detrius

Well, in Germany we say "Zauberstab", which of course means exactly the same thing.
An even better example might be the baton used by a conductor to direct an ensemble of musicians.

Well, in Germany we say "Zauberstab", which of course means exactly the same thing.
An even better example might be the baton used by a conductor to direct an ensemble of musicians.

This strip made me wonder about wands, specifically the traditional black-and-white wand of stage magicians.
When you think about it, a wand is actually quite useless. It's not good as a weapon or as a kitchen utensil. You could use it for stirring, but you'd replace it with a spoon as soon as possible (and some witches in folklore actually use spoons rather than wands). They're a bit too big if you wanted to use them as chopsticks and you'd need two of them anyway. They're also not pointy or sturdy enough to be used as needles.
And yet wands are "a thing".  We're not calling them "straight-sticks" or "stafflets", there's a word for them (at least in the English language) - and they're a symbol for vast and arcane power.
It seems to be a bit of an odd choice.
The one thing wands are good at is pointing. It's not hard to imagine a group of hunter-gatherers sitting in a circle 30.000 years ago, with one of them holding a small stick and talking to the others while they use the stick to emphasize their words.
"See that little stone over ~here~? Let's say that's the mammoth. If ~you~, ~you~ and ~you~ hide in the bushes over ~there~ and make a lot of noise, the mammoth will get scared and run right over the cliff on ~this~ side and fall to its death. Easy dinner."
So over time, the little stick might become a tool associated with people who explain "things", because they're the ones who "know stuff". And this gives them power.
There's of course also the "big stick" AKA "the club", which is associated with physical power.
So when humans finally invented their gods, those gods naturally also carried sticks, big and small, to signify their might - and also as a conduit of divine power: Hermes used his rod to put people to sleep and Circe used a wand to turn men into pigs.
So sticks mean power, which is why kings and queens have scepters. And smaller sticks mean this power is less about the physical and more about the arcane.
When stage magicians then adopted the tuxedo with the top hat and the white gloves as their working garment in the 19th century, the wand followed the same colour pattern. The black makes it easy to conceal and the white tips are meant to attract the attention of the audience, while still being easy to hide when necessary. And it has tips on both sides so it can be held either way, meaning you don't have to worry about the orientation of the wand when you're "pulling it out of someone's ear".

 
FIREBALL!
FIREBALL!!
FIREBALL!!!

Cat or Tribble?

Cat or Tribble?

Cat or Tribble?

A poly relationship doesn't have to mean everyone is attracted to everyone else.  The simplest example would be two straight guys and one woman.  The guys have no interest in each other, but they have no problem with both loving the same woman.  (There's a web TV series called "Family" with this premise.)  You can also have the exact same thing, but with the guys also being interested in each other, but it's not mandatory.
Of course, physical closeness doesn't have to equal sexual interaction, either -- I did a massage workshop led by Patch Adams (the real guy, not the Robin Williams version), and we'd have everything from one-on-one to eight or ten people working on one person at once, with no sexual pressure involved for anyone.  "Massage is not a way to get into someone's pants.  If you want to get into someone's pants, tell them, 'I want to get into your pants!'"  Yup, he's quite a character, and we filled a whole room with balloons for him as a thank-you. ;-)

Still no comments on Tedd using Elliot's thigh as a pillow?
It's a rather intimate position for two "best bud" friends.

He's laundering money for the mob, isn't he?

http://egscomics.com/comic/2014-07-28
Posting this felt relevant for some reason.

Eh, even if Magus just wanted to wake her up, Elliot's reaction is justified.
Magus conspired with a parasitic lifeform to take over Elliot's and Ellen's bodies. He didn't hesitate to squash his former ally like a bug after the inevitable betrayal.
Elliot has absolutely no reason to trust someone who's capable of doing all that and can kill with a hand gesture.

Eh, even if Magus just wanted to wake her up, Elliot's reaction is justified.
Magus conspired with a parasitic lifeform to take over Elliot's and Ellen's bodies. He didn't hesitate to squash his former ally like a bug after the inevitable betrayal.
Elliot has absolutely no reason to trust someone who's capable of doing all that and can kill with a hand gesture.

Ellen doesn't even want to be a battle mage, which was the stated reason for his decision, so how does this even make sense?

Robin Williams was such an amazing voice actor in that role.
I really miss him.

Or maybe Mr. Verres thinks his kid's sexuality and gender issues are none of Arthur's business.

Pandora: "Susan, I am your grandmother!"
Susan: "NOOO! Not a Star Wars reference!!!"

Not Barney, I think these guys look more like muppets.
Next up:

http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2412
Diane is the Mycroft to Susan's Sherlock.

The linked comic mentions that Sirleck was planning on making his host someone who was low-profile and was not connected to his previous host. The butler doesn't fit this profile. I don't think the butler is going to be Sirleck's next full-time host, more of a temporary host until he can get into position to take the intended host.  From that same linked comic, the last two panels seem to imply that Sirleck is planning a double-cross.  It may have been said before, but I believe Sirleck is planning to take the new physical form of the wizard.  What would happen if Sirleck possessed a body of a wizard?  Would he have access to spells as well?

For those who don't know what this is about:
http://www.progressiveboink.com/2012/4/21/2960508/worst-rob-liefeld-drawings

Nope, she already checked on him and subsequently left to figure out Magic's plan for Tedd.
http://www.egscomics.com/index.php?id=2295

On the other hand Dan ~could~ end this storyline right now with a single picture of Catalina and Rhoda (in their normal forms, wearing big game hunter outfits and wielding butterfly nets) chasing after a pride of hobbit-sized catgirls in the mall.