December 20th, 2019
20 Dec 2019 · page 952 of 1306
Oh yeah I guess I didn't get invited to that, did I..
Gonna take a break over Christmas, next update on the 3rd! Have a good holiday!
Cast: Heinrich Wolfe, Kirti Malik, Rajeev Malik, Sidney Malik
Comments (50)
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ThoughtBubble
14 Nov 2026 – 15 Nov 2026
Harrogate Convention Centre
Manchester Megacon
31 Jul 2027 – 1 Aug 2027
Manchester Central
I see some wacky hijinks coming!
Alright Sidney, here's what you do: Wait until you and your parents are crawling through an air vent and tell them the truth in there. It works wonders!
Good thing the sign outside just says "H. Barber", so Wolfe can still use his own first name!
Hooo-boy! At least when my parents came to watch me graduate from college this past May I was actually, y'know, graduating! Sidney, my boy, you're in for it now.
Very sporting of you to play along like that, Wolfe. Well done.
Also... wow, did it ever get awkward in here or what? Whew! I'm so nervous I need a second application of antiperspirant.
All I can say is 'Oi vey' (눈_눈)
Best of luck to you Sidney ^_^;;
For a second I was like "is that how you spell 'Oi vey' in Korean? How often does someone need to spell oi vey in Korean?"
This is dire. We may actually have to resort to ... the truth. 😏
NOOOOOOOOOO!
"I don't think we need to bring the truth into things. Not at this stage." --Sir Humphrey Appleby, "Yes, Prime Minister"
Everyone's making such great decisions this chapter :D
But Mum, didn't you hear? After all that fuss at the University in the Spring they've had to postpone graduation until October.
Huh, that might actually work. At least for a few more books.
Probably about half an hour, when Mum sees the big Graduation Today banner outside the University. By which time Mr Malik needs to have his next lie prepared.
I'm rolleyeing so much I'm seeing the back of my head right now :D
So what spirit can help conjure a cap, gown, and diploma?
The spirit of the costume shop, I'd say. Or perhaps raid the wardrobes of that theater?
Don't You Dare Use My Fabric Scissors on Paper is a spirit, right?
A vengeful one, at that.
oh_snap.jpg
"Gonna take a break over Christmas, next update on the 3rd! Have a good holiday!"
NOOOOOOOOOO! Why must all the webcomics I follow be on holiday break during cliffhangers! Woe is me! Alackaday!
In all seriousness, enjoy the well-earned holiday! :-)
Clearly you need to add another comic to follow! May I recommend Godslave, "about a girl thrown into the drama and danger of modern day Egyptian Mythology!" Not only is it running through the holidays, you'll have plenty to read in the archives to keep you busy. Plus it's excellent and fun. [https://www.godslavecomic.c...](https://www.godslavecomic.com/about "https://www.godslavecomic.com/about")
If you haven't already read them, I can recommend Sombulus, Freefall and Girl Genius. They all have massive archives, so that should keep you going until the New Year.
I second Freefall - though that may be because I'm a bit partial to sciency, philosophical (at times), and humorous (most of the time) things like that.
If you're in for a horror comic with beautiful art, I recommend Stand Still. Stay Silent. ( [http://sssscomic.com/comic....](http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=1 "http://sssscomic.com/comic.php?page=1") ). Bonus points: there's a pretty large archive to dive through and there isn't a planned break over the holidays. :D
If you're up for a more mature fantasy comic, Unsounded ( [http://www.casualvillain.co...](http://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic+index/ "http://www.casualvillain.com/Unsounded/comic+index/") ) is amazing. The story is deep, the worldbuilding is complex, and the characters all feel unique (for better or for worse, hah). It's currently on hiatus until... er.... the middle of January, I think, but there's a lot to read through until then. [Warning: depending on where you are in the comic, there can be a LOT of gore and nakedness, as well as other troubling subjects like child abuse, slavery, and so on, so keep that in mind if that's something that'll bother you.]
(If you don't read them already, I mean; I think I've seen your name around in comics' comment sections, but I read too many of them, so I can't remember... XD )
my two big favs right now are Sakana (slice of life comedy set at a fish market in Japan) [http://www.sakana-comic.com/](http://www.sakana-comic.com/ "http://www.sakana-comic.com/") and Never Satisfied (magical fantasy teen drama) [http://neversatisfiedcomic....](http://neversatisfiedcomic.com/ "http://neversatisfiedcomic.com/")
I started reading Never Satisfied because of a comment here about Broom Girl and Eliza both saving the day with brooms.
So Sidney forgot that people who do not get kicked out of college tend to graduate at a predictable time. He better figure out what to say soon because I somehow doubt he will be able to convince the University to lie to his parents.
I think it's more that he's been so busy lately that he kinda lost track of/forgot about it. Kinda like how one often finds oneself shocked to learn that, say, your niece (who you last saw at age 3) is now 7. It makes no sense to be surprised (4 years is 4 years), but so many often are. Probably because an adult's life seldom changes in 4 years as much as a small child's does.
He could claim that because of some disruptive hootenanny that happened this semester, no one but the ~completely dedicated to school~ Sidney Malik managed to finish his coursework and now he has to walk the graduation stage alone.
He could say that he's started a PhD - we tend not to graduate at a predictable time!
Sid's folks definitely know more than they're letting on
I think his dad suspects that something is fishy with “Heinrich Barber”, but I can’t tell if they’ve guessed about Sid or not.
I want to go back and add an intro tag to the chapter:
Luke Skyw Harriet Barber is missing.
I want to read the Henry Barber novels too! (Any in addition to what I've read here....)
At least Barber should be a decently common last name... otherwise this bluff would be harder to pull off.
If Sidney wants to delay things, he needs to say that he's on a work internship doing magical accounting and is delayed in graduating. Uh... no I don't think that will work.
Just say that practical experience is more important than a degree and you were somewhat involved with fixing a huge incident involving the seven deadly sins, and you couldn't be in university during that time. You don't even have to mention why you couldn't be in university, but it's gonna happen.
This is going well.
"Well, Lancelot, take the afternoon off and spend some time with your parents. I'll be fine locking up."
Oh, I am dying! This just keeps getting better and better.
We've finally discovered something Wolfe isn't good at. And it's lying, which... somehow just makes him even more perfect.
Wolfe is so perfect, he can't sin--
Florie will be so disappointed
Poor Sid is pretty much just using Wolfe as a human shield at this point. And poor Wolfe, I don't think playing along was helpful to Sid, either. : /
Oh Sidney... What will you do now?
Those parents look tooooo entirely gleeful, I'm wondering if they've already figured out everything and are just humoring Sidney
Okay yep there it is called it.
Some day, we’re gonna look back on this and laugh...
Happy Christmas Kate! Nine Lessons and Carols here!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Thank you for another year of great story telling and great art.
Curtis
I have to admit that i'm not really following this part of the story, as this sort of story doesn't appeal to me.
I'm just checking in regularly to see if we've gotten back to either of the storylines, and to sort of keep an eye on how embarrassing this is gonna get for Sid...