Grrl Power #445 – Hobnoblin
“Adult stuff” is about the fastest way to make Sydney go cross-eyed with boredom. We can assume one of the Archon people is tasked with keeping an eye on Sydney, cause letting her mingle unchaperoned in this environment seems like courting disaster.
Dire wolves are disappointingly small. Don’t get me wrong, they’re marginally bigger than your average modern wolf, (actually the size of the largest extant wolves according to Wikipedia) but you say dire wolf and most people think of something 5 or 6 feet tall at the shoulder, but they’re not the size of ponies like you see in… whatever, comics, or Game of Thrones. Gregor might very well be stretching the truth a little about being a dire werewolf, and who’s going to contradict him? He’s very tall in hybrid form and dire werewolf sounds cooler.
If in fact there are were forms of extinct animals, that would suggest that lycantrhopy dates back to the time in which those animals were still around. How else would those species and humans intersect? I guess besides “magic” which is presumably involved anyway, but still probably easier with living animals.
To Sydney’s point in the final panel, I do think shows would be more entertaining if there was one at least ambiguously supernatural episode now and again, if not outrightly stated. Breaking Bad with a “bath salts” zombie? Or a CSI-Tripoli with a griffin attack, an episode of Friends where Joey dates a Lamia, or an episode of Bones that crosses over with Sleepy Hollow? Oh wait they really did that one. Ok, some shows would be ruined by that kind of thing, but some should would definitely be better.
The vote incentive is stale, I know and I apologize. I’m still a little behind from vacation, but I’m going to try and get it updated today, in fact I may stream finishing up the colors on it. If I do I’ll update the post here and also tweet about it. I may have to do a stick figure theater or something for an upcoming month because I haven’t gotten any work done on getting the book together in a while now. Even if the book was ready to go, I don’t really have time to run a kickstarter, so I don’t know what I’m going to do about that. The odd comic with the characters talking in front of a static shot of a curtain might help actually. Actually I may experiment with some new ways to color. I was watching Fred Perry’s (NSFW) Picarto stream and he can color a whole page in like 3 hours. I doubt I’ll ever be that fast, but if I could color a whole page with backgrounds and orbs and all that in 9, it’d still be less time than it takes me now.
Stream’s done. Oh, and I guess I should say, the vote incentive is finally updated. I’ll try to not let it languish for that long again.
This page colored by Keith.
Double res version will be posted over at Patreon as soon as I get up. $1 and up, but feel free to contribute as much as you like :)
Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.
SuperheroThey're super, thanks for asking!
Meatspace ComicSeriously these are awesome. Check 'em out!
Not UpdatingNo longer updating or only updates sporadically, but definitely worth reading.
SeriouslySeriously you guys. If you like Grrl Power the check these out.
"Mature"Mature subject matter and occasionally something explicit but usually safe. Can't guarantee the ads are safe though.
Dongs Ahoy!Full frontal and backal. Lots of skin, sex on some or all pages, explicit or otherwise.
Watching the Master, huh? I guess we know what comic you cadged “were dire wolves” from ;)
No guessing required, and it is all above-board and open. Dave is working to make a Grrl Power/Gold Digger crossover a possibility (as per his blog, on the page linked).
THAT WOULD BE AWESOME, I’M SUCH A GOLD DIGGER FAN!! WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD OF THIS BEFORE?!? OMG OMG OMG!!! O_O
No, seriously, I have not heard of this until now, and I have nearly every Gold Digger comic in my collection in some format (including side series, spin-offs, etc., although still hunting some of the elusive edge guard comics). And I’m just NOW finding about a crossover between two comics I enjoy immensely from a comments section?!? *Sydney foam-at-the-mount-faint moment here*
:-D
Glad to have been of service.
Certainly would liven up the current electoral yes/no if This council had a say in things.
They are like werewolves but dire!
Nice plot twist. I just noticed that the Vote incentive had been colored. I have an idea for the next one: The Doc as Mercy, and Peggy as Ana! That would totally blow my mind if you did it, but I love your art either way. Keep on keeping on!
ROB BECKETT?? I just spit my iced tea on my keyboard when I read that… Are you a Mock The Week fan?
Yup! I’ve watched every episode, and while sometimes I get lost in some of the political or “England only” references, it’s still a great show. I always described it as The Daily Show meets Who’s Line is it Anyway.
Like Sydney, I have no idea who Rob Beckett is.
Google him and you’ll get the joke.
You know “lupus” is Latin for “wolf”, like in “Canis lupus”, and is actually from where the French “loup” came from. Clover has no reason for scoff at Syd, she is proving herself a moronic smartass.
And after checking the etymology, it turned out that the disease’s name “Lupus” do is the word for “wolf” and not just a coincidence, so even more reason.
Both of these statements are true. However, what most people fail to realize is that the Latin word “lupus” has made the transition into the English language, while the French term “loup” has not. This is why you get words like “lupine.” Additionally, there actually is a real disease called “lupus,” which is an auto-immune disease signified by recurring flares and remissions that mainly strikes women of childbearing age.
https://www.lupus.org/answers/entry/what-is-lupus
So she is not being a smartass moron, but is actually making a clear and correct distinction. For the record, the term “lycan” is actually an anglicization of the Greek term for a werewolf, and basically semi-translates (from English to English) to “wolf-like”. Just to make life even more confusing, the term “werewolf” is also an accurate word, stemming from Old English. It literally translates into Modern English as “man wolf”. Female werewolves were actually called something different, but that name has apparently been lost to the mists of time.
The concept of the werewolf itself appears to originate in either Ireland or England, as Old English is the oldest recorded instance of the word in the modern context that I am aware of. Be that as it may, the concept of the wolf man (or bear man) is a central part of Norse mythology, although the Norse version were more totemic than the actual werewolves we think of today. Terms such as lycanthropy, which comes from late Classical Greece, were typically used more to describe wolf-like behavior than anything else.
It was not until the tenth and eleventh centuries AD that the concept of the werewolf as we know it today began to spread outwards from the British Isles into the rest of Europe. The first recorded instance of the modern concept of the werewolf in continental Europe was from the Byzantine Empire–it is believed that the concept was brought over by the English mercenaries who at that time comprised a significant portion of the famed Varangian Guard, the Byzantine Emperor’s personal bodyguard and standing army. Please note that there are tales of men who managed to turn themselves into wolves that long predate this point, but in all of those tales, the procedure is described as some sort of mighty magic (or, in one case, a urinary tract malfunction)…or, in the case of the Norse, it appears to have come about entirely because the berserkers were so daggome scary that they just sort of attracted that sort of tale. A sentiment, by the way, which appears to be both entirely appropriate. The theory of the werewolf being basically unkillable was not really widespread at this point–it is theorized that this may have come from the period when the Scandinavian tales began to spread to the Slavic and the Baltic tribes. The Balts in particular were apparently sufficiently scary that the Vikings wouldn’t go near them, so this sort of makes sense–anything that makes somebody who scares berserkers nervous, is something I don’t want anywhere near me. It is believed that a corruption of these tales spread south, to Romania, which is where the modern vampire tales come from, but nobody is completely certain about this. Meanwhile, the Norman invasion of England, and subsequent invasions of France by the English, seems to have spread the tale to France, where the loup-garou becomes increasingly widespread throughout the late Middle Ages. France, in particular, seems to have found this tale unnerving–when the witch hunts struck Europe in the 16th century, the French instead tried werewolves, instead of witches (I think they also tried witches, but I have less knowledge on that matter). By 1650, the concept of the werewolf had largely faded to myth and legend in Western Europe…although in Eastern Europe, it remained alive and well throughout the Rennaissance and into the Early Industrial Era.
“Additionally, there actually is a real disease called “lupus,” “
Er… yes? Syd is actually alluding it as part of the double meaning of her joke.
“So she is not being a smartass moron, but is actually making a clear and correct distinction. “
Nope. Clover is not making a distinction, she is making a correction, supposedly because Syd’s joke was wrong. Even more, Clover is calling Syd, someone she has just meet, a “nutwhack”, what makes her comment also rude.
But Syd didn’t said “lupus garou” nor anything else that allows Clover to assume Syd wanted to refer the french denomination of a werewolf, did she?
Syd meant to link the current context with the running gag in the TV show “House”. And given its meanings the word “lupus” makes the connection in a totally valid and clear way. Syd’s joke works and Clover’s pedantic comment is unkind and out of place.
Ahh, not watching House, makes me understand why Sydney was making such an apparently obscure link, whilst having a look, which spoke of anticipating it being apparent. If in a hospital, or having been talking about medical matters, it would make more sense to tie in a link to that. But it seemed rather a leap to make otherwise, so I was wondering if there was some pop-culture aspect I was missing.
Therefore I was with Gregor on that. I knew all the words, but, without knowing that it was an in-joke already, the significance was rather watered down. Whilst Clovis just came across as matching her looks with her attitude. Sullen.
Actually the whole scene had resonance, in that it is like an office function. The office junior gets bored and makes small-talk with other attendees, tries to break the ice, and somewhat misses the mark, by mis-judging her audience.
Which is what it is. All fairly normal stuff. Except, you know, werewolves present.
Here :)
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/it-s-not-lupus
It is weird to think that much of the world thinks of him as being a doctor. Whereas I know him to be Wooster’s butler.
Valet!
Hey, just because I am “man’s best friend” does not mean that I will jump at your every beck and call!
*picks up your slippers in mouth, and puts them at your feet*
Dammit, how did that happen?
Oh, neat, my first slippers! Thank you!
slips feets into slippers and start slipping around.
Aaahhh… you truly are the best.
I still remember him as the Prince Regent from Blackadder.
Same here (was about to post that and then saw your post so decided to reply to yours instead :D)
In House, often someone would suggest that the mysterious illness affecting the patient could be lupus, and it never was, to the point where House would start saying ‘It’s never lupus!’ annoyedly.
Until one episode where it actually WAS lupus :) Subverted trope!
Little known made up fact – Gregor used to be a pilot, but he got his license pulled for doing Loup de Loups.
Did you get enough sleep before commenting? You sound like you’re a little Loupy…
;)
But not very garous.
WERE are you getting these horrible puns from?
Schenectady, New York.
Send a self-addressed stamped envelope with a topic for the pun and wait 6-8 weeks for your pun. This service is free of charge but may be unavoidably delayed due to volume of requests.
I make extensive use of that service myself. I guess it kind of garou on me.
I hear the organiser of the service, Louis, grows weary of urban life. Lou pines for the wild.
If you keep up these puns, I will lycan you less.
All these werewolf puns make me a little loony, if not outright barking mad.
“To Sydney’s point in the final panel, I do think shows would be more entertaining if there was one at least ambiguously supernatural episode now and again, if not outrightly stated.”
Actually, quite a number of mainstream dramas have at least one ambiguously supernatural episode that largely goes unnoticed by the audience because they use Christian mythological elements. The most common types of these are a possible miracle during a holiday episode, usually Christmas, and an angel or incarnation of death analogue.
Off the top of my head, I can think of instances of this in NCIS, Scrubs, Murphy Brown, and House. For that matter, in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman it was implied that the title pair was married by God himself. That’s not exactly a mainstream show, but it is an out-of-context supernatural element.
Daniel here. Let’s see if we can get everyone thinking…
If you could be a Were-beast, what existing animal would be your favorite choice or worst nightmare?
Nightmare was for a bit of fun. Purely human/beast Were-Ant anyone? :P
Personally, I think I’d prefer a Gorilla. Strong, protects their troop (group of gorillas), hybrid form would be awesome… :p
So, who wants to be what?
Favourite: Condor. Flying is awesome. And they are big enough that a hybrid should be pretty kick-arse too. Angel-like wings, really sharp clawed hands and ferocious beak. For tough to-open packaging.
Nightmare: Bird-eating spider
And the hybrid would halve to be a really short, skinny person for flight to work. Assuming all the magic is used to transform and not as rocket thrusters when the subject flies.
Actually if the magic is working correctly the were-bird would get hollow bones and body should be light enough for flight (staying away from the morbidly obese were-bird)
Really? Condors are scavengers, you know, and also very ugly. They are to South America what Vultures are to Africa. I would pass.
You made me realize that my nightmare would be to become a spider-eating bird shudder
I rest my case.
Yoram Shpirer (c) – Griffon Vulture and Jackal
https://www.pbase.com/shpirery/image/92950073
Even if it were a Condor it’s a scavenger fighting another. I don’t get what you mean..
They are comparable sizes and roles. So a condor attacking a wolf would have very similar proportions. The internet failed to provide an exact match for what I needed, so I felt that was close enough.
I would have gone for something elegant, like a were-falcon. Except, to my mind, the size disparity would create a very weird hybrid. Perhaps an adult-human sized hybrid, but with a disproportionately small falcon-sized beak? Or a functionally fairly useless toddler sized one, if you average out the two body’s masses?
But if a hybrid with a wolf creates an impressive figure, like we see in Gregor, then a hybrid with a comparably-sized condor should likewise have a suitably imposing outcome. Not to mention being large enough to make the hybrid practical for a wider range of activities. Be it carrying home shopping, or combat, as the case may be.
I have no particular antipathy to scavengers. They have an important role to play in the ecology. Plus are hardy survivors. And are more than capable of making a kill, if opportunity food is not available. Do bear in mind that T-Rex is argued, by various sources, as having been a scavenger. So if I fancied chomping down on fresh, bloody, meat I could opt for that.
I will admit condors are not particularly pretty mind. But if going for a large bird, the other contenders are members of the ostrich and penguin families. Which rather misses the point of picking a bird in the first place, given their flightless status. Albatross are unlucky, so they are out. Whereas the various eagles are far enough down the list that you start getting into the size disparity problem I mentioned.
If I were aiming for pretty though, I would go for a swan. But they lack those useful claws and beak I was after.
Shit, obviously, a (were)Condor beating the famous and respected (were)Wolf, I totally missed the message.
Yeah, I got your reasons in the original post and they make sense, but I find Vultures particularly unpleasant, can’t imagine becoming one. It’s their looks and behavior I think, since I don’t have the same problem with other scavengers.
What they don’t lack is territoriality! The males of the larger swan species (the mute swan, trumpeter swan, and whooper swan) can weigh over 15 kilograms (33 pounds). And if you’ve ever been attacked by one, those hollow bones feel incredibly solid.
Also, swans have beaks with serrated edges that look like small jagged ‘teeth’ as part of their beaks used for catching and eating aquatic plants and algae, but also molluscs, small fish, frogs and worms. I actually found an image. It’s watermarked, but shows the serrated edge:
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/swan-open-beak-1909879.jpg
Just because the bones are hollow, does not mean they are weak nor brittle
True, but that’s what people who don’t know any better would logically assume.
Exactly, until they get smacked in the face by a low-flying seagull and break their face-bones and the seagull flies off laughing
For being territorial, swans can’t hold a candle to geese. The ones that colonized my nephew’s pond a couple years back stopping short in New Hampshire on their way back to Canada killed all of his chickens and were a threat to his kids. Not allowed to kill the damn things even in self defense, Migratory Birds Act.
Swans are not lacking in lethal capacity…
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2610741/Wife-man-killed-swan-attack-sues-lake-owner-failing-consider-danger.html
My mum feeds a swan regularly. His name is Hoopoo. When he hears it called out, he will fly the length of the little lake he lives on, to come to her. Some other swans share the lake with Hoopoo. So they get some food too. But get a bit jealous of Hoopoo, and have been known to peck her, to try and get more!
They have even pecked my paw, when I was feeding them. I can’t say I felt them to be particularly threatening. And I failed to turn into a wereswan. So it really was not worth the effort!
Actually, if you were a spider-eating bird, would that be your nightmare, or would your nightmare be the bird-eating spiders?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_birdeater
And if you think that’s a big spider, back when Earth’s atmosphere had a higher oxygen content, it could have easily grown to twice this size. (To be fair, the Goliath very rarely eats birds. Its diet consists primarily of earthworms and toads, but it has been seen snacking on rodents, lizards, and even snakes.)
You’re not exactly making a good case for anyone wanting to be a giant spider… :)
“Actually, if you were a spider-eating bird, would that be your nightmare, or would your nightmare be the bird-eating spiders?”
Na, whatever you are there’s always something awful that can eat you (never never never google “flesh eating bacteria”), I far more worried about what I would end having to eat.
Haast’s Eagle: those things were freaking big, the biggest bird of prey EVER!! Big enough to carry a moa (whose thigh bone was around five to six feet long)
They may be extinct now, but they did exist a couple hundred years ago
Big, extinct, species would be highly tempting. But would be very obvious if using them to go shopping.
It would be most sensible to choose a critter appropriate for one’s region. But, failing that, an extant species, which could potentially make the trip, would be a reasonable compromise (in balancing utility versus publicity). Being merely mildly newsworthy. Rather than dominating headlines, around the globe.
They are (or were) local to me
Favorite: Well, I’ve always loved werewolves. But aside from that, were-tiger or lion, or some other powerful predator.
Nightmare: Oh, I don’t know. Anything “slimy”, or creepy in general. (You can blame my OCD for not liking “slimy” creatures.) Depends on the body style, though. For example, a scorpion-taur with both claws *and* a set of human-like hands with opposable thumbs would be kind of cool.
Shark would be usefull and fun. You are at home both on land and sea.
Clam would be terribly boring. Sitting on a rock all day. Let’s not get into the details about tapeworms.
Yup, was thinking being a were-shark or maybe a were-cheetah
Nightmare? Being a vampire-Pomeranian
Were-shark are, at least in World of Darkness and in most internet searches, called ‘Rokea.’ :)
I am not seeing either the fun or the utility?
;-)
Who needs to be any kind of were thing on land? The human form is all we need realy. In water, now that’s different. Imagine being able to live and travel all over the seas. If you get bored you can take work as a treasure hunter or underwater welder or scare people on the beach.
And I will point out that underwater welders make good money, as long as there’s sufficient work for them to have steady employment. The average underwater welder makes about $55,000 per year, and the top tier can make $93,000 or more (I’ve seen at least one who made over $300,000 in a single year.)
Sorry, I meant to add the following:
Now, imagine a were-shark welder who never needs to surface for air. Somehow, I think he’d be one of those “top tier” welders.
Yea, I was only teasing Ro Jaws. With that name, I can well see how appealing a shark would be. And a hybrid form could have the hands, to hold the welder.
One practical problem that does strike me though, is the need that sharks have, to keep moving, in order to have water flowing over their gills. Smaller fish, with a slower metabolism, such as the bottom-feeding flatfish, can readily become motionless, and even burrow under a coating of silt, to hide.
However sharks are not built that way. Whilst a hybrid certainly could work as a welder, they would need to keep moving their upper torso around, to breathe. Which would compromise the quality and speed of their work.
But, true enough, not having to surface, to replenish their air supply, does make up for it. Not to mention avoiding all the decompression time.
Hopefully the mechanisms covering the alteration would also compensate for the different chemicals which would need to be in the blood of a deep-sea fish, compared to the air breathing mammal, as and when a transformation was required. That would be rather more complicated than a mammal to mammal transformation.
Actualy I took the name “Ro Jaws” from a small garbage eating robot. I’m not sure what that says about me. Dogs like yourself realy want to be bigger and have more scary teeth to threaten with so a wereshark should be your thing too right?
The weldershark will easily solve the breathing problem by having a small electric pump on his back that provides his gills with fresh water.
As for the blood and other parts of the wereshark anathomy we must remember that this is a magical transormation so let’s just go with rule of cool here. A wizard did it.
Solid thinking. This is my favourite doggy though. Big scary teeth not required.
Some of her principle advantages being that she can make even cynophobic folks like her, enough to pet her, despite their normal fear. Plus, the other week, I got complimented by a shepherd, saying how she responds instantly to any command. Not to mention being able to walk through a flock of sheep, or poultry, without flustering them.
Mind you, when she yawn, that reminds me that she does have an impressive set of gnashers in her mouth. And if I tease her, by yawning too, she will give an irritated snort of disapproval.
It’s usualy better to be charming than to be scary.
Favorite? Some kind of big cat. Cheetah, panther, and like that. I may be a dog person, but I’m a cat person, too!
Nightmare? Any kind of bug, I guess. I’ve never been overly fond of them. Ick!
I can understand that. Bugs will eat anything, including other bugs. And everyone knows what flies eat…Just spend some time looking around on teh ground in a cow pasture.
It would be worse if you tried to become an insect politician…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xW_08LCWp34
…instead of eating $#|+ you’d be shoveling down everyone elses’ throats.
Chickens will eat anything. Including other chickens in their own gene pool. Buddy of mine in high school had a rooster he named Drumstick because he only had one, the other leg had been eaten by the rest of the flock (he was not the alpha rooster, and chickens take “pecking order” seriously).
Favorite: Were-cat (panther, tigress, cheetah, jaguar, leopard, etc – one of the big cats), because then I can honestly refer to myself as a catgirl. OR a were-dragon, because dragons are powerful, can fly, are nigh-invulnerable, can breathe fire, have lots and lots of gold, and are just awesome.
Nightmare: Were-fish, because fish.
Favorite: Were-fox, because…foxes. Also magic is involved soooo, yeah. =3
Nightmare: This is a bit of a toughie…Probably any kind of insect really. =T Not really a fan of critters with more than four legs.
flying squirrel. moose. just think about it.
imagine being bitten by a were-platypus
or best possible: bitten by a were-bimbo. sure, you lose I.Q. every full moon, but you get free drinks all night… ;P
nightmare: Were-Waldo
yes, that Waldo.
But how would you get infected, if you can’t find him?
The were-flying squirrel is nuts. :-D But is not a bad suggestion. Discreet enough that you could use it without standing out too much. Yet having flying, albeit only of a sort. It certainly would be fun though.
The were-bimbo however would bring new meaning to the “the wrong time of the month”! “Sorry, I can’t make that plan, I will not be smart enough, then.” Personally I would rather opt for being a were-genius-girl. Pretty would still be important though. The ‘getting free drinks’ plan sounded cunning, after all.
How is that a nightmare? Being able to hide anywhere and travel wherever you want in time and space sounds awesome.
trust me, i already seem to have those capabilities (even if it is just some weird warped version of them) and it’s no picnic. ever have people attempt to walk directly through you as if you’re a space in the crowd? or get places early when there’s no possible way you could have done so?
Once, and took a car with me.
Checking afterwards: tyre marks…. gap….impenetrable collection of objects…. tyre marks restart. With me, and the car, being unharmed. Despite having fitted through spaces that it could not fit, even if turned on its side!
It’s impressive you were able to drive a car in the first place, but have seen a TV report about doggies driving cars
Sounds like somebody read the Xanth books.
If you were a were-platypus, everyone would always be calling you ‘WERE’S PERRY?’
Who cares? You will not hear them, if they are whispery.
Not sure if you got the Phineas and Ferb reference :)
I would whisper
, but then somebody might insist on enlightening me. Suffice it to say I am happy to exchange missing TV references, periodically, for a much improved quality of life.
I don’t know how enlightening I can be, but I’ll at least be insistent.
Phineas and Ferb was a cartoon show on the Disney channel. I was a fan! The title characters had a pet platypus named Perry who worked part time as a secret agent.
And every time Perry would sneak off for one of his secret missions, someone would ask “Where’s Perry?”
Ppfffft! I had the correct tag previously. Then accidentally hit some crappy keyboard combination (in the bottom left section of the keyboard), that closed my entire tab! It was only having to irritatedly recreate the entire comment, which left me with the blockquote, rather than spoiler, tag.
Sounds like someone needs their claws trimmed :D
To the Vet-Mobile!!!
NooooooOOOOOO!
My favorite would be a Were-Gecko. I can walk up walls, have super-human strength, and lick my own eyeballs. Plus I get to run on water.
It’s not so much a nightmare, but I have to admit that a were-humming bird would be unbelievably annoying.
Clever. Especially covering your bets, with a flying were, in case anybody ever curses you ‘with your worst nightmare’.
“Oh darn, I can fly!” *trying to stifle chuckling*
Yeah, were-hummingbird could get annoying…They always forget the lyrics to the songs.
Oh, if they do that, just tell them to buzz off.
Favorite: It’s a D&D “magical humanoid” known as a Tibbit: part cat, part halfling essentially since in human form they’re no bigger than a halfling. Natural tendencies towards being a rogue. (May have been the inspiration for the anime creature known as a cabbit: part cat, part girl, part mecha-spaceship.)
Nightmare: A were-corgi. Overly happy and often very stupid. Like being trapped as a Wal-Mart greeter.
:-D lol.
Except the greatest Blue Lantern of them all is Hope Corgi!
Countered by a Rage Pussy :P
…Which fat too many women suffer from as it is…
Ugh! meant “far too many.”
“All will be well.”
Here. Some happiness for you about why being a were-corgi would actually be the best thing EVER if you’re also a blue lantern.
https://i.imgur.com/ZgLZAdE.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/QAKbMAy.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/R9Mj9gN.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YUbd2Hf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/6TKPGo3.jpg
https://cdn.meme.am/instances/400×400/36643318.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/XCbuoYB.jpg
https://66.media.tumblr.com/047a5a2386f48e42e41128261663a77a/tumblr_mfjgmezHFg1r0fbtco1_500.jpg
Pretty sure Tencho Muyo preceded the first appearance of the tibbet (don’t have access to my gaming resources at the moment).
Hmm, well Tenchi Muyo OVAs were released on September of 1992. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenchi_Muyo! )
No mention of a tibbit in this listing for 2nd Ed D&D monsters, although it might have appeared in an article in Dragon magazine or be missing from this listing. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Advanced_Dungeons_%26_Dragons_2nd_edition_monsters )
If the tibbit was exclusively a 3rd Ed monster (which doesn’t sound right to me), then Tenchi was first, since 3rd Ed was released in 2000. For more fun, go read through the 2nd Edition Spelljammer Monstrous compendiums and count the anime references in it (and there were a *lot* of anime references in it).
Favorite: Were-
Hampsterpig?
Not to be confused with Manbearpig.
Damn, what has Daniel the Human started here…
been thinking, & I’ve realized something – us Transformers are already Weres, just most of us are Were-Things. i get to be a Were-RC-Plame :). Another reason we rule…
Plus there is your dinosaur form. Although you seem to have amnesia of your transformation into that.
Dinosaur form? What? Amnesia…?
Screwball avatar is a Mistyraptor, not a dinosaur but a fairy.
His avatar is undeniable proof that he is related to Dinobot.
A couple of friends and me having working on a comic book for at least 4 years now. Ever since High School.
Whole freaking concept, but not the names, of the “Twilight Counsel” stolen for project X. @DaveB
do you want a credit? Obviously not on Terra as we know it, but on one or more of the Imperial worlds that have had time build up a largish non human/sophant population with “magic/psionic/”mad science” powers. Terra as in earth has only a few years of sohants with powers. Still more or less hiding and in a state of disorganization. For some of the older worlds, seeing a vampire or theriomorph just means it’s the local version of Tuesday.
Wait, “if” there were extinct were-animals? So is the below-comic bit non-canon, or is Mr. Wolf joking about the were-smilodon, or…???
Oh, also in World of Darkness, there are were crocodiles which are basically more like were-dragons/dinosaurs, called Mokole.
Oh, also in World of Darkness, there are were crocodiles which are basically more like were-dragons/dinosaurs, called Mokole.
Technically the mini-comics are not canon. Simply so that Dave can have a bit of fun, without worrying about continuity. However, in practice, the majority do conform to the story and can be taken as having happened. You just have to use common sense to disregard the clearly absurd ones, like Sydney using people for clay-pigeon shooting.
The intent for such is for us to have a good laugh, and then move on. In this case, as it involves real people,* we should them as being a tongue-in-cheek comments. Ie that the conversation did take place, but that Gregor was saying it for the laughs, even if he was playing it deadpan.
This is confirmed by the author’s blog, above. In that he talks about extinct were-forms in a speculative manner, including casting doubt upon Gregor’s claim to be a ‘dire’ wolf. Dave is not giving us any spoilers on the matter, until Sydney gets something more substantial to go on herself.
* Yes, we did see the incumbent US president, and several other real world leaders, in the main comic. But, whilst many producers opt to anonymise the post, enough others choose to portray the correct leaders, for the period a story is set in. So it is normal for different rules to apply between national leaders compared to other members of the public.
Unless Dave has permission to portray them as characters in his story, we are obliged to treat it as a joke. As is appropriate for comedy story.
No no, the mini-coms that appear absurd (like Sydney using clay-people shooting) are simply examples of Sydney’s wild imaginations, so, in a way, they are canon just not ‘actual events’ :D
He insists he’s a dire werewolf, so if he’s fibbing to sound cooler, insisting there are other extinct weres just supports his fib. So it’s in canon that Sydney asked those questions and that’s the answer Gregor gave her. Doesn’t mean he’s not just making a joke at the expense of some celebrities the Tooth Fairy thinks about while taking long showers.
If you want an unusual “extinct” (they recently discovered some probably survive in Africa) species that will impress people you should put in a were-giant ground sloth. They were as big as elephants. About the only larger terrestrial mammal was the wooly mammoth.
Beware the Eviscerater
South America would be more likely, however, as that is where the ones we know about lived. Quite a big critter, to remain generally unnoticed mind.
But the coelacanth managed it, despite us thinking they had died out millions of years ago. At least the megatherium were still around up until humans arrived, in South America. So we could envisage a lost valley, or mega beast plateaux, where they have hidden out for the last few thousand years. Sounds like a good plot for a story.
Tuatara have been around since the time of the dinosaur, and they are still around (there is an active breeding programme based at the local pyramid)
Australia had some pretty freaky animals before Human history started. Actually, if you want a cool extinct animal to be a Were-Beast with, try a Were-Tasmanian-Tiger. Good hunter, medium- to large-dog sized, plus you can cause “sightings” all over the place, then laugh at all the people trying to track the “living specimen” down…
Meh, would rather be a Were-Tasmanian-Devil :P
Hey, don’t let it get you down. Being a were-hobbit has its own advantages. Not least being able to ride on giant eagles and ents!
Gary Busey can’t be a were-horse, he’s too psychopathic, maybe if he were a were-nighthorse, like nightmare but not only females
I thought Gary Busey is like he is because of a head injury. No seriously, that’s what I read somewhere about his behavioral issues and insane reactions.
Yep. He crashed while riding a motorcycle without a helmet (December 1988). It fractured his skull and caused damage to the part of the brain that manages impulse control. Or to put it in layman’s terms, it weakened his “mental filters”, causing him to speak and act impulsively. He takes Depakote for it.
(Although Depakote is normally used to treat epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and migraines, it seems to be effective in controlling impulse control disorders.)
Good thing he’s a were-horse instead of a horse horse or he might have been put down.
His son Jake really resembles his father… ever seen the movie Starship Troopers? That was Jake Busey, as Pvt. Ace Levy.
Now that I see the resemblance, I cannot unsee it!
Strangely I can kind of see him as a were-horse.
Neigh! Say it isn’t so! xD
It would be a nightmare, if you had been saddled with the unbridled truth.
Let’s not spur this sub-thread on for too long…
I’m sorry, but by joining in, you’ll only find yourself being taken on a ride by all these puns. At least they’re not the worst I’ve herd…
Not meaning to be rude, but was wondering if maybe for future entries to the Who’s Who if the readers get to vote on which headshot gets used
The Katarina one from two pages back would have been a better one (unless this one is just a placeholder, like Anvil’s original Headshot before she was officially introduced)
I like to use head on shots, so I’ll probably swap hers out retroactively when there’s a better angle on her.
Oh, one thing I noticed, in the comic last week, she introduces herself as “Katarina” and in the who’s who today, it says “Katrina” wondering which is the correct spelling?
Ooo, watching an episode of “Mock the Week”, and have a question for Yorp: have you visited the tree that looks like a man? And have you watered him?
Ooh, I had not even heard about it. Thanks for the heads-up. Sadly I neither have a car, nor the budget, to travel around much. So I only get to water trees in my own locality.
During this meeting, maybe Sydney would be daydreaming about the old pre code EC horror comics….!
Imagine how the Grrl Power characters will look rendered by the artists of that period,even the recently departed Jack Davis…!
Is it odd that among all these new characters and revelations, the one thing I’ve been dying to find out, since the first appearance a couple of comics ago, is who is Katarina and what sort of being is she? Is she also a werewolf or something else?
Nope, and it’s not just you interested in the identity and background to Kat
I don’t know who Loup Garou is. Off to Google!
…
Looks like the French word for werewolf. Huh.
And House did have a supernatural shakeup. I think it was the last season, though, and it pissed a lot of people off. Some kid was allegedly being possessed by an evil spirit, and was exhibiting behaviors such as levitating. House prescribed a HUGE dose of ibuprofen, and the kid was fine. Unfortunately, there was also an exorcism performed at the exact same time, and now it’s ambiguous which cure was actually responsible for his recovery.
I’ll reiterate how much that pissed everyone off. It’s supposed to be a scientific mystery, but I guess in the last season the writers tried something new.
Yeah. Fortunately, the writers were apparently paying attention to the Internet Backlash caused by that episode, and never tried another “supernatural shakeup” (as far as I know). If they had, it would’ve qualified as a Jumped The Shark moment.
It’s also exactly the kind of thing that doomed Baywatch At Night to just two seasons. I don’t know if it was The Hoff who asked for it, or something the writers tried, but in the second season almost every episode had a supernatural element. The resulting ratings plunge killed any hope of a third season.
(Note: I never even watched a single episode of Baywatch or Baywatch at Night. In fact, the only reason I even know about “Baywatch at Night” is because of TV Tropes. So, as far as I’m concerned, having the show cancelled after just two seasons is not a big loss.)
there was a House episode where you got to see the entire episode from the view of a patient, and if i remember correctly they were ‘dead’, but I’m not sure I’m remembering that part correctly.
You might be referring to the one where House is hallucinating about… who was it, some girl named Amber, I think? Yes, that’s it. Amber Volakis, Wilson’s girlfriend who died in the Season 4 finale. During his withdrawal from Vicodin, he also hallucinated about Lawrence Kutner, who committed suicide (the character, not the actor!) halfway through Season 5.
On the other hand, if it’s some other episode… Well, I couldn’t tell you which episode that was, unless I want to read through eight seasons of episode synopses. However, near-death experiences are a well-documented phenomenon, and I think it was Yorp who mentioned that they are now performing tests to see if they’re real, or just the fever-dreams of a dying mind.
(Many patients who have had NDE’s claim to see their body as if from above. So, the participating hospitals are putting stickers on the back of the overhead lights that even the doctors and nurses performing the operation don’t know about. If someone has an NDE and can describe those stickers, then near-death experiences are real.)
So, if that’s the case, it wouldn’t really qualify as a supernatural shakeup. But, of course, we don’t really know until the research is complete…
Vaguely remember that episode with Amber’s ‘ghost’, but, if memory is behaving itself, believe House was hallucinating her after being in a bus accident (or something similar) and he was trying to remember who she was and why he was seeing her (or something), it’s highly possible getting two (or three) different episodes intermingled :(
The hallucination was also related to his withdrawal from Vicodin, according to plot summaries. (His withdrawal technically began before the bus accident.)
“Locked In”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locked_In_(House)
The patient wasn’t actually dead just unable to make any move.
BTW: No, I do not have all titles memorized, not a fan actually, just I saw it and recalled enough details to google it.
interesting fact: there’s also a variant from Trinidad and Tobago known as the “Loogaroo” based off that. even on a Caribbean island with no wolves, they still ended up with a werewolf.
Main reason i know about that is my Grandad was raised in Trinidad, got me some cool books about the local mythos when i was a kid. Pay your respects to Papa Bois and Mama Dglo, kids!
Interesting. But check back on either your memories, or those books. Although the name is pronounced the same, Loo Garoo ain’t a werewolf. She is a witch, who has made a pact with the Devil. At night, she will hang her skin from a silk cotton tree, turn into a ball of fire and seek her victims.
The defence against her is to pile rice and/or sand in front of your door. Because she will obsessively count every grain, before entering. Your hope being that there is enough to keep her busy, until she has to flee before Dawn arrives.
I guess Dawn is a famous Caribbean witch hunter?
Well, she was the sister of semi-famous Vampire Slayer, who was also bestest buds with a witch :P
Ahh, that could be the key.
In panel three, Zeph, Maxima and Ingsol are chatting and the subject of stocks apparently comes up. I’m just going to assume they aren’t talking about this kind of stocks and ask what sort of financial stocks a vampire might be interested in.
I guess we can assume the obvious – Blood banks.
That would be the boring grown-up topic, doubtless. Otherwise Sydney would have perked up more.
Whilst the blood bank is a funny suggestion (and does have a certain serious merit), I doubt that it would be the practical choice. Primarily because it could compromise his anonymity. Putting ‘the secret’ at risk, on one paw, and himself, on the other, should there be any anti-vampire sentiment. It would be an all-too-obvious starting point, if seeking vampires.
Being immortal, vampires would likely play the safe long-term options. Property being one such, provided he is confident that his financial arrangements would be secure, should he need to flee from a location or cover identity.
Whereas, if flight is an ever-resent risk, he may opt for readily transportable alternatives, such as bearer bonds. Presumably ones in companies which look like they will still be going strong in 100 years time. And yes, some companies do plan for the long-term (albeit not many for quite that far ahead).
Some government agency have probably supplied the vamps with leftover blood from the hospitals in exchange for not causing trouble like drinking people.
Ingsol would only be a flight risk if he has the traditional ability to turn into a bat.
Oh no, they were totally discussing what sort of stacks would suit putting Sydney in (or if they would need one or five for the Daphne’s)
Vampires would probably be more interested in long-term bonds. :)
Technically that’s a pillory. The ones for your feet are stocks. :)
*Chortle, chortle, guffaw, guffaw!*
After all of this time I’ve spent picking at and over-examining his work, DaveB does it right back at me!
:-D
Lol.
*Sound Effect* Wah Wah Waaaaaaaaaaaah!
Wah Wah Waaaaaaaaaaaah?
So that must be were the word “stockings” comes from. Who knew stockings were originally made of wood?
Nah, they’re clearly clearly all envious of the shoulder mount Peggy has on her sniper rifle.
Who is the really big woman with the really big gun on her shoulder in the current vote incentive?
As the file says, her name is Zayra, and she is from the new game “Overwatch” (and may or may not be Peggy’s older sister :D)
As Dave said “Zarya” is the right spelling, the filename is wrong.
Haven’t played the game, only seen the hentai porn
But, but, seeing how the original relationships are corrupted is half the fun!
As Guesticus says, Zarya from Overwatch. I just drew the picture because the similarities in character designs amused me.
Amusing question. Do a werewolf astronaut on the moon howl at the moon non stop or at earth when its full.
i know its weird quetion thats stuck in my mind
You would have to ask John Jameson, the son of J.J. Jameson who became an astronaut and when on a visit to the Moon found a glowing red gem that turned him into a werewolf.
Or as this type of event is called in the Marvel Universe, ‘Tuesday’.
https://www.spiderfan.org/characters/manwolf.html
Now i rememberd. The manwolf in spiderman. Of course moonstone the criminal she can fly andshoot energy cause she has a moon rock. And then there the blue area of the moon that has air and ruine city. So the moon in marvel is weird.
The Marvel Moon is also the home of Uatu, the Watcher for Earth’s sector. He lives in the Blue Area.
That must be depressing for him.
For another take on this, please seek out and read Nick Pollatta’s “Bureau 13: Full Moonster”.
And please support Nick by buying his work – he’s pretty good, in a bubblegum literature sort of way.
Reading honor harrington right now
Unfortunately, we lost Nick a while back. Damn nice guy.
:(
Frankly I am a little disappointed in the direction Sydney’s bored mind went. Considering her active imagination and the ring tone on her phone I was expecting her mind to start daydreaming of her visiting this ‘Twilight Counsil’. https://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/5/58/Mane_six_looking_at_the_map_S5E1.png/revision/latest?cb=20150406083801
If there was a supernatural element in a House MD episode, it should involve ghosts. Then I can refer to it as the Haunted House episode.
Feel free to use that joke if you want, DaveB. :)
*whaps Pander with a rolled-up newspaper*
I sort of owed you payback for the rolled-up newspaper you hit *me* with when I made the comment about how Windex is supposed to stop you from streaking, many pages ago. xD
Actually, while a dire wolf is not much bigger than the largest normal wolves, it may well have been the size of ponies while it lived–most people forget this, but horses have been getting bigger and bigger ever since they were first domesticated. The original horses were only 55 inches–about 4’7″, for those who are too lazy to do the math–when that particular species finally went extinct, and the horses that lived at the time of the dire wolf may well have been even smaller than the wolf.
So…significantly bigger than normal wolves? Perhaps not. Bigger than horses? That is very likely possible. Just remember…we have dogs today that are almost the same size as some of the smaller pony breeds, so that’s something to think about.
And we also have dogs smaller than a football, and should be punted like one!!!!!
I was going to link to a related graphic but everybody can google “horse evolution”, so instead I will share this private exhibitions I just stumble with, that I think every museum should be inspired by.
https://www.donglutsdinosaurs.com/giant-ground-sloth-manus/
Dead for a few million years, before he got to see any action. Yup, he sure was a giant sloth.
Put out Moar Comics! I have canvassed across the Web World Wide, reading about all angst and trials in many dimensions and this one still pulls me back because the humor is brilliant. Keep up the good work. in fact, keep up the great work. I will be disappointed if this ever gets downgraded to only good.
I see you there Konami code…
I wonder what faction or supernatural genre that represents – Virtual/Digital Beings?
That faction might want to petition to change their name, if that is the case. Otherwise they will prove to be unpopular, if they remain as VD beings.
By the way, sort of surprised no one mentioned it until now, but technically speaking, Sydney’s pun was correct. Lupus still fits. Loup is french for wolf, but Lupus is LATIN for wolf.
The reason the disease is called lupus is because, in the 18th century, when lupus was first discovered, the medical knowledge of the day believed that the disease was caused by wolf bites. The name stuck.
Actually, someone (on this page) did call out Clover (does she love to romp around in fields? o_O) over that
Just noticed that. Did anyone mention that the disease is called lupus because they originally thought it was caused by saliva in wolf bites? :)
I think that was a new one. :)
But there were a lot of replies, on the etymology of the words, so it could have slipped past me.
I did not. But I found that the name came from long ago and it seems there are not direct records of the origin. Among the main theories one is the saliva, other is because some variants of the associated rash resemble wolf bites (circles of point-shaped marks), and the most curious (and less credible to me) is because affected women concealed their faces using a kind of masks called “wolf”.
No, no…Gary Busy is a were Ginger DEAD cookie.
Gary Busey wasn’t in that movie, was he? (The Gingerdead Man) At work, can’t check. MUST KNOW.
Apparently, he was.
Couldn’t you just ask the judge?
*tries to whistle innocently, but fails*
Darn, I keep forgetting I do not have the anatomy to do that.
And so it begins. Not that this is a bad thing. The precedents and principles need to be established, with anything new that society faces. Be it Pokemon or super-women.
Just about the biggest dogs around now are Irish wolfhounds. I’m 6’8 and met one who could stand up on his hind legs and rest his paws on my shoulders. When you threw a stick he’d come back with a 6-8″ diameter branch and then beat you in the back of the legs with it to get you to throw it “again”.
boy does THAT bring back memories… back when i was in Jr. High, we had a neighbor that had one of those kind of dogs, we never knew the name of the dog because we were too scared to go near it and ask the owner whenever he was seen (VERY rarely)… the dog would bark like the dickens and stand up to put his front paws OVER the top of the EIGHT FOOT TALL fence whenever anyone would walk by the house… we just ended up called him “Human”… in hindsight it probably would have been more accurate to call him Chewbacca instead…
When I worked for Texas A&M, one of my friends had an Irish Wolfhound by the name of Wolfgang. He took a liking to me immediately (then again, most dogs DO like me, even dogs that normally bond only to their owner). You could always tell when Wolfgang liked you, because he would grab your wrist with his mouth.
The problem was, I’m not sure Wolfgang knew how big he really was. Imagine relaxing in a reclining chair. Now, imagine a 120-pound dog trying to get in your lap while you’re relaxing in a reclining chair…
Really no need to imagine that. the internet has everything!
https://www.metaspoon.com/big-lap-dogs/
Imagine flossing those teeth, though… just imagine. How does he get anything else done?
Do you mean Gary Busey, or Rob Beckett? Either way, a simple sand blasting should be good for all teeth cleaning needs.
Maybe Athywren is referring to this one? Although it is probably not necessary.
Just a thought: Clover looks like she’s a little big for her chair. A biker chick that might give some of Max’s team a run for their money. And that’s pre-transformation…
If you notice, she has actually been given a child’s chair :P
It is only small, in comparison to Gregor’s chair. But it is not necessarily the one Clover has been allocated. On account of the fact that Sydney is not the only one who is circulating. Clover was in one of the big chairs, when Sydney was introduced to her. Plus, going by rough eyeballing, the chair Sydney was recuperating in appears to be smaller than the one Clover is currently seated in. So smaller chair, but not a child seat.
As an aside, it does not appear to be a status thing, where faction leaders get a big chair, and others small ones. On account of both the vampire girls being in big chairs earlier. Presumably they would be the same status as Clover, all other things being equal. Mind you that was when Clover was in a big chair too.
Once the meeting proper starts, we should see everyone in their negotiating seats, so will get a better idea of whether the Council is heavily hierarchical, and status-driven, or not.
My, why? You made me check and now I can’t unsee the inconsistencies.
Two pages ago everybody, Clover included, was in chairs with high backrests and pointy ends at the sides.
Last page those chairs vanished and we see a new kind pretty similar but without the pointy ends and in two versions, with the same high backrest and with a shorter backrest. Syd’s chair seems to be a smaller version of the new short backrest type.
Today’s page in panel four (Syd wandering) every chair is the same (the image is the same) that in last page, ie without any chair of pointy style. In following panels we can see that Clover moved to a short backrest chair (comparing with two pages ago as Yorp pointed out), while Gregor is in one of the original type (pointy ends) that was nowhere to be seen in panel four.
Also now you can tell that the silhouettes at the end of the table in panel four match pretty well with Clover and Gregor, but then they are in swaped positions while Gregor’s chair changed, comparing with later panels.
Hey, I know, they are were-chairs! They have three different stadiums of shaping as most of them, and they are a little restless out of anxiety.
Puff… I feel better now.
Heh, I was coming to a similar conclusion, as I went through your post.
Ya know, this comic may answer the age old question of the Loch Ness Monster. It’s actually a were-plesiosaur, and the reason nobody can find it is because it’s only there a few days a month.
Believe someone mentioned a couple pages back how Nessie was a tourist
The reason noone can find Loch Ness Monster is that she actively sabotages all research in that direction when in human form.
I never knew they did that crossover! I need to catch up on Sleepy Hollow. Was the episode Bones with SH guests, or the other way around?
Both: first part is on Bones then Sleepy Hollow (thanks for reminding me, thought it was last week but it is tomorrow, back-to-back episodes :D)
I just realized: Gregor is with his daughter and Ingsol with his sirelings… it’s the fourth Thursday of April!
Well, Monday’s update was on the 1st April. So if anything bizarre had happened, it could have been an April Fools joke. But we just had the team making small-talk with a vampire and some werewolves. So pretty much normal.
Maybe Gregor was pulling an April fool’s prank, on Sydney, though, with the “dire” and other banter.
Being of Hispanic culture I always forget about April Fools. But strange enough (we don’t have it either) this other one remained in my mind:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Take_Our_Daughters_and_Sons_to_Work_Day
Wait, what? It’s April again? o_O
Thought it was August :(
In-comic. Haven’t you been keeping track of the date? Jeez, it’s not that hard.
*whistle innocently (good to have the appropriate anatomy)*
Sorry, I was just trying to start a tradition of August fools jokes. Folks are far too wary to fall for the April ones nowadays.
;-)
Speaking of Panel Four, has no one yet wondered what Sydney was looking up at? o-O
A room full of monsters probably sums it up.
Although it is clearly a fancy meeting room, so the architecture is probably designed to draw the eye up, to what I imagine is some imposing ceiling. On top of which Sydney’s ADHD makes her look all over the place, all the time. So it need not be anything significant, given that Dave this page is just a ‘casual moment’ in Sydney’s life.
You appear to have two full blown ANGELS hanging out in the gallery above the halo banner. Whose ‘chair’ do they fall under?
If they are classic christian angels they represent God. Let’s hope they are not Weeping Angels though. Speaking of wich I kind of expect the Doctor to show up here soon.
I would say they are of the Angels choir (third Triad), those are the envoys after all.
If they follow the precedent of the demons, they are probably another alien race. Who’s previous appearances, on Earth, have influenced our culture. Given that descriptions of angels are highly varied (barring the modern interpretation, which is ironically what these envoys appear to be), they too might be a group of connected, but otherwise distinctly different, alien races.
Now that is nicely extrapolated :). Some classical angel forms are certainly alien enough…
Just out of curiosity who else first learned of the existence of Loup Garous from the Dresden Files book series by Jim Butcher? I knew of werewolves before then but Jim Butcher wrote them into one of his books as one of three different kinds of werewolves (each distinguished by their strength/abilities and how they became werewolves in the first place) with Loup Garous being the rarest kind.
For those of you interested in the Dresden Files’ version of werewolves, first there was the werewolves who were people given some basic magical training to shapeshift into wolves which are still strong compared to a human. Then there was the second kind which I forgot the name of but they were regular people that wear an enchanted article of clothing such as a wolf pelt and belt to turn their whole body and part of their mind into a wolf. This second type was able to change into and out of a werewolf form at will by unlocking the belt buckle but during your time in werewolf form you were still affected by the instincts and biological imperatives of a wolf so you needed to be careful about staying in this form for too long, lest you give into the instincts and also lose your human mind/brain power. The first and second types are strongly affected by a pack mentality.
The third and final form, the loup-garou, was basically a beserker werewolf that was the strongest and biggest of the three types, needed major sealing magic that required preperation beforehand to keep it contained, the person had little control over when they changed (though when it did could be predicted), and the person only barely remembered what happened during their time in this form. This third form is what you get from being bitten by a loup garou and if you still somehow survive.
If this sounds interesting check out the book “Fool Moon” by Jim Butcher. Dresden Files is a detective series where Harry Dresden is a P.I. that is the only wizard listed in the L.A. phonebook.
Chicago, not Los Angeles. Hate to nitpick.
Ah. My mistake.
For what it’s worth, dire wolves did overlap modern humans. Check our the museum by the tar pits in Los Angeles.
Why, are they amongst the curators? I don’t want to be alarming, but they do have quite a reputation as being ferocious. I would not want to see any of our fellow readers getting eaten!
catgirls! what about catgirls! japanese cat girls!!!!!
I imagine you will be more likely to find those in the Tokyo chapter, than the New York council chambers. Here they are probably represented by Mr Fluffy, if they are lycanthropes.
I can settle for non-japanese catgirls too…