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Annotations Every Day - Written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn - Illustrated by John & Jason Waltrip

Byron's the type of Berserker who smells the roses along freshly cut swath.

Chapter 3 – Page 22

on February 22, 2010
Chapter: Chapter 03
└ Tags: Byron, Gravedust, Sting, Syr'Nj
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Discussion (48) ¬

  1. Michael Ezra
    Michael Ezra
    February 22, 2010, 12:06 am | # | Reply

    Whoa. Gravedust, despite his comparatively smaller stature and mangled (and from the looks of it, badly infected) foot, just ended that guy.

    When you look up “badass” in the dictionary, there should be a picture of this party. Everyone write Webster’s, Oxford, Funk & Wagnall’s, et al., and tell them.

    • DaveP.
      DaveP.
      February 22, 2010, 1:05 am | # | Reply

      Agree. He doesn’t make a big deal about it, he doesn’t pose or brag or shout… Gravedust just does his thing, and then moves on.
      Scary.

      • Tolrick
        Tolrick
        June 12, 2010, 10:13 pm | # | Reply

        More badass when you realize he had his foot in a bear trap while doing it.

        • FreddeX
          FreddeX
          May 9, 2011, 3:03 pm | # | Reply

          Yeah, i mean i cut up my foot real bad once when i went swimming and i could hardly walk for one and a half day and this guy did THAT when his foot was stuck in a gosh-damn BEAR TRAP! :D

          Fredrik approves of this awesome-ness! ^^

  2. Kylogram
    Kylogram
    February 22, 2010, 1:29 am | # | Reply

    I think all of these characters are my favorite, except for Best, who is a dickface.

    • Vivian Faberfox
      Vivian Faberfox
      January 3, 2015, 7:51 pm | # | Reply

      Umm, I believe the common term is S-Elf, not d-face. : o
      Also, he’s purrobably just going through his own hings and learning what life’s really about, don’t’cha think? : 3

  3. xXHildyXx
    xXHildyXx
    February 22, 2010, 2:02 am | # | Reply

    Syr’nj looks alot younger in the last panel then she has in the whole comic so far, i like it that way.

    • DCB
      DCB
      February 22, 2010, 10:10 am | # | Reply

      Perhaps a reflection on how she’s at her most serene when
      helping people? Even when they’re sassing her a la Alan Rickman.

  4. Beth Athena
    Beth Athena
    February 22, 2010, 3:33 am | # | Reply

    Byron is just absolutely beautiful in the last panel too…

  5. Tamren
    Tamren
    February 22, 2010, 3:37 am | # | Reply

    Younger? Yeah I agree. I think the most obvious difference is the lines and shading that denote her cheekbones are missing in recent pages. Just contrast that last panel with the first panel of page 15 back in chapter 1. Payet lost his too.

    But that last panel is probably the first time I could describe Syr’nj as “cute”. But I do like the distinct art style.

  6. Hypothetical
    Hypothetical
    February 22, 2010, 5:52 am | # | Reply

    “I can’t see you stupid bitch!” Gee, I think he won the Captain Obvious award for this strip. Too bad he had to accept it Posthumously.

    Gravedust the Sneaky might need his walking stick now. I don’t know if a healing drought would be enough to unmangle a foot that’s been caught in a bear trap.

    I also like the way the art style is evolving. Syr’ always looked like a stylized vision of a Vulcan before, now she looks a little more natural.

    • Flipside!
      Flipside!
      April 16, 2010, 4:20 am | # | Reply

      I think they were going for the whole “Vulcan” thing. Science chick, etc…

  7. Nathanyel
    Nathanyel
    February 22, 2010, 5:52 am | # | Reply

    R.I.P. Monocle Sniper

  8. Flintte
    Flintte
    February 22, 2010, 8:45 am | # | Reply

    So Syr’nj is obviously the best character. Mostly because of SCIENCE. I’d also say “She blinded him with science”, but I’m sure that comment was made too much in the last comic.

    • SotiCoto
      SotiCoto
      June 21, 2013, 6:01 am | # | Reply

      Yes, that comment was made… though I still don’t get the alleged significance.
      Science isn’t exactly reknowned for impairing visual acuity.

      • Crimson_Rhallic
        Crimson_Rhallic
        April 14, 2014, 10:42 am | # | Reply

        Its a reference to the song by Thomas Dolby (album: Hyperactive; 1982) “She Blinded me with Science”.

        • SotiCoto
          SotiCoto
          January 9, 2015, 7:37 am | # | Reply

          My thanks. A few things make a little more sense now… though the statement itself never did.

  9. Joe
    Joe
    February 22, 2010, 9:27 am | # | Reply

    Two words. Two words said as he was already in the process of killing the dude. That’s all he needed. No speech. Gravedust clearly understands the rules of fantastic engagement.

  10. Zuckerlmitzi
    Zuckerlmitzi
    February 22, 2010, 9:46 am | # | Reply

    Gravedust’s hands seem somehow incorrectly placed in panel #2. He’s holding neck and throat but everything in that panel seems to indicate that he is breaking the sniper’s neck. But for doing that, he’d have to put the second hand on the chin, not at the throat.

    Besides that there seems to be a fuckup in distances: First there is Syr’nj directly confronted with the sniper, then there is Gravedust killing the sniper from behind and next Syr’nj seems to have to run at least ten feet to get next to Gravedust, whose foot is caught in a trap… hm.

    I know, nobody wants a perfectionist smart-ass as a critic.

    • Erica
      Erica
      February 22, 2010, 9:59 am | # | Reply

      I did not get across that he had stumbled back. Although, if you remember two pages prior, Syr’nj had to flee from the spot where Gravedust had been snagged.

      • King of Zeroes
        King of Zeroes
        February 22, 2010, 2:05 pm | # | Reply

        Some things are just tricky to get across with art alone. I’ve read plenty of comics. Enough to not question something unless it’s clearly screwed up. Chances are it’s just something the artist had trouble conveying, or a comic book physics moment.

  11. TraderInTown
    TraderInTown
    February 22, 2010, 10:12 am | # | Reply

    Necksnapping. Gravedust must have some point in Hand to Hand or something.

    So now that two The Dragons are defeated they can finally find that pirate bastard and cave his skull in. Then the cave. In. That. Order.

  12. Wyrd
    Wyrd
    February 22, 2010, 10:38 am | # | Reply

    A spoonfull of sugar is as nothing next to a soupcon of liquor or a dash of opiate when it comes to helping the medicine go down.

    • TexasRed
      TexasRed
      February 22, 2010, 11:09 am | # | Reply

      Though I wonder if that’s what she meant by “go down.” Heh.

  13. Warsor
    Warsor
    February 22, 2010, 11:21 am | # | Reply

    Wildberry hopefully isn’t a berserker catalyst…

    • Jim_Deets
      Jim_Deets
      February 22, 2010, 12:06 pm | # | Reply

      Ha! That would be awsome. “mmmm thank youuuuUUUURRRRAAAAAAAGGGGGGEEEEEE!!!”

      • Michael Ezra
        Michael Ezra
        February 22, 2010, 2:16 pm | # | Reply

        Wildberry Healing Potion and Berserker Catalyst.â„¢ Now with 50% more soma. Ask for it wherever quality entheogens are sold.

        • Joe
          Joe
          February 22, 2010, 11:12 pm | # | Reply

          Hmmm… I’m not sure that “bloodthirsty rage” and “soma holiday” really go together.

  14. Tyr
    Tyr
    February 22, 2010, 2:33 pm | # | Reply

    if you’re going to sneak up on someone from behind and snap their neck like that, you’re better off grabbing their chin when trying to twist their head off. Just grabbing their neck like that gives you next to no leverage.

    Other than that, awesome stuff :D

    • munkyfst
      munkyfst
      February 23, 2010, 2:08 am | # | Reply

      Hmmm….well dwarves are supposed to have a superior strength to size ratio than a “normal” human, I suppose he could just be useing brute strength, adding a rush of adrenalin from his injuries and that sniper is like bubble wrap in his hands. pop pop pop, or an empty water bottle..crinkle crinkle. Anyone have any other good sound effect anologies? heh heh

      • d^g
        d^g
        May 4, 2010, 11:18 pm | # | Reply

        crunch, ka-pow, pop pop pop snap, snap crackle crunch, etc.

        did i do good?

    • Buzzard
      Buzzard
      February 23, 2010, 2:41 am | # | Reply

      The whole chin-grab thing is mostly Hollywood; generally what happens is you break or dislocate their jaw while causing a severe neck sprain. If you really want to disrupt the spinal cord from behind, you’ll have a better result by getting them in a sleeper hold and kicking their knees out from under them while you drop yourself to the ground; that way all of your weight is applied to their neck in a pulling up and wrenching forward motion, which is essentially the same effect as a hanging.

      That said, Gravedust’s hands are perfectly positioned for a sideways vertebral separation (think of grabbing a pencil in a baseball bat grip and wrenching your hands in opposite directions) followed by a clockwise twist to be certain of it.

      • Phil
        Flo
        February 23, 2010, 2:45 am | # | Reply

        Someone get this one a No-Prize!

      • xXHildyXx
        xXHildyXx
        February 23, 2010, 5:31 am | # | Reply

        Check out sam fuckin’ fisher over here…

      • Erica
        Erica
        February 23, 2010, 8:56 am | # | Reply

        Haha. I got that hand position from the chiropractors I’ve been to. The first time you ever get your neck cracked every kung fu movie you’ve ever seen flashes before your eyes. Also, poor Dusty doesn’t have much of a choice since he’s been immobilized and he’s so much shorter than the assailant.

      • Michael Ezra
        Michael Ezra
        February 23, 2010, 1:12 pm | # | Reply

        …I’d best remember never, ever to piss Buzzard off.

  15. Caradin
    Caradin
    February 22, 2010, 6:52 pm | # | Reply

    Gravedust is awesome.

    Byron is so funny even when dazed.

    Though, I do find it strange that he felt the need to tell Syr’ to move on… Poor girl just wants to be so hands on. She’s pretty cool though, for a nature elf that does science (ok, that’s just plain awesome).

    • d^g
      d^g
      May 4, 2010, 11:19 pm | # | Reply

      Byron- OM NOM NOM BERSERKER LIKE

  16. Carapace
    Carapace
    February 22, 2010, 7:55 pm | # | Reply

    Geez, most people I’ve know with blatant concussions–and I have encountered a few– just say “nuhhhhhh” or at best “Whaaaa..?” while the thick drool and amazing amounts of blood spill all over. It makes me wonder if perhaps Byron has rehearsed this part a little more than would be enjoyable. Whatever, he’s certainly the most polite of head trauma patients.

    Does Syr’nj have stiches on her neck in the last panel? Or I am just a goober who never noticed her undercollar before?

    • Joe
      Joe
      February 22, 2010, 11:14 pm | # | Reply

      I think that’s the collar of the shirt she’s wearing under her cloak.
      The color matches her sleeves, at any rate.

    • Meirnon
      Meirnon
      February 23, 2010, 2:40 pm | # | Reply

      If you notice in the second to last panel, Syr’ is holding a bag of smelling salts to wake Byron. That would wake someone up enough to do more than groan.

  17. Zach
    Zach
    February 22, 2010, 9:11 pm | # | Reply

    Best is the best character, BECAUSE he is a dickface.

  18. Colin W.
    Colin W.
    February 23, 2010, 12:24 am | # | Reply

    Someone give the dwarf a rummel scarf.

  19. Beef
    Beef
    February 23, 2010, 12:39 am | # | Reply

    Hah, really enjoying this comic so far, the humor really takes this comic above and beyond, carry on folks. Carry on.

  20. Dragon_DLV
    Dragon_DLV
    February 23, 2010, 2:24 am | # | Reply

    Once again, I thank you guys for this comic.

    Besides that, I agree. Grave is seriously Bad Apple here.

  21. TraderInTown
    TraderInTown
    February 23, 2010, 7:36 am | # | Reply

    Byron can’t keep his violence Informed or off-panel for much longer. I’ll wait him out!

  22. Fren
    Fren
    February 23, 2010, 7:59 am | # | Reply

    So we’ve got everyone known safe but Bandit …

  23. d^g
    d^g
    May 4, 2010, 11:23 pm | # | Reply

    and about the neck snapping, gravedust looks to me like he’s holding the throat to stabilize the rest of the body while he twists the head up and to the left using the back of the head and neck as a handhold. or maybe he just crushed the guy’s windpipe and twisted for good measure

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Guilded Age is co-written by T Campbell & Flo Kahn, and illustrated by John Waltrip. Site design by Samantha Kyle. Fonts by Blambot.com.
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