You know, Wiglaf probably could’ve picked a better time to deliver his awesome speech. As illustrated above, he spends pages just rambling on while his beloved king is being torn apart by a dragon. Sometimes it feels as if he just keeps talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence, moving from topic to topic, such that no one had the chance to interrupt him; it was really quite hypnotic. If you’ve never read it before, just take what I had Wiglaf say in the comic and times that by around a hundred.
Alright, a hundred might be a bit much – just times it by fifty.
Ultimately, Wiglaf’s speech is inadvertantly hilarious. He spends a ridiculous amount of time expounding upon what pussies his men are and why they should defend Beowulf, only to have the men flee in terror anyway. The entire affair was just a waste of breath. At least Wiglaf gets his revenge – upon Beowulf’s death, our verbose hero becomes the new king and promptly banishes the jerks that left him to die. Suckers.
I linked over here from El Goonish Shive – this is a hoot so far. I’ve always wondered myself about those long-winded speeches that supposedly went on before battle – what was the other side doing? If it were me, I’d be attacking while they were distracted. then again, I’m a jerk …
Just thought it should be known: I *did* notice the cheating in today’s strip :-p
Yeah, but this time it was SUPPOSED to be noticed – the foreground stays static so the reader can more easily focus on poor Beowulf’s plight, and also to emphasize just how dull Wiglaf’s speech is.
Also, I’m lazy.
Beowulf, son of Ecgtheow said:
Balls.
Love the little tiny “Beowulf, Son of Ecgtheow, Said,” box followed by “Aaugh!” in panel 3