June 11th, 2014
12 Jun 2014 · page 376 of 1306
A couple of people at the last con I was at asked me if Ben was going to be in this one. Here's your answer!
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Heinrich Wolfe, Jack O'Malley
Comments (57)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
Oh crap, can you imagine how many talents Voss has stolen in three YEARS?
Oh Ben, 12 year olds are smart, they just don't always listen very well.
And it looks like Voss is taking his sweet time.
Oh. Oh. This could be bad.
Think of Voss with a talent for magic.
Is it wrong that I am more afraid of Voss with actual magic (Besides his magic sight) than a really strong Voss with over a thousand stolen talents and a trickster spirit of envy?
It would take, what, a couple months at most to get from Nepal to England by train and steamship? Just what the heck has Voss been doing during that time?
You are assuming he at some stage stole the ability to navigate. This seems a little too sensible for him.
Maybe he stole some common sense
On a related note, I've got a new prediction about how he'll be defeated: Trick him into stealing some common sense!
Ooh, interesting theory on Voss' downfall. That would be extremely interesting to see, Voss will have a lot of time that he will (probably) need to examine. Said period of introspection should leave our heroes with enough time to whack him on the back of the head, tie him up, and banish Invidia. I imagine Jack smashing Voss' head with a branch and then kicking Voss in the stomach for good measure, even if he doesn't steal any of Wolfe's talents. That image makes me smile and giggle madly.
I have a prediction of my own. I'm thinking that once Invidia manifests in Widdershins she'll steal all of Voss' stolen talents...that or she'll give him what he deserves (or rather, what she thinks he deserves). Actually, she'll probably do both of these, and it makes sense for one of the Deadlies to do this; maximizing her power, minimizing risk, potentially allowing Invidia access to the means of summoning the other Deadlies without a human practitioner, then she disposes of her "host"/dupe and goes on her merry way with no one the wiser to her true capabilities.
In regards to Voss thefts, I think he might have taken so long simply because he's like a child with a new toy. His new toy is shiny and awesome, so he keeps playing with it and forgoes his other, older toys until he gets bored of his new toy. Except, Invidia is a theoretically infinite supply of toys, each one a new experience, without the time and effort one normally goes through, meaning that Voss, much like a 12 year old, has a short attention span. Poor Invidia probably is having a hard time getting Voss to focus long enough to make any progress towards Widdershins at all and may be regretting her choice of dupe.
Sorry... who's Invidia? I seem to have missed that part.
Invidia is the spirit of Envy that Voss made a contract with. I have to say that her power does seem highly appropriate for the sin of Envy. I wonder what made the author choose talent and/or skill stealing for a primary power, and am now wondering what kind of powers Greed and Pride have and didn't get to show us. Finding out what Lust and Wrath have should probably have us worried for our favorite character's fates.
Well, apparently he found his way to Nepal alright, so there's no reason he couldn't find his way back.
I suppose he could have considered returning to the his army unit and then using his new found skills to his advantage before going to Widdershins. You'd think he'd just desert, but he apparently didn't when they told him to head to Nepal, so maybe.
Possibly he's already there. As far as I can remember, Jack and Wolfe are relatively new arrivals to Widdershins themselves, so it would stand to reason that they hadn't crossed paths with Voss quite yet.
Maybe he decided to take as many detours as possible to get to Widdershins, in order to steal as many talents as possible. After all, Envy told him he would only be able to take and keep other's skills for the duration of the trip, but he never specified a time limit, or route.
Let's also not forget it took Mal and Wolfe three years to get to Widdershins from Prussia, which is slighly closer than Nepal. =P
He was told he would be able to keep anything he stole during the trip.
Never been quite clear on the year but assuming it is pre 69, which I think Nora had said she was from 34, then the suez would not be completed yet, which means the long way around Africa by boat. Come to think of it that was Princess Victoria that Harry saved and she took the throne in 37 so safe bet is he's got to take the long route. That is probably at least a good 6 months then assuming he took a relatively direct route with no stop overs and no waiting for a boat going where he wanted. Which at that time, not a guarantee.
I'd guess he's been dragging his heels - ability to steal talent does not include ability to stop being a lazy sonuvagun, and maybe he doesn't want to give Envy what he wants and risk losing the Eye or the like so soon?
In the 1830s trains were just coming in, and were relatively short
distance things. The steam ship was also a relatively new thing, and
expensive to boot. Now Voss' new talents should make it easy to make the trip in a few months, but if he takes his time, or does something stupid and has to dodge the law on the way, we can extend this quite a bit.
But the "three years later" needs correction since it was also only 3 years ago that Voss & Wolfe met. A better timeline would likely be...1831 Voss & Wolfe meet, Voss sent off to Everest. 1833, Voss reaches the anchor. 1834 Voss reaches England.
Those require money, and possibly connections, if there is strife and/or war occurring.
Anyone else notice that that incantation is in Envy's color and font? Think that might be important?
Hotel Gula goes... Out of business? Trying to read the paper.
Good catch on the hotel, but I don't think it's out of business. That third word looks too long...
So... is that a no on Ben being in the story, then?
Business must be good. The office is looking much better than when we first saw it.
[http://www.widdershinscomic...](http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-18th-2012/ "http://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/april-18th-2012/")
Need to invest in a new sign though. Branding and all that...
The repairs don't look to be that extensive. Indeed, it could just be repairs by the landlord. But the fact all 3 are still present does suggest some prosperity. Neither Wolfe nor O'Malley seem the type to stick around for free. Of course, it may not be more than a few days. But Wolfe is reading an English paper. He could have known how to read English before he got there, but learning on the spot is possible if they have been there a few months.
On the other hand, research into OMalley's sight seems to have just started. We have several possible excuses, but it still argues for a relatively short time since our heroes arrived in town.
Oh wow, it's taking him three years to get from more or less Tibet to England?
Actually, considering how far apart they are that makes sense.
Voss could have wasted a year or more, getting to Tibet in the first place. And any amount of wasted time before he got the order to go to Tibet, in the first place.
Three years ago, Voss shot O'Malley. Now we are here.
Well, it says 'three years later' after the page where Voss is leaving the anchor. Still, just like Mal was probably dragging his heels, Voss is probably busy running around stealing whatever takes his fancy and showing off. After all the spirit implied it would leave when they reached Widdershins, and Voss only gets to keep what he steals before then, so it's not so strange he wouldn't want to hurry.
Ah, but it also says "three years ago" on the first page of the chapter. I'd assume that this takes place roughly three years after Wolfe and Voss first met.
Fair point! I guess there's a year span the events of the flashback could take place in, then..?
Yay, Ben!
Wait a sec, it took Dominik 3 years to get to the Widdershins? Was there no one with a sense of direction he could rob?
That was my thought as well. He's still as thick as a yard of lard then, for all the nicking of talents...
It took Mal and Wolfe just as long and they didn't head there from Nepal.
It has just occurred to me, that perhaps Dominik wanted to track down Wolfe first. Who better to use his skill on, than the guy who was better than EVERYONE in practically EVERYTHING. And it would likely be only recently that Wolfe has appeared back in the public eye, with the whole Sloth incident.
well he was in like nepal, plus we don't know how long it took him to get there in the first place
It's Ben! Hi, Ben! I was wondering about Mal and Wolfe not acting like they had any experience with things like Sloth if this was all in the past, but now I need wonder no more! Looking forward to seeing what happens! Wolfe sitting in the chair smiling like the rational adult in a room of bickering children is great.
One also has to assume he doesn't know that Wolfe is in Widdershins.
That would certainly have sped him up in arriving. Perhaps he's been
looking around for Wolfe during his three year journey?
They're using Medieval Latin pronunciation? Why?! I would think they would use traditional pronunciation, you know, Pha~hsmia par~wus, pha~hsmia lewius, meeco, noonc ahbeo
Wait traditional Ancient Latin had pronunciation for W's in it?
No, tales, traditional Latin had no Ws, Zs, Xs or Js (I think that's the full list). I meant, that's how you would transliterate the summoning passage if you were to avoid using pronunciation symbols.
It might be Mal not trying to pronounce it right at all.
Heh. Looks like O'Malley is enjoying the opportunity to annoy Ben just a little bit too much there in the last panel.
Does Mal himself count as a dangerous Malform?
Anyone know enough Latin to have a clue what the not-a-summon is?
He's basically calling a little flame to flash and then go away again, if I'm correct...
Google Translate's Latin-to-English days "SPECTER small ghost lighter, flash, now go away"
My word, if it's been three years...Voss is most likely already in Widdershins.
Ahhhh man I love your dialogue so much. XD
Is the magic language perhaps latin or a close adaption of it?
Yes, it's a mangled version of Latin!
Okay thanks. I just started reading this comic today and I LOVE it. I like how the magic system was centered on emotions.
Yay, so glad you like it :D
Ah, here's a small enough bit of Latin that I can try to decipher it . . .
"Small spirit, lighter spirit, a word I can't guess but it's in first person present tense, now I go away."
"Lighter" as in "less heavy", of course.
I'm not faulting you for faulty Latin. Mangling Latin is fun. And I'll have to lok up the word "micere" sometime.
Wouldn't you wanna like...teach Mal to read, maybe familiarize him a tiiiny bit with Latin first? No? Okay, Ben, we'll do it your way...
BEN!!