itself.
Nah.. Nothing that a couple of well-aimed slaps with a rolled-up newspaper cannot fix..
“Wait.. Justin? Díd You bring the newspaper as I asked?”
“eeerhm..oops.. I knéw I was forgetting something”
For those seeking a clue, this is a reference to Freefall, wherein one character is a cyborg wolf named Florence Ambrose.
Once upon a few years back, a survey asked for interesting female web cartoon characters. My nominees were Monica Villareal, Agatha Clay/Hetrodyne [Girl Genius], and Florence Ambrose.
Shelly:”Brandi, what are you doing here again?”
OfficerTB:”I think those are dogs, not cats.”
Shelly:”Oh…”
OfficerTB:”And aren’t Sphinxes basically cats?”
Shelly:”Not helping, Mr. Human-chewtoy”
Its about time someone elses demons made an apperance, im guessing these two are the forms of rage and frustration of Dietzel. Mostlikely made from the years it took him to learn how to call for the pizza girl(who we havent seen in a long time).
expect to see two cowering beasts looking rather small colliding into each other one lookin up into the slavering jaws of Shelly (Phixed out) lookin directly down.
1 – They are obviously not in the annex. When Monica went in the interior did not look like “a scary abandoned building”. Either they went in the wrong door (e 18th St instead of Stevens Avenue entrance), or Justin is “not invited” for whatever reason.
2 – An abandoned warehouse would not need paranormal dogs. The annex doesn’t need dogs of any sort – the portal just doesn’t exist at the moment.
3 – A Shelly that can clobber three red necks while drunk before her drink falls more than a few inches is certainly quicker than any normal dog or pair of dogs.
4 – If worse comes to worse she can always transform in a Sphinx (the ceilings look high enough to not take the building down).
Monica went for research; Shelly’s going for training. There’s no reason to assume the Annex has to look the same for everybody. Think of it as the Library’s equivalent of the Room of Requirement.
Apparently, qualified law enforcement officers are not only permitted to carry when off duty, but are exempt from some state and local laws which would otherwise restrict their permit to carry.
.357 is used as a back-up piece on occasion, but it is considered archaic (and a lesser level of firepower) compaered to a slab-side. My personal C&C is a 1911 in .45ACP- most cops carry a 9mm of some stripe. They are generally expected to carry off duty, many Municipalities, counties and states require it of their law-enforcement unless they plan to inbibe. Hitting THESE two mastiffs with anything less than 460 smith might be a horrible error, I’m thinking about 12″ of .50 BMG thru ‘Mother Duece” per critter MIGHT get the point across… I would certainly feel more secure with a full belt thereof and would probably stop when the last link hit the ground with a dull red barrel sizzeling it’s CLP, smoking like a chimney and an action that will require a new headspacing… and I like dogs…
I don’t suppose it’s normal practice for even a sworn officer to carry, as his or her off-duty weapon, an RPG launcher with a half-dozen shaped-charge warheads? or possibly a CDT-issue vest-pocket crater gun?
Maybe the apos at the library just don’t like WHAT Justin is. We never did find out what he is, right? Heals quick, CAN see (and gets involved with) the paranormal. What ARE you, Justin, and why are you denying it to yourself?
It’s industrial so the ceilings are at least 10 ft high but anyway I misinterpreted the view. I thought it was just a perspective from the floor but the desk/cabinet in the corner belies that. In fact if that is a normal 30 inch high desk then the ceiling is about 15 ft high. They are not Chihuahuas!
Uh… Sphinx. In human form, can deck three rednecks faster than the eye can see. In transitional form, can tear apart and scatter a heavy punch bag in one swipe, AND slice through flesh to the bone. In Sphinx form…?
True. However, given the size of those whatever-they-are, they probably are not “normal” dogs… hence, the situation is probably not a “normal” one. The question for Shelly at this point is, how to react.
She can go sphinx fully, part-way, or not at all.
In each of these cases, she can attack, or defend, or retreat.
So far to date (since her return from the Time Forest) she has gone the “attack” route twice – once in human form, once after partial transformation. In neither case was she happy with the results.
This new situation may be “real” or it may be a test of some sort. In either case, she has at least nine possible courses of action open to her.
Sorta feels to me as if “Go sphinx at least part way, and defend” may be her best course of action… shape-shift enough to be able to defend herself and Justin, but do not strike the first blow. A partial sphinx shape-shift and a loud yowl might be enough to get the beasts to back off.
In chess terms, it would be a “Slaverbite’s Gambit Declined” response.
That could very well be the case… but in Shelly’s situation I think I’d have to game in the possibility thst it is a real threat and not a test. If those canines-with-canines are real, and hostile enough to attack, she and Justin might suffer serious injury… granted, he’d presumably heal up, and she may be fast enough to avoid being injured. That’s why I think it might be prudent for her to shapeshift… to give her “Stop! Sit!” command a bit more force, and possibly stop the situation short of actual violence.
Tough call to make on the spot, under that sort of startle-pressure…
In Eddings’ Belgariad, it’s the immortals who can’t heal. Normally, they are immune to injury or illness, so they have no need to heal. Which means, if they DO get hurt, it lasts forever.
I love when I accidentally hit post before I’m done typing.
Anyway- Garmr is sometimes described as identical to Fenrir, even though they’re not related. Fenrir is related to Hel herself though, both being children of Loki.
Just woke up, with my brain telling me that perhaps this is “Phix’s holodeck training simulation” kicking in… what many of us thought the incident with Justin might be.
Shelly’s here to learn how to be in voluntary control of her sphinx form when under stress… first thing that happens when she arrives at what should be the Library is that she encounters an unexpected threat, and (lo and behold) she’s showing sphinx markings…
Lesson #1 is underway, perhaps?
Should have thought of this last night (and other people have probably done so by now) but it was late…
I’m thinking by the upclose view making them ‘seem’ larger than life, these are just two ferile dogs from a pack. Wild, dirty and VERY Hungry. Right about now would be a good time to pull out some Reeses Peanut butter cups from Shellys’ purse,toss ‘em at Abbott and Costello and slowly move toward the door. Oh wait, Shelly DOESN’T CARRY A PURSE!
I thought of hyenas too, when the one comment (Opus the Poet) couldn’t decide between dogs and cats. But I didn’t go and check until after reading all the comments.
Holy merciful mother of crap!
Those are some gargantuan guard dogs!
I guess that means Justin is invited to the training session, otherwise all he would have seen was an old abandoned building instead of this sideshow.
I like the way the spot (and presumably fangs) are the first sphinx characteristic to appear and the last to go. In a situation like this it’s like Bill Bixby’s eyes going white.
And my depeleted band-aid box is why I’m a dog person (though we used paper towels to stop the bleeding a lot of times). My roommate had a cat who was bi-polar or something. Even cat people have not been able to justify his attacks on me…it was unfair. I liked him when he was new and sweet.
Never been attacked by a dog (though I hear dog attacks are scary vicious).
Usually perhaps…not always. I’ve had a cat attached to (via claws and teeth) and hanging from my arm while seated at the dinner table…while cat-people sat around in shock at the unexplainable attack. *shrugs* I think I give off anti-cat vibes now.
It’s a shame, too. I think it’s fun that they’re fuzzy and vibrate when happy.
what if they aren’t DOGS but Werewolves? they could be the “security system” for the NON-Library half of the portal. Heck, they could be the REASON why the building is still abandoned! they ATE all the real-estate agents who wandered in trying to get info on the building
I’ve been on this level bfore! Just set your rocket launcher to full auto and shoot at the floor beneath them. As the floor collapses, you run along the edge of the hole and into the stairway leading to the next level. Don’t forget to skip the third step or you will trigger the poison darts popping out of the walls!
To sphinx or not to sphinx- that it is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the teeth and claws of miscreantic mongrols of outrageouse heritage, or to sphinx them to oblivion, to shred, perchance, to rend- OK, there’s this old dead English dude showed up at the door and he’s pissed at me for something I’ve done but I can’t make it out because he’s REALLY decayed and his enunciation is… rough… his accent is a bit thick as well… he smells bad… I’ve folded him up and thrown him into a dumpster at the liquor store… where was I? I… forgot… never mind…
… there seems to be an ongoing thing with this group regarding something called… the ‘pun jar’? And am I supposed to rattle it? Besides, I am better versed with the works of the Gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Samuel Clemmons than the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon. The beautiful thing about desicrating a classic is that only need be vaguely familiar with it, and by Twain’s own assesment “Hamlet” is a classic…. “… a book that everyones DISCUSSES…. but nobody READS…”
One of these days I really do need to attend one of the performances of the Bard’s work, which is being done in original dialect. I understand that the prose has a swinging rhyme to it, which it does not have if you use either Received Pronunciation, or American dialect, as usually happens during performances these days.
Anyhow, here’s *clang* a ducat or two to pay off that particular Pun Jar obligation.
My apologies. Scanner issues are stopping me from getting tomorrow’s comic uploaded. I will have Thursday’s comic uploaded for Friday and have Friday’s comic up on Saturday. Sorry for the mix up.
Actually, it’s gotten far more reliable. Especially if you look at it on a per function basis. You could have built todays common desktop computer twenty years ago, but it would have required so many individual parts something would have probably failed just about every day. Not unlike the first tube computers. Couldn’t run more than a few min. before a tube went.
The other side of all this integration is that it’s not worth fixing when it goes bad. When you can get a printer with scanner for $40 these days, why bother? So we end up with so much toxic junk. Recycling the stuff is a joke.
I would sorely miss Paul’s beautiful brushwork if he were to switch to digital. You can do amazing things with Photoshop’s brushes, but IMO nothing has managed to recreate the true organic feel of traditional media. Not even Corel Painter, though it comes damn close.
Also, if Wapsi Square were drawn entirely in digital format, there wouldn’t be any “original artwork” of the daily strips in any meaningful physical form. Paul wouldn’t have them to sell, and fans wouldn’t be able to buy them.
I’d count that as a real loss, myself… I’ve won several of his auctions, and have “The Former” proudly framed up in my cubicle at work. I imagine that the sale of the original sketches helps defray some of the cost of running the site. So, for these reasons in addition to what you say, I hope Paul continues to do the real sketches as the basis of each day’s strip.
Thanks, Paul. Kinda funny though. The two webcomics (not paper syndicated) I follow that actually keep up to date (UserFriendly is reruns) and both had to skip today for some reason. I don’t even think you know Greg Dean or Real Life Comics. Coincidence is coincidental.
Actually, I’m pretty sure Paul knows Real Life (and/or Greg Dean), as otherwise I wouldn’t think he’d have a link to it amongst the other links titled “Friends” on every page…
Doh! I don’t really explore the rest of the site much. eep… Thanks for the clarification, though. But even so, I’m sure Paul and his scanner have nothing to do with Greg’s boss calling Greg into work, etc. Or… DOES it?
Would likely take more time than replacing the scanner should that prove necessary. Camera software isn’t optimized for taking an image off a page like scanner software is.
It takes me back to my childhood when my neighbours had 2 giant (at least to me) icelandic breed dogs. The dogs was always there alone in the yard up to our house, barking wildly at anything from humans to butterflies while charging up against the wobbly old rotten wooden fence in a rage. I recall my parents always talking about what would happen if “those 2 hounds from hell” ever got out.
Anyways, one hot sommerday i was in the main room with the door to the garden open. Heard some light tapping foodsteps on the floor behind me and turned around expecting to find one of parents returning from the garden. And there it was. Open mouth with giant teeth and tongue hanging out and on its face was a expression of pure .. joy. While i stood there all frozen (trying to blend in with the furniture), the dog traveled the room in a slow pace for about 10 seconds and then ran back out into the garden .. while the tail was going as fast as if you had strapped the dog to a rollercoaster ride, driving down a slope going “Wiiiieeeee!”.
I later learned it wasnt the wooden fence that gave away, but the neighbours had forgotten to lock the metal gate at the end. Of cause no puny fence could hold those 2 dogs if they really wanted out i guess. I dont think they where mistreated, but no doubt a bit neglected.
Interesting burglary stats:
Our other next door neighbour: 11 burglaries.
Our house: 0 burglaries.
I wonder why there was such a big difference
I didn’t get bit persay… But a pretty hyper dog had jumped up and I guess one of his bottom canine’s got the underside of my chin. Hurt like crap, but I kept in mind that he didn’t mean to. Even playful, you gotta be careful. LOL They don’t know their own power sometimes.
Our neighbor across the street had a pair of huskies who I suspect bit the seat out of a lot of people’s pants. You couldn’t have a stranger over for dinner without introducing them…
I had a black lab that barked at many an animal as it walked by our fenced in yard. One time a rabbit snuck in under our fence and my dog chased him back and forth across the yard until he cornered it. He just sniffed the rabbit, then looked back at me as if he was waiting for instructions. Then he looked back at me again as if to say well now what and walked away. The rabbit looked like he was hyperventilating and ran back out under the fence.
Guess that’s what we get for having a retreiver. He didn’t know what to do with a live one.
Funny symetry : Shelly and Justin (panel 2) on one side, the two doggy monsters on the other side : same attitude…
Coincidence, or Paul outsmarting us again (and possibly himself, if coincidence there is)?
Actually, I think that this is just a test. Just how good is Justin’s ability to regenerate and heal? Can we do a rough and dirty clone of him by ripping him in half, and letting each half regenerate the missing pieces? Inquiring minds want to know!
I’ve wondered that myself. How many pieces can he be torn into before they stop healing? How many Justins can you make? If you tore him in half and put the pieces together backwards, what would happen?
Orson Scott Card’s A Planet Called Treason has a character who regenerates wildly, and gets so damaged (belly) that his system produces a second self. When he tries to kill it, IIRC, he fails–but cutting the body (with head) away produces a clone.
Only if Paul does a scene which is both entirely consistent with all Wapsi lore, and is also completely predictable. I’m sure he could do this, but it isn’t his style.
If he did, though, it would definitely be the heir of the dogma.
Paul!
Most of us barely make it through the weekend without a new installment of Wapsi Square! To make us go four days would be like taking a bone away from two rabid dogs!
I suspect you’re right. I’ve found that once you obtain a replacement device your tech problems don’t end — you may have installation issues, etc when you first set it up.
Looks like they’re in the right place!
And Shelly’s already starting to change. Test, maybe?
Almost certainly – this has Phix written all over it.
When I was a kid, we used to call this a “pop quiz”.
Given the looks on their faces, this could quickly change into a poop quiz.
Sounds about right. Could be helpful as throwable projectiles though, since Justin is about to sh-bricks any time now.
Well those are new…..
Perhaps this is a test of either her or the both of them.
Justin does need a “hunt for wisdom” test like everyone else?
are you kidding their just a bunch of softies. they won’t even bite twice.
every animal will bite at least once.
From the looks of them, one bit apiece should be more than enough.
“bite”
Okay, Nudge – I know it’s you!
I said I was sorry for that thing with Tina…
Nudge? Nope, Nudge would have sent giant spiders or spider daedra.
This stinks of Phix. A test to see how Shelly’s protecting skills fare against giand, rabid hell-hounds, I mean, loók at them, they are three-quarter the height of the room… O_o
Perhaps it’s Nudge and Phix.
Wonder what sort of test is this? I mean, how is she NOT supposed to transform under these conditions? And there is Justin to protect.
I would not be surprised if the hell hounds start running up to them and then…give them both a big slobbering kisses. My guess is it’s a test/lesson on control. A lesson on “not to let the cat out of the bag”, so to speak, unless Shelly wants to or needs to.
That sort of lesson would be just like Phix.
Remember how we all thought Shelly’s blowup with Justin was some kind of holodeck test? THIS could be a holodeck test.
I think what it’s mapping exactly how Shelly’s sphinx psyche works. Of course she’ll protect Justin. She loves him. Sphinxiness wouldn’t enter into it. But how she does it. How feral does she get, how it expresses itself.
Hmmm… not hellhounds, methinks. They look more like the classic Black Dogs. Not Gabriel hounds, either — those would have trumpets.
perhaps part of it is to see how well she protects the dogs too…
Perhaps she’ll just scare them? She’s already turned white as a ghost. Now is the time for Justin to ask … “how quickly can you learn to poit?”
That’s not Fluffy!
no. this is
no. this is Fluffy
That’s scarier than the critters.
Nah.. Nothing that a couple of well-aimed slaps with a rolled-up newspaper cannot fix..
“Wait.. Justin? Díd You bring the newspaper as I asked?”
“eeerhm..oops.. I knéw I was forgetting something”
If he forgot, maybe it’s time to reach back and throw manure at them.
Don’t worry. It’ll be there.
*smiling* Gabriel Iglesias! I had a chance to met him at one of his shows! Not only ‘Fluffy’, but totally AWESOME!
Not the Fluffy I was expecting!
I’m sorry but is that….”DAMN!” or “Oh, HELL NO!”
Doggy!
Oops, wrong web comic!
There are robots here, too?
DOGGY! I REMEMBER THAT COMIC!
Neither of them is a gardener, but they are in the dark…
Yeah. Glad I ain’t got a Bowman Architecture running on my wetware after that comment. ::grin::
For those seeking a clue, this is a reference to Freefall, wherein one character is a cyborg wolf named Florence Ambrose.
Once upon a few years back, a survey asked for interesting female web cartoon characters. My nominees were Monica Villareal, Agatha Clay/Hetrodyne [Girl Genius], and Florence Ambrose.
For today, I’d have to add Tina and Shelly!
Doggy to the left, more like a kitty to the right.
Nah, they both look like a cross between an Irish Wolfhound and a capybara.
… with a bit of Tasmanian devil thrown in for good measure.
Hyena? They ate Ed, right?
I’m not sure what either one of’em is, except scary.
Shelly:”Brandi, what are you doing here again?”
OfficerTB:”I think those are dogs, not cats.”
Shelly:”Oh…”
OfficerTB:”And aren’t Sphinxes basically cats?”
Shelly:”Not helping, Mr. Human-chewtoy”
Go Go Gadget! Um … err … Sphinx?
Didn’t I say something about fresh trousers?
You never seem to have a tennis ball when you need one.
Someone bring a dog biscuit?
Question is, are they guarding the Library, or just some lowlife’s meth lab?
Can’t be library. Animals are not allowed in libraries except for guide dogs.
They are guide dogs. Seeing a pair of those would definitely help me find the exit.
Oh those are guide dogs alright. I’m just not sure that I would want to go where they are guiding.
“Here, Orpheus! Nice doggy…”
judging from their size, I’d say any guidance would be down the esophagus.
His Ex and her new Boyfriend?
As one famous archeologist was fond of saying:
“Bad day! Bad day! Bad day!”
I refer to this guy
The entire series is available on Netflix.
Good times.
This guy
… and she STILL hasn’t said the magic word…
In this case the magic word is “oh poop”
“It’s a dog-eat-dog world, and I’m wearing Milk Bone underwear.”
Good one. I just wish I could remember where it was from.
Its about time someone elses demons made an apperance, im guessing these two are the forms of rage and frustration of Dietzel. Mostlikely made from the years it took him to learn how to call for the pizza girl(who we havent seen in a long time).
It’s one of Norm’s lines from Cheers.
big scary teeth? Nah! THESE ae big scary teeth…
ok Shelly gets to “do what she do” and protect.
expect to see two cowering beasts looking rather small colliding into each other one lookin up into the slavering jaws of Shelly (Phixed out) lookin directly down.
nice adaptation of a classic line from the second ‘Croc dundy’ flick.
I don’t really see any problem here:
1 – They are obviously not in the annex. When Monica went in the interior did not look like “a scary abandoned building”. Either they went in the wrong door (e 18th St instead of Stevens Avenue entrance), or Justin is “not invited” for whatever reason.
2 – An abandoned warehouse would not need paranormal dogs. The annex doesn’t need dogs of any sort – the portal just doesn’t exist at the moment.
3 – A Shelly that can clobber three red necks while drunk before her drink falls more than a few inches is certainly quicker than any normal dog or pair of dogs.
4 – If worse comes to worse she can always transform in a Sphinx (the ceilings look high enough to not take the building down).
I think she was being sarcastic when she said “wow not a scary abandoned building …”
Monica went for research; Shelly’s going for training. There’s no reason to assume the Annex has to look the same for everybody. Think of it as the Library’s equivalent of the Room of Requirement.
very good point.
Them ain’t Scooby & Scrappy.
Henry and his girlfriend? Paging Dr. Magnus!
Not.Welcome. Definitely nót welcome…..
And yet another completely unexpected turn of the plot …
I don’t understand just what is going on here. I mean, they haven’t even borrowed any books yet – why sick the “overdue book” dogs on them?
Poor doggies, they made the mistake of bringing dogs to a huge sphinx fight.
Romulus? Remus? That you??
I was thinking more like Zeus and Apollo – but I don’t see a Ferrari anywhere.
Or a rainbow-colored helicopter.
Justin might be packing a magnum, though; .357 snubnose is a common police sidearm.
I don’t actually know how it works, but is a uniform cop allowed to carry when off duty, or does he require a separate permit for that?
Apparently, qualified law enforcement officers are not only permitted to carry when off duty, but are exempt from some state and local laws which would otherwise restrict their permit to carry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_Enforcement_Officers_Safety_Act
Some departments not only permit, but REQUIRE their officers to carry when off-duty, unless they’re drinking or planning on drinking alcohol.
if those are paranormal canines (and their size says a big “YES”) I doubt even a S&W model 50 (.50 cal) would faze them.
.357 is used as a back-up piece on occasion, but it is considered archaic (and a lesser level of firepower) compaered to a slab-side. My personal C&C is a 1911 in .45ACP- most cops carry a 9mm of some stripe. They are generally expected to carry off duty, many Municipalities, counties and states require it of their law-enforcement unless they plan to inbibe. Hitting THESE two mastiffs with anything less than 460 smith might be a horrible error, I’m thinking about 12″ of .50 BMG thru ‘Mother Duece” per critter MIGHT get the point across… I would certainly feel more secure with a full belt thereof and would probably stop when the last link hit the ground with a dull red barrel sizzeling it’s CLP, smoking like a chimney and an action that will require a new headspacing… and I like dogs…
I don’t suppose it’s normal practice for even a sworn officer to carry, as his or her off-duty weapon, an RPG launcher with a half-dozen shaped-charge warheads? or possibly a CDT-issue vest-pocket crater gun?
Sadly, no- most departments discourage such things…
How about an Army-surplus flamethrower?
Still no, unless of course you are a postal worker on Mars.
Maybe the apos at the library just don’t like WHAT Justin is. We never did find out what he is, right? Heals quick, CAN see (and gets involved with) the paranormal. What ARE you, Justin, and why are you denying it to yourself?
Awwww! How could my sharp eyes haves missed these two sheepdog puppies living in this diorama on a shelf just above my eye level!
Arn’t oo feerce! Yesh you are! Yesh you are!
Well, given the fact that most ceilings are 8 feet tall, those are definitely not normal dogs.
It’s industrial so the ceilings are at least 10 ft high but anyway I misinterpreted the view. I thought it was just a perspective from the floor but the desk/cabinet in the corner belies that. In fact if that is a normal 30 inch high desk then the ceiling is about 15 ft high. They are not Chihuahuas!
and it’s a good thing, too.
only one thought goes thru a Chihuahua’s skull (too small for more than one at a time).
in situations like this, the thought (by default) is:
“LET ME AT ‘EM !!!”
Gee, does Diva Beelze know you brought Cerby over to your comic?
Bwuaha. Guess Shelly’s lessons begin earlier than she had anticipated. :3
One wonders how long this training session has been waiting for Shelly to activate it.
Them some big damn dogs! If they’re Wolfen then this may get real ugly, real fast.
Yeah, they’ll be Wolfen down Shelly and Justin pretty easily…
Yeah, especially when the rest of the pack shows up.
Uh… Sphinx. In human form, can deck three rednecks faster than the eye can see. In transitional form, can tear apart and scatter a heavy punch bag in one swipe, AND slice through flesh to the bone. In Sphinx form…?
True. However, given the size of those whatever-they-are, they probably are not “normal” dogs… hence, the situation is probably not a “normal” one. The question for Shelly at this point is, how to react.
She can go sphinx fully, part-way, or not at all.
In each of these cases, she can attack, or defend, or retreat.
So far to date (since her return from the Time Forest) she has gone the “attack” route twice – once in human form, once after partial transformation. In neither case was she happy with the results.
This new situation may be “real” or it may be a test of some sort. In either case, she has at least nine possible courses of action open to her.
Sorta feels to me as if “Go sphinx at least part way, and defend” may be her best course of action… shape-shift enough to be able to defend herself and Justin, but do not strike the first blow. A partial sphinx shape-shift and a loud yowl might be enough to get the beasts to back off.
In chess terms, it would be a “Slaverbite’s Gambit Declined” response.
What if it’s a test of when not to sphinx out? What if all she has to do is command “SIT!” with all the authority she can muster?
That could very well be the case… but in Shelly’s situation I think I’d have to game in the possibility thst it is a real threat and not a test. If those canines-with-canines are real, and hostile enough to attack, she and Justin might suffer serious injury… granted, he’d presumably heal up, and she may be fast enough to avoid being injured. That’s why I think it might be prudent for her to shapeshift… to give her “Stop! Sit!” command a bit more force, and possibly stop the situation short of actual violence.
Tough call to make on the spot, under that sort of startle-pressure…
according to some mythologies, certain guardian dogs are this size (and larger).
In a couple mythologies, the injuries inflicted share another characteristic… they don’t heal.
In fact, greek mythology states a wound inflicted by ANY immortal will not heal unless the ‘immortality’ is removed.
In Eddings’ Belgariad, it’s the immortals who can’t heal. Normally, they are immune to injury or illness, so they have no need to heal. Which means, if they DO get hurt, it lasts forever.
Freki and Geri, Odin’s wolves?
Oo, good one, AC! I’ll second that motion.
Oh, good one, AC! I’ll second that motion.
hmmm… mundane weapons (including any firepower Justin would be carrying) would be useless against them and anybody bitten by them won’t heal, either.
Justin is in trouble.
Was the Fenris Wolf ever described as having a companion or a mate?
There was Garmr, who guarded the gates of Hel.
I love when I accidentally hit post before I’m done typing.
Anyway- Garmr is sometimes described as identical to Fenrir, even though they’re not related. Fenrir is related to Hel herself though, both being children of Loki.
Dave- Fenris is the child of Loki and a giantess (I think), Odins wolves are much older, and are similar in thier service to his Ravens/Crows.
Just woke up, with my brain telling me that perhaps this is “Phix’s holodeck training simulation” kicking in… what many of us thought the incident with Justin might be.
Shelly’s here to learn how to be in voluntary control of her sphinx form when under stress… first thing that happens when she arrives at what should be the Library is that she encounters an unexpected threat, and (lo and behold) she’s showing sphinx markings…
Lesson #1 is underway, perhaps?
Should have thought of this last night (and other people have probably done so by now) but it was late…
I’m thinking by the upclose view making them ‘seem’ larger than life, these are just two ferile dogs from a pack. Wild, dirty and VERY Hungry. Right about now would be a good time to pull out some Reeses Peanut butter cups from Shellys’ purse,toss ‘em at Abbott and Costello and slowly move toward the door. Oh wait, Shelly DOESN’T CARRY A PURSE!
That’s a relief. I was afraid they might send the big dogs.
Upon reflection, they look more like hyenas, given that lump on their backs and long hind legs.
I thought of hyenas too, when the one comment (Opus the Poet) couldn’t decide between dogs and cats. But I didn’t go and check until after reading all the comments.
I’m still thinking hyenas too.
Oh jeez. Unless they’re paranormal pooches with extraordinary powers, those poor dogs, going up against a Sphinx…
Like what the 200 pound canary says, according to the old joke?
“Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!”
Holy merciful mother of crap!
Those are some gargantuan guard dogs!
I guess that means Justin is invited to the training session, otherwise all he would have seen was an old abandoned building instead of this sideshow.
I like the way the spot (and presumably fangs) are the first sphinx characteristic to appear and the last to go. In a situation like this it’s like Bill Bixby’s eyes going white.
took me a moment to remember ‘which’ Bill Bixby you spoke of.
He was the main character in quite a few series. My favorite was one you people would probably puke about… Courtship of Eddie’s father.
I told him I said, the trick with any beast is to know how to calm it. Take Fluffy, you just play a bit of music, he falls straight to sleep.
This a test of the Emergency Sphinx Activation System(tm), this is only a test.
THIS ! This right HERE !! This is why I am a cat person !!!
That explains the whiskers.
And my depeleted band-aid box is why I’m a dog person (though we used paper towels to stop the bleeding a lot of times).
My roommate had a cat who was bi-polar or something. Even cat people have not been able to justify his attacks on me…it was unfair. I liked him when he was new and sweet.
Never been attacked by a dog (though I hear dog attacks are scary vicious).
Even at there worst, cats usually take a swipe and run. Canines will chomp down, shake, when a part rips off they stay and repeat!!!
Usually perhaps…not always. I’ve had a cat attached to (via claws and teeth) and hanging from my arm while seated at the dinner table…while cat-people sat around in shock at the unexplainable attack. *shrugs* I think I give off anti-cat vibes now.
It’s a shame, too. I think it’s fun that they’re fuzzy and vibrate when happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mzmhANLaF4
what if they aren’t DOGS but Werewolves? they could be the “security system” for the NON-Library half of the portal. Heck, they could be the REASON why the building is still abandoned! they ATE all the real-estate agents who wandered in trying to get info on the building
I’ve been on this level bfore! Just set your rocket launcher to full auto and shoot at the floor beneath them. As the floor collapses, you run along the edge of the hole and into the stairway leading to the next level. Don’t forget to skip the third step or you will trigger the poison darts popping out of the walls!
What if you happened to misplace your rocket launcher?
To quote King Arthur, “Run away! Run away!!!”
That’s what I thought, when I first saw Fido and Fang. “Oh My God, it’s the IRS!! Run away! RUN AWAY!!
You know the differences between the IRS and the IRA.
1> The Ira are the IRISH terrorists
2> You may stand a chance of survival against the IRA.
To sphinx or not to sphinx- that it is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the teeth and claws of miscreantic mongrols of outrageouse heritage, or to sphinx them to oblivion, to shred, perchance, to rend- OK, there’s this old dead English dude showed up at the door and he’s pissed at me for something I’ve done but I can’t make it out because he’s REALLY decayed and his enunciation is… rough… his accent is a bit thick as well… he smells bad… I’ve folded him up and thrown him into a dumpster at the liquor store… where was I? I… forgot… never mind…
Heh… more linguistic fun there than ya can shake a spear at… nice! That must be from the Cliffhanger Notes version of the story, right?
… there seems to be an ongoing thing with this group regarding something called… the ‘pun jar’? And am I supposed to rattle it? Besides, I am better versed with the works of the Gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Samuel Clemmons than the Bard of Stratford-on-Avon. The beautiful thing about desicrating a classic is that only need be vaguely familiar with it, and by Twain’s own assesment “Hamlet” is a classic…. “… a book that everyones DISCUSSES…. but nobody READS…”
Nah… Sam and Will are probably enjoying a well-deserved respite from their trials on earth.
BOTH were so prolific, nobody has yet to gather either author’s full works into a collection.
A recent attempt to gather Sam’ had 8 volumes and THEY admitted to missing some.
Nah, the real question is: which one of our two heroes is gonna have sphinxter issues first…?
The Sgt. is right–that needs the pun jar thrown at you.
Also, do you remember Billy-boy’s tombstone? “Bless’d be he who keeps these stones; Curs’d be he who moves my bones?” Yeah. I’d say you’re in group 2…
I do actually read Shakespeare’s work. It’s fun, especially when you read it out loud and realize what it looks like isn’t what it sounds like.
One of these days I really do need to attend one of the performances of the Bard’s work, which is being done in original dialect. I understand that the prose has a swinging rhyme to it, which it does not have if you use either Received Pronunciation, or American dialect, as usually happens during performances these days.
Anyhow, here’s *clang* a ducat or two to pay off that particular Pun Jar obligation.
Booo! Looks like we’re back to 2AM Eastern updates now.
Oh well – sleep will do me good.
Close to 3am EST the past few days…
3 p.m.?
My apologies. Scanner issues are stopping me from getting tomorrow’s comic uploaded. I will have Thursday’s comic uploaded for Friday and have Friday’s comic up on Saturday. Sorry for the mix up.
Thanks, Paul. Nice to know what’s going on. Us addicts just need to be patient, our Phix is coming, then we’ll be fine…
Yeah it’s all good, thanks for atleast letting us know so we can get off to bed.
I guess scanned comfort is better than none. (Runs away before pun jar can swallow credit card.)
*groan* *rattles pun jar*
Well, since I didn’t check Wapsi yesterday, it’s like I didn’t miss anything *grin*.
The dogs ate your homework?
Get some rest, and good luck with the gremlins.
Hopefully, you’ll be able to sort out your scanner.
It’s a pity that as technology gets more complicated it gets less reliable.
I remember the days when home computers did crash routinely but I’d better stop there before I get too nostalgic.
Yes. We used to say, “Gee, if Bill Gates had a nickel for every time Windows crashed . . . Oh, wait a minute. He almost does.”
Actually, it’s gotten far more reliable. Especially if you look at it on a per function basis. You could have built todays common desktop computer twenty years ago, but it would have required so many individual parts something would have probably failed just about every day. Not unlike the first tube computers. Couldn’t run more than a few min. before a tube went.
The other side of all this integration is that it’s not worth fixing when it goes bad. When you can get a printer with scanner for $40 these days, why bother? So we end up with so much toxic junk. Recycling the stuff is a joke.
*checks Amazon wishlist*
I think there’s a scanner missing on there…
Condolences and good luck with sorting it all out!
We gotta get you a Wacom.
I would sorely miss Paul’s beautiful brushwork if he were to switch to digital. You can do amazing things with Photoshop’s brushes, but IMO nothing has managed to recreate the true organic feel of traditional media. Not even Corel Painter, though it comes damn close.
Also, if Wapsi Square were drawn entirely in digital format, there wouldn’t be any “original artwork” of the daily strips in any meaningful physical form. Paul wouldn’t have them to sell, and fans wouldn’t be able to buy them.
I’d count that as a real loss, myself… I’ve won several of his auctions, and have “The Former” proudly framed up in my cubicle at work. I imagine that the sale of the original sketches helps defray some of the cost of running the site. So, for these reasons in addition to what you say, I hope Paul continues to do the real sketches as the basis of each day’s strip.
I submit this http://headtrip.keenspot.com/d/20120109.html on the discussion of scanners and tablets.
Thanks, Paul. Kinda funny though. The two webcomics (not paper syndicated) I follow that actually keep up to date (UserFriendly is reruns) and both had to skip today for some reason.
I don’t even think you know Greg Dean or Real Life Comics. 
Coincidence is coincidental.
Actually, I’m pretty sure Paul knows Real Life (and/or Greg Dean), as otherwise I wouldn’t think he’d have a link to it amongst the other links titled “Friends” on every page…
Doh! I don’t really explore the rest of the site much. eep… Thanks for the clarification, though. But even so, I’m sure Paul and his scanner have nothing to do with Greg’s boss calling Greg into work, etc. Or… DOES it?
Well poop! At least now I can go to bed.
I heard that Lexmark was coming out with a scanner that was actually a 12 megapixel camera.
No moving parts! Damn quick!
Hmmmm
Can’t you just use your camera until the scanner is replaced?
Would likely take more time than replacing the scanner should that prove necessary. Camera software isn’t optimized for taking an image off a page like scanner software is.
As anyone who’s tried to sub in a camera for a scanner knows, heh.
It takes me back to my childhood when my neighbours had 2 giant (at least to me) icelandic breed dogs. The dogs was always there alone in the yard up to our house, barking wildly at anything from humans to butterflies while charging up against the wobbly old rotten wooden fence in a rage. I recall my parents always talking about what would happen if “those 2 hounds from hell” ever got out.
Anyways, one hot sommerday i was in the main room with the door to the garden open. Heard some light tapping foodsteps on the floor behind me and turned around expecting to find one of parents returning from the garden. And there it was. Open mouth with giant teeth and tongue hanging out and on its face was a expression of pure .. joy. While i stood there all frozen (trying to blend in with the furniture), the dog traveled the room in a slow pace for about 10 seconds and then ran back out into the garden .. while the tail was going as fast as if you had strapped the dog to a rollercoaster ride, driving down a slope going “Wiiiieeeee!”.
I later learned it wasnt the wooden fence that gave away, but the neighbours had forgotten to lock the metal gate at the end. Of cause no puny fence could hold those 2 dogs if they really wanted out i guess. I dont think they where mistreated, but no doubt a bit neglected.
Interesting burglary stats:
Our other next door neighbour: 11 burglaries.
Our house: 0 burglaries.
I wonder why there was such a big difference
The hambuglar doesn’t like pickles.
Only time I’ve ever been bitten by a dog was when I did something stupid.
note to self… grabbing two big males by the scruffs of their necks while they’re fighting over a female is not wise.
I didn’t get bit persay… But a pretty hyper dog had jumped up and I guess one of his bottom canine’s got the underside of my chin. Hurt like crap, but I kept in mind that he didn’t mean to. Even playful, you gotta be careful. LOL They don’t know their own power sometimes.
canine’s=canines.
Our neighbor across the street had a pair of huskies who I suspect bit the seat out of a lot of people’s pants. You couldn’t have a stranger over for dinner without introducing them…
I had a black lab that barked at many an animal as it walked by our fenced in yard. One time a rabbit snuck in under our fence and my dog chased him back and forth across the yard until he cornered it. He just sniffed the rabbit, then looked back at me as if he was waiting for instructions. Then he looked back at me again as if to say well now what and walked away. The rabbit looked like he was hyperventilating and ran back out under the fence.
Guess that’s what we get for having a retreiver. He didn’t know what to do with a live one.
Retriever: “Okay, I retrieved it. Now, what do I DO with it…??”
We had a cat like that: loved to chase anything that moved, and would go until he caught it.
Then the cat would get confused, and stop.
Eventually, the captive would recover, and start wandering off–and the chase would begin again.
Funny symetry : Shelly and Justin (panel 2) on one side, the two doggy monsters on the other side : same attitude…
Coincidence, or Paul outsmarting us again (and possibly himself, if coincidence there is)?
I wonder if these guy taste good with Ketchup?
Only if he’s crunchy.
I was talking about the mutts, but to each his own.
Actually, I think that this is just a test. Just how good is Justin’s ability to regenerate and heal? Can we do a rough and dirty clone of him by ripping him in half, and letting each half regenerate the missing pieces? Inquiring minds want to know!
Maybe YOUR inquiring mind, but I doubt Justin wants to put it to the test (there would be some pain, ya know).
I’ve wondered that myself. How many pieces can he be torn into before they stop healing? How many Justins can you make? If you tore him in half and put the pieces together backwards, what would happen?
In many such situations (real and/or fiction), separating the head from the rest of the body is usually enough to stop the repair process.
Orson Scott Card’s A Planet Called Treason has a character who regenerates wildly, and gets so damaged (belly) that his system produces a second self. When he tries to kill it, IIRC, he fails–but cutting the body (with head) away produces a clone.
Zo- Does this mean tomorrow will be considered hair of the dog?
Only if Paul does a scene which is both entirely consistent with all Wapsi lore, and is also completely predictable. I’m sure he could do this, but it isn’t his style.
If he did, though, it would definitely be the heir of the dogma.
*rattles pun jar*
It looks like the “Heir of the dogma” bit us.
(drops a silver-plated doggie collar or two into the Jar)
Paul!
Most of us barely make it through the weekend without a new installment of Wapsi Square! To make us go four days would be like taking a bone away from two rabid dogs!
maybe THIS is the cliffhanger XD
Don’t give him ideas.
Sorry, that comment was directed at jordinyc.
I have the uncomfortable feeling that Mr. Taylor has not yet resolved his technical difficulties. Hence I shall retire to my bedchamber.
I suspect you’re right. I’ve found that once you obtain a replacement device your tech problems don’t end — you may have installation issues, etc when you first set it up.
Been there, DOG that!