Grrl Power #1212 – Brandish? More like Bland-ditch
Yes, I couldn’t think of a better page title. Sometimes I sit there thinking for like half an hour and google various idioms related to what’s on the page to turn into puns, and sometimes I just give up. There aren’t a lot of idioms about demons waving axes around in a comic shop.
I imagine a lot of interactions at demon owned/operated and customer frequented shops, there’s some expectation of belligerence at the checkout counter. You see, Sydney’s mistake here is not having a spiked baseball bat or a halberd on obvious display with a sign that says “Not for sale. The only way to get this is to PISS ME OFF!”
Demons are all about establishing dominance, which means the beginning of every commercial on Demon TV starts with “YOU PAY ATTENTION TO ME YOU LITTLE PUSTULE! IF YOU COME INTO MY STORE AND I FIND OUT YOU THOUGHT A COMMERCIAL WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR A BATHROOM BREAK I WILL KICK YOUR ASS! YOU WILL BE TESTED!”
Most people would be put off by that, but a lot of demons would think “I like the cut of his jib.” or “He’s no nonsense.” but also “I could take him.”
What I’m saying is Loki-horns-battle-axe-hammer guy here is trying to establish that he’s a serious guy. Sometimes you gain the upper hand, sometimes you get arm-barred by a neon-blue space noodle. It’s all part of the demon social contract.
The September vote incentive is up! Let’s call it the November vote incentive and just say I’ve still got two I.O.U’s, eh?
Well, Dabbler is doing her Dabbler things, and the Patreon version has a nude variant and a comic that… I don’t know, expounds on the goings on of the initial picture?
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Double res version will be posted over at Patreon. Feel free to contribute as much as you like.
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*Not* shielding was a good idea, I think it might damage the counters/product here.
And glad to see we have someone on the phone, I hope to Archon.
I am not sure Archon is needed. Although Sidney is showing an astonishing amount of restraint and consideration, those guys still could already be half a galaxy away, floating in space or being reduced to shadowy silhouettes on the adjacent wall.
Someone did not do their intel properly.
> being reduced to shadowy silhouettes on the adjacent wall.
More like “what wall?” The PPO is no joke.
Of course she’s showing restraint.
Do you know how much the stock of this place costs?
The game isle alone might actually put a dent in her ridiculous paycheck.
Not to mention insurance concerns. One little claim for “demons turned my store into a war zone” and you’re suddenly uninsurable. At least from Earth based insurers. I hear the demon mafia is looking to branch out. “This is a nice place you got here. Be a shame if something were to happ….ow, ow, ow, my arm, my arm!” I guess that might not work, either.
Heh…yes, I could absolutely see an insurance company dropping someone for this. Can you imagine what the Winchesters paid for insurance premimums?
Isn’t she supposed to refrain from teleporting people into space because Fracture Station complained, or at least let on that they were trying to find out who was doing it, and she doesn’t have any other bookmarks?
She does have a kaiju planet on her list. He can be a tough guy there.
She was set up with bookmarks by Frix and Cora. We’ve just not found out where they go, yet.
she has a bunch of bookmarks from what we saw. Just no idea what each one is or if she’s been checking them out (which would be recklessly risky with no knowledge of what each of the planets or locations is) which really is how she got to Fracture Station in the first place. Earth was glitched *assume its not anymore* and leaving Alar the next non glitch turned out to be Fracture Station.
Shielding may also be viewed as weakness. In demon interaction, good offense is best defense.
I dunno, being able to stand there and snark when someone detonates a planet-killer warhead in your face shows a certain amout of “no, you can’t fuck with me” strength.
Dave, if you don’t have Sydney confiscate that…. halberd monstrosity for display purposes after that explanation, I will be disappointed in you.
She can order her own custom version. Or a replica from a game.
Professionally though, confiscating a weapon from a suspect is expected behaviour.
I have serious doubts that Maxima isn’t already on the way. Less disturbing members may also be somewhere around the store anyway. Followed by this is Parfait’s old crew…
Honestly I’d want Dabbler to respond. She and Halo can easily take these guys, and she actually knows what she’s doing when it comes to negotiating succubus slavery contracts.
Agreed. Sydney should have enough firepower to win the fight, just more hands would be useful to keep everything under control without collateral damage, and Dabbler has a lof of hands and a deep bag of tricks.
Most important, however, would be her cultural knowledge.. She will know how talk to demons, and how legitimate some of their issues might be.
I imagine Sydney has gotten a fair amount of off-screen classes on what she is and is not allowed to do, legally, when acting as a member of Archon. She is for all intents and purposes a police officer. While she did threaten to break his fact after he slammed the counter, I don’t think that was The Mighty Halo speaking, that was just Sydney, Comic shop owner shouting at someone who nearly broke her counter. But the moment the guy made a creditable threat and drew his weapon, Sydney did a number of things. She disarmed him. She restrained him non-violently. She gave him options for this to end without further escalation which included him leaving peacefully. Even when they didn’t quite catch on what she was implying with her threat, she still made it clear that “Get out of my store” was in fact the only real option presented and no, you can’t just trade this guys elbow being broken in exchange for staying.
She is in fact acting surprisingly responsible here.
I suspect that some backup will be called in to assist and ensure everything is done properly, most likely a Harem because she can respond pretty quickly and they don’t need another powerhouse to give Sydney backup. And given Dave’s comments at the bottom…. I imagine Sydney’s response will get her enough respect among demons that her comic shop becomes a hot spot for demons as word of mouth spreads that she doesn’t mess around.
I totally agree with you. That is not a good idea
I think she’s showing restraint.
Eh, everyone has trouble with names sometimes. Hell, Gary Larsen titled on of his Far Side comics “It Was Late and I Was Tired.”
“Strong-arm tactics Vs strong-tentacle tactics”, maybe?
“Error: strong-arm tactics insufficiently strong”?
“Strong-arm tactics Vs Noodle-arm tactics. The result may surprise you!”
“Bull out of a comic shop”
“Now he’s black AND blue”
“Hentiorb! I know where this is going”
“Non mi rompere le scatole!” Don’t break my boxes, in Italian
“He just had to axe”
Option 2: We stay here and Molester orb tentacle two gets to probe him where he has never been probed before!
Well, he is here with a Succubus. Do not assume she hasn’t probed there.
So lets say “Nr. 2 gets to make your Succubus jealous/happy.”
Do we know for sure that the she-demon is a succubus?
We’e not entirely sure, but
– she’s wearing a collar
– WoG is that she arched her back on the last page to show off her assets
so it’s very likely.
It could be a fashion statement. In a society that hyper-prizes succubi, mimicking their unique style might be considered a turn-on.
Succubi aren’t the only ones who want to flaunt.
Pain or/and pleasure are all options.
From Rumble to Stumble. Break Arm Tactics. Not in My House! Axe a Silly Question. Infernal Dialog. Devil in the Retails.
Take his axe in lieu of damages to the floor Sydney. It will make a nice trophy.
Its nice to see Sydney do some actual fighting instead being sidelined for once. At least, I hope that is the case. It feels like Sydney gets side lined a lot either having to hide in a closet, being captured, or being poisoned/stunned for the whole fight, or just missing an entire fight because she just happened to be away at a shooting range for no reason.
She was at the shooting range for mental health reasons.
Mental health is important, especially when you have a mountain-cutter to hand at all times.
Technically she is still a recruit that shouldn’t be in the field.
She’s not a recruit any more, though that is a recent development.
She’s a Texan.
No, she has graduated from her training. She may be a private but given the other members of her team that is still a lot, we know that will change before long because, from the opening of the story, she is a corporal.
3.
Your bonus text on the bottom of the page has a glitch with an extra “wrong” in front of the word technically.
it misses a comma, but the wrong seems intended.
He’s not wrong, technically wrong, which is the best way to not be wrong.
Don’t worry Dave, a punny title is always a good title.
The big guy didn’t know where Parfait was, so he just tried axing around.
He axed around and found out.
His axamination was unsuccessful.
A edgy style but not sharp enough to back it up.
He cut too many corners with his blunt approach.
Axe and you shall receive – the mighty Halo’s wrath that is!
He axetively antagonized her. Frankly, his behavior was inaxecusable.
“Bland-ditch”?
.
Boooooooo!
Battleaxe/hammer guy’s boss clearly isn’t fussed about maintaining his goon’s loyalty. That, or he’s fumbling to feel his way around the human social contract due to unfamiliarity.
I didn’t get the impression they were boss and goon. Considering that Parfait is a teenager, they’re probably peers of her, and just a group of friends.
Also note the that the Hellberdier was much more “enthusiastic” about the whole thing than Hullo guy. The whole thing was probably his idea.
He probably just thinks he’s standing up for his friend, but said friend probably wouldn’t have gone for it by himself.
The #1210 confirmed:
a. it’s his claim to Parfait they’re defending,
b. he’s the one with the intel and
c. he’s the one who manages the money being spend.
This makes him likely to be the boss for he has motive, means and opportunity:
motive: his claim is the one defended,
means: he at least manages the money,
opportunity: he’s the one with intel.
You’re misremembering b., axe guy was the one with the intel, as seen in panel 2 of #1210.
Hullo guy might just be the richest of them, which explains why he’s the one paying for the trip and the one with a “claim” to Parfait.
My point is that there doesn’t have to *be* a “boss”. If they’re all friends and peers, this can just be the idea of axe guy who convinced everyone else.
I suspect the “Hullo” guy is the bully’s school buddy, and was sick of hearing him whine about loosing his school crush, so he dragged all 3 of them to the shop to kidnap Parfait “to shut him up.” At least it’s the vibe I’m getting from this situation. Dabbler was Tom’s school crush if you remember…
Not quite…
In #1210, panel 5 axe guy is pointing at Hullo guy when he say “… belongs to him” and Hullo guy waves.
So Hullo is the hopeful future owner of Parfait.
It’s unclear whether axe guy is a minion of Hullo or more like a friend helping Hullo.
Or maybe axe guy is just along because he doesn’t like Tom?
Could be both, but from the way Tom was acting right up until Max grabbed his finger and body-slammed him, or mostly of all when she grabbed his face and squeezed, he called her his slave. So this could be the same attitude, “She’s a slave, I want her, and she was stolen from me” which isn’t the entire thing she might of CHOOSE Tom to be her bonded master, and he’s denying the fact she does HAVE a choice in the matter. A-holes gotta a-hole… they look like minor demons, and were counting on adding Parfait to their number to up their standing. These guy’s are clearly dumb enough to not know the background of the people that are trying to force them to release Parfait to them. About as illegal as a a parent that was denied any contact with a child trying to take them… Tom will hurt them when he finds out and finds them! That is if there’s anything left of them by time help arrives. Max had tested lighthook after the first fight with Kevin, and she said about 16 tons, I doubt any or all of the three could handle that.
They’re going to be really disappointed if Parfait dumps Thothogoth to get together with that angel. They won’t be able to get close for fear of sparking off another war.
He’s basically a very literal guy…
The latter, I think. He was making sure he was accurately understanding her meaning, which makes sense when they don’t really speak the same language, or have the same culture.
For all he knew she was just fine with continuing negotiations inside at the price of his having a broken arm.
It could even make sense, especially for a demon. “The only way I’m allowing this guy inside who threatened to damage my property is properly cowed/disabled.”
what really irks me is the position of the guys hand on his weapon as he’s trying to draw it. Like, he’s reaching as if it was a Greatsword, but the buisness end of the weapon is where a greatsword handle would be. So if he draws it like that the axe-head would be pointing into his own stomach, with the axe-blade pointing up.
That’s just the easiest way to pull it from behind his back. Next step probably involves adding his other hand and changing grip.
Unless he just grips it with his other hand first, then switches grips on the first hand. Might be a bit more awkward of a draw than the “single motion into potential cut” people like to do with swords, sure – but it’s much easier to carry and draw an axe this way than the other way around.
Drawing a greatsword like that from your back in a single motion is like kissing your elbow.
You physically cannot do it.
Only sword you can actually draw from a back-scabbard in a single motion like that is shorter than your arm. Think about the geometry for five seconds.
Or get a Shabbard, which allows you to draw your blade just fine from the back, even with a rather long one. But, yeah, drawing the axe the way he is here wouldn’t wind up with it in a usable grip, but then all he’d need to do is flip it around (the same way one would switch to a reverse grip with a sword) and grab the haft with his offhand and he’d be good to go.
Back-scabbards-with-a-gap-to-make-them-actually-functional have a name now?
Downside of them is they won’t protect the blade from the rain like normal scabbards do.
Shad from Shadiversity designed his own version out of plywood, then commissioned Blades and Blazers to make it out of leather, and they decided to market and sell it (I’m hoping he gets at least a small royalty out of the resulting sales) as the Shabbard. As for protecting it from rain, that should be doable with a moving section that can be clasped shut (with it shut, it’s basically a complete scabbard, but you can pop it open with your thumb to transform it back into an open scabbard when you’re drawing your weapon) – or maybe even the simple expedient of a cloth curtain to cover the open bit.
You do know that water doesn’t hurt a sword unless submerged for a very long time, right? So a little bit of water from rain ain’t gonna damage it
On long back scabbards, its not strapped from bottom tightly, so when you pull, scabbard kinda follows onto position of more horizontal forward pull than vertical upright
As long as the mouth of the scabbard is tagged to your shoulder that really doesn’t matter. You still need to get your hand more than the length of the blade away from the top of the scabbard.
Could be the magical equivalent of magnetically attached. EG, you’re only rolling it over your shoulder to get it ready
But still have to have room to do that as well
Actually, a pollaxe type weapon is frequently used in a manner that most uninitiated people would see as backward. Think of the haft as a spear to thrust at the opponent in a quick, agile manner, the head being held back to be used if the other guy closes the distance. The option is always there to reverse grip and use it in a more traditionally axe like manner.
I thought there were 4 of them? Go back to the aerial shot of the sidewalk.
There are four in the portal scene (one only head shoulders as it’s walking through), but six in the aerial shot of the sidewalk.
Except the two on the street *might* not be with the group on the sidewalk; maybe they are a different group who just randomly happens to be walking toward the store, toward the sidewalk and not across the grass, roughly evenly spaced behind the not-with-them group of four up front.
Just randomly show up, and are completely unconcerned that they are following close on a group of demons and the like.
Armed demons.
Halo’s standard demon customer currently shown doesn’t real carry medieval weaponry.
Also the other two walk in between axe guy and “him”(as described by axe guy in “Parfait belongs to him.”),
Also one of them asks “him” a question about the terrain, but that could be the fourth member.
They’re also demons. (last guy is big & green, and the other two are blue and red.) Remember that the comic store is currently a hotspot for demon tourists. A possible explanation is that they came through the same portal, not because they’re together but because they booked the same flight, and they thought our antagonists were just tourists like them.
Isn’t one of them covering the door?
Is anyone else disturbed by that stool suddenly appearing?
Yeah, and it’s now blocking the formerly-clear walk-in space in the display cases!
My headcanon (now that I see it, I honestly didn’t notice until it was pointed out) is that Olivia (who for some reason I want to call Charlotte) surreptitiously scooted that stout stool over there before making the phone call, so if one of the demons tries to rush Sydney from the side, it will be a momentary impediment (and it would be hilarious if they outright tripped over it and face-planted).
No more than the corner of the counter changing.
Not just that. In Panel 1 the shelves are 10-15 feet back on the rug away from the door and tiled walkway, leaving three window panes exposed. In Panel 3 the shelves come all the way up to the tiled walkway, blocking the windows. In Panel 6 the shelves are pushed back on the rug again, exposing the windows.
A friend of mine used to work at a state campground many years ago. Inside the entrance booth a past supervisor had hung up a baseball bat, labeled “Camper Attitude Readjustment Tool.” The joke was that if someone gave you trouble, you just got the cart.
I realize that it took me several comics to pick up on this, so maybe a discussion has already taken place, but why is the buggle-gum haired demon wearing casual-modern, meanwhile Mr. dumb-muscle here has gone full Conan-chique. It can’t just be that “puny human shops don’t stock shirts in my size!” because he comes from the demon realms; you’d think they would have practiced accommodating people of his shoulder-girth.
And the other demon dude appears to be wearing a bomber-jacket and no pants.
What is WITH demon fashion?!?! is basically what I’m saying.
Have you seen hyu-mon fashion shows? None of that shit is actually fit for public, but someone with more money than brains (Cardasiwhores) will still think they can get away with it
Discworld’s monks of cool….whatever I’m wearing is cool. Demons probably have the same fashion sense
“You see, Sydney’s mistake here is not having a spiked baseball bat or a halberd on obvious display with a sign that says “Not for sale. The only way to get this is to PISS ME OFF!””
Indeed. She must’ve already forgotten that she was taught that very lesson by Maxima way back when she asked Maxima why Max is wearing a gun when she can blow stuff up with her index finger. Then Max pointed at her with her finger, which caused her to misunderstand and turn around, and then Max pointed at her with the (empty) gun, causing Sydney to freak out.
gotta figure out a way to make it make an “ominous hummm” sound
NOTHING in the entire wide universe beats ‘Ominous hum’.
Um, MAYBE ‘epaulet annie grenade’. Maybe. On second thought, no.
Ah Shlock, so many fond memories!
Next page:
Back at base, Daphne is talking on the phone. “Okay, I’ll see we can send over to help.”
Next panel, another body is talking to someone off-panel, who is saying, “Sure, I’ll take that one. I will pop over there and see what I can do to help. Let Maxima know I’m going.”
Panel 3, Sydney: I said everybody out. You’re closed!
The light hook is carrying everybody outside, with Sydney walking out last, as Major Hiro arrives. Olivia is instantly in love or something.
Hiro: Hello Private. Do you need any help here?
Heeeeyyyyy… isn’t that noodle supposed to be PURPLE?
It upgraded recently
Thought it was always neon-blue…
Well, he just got taken out by Sydney. This shows us he’s not a serious threat. How ever did he think he’d take Tom’s slave? :p
Thanks for putting Joe Dolche in my head for the rest of the day.
Shut down by a skinny looking human in front of his crew! He just lost some serious street cred.
OR – they survived a tussle with The Mighty Halo and their cred goes up. Though I think that only works if she DOES break his arm. Emerging unscathed might be worse.
Skinny human using obviously powerful artifacts.
And in a world with magic, skinny means less than in our world anyway.
If he got beat in a fist fight, that could have been embarrassing, but even then, she has her own religious iconography, so even the “human” part is something they can’t be certain of.
Yeah with the stain glass and a halo of magical artifacts one might consider they might think she is one of those celestials that has weird artifacts floating around their heads or backs. Especially after she has backed up the “do you know who I am” line.
Option one, you comply and leave with a few bruises and at least one compound fracture.
Option two. You learn what it means to have seen too much Hentai as a participant and then the store video gets leaked in every dimension. You also might get signed up to Grindr’s mailing list.
Succubus – What’s Hentai?
Olivia – Aisle 5, behind the gate. Intro packs are on sale this month. Buy two, get one free.
He just had to be axe-tra…
Sydney performed an axorcism on this demon.
She was too much to handle for him.
He got shafted.
Doesn’t know how to pike his battles.
Always spearing up trouble.
Choppy dialogue.
Clearly written by a hack.
That just won’t cut it.
He’s very axecentric.
Title: Disarm and Datarm
In panel 3, it looks like one EXTREMELY LARGE piece of glass, so I could understand her protectiveness…
You know what is funny the fact that halo actually responded legally for the most place and the fact that if this happen in real life every in today’s comic is legally allowed by law and the fact that the demon could be killed on site makes clear that halo is not only going easy on him she is using justifiable force to a clear and present threat. I think that the author is including legal justifiable situations is the cake but what would make it even better is if we get a croupt super policeman that doesn’t hesitate to use killing as a go to.
“You are, technically, correct. The _best_ kind of correct!”
Whatever the situation, there’s a Futurama for that. Sydney is “Tentacle-y correct,” the…arguably most disturbing kind of correct?
…the pieces are there.
Sorry but that got a Muttley wheeze outta me.
The Mighty Halo recently got an upgrade for that orb.
“Brandish? More like BANNED, BITCH”
They’re gonna need a wall of shame, like the reverse of those pizza places with eating challenges. Just snapshots of idiots holding signs that said “I failed to beat the Mighty Halo.”
Later, on debriefing.
“That Halo girl, i think she’s into me, when i made a pass at her, she only broke one arm and took my axe as a memento”
Okay, I wanna see this now.
Wait.. .. are his loki horns in his shoulders?
I’m trying to figure out how Miles Brandish is being suspended like that without a) pivoting over, or b) having his arm twisted out of his shoulder socket (depending on how tightly the tentacle is grabbing his arm and keeping it from spinning).
As a demon, he’s probably superhumanly strong and durable.
The lighthook is locking up his hand, keeping his arm from twisting.
I really hope she decides to keep the axe and put it up on the wall as a warning to others.
“Look, you were drawing your weapon. That means you were going to attack. You lost immediately. That makes you the loser of combat, and that make your weapon mine by right of conquest.”
Title option: Demon-strating Strong Arm Tactics
@Brodder, the Olivia line is a keeper.
Sidney has finally come into her own.
She has finally become aware of how to meet an unexpected serious threat head-on and not back down or panic.
Maxima would be proud.
Low collateral damage danger and moving the action away from innocents. That is some serious bouncer action going on here.
I’m kinda surprised Halo didn’t use the two-tongued lighthook, to disarm the guy and get his weapon in one move. Now the floor might be damaged.
I can just imagine her response to phantom crapper shoppers.
Extrapolation with a tentacle? Rated ‘X’ and do Not ask where the small ‘n’ goes.
She graduated, doesn’t she have a full commission to perform under Archon’s charter as an Agent of law enforcement? This does seem to be within her purview at this time
“I’ll keep that. Or are you offering a horn of yours as a trophy instead?”