Some people took this strip as a hint that Maya was using the time machine to try to fix Jin. I don’t think that would explain why so many VIPs were present when it was activated, though, or why it would have been such a threat to the priests. Also Phix implied that Jin was present just out of curiosity. Still, it may have been a side-effect, intentional or otherwise.
I think that this is actually the second time that Jin said that the calendar machine had been helping her (or maybe Monica said that Jin said that). I’m not sure where to look, though.
It could be that Jin is wrong. I still think that the most likely way for her to pick up the ghost was by going to the temple to destroy the time machine. She might think that destroying the machine made her revert, even though it was something else that happened simultaneously.
In which case I wonder if the only significance of that strip was the fact that it’s the first appearance of glyph speak/thought and that the Orion constellation was a common denominator in the two ancient pyramid building cultures that seemed to have a connection to the chimera.
The entire outline definitely looks like Kokopeli to me. Orion’s belt is in there (at about the knee part of Kokopeli). I’m going to have to watch for Orion this fall and see if that Kokopeli outline is there too … that would be too cool
I posted a comment on that strip – it looked sooooo lonely sitting there with no comments. 🙁
Sorry Ces I didn’t see your comment. I guess I should read all the way through before I post. At least someone else is thinking like me, or vice versa. 😉
If you remember, it was revealed earlier in this story arc that after the calendar machine was destroyed, she “became as she once was”. She had some pretty nasty mental issues before the calendar machine was built and set into motion. Also remember that her memories weren’t erased every time the calendar machine reset itself like the other Golem Girls, so she’s had 50-odd times about 1400 years worth of time and experience to overcome whatever problems she’d had–until now.
Therapy? “Zo you zhay you are a clay doll that haz been animated, ya? One Zecond while I get my Net, zhis has been most beneficial in zhee country of Belgium.”
I don’t see making it through the first session without several broken “physical therapists” attempting to “assist’ her.
Was the calendar machine helping through it’s operation or was it the mission to “fix” it that helped (by the fact that she had a mission)? Did the fact that she lived the last few (from her perspective) years over and over again help? Was it some combination of the avove?
The sphinx monument that they are sitting on was actually an image of the chimera that the GG’s become when united. This monument was a warning marker. I believe the comic(s) explaining it was linked in the comments a couple of pages back.
Interesting. Jin isn’t in denial – even though “de Nile” is close at hand (yeah, I know, bad pun, I’m sorry) – by not refuting Bud’s comment she’s admitting her mental troubles and fear and acknowledging she’s a danger. The problem is, facing up to the truth doesn’t help much, since there’s no clear way to change this situation and fix herself.
And Bud’s body language goes from cautious to casual suprisingly fast, here. The GGG have been together so long they probably know each other as well as they know themselves.
…And I somehow guessed that was going to come out of Jin’s mouth at some point.
The Calendar Machine was all that was keeping her focused (and, therefore, sane); now that it’s gone, all that she has left is what she is – an indestructible golem with memories of eons of lifetimes.
As i remarked about a local store-owner who is somewhat to the right of Rush, “When Alex and i are talking, it’s a conversation between two psychotics. But only one of us knows it.” (Hi. Ray!”)
Often knowing you’re a bit off the beam is enough to keep from going completely into the weeds.
Totally off topic, but I was browsing the archives and ran across this: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/06182004/
It appears she pointed her bra before she even knew about poiting.
Hey gang. Good to be back. Finally have a compy with internet again, after some rat-bastard boot-sector virus fragged my desktop’s harddrive. I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THE ORIGIN STORY ISSUE OF CRIMSON MANTIS! There is a special hell for people who live to spoil other people’s lives.
You should totally check out my blog, and see if maybe linux is right for you. Most distros are almost completely virus-proof. The latest version of Linux Mint (v 10, codename “Julia”) can be installed to a windows partition; it’s called Mint4Win. There’s a bit of a performance hit compared to installing it to a linux partition, but less risk of data loss.
I love jin.
Oh, no. The calendar machine was actually working somewhat as Mayahuel intended? I had thought it was a total failure in that regard.
I think it was more that the calendar machine was Jin’s crutch. It gave her areason to live. She’s not had a real internal motivation to keep going.
Some people took this strip as a hint that Maya was using the time machine to try to fix Jin. I don’t think that would explain why so many VIPs were present when it was activated, though, or why it would have been such a threat to the priests. Also Phix implied that Jin was present just out of curiosity. Still, it may have been a side-effect, intentional or otherwise.
I think that this is actually the second time that Jin said that the calendar machine had been helping her (or maybe Monica said that Jin said that). I’m not sure where to look, though.
It could be that Jin is wrong. I still think that the most likely way for her to pick up the ghost was by going to the temple to destroy the time machine. She might think that destroying the machine made her revert, even though it was something else that happened simultaneously.
I think I was thinking about the page immediately before the one I linked to:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/psychological-imperfections/
Hmmm. ‘at this time’…? My interest is piqued!
Yep . Answering a question , with a question .
Well, that’s anticlimactic. The cold breath thing went nowhere.
Well, considering that today’s strip is a callback to December 2005, it may very well pay off sometime around 2015…
That quickly? Well, Paul did say (in an interview?) that this arc would be shorter than the last one. 🙂
Then again, I’m still wondering about this strip:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/03062004/
Is that Orion in the strip you linked?
It most certainly is.
In which case I wonder if the only significance of that strip was the fact that it’s the first appearance of glyph speak/thought and that the Orion constellation was a common denominator in the two ancient pyramid building cultures that seemed to have a connection to the chimera.
I know the stars are Orion’s belt, however the outline reminds me of this guy: kokopelli.
Well, actually, the belt is just the three bright stars in a line a little below the center.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orion_(constellation)#Belt
The entire outline definitely looks like Kokopeli to me. Orion’s belt is in there (at about the knee part of Kokopeli). I’m going to have to watch for Orion this fall and see if that Kokopeli outline is there too … that would be too cool
I posted a comment on that strip – it looked sooooo lonely sitting there with no comments. 🙁
And DANGIT! I keep dropping one of the “L’s”. Pfui!
Huh. I thought it was Kokopelli when I first saw it.
Sorry Ces I didn’t see your comment. I guess I should read all the way through before I post. At least someone else is thinking like me, or vice versa. 😉
I don’t see Kokopelli at all when I look at it. Then again, I’m much more familiar with constellations than I am with Kokopelli images.
Answering questions with questions seems somehow appropriate when sitting atop a sphinx.
True, but then, shouldn’t the question/response be in the form of a riddle?
If you remember, it was revealed earlier in this story arc that after the calendar machine was destroyed, she “became as she once was”. She had some pretty nasty mental issues before the calendar machine was built and set into motion. Also remember that her memories weren’t erased every time the calendar machine reset itself like the other Golem Girls, so she’s had 50-odd times about 1400 years worth of time and experience to overcome whatever problems she’d had–until now.
Yeah, but still, you’d think that many years of therapy might have done some good…
Therapy? “Zo you zhay you are a clay doll that haz been animated, ya? One Zecond while I get my Net, zhis has been most beneficial in zhee country of Belgium.”
I don’t see making it through the first session without several broken “physical therapists” attempting to “assist’ her.
Was the calendar machine helping through it’s operation or was it the mission to “fix” it that helped (by the fact that she had a mission)? Did the fact that she lived the last few (from her perspective) years over and over again help? Was it some combination of the avove?
‘Twas the journey that was all that kept her sane.
I suspect it’s more than that as there was a mysterious reference to being as she was before.
Hmm, curiouser and curiouser… This is why I love this comic; it actually takes thinking to keep up with!
Wait, warning marker??
yep thats what i got stuck on too….I actually read it twice to make sure thats what it said….hmm
The sphinx monument that they are sitting on was actually an image of the chimera that the GG’s become when united. This monument was a warning marker. I believe the comic(s) explaining it was linked in the comments a couple of pages back.
Ah ha! 🙂 Here it is!
And I just hunted that down and was about to mount it on the wall!
Interesting. Jin isn’t in denial – even though “de Nile” is close at hand (yeah, I know, bad pun, I’m sorry) – by not refuting Bud’s comment she’s admitting her mental troubles and fear and acknowledging she’s a danger. The problem is, facing up to the truth doesn’t help much, since there’s no clear way to change this situation and fix herself.
And Bud’s body language goes from cautious to casual suprisingly fast, here. The GGG have been together so long they probably know each other as well as they know themselves.
…And I somehow guessed that was going to come out of Jin’s mouth at some point.
The Calendar Machine was all that was keeping her focused (and, therefore, sane); now that it’s gone, all that she has left is what she is – an indestructible golem with memories of eons of lifetimes.
Great job on Bud’s expression in panel one! She’s my all time favorite . . . until something else cool happens or Monica wears the 8 ball.
Since they’re on top of the Sphinx, Phix needs to show up with a shotgun, yelling, “I told you kids to get off my yard! Oh, it’s you two.”
No, it would be Bud’s, Jin’s and Brandi’s yard, if it were anyone’s. It’s about them, not Phix. See a few comments up.
Yeah, a lot of people feel lost without their PDA.
Honestly, I think it’s time for all involved to get together and say, “The Big Cosmic Clockwork Xerox is over and done. What do we do now?”
Jin took being called mentally unstable quite well.
That’s because she has readily admitted that she is, right here: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/i-feel-frightened/
As i remarked about a local store-owner who is somewhat to the right of Rush, “When Alex and i are talking, it’s a conversation between two psychotics. But only one of us knows it.” (Hi. Ray!”)
Often knowing you’re a bit off the beam is enough to keep from going completely into the weeds.
Ah, yes. The old “block your ears while buying comics on Wednesday” store. 🙂 And this before iPods and the like were around.
Totally off topic, but I was browsing the archives and ran across this: http://wapsisquare.com/comic/06182004/
It appears she pointed her bra before she even knew about poiting.
That’s just like the Charlie Brown comics where he loses all his clothes when the batter hits the ball past him so fast.
http://www.collectpeanuts.com/Collection/Images/Fabric/IMG_1519.jpg
No poiting required.
Could be, but from under her top and with the clasp still fastened?
Classic application of Roger Rabbit’s Law of Jocularity.
I’m not so sure about that. There were a few times in 2004 where you really can’t know what Paul was thinking.
Utterly off topic but Ive been rereading the comic and I just realized how long its been since we’ve seen Owen.
Hey gang. Good to be back. Finally have a compy with internet again, after some rat-bastard boot-sector virus fragged my desktop’s harddrive. I CAN’T BELIEVE I MISSED THE ORIGIN STORY ISSUE OF CRIMSON MANTIS! There is a special hell for people who live to spoil other people’s lives.
You should totally check out my blog, and see if maybe linux is right for you. Most distros are almost completely virus-proof. The latest version of Linux Mint (v 10, codename “Julia”) can be installed to a windows partition; it’s called Mint4Win. There’s a bit of a performance hit compared to installing it to a linux partition, but less risk of data loss.