[992]Instant death!

eh? they all died once already.

(Except Annie of course)

If it's anything like the insta-death attacks in Pokémon, it probably misses all the time anyway.

I am slightly puzzled by them running away while still in the ether. We don't see if their physical bodies are running away at the same time off panel, of course, but still. And from Red's and Teacher Lady's reactions I'm getting the impression that there really isn't any danger at all.

Now that I think of it, the gol-shogeg might just be an illusion just like the toy plane and the flowers. It would explain why Red and the teacher don't give a crap about the giant, eldritch deathbringer.

I'd think it's the usual fairy nonsense, and Red is the only one other than their teacher who doesn't have cripplingly short memory here.
That is, if not the busted grey wall. Though it appeared in a glow and may be a more complex illusion, of course.
Or not.

Is that some kind of face, Red? ;D

I had to read this three times before I got it, but now that I have it's brilliant.

Red and the teacher are not impressed.

Ah I love how simply everyone else is tricked.

Evidence A: www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=991
The colorful Gol-shogeg, smashing through the wall and breaking the windows,
revealing the bright blue sky beyond.

But wait have you forgotten?
Evidence B: www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=514
The sky when viewed from the etherial is just as grey as everything else.

Seeing as the Gol-shogeg is all colorful it is fully etherial.
at the least it's all an illusion. at the worst she summoned the soul of a Gol-shogeg.
if it was an actual Gol-shogeg in the flesh it would be grey.

Also you have forgotten
Evidence C: psychopomps the escorts of the souls of the dead.
Souls id est your Etherial form can't Die.

That's the whole reason Blue added the blue sky, so they would subconsciously think
they were in their bodies again and think there is an actual danger.
When there isn't, no danger at all.

Now how quickly will Annie put Two and Two together?

Also Annie at the bottom left of
www.gunnerkrigg.com/archive_page.php?comicID=991
She is very beautiful from the side, as well as the front.

C: id est?

Id est is a Latin phrase meaning "that is". In English usage, it is usually abbreviated as "i.e." It is often explained as meaning "in other words".

The trees.

Their neurons are all firing at once.

Oh dear.

I am suddenly bedeviled by my impression that in the second panel, Gol-shogeg looks like a mutant chicken with green wattles.

I know that's not what Tom intended, but I cannot now unsee that.

Hi, I'm new to the board. Truth be told, I discovered Gunnerkrigg Court just yesterday, read through the entire archives, and spent the night with the intricacies of the story dancing through my head. Now I've gotta talk or I think my head might explode.

I tend to only talk when really moved, so this'll probably be the only post I ever make. In other words, it's gonna be a doozy.

The mild sense of the weird and subdued initially presented in the first few chapters was intriguing, if mildly aggravating. It was obvious this clearly wasn't intended as a gothic piece, but the flat manner in which Antimony approached the world as well as her complete lack of fear had me wondering why on earth she wasn't questioning the events she was getting caught up in. That curiosity hooked me, as did the non-violent nature in which the initial creatures were portrayed. It rewrote my notions of how the supernatural should behave, and there's a wholesome simplicity to the approach which is very satisfying, even though the logical part of you knows that there are many questions which have yet to be answered.

Simply put, I can't rave enough about how well you've built this world layer by layer and have established characters that are so endearing. They are growing as time passes, and that's so rare to see that it's a marvel to watch. You also balance seemingly innocuous events with those that are clearly foreboding, suggesting something is seriously wrong, but the question of whether the taint is in the court or in the forest still tantalizingly remains.

Your artwork is great. Your research is thorough. I was really surprised to see you'd gone all the way back to the early German fechtbuchs to depict accurate sword work. It would be kind of entertaining to see some sword and buckler work as depicted in the Walpurgis, if only because so few people know what the buckler was used for anymore, but you might've been able to shoehorn some reference to Walpurgisnacht for another ghost story. Of course, given how early you present players that turn out to be pretty major later on, it looks like your ongoing storyline is about as tight as a frog's butt.

Your knowledge of various mythologies seriously makes me want to ask how you got all that research material together. The same goes for the references to alchemy, what with the alchemical symbols throughout the city. Also, what I really, really, really like, is the introductory page for each volume. They're new takes on the old hidden recipes back when alchemists were facing prosecution, aren't they? Since surma was another name for kohl the ancient Egyptians used, and antimony was the active ingredient in it (not to mention the new revelations that a fire elemental was involved) I'm guessing Antimony is the living catalyst between two ingredients which have become inert as time has passed. One thing I'm not certain about is why Antimony's symbol is the male alchemical variant instead of the female one.

Sorry if I sound critical. I'm not at all. I just love to speculate.

What probably gets me the most is how the story creeps up on you. A few things are learned here and there over a long period of time until, when you look back, you realize just how freaking huge and strange this world is. Had you jumped the gun and frontloaded the story with all this weirdness, it would've overloaded the reader. Instead, you're letting things unravel one piece at a time where most people would be too tempted to blow their load all in one go. I think your restraint and ability to see this story carried through in its own time is probably your most remarkable achievement. Damned if I wouldn't love to pick your brain on scripting out a story like this. I tend to start with a big idea that spans the length of a book and then try to refine the details until it's workable, but that often results in a piece that's much too large for a book or a short story if each element is to be done properly. Or the story gets shelved altogether.

Sorry, was I talking too much?