Copenhagen - Chapters 5-8

[tehta]

I think Sigrun has definitely done scavenging before. She keeps checking for nests, and has other pieces of wisdom later, like "this is what we call a crap building". She's clearly gone into many Ancient houses before. Why would one do so if not to scavenge?

Of course, she would not have been looking for books. But maybe weapons, medical supplies, and "juice"?

And yeah, Lalli was actively nice to Emil (and Tuuri, a couple of times) in Adventure One. But at some point he seems to have stopped such things...

[JoB]

hmm, those open-wide houses suggest explosions, don't they?

Hmmm, I'd say no. If explosions had put those holes into the buildings, the chairs next to the floor edges would've gotten thrown about. And if grosslings had torn them, they still should've fallen over from the shake the floors would've gotten. My guess is that parts of the structure have slowly rotted and crumbled away.

[Róisín]

That’s how it looks to me.

[tehta]

So my feeling was actually that, yes, Minna was trying to draw crumbling buildings, but ended up drawing something that suggests more violence (maybe not explosions, but an earthquake, at least?) I am not some sort of derelict building expert, but my partner loves to explore them and we photograph them, and I feel like that sort of "random bite taken out of the outer walls, roof, and floors" look is super-rare. I would say that the roof tends to go first, and then once that is gone it's the floors/some inner walls, with the outer/supporting walls left as a crumbling shell until last. When you do get some bits of roof/floor hanging on, it's in the corners. (But most of the buildings I have seen are in Asia and, weirdly, Portugal. Well, and some odd mountain huts here and there. So maybe Scandinavian city stuff is different.)

BTW, I seem to remember reading comments saying something similar in the comments about the way she draws highways, form someone who did claim to be a highway expert.

[JoB]

FWIW, once a building has large openings, and assuming that we're not talking about the Arctic or somesuch , I would expect dirt getting blown in, collecting in the corners, and small plants to spring up there within only a couple years, so technically that imagery suggests that those Kastrup houses were meticulously gnawed on post-Defeat-of-Kastrup, rather than by Y0 events or since-Y0 residents.

[tehta]

I completely agree with that. Plants move in fast.

Also, that does look like a bite to me. So, a giant made out of Mikkel's colleagues, with a hunger for houses? Or maybe a tendency to be one of those "take one bite out of a chocolate, abandon it" people? Looking for some specific 'filling'?

[dmeck7755]

Page 232 the very middle panel-  It looks like a beast is there as Sigrun is talking about them "jumping" out

Page 236 I think Tuuri was planning to look around.  Her expression when Mikkel says someone needs to keep Tuuri company is great.

As the comic progresses, you can see how much Sigrun respects Mikkel.  In the beginning of the adventure she treats him very poorly.

Page 239 Mouldy disintegrating books are gross.

I have noticed through the pages sometimes the boots are white, sometimes black.  I think They may have been missed getting painted throughout

[dreki]

I think Sigrun has definitely done scavenging before. She keeps checking for nests, and has other pieces of wisdom later, like "this is what we call a crap building". She's clearly gone into many Ancient houses before. Why would one do so if not to scavenge?

Of course, she would not have been looking for books. But maybe weapons, medical supplies, and "juice"?

Norway seems to be pretty involved in beating trolls back seeing as she's quite experienced in how to take care of various kinds in both adventures.  I do think scavenging would be part of it.

Building supplies as well.  Old-old houses (houses that are old even to us) were often made of sturdy things like massive wooden beams and stone - I imagine those would be quite valuable. Unfortunately they're also good places for nests.

I don't think she ever did much hunting based on the time when the herd of healthy deer came through and she didn't realize until well after that they could have been dinner. 

I suspect Norway is pretty solid for food supplies.

And yeah, Lalli was actively nice to Emil (and Tuuri, a couple of times) in Adventure One. But at some point he seems to have stopped such things...

The second adventure is closer to home, plus Onni is in trouble, plus he just lost Tuuri.  I think it makes sense for him to be more withdrawn.

(Sadly it's also likely a reflection of the author's particular brand of Christianity and a reaction to fans shipping them...)

[dmeck7755]

p 243 Lesson from Sigrun about being scared.  She is right, that people would not be in the streets. "Watch the scout" Though she cannot read him at all. 

p 245 Lalli being careful, closes the door

p 246 the self-inflicted dead dude Brings a bit of foreboding. Or a sense of despair .  I would take the gun any any ammo he had though..(just saying..) Can clean it up later.  There are comments about the other arm looking weird.  I think he was trollifying and decided to take care of things instead of the gruesome outcome

p 248. I think Tuuri is not very happy about this journey so far

p 249.  They are not alone...

p 252.  I like Emil's expression when he realizes he is alone and curses Lalli (luckily someone translated in the comments)

p 253. I think this was a field hospital.  lot's of beds.

p 255 Lots of creepy things.  Sigrun was wise to close and lock the door again

p 259. Emil gets dirty again

p 260. Oh no!!

[NightMareMage]

p 228.  I think this is Lalli's first taste of refined sugar.  I am sure he would have had sweets like honey, dried fruit.  Though they would probably be few and far between.  Yes, sugar can be addictive.  I know people who tried to remove it from their diet.  It is very difficult especially if you by processed anything.  (I was shocked to see how much is in Ketchup) 

That's an interesting point. Also, if he already had a sweet tooth, having refined sugar for the first time could taste ethereal.

The second adventure is closer to home, plus Onni is in trouble, plus he just lost Tuuri.  I think it makes sense for him to be more withdrawn.

(Sadly it's also likely a reflection of the author's particular brand of Christianity and a reaction to fans shipping them...)

I think it's also because she stopped caring before SSSS was finished. Whether or not she had, err, "Christian" reasons for doing so.

p 246 the self-inflicted dead dude Brings a bit of foreboding. Or a sense of despair .  I would take the gun any any ammo he had though..(just saying..) Can clean it up later.  There are comments about the other arm looking weird.  I think he was trollifying and decided to take care of things instead of the gruesome outcome

I get self-inflicted gun shot due to "trollifying," or otherwise getting the Rash Illness is most likely the intended implication, and also the most obvious one, but the gun's entry point makes it look like they were shot by someone else. Given that they have a gun in their hand and how they were holding it, perhaps someone they were going to shoot. Also, yes, examining the gun and seeing if it could be used still would be a good idea.

223 - 233
Page 224 may be the first indication of Sigrun’s competency. She even tosses Tuuri her mask.

Page 225, second to last panel. For a second there, I thought Lalli’s collar was an extremely out of place cartoon mouth.

Page 228, it’s unclear as to whether Mikkel can hear what Lalli hears but does not recognize its meaning, or if Lalli hears something that Mikkel can not. I like this bit of ambiguity. (Though I do think it’s the latter.)

Page 230. I have not seen a lot of acknowledgement on Sigrun’s attitude towards things like danger and death. On this page she makes a joke about Mikkel losing his job, right after he explains what happened and even said, “A lot of good people I knew died.” In the last panel she looks plain bored and possibly disappointed that Tuuri did not respond to her joke.

On first reading I was honestly in the Very Often Annoyed with Emil Camp. On reread, I am not sure why.

[dreki]

I get self-inflicted gun shot due to "trollifying," or otherwise getting the Rash Illness is most likely the intended implication, and also the most obvious one, but the gun's entry point makes it look like they were shot by someone else. Given that they have a gun in their hand and how they were holding it, perhaps someone they were going to shoot. Also, yes, examining the gun and seeing if it could be used still would be a good idea.

Honestly it never looked go me like it was self-inflicted. It does look more like the person was shot by someone else and they were trying to defend themself.  It's possible that people panicked and even a bit of acne would be seen as the rash. Or just panicked and started shooting. Or had a mental breakdown and just started shooting.

I can see lots of reasons for someone in that situation to freak out.

It also is possible that a troll had a spiky appendage and the person wasn't shot but stabbed and was trying to kill the troll.  So many potential causes of death ...

On first reading I was honestly in the Very Often Annoyed with Emil Camp. On reread, I am not sure why.

I still find him irritating.  He's a pampered, spoilt child with no real skills and delusions of grandeur. He's obsessed with the wrong things - how his appearance is rather than whether he's actually useful.

I can have empathy for how he got fairly screwed over by first his family (allowing that BS "tutoring") then life.

But I also know he's ultimately a good person, does care, and has a lot of growth.

Still rankles me.

[Jitter]

I’m with dreki on the hazmat suit person, t has never occurred to me that the wound could be self-inflicted. Considering their position in second to last panel, it seems likelier than before as it seems there’s just the wall to the front where the shot came from.

But there couid be some space where another human, or a creature with a stinger (the same idea came to me just now looking at the corpse again and before seeing Dreki’s comment) cold have crawled to and hazmat followed. Or they were facing towards the right as per second to last panel, and just keeled on their side.

Self-inflicted is of course a possibility. Having seen what is going on, it would make sense to take the fast exit lane upon noticing sigs of infection. But wouldn’t one remove the helmer before that? It’s apparently possible although extremely unlucky to miss vital parts of one’s own brain even with a touch shot, so shooting through the helmet would risk some extra agony. Short-lived (no pun intended) in the circumstances, but still. If the reason was realizing they are infected, they might want to make sure no one uses the now contaminated suit any more and thus destroy the helmet, but still. It doesn’t look self-inflicted to me.

[NightMareMage]

For me, the biggest thing is how high on the helmet the entry point is, and where it seems to be on the skull. That would be a very odd place if it was self inflicted, as it would be awkward and uncomfortable to hold a gun there.

But if they were shot by someone else, or killed by something else, then this would not be an issue.

[tehta]

I don't read Emil as genuinely convinced of his own superiority. I read him as someone who tries to talk big, and even to put others down, to cover up his (many, obvious) deficiencies. Even the "sounds lame" comment sounds to me like a youngster trying to appear all cool and blase about military matters.

Of course, this doesn't necessarily make the comment any less annoying. But I like that he immediately understands how he messed up, and is bothered by it. And also how willing he is to learn, especially from Sigrun.

[LooNEY_DAC]

p 246 the self-inflicted dead dude Brings a bit of foreboding. Or a sense of despair .  I would take the gun any any ammo he had though..(just saying..) Can clean it up later.  There are comments about the other arm looking weird.  I think he was trollifying and decided to take care of things instead of the gruesome outcome

I get self-inflicted gun shot due to "trollifying," or otherwise getting the Rash Illness is most likely the intended implication, and also the most obvious one, but the gun's entry point makes it look like they were shot by someone else. Given that they have a gun in their hand and how they were holding it, perhaps someone they were going to shoot. Also, yes, examining the gun and seeing if it could be used still would be a good idea.

Honestly it never looked go me like it was self-inflicted. It does look more like the person was shot by someone else and they were trying to defend themself.  It's possible that people panicked and even a bit of acne would be seen as the rash. Or just panicked and started shooting. Or had a mental breakdown and just started shooting.

I can see lots of reasons for someone in that situation to freak out.

It also is possible that a troll had a spiky appendage and the person wasn't shot but stabbed and was trying to kill the troll.  So many potential causes of death ...

I’m with dreki on the hazmat suit person, t has never occurred to me that the wound could be self-inflicted. Considering their position in second to last panel, it seems likelier than before as it seems there’s just the wall to the front where the shot came from.

But there couid be some space where another human, or a creature with a stinger (the same idea came to me just now looking at the corpse again and before seeing Dreki’s comment) cold have crawled to and hazmat followed. Or they were facing towards the right as per second to last panel, and just keeled on their side.

Self-inflicted is of course a possibility. Having seen what is going on, it would make sense to take the fast exit lane upon noticing sigs of infection. But wouldn’t one remove the helmer before that? It’s apparently possible although extremely unlucky to miss vital parts of one’s own brain even with a touch shot, so shooting through the helmet would risk some extra agony. Short-lived (no pun intended) in the circumstances, but still. If the reason was realizing they are infected, they might want to make sure no one uses the now contaminated suit any more and thus destroy the helmet, but still. It doesn’t look self-inflicted to me.

For me, the biggest thing is how high on the helmet the entry point is, and where it seems to be on the skull. That would be a very odd place if it was self inflicted, as it would be awkward and uncomfortable to hold a gun there.

But if they were shot by someone else, or killed by something else, then this would not be an issue.

I find it amazing that the issue that first prompted me to join the comments has prompted me to respond here so many years later.

Let's examine the last two panels on the page:

The penultimate panel shows the corpse lying with its head on the right, facing into a niche in the corner of the room.

On the last panel, there is a blood splatter directly behind the corpse, indicating the shot was fired there (even if such a wound would allow someone to move afterward, which it wouldn't).

The "camera"/POV in that last panel is IN A WALL.

NO ONE could have shot him without SHOOTING THROUGH A WALL.

He shot himself, probably as a result of the same panic that made him barricade a SLIDING DOOR, as shown on the prior page.

See my very first disqus comment on the matter: http://disq.us/p/tlp159.