July 17th, 2020
17 Jul 2020 · page 1004 of 1306
Thanks for waiting, y'all!
Cast: Arpana Sherpa, Harriet Barber, Jack O'Malley, Nyree
Comments (72)
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<3
This is a page of good feelings. I don't think I've ever seen Mal smile so much at once. And Harry's relief at knowing her family is safe is just so nice to see :)
must be even nicer for Mal, he's looking right at it. and looking happy about it.
OH RIGHT HE CAN LITERALLY SEE IT! I forgot about that!
(Silly me I keep assuming people interpret emotions based on facial expression and context ^^; )
Holy...
Yes, of course.
OK, let's form a club of oblivious readers.
Maybe the armor has come off somewhat?
Oof. Completely forgot she didn't get closure on the whole Deadlies Rampage. She's ready to start relaxing, seeing all her friends...
Then realize that Gren isn't at the office.
...and then she meets Eliza.
...and Eliza meets the Witch of Widdershins...
And also discovering the other 2 Harry Barbers running around Widdershins
Seriously, I instinctively started mentally imagining that scene from Spartacus but modified to fit the shenanigans going on.
Worth the wait. It would be amusing to see Panel 4 in O’Malleyvision, so long as we are safely on the other side of the fourth wall.
I'm curious about Panel 6 O'malleyvision, personally. He's still looking up
I got to imagine it's Relief writ large.
that's a relief
:D everyone’s fine
My gut instinct was that Henry survived, but it's still nice to get confirmation. 4 years is a long time to be "fairly sure, but...."
Four years? Had it really been that long since the end of Cutain Call?
Curtain Call ran for about 2 years in total, but the last time we saw Henry was in September 2016 (though things looked optimistic for him at least!)
Can I just say that it is refreshing to have a story with something like two powerful and strong female mentors teaching a questioning skittish male character. The diversifying from gender stereotypes in this comic is really nice to read.
Hehe, it does help that given how far the Anchors are from each other, there is really no significant excuse not to try it out.
Maybe Mal and Aang should start a club?
(searches for his social thesis on gender stereotypes in media; realizes he left it in his other pants)
I would temper that by pointing the stereotype of the role of teacher often devoted to women (usually with a serving of motherly side) in traditional stories.
Although you got me at "powerful and strong". Usually, once the guy has learned enough, the lady falls back in the background, emphasizing the mother-son parallel. (or she goes back down under the lake after delivering the +1 sword, like a common pizza delivery boy). Here, these two ladies are teaching the new guy as he is joining their club; while they may go back to their island/mountain at some point, these two ladies will still be powerful witches with an important and active role in this universe.
Also, as pointed by Frank Herbert in Dune, there is a strong gender stereotype of men becoming warriors and women being more attuned to magical/spiritual endeavors. Thus, powerful female witches are a common sight in fiction.
Although, again, right here we have a male witch. And a female warrior.
There are actually quite a number of female warriors and male spellcasters in Widdershins stories. And yes, that's quite refreshing.
I probably didn't word what I wanted to say properly. Also I consider mentors a bit different than teachers. They are offering advice when he needs it, but not constantly being there. Their offering advice doesn't downplay their role of being witches. Not exactly a mother-son role but elder coworkers who are more knowledgeable in the field than him. Sorry if that still doesn't clarify.
Eh, no worry.
I was mostly nitpicking. And I cannot let a chance to quote Frank Herbert to pass by.
"Can I spot a cliché/tropes" is a big hobby of mine. But that's the reason I started my previous post stating about not having any formal education in story analysis. Just because I think I spotted a stereotype doesn't mean I'm right. And, late in my life, I'm more and more aware that a cliché/trope/stereotype is not inherently bad. It's all about the contest. And the talent of the artist.
tl;dr: we both like the characters and the stories. It's all that count.
How are you, Kate?
alright, thanks! dunno if it was hayfever or what but something knocked me down pretty hard at the start of the week, was very dizzy, couldn't concentrate and such. fine now though!
Just be careful in case it could have been a sinus infection. Those can spread to the ears if you aren't careful. Glad you are feeling better.
i'll take care! i definitely have pretty bad hayfever though, and tried to sit out in the garden to play with the niblings as we hadn't seen them for months, and thus paid the polleny price... internet seems to think that can hit your ears too. humans are badly programmed.
I know how that goes. Being allergic to dust and grass, I am bad no matter the season. Winter was the worst though back when I was living with a woodstove. The constant allergy cough made people treat me like I had the plague. I recommend trying a decongestant if you are feeling dizzy again during your hay fever season, since it could be sinus pressure. Hitting the ears is due to your eustachian tubes being connected to your sinuses. Your tear ducts are connected too, so blame the human body for being so interconnected. Allergies are definitely never fun.
Figures, our biggest weakness is our ductwork.
And not even duct tape can fix it!
All hardware is about tradeoffs.
Hey, I know the feeling. It's no problem for us to wait.
It's good to have you back!
Been there, and I NEVER get sick! Felt like I was falling asleep on my feet! But dizzy and unfocussed, not tired
Harriet (grabs O' Malley by the shoulders): Give me all your tobacco. Now!
Heh, jokes aside, glad to see that weight of worry lift from Harriet's shoulders. Now let's get her back to Sidney before he gets himself into a big ol' heap of trouble
I will make what is probably a wildly inaccurate prediction...I foresee a scene in the near future where Harry grabs Sid and dips him down for a kiss. Kinda like that VJ-Day photo in Time Square, only Harry is the Sailor and Sid is the Nurse.
If it doesn't happen for real, we need that fan-art.
You totally nailed the "Holy Crap, I can breathe again" expression harry has in that last panel. Decompressing after several weeks is just such an intense feeling. Also, Jack is legit jsut happy to be giving someone good news, the big softie.
Christ. Harry's been carrying that for months, hasn't she?
We all forgot, like jerks.
Okay, you got the plot of book 7 done, but there's ANOTHER evil villain running around Widdershins NOW! Maybe save the catching each other up until after you've dealt with those fake Americans?
Hey, they might be real Americans. Which is even worse.
(Also, American-British dual citizen here. I will doom you all, I'm sure)
"Real" Americans? There ain't no such thing! They're like the Fourth Anchor.
Harry!!
I love the implication that Mal has been keeping in touch with the Barber family (or at least Nicola).
I'm on the edge of my seat for the impending chaos of the reunion of all the characters from all the different subplots.
[Stateroom Scene](Â1Â "Â2Â")
And two hard-boiled eggs!
Yay! Henry is Not Dead! And not undead either, but actually alive and well and as annoying as ever!
God, I love the little details with Mal's witch vision, like that last panel where he looks so gwntle and happy looking up at Harry's soul.... ugh so good.
ALL THREE WITCHES IN THE SAME PANEL HELL YEAH
Are we presuming the fourth door is missing because of a missing witch?
perhaps they are just not very social.
I think Nyree said something to Harry at some point about knowing the city witch was back because the door had appeared again.
Henry is okay! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been waiting a very long time to hear that.
"btw, some yank locked your dog in a freezer."
[ONE MINUTE LATER]
*destruction and mayhem*
Y'know, now I'm wondering what the climate is like in the anchor. Because finding a temperature that is comfortable for people stepping in from wildly different biomes and hemispheres is probably gonna be tough. Hm. Maybe everyone perceives it as their ideal temperature?
it kinda has to be that way- there's realistically some extreme problems pressure-wise with nipping between a pacific island and somewhere within sight of everest, but luckily this is a comic book
The travel brochure for the intersection of the magical and physical world does make a point of its excellent climate controls
I feel like there is going to be a rather large confrontation very soon when Mal opens the door to let Harry back into Widdershins and the bad guys are all being held off by Wolfe and Harry with Sidney behind the bad guys. They may even kidnap Mal.
Such perfect timing!
Also, I assume it's an intentional effect, but I noticed that Harry's arm and leg are in sketchy form coming through the door. Neat!
Oh, that makes sense. I thought maybe she was rushing in pell mell with her leg bent back at the knee.
I had to zoom in, but there's faint white lines (arm) and yellow lines (leg) present.
The Island witch didn't show that effect but I'd guess she was already through the door fully in panel 1.
So there are!
Oh, good catch! I read it the same way Kuku did, that Harry was coming through the door at a run.
Makes me wonder if Nyree and Arpana sometimes speak with each other in Maori/te reo and Sherpa, and if so if Mal has witchy language gifts he doesn't know of yet.
Also wondering if Sid taking off after the Bad Gun-toting Yank is being led toward a chaotic reunion with Harry.
Hello, let me introduce you to Kate Ashwin, whom you have apparently never met before...
Nyree enjoying every single minute of this....
He looks at her aura, and it pleases him very much, as well as surprises a bit :)
And she's without her gun...
Not much else to do here in Georgia - except watch the numbers going up every day.
Three different Harrys running around, and of course the one who isn't actively searching for Mal is the one who finds him.
So, Arpana just hears Harry's boss music suddenly chill out to a more peaceful track?
Nobody's twigged to the implication that Mal is going to have the "opportunity" to learn two new languages? I'm excited about that!
I can just picture Harry's warrior knight like spirit aiming a pointy weapon at Mal's chest or otherwise trying to get in his face for answers in panel four he looks so startled! Hahah I had originally expected their meeting to be a lot more joyful at first but of course the ferocious demand for news is Harry all the way.