The gun's remains are rather close to where Purdy is. I wonder if Brian would've hit Purdy if Seventeen hadn't jumped in. Either way, this is a fantastic scene.
Long time reader, got off my duff to join the forum with this strip.
This comic strip is one of those things that you can look at once and get a deeper meaning just by thinking about for a minute. On first read it's obvious that Brian is going to his scary place but I didn't get the visual metaphor right away. On second and third read I saw the wasps in a sort of Alice in Wonderland light where familiar things are distorted and have emotional meaning. The "Wasps" being the pellets (I'm assuming BBs not shotgun) are exactly what Brian sees them as angry stinging things that hurt. The holy crap, dude look on the weasel in 9 is great by the way.
This has rapidly became one of my favorite web comics. First time registering here as part of what I have enjoyed so much about this comic is the active discussions of each strip.
Agreed Omenhex, I love reading the comic the scrolling down to see a healthy discussion about it, being able to share my thoughts with others and see if we're all reading the same!
For anyone surprised at this turn of events, we caught a brief glimpse of this sort of anger back in "Bate".
This comic does, incedentally, also lend a few ideas as to why Brian was left at the camp; One, the ballistic anger, of course. Perhaps he was a violent bully on a tempestuous level? At the expense of cartoon generalization he has the frame of the stock western depiction of a schoolyard bully; stocky framed, shaggy hair, hoodie. So he was left at the camp for it and whether in penance or a long hard look in the mirror he decided to control himself, something that takes a tremendous deal of focus, hence his stoicism. He may simply just not have the finesse of self control down to allow himself to express emotion unless it's the raging anger we see here.
Alternately, consider for a few moments that what's a clever analogy to the readers may in fact be the way he naturally views his surroundings. He may or may not be entirely "there" the entire time. Which may even be somewhat opposite to the previous theory; instead of being a raging storm held in check by great willpower, he may in fact simply be stuck in his own world, seeing things not quite the same way everyone else does; he may have been left at the camp for being unsettlingly absentminded, uncanny valley type behavior. However it came about, Seventeen would then appear to function as his tether to reality. Why it's Seventeen is anyone's guess. Popularly, of course, is that there's some romantic subtext buried beneath it. Personally, I suspect she may have a passing resemblance to a sister he may once have lived with (or, plot twist, is the sister herself?) and the pain of separation (or perhaps some tragic accident) caused him to become so extremely protective of her.
POTOOINTENSIFIES - If that's true, this explains the whole Malachi situation.
Which is to say, I've always wondered why it is Malachi, the new guy, seems to be the leader-type of this little 3-man group, even though he's the newcomer and not always keeping in mind what's best for Seventeen even though she follows him around like a lovesick puppy. You'd think Brian, the bigger, stronger and wiser of the 3, would take the lead role, but he seems mysteriously okay with leaving Seventeen in Malachi's care, and even helping out on whatever hairbrained scheme Malachi wants to get into (agreeing to wear bear-armor and be a distraction).
All this would make sense if Brian wasn't all there, and was aware of it. Wanting what's best for Seventeen, I could see him putting his trust in Malachi who's got a better grip on reality than himself.
To be fair, though, Malachi is a good kid anyway so it works out. Bit selfish and cocky, but y'can't blame him. If you had parents like that you'd want everyone to think you were hot shit, too...
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This comic strip is one of those things that you can look at once and get a deeper meaning just by thinking about for a minute. On first read it's obvious that Brian is going to his scary place but I didn't get the visual metaphor right away. On second and third read I saw the wasps in a sort of Alice in Wonderland light where familiar things are distorted and have emotional meaning. The "Wasps" being the pellets (I'm assuming BBs not shotgun) are exactly what Brian sees them as angry stinging things that hurt. The holy crap, dude look on the weasel in 9 is great by the way.
And I'm very picky...
I think the wasps are whatever she's shooting at Brian. A thing that stings and provokes him into Hulk-like rage.
This comic does, incedentally, also lend a few ideas as to why Brian was left at the camp; One, the ballistic anger, of course. Perhaps he was a violent bully on a tempestuous level? At the expense of cartoon generalization he has the frame of the stock western depiction of a schoolyard bully; stocky framed, shaggy hair, hoodie. So he was left at the camp for it and whether in penance or a long hard look in the mirror he decided to control himself, something that takes a tremendous deal of focus, hence his stoicism. He may simply just not have the finesse of self control down to allow himself to express emotion unless it's the raging anger we see here.
Alternately, consider for a few moments that what's a clever analogy to the readers may in fact be the way he naturally views his surroundings. He may or may not be entirely "there" the entire time. Which may even be somewhat opposite to the previous theory; instead of being a raging storm held in check by great willpower, he may in fact simply be stuck in his own world, seeing things not quite the same way everyone else does; he may have been left at the camp for being unsettlingly absentminded, uncanny valley type behavior. However it came about, Seventeen would then appear to function as his tether to reality. Why it's Seventeen is anyone's guess. Popularly, of course, is that there's some romantic subtext buried beneath it. Personally, I suspect she may have a passing resemblance to a sister he may once have lived with (or, plot twist, is the sister herself?) and the pain of separation (or perhaps some tragic accident) caused him to become so extremely protective of her.
Food for thought.
Which is to say, I've always wondered why it is Malachi, the new guy, seems to be the leader-type of this little 3-man group, even though he's the newcomer and not always keeping in mind what's best for Seventeen even though she follows him around like a lovesick puppy. You'd think Brian, the bigger, stronger and wiser of the 3, would take the lead role, but he seems mysteriously okay with leaving Seventeen in Malachi's care, and even helping out on whatever hairbrained scheme Malachi wants to get into (agreeing to wear bear-armor and be a distraction).
All this would make sense if Brian wasn't all there, and was aware of it. Wanting what's best for Seventeen, I could see him putting his trust in Malachi who's got a better grip on reality than himself.
To be fair, though, Malachi is a good kid anyway so it works out. Bit selfish and cocky, but y'can't blame him. If you had parents like that you'd want everyone to think you were hot shit, too...