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"Crimson Mantis"
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Crimson Mantis
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Crimson Mantis

by Paul Taylor on August 12, 2010 at 12:00 am
Story: Wapsi-Archive
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Discussion (146) ¬

  1. txmystic
    August 12, 2010, 12:02 am | # | Reply

    Wait…I know that deedle anywhere…omigaw! It’s the Crimson Mantis!!!

  2. Jim
    August 12, 2010, 12:02 am | # | Reply

    *deedle deedle deedle**

    Hahahaha !

  3. txmystic
    August 12, 2010, 12:02 am | # | Reply

    Dietzel is sooooooo NOT into this…

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 12:17 am | # | Reply

      Yeah, I see the wheels turning, plotting his revenge even now.

    • redbeard
      August 12, 2010, 10:15 am | # | Reply

      Poor Dietzel — this shouldn’t even happen to a dog. I’m thinking this is going to cost Monica at least a week of pizza deliveries. Jin needs to see all of this — she’ll start feeling much better about her own craziness in comparison (or maybe she’ll think she’s suddenly gotten a lot worse — kind of a tossup when confronted by this level of strangeness).

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 10:34 am | #

        Good point. Jin would be just the one to poit in now. She would look at Monica and think, “THIS is the person I’m depending on to help me restore my sanity!? I’m screwed.”

      • Francisco
        August 12, 2010, 6:15 pm | #

        Does Jin still sense Monica’s thoughts?

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 8:45 pm | #

        I think she can hear her talking, but maybe only if she’s close enough, like within a couple of miles. I’m not sure. Seems to me I recall seeing a strip of Jin doing that very thing.

      • Francisco
        August 13, 2010, 5:28 am | #

        Jin heard Monica’s conversation here and evidence that Jin and Monica can communicate just by through is shown here

    • Eee
      August 12, 2010, 10:23 am | # | Reply

      I’m kind of disturbed she’s actually got a bumblebee costume for a dog… Even an improvised one…

      • J-Earl
        November 27, 2022, 11:28 am | #

        “All I can say is my life is pretty plain. Ya don’t like my point of view, ya think I’m insane.”

        Blind Melon’s ‘No Rain’ is Monica’s song, through and through.

  4. marmotknit
    August 12, 2010, 12:04 am | # | Reply

    can this please be the next Patch Together star?

    • Julie
      August 12, 2010, 7:46 am | # | Reply

      Ditto!!

  5. Fatuncle
    August 12, 2010, 12:04 am | # | Reply

    Oh, my ribs hurt! And I thought yesterday’s strip was hilarious — !

  6. geekoncall
    August 12, 2010, 12:08 am | # | Reply

    Apparently bras on your head cause split personality and are hazardous to your pets.

  7. cyclophile
    August 12, 2010, 12:09 am | # | Reply

    This just made my evening.

  8. quasarmogul
    August 12, 2010, 12:11 am | # | Reply

    Now…is someone going to walk/poit in on her doing this?

    • Fatuncle
      August 12, 2010, 12:17 am | # | Reply

      Oh, yes! Of course someone is going to walk in on her.

      • jwhouk
        August 12, 2010, 8:34 am | #

        It’s almost a law of comedy.

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 11:49 am | #

        The Roger Rabbit Principle, Corollary 2

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 11:51 am | #

        Corollary 1 being, of course, “Complex gadgets always work perfectly under test conditions, and fail in application when it will be funny.”

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 11:52 am | #

        Known as the “Coyote Principle”, in honour of its original formulator.

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 12:25 am | # | Reply

      Probably poit in, startling her into turning on her eye lights and making the bra eyes effect complete.

      • Julie
        August 12, 2010, 7:46 am | #

        Oooo…I like that idea!

    • Deuce
      August 12, 2010, 6:51 am | # | Reply

      We haven’t seen Kevin around for a while . . .

    • eschmenk
      August 12, 2010, 11:11 am | # | Reply

      Amanda might come over with drinks or something to make up for previously thinking that Monica was going crazy. (She let herself in once before.)

      BTW, poor Dietzel! I just had to say it. 🙂

  9. CrashFu
    August 12, 2010, 12:14 am | # | Reply

    Doctor Custard sounds like the best supervillain EVER. I mean, not at being evil, but like.. who wouldn’t want to have him as their arch nemesis?

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 12:19 am | # | Reply

      I believe Dr. Custard’s evil lair probably is located in the refrigerator. This may lead to another pig-out session.

    • txmystic
      August 12, 2010, 12:26 am | # | Reply

      I believe I have been imprisoned by Dr. Custard myself…curse that dark chocolate lining!

      • Jim
        August 12, 2010, 1:06 am | #

        Mmmmm . Chocolate covered custard .

      • jwhouk
        August 12, 2010, 8:34 am | #

        Doctor Custard had his day (Sunday was National Custard Day, according to my local stand).

      • Lustwane
        August 12, 2010, 8:53 am | #

        …and was promptly foiled by the TIck. If you listen closely to the wind you can still hear him enjoying his victory… spoooooon!

    • Xiutecuhtli
      August 12, 2010, 6:32 pm | # | Reply

      And of course his peppery cousin, Mean Mr Mustard.

  10. Somnous
    August 12, 2010, 12:26 am | # | Reply

    every time i see the words deedle deedle

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Harvey_Birdman,_Attorney_at_Law_characters#Recurring_characters

  11. ProfessorTomoe
    August 12, 2010, 12:29 am | # | Reply

    Ohmydearlord.

  12. amishrakefight
    August 12, 2010, 12:30 am | # | Reply

    ummm…very many more “deedles” and walking blind at that. I look to a future broken metatarsal in Monicas future.

    • Platonix
      August 12, 2010, 7:31 pm | # | Reply

      It’s possible that she can see enough through the bra to be able to navigate her own living space. In my own house I can get around pretty well in near-total darkness because I know the locale so well.

  13. geekoncall
    August 12, 2010, 12:42 am | # | Reply

    Mmmmm…. Chocolate!!!

  14. Silver C.
    August 12, 2010, 12:46 am | # | Reply

    I didn’t know Monica took ballet, at least enough to be able to go around in en pointe shoes 😀

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 12:51 am | # | Reply

      I never knew ballerinas made such a strange noise when they danced. Perhaps we may get to see the Mantis’ patented grand battement head kick, followed by her spinning, arabesque onlair take down.

    • Julie
      August 12, 2010, 7:48 am | # | Reply

      I’m pretty impressed myself. I figured that even had she taken ballet as a kid, the second she…erm…blossomed, she would have lost any of the balance it takes to be en pointe. 🙂

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 11:54 am | #

        Actually, it’s not because of the balance – it’s the bruised faces and broken noses of male partners when top-heavy ballerinas do a fast pirouette…

      • eschmenk
        August 12, 2010, 3:59 pm | #

        Um, the male partner would have to be rather short for that to be a problem, wouldn’t he?

        I would think a problem would be maintaining her position in a pirouette. Wouldn’t she tend to bang around like a badly loaded washing machine on its spin cycle?

    • jwhouk
      August 12, 2010, 8:36 am | # | Reply

      You didn’t know she took…

      (FACEPALM)

      Okay, that’s it, BACK to the archives with you.

      • W.
        August 12, 2010, 8:43 am | #

        Thank you, thank you for that! Wipes off monitor again! 😉

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 11:21 am | #

        I love Amanda’s bugged-out eyes in that one.

      • kramegame
        August 12, 2010, 1:47 pm | #

        wow all the characters look so different from back then, if i didn’t know better i would say they were 2 separate comics!

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 2:44 pm | #

        Yes, the characters had more of a cartoony look back then. I think they were cuter. One thing I’ve noted though is that they never had an amaturish look to them. They were well drawn then and now. I’m sure Paul has improved his art as time has progressed, but, as I see it, his style has simply changed, not so much gotten better as such. To me, the new style fits the progressing story concerning it’s supernatural aspects better. It gives the strips more visual impact than the original cartoony style.

  15. WilliamTheUlfr
    August 12, 2010, 12:50 am | # | Reply

    I don’t know why, but the insect sorta theme and the ‘Deedles’ have me thinking the Sweeney Todd movie with Johnny Depp

    • Christi
      August 12, 2010, 3:52 am | # | Reply

      Hmm… all I thought about was Strawberry Shortcake. Though her nemesis may have brought that to mind more than M did…

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 8:48 pm | #

        Strawberry Shortcake? How innocent are you?

      • Christi
        August 13, 2010, 1:39 am | #

        *laughs* Not innocent, I assure you. Just on a nosalgia binge lately. I’ve pulled out Xena, Gargoyles, the 90’s X-men cartoon, Sailormoon, and I’m thinking I need to find Rainbow Brite and Rockadoodle. *nods* Maybe I can find our old tapes of Stop the Smoggies…

      • Julie
        August 13, 2010, 2:31 pm | #

        My former roommate had Stop the Smoggies on DVD. 🙂

      • Christi
        August 14, 2010, 12:14 am | #

        OMG <3 !! I can't find them anywhere anymore, except for one "special" DVD on ebay… o(ToT)o

  16. PlayfulDancer
    August 12, 2010, 12:51 am | # | Reply

    Being a dancer myself – I have had these moments…Ok maybe not this exact one, but it strikes close to my heart!
    Awesome 😀

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 10:46 am | # | Reply

      My congratuations. I’ve often thought professional dancing must be one of the most strenuous jobs there is.

  17. Ziggy Stardust
    August 12, 2010, 1:01 am | # | Reply

    Haha! I can’t remember the last time I had fun around the house like that. Looks like it’s time to start! *Begins constructing a fort and dressing up cats*

  18. BigBadRichard
    August 12, 2010, 1:15 am | # | Reply

    Great now I want to fight crime in a silly costume with a comedic relief sidekick AND eat ice cream til my metabolism hand me a signed resignation. Ah who am I kidding i’m crazy enough Id do that anyway and light something on fire for good measure.

  19. LW18(LADYWOLF)
    August 12, 2010, 1:20 am | # | Reply

    Haaaaa, ha, ha, ha, ha, haaaaaaa! Monica is hilarious tonight. 🙂

  20. LW18(LADYWOLF)
    August 12, 2010, 1:34 am | # | Reply

    I hope that she doesn’t lose her footing and fall down.

  21. BananaHeck
    August 12, 2010, 2:04 am | # | Reply

    Hahaahaha now this is a comic!

  22. The HellJack
    August 12, 2010, 2:07 am | # | Reply

    BWA-HAHAHAAAHAHAAAHAHAAAHAHAHAHAAAAA…

    ~deedle~

    HAHAHahahahahHAHAhahaaaaa.

  23. mothra
    August 12, 2010, 2:12 am | # | Reply

    Pablo, I think you may have totally lost your mind, but this has to be one of my favorite Wapsi sequences ever. Hysterical. Thanks!

  24. DarkSpiral
    August 12, 2010, 3:17 am | # | Reply

    Dr Custard? I just had Danger Mouse flashbacks.

    • txmystic
      August 12, 2010, 3:07 pm | # | Reply

      COR!

  25. The Old Wolf
    August 12, 2010, 3:49 am | # | Reply

    A few too many Black Russians, Monica…

  26. Bucc-i
    August 12, 2010, 5:01 am | # | Reply

    ROFL LMAO
    in a word… EPIC!

  27. ak4mc
    August 12, 2010, 5:54 am | # | Reply

    I’m *so* glad Monica managed to convince us she’s not crazy.

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 11:09 am | # | Reply

      Oh no, that’s not crazy. Crazy is going to work like that. Then, when someone asks her why is she wearing a bra on her head, she responds “what bra?” That’s crazy.

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 11:58 am | #

        No, that’s evil.

      • txmystic
        August 12, 2010, 3:14 pm | #

        No, that’s friggin’ awesome.

  28. Wildcat
    August 12, 2010, 5:58 am | # | Reply

    This reminds me of the Looney Toons cartoon “Bugs’ Bonnets” in which Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd adopt a different personality for each of the hats that happens to fall on their heads. 😀

  29. kaibyo
    August 12, 2010, 6:05 am | # | Reply

    !!!Mmmmmpppphhhhhxxxxxhahahahahahahhahah!!! Pablo, how DID you come up with “deedledeedledeedledeedle”? It’s SOOOOO perfect!
    This and yesterdays are definitly in my Wapsi top ten!
    MORE please?
    I need a good laugh in the morning.
    It makes my co-workers wonder about me.

    • StJason
      August 12, 2010, 10:21 am | # | Reply

      It’s the standard cartoon noise… think Flintstones. That high plinking of the upper piano keys…

      …I SO want to invent a sound effects suite for people to wear. Gloves that make the ‘boink’ and ‘bam’ sound effects of old H-B cartoons, anklets that make that ‘p-twow!’ sound for running (or maybe deedle-deedle…)

      • Jabberwonky
        August 12, 2010, 1:04 pm | #

        I remember, about 20 years ago, someone marketed several sets of gloves that made noises. One set had kung-fu noises, another robot noises, and the one I couldn’t find, cartoon noises. I wanted the rimshot. There is also

        http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/interactive/a5bf/

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 3:03 pm | #

        There was also a plastic blood-stained hatched that screamed when you hit something with it … a plastic hammer tat made a startling realistic smashing glass sound…

        And a pair of Godzilla feet – one went “! Crash! Smash!” with each step … and the other gave out with appropriate screams…

      • Jabberwonky
        August 12, 2010, 7:44 pm | #

        I remember seeing Gozilla slippers that did that at an anime specialtiy store in Austin, once….

      • jayessell
        August 12, 2010, 10:18 pm | #

        The Jetson’s car sound was suggested for electric cars so they wouldn’t be silent in parking lots and have inattentive people step in front of them.

        But Nooooooo!

        Programmable ‘Car-Tones’ have been pre-emptively disallowed!

  30. Den
    August 12, 2010, 6:15 am | # | Reply

    Pablo, muy bueno! Ms. Mantis and the Bumbling Bumblebee to the rescue…

    Your sense of pacing is superb; dark interrupted with extreme light, introspection broken by slapstick. More, please!

  31. Julie
    August 12, 2010, 7:54 am | # | Reply

    The excess commas are starting to get to me…:) I wasn’t going to say anything, but I just can’t let it go. There shouldn’t be a comma after Minxi Munoz.

    Ex: As the school’s librarian, Minxi Munoz performs many tasks.

    As opposed to: The school’s librarian, Minxi Munoz, performs many tasks.

    Option A in play here…sorry to be a nitpicker! 🙁

    • Paul Taylor
      August 12, 2010, 10:38 am | # | Reply

      Think about an Adam West or William Shatner type delivery of those lines.

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 10:52 am | #

        That’s a good point, but perhaps dashes there instead of commas might be better for that effect. Just a thought.

      • eschmenk
        August 12, 2010, 11:34 am | #

        I agree. I would interpret it easier if I saw a dash or ellipsis, especially before “as the Crimson Mantis” and “with a dark chocolate lining.” The commas confuse me sometimes because I’m not used to them being used the way Paul uses them.

      • Fatuncle
        August 12, 2010, 1:25 pm | #

        Not going there, not going there, not going there —

      • eschmenk
        August 12, 2010, 2:41 pm | #

        Heh, I was just thinking about suggesting the use of periods. It occurred to me that it would have two advantages. 1) It’s the way that style of talking is often represented. 2) It would still leave Fatuncle biting his tongue over sentence fragments. 🙂

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 3:01 pm | #

        *cough*evil*cough*

      • txmystic
        August 12, 2010, 3:10 pm | #

        Bill Shatner:
        SPAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHK….I DON’T, THINK, YOUSHOULDGODOWN, TO, THEPLANET,…..WITH THE AWAYTEAM…

        Adam West:
        That’s, right, old, chum…BUT ONLY IF, my, calculus…is, correct…

      • RKSAustin
        August 12, 2010, 10:59 pm | #

        HOLY BRA CUPS BATMAN!!!!!

      • Julie
        August 13, 2010, 2:40 pm | #

        Well that makes a bit more sense at least. My sense of punctuational propriety is not offended now. 🙂

  32. Rowan Hawthorn
    August 12, 2010, 7:55 am | # | Reply

    Dietzel: “I ‘on’ get *NO* effin’ respeck ‘roun’ here…”

    I see another bottle of ice-cold shower water in Monica’s future.

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 11:05 am | # | Reply

      More like an ice chest, preceeded by a toilet flush.

  33. Geordie79
    August 12, 2010, 8:14 am | # | Reply

    It’s really good to see the care-free, light-hearted side of Monica again. Wapsi has been a little to doom and gloom during the Calendar Machine story arc (not complaining at all). But it’s good to see the goofball antics of Monica again, reminds me of the early days of Wapsi Square. 😀

  34. Schip_lover
    August 12, 2010, 8:15 am | # | Reply

    Bumped our head coming out of the shower? No, wait. What were those mushrooms in the spaghetti sauce?

  35. Sio
    August 12, 2010, 8:30 am | # | Reply

    Oh my stars and garters…

    • Fairportfan
      August 12, 2010, 12:00 pm | # | Reply

      I don’t see any garters.

      Other lingerie, however…

  36. Sio
    August 12, 2010, 8:31 am | # | Reply

    Hey, when does the Pershing missile come up through the living room floor, and her evil brother turn into a slug?

    • StJason
      August 12, 2010, 10:26 am | # | Reply

      Weird Science reference gotten…

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 10:55 am | # | Reply

      No, no, evil sister. This is a female-centric comic remember.

    • sco3tt
      August 12, 2010, 11:39 am | # | Reply

      Slug? Google “Turd Monster” images, and lol!

  37. Kelli
    August 12, 2010, 8:35 am | # | Reply

    hehehe….crimson mantis! I LOVE IT! It didn’t take long for my 4yr old to start playing with mommy’s bras like this…I have blackmail pics all saved up for those special occasions when its my dutiful right to embarrass the hell outta her!

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 10:16 am | # | Reply

      Exxxxxcelent [rubbing hands together]. That should help to deflate over blown high school know-it-all ego.

  38. Nashville
    August 12, 2010, 9:50 am | # | Reply

    Now THAT is nuts. And i love it.

  39. Jon Sloan
    August 12, 2010, 10:05 am | # | Reply

    Major kudos, Paul! I bow before your supreme skills!

  40. valis_kr3
    August 12, 2010, 10:05 am | # | Reply

    WOW! Someone is really bored. Doesn’t she have a boyfriend that can entertain her.

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 10:20 am | # | Reply

      He’s always gone. This what lack of sex will do to ya.

  41. Kestralyn
    August 12, 2010, 10:23 am | # | Reply

    And again I say:

    bwwwwwaaahahahahahaahahahaaaaaaa!!!

    If you can’t amuse yourself, something is very wrong 🙂

    • SoWhyMe
      August 12, 2010, 11:03 am | # | Reply

      That is so true. I’ve heard many women say something like “I like you, you make me laugh.” I always thought, why do you need someone else to entertain you? If you can’t be good company to yourself, including make yourself laugh (frequently) there is a problem,

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 3:04 pm | #

        Hey – laugh with yourself, play with … errr … by yourself…

      • Julie
        August 13, 2010, 2:42 pm | #

        Well, yes…but it is also nice not to have to entertain ourselves.

  42. Stephen
    August 12, 2010, 10:29 am | # | Reply

    Poor Dietzel. He looks soooo not into this COSPLAY.
    Monica must have bribed him with something VERY good.

  43. Ertain
    August 12, 2010, 10:32 am | # | Reply

    Say, this one is pretty funny.

    • Prester Fred
      February 11, 2012, 9:25 pm | # | Reply

      Okay.

      *ahem*

      “This one is pretty funny.”

  44. Duessa
    August 12, 2010, 10:43 am | # | Reply

    Okay, maybe THIS is now my favorite strip. XD

    • Don B.
      August 12, 2010, 12:41 pm | # | Reply

      Maybe so, but Bud has a wicked sense of humor. Remember what she did when she was found naked on the beach in snow by reporters?

      • Fairportfan
        August 12, 2010, 3:05 pm | #

        She wasn’t naked – till she tore off her bra …

      • Fatuncle
        August 12, 2010, 5:00 pm | #

        And this is still the benchmark for Bud’s weird and veering sense of humor.

  45. TheDoctor
    August 12, 2010, 10:53 am | # | Reply

    Now thats funny right there. I don’t care who ya’are, Thats funny! But Dietzel doesn’t think so. NOW, Enter her Boyfriend.

  46. ziggy78eog
    August 12, 2010, 11:17 am | # | Reply

    I feel your pain, Dietzel. Apparently when Monica poited her bra on her face, she poited away some of her sanity. Now, some one walking in on her, thus creating a hilariously awkward moment will commence in 3…2…1…

  47. Atomic
    August 12, 2010, 11:24 am | # | Reply

    On an unrelated topic, I’ve just noticed that all of the old Blank Label forum stuff is gone.

    It was an honor to participate and a shame it isn’t archived somewhere.

    RIP

    • eschmenk
      August 12, 2010, 11:48 am | # | Reply

      At least some of it was archived by the Wayback Machine. For example: The Care and Feeding of Golems thread as of October 2007. That’s likely to be very hit and miss, though.

      • SoWhyMe
        August 12, 2010, 2:57 pm | #

        Oh wow, a great reference, even though some of the links don’t work anymore, thanks. I downloaded it into a pdf file in case that page disappears. Maybe I’ll find some time to fix the links to the new archive.

  48. sco3tt
    August 12, 2010, 11:27 am | # | Reply

    She made the same sound as Fred Flintstones bowling approach, lol! Nice.

  49. kingklash
    August 12, 2010, 11:32 am | # | Reply

    What’s this?! Ms Munoz, the lovely local librarian, assuming an energetic alter ego? Her devoted dog, simalirly suiting-up as an apiarian avenger? Nixing nocturnal ne’er-do-wells as The Crimson Mantis and Bumbling Bumblebee, our Wapsi wunderkind unfurl their undergarments of ultimate ultra-justice each week on this very station!

    *deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle-deedle*

  50. Fairportfan
    August 12, 2010, 12:03 pm | # | Reply

    Just watched “Lilo and Stitch” with the grandkids – in oe short sequence during the end credits, Stitch is doing the laundry, comes across one of Nani’s bikini tops, puts if over his pointy ears, puts on a towel for a cape, and plays “Batman”.

    And then bumps into Nani’s legs…

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