…Aaaaaaand we’re back! And very happy to be so. The few days off really gave me so time to think this thing through, and I’m really excited about it.
So… continuity ahead. You have been warned. This is actually going to be a looooooooong story which will spin out over the next few months, so you might want to grab a beverage.
As it is going to be a long, (mostly) self-contained story, it seemed only appropriate to start with a cover (bonus points to those who get the reference… it’s meant to be fairly obvious). I had actually originally had a cut-away in the back of the treasure chest revealing the spring loaded blades inside waiting to impale anyone foolish enough to open the thing, but pulled it this morning and re-drew the foreground image as it seemed… too explicit a presentation. The title would seem sufficient to convey the idea without needed to actually show the trap. Thoughts?

Ok, why are Freddy, Shaggy, and Daphne in a D&D cover art take off? And where are Scooby and Thelma? Shaggy seems to suggest they’ve met their end in the chest…
Sean, Jane and another fellow, actually, but that’s neither here nor there… now that I look at it, I do get the Fred reference… Shaggy is a stretch though. A much better accidental Shaggy was here: https://slightlyofftopic.com/comics/244-shades-of-things-to-come/
Ok, Shaggy if he were a hobbit…And I agree, the previous accidental Shaggy, much Shaggier.
BTW, Portal 2 = awsome!
I wonder if I should be worried about this seeming tendency to unintentionally draw the Scooby gang. Oh well, it’s not really a trend unless it happens a third time, right?!?
VELMA, not Thelma! Get it right, damn you! Insult not a goddess of the cartoon world! 🙂
Apologies! Had Thelma and Louise on my mind earlier. However, it should be noted that two letters wrong out of all those names from this brain is actually a win for me.
You’re forgiven…
Can’t believe I missed that one…
I’m both excited to see this, and a little worried about it taking several months…I have been spoiled by the more self-contained nature of most SOT updates, I guess…
Oh yeah, and not showing the trap explicitly was a wise move, I think. It would have removed the tension that otherwise makes up about a third of the humor here (the hobbit’s failing struggle to restrain himself)
Oh Don’t worry. SOT is a gag-a-day sort of strip, and I’ve scripted my storyline to allow me to insert random gags at a moment’s notice. I’m just a-quiver with excitement.