Well according to Tsillah her official name to the denizens of the Wapsiverse (paranormal community) is The Companion. (and I coded that to open in another window, if it doesn’t then ComicPress strips out some HTML)
It’s one thing for Shelly to be Ah-day Mah-tawn (only girl) in her family, but to be one in the forest, trying to fight off other spinxes before her own power devloped, having to meet herself over and over, could have broken her completely, without Connie keeping watch over her.
Looking at those two, chillin’ in the clockwald, makes me want to bring them chocolate milk and warm sugar cookies.
Yup. Connie’s role and very existence is one of the subtle things I love about this part of the story.
Connie is there to protect Shelly, only because Shelly actually tampered with her own past… she told Nudge to lure her younger self into the wilderness on vision quest, to nearly die (and thus create Connie who would later protect her).
What if Shelly had acted differently? She could have “tampered differently” and told Nudge nothing, or to take some other action…which might have changed history significantly. Even a slight change to the timeline and her life’s path could have blocked the Calendar Machine solution and allowed another time loop to occur, or allowed Shelly to not be around to pick up the Artifact and be pulled into the Forest (even a simple warning by Nudge would have been enough).
Seems to me that Shelly may have been in a position where she could have “cheated fate” and avoided her own long exile… and chose not to do so because it could create a paradox or because the cost to others would be too high. Instead, she voluntarily accepted the price, confirmed her own fate, and did only what was necessary to ensure her own survival (sending Nudge) and no more.
If that’s actually the case (if that’s what Paul had been thinking)… it’s definitely heroic!
I wonder… if enough people make with the big puppy-dog eyes and ask nicely, can you run off a few giclée prints at the full size of the original? I think this one really deserves the full resolution…
I just noticed that Connie’s thighs are a bit chunky for a girl of her physical maturity, Paul has gotten too used to drawing curvy women to draw kids. Funny thing about it is back before they fixed the CM her legs were in correct proportion for her age. “And the pixie with the rack puts up with you , how?”
Oh my love, my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch
A long lonely time,
And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love,
I need your love
God speed your love to me.
Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea,
To the open arms of the sea, yeah!
Lonely rivers sigh “wait for me, wait for me”
I’ll be coming home,
Wait for me.
Randy Scouse Git (Alternative Title), which has two titles (one because the BBC refused to play it under the original) and neither appears in the song…
I would gladly, if nothing else, shell out a couple bucks just to get this as a high-res DL for wallpaper purposes. Any chance this one might be made a donation prize? Have you been doing that sort of thing?
(yeah yeah, click and find out … I plan to, but the wife is on mandatory layoff and just had dental surgery … budget is tight for the next 4 weeks >.< so I'm making a list of stuff to go after later heh)
On a related note – when reviewing mythology links recently, I ran across mention that some of the ancient Greek writers held that the original Sphinx (also known as “Phix”), and the original Chimaera, were both the children of the storm-giant Typhoeus (a.k.a. “Typhon”), and a snake/woman monster named Echidna.
Remember the drink Shelly ordered, and then spilled, in the Cerberus Bar? Yup… an Echidna martini.
I had assumed that the drink was named for the modern echidna (spiny ant-eater). I think not… Paul was flexing his mythologies again, perhaps in a subtle foreshadowing of Shelly’s nature?
spiNy… not spiCy… though that put a weird mental image into my mind: you buy one of them at the counter, and they give it to you wrapped up in it’s packaging, then when you get it back to the table and start unwrapping it, these huge spines come shooting out like a puffer fish, because you surprised it by undoing the wrapper, and you have to wait for it to relax again before you can eat it… like i told you weird, huh?
Also since the name of the club is a reference to mythology (as was the nature of the girls) I kinda always figured that the name of the drink was to say it was “The Mother of all Martinis”
I had a feeling you folks would really like this… I’m glad to see that you did!
We’re really lucky with Wapsi Square. The esteemed Mr. Taylor has created some wonderful characters and an amazing story-line with really deep roots.
When I decided I wanted to commission a Wapsi drawing (thank you Joe Minotaur!), I thought up a few horrid pun-scenes, but I kept coming back to this part of the story. A true hero’s journey… one of the most gripping I’ve read in years… not for wealth, or glory, or power, but to help a friend and perhaps save the world (again). Joseph Campbell would surely recognize Shelly Wahnee… she’s the Hero with a Thousand Faces, tastefully dressed in kickboxing briefs.
How to capture the spirit of it in a drawing? Thousands of years of loss, loneliness, isolation, self-doubt, unique self-sacrifice(s)… growth and change… and companionship, and hope. A heavy price paid, and great understanding gained. All in one wordless image.
Quite impossible, of course. Unfair of me even to ask. But I did, and Paul accepted the challenge.
Paul, what can I say? You rock! It’s absolutely gorgeous. Thank you again, both on my own behalf, and on that of everybody who gets to share in the rich experience of the Wapsi Square story.
On behalf of a grateful Wapsiverse, you are now offically entitled to 5 minutes in the pun vault and may leave with all you can carry out the door – once.
Atomic – I’ll second that – and perhaps allow 2 trips of 5 minutes . Dave has certainly been a large contributor to the vault the last few months. Getting this done for all of us to enjoy makes up for a lot of verbal pun anquish !
this made me cry the good tears, and it so very much needed to be there to commemorate shelly’s time in the forest. thank you for commisioning it, and many many kudos to paul for nailing it dead on.
*gives y’al both a gen-u-ine texas-sized hug* (i cant *quite* compete with monica or eurayle, but chesticles of that grandeur just dont come along every day!)
I’m talking about her as she has been depicted as a sphinx, not as a human. We’ve never seen her breasts clearly in human form, but have seen them in full view as a sphinx fairly often, and they were never shown that long or full at any time.
Shelly’s chest muscles are huge, they are taking up most of the space behind her boobs. They’re pressed together and only look bigger from being squished. I also wanted to hide the nipples, just for modesty, and that makes them look larger. Don’t have a cow.
A simple and appropriate solution to tastefully solve a pose problem. While standing, the breasts can be over the top or the crossed arms can be on top. When lying on one’s stomach and elbows, the arms would tend to be in front of the breasts anyway.
Actually, no, that’s just Paul being playful and giving you a poke in the ribs – if you took it as rude then you might want to go back and read the comments sections in the archives. When Paul means to be rude, you will KNOW it.
I’ve still got burns on my face from reading some of them and they weren’t even aimed at ME …
Glad you commisioned this one Dave. Paul captures the “Sage of the Time Forrest” and “Sister of the Companion” in all her isolated glory. This one picture brings home what Shelly was for all those eons in the Forrest. This is how the rest of the Wapsiverse’s supernatural community must see Shelly. Wise, regal and remote. She’s a legend to them, which explains all the gushing from Erayle and Tsilla. It’s a marked contrast to her return to her once and future life.
Dave,
Too many emotions goin’ down to list! Awesome idea, awesome results! I framed the commission I got last year, you should too.
Glad I was able to inspire you to do this.
Thanks, Joe! Yes, it’s definitely being framed – it’s at the shop now. The drawing arrived this morning… wow. Paul’s work is incredible up close… the soft markers, crisp fine pen work, and the subtle detailing and highlighting with a light ink over dark.
I second your comment from back in August… a custom work by Paul is something really, really special. And, it supports the strip, and lots of people get to enjoy it… everybody wins! 🙂
Kate’s been watching a lot of “Big Cat Diary” on YouTube, lately, and something that was mentioned the other day is that all cats – domestic and wild – have what the narrator called “tear lines” (and i’ve always called “clown lines”) at the outer corner of their eyes – they’re more visible on tabbies, but all cats have them if you look closely enough.
That’s the worst part of being a new reader. You stumble across Wapsi somwhere on the net, like it, and start rolling through the archives. The revelations come fast and furious as you watch the characters tumble through thier lives. You begin to silently curse the gods of the internet when a click of the “next” button leads to a slow loading and you have to wait seconds or *gasp* even MINUTES for the next page to load. Then comes that fateful moment. The hour when you realize that the “next” button isn’t lit. That there ISN’T another comic up. That you’ll have to wait for the update to get your fix. You’ll become one of those shambling creatures that escews sleep muttering, “It should update in a few minutes.” You’ll wish your precious weekends away because of a friday Cliffhanger. Welcome to the world of the Wapsi fan. May God have mercy on your soul.
Except, lately the “cliffhangers” arrive on tuesdays, and the rest of the week is now filler. At least that has been the pattern for the past few months…
Connie and Shellynx! Yeah!
Did I miss something? When was she named Connie?
Officially, I don’t think she’s been given a name yet.
We call her Connie as short for Conscience.
Oh, I get it!
I got stuck at ‘Creepy Little Girl’…
Ditto.
Well according to Tsillah her official name to the denizens of the Wapsiverse (paranormal community) is The Companion. (and I coded that to open in another window, if it doesn’t then ComicPress strips out some HTML)
Which brings us full circle back to CG only now it’s ‘Companion Girl’ instead of ‘Creepy Girl’.
It’s one thing for Shelly to be Ah-day Mah-tawn (only girl) in her family, but to be one in the forest, trying to fight off other spinxes before her own power devloped, having to meet herself over and over, could have broken her completely, without Connie keeping watch over her.
Looking at those two, chillin’ in the clockwald, makes me want to bring them chocolate milk and warm sugar cookies.
Yup. Connie’s role and very existence is one of the subtle things I love about this part of the story.
Connie is there to protect Shelly, only because Shelly actually tampered with her own past… she told Nudge to lure her younger self into the wilderness on vision quest, to nearly die (and thus create Connie who would later protect her).
What if Shelly had acted differently? She could have “tampered differently” and told Nudge nothing, or to take some other action…which might have changed history significantly. Even a slight change to the timeline and her life’s path could have blocked the Calendar Machine solution and allowed another time loop to occur, or allowed Shelly to not be around to pick up the Artifact and be pulled into the Forest (even a simple warning by Nudge would have been enough).
Seems to me that Shelly may have been in a position where she could have “cheated fate” and avoided her own long exile… and chose not to do so because it could create a paradox or because the cost to others would be too high. Instead, she voluntarily accepted the price, confirmed her own fate, and did only what was necessary to ensure her own survival (sending Nudge) and no more.
If that’s actually the case (if that’s what Paul had been thinking)… it’s definitely heroic!
Aww, so sweet.
This one is mine! Ebay or not!
Sorry, guy, this is mine.
We SHALL see…
GET in line, you two… it starts back there! (Gestures behind…)
Sorry guys, this was a commission and has already been bought and paid for. =) You can certainly buy the print of this pic if you like. ^_^
I wonder… if enough people make with the big puppy-dog eyes and ask nicely, can you run off a few giclée prints at the full size of the original? I think this one really deserves the full resolution…
Sign me up for print #2 …
Atomic,
I have ordered my print, you?
Beautiful piece Paul.
I agree. A most outstanding piece.
Seconded. Wonderful.
I just noticed that Connie’s thighs are a bit chunky for a girl of her physical maturity, Paul has gotten too used to drawing curvy women to draw kids. Funny thing about it is back before they fixed the CM her legs were in correct proportion for her age. “And the pixie with the rack puts up with you , how?”
And that link was supposed to open in a new tab/window, sorry dudes.
She’s sitting down. I don’t care of your age of fitness level, when you sit down your legs always ‘look’ bigger.
Especialy when her thighs are flattened out against what she’s sitting on.
True.
She is sitting, which flattens the thigh, and her thighs are foreshortened by perspective.
Excuse me — I’d like a few minutes alone with myself….
I think you meant to say:
“I’ll be in my bunk.”
😀
(humming “She’s Waiting” by Eric Clapton)
Oh my love, my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch
A long lonely time,
And time goes by so slowly
And time can do so much,
Are you still mine?
I need your love,
I need your love
God speed your love to me.
Lonely rivers flow to the sea, to the sea,
To the open arms of the sea, yeah!
Lonely rivers sigh “wait for me, wait for me”
I’ll be coming home,
Wait for me.
I like the song BUT…..
The title doesn’t appear in the lyrics.
Name another song that does that.
OK…. OTHER than “The Christmas Song”.
(which actually has the words ‘Christmas’ and ‘Song’.)
Uh, “Key West Intermezzo?”
List of them at http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NonAppearingTitle (sorry, I have yet to figure out how to make a link work here).
Except that I somehow just did so without even trying.
Are gremlins part of the Wapsiverse? (Yet?)
If you just drop the link into the comment box as text, it automatically linkifies it. Otherwise you have to use the html format for links.
Which is:
(a href=”Linkystuffhere.abc”)Text You Want As Link(/a)
except you use pointy parens and not round ones. Remember, you need the two tick quote marks also!
Bohemian Rhapsody would be the first one that comes to mind…
Nah. There’s no escape from reality. Open your eyes!
Look up to the skies, and see….
I’m just a griffin, I need no sympathy
now THERE’S a lovely earworm to start the day! *wanders off happily, humming*
“Baba O’Riley” by The Who! Everyone always thinks that song is called “Teenage Wasteland”.
Randy Scouse Git (Alternative Title), which has two titles (one because the BBC refused to play it under the original) and neither appears in the song…
I got no money for Ebay (or much else), but this one’s going in the wallpaper collection!
This is going to be my new PS3 wallpaper so I can enjoy it on the big screen.
Yeah!
Breathless
Beautiful picture.
Soft heart-felt wow – goosebumps!
Beautiful, beautiful Art, Paul!
Absolutely amazing work!
This week’s cliffhanger is….
Will Monica and Jin be magically de-brused by Monday?
hey, the application of heavy makeup can cover a LOT of sins!!! 🙂
Shelly should do it.
“Time heals all wounds.”
“Awe c’mon… just one little ride, it’ll be fun!”
That is just…wow!
OH, that *IS* Lovely! Please tell me that will be available as a print? Pretty PLEEEEEAASE?!?!?
oh yes, I concur !!!
I would gladly, if nothing else, shell out a couple bucks just to get this as a high-res DL for wallpaper purposes. Any chance this one might be made a donation prize? Have you been doing that sort of thing?
(yeah yeah, click and find out … I plan to, but the wife is on mandatory layoff and just had dental surgery … budget is tight for the next 4 weeks >.< so I'm making a list of stuff to go after later heh)
I second that request. My computer at home needs a new wallpaper, and this would be fantastic!
It seems to me that Shelinx neck is way too long! But, seeing as she IS a Sphinx, and she can probably lick herself… I’ll allow it.
I see the tufts of hair on Shellynx’s tail, but is that a barb/stinger there as well!?
Caught my eye, too. Definitely a stinger.
As if she wasn’t deadly enough just as she is already…
If you look at all the depictions of both Phix and Shelly as Sphinxes, the barb/stinger is there, just depicted with less detail.
Here’s an example of Phix’s. She appears to have two barbs.
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/igotnothing/
I always just thought those were tufts of hair…
It’s the waiting that’s the hard part.
Worse: once you’ve waited your 1500 years, you have to do it all over again. 50+ times.
Spiked tails are a noted characteristic of manticores (Persian in origin), as opposed to/related to the Greek or Egyptian sphinx.
Perhaps in the Wapsiverse both stories are derived from the same creatures?
Could certainly be!
On a related note – when reviewing mythology links recently, I ran across mention that some of the ancient Greek writers held that the original Sphinx (also known as “Phix”), and the original Chimaera, were both the children of the storm-giant Typhoeus (a.k.a. “Typhon”), and a snake/woman monster named Echidna.
Remember the drink Shelly ordered, and then spilled, in the Cerberus Bar? Yup… an Echidna martini.
I had assumed that the drink was named for the modern echidna (spiny ant-eater). I think not… Paul was flexing his mythologies again, perhaps in a subtle foreshadowing of Shelly’s nature?
If they have spiky tails, does that make them spiny echidnas? (Not “Spiny enchiladas” as my spell check prefers.)
[Just for that, I’ll drop several spiny enchiladas into the pun jar.]
Mmmmmmm, spiny enchiladas…drool
spiNy… not spiCy… though that put a weird mental image into my mind: you buy one of them at the counter, and they give it to you wrapped up in it’s packaging, then when you get it back to the table and start unwrapping it, these huge spines come shooting out like a puffer fish, because you surprised it by undoing the wrapper, and you have to wait for it to relax again before you can eat it… like i told you weird, huh?
I imagine that there are predators in Australia, which occasionally mutter to themselves Mamma mia! That’s-a one spiny meatball!
(for the younger readers… google the phrase “spicy meatball”… it’s on YouTube)
It’s really amazing beyond proper words to find others out there with as weird an imagination as I have. . . .
Considering that Echinda is also known as “The Mother of all Monsters” in the modern take on mythology it increases the stakes.
Also since the name of the club is a reference to mythology (as was the nature of the girls) I kinda always figured that the name of the drink was to say it was “The Mother of all Martinis”
Big sister, Little sister.
But no Big Daddy? Thank God!
I had a feeling you folks would really like this… I’m glad to see that you did!
We’re really lucky with Wapsi Square. The esteemed Mr. Taylor has created some wonderful characters and an amazing story-line with really deep roots.
When I decided I wanted to commission a Wapsi drawing (thank you Joe Minotaur!), I thought up a few horrid pun-scenes, but I kept coming back to this part of the story. A true hero’s journey… one of the most gripping I’ve read in years… not for wealth, or glory, or power, but to help a friend and perhaps save the world (again). Joseph Campbell would surely recognize Shelly Wahnee… she’s the Hero with a Thousand Faces, tastefully dressed in kickboxing briefs.
How to capture the spirit of it in a drawing? Thousands of years of loss, loneliness, isolation, self-doubt, unique self-sacrifice(s)… growth and change… and companionship, and hope. A heavy price paid, and great understanding gained. All in one wordless image.
Quite impossible, of course. Unfair of me even to ask. But I did, and Paul accepted the challenge.
Paul, what can I say? You rock! It’s absolutely gorgeous. Thank you again, both on my own behalf, and on that of everybody who gets to share in the rich experience of the Wapsi Square story.
Numfar – do the Dance of Honor!
Thank you!
On behalf of a grateful Wapsiverse, you are now offically entitled to 5 minutes in the pun vault and may leave with all you can carry out the door – once.
Good luck!
Atomic – I’ll second that – and perhaps allow 2 trips of 5 minutes . Dave has certainly been a large contributor to the vault the last few months. Getting this done for all of us to enjoy makes up for a lot of verbal pun anquish !
Carry how? Does he have to walk? Because if I recall correctly, there’s at least one automobile in there… 😉
Are you saying he’ll be driven out of the Pun Vault in his Fury?
The Pun Jar is looking for your wallet. 🙂
Better yet – I’ll fly back out, in that futuristic car/plane hybrid that somebody donated a while ago. I think it’s a Plymouth Roc.
(*clinkclink*)
this made me cry the good tears, and it so very much needed to be there to commemorate shelly’s time in the forest. thank you for commisioning it, and many many kudos to paul for nailing it dead on.
*gives y’al both a gen-u-ine texas-sized hug* (i cant *quite* compete with monica or eurayle, but chesticles of that grandeur just dont come along every day!)
Dave, thanks for commissioning it, and thanks, Paul, for doing such a beautiful job.
I’m sorry, I can’t stop staring at Shellynx’s bewbs. Whoja-what now?
They do seem to be a bit much. They weren’t that large in any of the comics.
Breasts always look larger when arms are crossed pressing them together. Just sayin’.
Yes, that’s so, but they have never hung down that much in any of the other pics. They were pretty close to the chest in comparison.
Her neck was never that long, either.
I suspect that she’s proportioned differently as a sphinx than as a human.
I’m talking about her as she has been depicted as a sphinx, not as a human. We’ve never seen her breasts clearly in human form, but have seen them in full view as a sphinx fairly often, and they were never shown that long or full at any time.
Shelly’s chest muscles are huge, they are taking up most of the space behind her boobs. They’re pressed together and only look bigger from being squished. I also wanted to hide the nipples, just for modesty, and that makes them look larger. Don’t have a cow.
A cow? That’s pretty rude. I just made an observation. I guess that’s not wanted here.
A simple and appropriate solution to tastefully solve a pose problem. While standing, the breasts can be over the top or the crossed arms can be on top. When lying on one’s stomach and elbows, the arms would tend to be in front of the breasts anyway.
Actually, no, that’s just Paul being playful and giving you a poke in the ribs – if you took it as rude then you might want to go back and read the comments sections in the archives. When Paul means to be rude, you will KNOW it.
I’ve still got burns on my face from reading some of them and they weren’t even aimed at ME …
I would never stoop to having a cow–but they look like they could easily have a cow as a light snack.
Glad you commisioned this one Dave. Paul captures the “Sage of the Time Forrest” and “Sister of the Companion” in all her isolated glory. This one picture brings home what Shelly was for all those eons in the Forrest. This is how the rest of the Wapsiverse’s supernatural community must see Shelly. Wise, regal and remote. She’s a legend to them, which explains all the gushing from Erayle and Tsilla. It’s a marked contrast to her return to her once and future life.
Well done Dave. A perfect idea for a commission and Paul’s amazing artwork brings out it’s true beauty.
Dave,
Too many emotions goin’ down to list! Awesome idea, awesome results! I framed the commission I got last year, you should too.
Glad I was able to inspire you to do this.
Puns? You dare to talk of PUNS?
Do you think that the trees in the Lucky Charms Forrest would be…”Magically Deciduous”?
Groan…
I think you need to make a Pun Jar donation of some gold leaf, for that one.
Thanks, Joe! Yes, it’s definitely being framed – it’s at the shop now. The drawing arrived this morning… wow. Paul’s work is incredible up close… the soft markers, crisp fine pen work, and the subtle detailing and highlighting with a light ink over dark.
I second your comment from back in August… a custom work by Paul is something really, really special. And, it supports the strip, and lots of people get to enjoy it… everybody wins! 🙂
Kate’s been watching a lot of “Big Cat Diary” on YouTube, lately, and something that was mentioned the other day is that all cats – domestic and wild – have what the narrator called “tear lines” (and i’ve always called “clown lines”) at the outer corner of their eyes – they’re more visible on tabbies, but all cats have them if you look closely enough.
I finally caught up to todays comic! it took me a year but yea! love this comic! 😀
Holy crap, I’m caught up?
NNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
=( now I have to wait for more =(
That’s the worst part of being a new reader. You stumble across Wapsi somwhere on the net, like it, and start rolling through the archives. The revelations come fast and furious as you watch the characters tumble through thier lives. You begin to silently curse the gods of the internet when a click of the “next” button leads to a slow loading and you have to wait seconds or *gasp* even MINUTES for the next page to load. Then comes that fateful moment. The hour when you realize that the “next” button isn’t lit. That there ISN’T another comic up. That you’ll have to wait for the update to get your fix. You’ll become one of those shambling creatures that escews sleep muttering, “It should update in a few minutes.” You’ll wish your precious weekends away because of a friday Cliffhanger. Welcome to the world of the Wapsi fan. May God have mercy on your soul.
Except, lately the “cliffhangers” arrive on tuesdays, and the rest of the week is now filler. At least that has been the pattern for the past few months…
I love it!
YEAY!!! I knew the artist would fulfill my request for some sphinx shelly!
I’ve always thought Shelly is a cute character, and she makes an even more GORGEOUS Sphinx!
Are those really stingers? I’ve always felt that stingers were for injecting venom. Those look more like the spines on the tail of a stegosaurus.
Looks like we’re still in the feline appeasement mode with the Sphinx intermission ‘paws’ with this story…
It’s still a nice picture.