I wish it were next: Tuesdaaaaay aaafternooooOOn so we could be discussing what happens next aka Monday’s strip… darn you cliff Hanger Fridays! Are drinks half price at least???
And if it is Tuesday afternoon does that make Shelly a Knight in white satire? Never seeing the rend? She may not make it to Rendsday if that sphinx hits her. The floor is open to any and all… I leaf the puns about the tree to you!
tho shelly has a bigger and sharper weapon than david but still ^^
but what the heck is that sphynx issue with her.
shelly has been saying she hasn’t a clue whats happening almost constantly. hasn’t she been listening??
phixx always seemed so smart but maybe thats the librarys influence. maybe when she first got there she needed to be hit with a clue-by-4 also…
Chances are the sphinx remembers her from one of the before eras and she has done things that the sphinx has said. Basically the sphinx knows what she’s going to do even if Shelly doesn’t.
how can we have a before era? This is the first trip through that the calendar machine was fixed, so time has just been looping before they reached the “what is after fixing the machine?”
Right. That’s how I see it too. That may be the crucial difference this time around. In all the other loops, Jin would still be stable at this point so they would probably not be looking for a cure for her right then. Shelly would have still been in this situation, but not with any thought of helping anyone. She would just be here because of the of the discovery of the artifact and her touching it. IOW, her motive for being there would not have been altrusic, but one of hapstance. In those times she had no real directive so she made the wrong choice at some point and died. Heck, all those bones may have been hers. This time, however, she is on a mission to help Jin, looking for something in particular, and that could make all the difference in outcome.
Not necessarily. As long as the Calender Machine was functional Jin stayed sane (sort of), there was no need to go on an artifact hunt OR Shelly to risk monkeying around with something of unknown properties. I suspect this is the first time through for this particular scenario.
Well, the artifact came to them. They didn’t have to hunt it, or even be looking for it. Also, it seemed to everyone that Shelly could handle it without harm, so they tried it again. For all we know all this could be taking place in just a second of real time so it’s possible no one was even worried yet. And there is the fact the sphinx said Shelly had shown up in less than a cycle “when she was there last” indicating she had been doing it each cycle but may have been a bit early this time. Assuming the sphinx was referring to the CM cycles. Regardless, she had definitely been in this situation before.
That’s what I was thinking, but it just occurred to me Shelly would have to still be around in 2012 to do her part in the (failed) “fixing” of the CM. Unless her death caused them to find someone else like Lakshmi. That’s unlikely also since only Shelly has other characteristics that will be needed, like being a doorway.
Thinking about it further though, it could also be that Shelly did not participate in the previous tries, assuming they were actually trying to fix the machine, not scoop it into the demon world or take care of the rogue demons. There would have been no reason to close off Monica’s doorway at the same time, so Shelly would not need to be a part of it. In 2012, they would have used the natural light that would have been present on Dec. 31 and not their eyelights. This means (perhaps) they would not have been frozen and could actually try fixing it. Thus, they could be her skulls. So many possibilities.
Speaking of the “If they didn’t fix the machine early, Shelly would have come here and got killed and wouldn’t have been available…”; as i recall, Brandi’s book listed about three of Monica’s friends at one point, as possibly being The One Who Would Do Something Shelly being one of them.
As I understood it, the calendar-machine was “fixed” before the official looping date in 2012.
All other attempts had mis-fired because they waited too long for the light to be just right. However, this time, they generated their own 2012-like light ,and advanced the moment of fixability by more than a year. Basically “tricking” it.
The Sphinx’ realm seems to be out of the normal time-loop, but she has, like Phix, seen all former mishaps with the calendar-machine.
Biggest question is: Did Shelly get locked in time with the rest of the crew all those times the reset didn’t work? And/Or how many times did they try the pre-2012-fix (according to brandi’s writings, quite a few times) and did Jin and Shelly escape to be able to go on the Jin-fixing-quest, having about 1,5 years before the final reset..
Jin mentioned that in former time-loops, she and Shelly were very close friends. A token that Shelly would also in those time-loops, try to help Jin, and consequently had to face the sphinx every time. Apparently at those former-times, Shelly made a wrong decision.
This is evidence that this Sphinx is one of the ‘good girls’.
Had she been evil, then she would have given answers. “Oh, yeah, now you need to take that sword and use it on a golem. Good luck finding one of… wait you know one?”
Now the challenge. What or what is Shelly supposed to do? Cut the tree and drink the sap for knowledge? Slice the tree to remove something? Chop up a sphinx? Though the sphinx doesn’t look too concerned about the sword at all.
Thanks paul. Yesterdays picture was great but I kinda wish it was one of the arc instead.
I blame the french army for our troubles… Those losers take care of business and this is Thursday cartoon! Gods is there no end to the things the French military can mess up? If you told a french soldier to duck, I bet he would think first about what sauce you needed but by then its already to plate…
Well, while I agree with you in theory…I have to say I’m glad the French army sucked way back when. I much prefer speaking English and eating Tex-Mex to the alternative. 🙂
I don’t know. At least the French did a reasonably good job in Canada, making it a prosperous nation and not run by drug lords. Also the French make such wonderful pastries. Of course I don’t like spicy food, so I may be biased.
Hey, that gives me an idea for a fanfic with Katherine stranded on an island that is run by a once world famous chef that has exiled himself because of the worlds criticism of his ideas to mix food genres considered unmixable.
Yes, she has become marooned on “The Island of Dr. Bordeaux”.
Hmmm. That is a Japanese style of sword but without the curve. Good for cut and thrust not slice. Poor grip Shelly. The way she is holding it and where the pommel counterweight is, one swipe by sphinx, snap both wrists broken. Ouch.
And a longer hand grip length. Just before she plugged it in, Shelly’s hand not only covered the grip, but the tines too. Ah well, just repeat to yourself:
“It’s a magic sword and can do whatever it wants.”
“It’s a magic sword and can do whatever it wants.”
The chisel point is hardly unique to Japan (or Eurasia), but it is often found on lower quality blades due to the ease of manufacture; the Japanese were slightly unusual in keeping the configuration in higher quality blades.
That sword looks an awful lot like the ninja-configuration Japanese long sword. It’s single-edged like a katana, but straight rather than having the gentle curve that a katana would have. Now that we see it’s single-edged, the nami pattern on the blade makes sense.
Sorry about that. I own quite a few swords. Half-hands, Flamberges, Claidhemh or’s and whatnot but geeking-out know-it-all discussions about swords always get me on edge
That may be true. However, given the attention to detail and historical accuracy that Paul exhibited regarding Stinky’s sub, there is a possibility that the sword details are significant.
AFATG, on what basis can you ban speculation on swords while allowing speculation on magical trees, time loops, sphinxes, women with tight buns who can throw engine blocks like marsmallows, etc?
I’m so going to steal that. I can’t draw the same thing alike ever.
‘Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small minded.’
‘Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small minded.’
‘Consistency is the hob… oh, who am I kidding…
Atomic : I’ve also heard it quoted as A foolish consistency”; frankly, as little sleep as I’ve had over the last few days, I’m surprised I could come that close to the correct quotation.
I think it’s a Ralf Waldo Emerson quote.
No matter if it can be compared to any known sword from any known culture – a sword’s design is always determined by it’s function and even says something about the philosophy of the makers / wielders
Totally off-track, that reminds me of the line about a British project that assembled a symphony orchestra completely made up of volunteers who were not actually required to know how to play their instruments:
…some of whom didn’t even know which end of the violin to blow into.
Well there were some German one-edged swords (“Großes Messer”) without (much) curfew although it appeared around 1500. As far as i know the smaller ones were one-handed.
The German “Großes Messer” (large knife) put me in mind of the fact that “Messer” itself has a fascinating etymology. It comes from Old High German meӡӡisahs, which without all the intermediate hoohah comes out roughly as “food-cut”. Our English word “meat” and the Scandinavian (mat/mad) is cognate with the first part, whereas the second root “Sahs” (short sword, knife) goes farther back through Old Nordic *sē̌k- (cut) to the Latin “saxum” (stone, rock); hence the word “Saxon” can be interpreted as “those armed with stone swords”. The study of linguistics is full of surprises…
i dont think shelly is meaning to attack the sphynx there
its more of a subconcious ‘put the weapon in front so to protect you’ type thing.
or maybe a subconcious ‘watched too many sword/stone movies/epicswordfight battles’
sphynx were killing humans to find demons (hence the riddle)
BUT
someone broke the riddle chain and allowed phix to be captured
so
maybe its not really an attack on shelly but on her demons.
cept she hasnt got any anymore
woah
which might mean that shelly is the only person in the whole world (which we know of) who could actually go through this senario and live!
It would be interesting to see this Sphinx punch Creepy Girl out of Shelly…and would be ridiculously cool if she also had the sword in hand and they got to fight side by side for a little bit… though I doubt that’s gunna happen…
This sphinx’ demeanor is starting to grate. Does she not realize she’s at the wrong end of the pointy thing?
Orrr..is her nasty disposition on purpose, is it a test. Like, when Shelly tries to kill the sphinx, she’d have killed a source of information/wisdom. If Shelly refuses to kill the sphinx, she’ll be considered worthy.
Just fighting the sphinx seems to easy…there’s more to it.
(Who of You played Oblivion and got the mission with the bear/mother nature in the woods right the first time???)
She’s a *sphinx*. With sharp teeth, impressive claws, and a hell of a lot of mass to back them up. Swords are somewhat optional when you’re a giant killing machine…
I agree. Even if Shelly had a big, sphinx killing gun, the sphinx would still have the advantage. For the reasons you mentioned and for the fact she’s a natural born killer who has killed many times without hesitation. She knows how to do it well and quickly. In a real situation the killer always has the advantage because he/she WILL kill and knows it. The good guy is hesitant to kill anyone. That can easily be fatal.
I’ve only ever “played” one video game in my life. It was the one about that female sort-of Indianna Jones type character whose name escapes me right now. I say played in quotes because I didn’t play it quite like it’s supposed to be done. I would send her into bad situations and watch her get the snot beat out of her. For me it was more fun that way.
(and i did the same after chain dying (10times in 3 mins)the only time i played it i eventually just got her to jump into the damn hole/chainsaw/undertheshakyrock!)
The pixel-precise jumping in Tomb raider is what turned me away from “jump ‘n run” games forever.
High degrees of insanity will be invoked by games like that.
I have neither the patience, nor the fortitude to be tortured like that.
It’s the reason why I prefer RPG’s and adventures .There’s atleast the idea of progression, without the nagging feeling that the game-designers used nasty tricks to artificially “lengthen’ games.
Maybe the sphynx is suicidal and stuck in a groundhog-day-like loop of Shelly showing up and killing the sphynx, but the next morning the sphynx wakes up all the same, and there’s Shelly, again, with a few minutes’ time difference.
It may be this sphinx as been assigned to this “backwater” assignment for a long time. She hasn’t been exposed to the rest of the world to become more civilized like Phix has become.
Sounds like the Angel episode where Gun was stuck in what looked like a lovely suburban lifestyle … except that it was a loop that ended with him going down into the cellar and getting tied down on a slab and having his heart ripped out by a demon.
Shelly is most likely on the wrong end of the pointy thing. Seriously now i guess the sphinx has enough experience with fighting and fighters to judge how good shelly is as opponent.
Good that she does not know that shelly has Bunny-powers. The superstrength could help here.
The sphinx is telling Shelly what to do, coated in threats, allthewhile not really divulging all knowledge. Sneaky.
I guess Sphinxes are somehow bound to talk in riddles and half-truths..them family of Nudge?
Me Three. Very Brar Rabbit.
“I have been stuck, I mean, charged with protecting the yada yada dohicky for thousands of years by my self, all alone with nothing to read, and I will fulfill my oblig… JUST SMASH THE ^%#$% THING SO WE CAN BOTH GO HOME, OK!!!!”
I agree. This seems to be the start of part two of “the test” and the sphinx is imparting knowledge. Shelly had no intention of slicing the tree in the first place. She just took the sword out to save her life. The sphinx’s expression before showed she was getting ready to go into her next act where the test was concerned. Anyway, it’s likely shelly can slice the tree with no real damage to it, yet it will bring forth what is needed. It’s a magic sword after all. Perhaps sort of like Phix could punch out Nudge with no damage to Tina. Good old Nudge. I think I’m beginning to identify more with her than any other character in the series.
Would make for some great gags if Nudge suddenly showed-up and asked this Sphinx the same questions that got Phix so confuddled, and consequently choose confinement to the Biblioteka.
I miss Nudge too. She meant well, and was just enough of an irritant to be really funny. 😛
I just has a funny thought. What if this sphinx IS Nudge now that she’s figgered out how to shapechange? But that may be unlikely since she can’t *poit*.
The Sphinx may have been ordered to protect the sword and the Tree, but believes those orders to be wrong. So she’s being true to the letter but not the spirit by telling Shelly what to do in a roundabout way. The question is, does she have a plan whereby Shelly can defeat her without killing her and get to the Tree, or is this going to get messy?
It could get messy, but I think that would be the case only if this isn’t real but sort of a dry run for Shelly. A way for her to test different approaches without actually being killed. A Lanthis video game, but with really vivid immersion technology.
I would be highly reluctant in trying a Lanthian simulation..their..ehhhm… “good idea’s” have a habit of glazing part of the world over. (Not that it would too much of a loss. The world would do nicely without those pesky humans on it 😆 )
I know you’re just kidding, but a lot of people who say that are serious. I think that’s shortsighted. I mean, what would be the use of a universe without intelligent beings to contemplate it? Good or bad. There would be no point. Not that there HAS to be a point, but it would be sad if there was none. All that suffering for nothing. Better that life never sprang forth were that the case.
I like to tell people who truely think there should be no humans on the earth, “show us your leadership.” That is to say, if you really think the earth would be better off without humans, show your leadership by being among the first to remove themselves from it. Now! I’ve yet to have a single volunteer actually do it. So much for their resolve.
Let’s hope it’s less dangerous than the one on the Enterprize. After about two incidences of it producing real threats to the safety of the ship and crew, I’d have had the damn thing ripped out of my ship.
Actually that works out pretty well. People that unbelievably stupid should not be reproducing anyway. Besides, even if the human race went completely bellyup, some other species would, eventually, take our place and it would start all over again. Best to deal with what we have and try to improve things.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
As for the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, I know lots of people who, for religious reasons, have removed themselves from the breeding pool.
In profile the sphinx really looks alot like Shelly, now. “You can be your own worst enemy.”??
The sword looks a little like the Chinese blades that were imported to Japan, having the straight configuration. When made by Japanese swordmakers they were called, I think, jokoto, meaning “old blade/sword”. The kissaki looks more like the regular curved kind, not a chisel-type(which Sato says originally was created in Japan.), even tho’ it doesn’t seem to have the yokote. I have a few books and a few swords myself, but I need to brush up on the subject. It’s been a while.
You see Shelly, THIS is why you should do that boring academic research stuff before hand. That way, you will be better prepared to handle situations, such as this.
The sphynx plucks the sword out of Shelly’s hand!
Then the sphynx smushes the sword!
Then the sphynx produces an axe!
Then the sphynx says, “For God’s sake, use the right tool for the job!”
Then the sphynx hands Shelly the axe!
Then Shelly chops down the tree and a Lorax appears!
…wait… not that last bit there.
Wrong wrong wrong..
The Sphinx wil speak as follows: “You have the sword, … Do you think I ‘m just going to let you slice the sacred tree….without first enjoying a good cup of tea and some scones with clotted cream together????”
I bet the sphinx is dying for some good gossip over tea&scones. She’s been alone for a whole calendar-machine cycle
Are you channeling (sort of) M Addams (from the movie: Morticia sits at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.
Wednesday stands before Morticia, holding up a large,
nasty-looking carving knife.
Morticia: “Is that for your brother?”
Wednesday nods.
Morticia (taking the knife): “I don’t think so.”
Morticia reaches up, takes down and hands Wednesday a much larger, even nastier-looking knife. Wednesday takes the knife and exits.
True, no one previously mentioned slicing anything. This is a hint being dropped by the sphinx now.
If you’re talking about this sword, they weren’t. Paul said this one was made by the Lanthians, not the Celts or Vikings. Also, since they predated many other civilizations, it could be said those who later made katana like swords, were actually making Lathian swords.
Hmm… something about the way she’s holding it kind of implies to me that the long edge is the sharp one, like a Viking Langseax. Not sure what the deal with the temper line is though. (if that’s what it is; it keeps moving.)
To borrow a few ideas from the above comments, heres what i noticed/think:
The sword hilt and cross-guard became a bit more prominent, but the side parts also shrunk. Its possible with the sword’s weight pressed on the inside of the hilt, it “clamped” down onto it, sort of like a drill bit to a drill…
The sphinx must know Shelly fairly well to be able to predict how she will react to certain information. This threat is another hint.
Shelly raised her weapon…BAD IDEA! while she should be ready to use it in this situation, she shouldn’t have raised it since the Sphinx now has reason/ belief to attack.
the sphinx does look a lot like Shelly… almost, but not entirely…
Also Shelly seems to have some trouble holding up the sword, since she is using two hands, and is kinda bent over in the first two frames, which tells me that the sword is quite dense, perhaps magically so, and would be part of the challenge of removing it from the stone…
several of the comics i read have left huge cliff hangers this weekend, and this only adds to my anticipation for Monday. Luckily, I have plenty of housework, and other distractions (such as Mother’s day) to keep me occupied. I can only hope that I get some sleep thinking about them though…
You know, something tells me that if the sphinx is smart enough to be planning things according to her knowledge of Shelly’s reactions, she’s not likely to be more aggressive just because Shelly lifted the sword when Sphinxie got more threatening…unless she finds it necessary to acheive her goals.
True, I kinda just wrote what popped in my mind as i was writing, so i didn’t have a linear train of thought so to speak…
I doubt the Sphinx will get anymore aggressive, but generally speaking its still a bad idea to raise a weapon to a mystical beast that hasn’t completely identified itself as a friend or foe yet….because it may just become that foe.
Shelly’s odd way of holding the sword is more of an indication that she’s squeezing her butt-cheeks with such force that there is hardly any strength left to hold the sword. (At least, I would..Darn! In that situation, I’d squeeze’m so hard that i’d be cracking atoms between’m, and only dogs would hear me fart)
In short: She’s scared stiff, but keeps on thinking anyways. And do not forget that she’s somewhat clumsy. Not a good asset when holding a sword. She’s really brave in the face of all of this.. I’d break the 100yd-dash-record. (To no avail, considering all those skulls laying around)
However clumsy all of it looks, she’s the right person at the right place.
I only wonder, where to go from here? Will she have an actual corporeal sword in her hands if she comes by? Does the clowncar still have a need to travel to Ireland, or is getting the sap of the tree, while being in this mind-realm the solution to Jin’s trouble??
Is it a mind-realm ,or did Shelly unconsciously “poit” herself for the first time to the sphinxes realm??
Soo many questions…and answers coming to us in a drip-feed…RAAAAARGGG!! 😆
The first two frames I can see her using only one hand for the sword.
And if something large, ferocious and of mythic proportions snarled at me I’d hang on like hell to a sword with both hands too! That’s fear at a very atomic level.
Or maybe Shelly’s demon of self-doubt is manifesting itself as an animalistic sphinx?
It’s fun to speculate, but I think I’m REALLY looking forward to Monday’s installment!
Perhaps the artifact is mutable. It may have absorbed the chain and used the mass to extend its length, making a two-hand hilt, and added a bit of crosspiece as well.
Hmmm…we transition from Arthurian legends and Calad Bolg to Norse legends, with Sigmund and Gram. That might be Yggdrasil, the World Tree…or it might be the Brannstock Oak. But Sigmund didn’t cut down the Brannstock Oak, he pulled the sword from it, as Arthur pulled Calad Bolg from the stone.
Oh I don’t know, it looked to me like chonk preceded some pretty nice things.
Tina got rid of Nudge.
Nudge got help with her old job and maybe some real time off instead of just being on the lam.
And Phix gets to leave the Library much more often.
All in all a pretty good exchange for a short headache.
It’s a clip from a huge panel showing a market scene in Accidental Centaurs … though a look through the Archive fails to reveal it; he’s restarted the strip from the beginning and may not have gotten there yet.
!!! Its Yoda and the tree!!! You take the evil that you bring! That is Shelly as a sphinx! It sphinx how she treats herself…. (gods I cant control myself…)
At times like this I can only think of one thing to say……
FRIDAY FRIDAY GONNA GET DOWN ON FRIDAY
…..I’m so very sorry……
~I can’t waiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit
for the weekend to BEGIN!~
What, I’m sorry. Is it not Singing Comments Day?
…the problem is that if there were no Friday, then tomorrow coulden’t be…
S. A. T-U-R. D-A-Y…. Night!
Cause Saturday night’s the night I like!
Saturday night’s alright, alright, alright!
Not sorry enough…
I wish it were next: Tuesdaaaaay aaafternooooOOn so we could be discussing what happens next aka Monday’s strip… darn you cliff Hanger Fridays! Are drinks half price at least???
And if it is Tuesday afternoon does that make Shelly a Knight in white satire? Never seeing the rend? She may not make it to Rendsday if that sphinx hits her. The floor is open to any and all… I leaf the puns about the tree to you!
even with shelly being shelly I’m sorta shocked she didn’t well…. wet herself…
she may have irl 🙂
david and goliath springs to mind
tho shelly has a bigger and sharper weapon than david but still ^^
but what the heck is that sphynx issue with her.
shelly has been saying she hasn’t a clue whats happening almost constantly. hasn’t she been listening??
phixx always seemed so smart but maybe thats the librarys influence. maybe when she first got there she needed to be hit with a clue-by-4 also…
Chances are the sphinx remembers her from one of the before eras and she has done things that the sphinx has said. Basically the sphinx knows what she’s going to do even if Shelly doesn’t.
how can we have a before era? This is the first trip through that the calendar machine was fixed, so time has just been looping before they reached the “what is after fixing the machine?”
In other attempts to fix the Calandar Machine, they waited longer, so this stuff has happened before.
Right. That’s how I see it too. That may be the crucial difference this time around. In all the other loops, Jin would still be stable at this point so they would probably not be looking for a cure for her right then. Shelly would have still been in this situation, but not with any thought of helping anyone. She would just be here because of the of the discovery of the artifact and her touching it. IOW, her motive for being there would not have been altrusic, but one of hapstance. In those times she had no real directive so she made the wrong choice at some point and died. Heck, all those bones may have been hers. This time, however, she is on a mission to help Jin, looking for something in particular, and that could make all the difference in outcome.
*altruistic”
Not necessarily. As long as the Calender Machine was functional Jin stayed sane (sort of), there was no need to go on an artifact hunt OR Shelly to risk monkeying around with something of unknown properties. I suspect this is the first time through for this particular scenario.
Well, the artifact came to them. They didn’t have to hunt it, or even be looking for it. Also, it seemed to everyone that Shelly could handle it without harm, so they tried it again. For all we know all this could be taking place in just a second of real time so it’s possible no one was even worried yet. And there is the fact the sphinx said Shelly had shown up in less than a cycle “when she was there last” indicating she had been doing it each cycle but may have been a bit early this time. Assuming the sphinx was referring to the CM cycles. Regardless, she had definitely been in this situation before.
Wow… those might all be Shelly’s skull!
That’s what I was thinking, but it just occurred to me Shelly would have to still be around in 2012 to do her part in the (failed) “fixing” of the CM. Unless her death caused them to find someone else like Lakshmi. That’s unlikely also since only Shelly has other characteristics that will be needed, like being a doorway.
Thinking about it further though, it could also be that Shelly did not participate in the previous tries, assuming they were actually trying to fix the machine, not scoop it into the demon world or take care of the rogue demons. There would have been no reason to close off Monica’s doorway at the same time, so Shelly would not need to be a part of it. In 2012, they would have used the natural light that would have been present on Dec. 31 and not their eyelights. This means (perhaps) they would not have been frozen and could actually try fixing it. Thus, they could be her skulls. So many possibilities.
Speaking of the “If they didn’t fix the machine early, Shelly would have come here and got killed and wouldn’t have been available…”; as i recall, Brandi’s book listed about three of Monica’s friends at one point, as possibly being The One Who Would Do Something Shelly being one of them.
As I understood it, the calendar-machine was “fixed” before the official looping date in 2012.
All other attempts had mis-fired because they waited too long for the light to be just right. However, this time, they generated their own 2012-like light ,and advanced the moment of fixability by more than a year. Basically “tricking” it.
The Sphinx’ realm seems to be out of the normal time-loop, but she has, like Phix, seen all former mishaps with the calendar-machine.
Biggest question is: Did Shelly get locked in time with the rest of the crew all those times the reset didn’t work? And/Or how many times did they try the pre-2012-fix (according to brandi’s writings, quite a few times) and did Jin and Shelly escape to be able to go on the Jin-fixing-quest, having about 1,5 years before the final reset..
Jin mentioned that in former time-loops, she and Shelly were very close friends. A token that Shelly would also in those time-loops, try to help Jin, and consequently had to face the sphinx every time. Apparently at those former-times, Shelly made a wrong decision.
Let’s just see how it transpires this time.
I don’t know, I feel more like this sphinx is leading Shelly…perhaps by the power of suggestion getting Shelly to do what she wants?
Yes, that’s the same impression I got. “Don’t even try to think about maroon hippos…”
OH NOES!!! Yo didn’t! Aaaand now I have “Fantasia” running in the back of my head….
strange, you read my mind, except i was thinking about purple hippos, not maroon.
Either that, or that sphinx just made a big strategic mistake. So–does she or doesn’t she want Shelly to cut the tree?
This is evidence that this Sphinx is one of the ‘good girls’.
Had she been evil, then she would have given answers. “Oh, yeah, now you need to take that sword and use it on a golem. Good luck finding one of… wait you know one?”
Now the challenge. What or what is Shelly supposed to do? Cut the tree and drink the sap for knowledge? Slice the tree to remove something? Chop up a sphinx? Though the sphinx doesn’t look too concerned about the sword at all.
Thanks paul. Yesterdays picture was great but I kinda wish it was one of the arc instead.
It wouldn’t have mattered. Even without the filler Paul would likely have made this the Friday comic so as to have a nice weekend cliff hanger.
its been cliff-hangery all week 🙂
I blame the french army for our troubles… Those losers take care of business and this is Thursday cartoon! Gods is there no end to the things the French military can mess up? If you told a french soldier to duck, I bet he would think first about what sauce you needed but by then its already to plate…
Well, while I agree with you in theory…I have to say I’m glad the French army sucked way back when. I much prefer speaking English and eating Tex-Mex to the alternative. 🙂
I don’t know. At least the French did a reasonably good job in Canada, making it a prosperous nation and not run by drug lords. Also the French make such wonderful pastries. Of course I don’t like spicy food, so I may be biased.
And, what would Tex-French cooking taste like? The possibilities boggle….
Tex-French = Cajun (imho)
Julie: trouble is, if the french HAD won, you would be saying (in french)
” 😮 If we had lost we would be speaking english!! :/ “
Hey, that gives me an idea for a fanfic with Katherine stranded on an island that is run by a once world famous chef that has exiled himself because of the worlds criticism of his ideas to mix food genres considered unmixable.
Yes, she has become marooned on “The Island of Dr. Bordeaux”.
Sounds more like an episode of Gilligan’s Island.
They never cut you slack and you just can’t win for trying!
Hmmm. That is a Japanese style of sword but without the curve. Good for cut and thrust not slice. Poor grip Shelly. The way she is holding it and where the pommel counterweight is, one swipe by sphinx, snap both wrists broken. Ouch.
Got a bit more pronounced “crossguard”, than we saw yesterday…
And a longer hand grip length. Just before she plugged it in, Shelly’s hand not only covered the grip, but the tines too. Ah well, just repeat to yourself:
“It’s a magic sword and can do whatever it wants.”
“It’s a magic sword and can do whatever it wants.”
Could be a sleeve that glides forward and clicks in place a while after when the blade is connected.
There are enough ridges and interesting doodah’s on the artifact to have a sleeve&tsuba built-in
The chisel point is hardly unique to Japan (or Eurasia), but it is often found on lower quality blades due to the ease of manufacture; the Japanese were slightly unusual in keeping the configuration in higher quality blades.
That sword looks an awful lot like the ninja-configuration Japanese long sword. It’s single-edged like a katana, but straight rather than having the gentle curve that a katana would have. Now that we see it’s single-edged, the nami pattern on the blade makes sense.
Guys, guys! It’s a magic sword. I’ve never seen a magic sword, so it can be anything a writer likes, that’s the beauty of it.
Just burping-up all one knows of swords is no use here. How many of You collect Lanthian artifacts? Right, thought so…
Sorry about that. I own quite a few swords. Half-hands, Flamberges, Claidhemh or’s and whatnot but geeking-out know-it-all discussions about swords always get me on edge
*drops quarter in pun-jar*
As long as you get the point.
And I am not going to drop a quarter for that one, It is a proper double meaning. lol.
Darn–now I can’t pummel you.
But you can pommel him…..
That may be true. However, given the attention to detail and historical accuracy that Paul exhibited regarding Stinky’s sub, there is a possibility that the sword details are significant.
AFATG, on what basis can you ban speculation on swords while allowing speculation on magical trees, time loops, sphinxes, women with tight buns who can throw engine blocks like marsmallows, etc?
“Consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”
Like.
woah
that quote is on wiki under ‘hobgoblin’
*salutes*
you be awsome!
(and not just cuz you have the churchil dog as your avatar!)
Ahh – it’s “An unreasonable consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds.”
That is, to expect and demand that circumstances don’t affect the rules you’ve been following up to that point.
Is that what it means? I would have interpreted it to mean, being overly consistant demonstrates a lack of imagination or even intelligence.
I’m so going to steal that. I can’t draw the same thing alike ever.
‘Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small minded.’
‘Consistency is the hobgoblin of the small minded.’
‘Consistency is the hob… oh, who am I kidding…
Atomic : I’ve also heard it quoted as A foolish consistency”; frankly, as little sleep as I’ve had over the last few days, I’m surprised I could come that close to the correct quotation.
I think it’s a Ralf Waldo Emerson quote.
No matter if it can be compared to any known sword from any known culture – a sword’s design is always determined by it’s function and even says something about the philosophy of the makers / wielders
My favorite Zorro quote!
Don OldZorro:”Do you know how to use that?”
NewZorro: “The pointy end goes into the other man.”
Totally off-track, that reminds me of the line about a British project that assembled a symphony orchestra completely made up of volunteers who were not actually required to know how to play their instruments:
Well there were some German one-edged swords (“Großes Messer”) without (much) curfew although it appeared around 1500. As far as i know the smaller ones were one-handed.
The German “Großes Messer” (large knife) put me in mind of the fact that “Messer” itself has a fascinating etymology. It comes from Old High German meӡӡisahs, which without all the intermediate hoohah comes out roughly as “food-cut”. Our English word “meat” and the Scandinavian (mat/mad) is cognate with the first part, whereas the second root “Sahs” (short sword, knife) goes farther back through Old Nordic *sē̌k- (cut) to the Latin “saxum” (stone, rock); hence the word “Saxon” can be interpreted as “those armed with stone swords”. The study of linguistics is full of surprises…
Wow, word origins are fun! Stone swords and those who use them versus Ancient Romans… I’m getting alternate history story ideas all over that.
I love being a writer but sometimes I wish my brain had an off switch. 😀
i dont think shelly is meaning to attack the sphynx there
its more of a subconcious ‘put the weapon in front so to protect you’ type thing.
or maybe a subconcious ‘watched too many sword/stone movies/epicswordfight battles’
Right. It’s more of a defensive stance than offensive.
sore loser!
Boy that really sphinx!
Oopsie.
You broke wind?
hsssssssss
Not broken wind, but apparently a slow leak…
Also rowr-fitz!
I’m beginning to wonder if this sphinx is sane.
i was thinking
sphynx were killing humans to find demons (hence the riddle)
BUT
someone broke the riddle chain and allowed phix to be captured
so
maybe its not really an attack on shelly but on her demons.
cept she hasnt got any anymore
woah
which might mean that shelly is the only person in the whole world (which we know of) who could actually go through this senario and live!
Question -in that case- is “Is it an Apotropaic Sphinx”
If it is, then the theory is sound. If it isn’t…well..”back to the drawing board” I guess.
It would be interesting to see this Sphinx punch Creepy Girl out of Shelly…and would be ridiculously cool if she also had the sword in hand and they got to fight side by side for a little bit… though I doubt that’s gunna happen…
i dont think she can
creepy is a part of shelly
nudge wasnt a part of tina just a stowaway
Would not surprise me if Creepy can manifest physically.
Ye… Yes?
N…N…No?
This sphinx’ demeanor is starting to grate. Does she not realize she’s at the wrong end of the pointy thing?
Orrr..is her nasty disposition on purpose, is it a test. Like, when Shelly tries to kill the sphinx, she’d have killed a source of information/wisdom. If Shelly refuses to kill the sphinx, she’ll be considered worthy.
Just fighting the sphinx seems to easy…there’s more to it.
(Who of You played Oblivion and got the mission with the bear/mother nature in the woods right the first time???)
She’s a *sphinx*. With sharp teeth, impressive claws, and a hell of a lot of mass to back them up. Swords are somewhat optional when you’re a giant killing machine…
I agree. Even if Shelly had a big, sphinx killing gun, the sphinx would still have the advantage. For the reasons you mentioned and for the fact she’s a natural born killer who has killed many times without hesitation. She knows how to do it well and quickly. In a real situation the killer always has the advantage because he/she WILL kill and knows it. The good guy is hesitant to kill anyone. That can easily be fatal.
I’ve only ever “played” one video game in my life. It was the one about that female sort-of Indianna Jones type character whose name escapes me right now. I say played in quotes because I didn’t play it quite like it’s supposed to be done. I would send her into bad situations and watch her get the snot beat out of her. For me it was more fun that way.
tomb raider
lara croft
(and i did the same after chain dying (10times in 3 mins)the only time i played it i eventually just got her to jump into the damn hole/chainsaw/undertheshakyrock!)
That’s it! Thanks.
The pixel-precise jumping in Tomb raider is what turned me away from “jump ‘n run” games forever.
High degrees of insanity will be invoked by games like that.
I have neither the patience, nor the fortitude to be tortured like that.
It’s the reason why I prefer RPG’s and adventures .There’s atleast the idea of progression, without the nagging feeling that the game-designers used nasty tricks to artificially “lengthen’ games.
That is my experience with Tony Hawk Pro Skater. We would joke that after certain levels, a beat up Tony Hawk would pop up and beg us to stop…
…we weren’t that good…
Maybe the sphynx is suicidal and stuck in a groundhog-day-like loop of Shelly showing up and killing the sphynx, but the next morning the sphynx wakes up all the same, and there’s Shelly, again, with a few minutes’ time difference.
That….would be a drag, aaand explain her noxious mood nicely.
It may be this sphinx as been assigned to this “backwater” assignment for a long time. She hasn’t been exposed to the rest of the world to become more civilized like Phix has become.
Sounds like the Angel episode where Gun was stuck in what looked like a lovely suburban lifestyle … except that it was a loop that ended with him going down into the cellar and getting tied down on a slab and having his heart ripped out by a demon.
The eventual solution to that was … elegant.
And funny.
Shelly is most likely on the wrong end of the pointy thing. Seriously now i guess the sphinx has enough experience with fighting and fighters to judge how good shelly is as opponent.
Good that she does not know that shelly has Bunny-powers. The superstrength could help here.
i somehow get the felling that this sphinx is a lot more bully then Phix
Is that bully like “beats people up for fun” or bully “fine, excellent, very good”? 😛
Using your latter expression of ‘bully’, what sphinx could be more gooder than Phix?
The sphinx who is minus clothing and sexy in her creepy meanness? Hey! That makes this one the fine, excellent, and very good one! 😛
*Sudden moment éclaire*
WAITTAMINUTE!!
The sphinx is telling Shelly what to do, coated in threats, allthewhile not really divulging all knowledge. Sneaky.
I guess Sphinxes are somehow bound to talk in riddles and half-truths..them family of Nudge?
Yep, that’s how I’m seeing it too. The sphinx is passing clues to Shelly left and right, while still doing her job.
Me Three. Very Brar Rabbit.
“I have been stuck, I mean, charged with protecting the yada yada dohicky for thousands of years by my self, all alone with nothing to read, and I will fulfill my oblig… JUST SMASH THE ^%#$% THING SO WE CAN BOTH GO HOME, OK!!!!”
I agree. This seems to be the start of part two of “the test” and the sphinx is imparting knowledge. Shelly had no intention of slicing the tree in the first place. She just took the sword out to save her life. The sphinx’s expression before showed she was getting ready to go into her next act where the test was concerned. Anyway, it’s likely shelly can slice the tree with no real damage to it, yet it will bring forth what is needed. It’s a magic sword after all. Perhaps sort of like Phix could punch out Nudge with no damage to Tina. Good old Nudge. I think I’m beginning to identify more with her than any other character in the series.
Would make for some great gags if Nudge suddenly showed-up and asked this Sphinx the same questions that got Phix so confuddled, and consequently choose confinement to the Biblioteka.
I miss Nudge too. She meant well, and was just enough of an irritant to be really funny. 😛
I just has a funny thought. What if this sphinx IS Nudge now that she’s figgered out how to shapechange? But that may be unlikely since she can’t *poit*.
*Sudden moment éclaire*
Is that a trope like “The cake is a lie?”
Mmmm…I’d arm wrestle that sphinx for an eclaire right about now. Damn you for bringing that delightful pastry to mind!
more of a moment of clarity
Ah, but the pie is true…
Well the Pi is true to a certain degree…
Eh, when it’s down to splitting crumbs I’ll round up.
Aw heck… someone tell me how much I owe the jar for that one.
True, but irrational.
I once had a “Village” style button that, instead of “6” or some other integer, had the square root of π.
And when people asked about it, i explained that it was for someone who had been sent to the Village as an irrational radical.
More like “there is no spoon”
Eclaire is also French for “lightning” as in “What precedes thunder?”
The Sphinx may have been ordered to protect the sword and the Tree, but believes those orders to be wrong. So she’s being true to the letter but not the spirit by telling Shelly what to do in a roundabout way. The question is, does she have a plan whereby Shelly can defeat her without killing her and get to the Tree, or is this going to get messy?
It could get messy, but I think that would be the case only if this isn’t real but sort of a dry run for Shelly. A way for her to test different approaches without actually being killed. A Lanthis video game, but with really vivid immersion technology.
I would be highly reluctant in trying a Lanthian simulation..their..ehhhm… “good idea’s” have a habit of glazing part of the world over. (Not that it would too much of a loss. The world would do nicely without those pesky humans on it 😆 )
Speak for yourself, bud. I happen to enjoy life, and I don’t presume that billions of others like me are less deserving of it.
I know you’re just kidding, but a lot of people who say that are serious. I think that’s shortsighted. I mean, what would be the use of a universe without intelligent beings to contemplate it? Good or bad. There would be no point. Not that there HAS to be a point, but it would be sad if there was none. All that suffering for nothing. Better that life never sprang forth were that the case.
Why does this little thread suddenly make me think of the Borg? I read it and thought, “Well, really, it’s all because of viewpoint schisms.” 😯
I scare myself…
To parafrase George Carlin: Humans have no use exept for making plastic for mother earth.
I like to tell people who truely think there should be no humans on the earth, “show us your leadership.” That is to say, if you really think the earth would be better off without humans, show your leadership by being among the first to remove themselves from it. Now! I’ve yet to have a single volunteer actually do it. So much for their resolve.
like a holodeck?
Let’s hope it’s less dangerous than the one on the Enterprize. After about two incidences of it producing real threats to the safety of the ship and crew, I’d have had the damn thing ripped out of my ship.
I doubt the crew would be happy with an ancient Atari and joystick.
That would fly pretty well on Voyager, though; mustn’t forget Tom’s TV.
VHEMT – Voluntary Human Extinction Movement – says we ought to just stop breeding…
Actually that works out pretty well. People that unbelievably stupid should not be reproducing anyway. Besides, even if the human race went completely bellyup, some other species would, eventually, take our place and it would start all over again. Best to deal with what we have and try to improve things.
Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.
R. Buckminster Fuller
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable.
There is another theory which states that this has already happened.
As for the Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, I know lots of people who, for religious reasons, have removed themselves from the breeding pool.
In profile the sphinx really looks alot like Shelly, now. “You can be your own worst enemy.”??
The sword looks a little like the Chinese blades that were imported to Japan, having the straight configuration. When made by Japanese swordmakers they were called, I think, jokoto, meaning “old blade/sword”. The kissaki looks more like the regular curved kind, not a chisel-type(which Sato says originally was created in Japan.), even tho’ it doesn’t seem to have the yokote. I have a few books and a few swords myself, but I need to brush up on the subject. It’s been a while.
That’s a good point. I’ve thought she looked like Shelly several times.
Shades of “The 7 Faces of Dr. Lao”.
I loved that movie when I was a kid.
It must be nice to be sent on a Quest without any instructions whatsoever, eh?
ive played some computer games like that.
very annoying.
Heh. Hitchhikker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
(Hint: You can put almost any thing inside the thing your aunt gave you which you don’t know what it is. And you can’t permanently lose it.)
You see Shelly, THIS is why you should do that boring academic research stuff before hand. That way, you will be better prepared to handle situations, such as this.
bud kinda told her to hold it again really so … 🙂
Monday prediction:
The sphynx plucks the sword out of Shelly’s hand!
Then the sphynx smushes the sword!
Then the sphynx produces an axe!
Then the sphynx says, “For God’s sake, use the right tool for the job!”
Then the sphynx hands Shelly the axe!
Then Shelly chops down the tree and a Lorax appears!
…wait… not that last bit there.
Wrong wrong wrong..
The Sphinx wil speak as follows: “You have the sword, … Do you think I ‘m just going to let you slice the sacred tree….without first enjoying a good cup of tea and some scones with clotted cream together????”
I bet the sphinx is dying for some good gossip over tea&scones. She’s been alone for a whole calendar-machine cycle
Are you channeling (sort of) M Addams (from the movie: Morticia sits at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of tea.
Wednesday stands before Morticia, holding up a large,
nasty-looking carving knife.
Morticia: “Is that for your brother?”
Wednesday nods.
Morticia (taking the knife): “I don’t think so.”
Morticia reaches up, takes down and hands Wednesday a much larger, even nastier-looking knife. Wednesday takes the knife and exits.
No.
She was channeling me!
The TV series was very faithful to the tone of Addams’ humor as seen in his drawings. It was a lovely show…
And I just noticed this…
…Is the sphynx crying?
Nope, that’s the little mark that cats have just inside the area between their eyes and the bridge of their nose.
(sheepishly) Oh.
Thanks for the explanation. 🙂
Paul, if I may that sort of came out of nowhere. No one had mentioned the slicing of any sacred object.
Why were these ancient (Vikings/Celts?) making katanas?
There are always challenges, but the hero never knows what they are going to be. Here is a chart Hope it helps. 🙂
Indeed, that DID come out of nowhere. Read a few of the comments above, as some folks are on the right track. 😉
Ooooh… *rubbing hands* this is getting intrigueing. Make the leettle grey cells work, hien?
*Combs Poirot-like through former comments*
reading the comments above it could be anyone which was right. most of them are plausable!
dammit we be too imaginative!
I swear, Paul charts our responses and then comes up with something not on our list, just for the fun of it. 😀
True, no one previously mentioned slicing anything. This is a hint being dropped by the sphinx now.
If you’re talking about this sword, they weren’t. Paul said this one was made by the Lanthians, not the Celts or Vikings. Also, since they predated many other civilizations, it could be said those who later made katana like swords, were actually making Lathian swords.
Shelly’s not going to have to stick the sword in M’s head now, is she?? A la This Comic?
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/take-this-and-do-this/
Maybe she has to try to stick it into her own head. We’ve found out before that it’s exceptionally thick and hard as a rock.
Hmm… something about the way she’s holding it kind of implies to me that the long edge is the sharp one, like a Viking Langseax. Not sure what the deal with the temper line is though. (if that’s what it is; it keeps moving.)
Oh, c’mon Shelly; don’t be such a SWORD loser… 8-D
I wuld be a stool loser if that sphinx pulled that attitude with me but then I would calm down, put it all behind me and soldier on.
I would be a stool loser if that sphinx pulled that attitude with me but then I would calm down, put it all behind me and soldier on.
how in the world… its like a time loop and I was able to… nevermind.
Tme-loop? What Time-Loop?
Time-loop? What Time-Loop?
.
.
O_O
.
Uh-oh…!
Meanwhile in the real world….
HOLY FRACK! Where’d that sword come from???
maybe its like ‘the dreamland chronicles’ where the sword is a tiny necklace 😀
It would be pretty silly to have a tiny sword sticking out of that large artfact…hmm…I’m in favor of this plan! 😀
So, I take it that the challenge was to NOT draw the sword, then?
The chllenge is to draw either the mouse or the pirate, actually.
But Shelly, the most of all of our little band of heroes, doesn’t want to go back to school. Even if she does win a scholarship.
“Dammit, Jin, I’m a music major, not a graphic artist!”
Poor Shelly, stuck in a situation where everyone else is 3 step ahead of her int he information department. :S
For her that is actually a step improvement!
To borrow a few ideas from the above comments, heres what i noticed/think:
The sword hilt and cross-guard became a bit more prominent, but the side parts also shrunk. Its possible with the sword’s weight pressed on the inside of the hilt, it “clamped” down onto it, sort of like a drill bit to a drill…
The sphinx must know Shelly fairly well to be able to predict how she will react to certain information. This threat is another hint.
Shelly raised her weapon…BAD IDEA! while she should be ready to use it in this situation, she shouldn’t have raised it since the Sphinx now has reason/ belief to attack.
the sphinx does look a lot like Shelly… almost, but not entirely…
Also Shelly seems to have some trouble holding up the sword, since she is using two hands, and is kinda bent over in the first two frames, which tells me that the sword is quite dense, perhaps magically so, and would be part of the challenge of removing it from the stone…
several of the comics i read have left huge cliff hangers this weekend, and this only adds to my anticipation for Monday. Luckily, I have plenty of housework, and other distractions (such as Mother’s day) to keep me occupied. I can only hope that I get some sleep thinking about them though…
You know, something tells me that if the sphinx is smart enough to be planning things according to her knowledge of Shelly’s reactions, she’s not likely to be more aggressive just because Shelly lifted the sword when Sphinxie got more threatening…unless she finds it necessary to acheive her goals.
True, I kinda just wrote what popped in my mind as i was writing, so i didn’t have a linear train of thought so to speak…
I doubt the Sphinx will get anymore aggressive, but generally speaking its still a bad idea to raise a weapon to a mystical beast that hasn’t completely identified itself as a friend or foe yet….because it may just become that foe.
Shelly’s odd way of holding the sword is more of an indication that she’s squeezing her butt-cheeks with such force that there is hardly any strength left to hold the sword. (At least, I would..Darn! In that situation, I’d squeeze’m so hard that i’d be cracking atoms between’m, and only dogs would hear me fart)
In short: She’s scared stiff, but keeps on thinking anyways. And do not forget that she’s somewhat clumsy. Not a good asset when holding a sword. She’s really brave in the face of all of this.. I’d break the 100yd-dash-record. (To no avail, considering all those skulls laying around)
However clumsy all of it looks, she’s the right person at the right place.
I only wonder, where to go from here? Will she have an actual corporeal sword in her hands if she comes by? Does the clowncar still have a need to travel to Ireland, or is getting the sap of the tree, while being in this mind-realm the solution to Jin’s trouble??
Is it a mind-realm ,or did Shelly unconsciously “poit” herself for the first time to the sphinxes realm??
Soo many questions…and answers coming to us in a drip-feed…RAAAAARGGG!! 😆
Wow! If only the folks funding the Large Hadron Collider had known about Shelly’s butt cheeks beforehand.
Where DID that chunky chain vanish to?
The first two frames I can see her using only one hand for the sword.
And if something large, ferocious and of mythic proportions snarled at me I’d hang on like hell to a sword with both hands too! That’s fear at a very atomic level.
Or maybe Shelly’s demon of self-doubt is manifesting itself as an animalistic sphinx?
It’s fun to speculate, but I think I’m REALLY looking forward to Monday’s installment!
Except that Shelly doesn’t have demons anymore…just a Creepy Girl…
The chain goes around the wrist when swinging the Wii-katana sphinx sticker! Or the warranty is no good
Perhaps the artifact is mutable. It may have absorbed the chain and used the mass to extend its length, making a two-hand hilt, and added a bit of crosspiece as well.
Like Vlad Taltos’s (anti) magical chain, Spellbreaker at a crucial moment…
The Sphinx Is tricking her into cutting the tree is all a test to see if the “Muscle Head” shelly can stop to think before going chop happy.
maybe to see if she is worth of having the sword?
Hmmm…we transition from Arthurian legends and Calad Bolg to Norse legends, with Sigmund and Gram. That might be Yggdrasil, the World Tree…or it might be the Brannstock Oak. But Sigmund didn’t cut down the Brannstock Oak, he pulled the sword from it, as Arthur pulled Calad Bolg from the stone.
I’m on the edge of my seat.
Mayonaise Five, so far…
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/35/20110505cincodemayodeco.png/
I like how you did the abs on Brandi.
Yes, yummy. Although Shelly probably has the best girl abs. And why is Brandi letting Bud wear that much eye makeup?
It’s Brandi who keeps trying to get Bud to go sexier…
looks good! and so far? there is more?
Here’s probably the final…
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/703/20110505cincodemayodeco.png/
very VERY nice 🙂
A humble suggestion for next year?
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/855/cincodemaya.png/
*discretely deposits a crisp twenty in the pun jar*
Beautiful! Although, yeah, that’s a $20 pun right there.
Call me a coward, but at this point I think I would stab the sword back into the rock and take off the hilt.
Then ask WTF is going on.
BEWARE THE CHONK! When a sphinx does the “chonk” thing, it indicates something bad is about to follow:
http://wapsisquare.com/comic/doing-their-jobs/
Oh I don’t know, it looked to me like chonk preceded some pretty nice things.
Tina got rid of Nudge.
Nudge got help with her old job and maybe some real time off instead of just being on the lam.
And Phix gets to leave the Library much more often.
All in all a pretty good exchange for a short headache.
Good points. Likely, this episode will eventually end on a good note as well.
I just realized this. It’s still Friday and this is the fourth time I’ve checked back to read you guys’ comments. I’m officially an addict.
Hi, Danzier! :^P
*stands up from folding chair*
Hello, my name is Jabberwonky, and I’m a Wapsi Square addict.
Welcome to the club…
excellent
next stage in the recovery is to grab yourself a gravtar
(i know recovery would be to DELETE the gravtar but who wants to recover from this comic 😀 )
I don’t want to break the internet, though! 😉
Wait a minnit…DELETE a gravatar?
I know the words, but they don’t make sense in that order…
i thought it could be done
perhaps its just a tale to frighten children into behaving themselves! 🙂
“Tidy your room else the cleanseness fairys will delete your gravtar!”
Y’all come back now, ya hear.
You know, the more i look at that last panel, the more i think that the sphinx does look a lot like Shelly…
im trying to work out what your gravtar is
is it a cat-turtle hybrid?
or a cat in a shell suit?
or…
It looks like a 40’s couple kissing on an art deco falcon’s head architectural accent.
Or a turtle-cat…
It’s a clip from a huge panel showing a market scene in Accidental Centaurs … though a look through the Archive fails to reveal it; he’s restarted the strip from the beginning and may not have gotten there yet.
!!! Its Yoda and the tree!!! You take the evil that you bring! That is Shelly as a sphinx! It sphinx how she treats herself…. (gods I cant control myself…)
hmm
luke chopped the head off the tree-darth however.
that did not bode well (and still kinda freaks me out when i see that scene no matter how many times i know its happening)
Her grip is not half-bad considering how surprised she is.