This is the first strip done on my new computer. What, you can’t tell the difference?
Anyway, this strip probably needs some explanation. I don’t own a sword, but I did win a wicked knife in a 7th Sea tournament once (this one, actually). 7th Sea was a collectible card game put out by AEG way back in 1998. It didn’t last long enough to cash in on the pirate craze, but it was still pretty great. For my money (and I say this as a former Wizards of the Coast employee) it’s pretty much the best ccg of all time. Anyway, I used to play all the time, and won the knife in a local tournament. I was going to put the knife in the comic instead of the sword, but it’s kind of a pain in the ass to draw. The card “Betrayal” was one of the game’s trump cards, a card you could play at any time to reverse all your enemies attacks back at them. It wasn’t fool proof (there were lots of damage blocking cards), but it was still a card you dreaded seeing your enemy play. Anyway, if you can track down a few 7th Sea starters I’d recommend giving it a go. It’s fun right out of the box.
Con news: Looks like I won’t be at APE after all. Sucks. Ewen Cluney of Neko Machi and Ben Lehman of Cel*Style will still be at our booth (273), so stop by and say hi, and buy one of my role playing games or something.
Link share: People sometimes ask me to link share with them. I don’t always want to unless they have something cool to share. Mechanical District is pretty cool.
but I gotz one!! IT LIGHTS UP AND EVERYTHING! http://yfrog.com/kj3lldpj
Cool!
damn… i thought it was poker… why would i think that?!
you know jake… you’re cool. you read probably ever post and respond to most of them as well. not many people do that. ever since i started you did that. here… 500 cool points.
I do read every post, but I don’t really respond to that many. I like to leave questions hanging. But thanks!
Out of curiosity Jake, are you notified of when new comments are posted, regardless of where they are (front page, deep in the archives, etc…), or do you just try your best to keep up with the stuff that’s posted with each new comic?
the back end of the site has a comments page that displays all new comments. I check it a few times a day to approve comments while I work on other stuff. So if you make a post but it desn’t get approved for like 10 hours, it’s because I’m asleep.
sleep is for the weak
Soooooooo, they think Medusa’s just cosplayin?
Maybe, maybe they’re just trying not to be rude. Either say, seeing a gorgon isn’t that strange in Portland.
Man, now that’s one of those small-world things for you.
I started reading Modest Medusa through a link from another webcomic, and almost never read the news posts. Had no idea you were an RPG designer. Happened to glance at the one today, and who do I see mentioned as a con-booth-sharer but Ben Lehman, a guy I grew up with and still hang out with when he’s in the area.
Sometimes the Internet seems vast, and others it seems weirdly cozy. Say hi from Marc for me!
Oh, and if you want to hear a good tale about role playing exploits, ask him about Steel Blue Panic. I swear some day I’m going to find an artist to make a webcomic of that.
Oh, weird. That is a small world.
thank you very kindly…much appreciated…i’m looking forward to the book…
such a cool character (Medusa)
Having met your sister this cracked me up massively. I don’t know why; I don’t really know her. But it still cracked me up. As to the sharpness, I have a feeling Marah’s going to take care of that… o_O
I love how everyone in panel three is utterly flabbergasted you had a Betrayal card.
I think most cartoonists would agree that swords are easier and more fun to draw than knives. Another advantage is that a sword-wielding character has a much more interesting silhouette.
The pose on the guy you’re beating at the card game is epic. Can I get a “KHAAA-” *ahem* sorry.
AAAAANN! (oops! ssorry … er, too — Ima go nao)
I found Chocodiles at the local convenience store (7-11 knockoff, but real Chocodiles!). I bought one to help Chocodile sales (in a blatant attempt to show Hostess that advertising on MM is a worthwhile endeavor) and showed it to all of my friends who had no idea that chocolate covered Tinkies(tm) existed. The colors do look more vibrant (new monitor?). Panel 2 is da best!
Same old moniter, but maybe the computer helped? Who knows?
By the way, I wrote to the Hostess company explaining my appreciation for Chocodiles and how great MM is and how they should invest in you. I have a good track record of success, so if you get a dump truck of cash offered to you blame da kat. Now, on a sad note, I haz problems with tee shirts (printing quality issues). Wanted to do this in private but I cannot find a PM or email, so please feel free to delete this after reading it. But the tee shirts… well…
If there’s problems, everyone should know. Tell me what’s up.
It’s the quality of the shirts. They are scratchy and I washed my MM shirt once and it looks like it is 8 months old. The design is cracked and faded. I have a TON of tee shirts with all kinds of designs, and I am fanatical about the care of new tee shirts, especially my favorite ones (like these ones). I even turn them inside out to protect the design from washer or dryer damage, so they last longer. The printing quality of this shirt was not good. I am afraid to wash the others. And none of them are soft cotton. For the price I was hoping for a little better quality. The art is great (of course). It’s just the manufacture.
🙁
Hmm…
I own 2 or 3 shirts from Spreadshirt (the company that makes the Modest Medusa shirts) and they all seem pretty okay. But I did get a few black shirts from them awhile back that were printed poorly. My hope is that you just ended up with some bad shirts, and that you’ll be able to return them or exchange them. You can contact Spreadshirt here: http://www.spreadshirt.com/contact-C1336. If they won’t give you an exchange or a refund I will.
If anyone else has complaints about the shirts, please let me know. As I said, the ones I have all seem fine, but I haven’t actually worn them that much.
Thanks. I emailed them. Whatever happens happens. I just wish I could wear my shirts more. I am afraid to ruin them. (Yeah, and they are all black–it is the only real color after all). Bitchy mermaids RULE!! XD
Hmm… I think maybe the black shirts don’t hold up as well as the lighter ones. Or maybe the wear is just more apparent? In any case, they shouldn’t be wearing out that fast.
great page. I have a couple of swords, none are sharp and one is a reverse blade sword
I used to have a sword, but I gave it to Will. I do have two crossbows though. Back when I was unemployed for awhile a few years ago I used to sit around my crappy apartment and use them to shoot flies. I got pretty good at it eventually. When I moved I had to use a tube of toothpaste to fill in all the little holes in the walls.
lolz i bet the new tenants where like, “why the fook is there toothpaste in meh wall??” XD hilarius.
Thats the same style Knife that was stolen from my house
its called the fossil hunter
Yes, it is. I promise that I didn’t steal it from your house.
Is it sad that I totally new which card game you were playing, just from the comic? Mmmmaybe.
Say hey to Matt and Charles and all for me, I used to live with all of them in Amherst! I love your comix, they’re cute.
Scott Muldoon. I’ve heard your name many times. I’ll pass your greetings along.
(panel 3) hold it everybody, before you think uncle Jake is cool, it was THAT kind of card game. Arrity, carry On…
Eh, at least their an honest family.
I thought the sword was actually real. T.T
Real in the context of the comic or real in the context of sitting in my bedroom?
So whats the Willpower Save difficulty on Medusas Charm Person spell?
Save vs Medusa’s Charm Person effect (it’s not a spell, but a “spell-like effect”) is a difficulty equal to 15 +1 for each snake.
Okay so there’s a mythical creature right in FRONT of them and they still don’ believe that you went down the drain… Man can’t wait to see how this turns out. XD
wish my poker games were that exciting and had a prize like that
I think it is funny that they don’t believe then even though there is a little madusa girl living there lol
Oh, so that character is female, then. I always wondered. You don’t give female characters eyelashes or anything, and she has an androgynous hairstyle and wears a sweatsuit, and a totally flat chest.
Actually, I don’t think she’s ever been addressed by name that I can remember, either.
Now that I look at the first few pages, her first appearance has an arrow pointing to her that says “Jake’s neice, Marah.” But a hundred strips later without it ever being mentioned again, I’d forgotten. She was just “Jake’s relative of indeterminate gender.”
…I do know Charles’s name and gender, but more than once I’ve have to check and make sure I’m not misremembering them. Dude needs a haircut. Or a goatee. Or at least a less lavender shirt.
Yeah, going back through the strips as I’m preparing the book, I’m realizing that I don’t use the character’s names very often. I’ll have to change that. I’m less concerned with people knowing their gender. Whether Marah, Charles or the Medusa are male or female is kind of irrelevant.
I guess it really only matters for characters with romantic interests or sex appeal. The closest you’ve got to a romantic interest so far is Jake’s intimate relationship with that box in his closet.
I don’t think there are male medusas though. Are there? At the very least, I think they’d have a different name. MeDUDEsa…?
FFFFF- I was just looking at this for the cuteness and the laugh, and then you make a 7th Sea reference (which I still play both RPG and card wise) and say it is the best game ever? I am forever a fan now.
I do love me some 7th Sea.
My one friend still tries to gather with some other players at GenCon to have the “North American Championships” for bragging rights.
He has some crazy killer decks. Me, I just have silly decks. >.>
That’s my Jake, always playing LARPs. What’s this one called – “ARGH, IT’S NOT A GAME”?
Hm, well, he /could/ be playing D&D… in another world…
Hey, how do the girls know he was pulled in if he had locked the bathroom door?