August 18th, 2020
18 Aug 2020 · page 1012 of 1306
Not bad, Ben.
Cast: Benjamin Thackerey, Eliza Swift, Heinrich Wolfe, Jack O'Malley, Pemberton Pryce
Comments (87)
Events
ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
Get it, Ben.
... by which I mean, get that advice, Ben.
"...A DATE?!"
What have you done with the real Benjamin Thackerey, Mr Luxuria?
Where's Nyree?
Ooh, good point!
Maybe she'll be able to shed light on what the fake Americans wanted Mal for?
She's already been taken into custody for indecency. Walking around with bare ankles indeed!
gimme a little time, there's a lot of wrap up on this one :)
pokes head out of door
"Hello! Anything happen after I pushed Harry on through ahead of me?"
Wait! you can't haul off Pryce before he's had a chance to explain his Evil Plan!
"Just you wait! I'm filing a grievance with my shop steward over this!"
I’m still convinced that the thing Eliza wanted Knotty to check on here ( [https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/february-25th-2020 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/february-25th-2020") ) was related to Pryce’s evil plan, and he and Will are going to show up before the end of the chapter to explain it.
"All I wanted was to discuss a legitimate business proposition with the Witch of Widdershins. At the offices of H. Barber I met two people falsely claiming to be hunters but were acting illegally without a licence who I suspect were trying to swindle me. I detained them at my premises and then followed the Witch to the Anchor, where we found another suspicious person. When one of my men tried to detain him he was assaulted, and I was also assaulted and threatened by a vicious dog. What exactly are you charging me with?"
That story might work better if one of the "two people falsely claiming to be hunters" was not a police officer.
"Who failed to identify herself as such even when invited to explain."
Police don't have to identify themselves when undercover. They are allowed to hide that they are police, up to and including outright lying about it, despite what TV shows keep saying.
That 'detained them at my premises' bit was done at gunpoint and is, in fact, the crime of kidnapping. You do not get to lock people in rooms because you suspect they have bad intentions. Even if all the rest were true, the quoted bit above is him confessing to kidnapping. Specifically, kidnapping a police officer, who (being a police officer) will testify against him and almost certainly be believed.
He's going to prison.
Honestly I wonder if, as a business tycoon with a massive number of holdings, he'll be able to exert a level of influence and pressure to stay out of jail, even in a foreign country.
Then again, Nicola did arrest the sitting mayor for conspiracy and attempted murder in front of a friendly crowd at the height of an election, so Widdershins doesn't screw around lol
“What you call kidnapping, I call citizen’s arrest.” :-)
Citizen of which country though? I'm not sure that an American trying to do that in England would get any sympathy at all.
Let us hope that Pryce’s attorney doesn’t pick up on the fact that Detective Swift wasn’t acting officially but was, dare I say it, abusing her position. Can’t see the fair Nicola being very impressed either if she finds out.
Heh, I daresay Nicola is quite willing to bend the letter of the law Right Out Of Line in a good cause...
Down here in Georgia, that term currently has a bad image...
Citizen's arrest is generally only legal if the person you're 'arresting' is in the process of committing a crime, which is very dubious in this instance.
Also, citizen's arrest does not automatically protect you from charges of kidnapping if you 'arrest' anyone not guilty of a crime (which he did), and requires you to generally respect their civil rights (which he did not). It also generally carries the expectation that you turn them into the authorities, not lock them in a freezer.
A good lawyer might be able to make some sort of case (since they can always do that in theory), but it would be based on a tissue of complete lies, and is unlikely to make mention of the kidnapping. Honestly, given the number of witnesses to his illegal behavior, I doubt he can get away with any of it.
I mean, all joking aside, his behavior was completely, blatantly, and provably illegal. He's in serious legal trouble.
Back in the mists of time, I wrote the speech for the defense of Ms Lei Feng. Perhaps I should try one for Mr Pryce, although I suspect future plot revelations will make this irrelevant.
And you know there is a precedent for someone believed to be a criminal but not currently committing a crime being held at gunpoint, restrained and then detained in private premises rather than being handed over to the authorities:
[https://www.widdershinscomi...](https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-2nd-2011 "https://www.widdershinscomic.com/wdshn/november-2nd-2011")
"You don't know much about police working undercover, do you?"
“But I couldn’t know she was a police officer. Given her actions, I naturally assumed she was a dangerous criminal and treated her as such.”
This is like that guy who got arrested for stealing a bunch of food and then complained "is it a crime to enjoy a succulent Chinese meal‽ "
i see you know your judo well, sir
Trespassing.
Definitely feel like we're missing a bit of explanation, there. But there' still time, maybe.
plenty of it! trust me y'all we're nine volumes deep here i feel like i've earned it
Speaking of which, I can't help wondering if that means "nine out of nine," or "nine, so far." I could follow this story forever!
Definitely same
Or him saying "And I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids"!
The friendship of these three is adorable.
Wolfe, squeeing... I can see why he and Florrie make such an awesome couple.
Ah, a good friend will always be there to tease you
The boys are back together! <3 I love Mal resting his hand on Wolfe's back in the last panel.
Wolfe's expression in the fifth panel holy dear that's adorable.
Of course this is a date. But we aren't getting to see The Date, since Sid and Harry are currently off-screen.
D'aaawwwwww....
The Three Unlikely Musketeers of Widdershins
Wolfe's face in panel five is adorable.
Also adorable: Mal WILL NOT STOP SMILING
I'm loving how excited he is for Ben XD
Unless I'm mistaken, Mal's looking above Ben's head in that panel. Can't bluff a witch.
Aw, boys.
Just really enjoy how Ben slips up and confesses how worried him and Wolfe were about Mal . Then tries to cover it up by being concerned and Wolfe was the one really worried about it.
And Mal's reaction to Ben's weak cover is not one of sarcasm.
He's saving that for Ben's pending date.
...you know what. I never knew how much I needed the possibility of stern-faux-disapproving-embodiment-of-sarcasm-I'm-Widdershin's-fecking-witch-and-you-better-treat-my-friend-right-or-so-help-you-missy Mal meeting up with Eliza in the future, but your comment makes me want that so much. XD
This whole strip is just oodles of adorable.
Tsundere!
I still don't understand, why that villain wanted to have Mal.
Why did he?
He's spearheading the search for the fourth anchor, so he probably thinks Mal can help him find it or its witch. However, having influence over a newbie witch in a major English city would probably have a lot of other benefits, too.
Don't worry, we haven't gotten the official explanation. I'm sure we'll get another story from it. :-)
Meanwhile, BaronHaynes summarizes nicely.
I love the conspicuous absence of Harry and Sid in this page....
Sweet sweet bro-mance friendship. X3!!
Are Ben and Eliza the first not-already-married people to have gotten a date in this comic?
Well, Harry and Sid went to the theater in ch. 3. XD
That was technically a work outing, and at the time Harry was not ready to admit she wanted to go on a date with Sid. (Although I am sure Florrie counts it as a date.)
Does Henry and Izzy having dinner in a flying boat count as a date? Of course, that was mostly a work outing too...
I'd say that one doesn't count because it's not in the modern timeline.
I had another thought after posting my first reply: they hadn't gotten into specifics of time and place yet, but when the last chapter ended Will was clearly about to get a date with a lawyer-in-training in place of his date with the hangman. ;-)
You are right. I am sure that enough time has passed between the end of the last chapter and the start of this one for that date to have happened.
OMG, Wolfe is going full on glitter eyes. i love it.
BBE, Big Bow Energy.
iusjdjfs
Okay. Today has been absolute dogshit so far, and I've only been awake for two hours. The sheer fluffiness of this comic is greatly appreciated~ <3
So cruel of you to delay Sid and Harry's reunion!
But it least it was for a good cause. Well done, Ben!
I assume they're reuniting simultaneously off-panel :P
"Dear? Dear??? Are you going to introduce us to that woman you're kissing?"
"That woman who's kissing you"* let's be real here :P
"Kissing"?
Hah!
of course, you're right.
"Snogging"
:P
Yeah, Harry is definitely the one who will initiate the first kiss.
Adorable. Absolutely adorable.
Awww, everyone's getting along again!
Wolfe is so happy. His friends are safe and home, and one of them has a date, and he doesn't have to be in someones awkward parent talk. It's all coming up Wolfe.
I don't get the impression he's currently cognizant of it, but I can see this episode to serve (possibly in hindsight) as a lesson in the difference between being needed and being useful (and wanted).
… or maybe I'm reading too much into it. ;)
You are the Queen of drawing expressions-dang, every character, every panel! I love how the thug that got decked has the swirl about his head as he's being dragged off. Ben marching angrily up behind Mal, then the worried mom hands on hips pose, "Where were you, young man?" The contrast between Mal and Wolfe's expressions in panel four. Heck, I could rave over each panel. And I love the Three Caballeros back together!
I love these boys, every bit of this page is a straight up delight!!
Wolfe AND O'Malley's excitement at Ben going on a date gives me life.
I like how we don't see them, but you can tell which panels the hippo of happiness was in by the backgrounds.
Ben keeps his mind on the important things
Personally I loved Wolfe's relief on last Tuesday's first panel. I don't think that he LIKES having guns pointed in his general direction, And I am frustrated that most of the time, I cannot get to the comments!
So glad to see the Three (Musketeers, Caballeros, Stooges, Best Buddies) back again ^_^
It's official. Wolfe is the team mom. Ben is the team dad.