Monica’s first sentence to Tina kills me: “That’s good right?” Of course, that’s ignoring the rest of what she said. She obviously is concerned. I probably would have run out of the building screaming, though.
Yes, indeed. Not one of Paul’s readers could have possibly seen this amazing, and powerful image coming. Always something unexpected. Tina’s eyes have changed dramatically as well. Of course I have no idea what it all means or why she got so metaphysical on us just to say that. Seems to be in a trance.
This would be a great image to shade and color and put up for sale. Maybe sell prints.
The change in Tina’s eyes may have something to do with the fact that she’s now got them on her palms. I had a flashback to the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth… which was equally creepy.
Meanwhile, the eyes in Tina’s head have three pupils each. I think the entire committee is gathering at the picture windows to see Monica’s reaction first hand.
ARE you my mama? If i find mama, this can all end. It’s not ending. Make it stop. Mama ** Hooo, boy. Boiler room, rubber room, sssnake pit. How deep is this rabbit hole?
possibly both.
everytime one of them shows their power in a bad way (not calender-lump-booming-way) it reminds her (and them) that they arnt human and can and did distroy the planet.
“Notice, as well, Tina’s eyes … everyone present and talking, all at once?”
Maybe present, but not talking, I think. (I assume you mean Tina’s demons.) Paul said a few days ago (I think many people missed it) that when Tina talks in gray that means that one of the demons is talking without going through the filter of the demon committee. It may be that the other demons were trying to talk, too, but got shoved out the way by the talking demon.
Not only would the designs on Tina’s hands make such a cool tat — that whole image with the outline of her hands around the designs — like a set of magic handprints — That would be a knockout tat, with the designs in red, black and yellow (or else in henna color), with the outline of the hands in black. — maybe you should license the design —
That whole top panel minus the speech balloons, and rendered in color would make a great poster/print for your store — hint! -hint!
This was quite obvious. Jin. Humanity. Speaking of events from childhood. Powerful Jin. Human emotions. Mental frailties. Oh, and the three iris eyeballs and the hand-eyes… That just *screams* Fate. Awesome pic.
Her demon Doubt callsl her “Queen” — More foreshadowning? After all, the demons must Never Get Control of the Chimera!
The GGs are still the 3 parts of that beast — what ever could possibly draw them together that might reunite them that way, hmmm? Protecting some one they love, maybe? Hmmm?
I don’t know of anything that would have caused them to not be bound to Monica, anymore. I think she can still control them. Monica decided to give them free reign, but she is still their boss. Of course, several characters have affectionate nicknames for Monica: Princess, Sunshine, Pumpkin.
I don’t know. I’ve always gotten the impression she is their boss as long as they allow her to be their boss. As long as they are reasonably sane and go along with the program. I doubt Monica can control one who has gone over the edge. for that she would need the assistance of the other two.
Actually, I was just replying to hewolf and trying to explain Bud still calling Monica “Princess”.
I agree that Tina called Jin “broken”, which implies Jin might not work right. The other issue is that even if Monica has the theoretical power to control Jin, she might not be familiar enough with the magic required to be able to do it correctly.
Oh WOW! Those hands!! ’60s psychedelic flashbacks, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and the whole funky company!! Looks like there’s gonna be one wild ride comin’ on………..hold tight!
Jin seems to be teetering on the edge. She’s thinking back to her encounters with Shelly & Tina in previous iterations of the present and that could be a positive thing. But it could also be a sign that she’s losing touch with reality and then present.
I definitely sensed that Jin had partially reverted to a child-like state, but I didn’t pick up on the anger that Tina sensed. On the other hand, Tina’s hands appear to be some sort of mirror reflection of the aura-like perception she had of Jin, and they’re pretty scary looking.
Seems like Bud, Brandi, & Jin’s mom need to find Jin a.s.a.p. to talk with her. I’m particularly worried for Jin’s boyfriend/Kevin’s friend, as he has a knack for pushing Jin’s buttons and that wouldn’t be a good choice right now.
p.s. – While searching for her boyfriend’s name (using the Random button), I came across this example of how much has changed and how much Bud has grown (back when she didn’t want to touch, let alone destroy, the Calendar Machine).
Have you ever thought of selling a line of Waspi Gloves? I’m thinking that they’d sell. Maybe just the name, small, on the back, and that on the palms. We’ll all buy a pair to wear at the first Waspicon. When is that anyhow?
Doubt that – the destruction that that little girl faced was caused by the chimera … and Jin was already a part of it.
Unless you mean that Jin is (even more than Bud) haunted by the ghost of that little girl. (And considering we’ve seen a sphinx and various other preternatural characters in this stirp, i suppose a ghost could well be a possibility.)
Does anyone else wonder if Monica’s encounter with wossname – the supermodel – will somehow tie in to the resolution of this story line?
I think the conversation with Georgette lead to Monica’s conversation with Tepoz about Monica’s relationship with her parents, but I doubt there is anything more to it than that.
I think Bud’s concern is that Jin is now like Bud and Brandi were immediately after the priest’s were done with them. They were angry girls with nothing to control them. Perhaps with Jin’s demons defeated, there is nothing to control Jin now. It’s strange to think of personal demons as preventing bad things, though.
True and it’s a good point. On the other hand, Bud, Brandi and Shelly don’t have personal demons. Personally, I don’t really like Paul’s model that you are (at least in Shelly’s case) guided by demons or a conscience, but not by both battling it out. Of course, any model is going to be too simplistic.
Re: possession by ghosts:
Scary thought: Jin’s demon was defeated (broken?) or at least very distracted in a temple with a special connection to the spirit world. If you are going to pick up a ghost, that would be one of the best places to do it.
I’d let it go. It’s something Tina might have said and I think it’s pretty clear what she meant. Saying “angered” implies something angered Jin. I think the way Paul wrote it make the anger seem more spontaneous on Jin’s part.
It’s grammatically correct, by the way. Adverbs can modify adjectives. The problem is that normally when “easily” is used that way, it means “certainly”, which isn’t the case here. Example: “easily the best choice”.
Hmm, it’s interesting that Bud suddenly appeared. I guess she sensed something bad near Monica. Normally, it was Jin who sensed things and suddenly appeared.
Nah, i think Bud walked in with Monica but Pablo didn’t show her to us last time because the focus of that page was strictly Tina and Monica’s interaction.
Kind of like as if it were a film, and last strip was a tight two-shot, today’s first panel was a close-up on Tina, and the second was the reverse shot, bringing Bud into the scene.
I’m also wondering if it’s not the lost little girl Jin, but that little girl from Bud’s nightmares — the possibility of her ghost existing was quite strongly implied here: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wallofplasma/ and the words echo how Tina just described Jin.
So can a golem with an empty core be haunted? Hmmm….
Jaw-dropping goosebumps… Tina’s no slouch in the power department either! That wall of flame behind her… *shudder!* I definitely would not want to be on her bad side –
Heh, bottom frame is Bud thinking, “OH $#!+” while Monica says, “Huh?” Looking at Bud’s eyes makes it seem as if she’s staring directly at Tina. She might be responding more to what she sees than what she hears. Does she recognize what is on Tina’s hand as something specific? I’m wondering if Tina was channeling something she saw in Jin. Or maybe Paul just thought it looked cool…
Tina’s hands could not possibly be any more awesome. An angry little girl inside of Jin could not possibly be any more frightening.
The Mega-Coolness continues.
Ah HA. “Poor baby, are you lost?” Oh, Shelllllllyyyyyy….
The Reference, by the way
A scarier version of the same question… and its aftermath…
(Oh – and an reference, a week earlier, to “Jin the time traveler“…)
@ Fairportfan: Your last link is to this page.
Another one: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/areyoulost/
Monica’s first sentence to Tina kills me: “That’s good right?” Of course, that’s ignoring the rest of what she said. She obviously is concerned. I probably would have run out of the building screaming, though.
OOps – was supposed to be this one. Must have goofed on the paste.
ooh good point. forgot about that scene and monica was drunk so she possibly wouldnt remember it.
It is all good. Jin has her mother back. She can help keep Jin all emotionally stable and stuff, right? Oh please, tell me I am right!
>> stands up and cheers <<
And now we see Tina 2.0 in all her glory! At least, that which she's willing to share!
Fabulous, Pablowapsi! This keeps getting better and better! (art and plot!)
Yes, indeed. Not one of Paul’s readers could have possibly seen this amazing, and powerful image coming. Always something unexpected. Tina’s eyes have changed dramatically as well. Of course I have no idea what it all means or why she got so metaphysical on us just to say that. Seems to be in a trance.
This would be a great image to shade and color and put up for sale. Maybe sell prints.
The change in Tina’s eyes may have something to do with the fact that she’s now got them on her palms. I had a flashback to the Pale Man in Pan’s Labyrinth… which was equally creepy.
Meanwhile, the eyes in Tina’s head have three pupils each. I think the entire committee is gathering at the picture windows to see Monica’s reaction first hand.
“Is she getting it? Is it sinking in?”
ARE you my mama? If i find mama, this can all end. It’s not ending. Make it stop. Mama ** Hooo, boy. Boiler room, rubber room, sssnake pit. How deep is this rabbit hole?
Here’s your decompression suit. You’re not on any blood thinning medication, are you?
Thanks, but too late. Have already jumped off the edge and deployed glider chute. On aspirin and standard HBP meds.
Wow… If I ever get a tattoo, it’s going to be THAT on my palms. Soo cool.
Is that a tattoo, or is it just something that is appearing in her palms for the moment?
“Talk to the hand”. Literally.
That would be the text for the T-Shirt Gunnr mentions below!
Yay!
Notice, as well, Tina’s eyes … everyone present and talking, all at once?
Bud is frightened, which I find more than a little unsettling, considering what we’ve seen of what she can do.
I don’t think she’s personally frightened, I think she’s afraid for humanity.
I think you’re right.
possibly both.
everytime one of them shows their power in a bad way (not calender-lump-booming-way) it reminds her (and them) that they arnt human and can and did distroy the planet.
“Notice, as well, Tina’s eyes … everyone present and talking, all at once?”
Maybe present, but not talking, I think. (I assume you mean Tina’s demons.) Paul said a few days ago (I think many people missed it) that when Tina talks in gray that means that one of the demons is talking without going through the filter of the demon committee. It may be that the other demons were trying to talk, too, but got shoved out the way by the talking demon.
Not only would the designs on Tina’s hands make such a cool tat — that whole image with the outline of her hands around the designs — like a set of magic handprints — That would be a knockout tat, with the designs in red, black and yellow (or else in henna color), with the outline of the hands in black. — maybe you should license the design —
That whole top panel minus the speech balloons, and rendered in color would make a great poster/print for your store — hint! -hint!
This was quite obvious. Jin. Humanity. Speaking of events from childhood. Powerful Jin. Human emotions. Mental frailties. Oh, and the three iris eyeballs and the hand-eyes… That just *screams* Fate. Awesome pic.
I see they still call Monica ‘Princess’. Jin’s psychology aside, that has to mean something.
Her demon Doubt callsl her “Queen” — More foreshadowning? After all, the demons must Never Get Control of the Chimera!
The GGs are still the 3 parts of that beast — what ever could possibly draw them together that might reunite them that way, hmmm? Protecting some one they love, maybe? Hmmm?
I don’t know of anything that would have caused them to not be bound to Monica, anymore. I think she can still control them. Monica decided to give them free reign, but she is still their boss. Of course, several characters have affectionate nicknames for Monica: Princess, Sunshine, Pumpkin.
I don’t know. I’ve always gotten the impression she is their boss as long as they allow her to be their boss. As long as they are reasonably sane and go along with the program. I doubt Monica can control one who has gone over the edge. for that she would need the assistance of the other two.
Actually, I was just replying to hewolf and trying to explain Bud still calling Monica “Princess”.
I agree that Tina called Jin “broken”, which implies Jin might not work right. The other issue is that even if Monica has the theoretical power to control Jin, she might not be familiar enough with the magic required to be able to do it correctly.
I guess this might be the other shoe?
So they’ve saved the world from utter destruction — only to land us all in an even bigger mess?
Shades of E.E. “Doc” Smith!
And as an added bonus – there’s no reset of time coming up. Blow it up this time and it’s for good.
Oh WOW! Those hands!! ’60s psychedelic flashbacks, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and the whole funky company!! Looks like there’s gonna be one wild ride comin’ on………..hold tight!
Whoa . Okay . Tina rulz .
Jin seems to be teetering on the edge. She’s thinking back to her encounters with Shelly & Tina in previous iterations of the present and that could be a positive thing. But it could also be a sign that she’s losing touch with reality and then present.
I definitely sensed that Jin had partially reverted to a child-like state, but I didn’t pick up on the anger that Tina sensed. On the other hand, Tina’s hands appear to be some sort of mirror reflection of the aura-like perception she had of Jin, and they’re pretty scary looking.
Seems like Bud, Brandi, & Jin’s mom need to find Jin a.s.a.p. to talk with her. I’m particularly worried for Jin’s boyfriend/Kevin’s friend, as he has a knack for pushing Jin’s buttons and that wouldn’t be a good choice right now.
p.s. – While searching for her boyfriend’s name (using the Random button), I came across this example of how much has changed and how much Bud has grown (back when she didn’t want to touch, let alone destroy, the Calendar Machine).
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/howpeoplegetburned/
Have you ever thought of selling a line of Waspi Gloves? I’m thinking that they’d sell. Maybe just the name, small, on the back, and that on the palms. We’ll all buy a pair to wear at the first Waspicon. When is that anyhow?
Gloves! That’s a great idea! All the coolness of the image with no pain.
I hadn’t thought of that. Well I guess you could always slam your hands in a door or something.
Wait, did you mean skipping the pain would be a good thing?
I bet 5 bucks that the little girl mentioned in todays comic is the one Bud has nightmares about.
Doubt that – the destruction that that little girl faced was caused by the chimera … and Jin was already a part of it.
Unless you mean that Jin is (even more than Bud) haunted by the ghost of that little girl. (And considering we’ve seen a sphinx and various other preternatural characters in this stirp, i suppose a ghost could well be a possibility.)
Does anyone else wonder if Monica’s encounter with wossname – the supermodel – will somehow tie in to the resolution of this story line?
I think the conversation with Georgette lead to Monica’s conversation with Tepoz about Monica’s relationship with her parents, but I doubt there is anything more to it than that.
I think Bud’s concern is that Jin is now like Bud and Brandi were immediately after the priest’s were done with them. They were angry girls with nothing to control them. Perhaps with Jin’s demons defeated, there is nothing to control Jin now. It’s strange to think of personal demons as preventing bad things, though.
Monica’s Doubt has said several times – truthfully, i think – that she is a necessary part of Monica’s persona.
Someone never has any doubt that they are right is a scary thing to contemplate … especially if they have Great Power.
True and it’s a good point. On the other hand, Bud, Brandi and Shelly don’t have personal demons. Personally, I don’t really like Paul’s model that you are (at least in Shelly’s case) guided by demons or a conscience, but not by both battling it out. Of course, any model is going to be too simplistic.
Re: possession by ghosts:
Scary thought: Jin’s demon was defeated (broken?) or at least very distracted in a temple with a special connection to the spirit world. If you are going to pick up a ghost, that would be one of the best places to do it.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wealthofknowledge/ and several strips before and after.
There’s this reference as well:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/areyoulost/
Ooo-eee!
The eyes … and the hands … and the eyes on the hands…
Wow, Tina just started shining through her skin.
Also, shouldn’t it be “an easily angered little girl…”?
I’d let it go. It’s something Tina might have said and I think it’s pretty clear what she meant. Saying “angered” implies something angered Jin. I think the way Paul wrote it make the anger seem more spontaneous on Jin’s part.
It’s grammatically correct, by the way. Adverbs can modify adjectives. The problem is that normally when “easily” is used that way, it means “certainly”, which isn’t the case here. Example: “easily the best choice”.
It always mean “with ease” – the construction you quote means “easier to justify than other choices”
I’m thinking that Tina may be showing Jin (or what she is afraid Jin might be) using her hands. Together, they look like a snake.
Hmm, it’s interesting that Bud suddenly appeared. I guess she sensed something bad near Monica. Normally, it was Jin who sensed things and suddenly appeared.
Nah, i think Bud walked in with Monica but Pablo didn’t show her to us last time because the focus of that page was strictly Tina and Monica’s interaction.
Kind of like as if it were a film, and last strip was a tight two-shot, today’s first panel was a close-up on Tina, and the second was the reverse shot, bringing Bud into the scene.
That picture of Tina honest to god made me swoon. /has nothing erudite to contribute.]
I see Gravatar has finally updated…
Paul – are Tina’s stigmata true mirror images? They seemed awfully symmetrical as i was colouring them.
I’m also wondering if it’s not the lost little girl Jin, but that little girl from Bud’s nightmares — the possibility of her ghost existing was quite strongly implied here: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/wallofplasma/ and the words echo how Tina just described Jin.
So can a golem with an empty core be haunted? Hmmm….
I was sort of thinking the same thing, really ….
I don’t thit it’s much of a spoiler to say that the little girl’s ghost is not around…
Jaw-dropping goosebumps… Tina’s no slouch in the power department either! That wall of flame behind her… *shudder!* I definitely would not want to be on her bad side –
Methinks Tina is far more observant than M and friends realize… http://wapsisquare.com/comic/holeathercore/
Well monica was kinda sharing her demons with Jin
Why not Shellys creepy little kid.
Poor jin i had hoped mum hugs and stuff would make her feel a little better 🙁
Crazy is as crazy does. All the hugs & stuff in the world can’t change that.
Wow!….just…wow!
Top frame: COOL
Bottom frame: OH $#!+
But, it’s Bud. I love Bud. *purrs*
Heh, bottom frame is Bud thinking, “OH $#!+” while Monica says, “Huh?” Looking at Bud’s eyes makes it seem as if she’s staring directly at Tina. She might be responding more to what she sees than what she hears. Does she recognize what is on Tina’s hand as something specific? I’m wondering if Tina was channeling something she saw in Jin. Or maybe Paul just thought it looked cool…
The palms of Tina’s hands and the image of Mother Mary behind Monica reminds me of this play I read in high school…
But seriously, are Tina’s hands on fire or are they like Vampire Hunter D’s left hand?
Who would have thought saving the world was only the start of the action?
Ooh , I can’t wait till the update .
“My eyes are down here!”
I would love to see a colorized version of this comic … especially the first panel.
the weirdness needle just snapped itself off against the post…
I’m a bit surprised no one has asked for a t-shirt or wallpaper for that first panel. So I shall say it. Because it would be wicked.
I’ve heard of talking with your hands, but SEEING with them???