October 11th, 2019
11 Oct 2019 · page 935 of 1306
A little catching up.
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Gren, Heinrich Wolfe, Sidney Malik
Comments (43)
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Just fine gentlemen! Now do you want him dead or a live?
Ben: Umm... Don't tempt me.
Wolfe just starts crying
good job, mal, now your friends are worried about you...
or possibly, ONE friend is worried about you, and the other knows what you are up to and is trying to distract the other friend from looking for you (wolfe seems to be SUSPICIOUSLY willing to let sid NOT go hunting for mal...)
I doubt Mal has shared his plans with Wolfe for the only one reason, his "probably" about the prospect of his return.
While I'm happy that their new jobs are so well suited to them, the fact that they didn't go back to their previous one makes me think Mal has been gone a while and Ben's decided he's been gone long enough while Wolfe is just trying to let him have some space.
That would make sense. I was a little surprised that they weren't catching malforms anymore, but it would be hard to do that without Mal.
Presumably, without the deadlies and Sloth in particular; the demand has dwindled below the level required to support a dedicated service.
Actually, it was non-profitable at the time "Green-Eyed Monster" (they had "no wages", by Ben's words). And after the house got burned in "Curtain Call" and Ben's unpaid loan for it, he must need money badly.
Last time Mal tried to leave with Wolfe's knowledge of it, it didn't end up going as planned.
Wolfe's expression in the last panel says otherwise. I believe Wolfe was simply being polite in what he said in the 4th & 5th panels.
I don't think it is only politeness because we see Wolfe's doubts about that on the first page with them: [https://widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/october-1st-2019](https://widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/october-1st-2019 "https://widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/october-1st-2019") And it does look like Wolfe's appealing to politeness was just a pretext there when he really meant something else.
I do think Wolfe worries about Mal's absence, though, just he isn't sure searching for him is the right idea. I suppose he suspects (unlike Ben?) that Mal went away because he wanted to and feels bad about it and doubts if it's right thing to try and find him against his own will.
Oh, yes, I see what you're saying. You were right to link to the page where they're approaching the outside of the building -- now their dialogue on that page makes much more sense.
I wonder if, too, Wolfe may feel a bit guilty for asking Sid for helping them look for O'Malley, when Sid is visibly not coping well with Harry's absence -- and they all know the reason that Harry is missing.
"You have, of course, considered... [that he might not want to be found?]"
"...for 'tis in vain/ To seek him here that means not to be found."
I love that Ben just can't help himself. There's a mess. It must be cleaned!
Especially with the well placed dialogue.
Oh yes, I can just see Ben working in a library! One of my jobs is shelving and straightening at my local library, and he'd be perfect for it with his tidying instincts and eye for precision.
I like the idea that, in the various eras of the cooks from Piece of Cake, the Widdershins University Library has a plaque dedicated to the best librarian they ever had.
Indeed, he seems OCD enough that he would enjoy shelf reading. Just thinking about that gives me PTSD flashbacks.
As a fellow Emily who also works at her local public library I agree entirely! I'd love to have Ben on my staff!
Businesslike, cynical Ben and charismatic Wolfe. Excellent good cop / bad cop team.
I don't know if he's cynical per se (nearly everyone would seem cynical standing next to both Sid and Wolfe). I mean, he trusted Fairbairn. He's a bit judgemental about some things (cleanliness, organization, propriety, etc.), but isn't especially cynical.
Still, Wolfe and Ben do embody the sympathetic/standoffish part of the dichotomy quite well.
Ben looks cynical only because there is no O'Malley standing next to him! :(
Imagine how miffed Ms Verity Cunningham, the World's Greatest Hunter, is going to be when she finds out her favourite cousin has hired Mr Malik instead of her.
Maybe he'll suppose that Sid would work in the team with her. ;) They must become friends!
Or maybe Mr Malik hired her already to find Harry.
And imagine how miffed Ms Barber will be when she is rescued by Verity Cunningham.
Nah, Harry will come across Verity in some sort of scrape as she makes her way home, dig her out of it, and Verity will claim that she found and rescued Harry. Harry will refrain from shooting Verity on the sole basis that she is out of cartridges and/or guns.
Oh, good point; hopefully she's in France or something.
This is actually a really funny concept for me since France is my guess for where Mal is since he kept talking about going there in the earlier books.
oh wolfe. he knows o'malley doesnt want to be here and wants to cover for him. but he MISSES him! oh yeah and theres witchwork to be done
Why would Wolfe be so reluctant about getting Sidney's help?
I think he's afraid that Mal doesn't want to be found.
Wolfe is playing the violin as a job now~~
A job job!
Sidekick characters team up?
SIDEKICK CHARACTERS TEAM UP!
Hey yeah, I hadn't thought of this. Can anyone think of a good variation on "Teen Titans"?
Boys Brigade? Not my best suggestion, sort of reductive really.
Kinda late, but "Assistants Assemble!" (more of a rally cry, but....)
That last panel... I can't help but think of Thomas O'Malley. "O'Malley the alley cat!"
Ben is working in the University library? I suddenly have an image of him having a drink with Marten from QC, and them commiserating and swapping stories.
(Fanart plz <3)
Benjamin: If you find him alive, bring him back safely
Sidney: And if he is... dead?
Benjamin: Bring back his wallet, he owes me for lunch last week