Ooh.. that had better be simply ‘got evicted and told to go with the rest of his tribe’, or there’s gonna be a long line of folks waiting to thump Jahlm on the head. With Digger taking the Fast-Pass every five minutes…
Jass – Nothing good does come from justifying actions for, “The/A greater good.” Usually because the only things that have to be justified by that reasoning are, at best, bad or, at worst, out and out evil.
Ok, I apparently did not hate Jhalm enough before because the idea that he has hurt Ed makes me think unspeakable thinks need to happen to him. I really hate that guy now.
If Ed is in any way injured, Jhalm had better have an excruciating death in store for him at some point in this story. And it better be REALLY excruciating. Like getting all his toenails peeled off one at a time and then putting pennies on the bare beds and then putting the nails back on with superglue and then making him walk–not run–up the side of a mountain until he collapsed from exhaustion and then the Cold Servants eat him.
I’d be more inclined to see Jhalm humiliated – stripped of power, forbidden to ever wear a veil again, topknot shaved, etc. – and allowed to live with his humiliation. Perhaps in perpetual servitude to the hag …
Oh yeah, that’s harsh, picking on Ed. Ganesh, tho … you’re an avatar of a god, not an entirely powerless being. Don’t just wait for the wombat, you better have done *something*- like take in Ed as a sacred fool or something.
There’s no telling what Jhalm did to Ed. While physical assault is not something I’d put past that fool, Ed has dealt with such in the past. Just because Ed is Nameless in his tribe doesn’t mean he can’t defend himself with some measure of capability. It seems far more likely that Ed has been imprisoned by Jhalm.
Also, I’m not too clear on something. I skimmed back over the archives but I can’t seem to connect in my head why Jhalm would be attacking the hyena tribe. The tribe’s been there for quite some time, and Jhalm is just now freaking out over them? Certainly he would be angry over the incident of Grim Eyes’ attacking him in lieu of Digger, but is getting revenge for his wounded pride really his motivation here? Or perhaps has Sweetgrass Voice been speaking softly in Jhalm’s ear?
There’s a horrifying thought for you. Sweetgrass Voice is more than capable of convincing an unwary pawn that it (he?) is a deific being. It’s already been said that the Veiled Ones serve ALL gods…the implication is that they serve, not that they pick only deities of the paths of Light over those who rule over the paths of Darkness.
So if SGV *has* been talking to Jhalm…and after all the Veiled didn’t appear to know much about He-Is or the Cold Servants or SGV….so there’s reason to suspect that Jhalm would be unprepared for the kinds of deception SGV is so very good at practicing.
Kind of gives me chills.
And yes, if Ed is hurt…Jhalm should be driven into the wilderness and painted with his own shame and guilt for all to see. Ed can do the painting.
If Jhalm had imprisoned Ed, he wouldn’t be keeping him in the temple of a God he doesn’t trust.
And I like TekServer’s idea- let the Hag have ‘im. I like her fine, but I think that would be a special kind of heck for our Veiled adversary. Vile, disgusting and hateful sonofagun that he is.
My first thought was “Yeah, Ed’s back!” and I even let out a cheer (it’s a good thing I came in to work early this morning), then everything sunk in. Ursula likes to hit us with the good-bad combos, doesn’t she?
Congratulations, Jhalm, you have managed to commit the one act that will sentence you to the greatest number of hellscape afterlives–harm a reader favorite.
Hawk, Jhalm is attacking the hyenas because the masked creatures that came out of the hole turned out to be hyenas. And yes, Sweetgrass Voice is indeed a deific being, his origins are ultimately the same as She-Is-Fiercer and he is part of hyena legend just the same. You don’t have to be good to be a god.
But… ED! :O
Did the first strip I actually get to read at the time it is published really have to be THIS?! Ed!!!!!!!! Going through the archive was much easier on the nerves …
Though I’d settle for Jahlm finding out from personal experience what kind of betrayer SGV is, and dealing with the consequences of his own actions and SGV’s betrayals. Because that could be pretty damn fierce.
@ NIall your comment sent me to TV Tropes to look up Woobie, and I just wasted an hour at work. I hope you’re proud of yourself. (Actually, I’m kind of proud of myself that I stopped after reading the entire Woobie entry; usually I end up reading a lot more than that.) I do think we need to flesh out Ed’s article a bit. One of the reasons we love him so much is that even with all the tragedy, Ed still trusts people like Digger.
I think we all agree that we need Jhalm castrated, dragged under a barnacle encrusted ship, tarred and feathered, and drawn and quartered if he did anything bad to Ed. I don’t know about anyone else, but as soon as I saw Ed’s menacing face peek into his cave, I loved him.
Digger looks kind of scared… I do hope Ed is okay.
C’mon, Ursula! You can’t make us wait ANOTHER week. We’re going to wake up tomorrow morning with the sun shining over the Mediterranian Sea, and there will be a new page waiting for us. Right? ^^
I don’t think Sweetgrass Voice is behind what Jhalm’s been doing. Shadowchild ate him, remember? I also KNEW that something would happen to Ed eventually!
No, Shadowchild ate a portion of Sweetgrass Voice. It was enough to scare the crap out of SGV, and weaken him a bit, but Sweetgrass is very much alive.
@Hunter: Shadowchild did not eat all of Sweetgrass Voice. Shadowchild wounded it (see http://www.diggercomic.com/?p=751), but Sweetgrass Voice lives, and it’s probably very angry that its pet project not only failed to turn to the dark side, but successfully wounded its would-be master and has now dedicated its life to convert other demons to the light side.
I agree with TekServer. Physical vengeance only vindicates the original wrongdoer. Humiliation, servitude, and regret can cause far deeper pain than any physical punishment and are fundamentally more meaningful. Also, they lasts longer.
Is Digger indirectly responsible for Jhalm’s actions against Ed due to some interaction we overlooked? This comic’s good at that – making us take a second look at things that didn’t grab the spotlight the first time around.
Of course, Ganesh’s scornful face could be anger/frustration at the situation in general, not directed at Digger.
And it’s possible that Ed is just one of the hyenas to Jhalm – i.e. he didn’t do anything to Ed in particular that wasn’t part of his larger project.
@pelican – Maybe Ganesh did take Ed in. Snoutgod’s temple isn’t exactly familiar stomping grounds for him.
Oh, and to everyone hating on Jhalm – Remember his perspective. What make him such a great villain is that in Jhalm’s story, he’s the hero. Think about it.
The Hyenas, who had apparently been peacefully coexisting beyond the borders of human settlements in Rath, attack Jhalm not long after Digger shows up – and after that, he learns that Digger is friends with the one who attacked him, intimately. And after THAT, supernaturally powerful hyenas serving a dark master emerge from the SAME hole that Digger came from, and attack the town. He personally fought them off, nearly losing an eye, to defend a temple that he even believed might also be working against him – there’s no ulterior motive there, Jhalm was protecting innocent people from beasts who did not care about their lives whatsoever. And the next time Jhalm goes to speak with Digger, he finds that she and her hyena accomplice have fled town, with the aid of Ganesh.
What would you do? We don’t know what he’s actually done to the hyenas yet – he may be judgmental but we have no reason to believe he is cruel, and if his aim is to protect people then it serves him no purpose to torment the hyenas, only restrain them.
If there’s anything this comic has taught its readership by now, it should be this:
*pulls out a pocket karmameter* Let’s see……… If Jhalm’s done what we think he’s done, that adds up to – hmmm – 700,000 incarnations as a dung beetle, with an option (for extra-good behavior) of upgrading to a Skin lizard for the next 100,000……… 7X=Q
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ED! ED! OH GOD IF JHALM HAS HURT ED I WILL REACH INTO THE MONITOR AND EVISCERATE HIM WITH MY TEETH! I WILL TEAR HIM APART PIXEL BY PIXEL! I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING IN CAPSLOCK!!!
Godsdamnit you have officially lost “morally ambiguous” status, Captain. There is evil and then there is Puppy-Kicking Evil.
Also potentially qualifying one Puppy-Kicking Evil status is posting a page like this on a THURSDAY Ursula what the flipping hell!!!
Yea and verily, the tiger did look and see that there was a new Digger for the day, and the tiger saw that it was good. Then the tiger looked into the world of Captain Jhalm, and he did see the captain’s deeds, and he was displeased.
I was going to put up a message as a rebuttal, but I see Mani beat me to it and did a fine job. In Digger, the art may be black and white, but the characters are not. Captain Jhalm isn’t cruel, or spiteful, those emotions would weaken him. In his eyes, and the eyes of probably most of the inhabitants in the area, Jhalm is the hero, not the villain. He wouldn’t be interesting if he were as one sided as many think.
And yet, before eviscerating anyone I wish to hear Ed’s take on the story. (And maybe even Jhalm version too)
After all there is an slightly greater than minus one possibility of of him getting hurt for a “greater good”. (Say, like having to go through a period of trial to recover his name or such). Yes. Fat chance of that but I’ll wait though 😉
I’m glad to hear a bit of rationality, Jassius.
I know Ed’s a favorite, but we don’t even know yet what Jhalm’s done.
And, hopefully, next page or two we’ll know enough to properly decide…something.
Oh, and Mani, thanks for the succinct version of Digger’s tale from Jhalm’s side.
Read straight out, I found it surprising to find I agree with Jhalm’s suspicions. At least, I would if I hadn’t already lived the story from Digger’s POV…
Oh no! Not Ed!
🙁
Oh no, not Ed. Ed, of all people, doesn’t deserve whatever Jhalm has done to him.
I gasped.
Ed. D:
THE GREATER GOOD.
Also, poor Ed is gonna need so much therapy by the end of this, between his history and what Digger’s accidentally gotten him mixed up in.
*throws hands up into the air* Frell! Not Ed too?
Also, I think this may be the first time we’ve seen the Statue with such an angry expression. For the given value of “expression”, anyway.
*insert agonizing over the wait for the next update here*
I wanna give Ed more hugs, now. Poor Ed…
I agree with BarGamer – Ed must need a hug by now… 🙁
To author: If you have hurt Ed in anyway…
…I am going to cry ='(
Have that on your conscience, *huff*
Is it just me, or does Statue seem to have a chiding or scolding tone to it’s words when speaking with Digger here?
@ Sparky Lurkdragon: I gasped too. D:
Ooh.. that had better be simply ‘got evicted and told to go with the rest of his tribe’, or there’s gonna be a long line of folks waiting to thump Jahlm on the head. With Digger taking the Fast-Pass every five minutes…
Good news is the village was not burnt and Ed is back to the story, but for some reason I am not totally happy about the way he is back.
I usually expect nothing good when actions are justified for “greater good”
Jass – Nothing good does come from justifying actions for, “The/A greater good.” Usually because the only things that have to be justified by that reasoning are, at best, bad or, at worst, out and out evil.
Voice from off-panel! Oh no!
Ok, I apparently did not hate Jhalm enough before because the idea that he has hurt Ed makes me think unspeakable thinks need to happen to him. I really hate that guy now.
If Ed is in any way injured, Jhalm had better have an excruciating death in store for him at some point in this story. And it better be REALLY excruciating. Like getting all his toenails peeled off one at a time and then putting pennies on the bare beds and then putting the nails back on with superglue and then making him walk–not run–up the side of a mountain until he collapsed from exhaustion and then the Cold Servants eat him.
I’d be more inclined to see Jhalm humiliated – stripped of power, forbidden to ever wear a veil again, topknot shaved, etc. – and allowed to live with his humiliation. Perhaps in perpetual servitude to the hag …
Don’t forget to VOTE! http://topwebcomics.com/vote/10180/default.aspx
“Who would have words with you”. Oh yeah, Statue is not entirely pleased with Digger here.
And Ed’s quotient of Woobieness goes up another rank! Gah! No wonder he’s (literally) the picture boy for the trope for webcomics.
WHAT DID HE DO TO ED?! I WILL END HIM WITH MY BARE HANDS!!
….Ummmm, I mean, Oh no! I certainly hope Ed is alright!
Oh yeah, that’s harsh, picking on Ed. Ganesh, tho … you’re an avatar of a god, not an entirely powerless being. Don’t just wait for the wombat, you better have done *something*- like take in Ed as a sacred fool or something.
There’s no telling what Jhalm did to Ed. While physical assault is not something I’d put past that fool, Ed has dealt with such in the past. Just because Ed is Nameless in his tribe doesn’t mean he can’t defend himself with some measure of capability. It seems far more likely that Ed has been imprisoned by Jhalm.
Also, I’m not too clear on something. I skimmed back over the archives but I can’t seem to connect in my head why Jhalm would be attacking the hyena tribe. The tribe’s been there for quite some time, and Jhalm is just now freaking out over them? Certainly he would be angry over the incident of Grim Eyes’ attacking him in lieu of Digger, but is getting revenge for his wounded pride really his motivation here? Or perhaps has Sweetgrass Voice been speaking softly in Jhalm’s ear?
There’s a horrifying thought for you. Sweetgrass Voice is more than capable of convincing an unwary pawn that it (he?) is a deific being. It’s already been said that the Veiled Ones serve ALL gods…the implication is that they serve, not that they pick only deities of the paths of Light over those who rule over the paths of Darkness.
So if SGV *has* been talking to Jhalm…and after all the Veiled didn’t appear to know much about He-Is or the Cold Servants or SGV….so there’s reason to suspect that Jhalm would be unprepared for the kinds of deception SGV is so very good at practicing.
Kind of gives me chills.
And yes, if Ed is hurt…Jhalm should be driven into the wilderness and painted with his own shame and guilt for all to see. Ed can do the painting.
If Jhalm had imprisoned Ed, he wouldn’t be keeping him in the temple of a God he doesn’t trust.
And I like TekServer’s idea- let the Hag have ‘im. I like her fine, but I think that would be a special kind of heck for our Veiled adversary. Vile, disgusting and hateful sonofagun that he is.
My first thought was “Yeah, Ed’s back!” and I even let out a cheer (it’s a good thing I came in to work early this morning), then everything sunk in. Ursula likes to hit us with the good-bad combos, doesn’t she?
Congratulations, Jhalm, you have managed to commit the one act that will sentence you to the greatest number of hellscape afterlives–harm a reader favorite.
For some reason thoughts of ed having been tortured came up in my mind after I read that strip.
And I don’t think I want to know what tortures ed has been through if he was tortured.
Hawk, Jhalm is attacking the hyenas because the masked creatures that came out of the hole turned out to be hyenas. And yes, Sweetgrass Voice is indeed a deific being, his origins are ultimately the same as She-Is-Fiercer and he is part of hyena legend just the same. You don’t have to be good to be a god.
But… ED! :O
Did the first strip I actually get to read at the time it is published really have to be THIS?! Ed!!!!!!!! Going through the archive was much easier on the nerves …
Aaaaaand…. we’re back, with a bang (and not even the ‘bang’ we thought it was going to be)!
Best wishes to all, hope you had a lovely holiday, Ursula!
What the bloody blue blazes has that hateful so-and-so done to Ed???!!!!
@Lanthir: Not if I get to him first, my friend 🙂 ….
Mmm. ^ What They Said. ^
Though I’d settle for Jahlm finding out from personal experience what kind of betrayer SGV is, and dealing with the consequences of his own actions and SGV’s betrayals. Because that could be pretty damn fierce.
@ NIall your comment sent me to TV Tropes to look up Woobie, and I just wasted an hour at work. I hope you’re proud of yourself. (Actually, I’m kind of proud of myself that I stopped after reading the entire Woobie entry; usually I end up reading a lot more than that.) I do think we need to flesh out Ed’s article a bit. One of the reasons we love him so much is that even with all the tragedy, Ed still trusts people like Digger.
I think we all agree that we need Jhalm castrated, dragged under a barnacle encrusted ship, tarred and feathered, and drawn and quartered if he did anything bad to Ed. I don’t know about anyone else, but as soon as I saw Ed’s menacing face peek into his cave, I loved him.
Digger looks kind of scared… I do hope Ed is okay.
C’mon, Ursula! You can’t make us wait ANOTHER week. We’re going to wake up tomorrow morning with the sun shining over the Mediterranian Sea, and there will be a new page waiting for us. Right? ^^
*bribes with yummy, yummy cookies*
…Right?
I don’t think Sweetgrass Voice is behind what Jhalm’s been doing. Shadowchild ate him, remember? I also KNEW that something would happen to Ed eventually!
No, Shadowchild ate a portion of Sweetgrass Voice. It was enough to scare the crap out of SGV, and weaken him a bit, but Sweetgrass is very much alive.
@Hunter: Shadowchild did not eat all of Sweetgrass Voice. Shadowchild wounded it (see http://www.diggercomic.com/?p=751), but Sweetgrass Voice lives, and it’s probably very angry that its pet project not only failed to turn to the dark side, but successfully wounded its would-be master and has now dedicated its life to convert other demons to the light side.
I agree with TekServer. Physical vengeance only vindicates the original wrongdoer. Humiliation, servitude, and regret can cause far deeper pain than any physical punishment and are fundamentally more meaningful. Also, they lasts longer.
Is Digger indirectly responsible for Jhalm’s actions against Ed due to some interaction we overlooked? This comic’s good at that – making us take a second look at things that didn’t grab the spotlight the first time around.
Of course, Ganesh’s scornful face could be anger/frustration at the situation in general, not directed at Digger.
And it’s possible that Ed is just one of the hyenas to Jhalm – i.e. he didn’t do anything to Ed in particular that wasn’t part of his larger project.
@pelican – Maybe Ganesh did take Ed in. Snoutgod’s temple isn’t exactly familiar stomping grounds for him.
Oh, and to everyone hating on Jhalm – Remember his perspective. What make him such a great villain is that in Jhalm’s story, he’s the hero. Think about it.
The Hyenas, who had apparently been peacefully coexisting beyond the borders of human settlements in Rath, attack Jhalm not long after Digger shows up – and after that, he learns that Digger is friends with the one who attacked him, intimately. And after THAT, supernaturally powerful hyenas serving a dark master emerge from the SAME hole that Digger came from, and attack the town. He personally fought them off, nearly losing an eye, to defend a temple that he even believed might also be working against him – there’s no ulterior motive there, Jhalm was protecting innocent people from beasts who did not care about their lives whatsoever. And the next time Jhalm goes to speak with Digger, he finds that she and her hyena accomplice have fled town, with the aid of Ganesh.
What would you do? We don’t know what he’s actually done to the hyenas yet – he may be judgmental but we have no reason to believe he is cruel, and if his aim is to protect people then it serves him no purpose to torment the hyenas, only restrain them.
If there’s anything this comic has taught its readership by now, it should be this:
All things in context.
I’m very excited to see where this goes.
Oh, Ed. Must remember to get out the tissues before I check the site on Tuesday; I have a feeling I’ll need them.
*pulls out a pocket karmameter* Let’s see……… If Jhalm’s done what we think he’s done, that adds up to – hmmm – 700,000 incarnations as a dung beetle, with an option (for extra-good behavior) of upgrading to a Skin lizard for the next 100,000……… 7X=Q
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ED! ED! OH GOD IF JHALM HAS HURT ED I WILL REACH INTO THE MONITOR AND EVISCERATE HIM WITH MY TEETH! I WILL TEAR HIM APART PIXEL BY PIXEL! I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING IN CAPSLOCK!!!
Godsdamnit you have officially lost “morally ambiguous” status, Captain. There is evil and then there is Puppy-Kicking Evil.
Also potentially qualifying one Puppy-Kicking Evil status is posting a page like this on a THURSDAY Ursula what the flipping hell!!!
Oh no, not Ed!
So you take the character that has totally suffered enough and…Awwww. Man, you need to make an Ed plushie already so we can hug him better.
Yea and verily, the tiger did look and see that there was a new Digger for the day, and the tiger saw that it was good. Then the tiger looked into the world of Captain Jhalm, and he did see the captain’s deeds, and he was displeased.
The image that did not load:
http://grant.rkirkpat.net/upload/UrsulaVernon-KiyoshiandJhalm_wm.jpg
I was going to put up a message as a rebuttal, but I see Mani beat me to it and did a fine job. In Digger, the art may be black and white, but the characters are not. Captain Jhalm isn’t cruel, or spiteful, those emotions would weaken him. In his eyes, and the eyes of probably most of the inhabitants in the area, Jhalm is the hero, not the villain. He wouldn’t be interesting if he were as one sided as many think.
I think, in the end, a fitting punishment for Jhalm would be deification, thereafter to be restrained, ignored, then forgotten.
And yet, before eviscerating anyone I wish to hear Ed’s take on the story. (And maybe even Jhalm version too)
After all there is an slightly greater than minus one possibility of of him getting hurt for a “greater good”. (Say, like having to go through a period of trial to recover his name or such). Yes. Fat chance of that but I’ll wait though 😉
If Jalim hurt Ed, I’ll thrash him myself. -.-
I’m glad to hear a bit of rationality, Jassius.
I know Ed’s a favorite, but we don’t even know yet what Jhalm’s done.
And, hopefully, next page or two we’ll know enough to properly decide…something.
Oh, and Mani, thanks for the succinct version of Digger’s tale from Jhalm’s side.
Read straight out, I found it surprising to find I agree with Jhalm’s suspicions. At least, I would if I hadn’t already lived the story from Digger’s POV…
Nonono! When I said I wanted to see Ed again… *MEEP!*
Sorry. Best indignant noise I could do… and Alahmnat: Awesome Hot Fuzz reference. 😀
Tuesday can NOT come fast enough. I need to see Ed again. He’s my favorite and I want to cuddle my monitor.