Wait, Cleese like in John Cleese? Oh, that wacky limey, always running to your computer when you step away and typing random things! Out with you, Minister of Silly Walks!
The hammer is probably being used because it was the first thing Scapula found in the attic and he wants to get the job over with. That’s a true professional for ya!
I’d imagine Mona has developed quite an immunity to the rancid meals that Auntie has been preparing for her for years on end (although it might explain why she’s so irritable all the time)!
Did you watch Disney’s “The Emperor’s new groove”?
Because this comic got me thinking about it. Namely, that moment when the crazy old lady was coming up with her plan to kill the Emperor:
“I’ll turn him into a flea. Then I’ll put him in a box, then put that box inside another box, then mail that box to myself. And when it arrives…AHAHAHAHA! I’LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!!!!!”
“…”
“Or, to save on postage, I could just poison him”.
LOVED that movie; probably one of the most original Disney animated movies ever (there’s a whole convoluted history behind the making of that one, but I say just enjoy the finished product). Yzma and Krunk dominate the film in a way that most comedic villains wish they could.
When my other half’s mum had a stroke, she actually came out with weirder things than this old lady.
“I have to put the invisible trousers in this invisible bag.”
“Why?”
“Someone has to!”
We can laugh now, but it was scary as Hell at the time, she was normally sharp as a pin. Even scarier when she started talking about the basement tigers.
“Basement tigers”….holy friggin’ hell, that is one of the coolest non-sequiturs I have ever heard! Damnation, why didn’t I think of that?!
With all due respect to the dear lady, that’s a crazy level of awesomeness (or an awesome level of craziness) and I have yet to top something along the lines of ‘invisible trousers’. Bravo!
“I want to go home. I don’t like it here at night.”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“They wheel me down there into the cellar. I don’t like the tigers that are down there, they walk around the beds.”
“I’m fairly sure that doesn’t happen, but we’ll ask them not to do it any more.”
Not much you can say, really.
It’s funny that only just now someone brings up Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; the newest recruit to this group does remind one of a certain paranoid metal man.
As for Scap liking the Beatles, I can picture him ranting about Helter Skelter, but for completely different reasons…
The resemblance wasn’t intentional or even noticed until well after I had finished the first several strips. I tried to rectify this by making his real name ‘Douglas’, as in the guy who created Marvin.
Oh, gotcha. I have to confess that my Beatles knowledge is lacking beyond the outdated references (“Paul is Dead” and all that malarkey), although I get the feeling that I’m doing the music world a disservice by not giving them a chance.
If nothing else, I now know there’s a ‘hammer’ song that doesn’t involve balloon pants and not touching “this”!
Ah, the venerable claw hammer. Such an overlooked improv weapon. Quick lesson!
The claw hammer is based off the warhammer, the narrow neck and wide head arrangement making it lighter and giving it enough striking surface to direct force thanks to the natural lever action. This plus the hard head of the hammer = heavy blows (naturally useful for hammering nails). Carpenter’s mallets used to be bigger things that resembled rubber hammers today. The more efficient use of force plus more availability of harder metals led to non-weapon versions being used since wood splinters like a beast and people moved from wooden pegs and ‘slotting together’ carpentry to the quicker variant we now practice. The claw portion comes from the common prybar, which itself was used for cracking apart stone long before wood. It also lent its design to various halberds designed to pierce heavy armor and haul riders from a saddle. The Crowbar is actually named after the ‘Bec-De-Corbain’ (Spelling’s probably wrong), or Crows Beak, both a halberd type and a wicked claw on boarding planks meant to make sure they stuck into a ship deck in naval combat.
When defending from a hammer, recall please that the reach is quite short but the power of a swing, especially a wide overhead, is considerable and capable of crushing bone easily. The claw has greater penetration but is much more awkward to wield in many cases (the greater the curve, the harsher to use). There’s no formal combat style with a hammer but any short club using style can double impressively. If faced with an attacker, get clear fast. A hammer can cause terrible trauma (as I’m sure we’ll see Scapula display, likely on himself). If you can’t get clear, attacking the limb holding the hammer can be effective, especially with something to entangle or block it like a towel or broom handle. People swinging a hammer are apt to do so hard, and striking their elbow or wrist firmly can cause them to harm themselves. If nothing else, an arm thrust in the way of their arm with force can stop a hammer from striking. Grabbing the hammer’s neck is also a workable prospect. Flee as soon as possible.
I will never stop being impressed by these lessons on combat; seriously, Jenn, start a blog with daily/weekly lessons on combat, self-defense, and recounts of lethal yet bizarre encounters with the scum of the Earth!
What would it be called? DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU WANT TO F__KING DIE!
If you don’t have firsthand experience with attackers with hammers (I don’t), my generation’s fear of those tools/weapons probably began with the Hammer Bros, some of the more intimidating enemies in the first installment of Super Mario Bros (and still the hardest of the series). Yes, there’s a massive difference between facing an armed psychopath and an 8-bit bipedal turtle, but fear is fear on any level, and facing the Hammer Bros and their endless barrage of hammers usually meant losing another life. Bastards.
I tried to do some kind of a blog but work keeps getting in the way and way too many people jump in with ‘No, this is what you do’, which is fine, or ‘No, katanas are the greatest swords ever, they can cut through a tank!’ , which is a level of stupid even I can’t take. Relentless ‘first thing I heard is obviously the only correct thing’ arguing quickly makes me lose interest. Most people these days don’t care if you’re Einstein talking about physics, you’re wrong and they’re right, and it’s not worth the effort to fight them about it.
You can always disable comments, but then you miss out on all the fun of pissing off the knowitalls!
Honestly, the complainers tend to leave when you don’t engage them on their own level (Lord knows this comic has had its share of gripers). Think instead of all the readers who DO like what you offer them.
As for work, well, I wont deny that a paycheck takes top priority, but sometimes you just got to hone your craft and do what you think your calling is (just hope that the rent isn’t due anytime soon).
Ye olde hammer, eh? That’s gonna leave quite a mark. I hope Scap doesn’t miss during the first couple of strikes. An old lady’s screams are an excellent way of ruining a day.
Tell me about it. Of course, most of the ‘old lady screaming’ we know are various memories of angry teachers yelling at the kids to quit screwing around!
Hchammer, Manuel! Hchammer! I hchit you with the Hchammer on the Hchead!
– Sorry, somehow Cleese got in… Out you scoundrel!
Well, a Hammer; resourcefull and effective but a bit messy. And no garantee of it being quiet unless you’re really god with it.
Wait, Cleese like in John Cleese? Oh, that wacky limey, always running to your computer when you step away and typing random things! Out with you, Minister of Silly Walks!
The hammer is probably being used because it was the first thing Scapula found in the attic and he wants to get the job over with. That’s a true professional for ya!
No, Scapula, why killing when you can make her feed the sofa cushions to Mona? Exploiting is easier and more effective than destroying!
I’d imagine Mona has developed quite an immunity to the rancid meals that Auntie has been preparing for her for years on end (although it might explain why she’s so irritable all the time)!
Oh Scap….. Y’can’t touch this.
Another Hammer pun…egad, the comments section is going to be full of them before the day is through.
Oh! I can’t look! Blood makes me squeamish.
Brig is the only vampire able to sustain herself on coffee and Pop-Tarts!
She’s not a vampire, that’s just glitter form her last project.
Egad, did you just compare Brig to a Twilight vampire? That’s a pretty grave insult!
Did you watch Disney’s “The Emperor’s new groove”?
Because this comic got me thinking about it. Namely, that moment when the crazy old lady was coming up with her plan to kill the Emperor:
“I’ll turn him into a flea. Then I’ll put him in a box, then put that box inside another box, then mail that box to myself. And when it arrives…AHAHAHAHA! I’LL SMASH IT WITH A HAMMER!!!!!”
“…”
“Or, to save on postage, I could just poison him”.
LOVED that movie; probably one of the most original Disney animated movies ever (there’s a whole convoluted history behind the making of that one, but I say just enjoy the finished product). Yzma and Krunk dominate the film in a way that most comedic villains wish they could.
Squeak squeakity!
When my other half’s mum had a stroke, she actually came out with weirder things than this old lady.
“I have to put the invisible trousers in this invisible bag.”
“Why?”
“Someone has to!”
We can laugh now, but it was scary as Hell at the time, she was normally sharp as a pin. Even scarier when she started talking about the basement tigers.
“Basement tigers”….holy friggin’ hell, that is one of the coolest non-sequiturs I have ever heard! Damnation, why didn’t I think of that?!
With all due respect to the dear lady, that’s a crazy level of awesomeness (or an awesome level of craziness) and I have yet to top something along the lines of ‘invisible trousers’. Bravo!
“I want to go home. I don’t like it here at night.”
“Why, what’s wrong?”
“They wheel me down there into the cellar. I don’t like the tigers that are down there, they walk around the beds.”
“I’m fairly sure that doesn’t happen, but we’ll ask them not to do it any more.”
Not much you can say, really.
I truly hope I’m not being insensitive when I say that’s extremely entertaining dialogue.
I wouldn’t share it if I could be offended by it. 😉
I’m thinking that he’s probably not using a Nerf hammer!
He would have gone with the Wiffle bat, but he just couldn’t bear to pull a schoolyard ‘Al Capone’ on her!
Did you know Yessiree Bob was inspired by the real Robert Yesirivitch, a Russian immigrant? He was the original yes-man and a pretty agreeable person.
Whoa, really? Damn, you learn something new every day!
Now, what’s the origin of “how’dya like them apples”?
Scap likes the Beatles?
Basement tigers sounds like someone read Hitchhiker’s Guide.
It’s funny that only just now someone brings up Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; the newest recruit to this group does remind one of a certain paranoid metal man.
As for Scap liking the Beatles, I can picture him ranting about Helter Skelter, but for completely different reasons…
A-ha! That’s it! Bombastar reminds me of Marvin!
Whom I’ve always wanted to send to a scrap pile. Zod, what a miserable pile of circuitry…
The resemblance wasn’t intentional or even noticed until well after I had finished the first several strips. I tried to rectify this by making his real name ‘Douglas’, as in the guy who created Marvin.
Methinks the Beatle’s reference is to ‘Maxwell’s Silver Hammer’ … y’know “…Maxwell’s silver hammer made sure that she was dead …”
We all know that Scap’s gonna wind up in the old broads oven or something like that.
Oh, gotcha. I have to confess that my Beatles knowledge is lacking beyond the outdated references (“Paul is Dead” and all that malarkey), although I get the feeling that I’m doing the music world a disservice by not giving them a chance.
If nothing else, I now know there’s a ‘hammer’ song that doesn’t involve balloon pants and not touching “this”!
I can just hear Scap humming the “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer” song from Sgt. Peppers…
The man works to music! In fact, perhaps the murder would be more enjoyable if he was tuning to his iPod right now.
Ah, the venerable claw hammer. Such an overlooked improv weapon. Quick lesson!
The claw hammer is based off the warhammer, the narrow neck and wide head arrangement making it lighter and giving it enough striking surface to direct force thanks to the natural lever action. This plus the hard head of the hammer = heavy blows (naturally useful for hammering nails). Carpenter’s mallets used to be bigger things that resembled rubber hammers today. The more efficient use of force plus more availability of harder metals led to non-weapon versions being used since wood splinters like a beast and people moved from wooden pegs and ‘slotting together’ carpentry to the quicker variant we now practice. The claw portion comes from the common prybar, which itself was used for cracking apart stone long before wood. It also lent its design to various halberds designed to pierce heavy armor and haul riders from a saddle. The Crowbar is actually named after the ‘Bec-De-Corbain’ (Spelling’s probably wrong), or Crows Beak, both a halberd type and a wicked claw on boarding planks meant to make sure they stuck into a ship deck in naval combat.
When defending from a hammer, recall please that the reach is quite short but the power of a swing, especially a wide overhead, is considerable and capable of crushing bone easily. The claw has greater penetration but is much more awkward to wield in many cases (the greater the curve, the harsher to use). There’s no formal combat style with a hammer but any short club using style can double impressively. If faced with an attacker, get clear fast. A hammer can cause terrible trauma (as I’m sure we’ll see Scapula display, likely on himself). If you can’t get clear, attacking the limb holding the hammer can be effective, especially with something to entangle or block it like a towel or broom handle. People swinging a hammer are apt to do so hard, and striking their elbow or wrist firmly can cause them to harm themselves. If nothing else, an arm thrust in the way of their arm with force can stop a hammer from striking. Grabbing the hammer’s neck is also a workable prospect. Flee as soon as possible.
Been a while since I popped in with one of these!
I will never stop being impressed by these lessons on combat; seriously, Jenn, start a blog with daily/weekly lessons on combat, self-defense, and recounts of lethal yet bizarre encounters with the scum of the Earth!
What would it be called? DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU WANT TO F__KING DIE!
If you don’t have firsthand experience with attackers with hammers (I don’t), my generation’s fear of those tools/weapons probably began with the Hammer Bros, some of the more intimidating enemies in the first installment of Super Mario Bros (and still the hardest of the series). Yes, there’s a massive difference between facing an armed psychopath and an 8-bit bipedal turtle, but fear is fear on any level, and facing the Hammer Bros and their endless barrage of hammers usually meant losing another life. Bastards.
No kidding, those were some damn tough koopas.
I tried to do some kind of a blog but work keeps getting in the way and way too many people jump in with ‘No, this is what you do’, which is fine, or ‘No, katanas are the greatest swords ever, they can cut through a tank!’ , which is a level of stupid even I can’t take. Relentless ‘first thing I heard is obviously the only correct thing’ arguing quickly makes me lose interest. Most people these days don’t care if you’re Einstein talking about physics, you’re wrong and they’re right, and it’s not worth the effort to fight them about it.
You can always disable comments, but then you miss out on all the fun of pissing off the knowitalls!
Honestly, the complainers tend to leave when you don’t engage them on their own level (Lord knows this comic has had its share of gripers). Think instead of all the readers who DO like what you offer them.
As for work, well, I wont deny that a paycheck takes top priority, but sometimes you just got to hone your craft and do what you think your calling is (just hope that the rent isn’t due anytime soon).
It’s not the rent, it’s all the lawyers I have to pay. Those leeches don’t stop at taking your damn house, let me tell ya!
Ye olde hammer, eh? That’s gonna leave quite a mark. I hope Scap doesn’t miss during the first couple of strikes. An old lady’s screams are an excellent way of ruining a day.
Tell me about it. Of course, most of the ‘old lady screaming’ we know are various memories of angry teachers yelling at the kids to quit screwing around!