Annotated 8-21
Bandit’s given a burst of dialogue here and doesn’t waste any of it: speaking for the readers a bit and dangling a small hope of escape while also setting up the story’s actual climax.
My records are still patchy from this period, but it sure felt like a Phil idea to suggest that Bandit’s eyes, as she sees her own death approaching, resolve into tiny cogs as if she’s seeing the thing her people sometimes invoke in place of “God.” Update: But apparently this was accidental… see John’s comment below.
Choice comment by Dain: “While trisecting the angle is impossible with only a straightedge and a compass, Byron just proved it is very possible with two straightedges.”
Maybe I should stop reading comics on my phone, I never ever would have noticed Bandits cog pupils on my own but that’s a nice detail.
Berserker Byron in panel one is some epic quality art! It really makes Harky’s “the madness” line fit, even more so than the last page I think. Is he spitting blood from his wounds or does berserking give him bleeding gums?
Thank you, Nyx.
Yeah, that blood is from his wounds. He was impaled through the back, so there would be a lot of blood going up the esophagus and out the mouth. Berserking makes it possible for him to continue fighting even after a mortal injury.
I missed the cog too and I’ve always read on my desktop. Cool little detail!
A strong retrospective reminder of why Bandit had such a no-shits given approach to Byron later on.
I don’t know. If you’re super buddies with someone and he just PKs you in a game where supposedly everyone is super into Role Playing, make you wonder how you can stay so salty for a Berserker to RP being a Berserk.
Even if that’s not the case it seems dumb. The blurry line between “these group is gamers” and “this group is people” is really weird to me, but I’m sure this second journey down this story might help me.
It’s the character Bandit (not her player) being ‘salty’ about Byron, not the player. In roleplaying terms this an IC vs OOC thing. In Character Bandit dislikes Byron for what he did to her, that doesn’t mean that her player feels the same out of character.
The thing about that is that Bandit is not a player. She’s just mind controlled by one occasionally.
I recall that the last panel here simultaneously broke my heart and made me a lifelong GA fan. How “real” it was couldn’t be any clearer (people die, and though it hurts, it is a part of life). Though I also spent tje next few weeks not believing it, and trying to figure out how they’d survive. No dice, but it hooked me forever.
Might be the most consequential page of the whole comic for me.
Hats off to the writing team (again).
Cheers,
Côté
“AND WE WAS BOTH JUMPIN’ UP AND DOWN, YELLIN’ ‘KILL! KILL!'”
Byron the Berserker indeed.
I’ve checked my original script and pencils for this page, and there’s no description or indication of “tiny cogs eyes” for Bandit. It seems to be something I did in the inking stage to give her a little more expression of fear at the realization of her immediate oncoming death. Didn’t know about the Gnomes “cog faith” then. Very interesting that they do look like little cogs now. The unseen cogs at work, hmm?
I suddenly don’t feel the need to complain about my stiff shoulders anymore.
That mouse over text…. booooo :)
That’s a low blow Byron.