May 26th, 2009
Page 276
Comics for May 26, 2009 - Page 276
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May 25th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
In case any of you aren’t familiar with Jr Walker and The All Stars:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LH6dpX4J36g
May 26th, 2009 at 12:18 am
I knew this would be worth staying up late for ! Mentl kickin’ ass and taking names with style , not to mention holding his composure when he saw THAT !Great tune and another amazing page. Thank you Mr. Draft.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:30 am
Damn! Mentl UNLEASHED!!! While I’m sure the ladies have no idea what a “shotgun” is, I’m equally sure they now know what it does….
…the only problem is, now Gorshach and crew know how dangerous Mentl is, that they now have TWO magic-wielders to contend with, and Gorshach especially is now going to step up his game. Can Mentl keep up?
May 26th, 2009 at 12:32 am
Of course with big G momentarily stunned over Mentl’s power display, now would be a good time for Tula to hurl a magickal knockout blow.
May 26th, 2009 at 1:13 am
“Magickal knockout”? I’d say magical death blow. If at all possible take him down and make sure he stays down. Of course, knowing the widespread cases of faulty villain mortality I’d suggest decapitation and quartering him, but I don’t think the girls will go that far.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:22 am
I am waiting for Mentl to break out in a little Arthur Brown………. and bring some “FIRE”
May 26th, 2009 at 2:29 am
Alright, Mentl, you impressed me. Now keep it up.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:35 am
Addenda: I wonder what “twine time” might be?
May 26th, 2009 at 2:49 am
POOM! HEADSHOT!
May 26th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Wow that was great. I love Mentl’s musical repitoire. But thers still one song I’ve been dying to see used. Iron Man, Black Sabbath. Just throwing it out there
May 26th, 2009 at 3:52 am
Erm, just notised; - isn’t that “this weeks featured fan guy ( tattooguysteveo ) looking a LOT like mentl ?
Just a wired thing to notice but…. the fun you notice in the ads on a page when you are tired…
May 26th, 2009 at 4:09 am
And there was me thinking Mack The Knife - still, a shotgub is probably more useful for Mentl here
Wonder if Gorshach will go for a tactical retreat in the face of an unknown magic user
May 26th, 2009 at 5:19 am
A shotgun is quite handy in such a situation. Go for it Mentl!
May 26th, 2009 at 6:18 am
Go Mentl!! Yea!
May 26th, 2009 at 7:04 am
TB, I’m with you bro. I want him to whip out his lute and just summon up a golem that just RIPS through urtts. and trolls. And maybe a certain fat traitorous regent prick.
May 26th, 2009 at 7:17 am
Heh, this is actually rather funny. Just started reading last night and I really like the characters.
Mentl and a shotgun…great. (Though my personal favorite is ‘great balls of fire’)
May 26th, 2009 at 7:25 am
Sooo much music….
One question… what if Mentl wrote his own song?
May 26th, 2009 at 7:27 am
=D another one bites the dust ?
May 26th, 2009 at 7:32 am
There was a great book out a couple of decades ago called “Double Exposure” (which I highly recommend by the way; I think it was Piers Anthony), where the main character was able to use magic by making doublet rhymes. The catch was that you could only use each rhyme once. Looks like the same “rules” going on here
May 26th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Thank god! BadassMentl has some Rythm and can definitely hand out lotsa Blues!
Thanks for the songlink John.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Give Mentl a Hammond B3 and he could level a mountain. Woohoo!
May 26th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Working in a shotgun in a barbarian fantasy comic… You are my new hero.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:58 am
The Song link was awesome, you should do that ALL the time, I had it playing while I read the page! Sweet!
May 26th, 2009 at 11:37 am
Yes, kids, this is what we, in the storytelling thing, call a “payoff.” And yes, it now becomes obvious that Mentl hasn’t just been bemoaning his fate all this time, but has, indeed, been thinking of what he could do in a serious situation that would be powerful enough to TCB, but at the same time wouldn’t blast them all to Hell and Backagen. He had this in mind for some time, hence he was able to bring it out without unnecessary dithering. Also, it is a lot easier to kill monsters than someone he thinks of as human. It doesn’t hurt that Urtts have been trying to kill him since he arrived in this world, and so you see the release of a lot of pent-up fear and anger in those nifty “Pooms”
But like all things of this nature, though, as some of you have pointed out, it creates its own complications. We’ll see on Friday just how Gorshash deals with the new wrinkle - or doesn’t.
Thanks once again for the plaudits. I’ve been waiting MONTHS to do this one, and I’m actually pleased with how it came out.
May 26th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Go Mentl, go Mentl, go, go…
May 26th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Wow. So Gorshie’s resourceful enough to have a trained zilla in a dog collar, and shrewd enough to bring it hunting because he knows he can’t afford to let the ninja squad escape,
…but after seeing his elite guard kicked to the curb, his escape tunnel lava’d shut, and his own face disfigured, I was starting to think that *nothing* could crack his reinforced “wall of smug”.
“Thank you, Mentl.” Nice understatement Tula digs R&B.
May 26th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
Then Mentl will face Gorshash and shouts: “GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!” Hey, it worked once before, right?
May 26th, 2009 at 4:09 pm
Oh this is wonderful. Little doubt that Gorshash will survive but oh my is this going to be fun for awhile. I eagerly await the next update.
May 26th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Cool. Have to admit I underestimated him. Oh, I figured he’d come in blazing eventually but I thought he would freeze at first. Well maybe he did just a little last page while he was trying to concetrate but he did better than thought and yes “Shotgun” was a great choice. His version of Magic Missile? Did anyone guess that as the song he would use?
May 26th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
Oh shoot I forgot to ask, what *was* that he “shot”? Just a particularly big Urrt, another ogre or something else?
May 26th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
the only thing deadlier than a surprise attack is when your surprise attack gets attacked by surprise…
May 26th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Who needs a golem? Go BOC and invoke Godzilla…
May 26th, 2009 at 8:34 pm
Dude I have been following for awhile, first post, AWESOME choice for Mentl to kick ass. I did not recognize the song snippets this time, thanks for having the link. I also believe he can only use each song once. Keeps things and his own thought processes fresh so Mentl keeps learning.
May 26th, 2009 at 9:30 pm
Drat, so much for AC/DC though JE- How far back can we assume Mentl’s knowledge of music goes back, and how far forward? I assume that he’s not to terribly a fan of more modern rock, but still questions i burn to see answered
May 26th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
Gorshash’s “WTF???” moment as he sees Mentl in action is the best part of this page. Though right behind it is Tula’s totally understated “Thank you Mentl.” She must have sensed he was about to do something, but wasn’t sure what.
And then there’s Zona’s triumphant “HA!!” You know she’s thinking “Yeah! That’s MY man!!”
May 26th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
I’d have gone with Queen I think:
Steve walks warily down the street,
With the brim pulled way down low
Aint no sound but the sound of his feet,
Machine guns ready to go
Are you ready, are you ready for this
Are you hanging on the edge of your seat
Out of the doorway the bullets rip
To the sound of the beat
Another one bites the dust
Another one bites the dust
And another one gone, and another one gone
Another one bites the dust
Hey, Im gonna get you too
Another one bites the dust
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNQRfBAzSzo)
May 27th, 2009 at 12:05 am
Gemma, just remember, he’s not Speed Racer.
PoserNieub, but that’s Gorshash’s most charming feature! That, and his Pepsodent smile …
Matti, they’re in the middle of a largely coniferous forest. Are you sure that would be wise?
Tabris, Thanks so much! And I am eagerly awaiting it, too! I wonder what I’ll do?
Tricksterson, that is a now pretty much face-free brown forest ogre. Truly, they make excellent fertilizer.
Nomen Nescio, Yeah, and here Gorshash thought he had all his bases covered.
Ed, the only problem with Godzilla is controlling him.
Professor61771, Thanks! Time will tell, though, what all the rules are governing Mentl’s magick.
sentientcheese, don’t despair, there’s plenty of time for Mentl to get in more trouble. As for his knowledge, it’s encyclopedic. For years during his childhood and youth, his primary occupation was listening to records and trying to mimic the guitar licks of the masters. He is pretty knowledgable of modern rock, and he goes all the way back to the beginnings of rockabilly.
MacNut, that is very gratifying, since through my little CGI puppets, that’s pretty much what I was trying to communicate. Yay, me!
Elfguy, don’t think I didn’t have that in mind, and don’t think you won’t see it sometime. But to me “Shotgun” was perfect for the sheer sound of it, and the fact that Mentl could just pull it right out and use it without any preamble or intro. And it puts a double-barreled Boom Stick in each hand! I mean, come on, how cool is that?
May 27th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Side question:
Mentl CAN sing these songs more than once, yes? I notice he hasn’t repeated any.
May 27th, 2009 at 2:00 am
Ah! good then, so that will help me in how far back we go. now to figure just what day he was transported to find the end cap….. *searches around, compiling his own particular set of songs*
May 27th, 2009 at 7:24 am
Been following along silently (awed) for a few weeks now JED…Very nice payoff…So one thought here …In terms of his magic…we have seen Mentl perform spells from enchantment/charm and I would guess conjuration or one of the elemental schools. Since his magic is focused from his encyclopediac knowledge of music it suggests that the kind of magical powers he invokes are only limited to the songs he knows or as Speedhump implies, thoes that he may create. It is interesting for me to wonder how powerful his magical battery is…music is the focus, but as Firegoat mentions…With the right song…could Mentl “level a mountain” or even ressurect Vito? Very fine work…am really looking forward to the next several episodes.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Just thinking of Mentl doing “One” - though that could be a big oops… or maybe “Bodies” or what would he do to “Chop, Chop, Chop” by Alice Cooper? or “Counting Bodies like Sheep to the Rhythm of a War Drum” with it’s “Go back to sleep” and “Counting bodies like sheep”
May 27th, 2009 at 9:00 am
Just finished reading the whole damn series from the start, and I gotta admit, this is a great concept for sorcery (the whole music thing).
Heh, can hardly wait to see the next tune Mentl pulls out. How about “Shake, Rattle, and Roll”?
May 27th, 2009 at 12:07 pm
Jim Farris, yes, he can. In this respect, he’s just like Tula or any other user of magick on this world.
sentientcheese, go to town.
Soulworker, I know it’s tempting to try to understand Mentl’s magick in terms of other systems, but basically, just go back to Vito’s explanation on page 170: It’s the free energy that is flowing through the universe all the time. The gifted can channel and focus it, and the intent and spirit of the enchanter is what gives the raw power its color, shape and quality as it passes through the spirit and mind like electricity through a circuit in a device. Like a hair dryer changes electricity into heat and kinetic energy, the mind of the enchanter changes the free energy into effects - telekinetic, emotional, heat, cold, anything that the mind can visualize. There’s no “battery” per se, but you need to be practiced in hooking up to the Universal power source and processing the energy. Naturally, the stronger the mind, the more energy can flow through it. And it is very possible to burn out by overloading. There are lots of stories of enchanters trying to do too much and winding up being unable to chant anymore, or literally frying their own minds with sometimes comical or tragic consequences. What Mentl is drawing on is his own mental and emotional images/strengths/focus from the music that is as much a part of him as walking or talking. It is the anchor and focus to shape the powerful energy that he has suddenly discovered that he just naturally hooks into here. Still, he’s like a 14 year-old kid suddenly put behind the wheel of a muscle car - he can barely reach the pedals, and though he knows which is gas and which is brake, he could seriously kill himself and anyone else in front of him if he’s not really careful at first.
Graywalker, Don’t know too much Alice Cooper, although Mentl surely does. So now, thanks to you guys, I have to check it out. Darn.
Sleepinin, thanks! Just to make it very clear, though, pretty much the whole story is derivative of something, even if I myself wasn’t always consciously aware of it. Still, I feel no shame. After all, Shakespeare himself didn’t write a single original story. It’s *how* you tell the tale that’s everything. For me, I just want it to be fun. God knows it’s never going to be socially redeeming in any way …
And nobody guessed “shotgun,” so the No-Prize is still unclaimed. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of guesses out there, and I will try to remember every one for the next time.
May 27th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
A fair bit of Alan Dean Foster’s “Spellsinger” series runs through my mind when I read this comic. Well, not the parts with the Communist dragon and gay unicorn… at least not yet!
May 27th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Beautifully stated JEd. I was actually thing along those same lines. Mentl is an interesting blend of wizard/sorcerer for several of the mythos and gaming genres. But I like your analogy of the 14-year old kid behind the wheel of the muscle car…he is wise to take it slowly and “feel out” the parameters of his power…I am not sure that Zona and her companions need an Icarus =D BTW the “POOM Headshots crack me up evertime I open the page… Regards…
May 27th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
okay, i have to ask: WHY did Mentl go from “we seem to be doing ok” to all-of-a-sudden SHOTGUN! what made him change his mind? what did he see that altered his assessment?
he was very obviously watching and assessing from minute to minute (albeit nervously and a bit frantically) but he wasn’t panicking or freaking out.
why did he suddenly change his mind and join the attack?
May 27th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Because he saw the big ogre and extra Urrts sneaking up from behind. That’s why Tula thanked him. She may or may not have sensed they (or at least something) was there but she had her hands full with Gorshash and Zona was still busy with the ogre and/or Urrts in front of her. Did I get that right JE?
May 27th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Yup.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
aPrincess;
Didn’t you notice in the first panel that the big ogre Mentl blasted first was BEHIND Tula? Mentl saw it trying to sneak up and acted to protect her back.
May 27th, 2009 at 7:55 pm
Pretty sure that what makes Mentyl’s magic a double threat is, being from another dimension, he comes up with effects the local magicians haven’t encountered before.
Without knowing what a “Shotgun” is, the Urrt magicians will have a hard time working out wards against it. They’re used to blocking certain spells, and “Small lead pellets moving at near the speed of sound” isn’t something they’ve probably encountered before.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Oh, and if Zona runs out of knives, Mentyl can start belting out “The Homecoming Queen’s got a gun” for another surprise for the Urrts.
May 27th, 2009 at 8:56 pm
somebody probably mentioned this already, but I can just see one of the Gorshash’s death scenes coming about with mentle singing twisted sisters We’re not gonna take it.
of course I can’t think of an effect, but it could do so many things, Enhance an ally, terrorize an enemy, or summon up reinforcements or pull a meteor out of the sky… Yes I want to see a meteor swarm… Okay newer D&D spell but still.
May 27th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
The more I read this page, the more cool it is.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:52 am
hmm, focused targeted damage very smart. I Wish I had more players in my D&D game that were that thoughtful. Question ever here a 1970ds band by the name Stillwater? theirs a song the did called MindBender with the right intent to turn a foe to ally. Why fight if the enemy ends up fighting themselves?
May 28th, 2009 at 3:29 am
Well, given that Mentl has got his head round the idea of offensive spells that won’t wipe out your allies at the same time, what about defensive - what’s he going to do if Gorshash lobs a fireball his way? He needs to have some sort of shield spell, dunno what he’ll use though
May 28th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Okay, this is getting to be an obsession. I was thinking about this page over breakfast. Here’s my question…
Concentration, Intent, Emotional energy… Intent, Does that mean of he sings Shotgun, but imagines a .22 he gets a pea shooter and if he sings Shotgun and imagines a Howitzer, he gets a cannon?
Oh, and Steve, for a fireball? (Okay, I blame this on my kids watching TMNT)
Ice Ice Baby!
JE, as always, great work. If you can make me think about it when I’m not in front of the computer, it’s that good.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:03 am
Guys, I love all the speculation, but you know I can’t comment. Thanks, though, for putting all the life into this thread!
Lebbrin, Intent is, indeed, everything. Yes, when you’ve trained your mind sufficiently, a pea-shooter or Big Bertha is possible. Can Mentl shade things with that fine a control? No way, certainly not at this point. Could Vito? After fifty years of training and practice, sure. Other than the unfortunate part of him coming down with a slight case of death, that is.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:33 am
I’m sorry if this has been addressed but what happens if Mentl forgets the words to the song he’s using? Can he just make up words?
May 28th, 2009 at 10:34 am
Oh, sorry forgot to ad that I also think it’s a great idea to put up links to the songs Mentl uses. It brought me into the scene a little more even though I was familiar with the song.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:28 am
AWESOME page JE. Reading the page, I had the exact same thoughts as Macnut. Now that he has a basic (yet effective) offensive spellsong, Mentl is now a force to be reckoned with. I loved the transition, as I was sure that Mentl was just exclaiming “Shit!” with the “Sh” from the previous page, but instead he was really stepping up to the plate.
It will be interesting to see the limits of Mentls power. I am glad to hear it is not something as arbitrary as one-use songs.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:44 am
All of the nice things and observations I had to say have already been said.
Truly well done action scene. I even like the sound effect font you’ve used for Mentl’s attacks, it really works well. I’m looking forward to seeing the next few pages, that’s for sure.
On a different subject, I just went thru your regular gallery after getting that nifty picture of Mentl throwing fire, and I’ve found a few glitches, probably caused when you moved it here from the old site.
ZonaSkies and thatswhatyouget aren’t there at all. Magic Bolt opens a page, but the picture doesn’t load in it. And ZonaLook’s thumbnail is for a different picture than the one it links to. Just a head’s up, J.E.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Have I said recently how much this comic rocks?
May 28th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
First off, thanks for setting up the background. My desktop has become a work of art, and it’s beautiful.
So if he sings shotgun and imagines something else like a .22, he gets a pea shooter..What if he sings shotgun and imagines, for whatever reason, a giant flaming meteor? Would he be launching, instead of small round lead balls at the speed of sound, would they be giant flaming rock balls at the speed of sound?
May 28th, 2009 at 6:10 pm
Crazy1, you got me thinking and I would see “We’re Not Gonna Take It” as similar to a D&D Bard Morale Enhancing power, giving his allies pluses and maybe minuses to the foe.
Or (if you’ve seen the video) it would just defenestrate his enemies.
May 28th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Using most magic systems like this with chants, the problem with using something like “Another One Bites the Dust” is that it has a wind up, like “Great Balls of Fire” did. Now this isn’t a bad thing since it gives the caster more time to focus and build the power, but it won’t be quick, whereas it looks a whole lot like Mentl has a lot of punch with less windup than Tula and Gorshash do, but then that might be because of the difference between a full blown caster duel and just popping the non magical minions.
Of course, Gorshash might just be sensing some of Mentl’s raw power for the first time.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Wind up… hmmm. That gets me to wondering. Does he have to sing the entire verse or could he just rip “Great Balls of Fire!” and get the same effect? I’m thinking he could. But I bet it’s a training thing.
May 28th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Latty, Mentl would never forget the words to one of his songs. Not like he has an eidetic memory or anything, but these things are literally ingrained since his childhood. It would be like forgetting the first verse of the Star Spangled Banner or The Lord’s Prayer or, in Mentl’s case, the Shabbat Blessing. He would have to sustain a head injury or something for him to lose that - quite possible, but then it’s an extraordinary circumstance. If he couldn’t remember the words, he probably wouldn’t try that chant. That doesn’t mean that he *couldn’t* improvise, but that’s too advanced for where he is at.
Thanks!
Hugh, heh! Caught you with that, eh? I am deeevious! Glad you’re enjoying the ride.
MaxBigFoot, thanks! And eep! Thanks for the heads-up in the Gallery. I’ll fix that as soon as I get a round tooit!
IWFISH — no, actually you … YES! Yes, you have!
Ghost, to quote a famous wizard, “Mercy! If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you.”
The fact is, in the world of Erogenia, there are no hard and fast rules bounding the forms that magick can take. The only limits are those imposed by the mind and spirit - though, being human, that naturally implies serious limitation, depending on the intellect, strength and imagination of the practitioner. Mentl has a lot of horsepower, but next to no technique. That’s why Tula will keep pressing him to train, though practically since they met there has been no time.
Tricksterson, Kamatu, you shall all see how it unfolds piece by piece.
hans - though y’all would like that.
May 28th, 2009 at 8:09 pm
MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Go Mentl go! *evilcackling* I bet he’s going to at least be feeling more unburdened after some good old venting on the Urtts.
I have to admit, getting the reminders of all these classics I’ve loved has been fantastic - and it’s been awesome digging them up to listen to them again.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Whhhoooooo Hoooooooooooo!!!!! “Who is in the house”?????? “Mr Walker is IN THE HOUSE” Oh ya baby! Give it to me one more……..Oh my Gods!!!! This was worth the pain of waiting for my Zona Fix (been off line for about a week, and just catchin up) and I gotta say; DAM! This is Good!
Indecently; Did you see the featured profile guy…. Looks a bit like mentl (perhaps a few years ago) looks like he plays guitar too….. Hmmm.
Nyt
May 28th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
“Incidentally” ROTFLMAO Ok ^gasp^…. “Indecently; Did you see the featured profile guy” shouold have been “Incidentally” LOL….. ohhh thats too good! *I am going away now…… Promise*
May 29th, 2009 at 12:05 am
So, I’m wondering, is Mentl singing the Vanilla Fudge version or the Jr Walker and The All Stars version? Or does it even matter? My brother and I were wondering. Vanilla Fudge seems more like something Mentl would sing though.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I am not going to read all the comments for once. I’m just going to say:
Shotgun. I’m going to have that tune stuck in my head for hours now, and I don’t know any more than those handful of words to it.
*chuckles heartily*
March 27th, 2010 at 2:14 am
In Zona’s “Ha!” picture it looks like she is ripping out ‘her’ ogre’s horns. From the look in the ogre’s eyes (just above the red line) he finds this uncomfortable.
October 28th, 2010 at 11:11 am
A shotgun spell?! O.O
Coolest thing I’ve seen today.