OOTS #942 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Maquise]

Well, that was unexpected.

[WyvernLord]

A thing of beauty. Best call-back ever. :smallbiggrin:

[Silva Stormrage]

Interesting callback

I have to wonder if this was planned out 100% from when he first appeared :smalltongue:

[Fish]

That was epic. Sorry, words fail.

[Great Dane]

I'll be the first to request a reference...

[Shivore]

So does this mean Ian still trusts him?

Regardless, love the callback!

[Everyl]

Well, that finally clears up all the wild theorizing about Geoff. Yay for plot thread resolution!

ETA: Never thought we'd hear from this guy (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) again!

[Morty]

Oh my dear God. I can't stop laughing.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Huh. I honestly thought Ian would take it a lot harder. Though I doubt it's going to be so simple in the future. And that was a wonderful callback. :smallbiggrin:

Also, what's with Aunt Ivy's hair? Is it white with a green visor thing?

So, you think they're both going to cross Bozzok now to keep Jiminy safe?

[Calimehter]

Ha!

I wonder if Geoff is disappointed. Probably not . . . but man, all those years in prison . . .

[Anarion]

I did not see that coming. I hope Bozzok eventually gets ruined because of this.

[Arkhosia]

I like to think the thief's guild routinely steals all his polearms for that.

[madtinker]

Awesome. Nice throwback to the polearm emporium! OOTS never fails to make me smile.

[snowblizz]

OMG so loving this one.

[deworde]

Love the title. Looks like everything's being wound up in the West.

[Prospekt]

I think all of us called it. ALL OF US. The wand of sending as the peg-leg was pretty genius.

Also, best callback in a while.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

A thing of beauty. Best call-back ever. :smallbiggrin:
Absolutely. It makes me want to archive-binge.

[rs2excelsior]

So on one count, theory confirmed.

On another, Jimmy the polearm salesman!

Going back to the archives to see if that picture was there originally...

EDIT: Alas, it isn't. Although we don't see that far behind Jimmy's head the first time he shows up...

[Shale]

Hah! Saw Geoff's treachery coming, saw the hostage situation coming, did NOT see the return of the polearm merchant coming. That's fantastic.

Imagine what would have happened if Haley had gone with Roy to buy a weapon!

[Sunken Valley]

Boz is the wrong shade of green and Crystal's skin is off.

Is this the reason why you could not answer why Miron named Haley as the "only living relative" of Ian despite Ivy's existence?

[Everyl]

It looks like the paint in Jiminy's Polearm Emporium (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) has faded pretty badly since Roy visited.

[Teucros]

Well, he'd better have at least 1 friggin' halberd. Unexpected but not unwelcome, Giant.

[RMS Oceanic]

This really underlines the whole family motif of the book. I love it.

[Dread_Head]

Brilliant, and finally clears up that it was Geoff indeed who was keeping Ian locked up on the inside.

Although a little worrying that Bozzak is still chasing Haley.

[deuxhero]

Well at least he didn't become a potion salesman...

[MReav]

Is it just me, or does Jiminy have a feminine body? And why would a picture of his parents be in the polearm shop?

Edit: or I am a dumbass and didn't realize that he's the polearm salesman.

[Vedhin]

Aw, I thought That Guy with a Halberd would return once I saw the title. Presumably as a member of the Anti-Tarquin Team.

[Nettlekid]

I'm pleased with myself that I actually predicted it would be the polearm guy when I read the title of the comic.

A question, is it a typo in the 10th panel when Geoff says "You wouldn've done the same"? I could see it either being "You would've done the same if it'd been Haley." ending with a period, or "You wouldn've done the same if it'd been Haley?" as a rhetorical question, but as is I'm a bit confused, unless I'm reading it wrong.

EDIT: People have been remarking on the shades of colors in various panels. All the panels are pretty muted though, I think? I think it's dark and dusty. Although it does kind of look like the same muted palette from Girard's illusion. Imagine if after ALL of this they wake up in the pyramid...

[Sloanzilla]

so wonderfully random

[TechnoScrabble]

You've gotta be kitten me...

The cat was Ian's son all along!

[Shale]

Is it just me, or does Jiminy have a feminine body? And why would a picture of his parents be in the polearm shop?

It's Jiminy's shop. The adventurer is just some random woman - Ivy has a caucasian skin tone in the flashback, there's no way their kid would have skin that dark.

[Wou]

Took me a while to realize Jiminy is the shopkeeper, not the adventurer :smallbiggrin:

[Edhelras]

Ah - I really HOPED that the picture of Geoff and Ivy would be there, when I looked back on the original comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html). What a foreshadowing that would've been!

[Gift Jeraff]

Typo in bottom-left panel: wouldn've

Great comic, though. But I would've thought at this point Rich would stop giving new characters/items green magic auras, lest there be more confusion about Zz'dtri's scrying spell. :smalltongue:

[Porthos]

Holy Brick Joke, Batman! :smallcool:

[raymundo]

No surprise with Geoff, but that's what I call an EPIC CALLBACK!

[Hopeless]

I thought I recognised that vendor!

Then again maybe it was the polearm that proved pivotal.... especially as he still doesn't have any!:smallbiggrin:

[Rodin]

I knew it! Thought I was going crazy there for a little bit. :smalltongue:

[Menarker]

So how was he able to smuggle a sending wand in the first place and keep it secret for so long?

He lost his leg during the arena since he wasn't as good as Ian at dodging. That means at the moment when he would have the opportunity to have a peg leg in the first place, he was already imprisoned under Tarquin's control, which has a pretty effective prison system (even considering that fact that Geoff was partly responsible for getting Ian back in every time he managed to get out).

While we know that the Thieves' Guild has an agreement to pay gold to the empire to hold them in place, there was no mention about providing the snitch with equipment (or that there was a snitch to begin with). So Geoff was supposably without anyone he could contact for magic items at the time...

[Morty]

I guess the Giant decided to one-up Brian Clevinger... his brick joke was only nine years in the making. :smalltongue:

[The Giant]

Boz is the wrong shade of green and Crystal's skin is off.

Sometimes, the colors on things change. This may be due to the fact that I no longer like the color I made the thing the first time it was seen, or it may be because my new system is still making the colors different when I save to PNG.


Also, what's with Aunt Ivy's hair? Is it white with a green visor thing?

Yup.

[Shale]

So how was he able to smuggle a sending wand in the first place and keep it secret for so long?

He lost his leg during the arena since he wasn't as good as Ian at dodging. That means at the moment when he would have the opportunity to have a peg leg in the first place, he was already imprisoned under Tarquin's control, which has a pretty effective prison system (even considering that fact that Geoff was partly responsible for getting Ian back in every time he managed to get out).


He never said he lost his leg in the arena because he wasn't good at dodging. He said he wasn't good at dodging and pointed at the peg leg, which could just as easily mean that he can't dodge as well because of the missing limb.

[TheTeaMustFlow]

I thought That Guy With A Halberd would be in this one. I'm sad now.

[Osiris]

Sorry about this Giant, but is Jiminy (Male) supposed to be wearing ladies's armor? Jiminy is, I believe, a man, and therefore does not have those.

EDIT: Epic derp, Jiminy is the Salesman, not the buyer! I can't believe I didn't realize that!

[Menarker]

It's kinda interesting to note that there is an actual female version of Roy going through the same miseries as our protagonist fighter in this world even if only as a joke. =3

[Prospekt]

So how was he able to smuggle a sending wand in the first place and keep it secret for so long?

He lost his leg during the arena since he wasn't as good as Ian at dodging. That means at the moment when he would have the opportunity to have a peg leg in the first place, he was already imprisoned under Tarquin's control, which has a pretty effective prison system (even considering that fact that Geoff was partly responsible for getting Ian back in every time he managed to get out).

While we know that the Thieves' Guild has an agreement to pay gold to the empire to hold them in place, there was no mention about providing the snitch with equipment (or that there was a snitch to begin with). So Geoff was supposably without anyone he could contact for magic items at the time...
Except he has the pegleg in this strip's flashback, which was clearly before the whole arena situation.

[ellindsey]

He lost his leg during the arena since he wasn't as good as Ian at dodging.

Panel 9 shows him setting up the deal with Bozzok, already having the pegleg. Presumably this took place before he was ever in the arena.

[Agnostik]

I smell a spinoff!

No, wait. That's not a spinoff. I gotta go.

[ellindsey]

Sorry about this Giant, but is Jiminy (Male) supposed to be wearing ladies's armor? Jiminy is, I believe, a man, and therefore does not have those.

Jiminy is the shopkeeper, not the customer.

[Bilbo27]

I am going to bet he is still most definitely out of pole arms of any sort.

[Menarker]

He never said he lost his leg in the arena because he wasn't good at dodging. He said he wasn't good at dodging and pointed at the peg leg, which could just as easily mean that he can't dodge as well because of the missing limb.

But if he had a peg-leg in the first place, then it would beg the question of WHY is he considered bad at dodging then.

I mean, you say he already had a peg-leg and THEN they send him to the arena in a life/death battle? For which it seems he had not have lost any other limb or severe injuries since then? That would imply that he was fairly GOOD at dodging since even with the peg-leg, he made it through relatively unscathed during the few matches they needed to endure to before they found out about how to abuse the "list rule".

EDIT: Oh, nevermind. Didn't catch that flashback bit. Sorry.

[Gift Jeraff]

Actually, he didn't say he was bad at dodging, just that Ian is better.

[Shale]

Maybe he just had some closer scrapes with death than Ian did. He could get stabbed a bunch of times without losing a limb.

And just because he's not as good as a (presumably high-level, high-Dex) Thief doesn't mean he's bad.

[zql]

He lost his leg during the arena since he wasn't as good as Ian at dodging.

Nope, if you look the flashback panel in this strip, he already have a wooden leg.

edit: ninj'd so badly


that cat got a nice art update

[Arrowstorm122]

I guess we'll see the Thieves Guild coming down on them at the North Pole then.

[Muenster Man]

Wow, that was a great callback. And it looks like the forum was right about the whole Geoff and Ivy thing.

[Mike Havran]

I immediately went to check out #136 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) whether the picture was there. It wasn't but would that be awesome.

Still, more plot threads are tied up.

[Sniffnoy]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

[Bulldog Psion]

Well, that wrapped up the Geoff and Ivy treachery thing neatly in one strip. And the return of the halberd seller is bizarre but hilarious. Who would have thought that Roy was being driven crazy by Haley's cousin way back when?

[CoffeeIncluded]

Sometimes, the colors on things change. This may be due to the fact that I no longer like the color I made the thing the first time it was seen, or it may be because my new system is still making the colors different when I save to PNG.



Yup.

Ah, thanks! Is it a visor or is it something else?

[Gift Jeraff]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

He probably never had a reason to use the wand that much, but this time is different because they were officially pardoned rather than having escaped, so he wanted to update Bozzok.

[Bubble]

:smallconfused: Trying to picture Jiminy as a competent thief that Bozzok would want to keep around in the Thieve's Guild... I can see Bozzok wanting to keep him there just because he's a bit of a jerk and would like the opportunity to take advantage of Geoff.

If I had a magic lamp, I would wish for some bonus strips with Jiminy the Thief. Well, unless he's just despondent about wanting to be a polearm storeowner...

Edit: fixed typo.

[Shale]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

My headcanon: He always relied on Ivy to keep Ian busy while he did his treachery. Now they're in unfamiliar territory and he has no ally to run interference for him, so he just waited until he was finally left alone - except Haley thought to ask after him.

[Porthos]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.


He probably never had a reason to use the wand that much, but this time is different because they were officially pardoned rather than having escaped, so he wanted to update Bozzok.

Also, Haley told her dad to tell Geoff to stay safe. So he walked in on Uncle Geoff right at the exact wrong time. Or right time, depending on perspective. :smallwink:

[Wolv90]

I notice Crystal is absent, mostly due to Bazzok shaving, seemingly first thing in the morning, but it's a nice way to not have to show weather she was raised or not.

[Muenster Man]

Do you mean Crystal?

[Gift Jeraff]

:smallconfused: Trying to picture Jiminy as a competent thief that Bozzok would want to keep around in the Thieve's Guild...

I don't think Jiminy was necessarily a good thief, it's just that no one gets to leave the Guild.

[ObadiahtheSlim]

Glad I'm not the only one who went back to see if the picture was in 136 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html). :smallbiggrin:

[Porthos]

Ah, thanks! Is it a visor or is it something else?

Looks like it is a head-scarf to me.

[CoffeeIncluded]

Looks like it is a head-scarf to me.

I thought head-scarves were drawn to be larger and more triangular. Maybe it's just me?

[Oko and Qailee]

Well, obviously what Geoff did was worth it.

I mean, we would have lost a wonderful comedy sketch if he hadn't

[DeliaP]

Wow, I was just checking the latest in the Geoff-conspiracy-debate on the #841 thread, and noticed that New One Is Up, and by that time two pages or more had already been posted on #842!

So, Bozzok was dealing financially with Tarquin and Miron, to imprison Ian, while separately coercing Ivy and Geoff to ensure Tarquin and Miron were really able to hold Ian. (And Ivy and Geoff had set up Ian and Geoff to be imprisoned in the first place)

Um.. yes, that actually makes perfect sense, and fits all of the facts, but wasn't actually the specific twist that anyone seemed to call.*

The Giant is awesome.


<snip>Who would have thought that Roy was being driven crazy by Haley's cousin way back when?

You know, until you pointed it out, that hadn't even occurred to me!

The Giant is hilarious.

*Sorry, if you called it, I apologise and award you full bragging rights over me.

[SavageWombat]

Also, Haley told her dad to tell Geoff to stay safe. So he walked in on Uncle Geoff right at the exact wrong time. Or right time, depending on perspective. :smallwink:

Maybe "tell X to stay safe" is their code phrase for "I'd check up on X if I were you".

[Etheolin]

Now we've come full circle...

So. is the thieve's guild in Greysky City another side of the conflict, then?
What, what?:smallbiggrin:

[Fralex]

So I gotta know: What was it about Geoff that made so many people on the forums suspect him?

[AKA_Bait]

Do you mean Crystal?

Gosh I hope so. Roy would be heartbroken.

[Kurald Galain]

So I gotta know: What was it about Geoff that made so many people on the forums suspect him?

The goatee.

[Porthos]

I thought head-scarves were drawn to be larger and more triangular. Maybe it's just me?

I've seen women wear scarves/headbands so it goes under the hair that covers the ears but over the top of the scalp. Notice that it more or less matches the color of Ivy's dress. So I figure it is a fashion accessory of some type. :smallsmile:

[King of Nowhere]

well, maybe it would have been better if he had told his son to stay in town...

[DeliaP]

Now we've come full circle...

So. is the thieve's guild in Greysky City another side of the conflict, then?
What, what?:smallbiggrin:

Yes! Bozzok, raised-Crystal, Hank and Jenny also arrive in the grand pile up at Kraagors gate! Woohoo!:smallbiggrin:

[Clistenes]

Do you think that girl trying to buy a weapon could be Laurin's daughter, who has secretly started a career as adventurer?

[Gift Jeraff]

So I gotta know: What was it about Geoff that made so many people on the forums suspect him?

-Bozzok mentioned that he had friends write to Ian to get him to the Western Continent (Panel 8 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0609.html))
-Ian mentions that Ivy and Geoff asked him to help them with their rebellion (Panel 11 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0770.html))
-Geoff suspiciously tells Haley he wants to stay in prison to keep an eye on Ian (Panel 4 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0774.html))
-Geoff's reaction to the possibility of Bozzok sending Belkar or being dead (Panel 5 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0779.html))
-And yes, the goatee.

[Yendor]

How very different things would have been if Haley had gone into the Polearm Emporium.

[Tundar]

A callback to my all time favourite oots strip!
What's not to ikke?

[Porthos]

Do you think that girl trying to buy a weapon could be Laurin's daughter, who has secretly started a career as adventurer?

Don't be ridiculoius. It's obviously Redcloak's niece, who has been polymorphed and is undercover. :smalltongue:

[ChristianSt]

I read the title before the comic, and my first reaction was: "How on earth will that Guy with a Halberd (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=86816) show up now".

I didn't really bought all the speculation about Geoff rating on Ian - but he had a good reason it.

And the throwback was epic.

I don't always laugh out loud, but when I do it is OotS :smallcool:

[Muenster Man]

I wonder if this means Bozzok will try to interfere with the gate. If he does, it could turn into a battle royale between 3-6 or so different groups.

That could be a lot of fun

[Lordchoculla]

New comic is up.

Great, thanks :-)

[137beth]

Jiminiy is my favorite character every!

[Bulldog Psion]

-Bozzok mentioned that he had friends write to Ian to get him to the Western Continent (Panel 8 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0609.html))
-Ian mentions that Ivy and Geoff asked him to help them with their rebellion (Panel 11 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0770.html))
-Geoff suspiciously tells Haley he wants to stay in prison to keep an eye on Ian (Panel 4 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0774.html))
-Geoff's reaction to the possibility of Bozzok sending Belkar or being dead (Panel 5 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0779.html))
-And yes, the goatee.

Yes, it was glaringly obvious that he was up to something.

And that goatee sure the heck wasn't doing him any favors.

[Breccia]

So, in terms of first strip to last strip, is this the longest running joke yet?

EDIT: Also, how much of that did Bozzok hear? Or is there a potential double-agent situation afoot? Or apeg?

[Clistenes]

Don't be ridiculoius. It's obviously Redcloak's niece, who has been polymorphed and is undercover. :smalltongue:

Who says those aren't the same? I mean, Right-eye implied that some humans adopted her. It could have been Laurin.

[Ridureyu]

AWESOME!!! You guys who predicted this? You totally nailed it! Props to you!

[Vinsfeld]

For a second there, I thought Jiminy was the guy in armor.

Nice one, Giant

[EvilJames]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

Maybe Ian had just started suspecting him and just now caught him. Nobody can avoid slipping up forever.

[Ron Miel]

Okay, I don't understand the title. Why would he have a halberd now?

By my reckoning, it has been about an in-comic year since that strip, give or take a couple of weeks. Approximately the same time of year, anyway. And they never have halberds at that time of year.


Also, Bozzok's reply to the sending was only 17 words long. Slipping there, Giant.

[Ron Miel]

EDIT: Also, how much of that did Bozzok hear?

he heard "AHHHH", then the 25 word sending spell ended.

[WindStruck]

Hmm... perhaps Geoff should have taken a visit to his son's business and reassessed whether or not he'd want to keep betraying his brother...

[Porthos]

So, in terms of first strip to last strip, is this the longest running joke yet?

Pretty sure. The longest one I remember before that was the "I GOT A 4!" callback in 766 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0766.html), which was 677 strips in the making (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0090.html). :smallsmile:


EDIT: Also, how much of that did Bozzok hear? Or is there a potential double-agent situation afoot? Or apeg?

The second sending spell was at 24 words when Geoff was interrupted. And the Sending only picks up what the Sendee says. So it would have been something like:

"What do you want me to AHHHH!!!!"

[SaintRidley]

Jiminy just got his name, which means he has oodles of plot protection from the guild, too. Just ask Daigo and Kasumi.

[Shale]

He'd have even more if he had some sort of weapon to defend himself from assassins. Something big, hefty, maybe with a single large blade on the end...

[Rodin]

He'd have even more if he had some sort of weapon to defend himself from assassins. Something big, hefty, maybe with a single large blade on the end...

A glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive?

[Grey Watcher]

Am I the only one digging the gratuitous shirtless scene for Bozzok? Hooray for gender equality? :smallconfused:

[Shale]

A glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive?

Not glaivey enough.

[Jay R]

Is this the reason why you could not answer why Miron named Haley as the "only living relative" of Ian despite Ivy's existence?

She's his only living relative not involved in the scam, and therefore the only one who might raise a ransom.


One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

Because the Giant is tying up loose ends, and needed to show Geoff explaining the plot in full.


If I had a magic lamp, I would wish for some bonus strips with Jiminy the Thief. Well, unless he's just despondent about wanting to be a polearm storeowner...

He didn't want to be a polearm salesman anyway. He wanted to be ... a lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia... The giant redwood, the larch, the fir, the mighty Scots pine...

Jiminy: (aside) I think you're drifting into another sketch, sir.

[Sir_Leorik]

Okay, I'll admit it: all of you guys (and girls) who predicted that Geoff and Ivy were working for Bozzok were right. But I'm willing to bet none of you saw the Cheese Polearm Merchant being involved. :smallbiggrin:

[Dalek_Kolt]

So I can't help but notice Jimmy looks like a black-haired, mustachio'd Elan.

:elan: Another child of Tarquin hidden out of shame by Geoff's wife, or a relic of less sophisticated character creation of past comics?

YOU DECIDE.

[St Fan]

So I can't help but notice Jimmy looks like a black-haired, mustachio'd Elan.

:elan: Another child of Tarquin hidden out of shame by Geoff's wife, or a relic of less sophisticated character creation of past comics?

YOU DECIDE.

I find it way more interesting to notice that the adventuress looks a lot like a female Roy. Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...

[allenw]

He probably never had a reason to use the wand that much, but this time is different because they were officially pardoned rather than having escaped, so he wanted to update Bozzok.

Plus, Sending has a casting time of 10 minutes, and by the rules using a wand wouldn't shorten that, (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wands.htm) so he had to have been sitting there for at least 20 minutes.

[Sir_Leorik]

Okay, I don't understand the title. Why would he have a halberd now?

By my reckoning, it has been about an in-comic year since that strip, give or take a couple of weeks. Approximately the same time of year, anyway. And they never have halberds at that time of year.

They get new halberds in the spring. (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) The OotS was in the town six to eight weeks before spring.

[Werbaer]

So, in terms of first strip to last strip, is this the longest running joke yet?
I'm not sure what constitutes a running joke.

Let's talk about the lime green boots of speed.
Haley tells V about them in 003 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0003.html).
She later tells Celia about them in 573 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0573.html).
We see them first in a flashback in 606 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0608.html).
We see them for real when their were dyed in 675 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html).
And we first see Haley use the haste effect in 925 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0925.html).

[David Argall]

Because the Giant is tying up loose ends, and needed to show Geoff explaining the plot in full.

Quite the reverse. He is untying them. Apparently he has in mind getting these all together in the final book[s]. possibly even in one big confused scene.
Bozzak and Crystal will be back, along with Tarquin and... Right now I would not bet against out seeing Samantha and Miko again.

[Porthos]

Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...

There's only so many ways to draw stickfigures. :smallsigh:

Or don't you recall all of the Miron = Geoff 'theories'. :smallwink:

[Dalek_Kolt]

I find it way more interesting to notice that the adventuress looks a lot like a female Roy. Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...

What? Don't be ridiculous. That female adventurer is CLEARLY the child of Shoulder Pad Guy and Laurin!

In all seriousness, Eugene was Lawful Good, and most likely didn't start seeing other women before his death.

[Ellye]

Loved this one. Might become one of my favorite strips.

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Someone has probably already said this, but... I didn't expect some kind of Polearm Emporioum! Or Spanish Inquisition :)

[goodpeople25]

A glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive?

do you have anything without any glaive in it

[Grey Watcher]

Someone has probably already said this, but... I didn't expect some kind of Polearm Emporioum! Or Spanish Inquisition :)

NOBODY EXPECTS THE POLEARM EMPORIUM!!!!!!

It's going to be a long between-strip interval

[DeliaP]

I wonder if this means Bozzok will try to interfere with the gate. If he does, it could turn into a battle royale between 3-6 or so different groups.

That could be a lot of fun

This is why I was hoping Tarquin wasn't going to get taken out in this book: I want it all, I want every group and hanging thread to converge on Kraagor's gate in magnificent 40-car plot pile up, that makes the finale of Blues Brothers look like a rear headlight getting broken. I want Tarquin and Bozzok and Lien and Redcloak and Shoulder Pads Guy and Gannji and Jenny and O-Chul and The Unnamed Cleric of Loki and Geoff and the Oracle and Lirian and Dorukan's souls and raised-Crystal and dug-up-Thog and Laurin and Xykon and Enor and Old Uncle Tom Cobbley and Eugene's ghost and Kazumi and Right Eye's Daughter and Evil!Durkula and Julia Greenhilt and Jacinda and Bandana and Jiminy and Haley's other cousin and Niu and Sabine and Aunt Ivy and Kilkil and Aunt Judy and the Dirt Farmers and Laurin's daughter and Qarr and Julio and Hinjo and Miron and Xykon again just because and Amun Zora and the High Priest of Odin and Serini and Ian and the MitD and Hank and the IFCC and Daigo and Roy's Archon and EVERYONE to have a huge crashing-through-windows, slamming-through-doors, jumping-out-of-airships, bursting-through-the-floors at critical moments suddenly-reversing-the-tide-of-battle-to-and-fro in the longest strip-a-day awesome fight sequence EVAH! YEAH!

(But strangely not Hilgya. Never really got why so many people want her to come back.)


She's his only living relative not involved in the scam, and therefore the only one who might raise a ransom.

Probably Tarquin and Miron had no idea that Bozzok had also arranged Geoff and Ivy to keep an eye on Ian: they had no idea Ivy even existed.

Or: maybe Ivy's undead? That's the reason for the visor!

(Two plot points resolved: one epileptic tree spawned!)

[Shale]

NOBODY EXPECTS THE POLEARM EMPORIUM!!!!!!

It's going to be a long between-strip interval

Our chief weapons are....well, not polearms, ironically enough.

[pendell]

*Snicker* Well played, Giant. Well played.

Respectfully,

Brian P.

[Snails]

I find it way more interesting to notice that the adventuress looks a lot like a female Roy. Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...

Could be Roy's sibling and not be Eugene's daughter, you know.

[Ron Miel]

So I can't help but notice Jimmy looks like a black-haired, mustachio'd Elan.

:elan: Another child of Tarquin hidden out of shame by Geoff's wife, or a relic of less sophisticated character creation of past comics?

YOU DECIDE.


I find it way more interesting to notice that the adventuress looks a lot like a female Roy. Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...


"Sometimes a spade is just a spade ..."
The Giant

[Vedhin]

"Sometimes a spade is just a spade ..."
The Giant

"...but sometimes, it is not!"
Vedhin

[Angel Bob]

Oh my god.

That reveal was magnificent.

(Not the Geoff one, of course. Everyone saw that coming.)

Interestingly, the title reminded me of That Guy With a Halberd, to which the sensible part of my brain responded with "Naahhh, we'd never get a random callback to an unimportant NPC like that, what are you thinking?"

Oh, sensible part of the brain - you're so often right, but when you fail, you do so spectacularly...

[Orm-Embar]

Heh. Off to browse the archives some more. Again.

Since in the next-to-last panel Ian still has a knife in his hand while pulling up Geoff, it seems to have been left unresolved if Ian's forgiven Geoff or not.

Thanks Giant. :smallsmile:

[Amarsir]

Title spoiled the punchline!

Raaaaaaaaaaaage!

...

OK I'm better now.

[oppyu]

And we have another victory for fanon. For an insanely paranoid rogue, Ian sure seems very forgiving.

[rewinn]

"Sometimes a spade is just a spade ..."
The Giant


"I'm sorry we're all out of spades. May I interest you in a Lucerne Bladed Shovel?"
---Jiminy

[rbetieh]

Quick question: I think it most likely has been asked:

Why does Geoff say "Wouldn've" and Ian say "Would've"...?

[DeliaP]

Quick question: I think it most likely has been asked:

Why does Geoff say "Wouldn've" and Ian say "Would've"...?

Because Geoff is a poor speller? :smallwink:

[Ron Miel]

Quick question: I think it most likely has been asked:

Why does Geoff say "Wouldn've" and Ian say "Would've"...?

OOTS contains many typos

[Duck999]

OOTS contains many typos

Yup. I noticed that, too. I saw the title and was immediately, "Yup, the polearm emporium is back." Normally I would say no way... But this is Oots we are talking about.

[brionl]

do you have anything without any glaive in it

We've got glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive-glaive-volgue-glaive.
It hasn't got much glaive in it.

[Rogar Demonblud]

Well, it looks like Bozzok is still planning on serving Haley Thermidor at the next employee picnic.

[Dandria]

Oh oh oh, what a fantastic callback!

The best part is that, at first, I didn't see the picture behind the merchant nor the adventurer's boobs, so I just assumed that "he" was Jiminy. I basically got two jokes for the price of one: the one were Jiminy was getting trolled instead of doing something important, and the one were the important something was trolling random adventurers. I must say: so many layers of comedy :smallsmile:

[dtilque]

This is the first time we've actually seen Aunt Ivy.... doesn't look much like a plant...


And this callback to the polearm shop... it's just not cricket....

[Tragak]

Our chief weapons are....well, not polearms, ironically enough. Pointed sticks?

[DeliaP]

Incidentally, I'm finding it funny that the reason Bozzok is now madder at Haley than at Ian is that Haley not only quit the guild in the first place but then broke Celia's agreement and refused to pay her backfees to the guild ...
and the reason for that was to go and pay the ransom/rescue her father...
but the reason she got a ransom note about her father was because Miron thought she might be willing to pay more than Bozzok...
but that only happened because Bozzok paid Miron and Tarquin to put Ian in prison in the first place.


Oh, and, errrrm.... there's nothing more dangerous than a clever sheep??

[KoboldRevenge]

Why does Jimmy have a female body? Is that a girl's name?

[goodpeople25]

We've got glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive-glaive-volgue-glaive.
It hasn't got much glaive in it.
I don't want any glaives

[ellindsey]

Why does Jimmy have a female body? Is that a girl's name?

Jiminy is the guy who owns the polearm shop, not the customer.

[Shale]

I don't want any glaives

I'll have goodpeople25's glaives! I love 'em!

[DeliaP]

Jiminy is the guy who owns the polearm shop, not the customer.

I'm thinking of adding that to my signature, at least until this thread closes?

[goodpeople25]

I'll have goodpeople25's glaives! I love 'em!

Vikings (singing) glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, lovely glaive, wonderful glaive ...


wait do we even have vikings

[Commander672]

This whole book seems to be about the folly of judging someone based on bloodlines. From V's divorce to the Familicide spell to Tarquin to Malack's "kids" to the Draketooth clan's Isolation biting them in the ass to Nale's death to Ian's betrayal. It's just an endless stream of troubles for families this time around.

[quasit]

And we have another victory for fanon. For an insanely paranoid rogue, Ian sure seems very forgiving.

Still holding a knife in one hand while helping geoff stand up with the other. That second to last panel was kind of...unsetling. Not saying that he intends to pull a Tarquin on the poor fellow, less after a cutaway panel with a humorous callback. But if so, such a mood whiplash would be...just terrific in many ways, Like the "brainy pete" scene would have been if it was split into two pages. :smalleek:

[Amphiox]

Yes! Bozzok, raised-Crystal, Hank and Jenny also arrive in the grand pile up at Kraagors gate! Woohoo!:smallbiggrin:

Where they will crash headlong into Tarquin and company, and then get summarily squished by Xykon in the next panel with an offhand backhand.

Actually, what I'd love to see is for Bozzok to be responsible for Tarquin's demise (though I doubt he's powerful enough to do the job), because at this point, being done in by the main villain is just too much narrative consideration that Tarquin doesn't deserve. Getting ingloriously offed by another tertiary villain, and the rival of his so 's girlfriend whom he dismissed for her low station, would be far more karmic ally fitting an end.


Do you think that girl trying to buy a weapon could be Laurin's daughter, who has secretly started a career as adventurer?

If that turns out to be true, I wonder if the number of people loving the callback would be more or less than the number complaining about the contrived coincidence?


Okay, I don't understand the title. Why would he have a halberd now?

By my reckoning, it has been about an in-comic year since that strip, give or take a couple of weeks. Approximately the same time of year, anyway. And they never have halberds at that time of year.


Also, Bozzok's reply to the sending was only 17 words long. Slipping there, Giant.

Maybe he doesn't SELL the halberds because he's keeping them, in his bedroom, just in case the Guild comes for him (with another set in a bag of holding on his person).


I find it way more interesting to notice that the adventuress looks a lot like a female Roy. Wonder if Eugene was cheating on his wife, among other faults...

See, obviously, in this universe, everyone must have an opposite-gender double. That belt of gender reversal works by copying your double's form...


And we have another victory for fanon. For an insanely paranoid rogue, Ian sure seems very forgiving.

An insanely paranoid rogue would APPEAR to be forgiving, even as he was preparing the triple-cross retaliatory backstab. Not saying Ian would do such a thing, of course...

[Eulalios]

I'm not sure what constitutes a running joke.

Let's talk about the lime green boots of speed.
Haley tells V about them in 003 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0003.html).
She later tells Celia about them in 573 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0573.html).
We see them first in a flashback in 606 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0608.html).
We see them for real when their were dyed in 675 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0675.html).
And we first see Haley use the haste effect in 925 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0925.html).

I gotta give you a big call out for the pun.

[Amphiox]

It occurs to me that it is quite likely that Jiminy doesn't have a halberd after all. Because the customer's words, echoing Roy's, suggest they've already gone through a substantially long list of unavailable pole arms, and on such a list, what are the chances that "halberd" would not come up within the first five?

[Ghost Nappa]

Watch Geoff's wife's maiden name be "Cricket."

[FleshrakerAbuse]

It occurs to me that it is quite likely that Jiminy doesn't have a halberd after all. Because the customer's words, echoing Roy's, suggest they've already gone through a substantially long list of unavailable pole arms, and on such a list, what are the chances that "halberd" would not come up within the first five?

Considering that the most popular polearm in the world is the longspear, and lucern hammers are the most popular in the area... Who knows?

Anyways, is there a thread for all the possible callbacks that may appear? Maybe Hilgya might reappear, or the blown up orc, or the bag of tricks might be reused...

[Caex]

Either Ian's bluffing, or he's astoundingly forgiving of family.

[hagnat]

I dunno

Ian is starting to act out of character
he was this incredible paranoid in the past, to the point where he wouldnt allow his daughter to tell strangers that her mom was dead...

suddenly he jumps into zora's team without asking too many questions, even with ganji and enor there, and now Geoff has proven to be a rat, and he is going to accept his excuse and let him go ? something isn't right here :/

[martianmister]

I notice Celia is absent, mostly due to Bazzok shaving, seemingly first thing in the morning, but it's a nice way to not have to show weather she was raised or not.

Well, she is an air elemental, she'd probably raised in a good weather...

[The Pilgrim]

Well, at least Jiminy has an honest job now.

...

Wait a moment...

[Rig]

Why would you encourage your child to become an adventurer if you're worried about his health?

[Corenair]

I must say, I will miss the color palette of this book.

[Amphiox]

For the longest possible callback after this one?

Last panel of the last strip, after the bad guys are beaten, the world is saved, all plot lines wrapped and denouement denoued...

Everyone gets upgraded to 4E...

[DeliaP]

I dunno

Ian is starting to act out of character
he was this incredible paranoid in the past, to the point where he wouldnt allow his daughter to tell strangers that her mom was dead...

suddenly he jumps into zora's team without asking too many questions, even with ganji and enor there, and now Geoff has proven to be a rat, and he is going to accept his excuse and let him go ? something isn't right here :/

Actually Amun Zora gave exactly the right answer to Ian. Instead of trying to persuade Ian that he should trust them (which he would instinctively have disbelieved and refused to listen) she said he couldn't and shouldn't trust her, which is a position he can work with.

He has no reason not to think Enor and Gannji aren't anti-Tarquin, as his only contact with them is their being stitched up by Tarquin, to fight to the death against each other in a public arena for Tarquin's amusement... and only Ian (and Belkar)'s intervention gave them their daring escape.

[Throknor]

Either Ian's bluffing, or he's astoundingly forgiving of family.

He understands Geoff's bind. Whether or not ready to completely forgive Ian at least accepts the motivation as reasonable.

[DeliaP]

For the longest possible callback after this one?

Last panel of the last strip, after the bad guys are beaten, the world is saved, all plot lines wrapped and denouement denoued...

Everyone gets upgraded to 4E...

Except by then it might be 6E? :smalleek:

[oppyu]

Jiminy is the guy who owns the polearm shop, not the customer.
... *penny drops*

Now I get it!

[DaggerPen]

Can't. Stop. Laughing. Oh dear.

And I KNEW Geoff and Ivy were the traitors! Nice setup with that Wand of Sending there.

[Joe the Rat]

Tying up loose ends, and a lovely tale. Plus, Team "throw the bum out" has a wand of sending!

I am totally going to use the peg leg wand at some point.

Presented with my penchant for portraying pirates and poltroons, playing a plundering peg-legged prestidigitator is quite...

likely.

[martianmister]

Either Ian's bluffing, or he's astoundingly forgiving of family.

His family is the only thing he can trust, even if they betrayed him. Kind of tragic, actually.

[DaggerPen]

Yup.

Huh, I had my money on her having green hair with a white veil over most of it. Ah well!

[Gift Jeraff]

Huh, I had my money on her having green hair with a white veil over most of it. Ah well!

Actually her real skin colour is green. The white part is a wig and the face is a mask.

[Finagle]

Count me as another person who thought the customer was Geoff's child.

"But He Probably Has a Halberd Now" still doesn't make any sense. I suppose the comic titles get about 10 seconds of thought.

[BannedInSchool]

We've got glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive-glaive-volgue-glaive.
It hasn't got much glaive in it.
How long is it?

[Grey Watcher]

I immediately went to check out #136 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) whether the picture was there. It wasn't but would that be awesome.

Well, you'll note that the framing in 942 is such that you see farther behind Jiminy than you could in 136, so the painting could, conceivably, be hanging just off panel in 136.


Ah, thanks! Is it a visor or is it something else?

I read it as a headband, not unlike this: http://www.essentialapparel.com/images/detailed/u5head110-charcoal.jpg

[ORione]

Bozzok knows where OotS is going. That can't be good.


Watch Geoff's wife's maiden name be "Cricket."

Considering that Ian and Geoff are brother-in-laws, my guess would be that Ivy's maiden name is "Starshine".

[Sith_Happens]

Best. Callback. Ever.

[ti'esar]

Wow, never in a million years would I have expected that.

("That" being the callback to the polearm store guy, obviously).

[GregTD]

Well, given all the arguing that occured in the previous comic's thread, this is a nice end to it. :-)

[Sith_Happens]

"But He Probably Has a Halberd Now" still doesn't make any sense. I suppose the comic titles get about 10 seconds of thought.

Polearms in D&D 3.5 are all reach weapons, meaning they can hit enemies twice as far from you. Halberds, for some reason, are not, despite very much being polearms IRL and still looking like polearms (just shorter) in-game.

EDIT: Also what the guy below me said.

[Shale]

In the original polearm comic, he said they only get halberds in the spring. guess it's spring now?

[DaggerPen]

He'd have even more if he had some sort of weapon to defend himself from assassins. Something big, hefty, maybe with a single large blade on the end...


A glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive?


do you have anything without any glaive in it


Our chief weapons are....well, not polearms, ironically enough.


We've got glaive-glaive-glaive-guisarme-glaive-glaive-volgue-glaive.
It hasn't got much glaive in it.


I am totally going to use the peg leg wand at some point.

Presented with my penchant for portraying pirates and poltroons, playing a plundering peg-legged prestidigitator is quite...

likely.

This may be the best discussion thread we've had in years.

[Akari Itagami]

EOB is indeed, most genuine fatherland in history :smalltongue:

[DoctorIllithid]

Perfection. Thanks again, Giant.

[DanaK]

I actually punched a brick wall on seeing this.
Then I realized…. it was a brick joke.
And that was finally enough to get me to stop lurking and register. :smalltongue:

In all honesty, though, I had been hoping all those people who suspected Geoff were wrong. But very well pulled off, Giant. :smallsmile:

[halfeye]

Pointed sticks?
Surprise, and fear, and a fanatical devotion to the Pope. Our three main weapons are surprise, fear a fanatical devotion to the Pope and ...

[xroads]

Ok. I'm confused. So Bozzok's plan was to blackmail Ivy & Geoff to leave to another continent to bait Ian out his home turf?

Soooo... why didn't Ivy & Geoff do just that. Except, once the family was safely on another continent, flip Bozzok the proverbial bird from the safety of an ocean and several thousand miles? Or perhaps tell Ian what the deal was? Who better to hide them then a high level rogue who Bozzok can't seem to catch?

[Jaxzan Proditor]

Vikings (singing) glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, lovely glaive, wonderful glaive ...


wait do we even have vikings

Every glaive is sacred
Every glaive is good
Every glaive is needed
In your neighborhood

[GregTD]

Where they will crash headlong into Tarquin and company, and then get summarily squished by Xykon in the next panel with an offhand backhand.

Actually, what I'd love to see is for Bozzok to be responsible for Tarquin's demise (though I doubt he's powerful enough to do the job), because at this point, being done in by the main villain is just too much narrative consideration that Tarquin doesn't deserve. Getting ingloriously offed by another tertiary villain, and the rival of his so 's girlfriend whom he dismissed for her low station, would be far more karmic ally fitting an end.


Well, we know that Bozzok's is at least 4 level higher than Haley:
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0609.html

[Datguy96]

Hah! i knew he was a traitor! i did not see that callback coming however, well done.

[Shale]

Ok. I'm confused. So Bozzok's plan was to blackmail Ivy & Geoff to leave to another continent to bait Ian out his home turf?

Soooo... why didn't Ivy & Geoff do just that. Except, once the family was safely on another continent, flip Bozzok the proverbial bird from the safety of an ocean and several thousand miles? Or perhaps tell Ian what the deal was? Who better to hide them then a high level rogue who Bozzok can't seem to catch?

Because Jiminy was not safely on another continent.

[Alent]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

Elan's had what, three chances to get a bardic lore roll on that pegleg of sending now?

His plan probably involved using the pegleg of sending, and Ian put two and two together.

[hagnat]

key question:
did he managed to sent the last message ? or was the sending spell interrupted by ian ? -- since, you know, 10 minutes cast time --

[Tanngrisnir]

Well, she is an air elemental, she'd probably raised in a good weather...

This made me laugh.

[zimmerwald1915]

Surprise, and fear, and a fanatical devotion to the Pope. Our three main weapons are surprise, fear a fanatical devotion to the Pope and ...
Ruthless efficiency? :smallconfused:

[qualistarian]

One thing I'm a little confused about is timing. If Bozzok didn't become head of the Guild until after Ian & Geoff left town, how did he have the pull to threaten Geoff with killing his kid?

[Shale]

He said this all went down "after the old Guildmaster died and I took over." He had the rank, getting rid of Ian was about solidifying his power.

[Harpist Michael]

Excellent comic.

I did want to mention that the wording seems a bit unintentionally twisted up in the bottom-left frames a bit more than intended.

Possible typo on the wouldn've/would've section... maybe?

Geoff's "I hope you understand. You wouldn've have done the same thing if it'd been Haley"
Then Ian's "Yeah. I probably would've."

If Geoff meant to say wouldn've (rather than would've) I imagine Ian's response would be more like "Actually, I probably would've"

So either Geoff's wouldn've should be would've...
or Ian's "Yeah." should be something like "Actually..."
or the inflection of Ian's response just doesn't come through to me (silly harpist, silly silly harpist)...
OR Ian & Geoff are throwing in some thieves cant unintentionally...
OR the stress of Ian & Geoff's confrontation is affecting their speech pattern(s)...
AND/OR I'm thinking about this too much.

LOVE the web-comic. Thank you Rich for your incredible work.
BTW, love the dust coming through the wormhole from the desert to the ship http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0934.html
That's just another example of the amazing level of detail available in this webcomic...

[qualistarian]

Got it. Yeah, I just went back and checked #609 - Ian wasn't the Guildmaster; he was just high-ranking and a threat to Bozzok's leadership. My bad.

[Auburn Bright]

From the first sign of plot development, I thought I'd have my mind blown...

But that was so far from what I was expecting!

[UristMcRandom]

So Geoff's been betraying Ian, and his son is out fueling the frustration of adventurers by not selling polearms at a polearm store.

Anyone else notice the callback to this strip (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0136.html) in the title?

[Benthesquid]

It's Jiminy's shop. The adventurer is just some random woman - Ivy has a caucasian skin tone in the flashback, there's no way their kid would have skin that dark.

While the picture on the wall indicates that you're probably right, it's worth noting that skin tone is determined by a complex interaction of genes, further affected by environmental conditions, and it is not unheard of for couples to produce children with darker skin tones than either of them.

[E^G]

Why is there a picture of Jiminy's parents in the Weapons Shop?! :smallconfused:

(Also: I expected Geoff's threatened family to be a little less... remote from the threat. I like Ian's response though.)

[oppyu]

Why is there a picture of Jiminy's parents in the Weapons Shop?! :smallconfused:

(Also: I expected Geoff's threatened family to be a little less... remote from the threat. I like Ian's response though.)
Because Jiminy is the shopkeeper, not the female adventurer :smalltongue:

Unless you were being sarcastic, in which case pretend I was being sarcastic as well.

[Lexible]

AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

SO AWESOME!!!!.

The last panel! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!




Ahem: delighted freakout done now.

[Raphite1]

A huge el-oh-el at people being so conditioned to ignore shopkeepers that they assume that Jiminy must have boobs.

[Cerlis]

yea looking at the first appearance, the that far back behind Jiminey isnt shown.

Thus showing the importance of camera angles.

In a comic no less.

[Rodin]

Vikings (singing) glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, lovely glaive, wonderful glaive ...


wait do we even have vikings

Bloody vikings...

[JSSheridan]

Thanks Giant!

[NihhusHuotAliro]

briiiiiiiiick Joke!

ALSO, I TOTALLY CALLED IT THAT HIS LEG HAD SOME MAGIC WITH IT THAT PREVENTED THE ESCAPE. SO YEAH, I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO POST THAT AND I WAS RIGHT!

[jere7my]

Possible typo on the wouldn've/would've section... maybe?

Since "wouldn've" isn't a word, there's definitely a typo there. Context suggests we want to lose an n rather than adding a t-apostrophe.

[NihhusHuotAliro]

Since "wouldn've" isn't a word, there's definitely a typo there. Context suggests we want to lose an n rather than adding a t-apostrophe.

QUICK, SAVE THE PAGE BEFORE IT'S EDITED!

HAVE A RARE IMAGE!

FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY!

[Ninjadeadbeard]

T-that guy!!? YOU SONOF.....

Nah it was a pretty sweet call back. Well done Giant! Love the rapid updates these days!

[Joe the Rat]

Every glaive is sacred
Every glaive is good
Every glaive is needed
In your neighborhood

Every glaive is sacred
Every glaive is great
If a glaive is sundered
Thor gets quite irate...
It's a sing along!

[Valanarch]

I was hoping that That Guy With a Halberd was going to come back.

[Amphiox]

I was hoping that That Guy With a Halberd was going to come back.

WAAIIITTT for it.....

[Nightcanon]

Sorry about this Giant, but is Jiminy (Male) supposed to be wearing ladies's armor? Jiminy is, I believe, a man, and therefore does not have those.

Jiminy is the gentleman being played by Michael Palin, not the customer.

[Snails]

Elan's had what, three chances to get a bardic lore roll on that pegleg of sending now?

His plan probably involved using the pegleg of sending, and Ian put two and two together.

I expect you are wrong, but I like how you think.

[Jay R]

Ruthless efficiency? :smallconfused:

I wonder where Ruth is?

Jiminy: Sir, you're drifting into another 70s comedy troupe.

[David Argall]

For the longest possible callback after this one?

Last panel of the last strip, after the bad guys are beaten, the world is saved, all plot lines wrapped and denouement denoued...

Everyone gets upgraded to 4E...
When 4e came out, we already knew it would be gone before we were done with this strip. Now it looks like we will be done with 5e as well. & 3.5 will still be the most popular version.

[lio45]

While the picture on the wall indicates that you're probably right, it's worth noting that skin tone is determined by a complex interaction of genes, further affected by environmental conditions, and it is not unheard of for couples to produce children with darker skin tones than either of them.

I also thought at first that Jiminy was the adventurer (with a funnily-shaped armor that made him look like he had breasts), mostly because I didn't consider that Geoff's son could have the skin tone of the shopkeeper.

Maybe Ian is Jiminy biological father? That would explain the skin color... :P

[Nightcanon]

Does Geoff know that his son is repaying his sacrifice by running the worst weapon shop in the world, and getting perilously close to being killed by frustrated customers?
What a senseless waste of human life...

[Tom Lehmann]

Hmm... I'm left wondering if the adventurer in the shop is the promised "walk-on cameo" from the KS drive...

[Toper]

Also, Bozzok's reply to the sending was only 17 words long. Slipping there, Giant.
This panel has several problems. If you look closely at the mirror scene, Bozzok's head is rotated the wrong way, and his fingers are shown both behind and in front of the razor handle. Also it's weird to have one brown bathroom wall and one green one.

These are in descending order of importance, though. Sendings with exactly 25 words are a long-running joke in the comic, and I'm sad to see it being skipped even once.

[Breccia]

Ruthless efficiency? :smallconfused:

Our main polearm is the halberd, bla bla bla bla bla

[Zmflavius]

I guessed that the polearm shop guy would show up as soon as I saw the title.:smallbiggrin:

[MoonCat]

<incoherent sounds>

Thiiiiis. Striiiiiip.

I'm afraid I don't get the title though. I thought it would be a reference to TGWTH, but he didn't show up, so I don't know what it means. Is this saying it's springtime in OoTSville?

Also, I'm loving the art comparison between them. Seeing the change in cat style is particularly striking.

[Raphite1]

Sendings with exactly 25 words are a long-running joke in the comic, and I'm sad to see it being skipped even once.

People keep saying this, but the comic seems correct to me. It's clearly intended to be two castings of Sending, because Geoff's message is exactly 25 words both times (the last word of his second sentence was "do?", but got interrupted and replaced with "AHHHH!"). Really seems like the Giant trying to hand-hold us through the scene, just like how he gave the last-panel adventurer a different sex and race from what would be presumed for Jiminy, so we'd easily know who he was referring to.

Or am I misunderstanding how Sending works?

[Ramien]

So, funny story about this strip:

I was eating snacks while reading this strip. I saw the last panel and snickered. That meant there was a snicker-snack...

Congratulations, Giant, your comic decapitated me!

[HanKhalifa]

Since "wouldn've" isn't a word, there's definitely a typo there. Context suggests we want to lose an n rather than adding a t-apostrophe.

Well, I'd argue that wouldn've is a valid word, actually, since it's just a further truncation of wouldnt've, which I consider a word (though not everyone else may agree). At the very least, it's an informal spelling of such. All that's beside the point.

I wonder if the dialogue was originally phrased in the negative, or if there was a question mark meant to go at the end, perhaps?

[CletusMusashi]

Jiminy is now the official poster child for Chaotic Neutral.

[jere7my]

Well, I'd argue that wouldn've is a valid word, actually, since it's just a further truncation of wouldnt've, which I consider a word (though not everyone else may agree). At the very least, it's an informal spelling of such. All that's beside the point.

Certainly I'd accept it as a colloquial spelling of the word "wouldn't've" (note the second apostrophe there), but it's not a word in formal written English. Since "wouldn't've" doesn't really make sense there, I'm inclined to call it a typo.

[Scow2]

Maybe Ian is Jiminy biological father? That would explain the skin color... :PConsidering that Geoff's wife is Ian's biological sister, you might want to rethink this line of thought.


Does Geoff know that his son is repaying his sacrifice by running the worst weapon shop in the world, and getting perilously close to being killed by frustrated customers?
What a senseless waste of human life...Jiminy's living on the edge, banking on his customers' lack of weapons.

[Ramien]

Well, I'd argue that wouldn've is a valid word, actually, since it's just a further truncation of wouldnt've, which I consider a word (though not everyone else may agree). At the very least, it's an informal spelling of such. All that's beside the point.

I wonder if the dialogue was originally phrased in the negative, or if there was a question mark meant to go at the end, perhaps?

Well, there's only a word order difference between 'You would've done the same if it'd been Haley.' and 'Wouldn't've you done the same if it'd been Haley?"

It's not grammatically correct (Wouldn't've you should be wouldn't you have), but it parses well enough to be understood.

[Porthos]

I'm afraid I don't get the title though. I thought it would be a reference to TGWTH, but he didn't show up, so I don't know what it means. Is this saying it's springtime in OoTSville?

It's simply saying that the shopkeeper that has no polearms for sale probably does indeed have a halberd (which is a polearm) in stock, contrary to what the skit that is happening once again might imply.

Though given how snarky the titles can be, I wouldn't take that statement at face value. :smallwink:

To put it another way, it's a sardonic commentary of what is happening in the scene. :smallsmile:

[Bird]

I am yet another who saw the final panel and thought that the customer was Jiminy -- mostly for skin tone reasons.

In fact, I am so dumb that I noticed the picture of Geoff and Ivy and thought -- "huh. I guess the shop-keep is a friend of Geoff and Ivy, or perhaps the customer and the shop-keep are both related to them somehow."

[Cynric]

A callback to the first Order of the Stick comic I ever saw. Wonderful.:smallsmile:

[Cynric]

Also, was anyone else sad enough to check if the picture was there n the original strip, knowing full well it wouldn't be.

Because I... uh... wasn't.

[t209]

So the shop keeper is Jiminy? That's just getting interesting.

[thereaper]

For some reason, I thought Jiminy was the adventurer until I read this thread.

[HeeJay]

Vikings (singing) glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, glaive, lovely glaive, wonderful glaive ...


wait do we even have vikings

Yes, we do: Thor, Odin, Loki,...

Not only does the strip have vikings, but vikings that have become like unto tiny refreshing (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0301.html) GODS!

[Ramien]

Also, was anyone else sad enough to check if the picture was there n the original strip, knowing full well it wouldn't be.

Because I... uh... wasn't.

I was! And so were several other people, according to the thread.

[HeeJay]

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png I can't believe they pulled it off, you know.
:elan: The light show?
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png Yeah.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png I mean, the prefects only informed me about the escaped palace slaves around dusk.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png My men had to get out to the mountains, recapture them, nail them into position, and then get the oil out there in time to light the rebellious little pricks on fire in unison.
http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g68/Cats_Are_Aliens/Banners/Tarquin.png And they had to do it while everybody was singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."

[rbetieh]

Yes, we do: Thor, Odin, Loki,...

Not only does the strip have vikings, but vikings that have become like unto tiny refreshing (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0301.html) GODS!

It gets worse than that...while the whole nation of Japan does not exist...The state of Minnesota does! (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0744.html)

[Red XIV]

I wonder if this means Bozzok will try to interfere with the gate. If he does, it could turn into a battle royale between 3-6 or so different groups.

That could be a lot of fun
Bozzok and Crystal together were outclassed by Belkar. His presence at the final gate would be a waste of panel space.


Because Jiminy was not safely on another continent.
He is, however, far away from Greysky City. The Thieves Guild doesn't seem to have all that much power outside of Greysky. If they did, Haley wouldn't have been able to leave the Guild the first time just by skipping town.

[Cerlis]

This panel has several problems. If you look closely at the mirror scene, Bozzok's head is rotated the wrong way, and his fingers are shown both behind and in front of the razor handle. Also it's weird to have one brown bathroom wall and one green one.

These are in descending order of importance, though. Sendings with exactly 25 words are a long-running joke in the comic, and I'm sad to see it being skipped even once.

Bozzak is looking at the mirror and so his reflection is looking back at Bozzak.

I only see 2 walls and one is brown and one is purple. And having strange taste (or being to cheap to repaint) isnt a problem"

Neither is a person giving a 17 word sending.
People dont talk in 25 word paragraphs normally.

[unbeliever536]

I was always annoyed about all the speculation that Geoff was a mole. It irked me for reasons I can't explain.

Today's comic, though?

Beautiful. Glorious. Excellent. All my words to you, dear Mr Burlew.

[Mr_Scruffy_Kilz]

Anyone else find it ironic that a man who sells Pole Arms has a father with a Peg Leg?

[Messenger]

How can any father not be proud of Jiminy? :smallwink: He may suck at keeping his inventory supplied, but that he's always sold out is a pretty good sign he's doing well. :smallsmile:


Does Geoff know that his son is repaying his sacrifice by running the worst weapon shop in the world, and getting perilously close to being killed by frustrated customers?
What a senseless waste of human life...His stocks are either sold out, on order, out-of-season, or spoiled inventory. He's also wise enough not to buy items in low demand (longspears). I'd say he's far from the worst shopkeeper around. His only flaw is not making sure he has extras to sell or getting new stock in time for that one customer who asks for it.

[Mr_Scruffy_Kilz]

Pretty sure. The longest one I remember before that was the "I GOT A 4!" callback in 766 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0766.html), which was 677 strips in the making (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0090.html). :smallsmile:



The second sending spell was at 24 words when Geoff was interrupted. And the Sending only picks up what the Sendee says. So it would have been something like:

"What do you want me to AHHHH!!!!"

I think the "Because I was the Good Twin, not the Neutral Twin" to "I'm not a twin anymore" Setup here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html) and all the way 867 strips to the payoff (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html) might count as longer.

--------------------------


:smallconfused: Trying to picture Jiminy as a competent thief that Bozzok would want to keep around in the Thieve's Guild... I can see Bozzok wanting to keep him there just because he's a bit of a jerk and would like the opportunity to take advantage of Geoff.

If I had a magic lamp, I would wish for some bonus strips with Jiminy the Thief. Well, unless he's just despondent about wanting to be a polearm storeowner...

Edit: fixed typo.

He didn't really ever want to be a Pole Arm Store Owner... what he really wanted to be was a Lumberjack, leaping from tree to tree as they floated along the rivers of the Great Elven Woods, with his favorite Bard at his side, they would sing, sing, sing...

[Porthos]

I think the "Because I was the Good Twin, not the Neutral Twin" to "I'm not a twin anymore" Setup here (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0069.html) and all the way 867 strips to the payoff (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0936.html) might count as longer.


That's more an Ironic Echo, IMO, than a Running Gag/Brick Joke, But, sure, fair enuf. :smallsmile:

[Capxeno]

wand of sending as a peg leg, genius

[Jokunen]

One thing is really confusing here: Why is Geoff suddenly caught now? Presumably he kept pretty good secrecy before; what causes him to bungle it up just now? It's really not clear.

Plot armor?