Is it just me, or does that look suspiciously like the cat-bus in My Neighbor Totoro?
I just found this comic and read through all the archives in one sitting! Thanks for pointing out the alt text and Epilogues as I definitely didn’t notice those at first. Actually I have to confess I was totally confused by the whole magical city/vampire arc (it did not help that I assumed vampire girl’s fangs were cute little fangs) and appreciate the discussion here!
Actually if you all feel like explaining something else to me, what is up with the change to “We Fear Bees” in the last panel of the Lapis Lazuli comic?
I get that the old motto was no longer applicable, but why bees in particular?
Also, anyone ever figure out if the Saturnalia holiday special can be found anywhere?
The whole “we fear bees” thing:
They found out that giving away your weakness is propably not a great idea. So to deal with future thieves they replace it with a fake motto.
I remember the bee reference has something to do with
the remake of the movie The Wicker Man.
Yes, it’s a Wicker Man reference. In the original 1973 movie, Edward Woodward’s character was a devout Christian and a virgin - he felt that his faith would protect him from the pagans on the island. In the 2006 remake, Nicolas Cage’s character was not a virgin and his big weakness was he was allergic to bees.
Well played Little Nemo! I also missed the callback pointed out by ultrafilter. Love the unexpected subtlety and intellect, can’t wait for the return of Ivan’s story!
I should have said, it’s drawing on the same phenomenon as that meme, not that it’s a direct reference to it.
I can’t take credit. I hadn’t seen the 2006 Wicker Man so I didn’t get the joke either until somebody pointed it out here when the strip was first posted.
Ask and ye shall receive:
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fjpUHeWMSGc/TwM1zSTYD0I/AAAAAAAABKo/2od14r8huYA/s1600/saturnalia.jpg
That is truly strange.
Author’s tweets:
That’s a pretty cool coincidence, then.
Quoted by yoyodyne:
“We fear bees” was a random thing the monks wrote to protect their true power. Random and silly.
What is their true power?
Their true power lies in their virginity. As long as they remain virgins, they remain invincible.
I wonder how vampirism is transmitted in the Oglafverse, after all, Navaan (Sexy Virgin Vampire Lady) had “snacked” on Ivan…
Is it like the classic Stokerian vampirism, where multiple feedings (typically three) are needed before the victim turns?
Is it “New Stokerian” or “Ricean” where a blood-exchange is required?
Is it the “low budget vampire flick” style where just being bitten once causes the turn?
Is it transmitted through sexual contact with a vampire (perhaps blowjobs DO count after all 
)
is it not actually transmissable, if the vampire is just another fantasy character like Dwarves, Elves, Cumsprites, Laser Falcons, One-Eyed “Human” female abducting monsters, Frost-entites and the like?
If Ivan has been infected/turned by Navaan, it’s possible he could recover from his coma, and perhaps put the fang (flang?) on Mistress, draining her dry, as revenge for his mistreatment, if he was to slay Mistress, would the Cumsprite spell be broken?
It seems like Ivan and Navaan had a developing chemistry between them, I’d like to see that explored…
…okay, okay, I’m just looking for an excuse to see “N” (getting tired of typing her name ) getting more exposure…err…time and character development
There used to be (or maybe still is) a New Zealand comic strip artist called Roger Langridge, who made such gems as Knuckles the Malevolent Nun. The same sense of humour goes through his strips as is demonstrated in the Saturnalia randomness.
Thanks yoyodyne for digging that up for us (I have no idea how anyone finds anything on Twitter).
And thanks The Controvert for sharing with those of us who missed Saturnalia! Definitely random, but in a fun silly sort of way. I giggled.
New strip up here
Title = “Paddles. They’re not just for baking bread.”
Alt = “analogy does euphemisms. Again.”
Somebody please tell me again what the hell the giraffe thing is.