I can't help but notice that the New Haircut Haley looks strikingly similar to the Part of Haley That Wants To Get Back To Comedy.

Not sure if it's a coincidence or foreshadowing but still.

I can't see it as not being somewhat relevant.

Its probably half reference/joke (she wants to get back to the comedy) half coincidence.


Either way, its interesting.

New comic.

I am both intensely glad for Celia saving us all from the Arnie pun as well as upset that the joke instantly went directly to MMO-speak.

Great comic though.

This comic felt pretty weak when compared to some of other recent ones.

Everything felt weak compared to the last few weeks.

I mean come on, Belkar's return was awesome, he's going to try and get us back on course now.

Gotta agree with Mirai (who I refuse to refer to as "Dante Must Die" despite his changed username.)

If Mr. Burlew tried to write every comic to match the "epic awesomeness" of #611, he'd have to forgo a plot, ruin a great deal of his character's personalities, and destroy the integrity of the story. And what we'd be left with is some campy "300" parody where every character kicked inordinate amounts of ass every strip, but it all felt utterly contrived. It's necessary to have moments where the action pauses, the characters take deep breaths, and the situation is reassessed, and it's pretty inevitable that the jokes are going to run a tad stale whenever a strip is used for "plot reorienting" purposes.

Just think of this strip and others like it as the necessary setup for the next epic badass moment, whenever it comes. My guess is it's going to involve a very different, darker V finally meeting up with Belkar and Haley, and Haley pissing V off with incessant questions about Elan's safety, which inevitably leads to a brawl. I think I already predicted that one earlier, though.

I'm getting used to that.
Yeah I get the distinct feeling that V's totally great idea of leaving the party is going to really blow up in his face when he meets his friends.

It might just be because it's 1 in the morning and I'm tired, but the last two panels of this update made me burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Sweet lord I love the "new" Belkar. He's so quick to adapt.

That was hilarious. He seems to have more fun screwing with them than killing people.