We have a web comic here featuring a witch, an elf, and a time-traveling knight with a magic cloak… and it’s only now you are starting to think about suspending disbelief? 😉
It might also be that Alec is not aware of the physics. In that case it might come down to this old gag.
Person A: “How are you standing in that?” (pointing at person B, who is calmly standing in a pool of molten lava).
Person B: “I have never been good at thermodynamics.”
How is this defying physics? If you look closely at the passenger side of the car in panels 2, 4, and 5 you can see that there was a little ramp of debris the car drove up, causing it tilt to one side.
If the sword is fast enough and sharp enough, the momentum of the van would actually assist Alec in making the slice through everything. Assuming he is preternaturally strong, which of course he is.
Sheesh, where were the complaints when the Witch picked up an automobile and threw it several blocks without being driven into the pavement herself? 😉
Haha, I never expected so many replies to a humoruous comment…
But since the details seem unclear, let’s address your questions.
Magic is magic. It’s specifically not meant to adhere to the mundane, including physics. That includes the time travel potion, future tech, ghosts, you name it. Magic and the ilk gets a pass.
A sword, however, is physics incarnate. It is the literal embodiment of using several physical laws to maximize effect. The triumph of perfectly mundane means through superior technique and application. It’s not getting free passes as easily as magic or future tech.
As to why this is not in agreement with physics, it’s mostly the wheels. Forget that cutting through the solid metal of the frame requires more force than the friction from human feet can sustain under normal gravity and would sooner just break his arms or repel the blade. You can’t cut metal like that.
It’s the rubber. Gripping, turning rubber wheels. Even a motionless tire would just grab the blade’s sides, but these are turning, and so does the cut. The blade has to turn in relation to the cut in order to move forward and not be turned upwards. The resulting pressure on the sides just ruins any even yet so slight chance of the blade not getting caught and flung out of his hand, or causing severe injuries if he manages to hold on to it.
There’s a few more issues with this I’m too lazy to type out. Someone mentioned momentum, and I’m sure we can find even more if we want to. Except that, well, I don’t intend to. It’s a fantasy comic, and I read it as such.
To be clear: I was not being as serious as some might think I was. Learn to take a joke, guys. Even if it contains a decent amount of truth, not every little teasing remark is a “complaint” you have to defend your beloved comic against. Sheesh, talking about oversensitive.
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Alec can occasionally be a bad-ass.
Awesome page, Hawk.
Nice move. This has a bit of a bullfight.
Oops. Other comment ended up on http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/Culture_Shock/5568438.
“Nice reminder of #161 Fire Escape”
Alec got a second chance to circumduct a van after Tadashi ruined the first attempt 555 comics ago.
Scooby-Doo meets the Matrix…nice!
Ha! Thanks, I had forgotten about that one!
Must… suspend… disbelief…. aaargh… not think about… physics… gargl…
@Purphoros: Swords have been designed to break physics in comics thousands of years after their invention.
We have a web comic here featuring a witch, an elf, and a time-traveling knight with a magic cloak… and it’s only now you are starting to think about suspending disbelief? 😉
It might also be that Alec is not aware of the physics. In that case it might come down to this old gag.
Person A: “How are you standing in that?” (pointing at person B, who is calmly standing in a pool of molten lava).
Person B: “I have never been good at thermodynamics.”
I remember from my D&d days that if you ignore encumbrance, it doesn’t exist. I guess the modern equivalent would be ~ player.setav carryweight 9999
How is this defying physics? If you look closely at the passenger side of the car in panels 2, 4, and 5 you can see that there was a little ramp of debris the car drove up, causing it tilt to one side.
That is not the problem. The problem is that Alec and his sword are somehow unaffected by the momentum of the van.
If the sword is fast enough and sharp enough, the momentum of the van would actually assist Alec in making the slice through everything. Assuming he is preternaturally strong, which of course he is.
Sheesh, where were the complaints when the Witch picked up an automobile and threw it several blocks without being driven into the pavement herself? 😉
Haha, I never expected so many replies to a humoruous comment…
But since the details seem unclear, let’s address your questions.
Magic is magic. It’s specifically not meant to adhere to the mundane, including physics. That includes the time travel potion, future tech, ghosts, you name it. Magic and the ilk gets a pass.
A sword, however, is physics incarnate. It is the literal embodiment of using several physical laws to maximize effect. The triumph of perfectly mundane means through superior technique and application. It’s not getting free passes as easily as magic or future tech.
As to why this is not in agreement with physics, it’s mostly the wheels. Forget that cutting through the solid metal of the frame requires more force than the friction from human feet can sustain under normal gravity and would sooner just break his arms or repel the blade. You can’t cut metal like that.
It’s the rubber. Gripping, turning rubber wheels. Even a motionless tire would just grab the blade’s sides, but these are turning, and so does the cut. The blade has to turn in relation to the cut in order to move forward and not be turned upwards. The resulting pressure on the sides just ruins any even yet so slight chance of the blade not getting caught and flung out of his hand, or causing severe injuries if he manages to hold on to it.
There’s a few more issues with this I’m too lazy to type out. Someone mentioned momentum, and I’m sure we can find even more if we want to. Except that, well, I don’t intend to. It’s a fantasy comic, and I read it as such.
To be clear: I was not being as serious as some might think I was. Learn to take a joke, guys. Even if it contains a decent amount of truth, not every little teasing remark is a “complaint” you have to defend your beloved comic against. Sheesh, talking about oversensitive.