July 13th, 2012
Page 601
Comics for July 13, 2012 - Page 601
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July 14th, 2012 at 12:40 am
I would have thought Zona would have just jumped over the railing…
July 14th, 2012 at 12:42 am
Hah! Zona read my mind! =)
July 14th, 2012 at 12:44 am
Go Tula!
July 14th, 2012 at 12:46 am
Gotta love Tula at times like this.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:53 am
Even better than Greymouth.
-Z
July 14th, 2012 at 12:55 am
Haha! Love the ‘13 year old’ comment. Can’t wait to see the next page!
July 14th, 2012 at 1:27 am
I’m quite the Tula fan … so, seeing her radiant joy in panel #2 is a real pleasure for me. But, for pure “I love it!” reaction, the pending storm in her face in panel #4 is probably close to my favorite for the entire story to date. “Zona. I swear that I am going to murder you to death. Forever!”
:-D
Hope Nan is paying attention to Tula’s words there about bugs & dimensions. I know if I was standing there I’d be taken aback a bit by just how serious she is and what an honest outburst that is.
Is that Zero’s sister over there to stage right ..?
July 14th, 2012 at 1:40 am
The brave warrior princess gets nervous! Heh heh.
July 14th, 2012 at 1:58 am
Since Zero’s sister wasn’t part of the band, no. Have to go trawling through the archives to find the cast list:band, but for now, the only names coming up are Skyler and Valerie (and she’s deceased).
July 14th, 2012 at 2:50 am
That last panel is priceless. I wonder how many drunken howls, heckles, flying beer bottles, chew-your-opponent’s-leg-if-you-can-get-to-it brawls, and other mayhem they’ve played through, but this stops them all.
In other words, Tula’s got quite the set of lungs on her.
That and BWahahahaha!
July 14th, 2012 at 3:10 am
I’m thinking it’s the acoustics of the hall that are bouncing the argument right to the stage. But yeah, I didn’t expect Zona to hesitate like that, especially after her fangirl squeeing last page. Guess Mentl’s not the only one with room for doubts about a reunion.
July 14th, 2012 at 4:29 am
Uh, Zona. Hi?
July 14th, 2012 at 4:51 am
Still waiting for the other shoe to drop…
July 14th, 2012 at 5:54 am
wow. Self doubt from Zona? I’m shocked!
July 14th, 2012 at 6:28 am
Loving this SO MUCH! WTG JED!!!
July 14th, 2012 at 6:34 am
Yep. I’m feelin’ the Tula Luuurve right now. <3
July 14th, 2012 at 6:36 am
Going to go curl up in a corner, stuff a pillow in my mouth, and scream a muffled scream, now, because it will be DAYS before JED posts again… *mrrrRRRRRGgghh!*
July 14th, 2012 at 6:38 am
*pulls pillow out of her mouth* Maybe…yeah, maybe…if we vote it up to #1 spot on TWC…he’ll update sooner! Yeah! *clutches pillow, rocks in her corner…*
July 14th, 2012 at 6:51 am
Well, Lora, looks like I owe you one internet and 2 Lol Cats.
Awesome page JED. Worth the wait.
July 14th, 2012 at 7:03 am
I had thought she might restrain herself long enough for him to get through the set maybe… Well, maybe at least through the song. I even thought it would be self doubt that caused the delay. Was NOT expecting Tula’s voice to echo through the whole club, and so loud the band stopped playing! LOL
Just had a thought though. Maybe they did reach the end of the song while Zone and Tula were talking. MAYBE that’s why her voice echoed so loudly through the club! The band had just finished the song, and because of the yelling you have to do to be heard over the music Tula’s comment was a shout into the silence after the band finished the song! WOO HOO!
I am so waiting for Zona to leap the rail and charge the stage!
July 14th, 2012 at 7:07 am
No, not charge the stage… She’s going to leap the rail and walk to the stage. Walk, or maybe strut, but that won’t be the best part. It will be the look on her face as she approaches the stage… Determination, Anger, Love… THAT is what I’m really looking forward too. And ultimately, the look on Mentl’s face as well… *grin*
July 14th, 2012 at 7:08 am
Heh, Zony is beyond adorable here.
Props to Tula for managing to overpower a club´s sound system. Ouch.
July 14th, 2012 at 9:15 am
I’m glad we didn’t have the plot twist some had anticipated - Zona causing trouble in a mistaken jealous rage. Instead, her Erogenian values led her to err in the other direction of self-doubt.
July 14th, 2012 at 9:33 am
No wonder I was up after midnight waiting on this, before I gave up! I knew it was gonna be great and it is!!!
July 14th, 2012 at 10:18 am
Tula - Pure Frickin WIN.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:19 pm
Panel 5, WHERE did Tula learn atomic theory? Unless basic atomic theory is still part of the Erogenian basic education, so that even Zona would understand the very basics, I doubt Tula would make that sort of comment.
Oh, and I’m talking about basic atomic theory leading into the basics of elemental chemistry, not nuclear theory, with its resulting abstruse mathematics and explosive results. Given that the Erogenians had been an advanced culture, which has since collapsed and simplified, I could readily believe that they’ve retained basic theory, but it does seem dichotomous with the pseudo-medieval/tribal tone of the rest of their society.
The smeared bug analogy can still work for how a bug looks after it’s either swatted by hand or with something like a swatter or paper.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:26 pm
I think I’ll have to agree with the theory that the song has just finished and there’s a moment of quiet for Tula’s voice to be heard. The last little bits of singing in panel 1, and then only a couple more musical notes floating in the air, look very much like the song is being brought to an end. You’ll notice they’re in panels 1, 2, and 3, but not in 4 or 5, and definitely not in 6. And yes, Tula would be talking loudly to be heard by Zona up in the loft while the music is playing, so when it stops, yeah, she’d definitely be heard by everyone. So my vote is the song ended (completely) by panel 5.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:32 pm
I think Tula is about to throw Zona at Mentl, I mean really throw with maybe only a little magic.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Lictre, my philosophy is that the phrase “any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic” can also be turned around and used thusly, “any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from science.” Every universe out there across the multiverse, the infinite number of alternate universes, has its own set of rules. Those rules may be similar, but they are unique, and they are consistent and logical -within- their own boundaries, “unto themselves” as the phrase goes. If our world is run by technology, then our science (which is just Latin for “knowledge”) is the science of technology, and as we advance our understanding of technology, we get more and more details of how our universe works. In the universe that Tula comes from, their science (remember, “knowledge”) is magic, so the more they advance their knowledge of magic, the more detailed it becomes as they strive for greater understanding.
We call it chemistry; they call it alchemy. In the simplest form, it is the study of the bits of physical, tangible existence (matter). Our atoms are held together by the bonds of the weak, strong, magnetic and gravitational forces. Theirs could be held together by a clutch of bonds named gravitational, magnetic, cha, and magical. (This is, of course, pure speculation and is suggested only as one possible example out of an infinite variety.)
The one thing we do know is that Tula has studied at least 2 different types of magic, Erogenian, and Kivalian. And that she admitted the Kivalian version is somewhat limited in their viewpoint of magic…or words to that effect.
July 14th, 2012 at 12:35 pm
Well, well. So Mentl really can make her FEEL like a girl. Along with all the insecurities and ‘what-ifs’ that entails.
Beautiful vulerability shot in panel #4 JED, well done Sir.
July 14th, 2012 at 1:12 pm
And here Tula brings the siege engine…
Reference: mother queen tells Zona there is no way through her stubborness without siege engine (or something like that…)
July 14th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
@Lictre 1st of all atomic theory is nothing special. The ancient greeks already philosophized about it a couple of millennia ago.
Check out some stories from the Vedas and you´ll find actual time dilation effects mentioned.
And if you payed attention then you´d have noticed that Queen Mom there kinda opened an ancient tower. Perfectly preserved, inside and out.
Bet there were some “The Magic of Reality for Dummies” in the library. And Tula is kinda the über bookworm nerd.
July 14th, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Hi Jed,
Been reading your comic for a while. Though it began with a humble start which was, to me, little more than a guilty pleasure, your comic has developed into one of the most touching comics out there. The facial expressions and realistic writing for the characters - I am regularly being blown away. The emotions of the characters are so well depicted visually and “orally”, it cuts right to the heart. I don’t think I’ve seen anything close to this elsewhere on the Web. I struggle for the words to express it fully. Every last one of your significant characters has realistic motivations and multiple facets, all of which seem so genuinely human.
Your characters are like living, breathing people.
I don’t speak up much (and I’m sure there are hundreds of others like that too), but this page, after so many other amazing pages lately, forces my hand. Zona’s insecurity is so real, and so relate-able. You’re an amazing artist and I look forward to seeing this wonderfully executed story continue. Bravissimo!
July 14th, 2012 at 5:39 pm
Oh, just noticed. For those wondering where Zero was at, he’s there at far stage right (on the left side when looking from the audience) we just couldn’t see him from the other angle in the previous page.
July 14th, 2012 at 9:13 pm
@hans:
Actually, “paying attention” is insufficient. The events concerning the ancient tower did not take place in the regular comic. Instead, one would have had to have been energetic enough, perhaps on some day when one was waiting for the latest page, to scour the site looking for every scrap of Zona…
and thus, reading the story “The King is Dead” in the Freebies section.
July 15th, 2012 at 12:32 am
The “atoms” part caught my attention as well. It makes me kind of wonder how sophisticated Erogenian knowledge is of such things. Do they have a periodic table?
July 15th, 2012 at 12:38 am
Actually, JED’s mentioned it in strip and in comments, although there’s 601 of the first and thousands of the second.
But yeah, atomic theory goes back to…I want to say Democritus. Well before Socrates, at any rate.
July 15th, 2012 at 3:10 am
Am I the only one that thought Tula was channeling Doctor McCoy there a little bit?
July 15th, 2012 at 3:44 am
Great, unless the lights make it impossible for Mentl to see her, I expect a Mentl-fangirl-squee next page comparrable to Zona’s on last page.
On the other hand, even if all he can see is a silouette, there is hardly a chance that he doesnt addup the voices and the figures he is seeing.
July 15th, 2012 at 4:31 am
Jed please hurry with the next page. I just can not wait. I am on pins and needles. Wahoo!
July 15th, 2012 at 8:35 am
@Hardcover - NOPE! I was totally getting McCoy from that too
July 15th, 2012 at 8:38 am
Concern for the other person over oneself; that’s true love.
July 15th, 2012 at 10:07 am
@Danek: i’mma have to disagree. If you love someone but at the cost of yourself that isn’t love.
July 15th, 2012 at 1:19 pm
Dane, you’re quite right to point that out. In fact, I’d go so far to say as it’s real love, not enchanted, because if it were an enchanted version, she’d be beyond jealous and wanting to get rid of the other woman to keep Mentl for herself. Instead, she’s willing to forego her own emotional needs in consideration of his own…and I don’t know of any, or at least very many songs from the eras Mentl would’ve sung to her that would have encouraged her to feel that way. Not in the face of so many love songs that encouraged wanting a lover.
July 15th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
AdamZero, that is a form of love; it’s called agape. The Greeks had several different words for love because they acknowledged that it comes in several different forms. Ludis (loo-dis) is playful or young/first love; eros (err-ohss) is erotic love; storge (store-gay) is the love that builds up over a long time, like a long-term friendship or long-term marriage; agape (ah gap-ay) is selfless love, which can be defined as “simply because you exist, and are worthy of love” as well as “I care for your needs and wants above my own, because you are worthy”; filios (feelie-ohss) is brotherly/family love; and mania (man-ee-ah), obsessive love. (Yes, man-ee-ah, not main-ee-ah; we’re talking Greek pronunciation, here.)
Ginsha had mania forced upon her by Mentl’s chanting. Ludis is what Boric (the redheaded drummer) feels for Tula. Storge -might- be Rannik and Zona; they’ve had rocky times in their past, but they’re still friends to this day. Tula and Zona share filios, possibly Tula and Mentl. Eros is definitely a part of Zona/Mentl, but so is agape, because he believed he was causing her pain, and though it hurt himself to do so, he removed the source of her pain because he loved her…and here she is, wibbling over the same thing, his emotions being more important than her own.
Actually, agape might be a bit dangerous where the cha is concerned, the same as mania. Not nearly as dangerous as mania, but Mentl owes Zona the pain of removing himself from her side, even as he believed it was the right thing to do. (And it would’ve been the right thing to do without disrupting the cha, had she been enchanted like Ginsha was.)
…English is a lovely thug of a language which has stolen many a word, bit of terminology, interesting vocabulary, or jewel of an idea from many other languages…but when it comes to defining “love”…we’re still stuck with trying to stretch one word to cover all facets of a very diverse subject, however interconnected. It’s like trying to squeeze different people into a one-size-fits-all dress. They’re all people, all human beings, but oy, you don’t want to see me trying to fit into a dress that Tula would wear! (Maybe one of Zona’s tops would work, but not one of Tula’s…)
July 15th, 2012 at 2:15 pm
Nice description Jean, but AdamZero has raised a slippery issue. While I can agree that love means when someone else’s happiness/comfort/well being is vital to your own happiness/etc., it is a sickness when such “love” is destructive to a person. Wiling to die for your loved ones is fine, suicide for someone you love is not.
Something hard for people to learn, at least in our culture, especially for the young, is that you can love someone forever, but you don’t have to like them every day. Most of them get stuck at eros, which is why so many marriages are “until the Xth fight do we part”.
July 15th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
I can agree with how Jean puts it. Love without expecting anything return is pure. What i read into was the mania level of it.
Personally i agree that this agape describes them perfectly. Zona loves Mentl for who he is. Mentl loves Zona for who she is. They don’t love each other because the other loves them. They love THAT the other loves them, but it isn’t the requirement for their love.
Each gives without asking anything return. I think that’s how I read their love, and i think that’s balanced, as far as cha goes.
July 15th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Yep, as noted in comment s before, knew this was coming. To defusse the situation, will the small blonde girl be “just a friend/member of band”, a relative, the girl who is now dating Zero, or gay. And if gay, will she hit on Zona, Tula, or their new friend? Or, if ZED wishes to go totally afield, it could be Zi from Menage’ 3.
July 15th, 2012 at 3:17 pm
@justme said “Great, unless the lights make it impossible for Mentl to see her, I expect a Mentl-fangirl-squee next page comparrable to Zona’s on last page.
On the other hand, even if all he can see is a silouette, there is hardly a chance that he doesnt addup the voices and the figures he is seeing.”
O don’t think this will happen, Remember that Mentl Left with out a word to Zona, and he will be dreading/longing to see her. we’ll have to see what emotion wins out.
July 15th, 2012 at 3:27 pm
I’ve been working under the assumption that Zona is less affected by Mentl’s magic than others for the same reason that she was unable to see Vito - she’s more firmly rooted in the physical world than other people. If you check you can see that Mentl’s “love songs” had the strongest effect on magic users, who are the exact opposite of that, although so far they’ve been able to fight their urges.
Well, the strongest effect was on Ginsha, but that was the one time Mentl was actually trying to enchant someone into loving him, so she doesn’t really count.
July 15th, 2012 at 4:23 pm
@Jack
As I recall Mentl wasn’t trying for “love” as such on Ginsha. He specifically rejected using love and instead went for hunger or lust and put all his effort into that. The result was obviously somewhat mind warping.
Definitely something that will come back to haunt Mentl at some point in the future.
July 15th, 2012 at 7:24 pm
Zona has to overcome something I don’t think she has ever faced. Growing experience
July 15th, 2012 at 7:28 pm
I’m amused at how many members of the audience are almost arguing with each other about how true and unenchanted Zona’s love for Mentl is. The problem is the one that most needs convincing can’t hear your arguments, the guy who left Zona because he thought he was harming her with his magical abilities, and the guy who most likely is NOT going to be entirely happy to see her again.
Oh sure Mentl will experience a brief flash of joy at laying eyes on Zona again-right up until he starts wondering if she showed up because of enchantment-induced mania (the greek word for obssessive love) and either somehow talked Tula into helping her, or maybe if Tula bought her to him to somehow remove the enchantment.
Yeah, Tula’s gonna have to deliver a verbal smack upside the head to Mentl as well, and she’s gonna have to put even more effort into it than she’s already doing with Zona (who I’m sure will try to help).
July 15th, 2012 at 7:50 pm
Definitely have been dying of suspense over the past several pages.
July 15th, 2012 at 9:31 pm
@The Macnut: Agreed, Tula will probably have to beat Mentl upside the head as well. In fact, I half-expect him to panic, drop his guitar and run - well, except for the fact that the guitar is hanging on him!
Also, concerning the ATOM, as others have pointed out, that’s a term coined by Democritos, many centuries BC. That makes our girls at least a millenium more modern than the atoms.
July 16th, 2012 at 12:54 am
Zona! You…you big…GIRL!!!
ARGH!
July 16th, 2012 at 3:06 am
You know, I don’t like Tula speaking of atoms.
I would imagine that she would have a different descriptive model of reality. Something matrix-like, reality is illusion, the atomic theory is not correct, everything is spirit, etc.
If you start putting conservation of energy into magic, you open a can of worms.
July 16th, 2012 at 6:46 am
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. Arthur C. Clarke, “Profiles of The Future”, 1961 (Clarke’s third law)
July 16th, 2012 at 7:55 am
Magic is not incompatible with science. Science can explain how a baby is started, how it develops, and the entire birth process. And if that whole thing from start to finish between two loving people is not magic, then I am living in the wrong world.
I’ve never had all the Greek words to express love, but I’ve been blessed to receive and give unconditional love from and to two very wonderful women in my life. One’s life ended too soon and unexpectedly and I met the other later on. We are still together and I expect to be with her until my life ends.
July 16th, 2012 at 8:37 am
Oh, so help me … DO NOT flash to someone else right now! lol
July 16th, 2012 at 10:42 am
Guys, guys… “Science” literally just means “Knowledge”…so what you’re actually arguing about is the Science of Technology versus the Science of Magic. Whose to say that, in a world of magic, they haven’t advanced their understanding of the Rules of Magic to a level comparable with the Rules of Physics?
July 16th, 2012 at 11:59 am
So many comments, I was really hoping the plot to get just a little bit further when I was able to catch up on my day off. Oh well. It’s going to be a long wait till Friday.
July 16th, 2012 at 3:41 pm
Okay, now this is awesome. Of all the ways I thought it would go, I didn’t expect this. But this is better than what I was imagining.
July 16th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
So Jed, how much to post the next page right now?
July 16th, 2012 at 7:33 pm
The ancient Greeks had the concept of atoms, why not Erogenians?
July 16th, 2012 at 8:06 pm
Not only the Greeks, but ancient India as well. And there are those who interpret native folklore (Athapascan groups in particular) as showing an atomist worldview.
July 16th, 2012 at 9:42 pm
The split between “magic” and “science” (which plays into the “religion” and “science” split) is the same between “natural” and “supernatural”. “Supernatural” ==> “Magic” ==> Something we cannot yet explain with our current level of scientific knowledge.
Of course, this is skipping the part where the mechanics of the situation is obvious, but it is all in the timing…
July 16th, 2012 at 10:56 pm
I am amused by the fact that I found Tula’s use of the word “atoms” more jarring than Tula’s use of magic that makes her fly. Ah, suspension of disbelief, you are an odd thing.
July 17th, 2012 at 9:00 am
You ever have one of those awkward moments when your yelling something over a loud noise and then it suddenly gets real quite and everyone hears you yelling and turns to look at you. Hello?
July 17th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
love, love, love Tula’s expression in panel 4. Worth the wait!
July 17th, 2012 at 2:46 pm
It still amazes me the change created in a person by confidence. Either the presence or the lack of. It used to be Mentl with no confidence and we got to see that blossom in him. Now Zona always so full of confidence and it seems to have all evaporated rapidly. I am sure its because it means so much to her. At this point she feels like her very next breath depends on what Mentl will do.
July 17th, 2012 at 5:41 pm
@Deris: What makes it even better is when your child says something that would make a Marine DI blush and says it right when everything gets quiet. That is when you are sorely tempted to completely disown a child.
July 17th, 2012 at 8:43 pm
Surely, some of the confidence factor is associated with where they are. Mentl lacked confidence in Zona’s world and now Zona lacks confidence in Mentl’s world. Nicely done, Jed.
July 17th, 2012 at 8:52 pm
Since Tula really speaks Erogenian, not English, but Mentl hears what she says as colloquial English… by magic, apparently… she could be just talking about being smeared across planes of reality in really tiny bits, with “atoms” just coming into the picture because that’s how we would express the idea in modern English.
So we don’t have to conclude that Erogenia retains traditions from the past which preserve even the atomic theory of Democritus - let alone knowledge about electrons and isotopes and all that other science stuff.
July 17th, 2012 at 9:40 pm
Not just Mentl, everyone else in “our world”. The world the Erogenian’s live in I always thought was a parallel universe or world, hence the similarites with our planet. For example, many species like humans, horses, cats and so on exist in both worlds. Language is just another parallel I would imagine. Unless Jed has said the translation is magical in the past I assume it just a reflection of how the two worlds are linked.
July 24th, 2012 at 5:29 am
Sweet update, I won the Internet and two Lol Cats and I wasn’t even around to enjoy my victory. Oh well. I’ll enjoy it now.