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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 19, 2015 3:38:39 GMT
A thread for Traveller , the side comic featuring Paz as she returns home to her family in Spain for her summer holiday after her first year at the Court. EDIT: Tom added Traveller to the Extra Comic Section. Like the page threads, the posts that follow may contain spoilers. If you want to read Traveller with no preconcieved notions, then you may want to steer clear of this thread until after you've read the side comic. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 19, 2015 3:54:03 GMT
I just received my copy of Traveller. I was so surprised to see Kat's SUPER 9V t-shirt that I couldn't wait to comment on it in this new thread. I love the subtle links Tom nonchalantly puts in his drawings. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 19, 2015 10:28:11 GMT
I finished reading Traveller and it is quite poignant. Tom continues to conveying less and less information through text and more through imagery. - Because there is not a lot of text to slow you down, you can breeze through the story very quickly. - He doesn't spoon feed answers to the readers. You have to think about what you've seen to "get it". And on a separate note, loved the bookends! |
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Post by Eversist on Jun 19, 2015 22:49:43 GMT
I like it. Already on my bookshelf next to the other two.
Tom doesn't spell out whether or not Paz's family knows that she can talk with animals. What do you guys think?
I'm going to tentatively guess "yes" because she's been chosen to go to the court, but I'm not entirely sure that they communicate to the parents as to why their kid has been chosen.
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Post by keef on Jun 19, 2015 23:44:26 GMT
I'm still waiting for mine. Probably a lot of icebergs on the Atlantic.
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Post by imaginaryfriend on Jun 20, 2015 0:36:35 GMT
Tom doesn't spell out whether or not Paz's family knows that she can talk with animals. What do you guys think? I'm going to tentatively guess "yes" because she's been chosen to go to the court, but I'm not entirely sure that they communicate to the parents as to why their kid has been chosen. Depends on when her gift fully developed... As a kid I figure she'd probably tell her parents that this animal said that and be able to observe her interacting with them and so forth so even if they don't know the full extent they probably know more or less what she can do. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 20, 2015 1:24:07 GMT
Tom doesn't spell out whether or not Paz's family knows that she can talk with animals. What do you guys think? I'm going to tentatively guess "yes" because she's been chosen to go to the court, but I'm not entirely sure that they communicate to the parents as to why their kid has been chosen. I think Paz's parents knew about Paz's talent because I don't see them letting her go off to the Court without knowing why the school wanted her as a student. I was surprised to read that the Court gave Paz's parents money, apparently as part of the deal for allowing Paz to go to the Court. Enough money to buy a house, or at least cover the down payment. Her parents clearly love her and I can't see them accepting a lot of money from strangers and letting them take their daughter away. Now that I've said it, Paz's parents allowing her to go to the Court only makes sense if they, other family, or people they trust already knew about the Court. Maybe Paz's talent runs in the family, a great grandmother who was a horse whisperer? |
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Post by Gotolei on Jun 20, 2015 2:15:26 GMT
Kind of wondering how it went down now, to be honest. One would think that parents would prefer to have a visitor's tour or whatever, but then again the place is covered in secrecy. And also recall this, where Jimmy-Jims seemed to know very little about it. :/ |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 20, 2015 15:36:42 GMT
I also wonder how the Court learned about Paz and her ability. Family or family friends may have told the Court. The Court may have people in some government positions and/or some people in some governments contact the Court when they know of strange cases (I think that may be how they learned about Zimmy). Maybe the Court actively scans the tabloids ( Bat Boy was real, but he went to Chester and now lives happily somewhere doing something). I thought Tom said some time ago that he wanted to do a side story about how Paz came to the Court. Since he choose do this side story about Traveller (I assume the title refers to the puppy), I hope he'll drop hints in the main comic. It wouldn't be hard for Paz to say something in passing or for Kat to explicitly ask about it. Even if those hints are limited by how much Paz knows and understands, it would still be interesting. |
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Post by warrl on Jun 20, 2015 15:43:44 GMT
Some parts of rural pretty-much-anywhere are rather superstitious. And let's face it, rumors of witchery are somewhat more credible in a world where there really are people who can talk to animals, leap tall buildings in a single bound, teleport, turn into fire-beings, et cetera.
Paz's parents might have been living in fear - either directly fear of Paz, or fear for Paz if the neighbors found out about her, or fear for themselves and their other children if the neighbors found out about Paz. Or, of course, a combination.
Shipping her off to a school far away would help a lot with that. And a large cash payment to them from the school would be a sign that the school valued her and didn't intend to abuse her (people pay a lot more for mahogany lumber than for firewood), helping to relieve any guilt they might feel over shoving their daughter away. Plus, if they've previously found it necessary to move a few times because of people finding out about Paz, it could help to provide some stability that would benefit their other children, reducing any guilt over that.
Also, "enough money to buy a house" could be the price of a house, or it could be enough money for the down payment to bring the monthly mortgage payments within reach.
The Court is known to have scouts and informants scattered around. Presumably they would be interested in rumors of witchcraft.
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 20, 2015 22:10:50 GMT
Some parts of rural pretty-much-anywhere are rather superstitious. And let's face it, rumors of witchery are somewhat more credible in a world where there really are people who can talk to animals, leap tall buildings in a single bound, teleport, turn into fire-beings, et cetera. Paz's parents might have been living in fear - either directly fear of Paz, or fear for Paz if the neighbors found out about her, or fear for themselves and their other children if the neighbors found out about Paz. Or, of course, a combination. Shipping her off to a school far away would help a lot with that. And a large cash payment to them from the school would be a sign that the school valued her and didn't intend to abuse her (people pay a lot more for mahogany lumber than for firewood), helping to relieve any guilt they might feel over shoving their daughter away. Plus, if they've previously found it necessary to move a few times because of people finding out about Paz, it could help to provide some stability that would benefit their other children, reducing any guilt over that. ...That is almost exactly what I thought before I read Traveller. I assumed that rural Galicians would be more religious, conservative, rustic, and therefore fearful of Paz and her talent. I had this head cannon that the Court may have intervened and saved Paz. But in Traveller, Paz's family seems as modern as anyone I know (Yessica is on her smartphone at the beach and Adela is going to college in Tui). I don't see any hint of fear or reservation. Tom crushed another stereotype! The cottage Paz used to live in does appear more rustic than the house they bought, but they weren't backwards, they just had limited means. Her parents still had the cottage at the time of this side comic. I hope Paz and Kat can use it as a refuge from the Court if they need it. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 20, 2015 23:13:25 GMT
Sorry for all the posts... Paz goes hiking in Parque Natural Monte Aloia. Tom said he had a lot of photographs to use for reference, so I decided to find the park on Goggle Maps and look at the photos people have uploaded. The park looks really cool! I found the following photos that may include some of the same locations Tom used. In the background of this photo, it looks like the exact bench and rock formation Tom drew in the top panel on the second of the Parque Natural Monte Aloia pages. But I don’t see the riding horse and the trees are different. But I think this is the spot. In this photo, there is a riding horse like the one Tom included in the top panel on the second of the Parque Natural Monte Aloia pages. The trees look more like the ones Tom drew too. And this photo of Tui looks like it may be the same area Tom drew on the sixth of the Parque Natural Monte Aloia pages (the center of the comic) from a slightly different angle. EDIT: The hyperlinks work on my desktop and laptop, but not on my iPhone. I don't know why. EDIT 2 (the creepy cyber stalking edit): I think the bottom panel on the first of the beach pages might be based on a photo taken from the parking lot of the Prada Surf Escola Patos. I could be way off, but the rocks on the beach and the hills in the background in this street view and the satellite view looks similar. It looks like Tom may have taken a picture from about where the white SUV is parked in the street view because there are the wooden posts and a road where cars would have been parked. Looking at the rest of the coastline South of Vigo, there doesn't seem to be a beach, rocks, and hills that match the comic any better than this location. EDIT 3: Added some links to the comic pages now that Traveller is posted in the Extra Comics section. |
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Post by warrl on Jun 21, 2015 1:03:46 GMT
Some parts of rural pretty-much-anywhere are rather superstitious. And let's face it, rumors of witchery are somewhat more credible in a world where there really are people who can talk to animals, leap tall buildings in a single bound, teleport, turn into fire-beings, et cetera. Paz's parents might have been living in fear - either directly fear of Paz, or fear for Paz if the neighbors found out about her, or fear for themselves and their other children if the neighbors found out about Paz. Or, of course, a combination. Shipping her off to a school far away would help a lot with that. And a large cash payment to them from the school would be a sign that the school valued her and didn't intend to abuse her (people pay a lot more for mahogany lumber than for firewood), helping to relieve any guilt they might feel over shoving their daughter away. Plus, if they've previously found it necessary to move a few times because of people finding out about Paz, it could help to provide some stability that would benefit their other children, reducing any guilt over that. ...That is almost exactly what I thought before I read Traveller. I assumed that rural Galicians would be more religious, conservative, rustic, and therefore fearful of Paz and her talent. I had this head cannon that the Court may have intervened and saved Paz. But in Traveller, Paz's family seems as modern as anyone I know (Yessica is on her smartphone at the beach and Adela is going to college in Tui). I don't see any hint of fear or reservation. Tom crushed another stereotype! None of that takes fear and superstition off the list of possibilities - just because Paz's family is accepting of her talent doesn't mean they trust that their neighbors (or *former* neighbors, since they moved) would be similarly tolerant. However, I also was only putting that situation on the list of possibilities. Not asserting any confidence in it. Heck, even in Wapsi Square, where the setting is modern-day Minneapolis and some of the major good-guy characters could (and, at least once in the distant past, DID) destroy civilization, they are careful to avoid overexposure of the paranormal world to normal humans out of fear of a witch-hunt. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 22, 2015 23:57:04 GMT
Today's regular comic page seems like a transition without new information, so my mind wandered back to Traveller... In the Gunner-verse, when animals pass into the ether, how much do they help keep the world spinning? Human memories and emotions are so strong that humans influence reality (or at least Coyote who then influences reality). But even insects have a psychopomp, so I think they contribute some in their own way. I therefore assume animals also help keep the world spinning. In the Gunner-verse, did dogs become Man's best friend because enough dogs passed into the ether with friendly memories of humans to make this reality? Or did enough humans pass into the ether with friendly memory of dogs to make this reality? Or both? In the Gunner-verse, have cats remained aloof because cats don't care enough about the humans they live with to pass many friendly memories of humans into the ether? There are plenty of humans who like cats, so if the humans influence this reality, then you'd expect that cats would already have best friend status too. This implies that cats influence their reality more than humans influence the reality of cats I therefore infer from cats that dogs became Man's best friend because of dogs influence their reality with fond memory of humans. Paz's actions in Traveller helped the world of dogs continue to spin. |
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Post by keef on Jun 23, 2015 23:12:49 GMT
Today's regular comic page seems like a transition without new information, so my mind wandered back to Traveller... Just received mine. I love it. And thanks for your research.When Traveller swims away to (in our eyes) certain death, his brothers and sisters admire him, they believe in him. He is going to be a story, and whether that is an influence only on the form, or also on the strength of the ether, we just don't know. And: A school that does not ask for tuition fees, but actually gives you money enough to buy a house, and sends kids home on a Learjet. People gonna talk about that. And maybe that is what the Court wants. |
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 24, 2015 0:26:09 GMT
... A school that does not ask for tuition fees, but actually gives you money enough to buy a house, and sends kids home on a Learjet. People gonna talk about that. And maybe that is what the Court wants. Is the Plane really a robot like the Ship? A Plane named Dwaine?? I assumed the Court would not want to attract attention. A business jet zipping people around isn't too unusual. A human crew member could act as cover for a robot plane, if it is a robot plane. But I am a loss to explain why the Court would put a big GC logo on the tail of the plane. |
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Post by bacenty on Jun 24, 2015 8:13:16 GMT
Hello, sorry for the little offtop, but I wonder if the "Traveller" will be enabled to read online like the "Annie in the Forest" is?
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gary
Full Member
Posts: 121
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Post by gary on Jun 24, 2015 11:09:59 GMT
Hello, sorry for the little offtop, but I wonder if the "Traveller" will be enabled to read online like the "Annie in the Forest" is? All of the side comics will be sold first and then put up for free a few months later. It's what happened with annie in the forets and I doubt he would change his model. |
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Post by bacenty on Jun 24, 2015 12:59:14 GMT
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Post by hypixion on Jun 26, 2015 10:30:29 GMT
Got the comic today, I have feels now. Why doggy, why?
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Post by KartoffelnMcNugget on Jun 27, 2015 0:33:05 GMT
Got the comic today, I have feels now. Why doggy, why? Natural Selection |
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Post by catsneezes on Jun 28, 2015 22:48:53 GMT
Got the comic today, I have feels now. Why doggy, why? I know.  I remember teaching our lab how to swim, and getting all scratched up by her before she figured out what to do. That experience is part of the reason why I find this side comic so poignant. It's pretty sad, if you think about it (so I'm trying not to), b-but maybe a passing ship picked it up! Or it found an island.... |
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Post by sapientcoffee on Jun 28, 2015 23:11:20 GMT
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Jun 29, 2015 0:24:12 GMT
On the positive side, the puppy had two wonderful days thanks to Paz. In the end the puppy could swim on his own in the water and experience freedom he didn't have on land.
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Post by snipertom on Jun 29, 2015 6:28:35 GMT
Wow.
Such sad.
Much poignant
very swim.
Wow.
I got my copy today. It was very good. I have the feels now. I'm glad I got it after Friday's update, haha. You can tell the mother dog and siblings weren't proud of the disabled pup (until he swam away) due to disability. This certainly does happen for cats and dogs at least, often they are abandoned. Puppy could have gotten a tiny dog wheelchair for his hind legs if he had survived Aww.
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Post by catsneezes on Jun 30, 2015 22:36:28 GMT
You can tell the mother dog and siblings weren't proud of the disabled pup (until he swam away) due to disability. The puppy's siblings being proud of him destroyed me. I'm sure they'll tell tales of him and he will be remembered (also anyone know if the forums have any kind of spoiler code? I know the first post warns of spoilers but I worry) |
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Post by warrl on Jun 30, 2015 23:58:02 GMT
yes. [spoiler]hidden text[/spoiler]
But the preview ignores spoiler tags. |
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Post by mordekai on Aug 11, 2015 16:23:04 GMT
I would like to point that, in Galizian folklore, there is at least a case of a human being who liked swimming in the sea so much that he decided to not come back to land again and he became a merrow. His name was Francisco de la Vega, AKA Liérganes's Fish-Man.
So I think there is a chance that the puppy survived and became a sea creature.
Also, there are lots of legends everywhere in the world about mer-horses and mer-bulls impregnating their terrestial counterparts, and of seals and dolphins taking human form and impregnating human women. Maybe the puppy was the son of a selkie or something similar.
I think Tom gaves us a shard of hope, a hint of an open end.
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Post by OGRuddawg on Apr 14, 2016 22:50:00 GMT
Tom just posted an online version of Traveller in the Extra Comics!
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Post by Jelly Jellybean on Apr 14, 2016 22:56:34 GMT
Tom just posted an online version of Traveller in the Extra Comics! And he posted a Galician/Galego language version too. |
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I remember teaching our lab how to swim, and getting all scratched up by her before she figured out what to do. That experience is part of the reason why I find this side comic so poignant.
