It’s pretty huge
Now THAT is a man who runs with his impulses. Someone asked about Billie’s spidery leggings in the comments, I figure they’re part of a set, purchased from a pricey callisthenics brand like Sweaty Betty or Lady Movements.
— COLOURS BY SAMMY BORRAS
There’s a place in Bodmin that does laser tattoo removal, Rupert, and three over in Truro. I could give you the links, you know, just in case.
And Brian’s right, Billie, but I respect you not necessarily wanting to.
(Also: panel four is great)
He may not have a choice – that tattoo looks like it’d be visible above a jacket collar. Can’t portray a respectable police constable with booze bottles protruding from one’s neckline, can he?
It’s a continuity nightmare! The director will solve the problem by skinninghim alive.
“Makeup! On set!”
Yes, but you have to go to Bodmin
Brian has seen senseless infatuation up close, Billie. He knows.
So when Maggie advised that he was only after one thing, she meant a tattoo? And chutney.
Two things. A tattoo, chutney, and a phone with more cameras.
Among the things… I’ll come in again.
“So I said, ‘I didn’t expect a Spanish Inquisition….'”
To be fair, at this point, everybody expects the Spanish Inquisition.
But I DO think we can entirely rule out a fanatical devotion to the Pope
If Brian starts giving Billie moral advice and lessons, it means very strange things are happening inside the Church of Satan. Seriously, Brian is becoming a father figure, really disappointed about the weird Billie wants for herself. Brian, Billie looks so happy ♡. This is the important thing.
Satan is all about self-interest albeit short-term. This is not in her best interests. Although it seems to be ticking the “lust” box hard enough to go all the way through the paper and clipboard
If Brian is concerned about Billie then he is by definition not limiting himself to self-interest. If Brian doesn’t like what Billie does out of her own self-interest, well, that’s BRIAN’S problem, not Billie’s. If you alter your behavior to please others you’re kind of the Worst Satanist Ever.
And if you criticize someone because she want to have an adventure with a person that you consider not worthy of her, you are making a moralistic lecture to her.
I actually asked one of the Old School higher cranked CoS members about this in another context. He said that giving good advice can be an indulgence and that having a community of clear-thinking highly advanced Satanists around is one of the most self-interest ed things you can do. Of course, that was before the group achieved (again) and turned into a Twitter feed and collection basket
sounds like the paper’s wet
Since the series started, has there EVER been a time when strange things were NOT happening within the Church of Satan?
To be sincere, the church of Satan has show to be more stable and organise that’s the regular one with Penrose on charge.
(NOT intended as a challenge of the author’s work)
I don’t remember strange things EVER happening at the Church of Satan itself (I’ve only been reading it since the start of Volume 2, though). The Deep Ones never went near the place. Nor did the sentai guy and the giant whatever-it-was. Nor IIRC the Lesh Gremlin or even Les the Creepy Guy. Even Brian’s werewolfery primarily occurred elsewhere.
In fact, based on my observations thus far, the Church of Satan might well be the safest place in Tredregyn, which would partially explain its popularity, because people tend to go to church for comfort and stability. Aside from the orgies (and IIRC we’ve seen ONE so far), it might be the most BORING place in Tredreygn, which would further explain its popularity, because people do NOT tend to go to church for EXCITEMENT. No gremlins, no wendigos, no ghosts, no trolls, no robots, no observable significant threats to Reality As We Know It, Tackleford residents probably vacation in Tredreygn for a little peace and quiet. 🙂
Just the sight of Rev. Penrose walking around with a frickin’ AXE (he may not do so very often but he doesn’t seem to care whether or not people see him with) probably plays a noticeable role in Penrose’s own low church attendance. Who’s going to entrust their children to a minister with an AXE? Some people are leery enough about entrusting their children to a minister, period. But I digress. 😐
(again, NOT intended as a challenge to the artist’s work)
Totally agree. Tom organise even theatrical shows for the population to see and with Biie they have a lot of new nice things for the citizens. O the other side there are Penrose, Mrs Clovis and now even the well note troublemaker Maggie… The CoS is probably the safest place in the city.
It’s true. Panel four actually made me guffaw out loud.
Guffaw. Out loud.
I NEVER guffaw.
So how would an American pronounce “Tredregyn”, anyway?
“Throatwobbler Mangrove.”
(Monty Python joke, for those of you not in the know.)
That’s spelled “Raymond Luxury Yacht”.
I always figured it was ‘Tree-dreg-in’ but since I’m from the upper Midwest, I could be well off.
(Upper Midwest guy voice) Tiedrichsheim
I’m assuming that the stress would be on the “dreg” part.
Didn’t we have this discussion a few strips ago?
Yep, 1 September. https://steeple.church/comic/emma-stones-and-mandy-seyfried/#comment-9917
Also 25 June, with John A response: https://steeple.church/comic/just-books-for-boys-and-girls/#comment-8278
like it’s spelled, of course
Very incorrectly, like they do most Cornish towns.
“how would an American pronounce “Tredregyn””
Incorrectly, of course. 😉
(I get to say that because I am myself a United Statesian.)
Wait, where did Billie get those pants??? Why does it look like some kind of alien spider is going for her bottom bits???
They’re her exercise leggings; my thought was, if you had the whole outfit, you’d be a sort of spidery superhero.
By the 15th time, they were quite annoying to draw.
Spider-Bill, Spider-Bill,
Doest whatever a spider will.
Does she lust? Listen, mate,
She has an urge that she needs to sate.
Look out! Here comes the Spider-Bill…
Thwipp, indeed!
I was hoping for a crab
They’re really cool-looking! If they don’t exist in reality, they should.
I didn’t notice them until someone pointed it out. Perhaps I don’t spend enough time giving careful scrutiny to Billie’s waist. Shrug.
Listen to the hirsute man, Billi! He knows what he’s talking about!
No one knows madness better than Brian!
Oh dear. All I can think of is tomorrow’s shoot, the comparatively low-collared outfit he was wearing in the previous shoot, and continuity errors. Maybe makeup can cover it up?
And the pain of a new tattoo. That new one should be under cling film while it heals.
Makeup is probably well used to covering up tats, although the fact that it is new and bloody might present some difficulties
Church of Satan respect: outright mockery when your back is turned
Yep. Bad decisions
Cannot believe she didn’t get any! How did she let him walk out that door?
I assumed that was the entire point of the exercise!
She might have *just* made her WIS save on her last chance.
Also, called it on the title being about the tattoo!
What do you think Oct 20 will be about?
Why do I have a feeling that tattoo is going to wreck havoc on the set tomorrow? Also, ace non-verbal communication between Brian and Billie in panel 4.
Billie could do much better Brian, but Billie has a itch to scratch
“Now THAT is a man who runs with his impulses.”….and possibly also with scissors.
And on a wet floor.
Hah, of course Rupe is a Sarries fan.
I can’t figure out if the notes that that Billie is voicing in the last panel are supposed to be some recognisable motif, or whether they are merely meant to signify her saying “don’t want to” in a coquettishly sing-song voice.
He’s a simple man, with simple desires! It must be nice. Easy to sort. Leaves you with a lot of time to do other things.
For some odd reason, your Spider-Billie sketch above gives me strong associations to MAD Magazine’s Sergio Aragones’ artwork. Dunno why.
That last comment gave me fond flashbacks of that one year when Giant Days and Sergio Aragones’ Groo were both being published regularly *and on the same day*. Oh, the nostalgia
I remember being very pleased about this at the time.
Since you raise Mad…. Brian’s face in panel 4 reminds me of old Mad faces. I don’t know the artists, but the ones that were parodies of Frankenstein and Superman (SuperDuperMan, I think?). That level of absurd and goofy and funny is really captured in Brian’s face and Billie’s reaction. Nice work John!
That was probably Will Elder, who did most of the early Mad ‘toons. Harvey Kurtzmann probably did a few, though he stuck mostly to editing and layouts.
I wish I still had my issue #1!
Wally Wood? Did ‘Ganefs’, ‘Plastic Sam’, and others. Ossum!
“Lady Movements” – heh heh.
From Billi’s increasingly-dilated pupils until they’re fully-dilated in panel 5, it’s clear that her snoopy is ready to be … um … displayed, even if not in a magazine.
On the right-hand bottle in the tattoo is that a hazmat symbol on the label?
I’m fairly sure what you can see are Maggie’s magnificent eyebrows, as the bottle on the left appears to have Billie’s glasses
Well spotted!
And the remaining one, which maybe represents Rupert himself, is a death’s head. Could this be symbolic of something that will happen in Rupert’s near future?
I notice that he has hearts over his head, not whatever the equivalent phantasms might be for purely 100% sexual interest. Hm.
I dunno…is this guy really that dumb? I was backreading to the scene in the bar a few pages ago, and “That looked serious…I thought Maggie might be warning you off of me” is not in character for a vapid person. Especially since he was looking at his phone at the time; this guy notices things even when they’re taking place in his peripheral vision. Something’s Afoot, but of course there is—this is Tredregyn!