Angelic Orb.. uh.. Arrows – Chapter 8, Act 2, Strip 121

With history altered into a form that suits her, Mopey gets down to the business at hand – in this case, dealing with the remaining monsters. Which, apparently, weren’t automatically destroyed when she leveled up – but that’s naturally mostly a cosmetic issue, since they might have as well been. For the main take-aways from this episode is: the monsters stand little to no chance against Mopey in her new form as highly-efficient killing machine, a.k.a. angel. My theology might be off here, but I’ve never claimed to be an expert.

Compared to the main take-away, Latho’s petty criticism of the camerawork deserve no attention at all. >_> That style of close-up is the established standard, so what can I do? Latho seems to suspect ulterior motives behind it, likely of a prurient nature. I think, however, that there is a clear artistic choice behind it. The shot is not focused on the parts of Mopey’s anatomy which happen to be in-frame by mere coincidence. It’s clearly focused on the bowstring – a clever and subtle choice, since the bowstring is what literally supplies the force* behind the application of force. But more than that, the bowstring is the perfect visual metaphor, since it’s associated with the concept of tension – and the periodic built-up and release of tension in the bowstring, as Mopey releases arrow after arrow, perfectly parallels the whole plot-structure up to now! Latho should really get its mind out of the gutter and smell the roses of clever and appropriate visual storytelling. =P

More on Monday.

*Not really. Actually, the energy is supplied by Mopey’s muscles, stored in the bow itself as deforming energy and transmitted to the arrow through the bowstring at the moment of release. But if I don’t even bother with correct theology, why would I bother with correct physics?

2 Replies to “Angelic Orb.. uh.. Arrows – Chapter 8, Act 2, Strip 121”

    1. Well, that was exactly the problem that prompted the ancient Amazons to raise partial mastectomies to the status of an initiation rite. XD

      (Just in the popular ancient myth, of course. In reality, there’s absolutely no evidence that female archers from any culture practiced that, or felt any need to do so.)

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