September 8th, 2020
8 Sept 2020 · page 1018 of 1306
Money won't solve all of your problems, but it'll bloody well help.
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Heinrich Wolfe, Jack O'Malley, Vincent Knott, Yasmin Rana
Comments (123)
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Congrats on your fixed 'bode, buddy ;^; <3
Panel 5 dog is adorable.
Not just a fixed bode, but one someone else is on the hook to keep fixed!
... and so utterly doggish.
Ha, you can see that official so wants to outlaw that by-law (it's unlawful in his opinion)
Oh, and O'Malley should be careful in the Witch House, I hear its dimensions conform to a kind of unearthly geometry. You get weird dreams in there too
And all that gingerbread needs a lot of maintenance.
But is it a proper Witch House? It's not a proper witch house unless at least two sides of it are being shored up by balks of timber.
Chicken legs. Chicken legs are very important.
Mal as Baba Yaga. The vision once imagined can not be unimagined.
Thank you for that.
Nice load of references! Lovecraft, Grimm, and Russian fairytales!
That's what they said, "bawks of timber"
HA!
I'm disappointed that the lawyers seem to be reluctant about it! I understand the sort of mind that wants everything to be by-the-book, but they seem to dislike him personally ):
Maybe they don't appreciate a drifter like him having such an important position.
i think it is more that they want him to do a bunch of things in his official role (i suspect there is a bit of a backlog of paperwork which normally the witch deals with, but which takes longer without one) but didn't want to actually have to spend any money on supporting him.
i suspect that had the issue of a stipend come up for example later, they would not have adjusted the listed amount for inflation, and certainly would not have brought up the house issue. your basic "profit off the workers efforts, but give them nothing in return" capitalism which was very common in that time period.
Yeah, it's the sort of things they know he is entitled to, but aren't obliged to give him unless he asks for them. They're just annoyed that now he knows about them so is going to ask to get paid.
I am interested in what the services and obligations of the witch are though. What is Mal (and his retainers Ben and Wolfe, obviously) going to be filling his days with from now on.
'your basic "profit off the workers efforts, but give them nothing in
return" capitalism which was very common in that time period'
And it isn't now?
Less common in the UK now.
Elsewhere... :-/
Maybe they or people they know (family) were affected by the Seven Deadlies invasion of London, and they hold him responsible for not doing his job properly
That, or they don't like having to deal the paperwork his presence will create ^^;;
...pretty sure the Deadlies didn't get to London; it was Widdershins they infested.
And I think it was more like Mark Temple said above; they're happy to have him do the work, but not so thrilled about him getting a living wage and residence for it. I suspect they don't see it as the skilled labor it probably is.
Something like 'The Witch's duty is to protect us from spirits, and duty is its own reward'
I thought I needed coffee to be happy in the morning. Seeing Knotty handle these two lawyers has proved me wrong. Also love background mayor in panel one; she looks so relieved.
The lawyers are like, "Who the heck is this kid coming in and knowing all the details we weren't going to mention?!"
I don't see what they're so mad about. It's not like they have to pay him.
They're beaurocrats, it's their job to have the city pay as little money as possible!
(Except when it is to a company owned by a "friend", of course)
Nobody has to pay him - he specifically said on the last page that he'd do this for free since he's still only a law student!
ETA: Oh, you meant Mal, not Knotty. Duh!
Ah, Witch House, my favourite genre of music!
Don't know that Mal would much like it, though.
So, this then?
[https://www.youtube.com/wat...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttGgIQpAUc "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ttGgIQpAUc")
Pfffft! Ross "David Seville" Bagdassarian did it better, probably before you were born: <https: [www.youtube.com](http://www.youtube.com "www.youtube.com")="" watch?v="TYgOlqinH7A">.
That's a remix. For the orig orig: [https://youtu.be/cmjrTcYMqBM](https://youtu.be/cmjrTcYMqBM "https://youtu.be/cmjrTcYMqBM")
That's not really "house" though...
[https://www.youtube.com/wat...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjrTcYMqBM "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmjrTcYMqBM")
Hah! Knotty is to the case of rival lawyers what hurricane Katrina was to beachparties! XD
Whoa there Mr O’Malley! Before you get carried away by the thought of all that money, what exactly are the “services rendered” you have to sign up to? Presumably it’s all in that big pile of papers the lawyers have.
“With great power comes great responsibility, and who wants that?” Sam Starfall
Indeed. But this is a far better starting position in the negotiations than what it was starting to look like – as I'm sure any sqid would agree. ;)
psst, this has been on the map this whole time
Oh, I remember myself wondering what a museum it is... :)
Quite close to Eliza's shop and Harry's office, so fortunate!
I don't know if that's true. Hey, Kate, is the map to scale? If so, how long would it take to walk from the Witch's House to the Gibbet Street Station?
i am absolutely not a cartographer, so my scales will certainly be off. They were walking all over the place in Curtain Call though so that ought to give a vague idea!
Oh my witches, how did I miss that? Then again, this is the comic where Harry says in the very first chapter that the mark of thieves flew "bird-like" into Sid's hands, so I shouldn't be surprised.
Geez, comparing its size, Harrys office isn't even taking up an eighth of the same amount of space so that place must be HUGE
Forget the museum. That coach house is enormous. Aren't those usually rather small?
Maybe it's the municipal coach-parking garage?
It's roughly the same size as the theatre! That place is a MANSION!
It is adjacent to a parking structure and near to the railways... I am not sure if that is a good thing, professionally advantageous but the sounds and smells might leave something to be desired. How has this high thoroughfare slot remained a closed museum for over a month... must be aliens.
Being near the Anchor is surely professionally advantageous!
Depends. You'd be expected to respond to a midnight emergency if your home were within walking distance of the Anchor. If you lived far enough away from the house, you could probably say "I can't get there till morning", roll over, and go back to sleep.
Mal could be sleeping in a cot next to his door and he still might respond that way.
And much to Nicola's sanity, he won't be walking by the police station all the time to visit the Anchor.
It's two blocks from High Street, which I'm guessing is probably the main drag, or one of them. In my town at least, businesses which are near the main drag but not on it tend to do poorly, because when people are on the main drag they forget that those other streets are there.
mal is used to sleeping in cargo trains and such, he'll probably be fine!
Sneaky. And Clever.
...
squints suspiciously at the view [here](Â0Â "Â1Â") and that one large house which is weirdly more detailed than the others
not it i'm afraid, though i have drawn a little of the side of it before.
I'm honestly really glad you specified this, because I was getting dangerously close to Widdershins Re-Read: Staring Extra Intently At All the Architecture edition.
So is this your way of saying "Mal belongs in a museum"?
He's a national treasure.
His grumpiness needs to be preserved for future generations.
Ben: A stipend?
Mal: A house?
Me: A map?
You are my people! I do love maps. A lot.
Anyone got a link to the full size map?
it's on the About page- [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/about "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/about")
Wait, Voss's house is on the wrong side of the tracks?
Mal's heart starts to heal
To know this is real
This is how it must feel
To have a hoooooooooome!
Love that smile on panel one from Mayor Rana. "You know what would go good right now? Those things the Americans call 'banged grains.' Maybe with... salt? And butter? Definitely butter."
She's delighted that the enormous stipend is paid by the Crown. It doesn't come out of her local government budget.
I'm an American.... What's a "banged grain"?
You might translate it as a "popped corn".
Oh, you are in for a treat. :)
[https://amzn.to/33eAxte](https://amzn.to/33eAxte "https://amzn.to/33eAxte")
Pterry was a Brit, though, so that doesn't count.
So... did these lawyers have a smaller stipend in mind, or were they seriously going to "require" Jack to sign up for obligations without discussing pay?
"Embrace the healing power of 'And,' Brother."
It would have been an easier sell to have told him about the cash and the house first and then... "oh by the way, there are a few minor entailments that go with the position."
i suspect that they did not even know about the stipend and house at all, and instead were fixated on the paperwork they needed him to do. i'm sure the mayor might have brought up the issue of a stipend and housing but whether she knew of the old laws or not is open for debate.. and it is likely that if she did she probably wouldn't have thought to adjust for inflation.
Many bosses want you to provide your labor/service first and will then only pay you afterwards (the unscrupulous ones, precisely so that they can give you the minimum they think will keep you working).
It would seem the City takes care of its witch.
Well, the Crown does, anyway...
Woohoo! Go Knotty, get them where it hurts, right in fine print!
Wot U sed!
And if the Witch House was big enough to be a museum, it's certainly going to have enough space for three people and a few buggerups!
I think Ben might have some ambivalent feelings about being a tenant under Mal's roof, once he has a chance to realize it ;p
Define "a few". The US Marines are looking for "a few good men" and there are 186.000 of them. :)
Which is exactly why it's so hard for them to find the few good ones
The dangers of trying to make things go your way by using law as a bludgeon is that your own weapon can be used against you
jack: ah yes look at that amount i can toooootaly read that
Luckily Wolfe is there to be a great guy and tell him how much it is.
now that they are working together what are the chances we get to see knott and elizas spirits?
He's got a bode!
Love the look of shock on Mal's face when Wolfe whispers how much he will be paid.
When the opposition brings attorneys, bring your own.
I'm trying to think of a single (non-Pandemic related) problem I have that wouldn't be solved by money, and I'm coming up empty.
I guess it kind of depends on one's definition of "solved". Health problems aren't usually solved by money, even though surroundings and circumstances can be made more comfortable.
There be other things than money in this wicked world, but it takes money to buy most of 'em.
The silhouette effect in panel 1 is very neat :)
I've forgotten - just HOW LONG has it been since there has been a Witch of Widdershins? How many years of inflation...?
We don't know for sure, but the-Witch-before-this-one (being quite young) released Luxuria, and Izzy told it happened "some four hundred years ago".
That's a lot of inflation!
Oh wow, that's a long time
Well, Knotty's earning is pay today, that's for sure.
Rana probably remembers Eliza from their previous encounter at the end of Ch. 8, but I wonder if she recognizes Knotty as the person who almost got hanged in place of the intended victim.
where'd they store all the museum stuff then ?
It kind of depends on what kind of museum it was. If it was just "Here's where the Widdershin Witches-of-old lived and worked", they might not have added much in the way of other stuff.
O'Malley has gone from Broke-ass Hobo to Homeowner and very financially well-off within less than an hour and he has no idea how to deal with this
One of the many reasons he wants to keep Wolfe around.
keeping the "student" lawyer around to teach the bureaucratic lawyers how to serve the law as well!
Dem lawyers just got pwned.
Mal's starting to feel the emotion of belonging somewhere! And Financial Stability! Can he handle all these good things?!?!
Well, since the Witch of Widdershins is paid by the Crown, does that mean Mal has to meet the King? Will there be a big ceremony introducing him to Widdershins? Will the general populace respect him as the Witch or will all those legends make his life difficult? Lots of stuff still to come!
given the time period, wouldn't it be the queen?
Back in Vanishing Act Victoria was still just a princess when Harry met her, I don't know whether she has ascended to the throne yet
Victoria was still a princess at this point. See "Vanishing Act".
In the UK "The Crown" is often a generic term used to refer to the national government, not the monarch specifically
Still, it's been so long since Widdershins--and, by extension, England--has had an actual Witch, the Crown--as in the Monarch--might want to meet him.
Vincent is so CUTE when he out-lawyers lawyers
Rich witch!
Wonder if the exhibits are still up and if a story will be built around them?
Please?
I feel like Knotty is being a bit optimistic here. Failing to account for inflation and insisting that a Crown salary laid down in Shakespeare’s time is perfectly adequate has been standard practice for CENTURIES.
whee, free house !
Hopefully all of this new income, housing, and responsibilities doesn't put a damper on ol' Mal's irascible nature!
I keep forgetting Mal can't read.
Can I say how adorable Mal's face is in the last panel. Like he figured stepping up as the Witch of Widdershins was going to be a hassle and involve huge amounts of work, but he didn't realize there'd be benefits! (I don't think he's EVER had a house to call his own!) I feel for him right there.
"His house is a museum
When people come to meet'em
He really hates to see'em
The Witch of Widdershins."
::snap snap::
Vincent is awesome!
Knott:stutters and dismisses himself as a law student
Also Knott:finds obscure by-law about his client's pay and board that the older lawyers didn't know about