Wapsi Square Forum

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

I think it's interesting that the mummy on the right is jawless.

Dr. Otter wrote:As for this case, I was told once by an Asian friend that he thought persons of his particular culture could die from loss of face. Maybe that's what happened

/OUCH/

Another possibility... this sexual predator was one of the many Wapsi characters with paranormal connections. He was a paranormal-wannabe, and had made the mistake of attempting to raise his status by learning to speak Sphinx. This is quite impossible for humans... our facial structure and throats simply cannot handle Sphinx vocabulary and grammar, and that last phrase he tried to speak literally tore off his jaw.

Death by unnatural clauses, it was.

Fairportfan wrote:

jwhouk wrote:And it would explain why Mon doesn't talk to her parents much.

I don't think we have evidence of that - of course, are her parents still alive?

Minor point, even if they were dead, she could still go and talk to them--one of many benefits of being a Jaguar girl . . .

meisdadoo wrote:

Fairportfan wrote:

jwhouk wrote:And it would explain why Mon doesn't talk to her parents much.

I don't think we have evidence of that - of course, are her parents still alive?

Minor point, even if they were dead, she could still go and talk to them--one of many benefits of being a Jaguar girl . . .

Right after meeting Tepoz, she took a trip to Mexico to visit with relatives, her aunt, uncle and cousins. She speaks fondly of her Granpa Sullivian and her adventures with him. She's only mentioned her parents a few times during the strip, though the last time she did it was in the present tense.

By the By, here's the time Georgette tried to reconnect with Monica, and M blew her off.

And this is a lot more meaningfull after today's revelation.

Fairportfan wrote:

jwhouk wrote:

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

Yeah, I immediately thought of that after hearing "straight jacket".

It still begs the question - how in Hades did Monica manage to return to something resembling "normalcy" after that? Jin-tervention?

Her inherent Jaguarishness

Er, I think her inherent jaguarosity, when her self-worth is mocked, leads to shit like this:

http://wapsisquare.com/comic/just-getting-by/

Note the face glyph. I've always taken that as a seal to keep golems from destroying the world. Y'know, the ones who destroyed the world after being raped and grown into a monster, and then made to forget about it when they got too dangerous.

Monica is not a golem, but the rest must have done out of necessity. For all we know, back then McBride was out for a nightly fly, and just came across a free meal, freshly killed on the roof. Tina and Blackwing went suicidal, because their job was to give Monica the happiness she deserved, and they just scuppered that with one word.



And, for us, reading the archives will never be the same. Like a time loop, this is a multidirectional grenade thrown into the narrative. It's appropriately handled and well executed, but who can look back on a strip even as fun and innocent as this one, and ever laugh at it so easily again?

Catawampus wrote:

KnightDelight wrote:I would have thought the old standby:
"Cause of death: Suicide."

He died of natural causes. His head was torn apart, his body smashed up, and his blood all drained out, so naturally he died after all of that.

NARF!!!!

@KateKane and @catawampus: hugs to you both!

jwhouk wrote:

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

Yeah, I immediately thought of that after hearing "straight jacket".

It still begs the question - how in Hades did Monica manage to return to something resembling "normalcy" after that? Jin-tervention?

you need to read the next few strips to find out.... she can actually set her demon's 'pants/ass' on fire!!!!

NOTDilbert wrote:"So, how did he die?"

"Well, they found his dismembered jaw on the roof, and his blood-drained body was found smashed on the sidewalk out by the front entrance."

"My God...."

"Yup. Cause of death: Complications from a bout of influenza."

Because, what ELSE are they gonna put in the records......?

Another accident caused by falling into a door made of knives.

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

What surprised me is if this was a hint of what was to come it was placed in the strip 10 years ago. That is a long time to carry a plot indicator and makes me wonder how far in the future Paul plotted out the strip. It implies an incredible amount of detail work and thinking of a very complex nature. It also indicates it goes a lot further than any of us ever imagined about the story line, the background, the character structures, personal histories. So how far into the future does the story line already exist and the little clues that have been dropped with similar hints for future reveals.

I can think of only a very few authors that have done work this extended and deep and they were not daily strips. One was Tolkien and the incredible amount of detail he developed for his work.

I do have one request for Paul. Please put it in your will that if something happens, god forbid that it does, that your story and plots notes will be collated and printed so your fans can admire and respect the quality and depth of the work you have done. And so that we all don't die of disappointment and frustration by never knowing the entire story.

kingklash wrote:

NOTDilbert wrote:"So, how did he die?"

"Well, they found his dismembered jaw on the roof, and his blood-drained body was found smashed on the sidewalk out by the front entrance."

"My God...."

"Yup. Cause of death: Complications from a bout of influenza."

Because, what ELSE are they gonna put in the records......?

Another accident caused by falling into a door made of knives.

well to refer to other fiction, they *could* just say 'victim of werewolf attack'... or just call the MIB to clean up and invent a believable reason...

jwhouk wrote:

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

Yeah, I immediately thought of that after hearing "straight jacket".

It still begs the question - how in Hades did Monica manage to return to something resembling "normalcy" after that? Jin-tervention?

Perhaps the Glyph training has something to do with it.
It stands to reason that Monica was made more pliant and tougher, mentally speaking, just to be able to read and write Glyph.

Dave wrote:There's gotta be a flowery phrase of medical Latin which translates to "An acute case of just deserts", although I suppose that the Medical Examiner might not have known enough about the overall situation to consider using it.

I'm sufficiently curious as to what that phrase might be, I hit Google Translate for a teaser: "acutum casu merito".

I guess that's more of "an acute case of merit". Or it's just as horrible as Google Translate is wont to be. Don't ask me: My Latin is no better.

But perhaps it is sufficiently teasing to spur a Latin-capable good phrasewright into contradicting action?

illiad wrote:

kingklash wrote:

NOTDilbert wrote:"So, how did he die?"

"Well, they found his dismembered jaw on the roof, and his blood-drained body was found smashed on the sidewalk out by the front entrance."

"My God...."

"Yup. Cause of death: Complications from a bout of influenza."

Because, what ELSE are they gonna put in the records......?

Another accident caused by falling into a door made of knives.

well to refer to other fiction, they *could* just say 'victim of werewolf attack'... or just call the MIB to clean up and invent a believable reason...

My entry would be simply "hit and run" without noting what hit and who did the running.

zachariah wrote:

Yamara wrote:http://wapsisquare.com/comic/12312004/

What surprised me is if this was a hint of what was to come it was placed in the strip 10 years ago. That is a long time to carry a plot indicator and makes me wonder how far in the future Paul plotted out the strip. It implies an incredible amount of detail work and thinking of a very complex nature. It also indicates it goes a lot further than any of us ever imagined about the story line, the background, the character structures, personal histories. So how far into the future does the story line already exist and the little clues that have been dropped with similar hints for future reveals.

I can think of only a very few authors that have done work this extended and deep and they were not daily strips. One was Tolkien and the incredible amount of detail he developed for his work.

I do have one request for Paul. Please put it in your will that if something happens, god forbid that it does, that your story and plots notes will be collated and printed so your fans can admire and respect the quality and depth of the work you have done. And so that we all don't die of disappointment and frustration by never knowing the entire story.

While not quite as detailed, Kosuke Fujishima has done something similar with his series "Oh/Ah My Goddess". For those who've spent the time really following the base plots it has become clear that he was laying the ground work for plot developments in his current story line (2013) back when it was first starting out in 1988. This is somewhat difficult to see due to his habit of writing each story as a separate present day event and not worrying about surface continuity, but character developments and long term plot reveals are all turning out to have in the works from the stories start.

I don't think Paul had it THAT planned out - until he introduced glyph to the whole thing. (Of course, that was early 2004, so...)

And as for the comment made by Nudge in the referenced comic (Just Getting By): You suppose that she used a "code word" that set off Monica? You know, one that the guy who was found bloodless and jawless may have used?

Comic for the 22nd is up onFacebook.

Monica is one tough cookie.

And since she never told her friends, it's why she shut Tina down here. (props to Sidhekin for the link earlier in the thread)

Timotheus wrote:

zachariah wrote: I can think of only a very few authors that have done work this extended and deep and they were not daily strips. One was Tolkien and the incredible amount of detail he developed for his work.

While not quite as detailed, Kosuke Fujishima has done something similar with his series "Oh/Ah My Goddess". For those who've spent the time really following the base plots it has become clear that he was laying the ground work for plot developments in his current story line (2013) back when it was first starting out in 1988. This is somewhat difficult to see due to his habit of writing each story as a separate present day event and not worrying about surface continuity, but character developments and long term plot reveals are all turning out to have in the works from the stories start.

While it has been running since 1988, and yes I have been following it for longer than I've been following Wapsi, the opening hints about the conclusion was not foreshadowed. Once Keiichi made his wish the final result was locked into place. It just has taken a very long time for the situation to finally resolve itself. The rumors are that the series is approaching its end. The author has said he has taken the characters and story line as far as he can and it is time to wind it up. If you like magic, magna, heartwarming story lines, and not ecchi, seinen, or H, then this is a very good manga to read. Here is where you can read all 299 issues of the manga. http://manga.animea.net/ah-my-goddess-c ... age-1.html

Boxilar wrote:Comic for the 22nd is up onFacebook

Not seeing it. Says content unavailable. Restricted to Friends/Followers, maybe?

Yeah, you have to follow Pablo to see it.

It's impressive, and it explains. A. Lot.

(waiting for the title to hit "send" at midnight)