Book 2 – Page 51

[Swodaems]

Do you think the archer who just shot that arrow leveled?
I can imagine his reactions. "Wow, I must have killed someting badass. That makes me badass. Oh shit, I just stopped Antium from killing the witch. Am I still badass?"

[Kyrt]

My biggest question is, why didn't Wanda decrypt everything in the hex already?

True - possibly being healed reduces a casters juice? Or concentration - Wanda doesn't seem at all focussed.

[Infidel]

Yay! New page. I only checked 10-20 times a day, this was my last check before going to bed.

Love Jack's attitude, and how Wanda takes it in stride, and plays off him. She has known him the longest after all. But it's a lot of fun seeing them both be so nonchalant about it.

My biggest question is, why didn't Wanda decrypt everything in the hex already?

True - possibly being healed reduces a casters juice? Or concentration - Wanda doesn't seem at all focussed.

I'd say they wanted to get a leadership bonus before decrypting everything, that way fewer stuff dies again.

[Cyanshine]

Awesome page! The decrypted dwagon rocks! I didn't get the Myth reference, but Jack's weather joke is so bombastic! I also wonder why Wanda hasn't yet decrypted everything in the hex and I can't wait to see Parson arrive >D

[Squishalot]

I'll give you guys another good reason for not decrypting the dwagons - as soon as you do, they start taking damage from the arrow-storm. Best to wait for it to stop, or at least, wait for the rain to ease up. Waiting for leadership was also a good idea, at least, giving the dwagons that much more defense (assuming leadership buffs defense as well as attack as with most games).

[Lamech]

And Jetstone is having issues. Now I wonder who has the correct idea? Wipe out GK or run the hell away?

[shadowdemon]

They probably want a warlord to bark out the commands and handle the regrouping of the troops out of harms way. Anyway, as for the comic, it's beautiful. Jack goes back to being his crazy light hearted self, Wanda is as focused on the prize as ever. The art on the decrypted armored red is awesometastic. I like how the storyline was finally advanced to the point we've all been waiting for for months now; the assault on Space Rock is about to begin in earnest. All the pieces are finally in place and secure, and Wanda and Jack are finally on stable ground.

[Tubal-Cain]

Decryped dwagons.
I assume they're loyal to the pliers at the moment. Question is: can the hammer win them back?

[GaryThunder]

Something that's been bugging me for a while now about this series. Maybe this is just a quirk of Xin, but...what is with the perspective here? Look at the third-to-last panel. The place is twisted up. You can see it again here in the first and penultimate panels, and in many other places as well. Is this some bizarre Erfworld physics thing? It's definitely not normal rules of perspective, here.

Edit: And the Arkenpliers are tiny now, much smaller than they have previously been drawn. What's going on here?

[SteveMB]

Decryped dwagons.
I assume they're loyal to the pliers at the moment. Question is: can the hammer win them back?

Things could be interesting after the battle, when (if things work out for Parson's plan) an even greater proportion of GK's forces are Wanda's rather than Stanley's....

[GaryThunder]

I hate to keep picking at the art, but the dwagon placement in Panel 2 is completely at odds with the placement in the rest of the panels. Where's the dead pink dwagon in Panel 2 that's in Panels 5 and 10-11? It should be there, but it isn't, unless it was alive and croaked between those panels. And Wanda and Jack seem a lot closer to the wall in Panel 5 than they are in...well, any of the others.

I love this artwork, but I don't understand it sometimes.

[Pebot]

Something that's been bugging me for a while now about this series. Maybe this is just a quirk of Xin, but...what is with the perspective here? Look at the third-to-last panel. The place is twisted up. You can see it again here in the first and penultimate panels, and in many other places as well. Is this some bizarre Erfworld physics thing? It's definitely not normal rules of perspective, here.

It's a dome ceiling.

[kreszantas]

Decryped dwagons.
I assume they're loyal to the pliers at the moment. Question is: can the hammer win them back?

From Summer Updates 2009 page 4: Stanley first looking at the new troops "decrypted" in GK

He just...didn't know, and didn't trust, what was going on here. What were these troops? They were his, he could see that. He could see their stats. But what was this skull emblem they bore? How did he know for certain they weren't going to tear him apart? No, better to arrive with the most power he could muster, even in his own city, his own courtyard.

They are all Stanley's troops as long as he is the Overlord, and he can disband Wanda but fate put them together so for Wanda and decrypted to continue to exist she must have an acceptant Overlord over her would be my best guess at this situation.

[Zeku]

She obviously likes, or is familiar with precision in perspective, seen especially in some of the early pages by her. It almost reminds you of those old first person RPGs, showing a perfectly square hallway proceeding endlessly into the distance.

If you're really unfamiliar with this 'subject-centered' perspective, a quick image search for 'fish eye' will give you lots of other examples.

Oh, and I think the third-to-last panel is so trippy because it's the moment of his death. Really cool, and I didn't even notice it.

[BLANDCorporatio]

Nice page!

Jack is great, looks like Antium will stick around for at least one more page, tension is mounting, there's still suspense as GK needs to regroup (hey, at least some of those Hob Knights must be somewhere too ... along with YKW).

And Trem may yet enact something (Smoker's plan was awesome) to sorta save the day- but it's clear that he will have to escape with the Jetpack at some point. Or is it?

OMG... Decrypted Dwagon is so badass!

Pleasemakeaplushie pleasemakeaplushie pleasemakeaplushie....

As you know, I think Dwagons are total weaklings. Like, totally. But this one seems to withstand the hail of arrows quite nicely, so Decrypted Dwagons start off by pulling a good feat (unlike their living brethren, for whom the record is one Worf Effect after another). Yay for (Decrypted) Dwagons!

[kwotski]

I didn't get the Myth reference

Maybe you're mything thomething?

[Draven]

Amazing page, been waiting for this moment for a while.

One thought I had about the decrypted dwagon... I know with her normal croakamancy, she was able to spend more time/energy/effort on a single unit to make it significantly beefier than it would otherwise would be, so I wonder if there is a similar option with the pliers as that dwagon looks remarkably badass, and there must've been some reason she didn't uncroak everything within range instantly if that was an option with no downside.

[teratorn]

Jack is brilliant.

As you know, I think Dwagons are total weaklings. Like, totally. But this one seems to withstand the hail of arrows quite nicely, so Decrypted Dwagons start off by pulling a good feat (unlike their living brethren, for whom the record is one Worf Effect after another). Yay for (Decrypted) Dwagons!

They have a lot of hitpoints and a lot of firepower but are rather stupid on their own. Parson will put them to good use.

[fractal]

Edit: And the Arkenpliers are tiny now, much smaller than they have previously been drawn. What's going on here?

The wielder of the Arkenpliers can resize them at will; we saw that in one of Ossomer's POV updates.

(Presumably that also applies to the other Arkentools, which explains how Charlie got that huge Dish up onto his roof.)

[fractal]

I really like this page, btw. Jack and Wanda's dialogue is fun, and Tramennis is thinking damage control, as he must. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out the artwork. Obviously we're seeing only a small fraction of the Atrium, as there should be many more fallen dwagons than that. However, there should be giant hobgobwins somewhere; I don't see any in these pages. What I do see is a black-garbed, red-caped fighter in panel 2, surrounded by Jetstone soldiers - is it Sylvia?