December 8th, 2009
Page 329
Comics for December 8, 2009 - Page 329
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December 9th, 2009 at 2:01 am
YEAH!
And the zany little man comes through. Go Yatta-Ta! I knew he had some hidden skills.
Zona’s frustration
Mentl’s awesome disbelief
Soon wood chips will fly
A little haiku of this page!
I bet Yatta-Ta gets first “blood” but loses to Zona’s incredible physical endurance in the end.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:14 am
Not sure that’s frustration I see on Zona’s face. It seems to me she’s starting to enjoy herself due to Yatta’s unexpected prowess. I bet she’s becoming impressed-as are the rest of the Erogenians.
Yeah, I think even if Yatta loses the fight, he’s still gonna win-the respect of both Zona and the tribe, and some other Erogenia tribeswoman will take a shining to him and make him forget all about Zona (assuming he was ever seriously interested in Zona in that way in the first place…)
December 9th, 2009 at 2:28 am
Is it just me, or panel five, the woman in the background, does she look like she’s just as surprised as everyone else who expected this over fast? That and it looks like Tula has raised her eyebrow to show she’s impressed as well, though more composed about it.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:31 am
Well, I think Mentl summed in up perfectly.
December 9th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Moox, yaaaay! A haiku! *lol* Yup, Mentl summed it up succinctly. *applauds JED*
December 9th, 2009 at 4:27 am
Takataka-tok!
Takataka-tok!
Takataka-tok!
Takataka-tok!
…is that another filk I hear coming?
*eyes Jean*
December 9th, 2009 at 4:51 am
Ghost - I think you may be right there,
Moox - I don’t think Zona is frustrated anymore. I get the feeling that she’s reveling in happiness at having somebody to fight for pleasure at (give or take) her level. There’s something annoying about being at or near the top of your field and having nobody to engage with about it. Panel 4 show the concentration and reassessment, but I think still the pleasure.
And, yes Tula, Mentl and unnamed-womans’ expressions sum it up nicely for the outsiders. This is fun… but it could go on for a few hundred strips unless there are some surprises up sleeves. (so on outfit terms it’ll have to be Yatta Ta! :p )
December 9th, 2009 at 5:27 am
One thing I can’t quite fathom. Since Zona’s so strong, shouldn’t she be able to swat aside his sword with ease? Or is she going easy on him?
December 9th, 2009 at 5:58 am
I knew she was a leaper…
December 9th, 2009 at 6:02 am
Domdib: of course she’s going easy on Yatta. Otherwise the fight would be over already. Which would be no fun, for us OR her.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:09 am
goddamn indeed
December 9th, 2009 at 7:10 am
Zona’s stamina is more relevant that her strength since if she commits to one of these maneuvers with too much strength it will pull her out of position without being able to recover. It could be embarrassing….
Oh, yeah….Yatta, Yatta, Yatta, Yatta….
December 9th, 2009 at 7:48 am
This is to the disarm, remember; if he’s that good, he can simply use a trick she doesn’t know (yet) to win the fight by knocking the sword from her hand. For all of his foolishness, he might just be the local equivalent of the samurai who spend their lives mastering the sword; and all he ever wanted from Zona was a worthy opponent…if so, in a test of straight skill he’s probably got the edge.
Heck, in that case he might decide she’s just not worth stalking any more…
December 9th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Don’t forget, if she really used her strength she’d shatter the swords and then it’d be over! They are only wood after all. Personally I’m thinking the girl in the background in the last panel will be one of MANY women in the tribe to offer Yatta-ta some…soothing comfort after his physical exertions
December 9th, 2009 at 8:12 am
Oooh. And a behind-the-back block. Very nice move, Yatta. I wonder how he got so good… maybe his father was killed by a six-fingered man?
December 9th, 2009 at 8:20 am
Lol “I am Yatta- Ta Ignacio Montoya, you kill-ed my fadder, prepare to die.” [sic]
December 9th, 2009 at 9:14 am
I knew he had to be avble to use that sword to survive this long. He acts like such a twit that he would have to have some skill just to live this long. I belive his skill will earn him some respect from everyone in the tribe but I still think he will get a beat down in the end.
December 9th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Deris - As i have been saying all along
Sockpuppet - That would be so awsome!
Maby the queen might be intrested…
That would be… intresting.
Right now i’m not so sure that Yatta-Ta will win any more. Zona is focused and she is skilled. She is more that brute strength ! This could go ether way.
December 9th, 2009 at 9:39 am
Zona is definitely starting to enjoy herself her. Has no one else seen her huge grin of savage joy? I think it’s been a long while since she has been able to fight a single opponent capable of keeping up with her for even this long, and since there is nothing particularly riding on this fight, (at least for her, Yatta-Ta does have quite a bit more to gain or lose) she is able to relax for once and just enjoy it purely for competition’s sake. I think she is a competitive person who enjoys this sort of challenge, and hasn’t had a worthy opponent for a while. She’s still just warming up, but is loving the fact that Yatta-Ta actually keeping up with her. The question is: How long will that last?
December 9th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Neat!
December 9th, 2009 at 10:06 am
I knew our boy blunder wasn’t all bolster and banter! and keep in mind all, these aren’t heavy claymores or maces, they’re wooden straightswords. Using them is all about form, not power….
*sip root beer*
December 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
Well Gahdammo indeed! Another well turned out page JED. Everybody has a talent to some degree and now we see Yatta’s. So even if he IS a bit of an overbearing ass, if he grew up in a relatively parochial area with that kind of talent, small wonder he’s a bit odd. I’d even guess it’s a tribute to his good nature that he didn’t turn ou to be a really nasty character like a certain prince of the Fire Tribe. Do I see a bit of respect and surpise on Zona’s face in the fourth panel? And what’s going on behind those green eyes of Tula? TOK!
December 9th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Yes, Zona is definitely enjoying herself. Yatta on the other hand is pure concentration with just a bit of worry in panel four. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to block that one.
Is the audience member in panel five darker than is usual for an Erogenian or is that just lighting? Just curious.
Kudoes to Yatta for resisting the temptation to look up Zona’s skirt when she jumped over him. I bet more than a few enemies have been undone on that basis alone by that move.
December 9th, 2009 at 10:50 am
@JED:
Very cool. That Yatta-ta shows himself to at least be the swordsman he claimed he was is a very nice turn to the plot.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Well Yatta has shown that he has some chops in fencing. I wonder how those translate to the more chaotic nature of actual combat. Has anyone here ever seen The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers? (the versions made in 1973 and 1974 respectively). Those are my favorite fencing-involved movies because they show that strict fencing isn’t enough for straight up combat, usually to comical effect. I heartily recommend them for anyone interested.
December 9th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I like the speedy movements.
Gives the fight some speed and makes it more realistic.
The different expressions in the last panel also reflect what people feel by seeing Yatta-ta fight, I think. Think Tula might be checking out Yatta-ta’s aura.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Moox - Poetry, yet! Thanks for the inspired contribution.
The MacNut - I would say you’re right. She may be a little surprised, but not displeased.
Ghost - Ralla ( the queen’s lady in waiting ) is quite surprised. She is used to seeing Zona tear through things like this very quickly.
Zai - That’s pretty much what I say in like situations.
Jean - Thank you, lovely Jean.
The Old Hack - Not sure it’s really worthy of inclusion in song lyrics - I thought more in line with Walter Mitty’s “tapock-e-tah - tapock-e-tah - tapock-e-tah …”
OddCodicologist - Well, I will say it’s not going to end before we have at least one interesting thing, possibly more. Whether that’s a surprise to the readers, well, we’ll see.
domdib - Zona could break the swords together with one hand, but that’s not the point of the exercise. At first she wanted to see if a couple of simple moves would disarm Yatta-ta. That didn’t work, then she kept upping the game and so far he’s kept up with her. Also, sufficient skill (at least in these types of stories) can counter greater strength. If you don’t meet force with force but yield intelligently, the strength of the opponent won’t matter.
calisto - No secret about that. She’s always been a right leaper. Hopped right up on the ogre’s back and began systematically relieving him of his digits and limbs …
Steve - Indeed.
Kamatu - I got your Yatta-yatta-yatta right here …
Weremensh - Time alone will reveal the layers of Yatta-ta’s character and his motivations. I will confess that I’ve now built up a pretty fair background and his story has a bit of depth which I had no thought of when I first created him.
Sockpuppet - Ralla is a little old for Yatta-ta, and is on the silver path with her mate, Terrik. Ralla is one of Ipola’s cousins through her mother’s family which is how she came to be a close confident and personal attendant.
Aust - “Excuse me, sir, but how do you get to Carnegie Hall?”
“Practice, son, practice.”
Uhl - Count Rogan is already dead.
No, it’s something else again.
Deris - Depends on how you define “Beats down.”
Gremalkin - Well, Zona hasn’t really dialed the game up to full, yet. We shall see, though.
Jeremy - Quite correct. Though there are a couple of Erogenian warriors who can last a few rounds with the champion, she’s not used to anyone from Kivalia who can go this far. And it will last until it’s over.
Someguy - I thought so, too. Thanks!
Ga’Tor - That is what I think you do see in panel four, and as to Tula, well, she’s a tad inscrutible just now.
Tricksterson - Ralla is a bit more tan, but not unusually so. And yes, he mastered himself re: skirt-peeking.
YourMetalGod - One of my absolute favorite films is that version of the Three Musketeers, which was so detailed it had to be released in two episodes. Thus far it is the ONLY version of Dumas’ novel to actually stick to the spirit of the original source material.
Lora - Actually, she is just as likely to be checking out his ass.
December 9th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Metal God, you are abso-fraggin-lutely right about the films with Micheal York and Oliver Reed (and many other stars including Christopher Lee) you mentioned ^^.
And the page here is just as great. I love the expressions on the faces of the two fighters as well as of the beholders. Blockbuster cinematic
December 9th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Cheerleaders: “Yatta, Yatta, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, noone can!”
Gotta tell you, it’s kinda nice to see the poor shmuck get some respect. He handles that sword like a conductor’s baton ^_^
December 9th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
If you’re talking cinematic swordfights the are four I highly reccomend (Three of which I’m sure most people have seen, the fourth less likely). In no particular order:
The battle in rhyme in Cyrano de bergerac, any version but the classic with Mel Ferrer is IMHGO the best. Almost as good but a different order of fight is the street fight in which Cyrano takes on, not a hundred as exaggerated by the chef but over twenty
The duel between Inigo and Wesley in The Princess Bride of course.
The one least likely to be known, the duel in the theater in Scaramouche. If you have not seen this movie do so, it’s wonderful.
The three man waterwheel fight in the second Pirates of the Caribean movie. I would include the fight on the yardarm between Davey Jones and Jack Sparrow in the third but that’s more a part of a greater battle and you don’t see it all.
December 9th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Perhaps Yatta, like D’Artagnan, needs to get his butt kicked a little so as to amend his reckless ego. I think he probably suffers from an over romanticized perception of fighting. While that does not hurt him here in this duel, it might on the open field. I highly doubt that Zona and the others would take him under their wing like the Athos, Porthos and Aremis did with D’Artagnan, but perhaps Zona at least could school him on fighting dirty.
December 9th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
Let’s not forget that in addition to her prodigious strength, Zona has VERY fast reaction time, and physical speed, as demonstrated when she caught in one hand a crossbow bolt fired at her from short range. (Pages 58-59).
December 9th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Zona’a ramping it up, but slowly. My vote is she ends up enjoying herself as she finds that Yatta can hold his own.
Afterwards, though, he’ll discover that fighting prowess will not automatically make up for his aggravating her.
December 9th, 2009 at 6:32 pm
Skill and guile trumps raw power any day of the week. Zona’s got plenty of skill and raw power, but the code she and her people live by leaves her a bit short on guile I think. We’ll see if Yatta the Put(z) has any guile to go with his obvious skill or if he really is the schmoo we’ve come to know. Now if this were Tethik she were battling, I think he would’ve paddled her bottom already. >:P
December 9th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Um, Yatta-ta and guile? The man is clueless, and you need first to have a clue in order to succeed at guile-level subterfuge.
December 9th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
is he really clueless though? or is that all part of his guile…
December 9th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
Don’t sell Zona short on battle-guile. Remember, her people hate the Urts with a fiery passion. Zona knows, I wager, how to play mind-games with an opponent she wants dead-Dead-DEAD; it’s just a question of whether she’d use those tricks against Yatta here, in this situation.
Not saying she will, mind you, just saying she likely has more than raw power and skill ^_^
Loranna
December 9th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
One thing I’m worried about is the behind the back block. Could save you some, but I think against a strong blow (such as an aerial blow from someone with Zona’s strength or mass) blocking it straight would likely just drive your own sword into your back. Of course, there are forms I’ve seen that do a sweeping behind the back block, deflecting rather than trying to stop it, which would make more sense.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:00 am
I am becoming more and more curious how he would handle winning and still needing to give up persuing her. By the terms of this event he has to give up “marrying her, or any of that stuff” regardless of the outcome.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:29 am
Jed, I must be on your brainwavelength. Your takka-toks reminded me of Mitty too. Movie or short story?
December 10th, 2009 at 6:04 am
To all those saying that Zona’s just holding back her strength to make this interesting…
Muscle counts for a lot when you’re hacking through armor or smashing your way through an opponent’s guard. But even more than strength, what counts is leverage. You can’t do much of a power blow unless you’re moving your weapon in a big arc, even with muscles as big as Zona’s. The muscles just don’t come into the picture that much with fast snappy exchanges of blows.
Now, often moving your weapon in a big arc can work, but here Zona is dealing with an unarmored opponent, using light weapons, in a battle of skill with an–as she is discovering–unusually skilled foe. You saw him dodge that one power blow. You saw how fast he can parry-reposte with that wooden sword.
If Zona were to use her muscles to the max, she could easily open herself up to a dodge and a sneaky attack from Yatta-Ta. She’s fighting the fight she needs to–which here is one of speed and skill rather than strength.
She’s damn good too.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:08 am
I just noticed: in panel 2, Yatta-Ta’s arm is way over to the right. Therefore the apparent motion of his arm in panel 3 is going the wrong way, as he should be doing an inward cut. To do what he’s doing, he’d have had to bring the sword across and back, which means Zona’s legs would’ve been hit before she jumped!
No big deal of course, JED. It’s still an awesome fight scene. The devil’s in the details, no?
December 10th, 2009 at 9:40 am
broadsword stage fighting http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ib9_VmZjm4&feature=related
Actual manual on the cutlass from the us navy http://www.scribd.com/doc/6640748/1906-Cutlass
December 10th, 2009 at 10:32 am
K’ this is in no way criticism, just observation and wondering. I know that the rules as laid out by Ipona is ‘the first to be disarmed” and “a test of strength and skill”. But in reality this boils down to skill as Zona’s strength is rather unquestionable. I’m looking close at the wooden swords and without going overmuch into errata I’ll say that from the appearance they emulate the qualities of a thrust AND slash weapon such as a sabre rather than that of the thrusting point of a rapier/epee or the slash and cut of the longsword. The point(heh) being is that the skill involved requires defence against the thrust and slash. I dunno, I can see only two, possibly three, ways for Yatta to win here. I can’t see him knocking the sword out of her hand so…
1. He’s able to break Zona’s weapon close enough to the hilt that it is considered unusable.
2. He’s has to physicaly disable her sword arm causing her to drop/loose the weapon. This means either hitting the hand/arm hard enough which is dangerous (broken fingers/bones) or getting though her gaurd enough to hit a nerve cluster which would take a LOT of skill.
Possible, although not strictly according to the rules, is that he could land a technical killing blow (tap to the chest/heart etc) with the point which the Queen could then judge to be disarming as in a real fight the oppeonent would be dead/disarmed.
Given her strength and stamina the equation is much easier for Zona.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Moox, I think that’s a straight thrust from the open position, not the strongest move, but I think he figured she’d leap, then he’d regain full footing.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
He’s obviously a good swordsman & Zona is enjoying a lite workout, I think Zona will break bad & kick his ass when she pulls out the stops.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Arrogance and true skill often go hand in hand. Just think of a fighter pilot, race car driver that are a totally clueless persons when they are out of thier element though reign supreme in their little world. Yatta-ta is probly such a person. He will be gracious in his defeat, though if he wins Gods there will be no one who will not hear of his boasting.
And does Tula see her sisters defeat coming. Her body language and expersion is not of someone who’s looking forward to a win.
December 10th, 2009 at 7:39 pm
As for his cut while she’s leaping, he may have made the cut juuust out of actually hitting her range. I’ve seen similar blows used with the intent to force an opponent back, rather than to force them to block or be hit, when helping to marshal and herald combat on the tourney field in the SCA. It’s more of an intimidation move than a method to actually attack, when done that way. That Zona leaps up over his head instead of jumping back is even more intimidating in its own way. Given the angle and trajectory ,she’s clearly beating the Olympic high-jump record here, leaping well over his height, probably his actual height and a half–and yes, I’m accounting for the fact that it looks like he’s both bent over and lunging, making him shorter than his actual height.
…I would like to take a moment to apologize to JED if anything we say here seems excessively nitpicky. Please remember that the GOOD thing about this nitpickiness is that you have stimulated our imaginations and invested our interest in your wonderful, wonderfully crafted story. i’m quite sure Leonardo da Vinci winced a lot whenever his many admirers dissected his works, too, back in his day…
December 11th, 2009 at 2:28 am
I sense…a future love rival in the force….
December 11th, 2009 at 2:49 am
I’ll tell you something else I like about this fight - no banter.
Hevaess, a future love rival for whom? I believe it would take more than skill with a sword to win Zona’s heart.
December 11th, 2009 at 5:42 am
@Peregrin: For count Tethik, of course. ^^
In honour of Tricksterson and the excellent Scaramouche movie, a paraphrased quote: “A blade is like a bird. Hold it too tight and you strangle it; too loosely and it flies away.” Again alluding to the fact that more raw strength is not solely better, too much can be as bad as too little.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Hello. As a swordsmanship instructor I feel some stuff should be clarified:
Using giant strenght with small blades doesn’t work on skilled opponents - it’s good for fun, scaring amateurs and movies, but unless you have a much bigger piece of steel than your opponent, upper body force swings won’t give you much of an edge
While Yatta-ta is focused she has no chance of breaking his sword. There’s a small amortisation trick anyone who really feels the blade knows. In short if properly blocked it’s ALWAYS (only) the attackers blade that breaks. I’m no Yatta-ta and Zona would kick my ass any day of the week, but over the last 8 years 5 different dumbasses have broken their oak training swords trying to break down my battered old oakey.
Zona is obviously the faster one and with greater range - s’ she like 7ft tall?
As for the cavalry block in panel four it’s only good instinct that he turned his eyes that way - It’s a touchy moment with his hand blocked:
-If she tries to keep on forcing this attack, he has to revolve and distance himself without changing the position of his blade by turning left on his right foot
- if she lights up to ready for another strike he can either get his distance by jumping away and turning right or face her at close distance, turning right and using the force of the tun to make a stronger headstrike, jump back and make a very low cut-thrust for the right ankle (Zona is not used to such a short sword so legwork and using high angle cuts that have to be defended by the tip of the blade are his best bet)
Yatta is still acting routinely - not really trying any serious attacks so he too still hasn’t shown his skill yet
December 11th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I’m rather curious though….where and how did Yatta learn his swordsmanship?
I mean, it’s not as if there are any really established schools of swords around the time frame JED has set his world in (unless he made some without our knowledge), mostly individual masters.
And I can almost GUARANTEE a master would easily grow weary of dealing with Yatta’s….individual…personality day in and day out.
Could he be self-taught? And if so, then he is way more l33t than most of us initially thought.
December 12th, 2009 at 1:09 am
It is possible that Yatta-ta could’ve developed the *ahem* Joxer-esque attitude -after- being taught martial arts…
December 12th, 2009 at 3:18 am
@Sleepinin: Speaking as a onetime teacher, I personally would MUCH rather teach someone like Yatta-ta than Prince Maldik.
As a small aside, there is also somewhat of a genre precedent for ancient and wise martial arts teachers having… shall we say, individual personalities of their own. For all we know, Yatta-ta _developed_ his odd personality as a consequence of having to deal with this kind of master… >_>
October 28th, 2010 at 12:44 pm
He’s not wasting any energy with his attacks. Impressive.