The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred



The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred is a humorous comic about Wiglaf (our hero) befriending Mordred (our villain), by force if necessary. It's also about Mordred's super villain family, their cronies, their friends, and pretty much everyone else that happens to drop in or appear in the background of a strip (see Loads and Loads of Characters).

"Arthur: "You're not a zombie. Everyone knows you take them out with a shot to the head. And you're still standing."
 * A Boy and His X - It would take a crowbar and an act of God to separate Safir and Wolfy... and that's before Arthur Sr. and Geoffrey attack.
 * Wolfy has yet to display life-changing tendencies, but he is the only non-possessed possession in the comic.
 * The early comics look mighty like a mercenary and his sword when it comes to Azrael and Grace. Especially when it's moments like these.
 * Ben and Éclat, almost as bad as Azrael and Grace.
 * Most surprisingly is
 * A Match Made in Stockholm - Geoffry and Janus.
 * The Ace - Wiglaf was created to be a subversion of this trope. He's perfect at everything... but because he's perfect at everything, people can't stand him. He's also got an almost obsessive-compulsive need to fix things.
 * Amazon Brigade - The Valkyrie Sisters.
 * Amulet of Dependency - Grace
 * And Éclat of the same set, doubly so with his abusive relationship with his owner: Benjamin is a total wreck without him.
 * Arch Enemy - Azrael
 * Artifact of Doom - the Sword of Grace and the Orb of Bliss, possibly the Sword of Eclat and the Sword of Prudence.
 * And quite possibly, though so far all that is know is her name-courtesy of Grace here- and that Word of God says  . Since the powers are unknown,   may not fall into the Artifact of Doom category.
 * Wiglaf (and others) probably consider Camlann this due to his Wall of Text rants and the fact that he keeps burning the hands of everyone(save Wiglaf) who touches him
 * At the Opera Tonight - The Piano Concert arch.
 * Ax Crazy - Galen, and how!
 * Berserk Button -
 * Azrael has one towards art pieces and artifacts being stolen.
 * Bliss, to a lesser extend when someone handles/touches her orb.  And most recently discovered is
 * Arthur, if you dare to touch Mordred. Also qualifies as Big Brother Instinct.
 * Bishonen - Most of the male cast qualify.
 * Big Brother Instinct - Arthur. Lampshaded. Repeatedly.
 * Big Screwed-Up Family - The Garrotts. Seriously.
 * Black Sheep - Boudica is the only member of her family that is in no way a villain. She is, in fact, a concert pianist.
 * She does show shades of murderous intent when Wiglaf upstaged her at the concert.
 * Blatant Burglar - Generic Burgler. And yes, that's his real name.
 * Blinding Bangs - Driver.
 * Subverted once when we got a look at one eye.
 * Bodyguard Crush -
 * Sedrick has one on Arthur.
 * Driver (though not quite a bodyguard) has on on Mordred.
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday - Arthur and Sedrick have no recollection of Gawain.
 * Butt Monkey -
 * Gawain at the hands of the voodoo priest/ess, Arthur, Sedrick, Galen, Ricky, and sometimes Hagen. He may, in fact, be The Chew Toy
 * Horatio may also be a Butt Monkey or Chew Toy, though with Loads and Loads of Characters it's hard to tell if he suffers misfortune often enough.
 * Catch Phrase - Mordred's 'I hate you.' Usually delivered to Wiglaf.
 * Catboy - Herschall.
 * The Cameo - Ruby Red started out as a speaking cameo of the same character from The Fifth Element.
 * Chronic Hero Syndrome - Wiglaf. Even living with a family of super villains can't cure it.
 * Clingy Jealous Girl - Driver with Mordred.
 * Clingy MacGuffin - Grace, probably.
 * All of his set seems to be like that. Need you forget Bliss and Éclat so easily.
 * Cloudcuckoolander - Bliss.
 * Criminal Amnesiac - Gawain, somewhat. See, he can regenerate from injuries, and he considers Arthur and Sedrick his arch-enemies...but he's been shot in the head so many times he can't for the life of him remember why. So in the meantime, he figures a steady paycheck and a job as a Garrott henchman won't be such a bad thing, at least until he remembers.
 * Cute Clumsy Girl - Boudica.
 * Daddy's Little Villain - Hagen. "I'm a henchman too, ya know."
 * Dark-Skinned Blond - Wiglaf, Brat, and to a lesser degree, Gawain. Security would probably count for this as well.
 * Deadpan Snarker - Grace and Mordred.
 * Deathbringer the Adorable - U Stream sessions assure viewers
 * Rumors of a future Did Mom Just Have Tea With Cthulhu?.
 * Dude Looks Like a Lady - Azrael really needs a haircut. Those long, red tresses make him look like a her. Inverted with Driver, who suprises everyone when they discover that "he" is a "she". In fact, the only way to detect that she is really a lady is the fact that there's no Man-Toe when she wears lingerie.
 * A good portion of the male cast qualifies, actually. Earlier in the strips run Wiglaf was routinely mistaken for a girl. Word of God says this was at least part of the reason his hair got cut in later strips.
 * Azreal has since gotten a haircut, making him look a bit less feminine.
 * Averted by Geoffrey, Ricky, and Arthur Sr.
 * Empathic Weapon -
 * Camlann.
 * Subverted by
 * Inverted by
 * The Everyman - Mordred's downstairs neighbour, Julian, is one of the very few token normal people in The Adventures.
 * Living under/around villains and heros on a regular basis as Julian does, he must frequently exercise Unusually Uninteresting Sight.
 * Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" - Security. Played with in Driver's case; her name is actually "Ainsley Driver."
 * Everyone Is Related - Well, not necessarily to each other, but it's hard to find someone in the comic who isn't related by blood to someone else.
 * Relationship chart
 * Evil Gloating - Subverted when begins to monologue and then says, "And I don't need to explain why because in an hour or so: you won't care!"
 * Evil Matriarch - Madame Garrott, despite being retired, most certainly qualifies.
 * Hints that Wiglaf's mother, Linnea, may also be a ruthless matriarch, if not an evil one.
 * Eyes Always Shut - Security.
 * Actually, he has opened his eyes twice so far (pages #4 and #540)
 * Failed a Spot Check -
 * Everyone in the cast with Security, who turns up in random locations (sometimes hundreds of miles apart) at random times without anyone questioning how or why he's there.
 * Subverted by Hnæf, who immediately tries to investigate Security the first time they meet and freaks out when his super-AI information network computer, Mí­mir, can't find any information on him.
 * Also subverted by Geoffry, whose parental instincts over-rode whatever it is Security does when Security was talking to Safir, Geoffry's son. Security ended up with a spectacular black eye.
 * Fan Girl - The Valkyrie Sisters with Azrael.
 * Brat with Mordred
 * And Janus. And Arthur. Mordred's siblings are his first and most constant fangirls. Well maybe not Janus as much but definitely Arthur.
 * Wiglaf has his fair share of them as well, as seen in the "Orb of Bliss" Arc.
 * And in a sketch drawn by the artist showing him jogging, with a multitude of fangirls hiding behind a bush stalking him.
 * Fan Service - Most often it is a Shirtless Scene when an attractive member of the male cast will appear, well, without a shirt-Such as Wiglaf when he had to remove his chain mail to get past airport security, or here-http://liliy.net/wam/archive/ignored/ where the last panel is simply a fan service panel.
 * It also tends to manifest itself in the for of various pin-ups. Like the 'female character popping out of a cake' ones for the comic's birthday.
 * Fauxshadow - A literal case of fauxshadowing on "457. Going to Catch Flies."
 * Filler Strips - Used purposely at the end of each arch in the form of character pinups.
 * Flower Motifs -
 * Flowers and similarly herbaceous objects have been used repeatedly to delineate Lancelot's, Mordred's, and Driver's personalities and dispositions.
 * And the decorative hilt on Grace's sword, that's flower-like.
 * A non-canon portrait by the author once used a daisy to illustrate Wiglaf's personality.
 * In the event of Azrael's redesign, "457. Going to Catch Flies," Liliy placed small, pink, scattered flowers on his white trousers.
 * Fluffy the Terrible - The is a manipulative, psychopathic Complete Monster, and the Orb of Bliss might even be worse. Ironically, Wiglaf makes Mordred go on a quest for the Orb of Bliss specifically because it sounds benevolent.
 * The Sword of Eclat is an unknown quantity, yet, but
 * Foe Yay - Wiglaf and Azrael, at least in Mordred's mind. First spotted in the Orb of Bliss arc when he 'maybe he thinks you're cute' when Azrael turned up also looking for the orb. Most recently he teased Wiglaf that Azrael was his 'boy toy' when he said that they might need Azrael's help.
 * Fourth Wall Mail Slot - Not done in the comic itself, but an entire thread on the official comic forums is dedicated to this.
 * Funetik Aksent - Driver and Galen both speak with very heavy accents (southern and Russian, respectively). In Driver's case it's shown in The Rescue arc (and Word of God) that she gets it from her father, who also has a noticeable southern accent.
 * Girl With Psycho Weapon - The Valkyrie Sisters each wield deadly weapons of one form or another (except for Svafa, who is a deadly weapon).
 * Go Karting With Bowser - Wiglaf regarding Mordred and just about everyone involved in Mordred's life.
 * Hadaka Apron - Janus decides to spice things up for her husband while baking cookies.
 * Half-Identical Twins - Janus and Arthur.
 * Handsome Lech - In a club, Arthur Jr. is purported to be one of these.
 * Healing Factor - Gawain. Due to the whole zombie thing. Not a boon when Gawain meets Dr. Galen.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners - Word of God on Wiglaf and Mordred, despite the obvious.
 * Humanity Ensues - Camlann, despite not being an animal, he is still a non-human
 * Hypercompetent Sidekick - Sedrick to Arthur.
 * I Call It Vera - Azrael's sword Grace. However, according to Azrael, Grace is male.
 * And Wiglaf just understood.
 * Hissy, the killer plant left in Mordred's apartment by Lancelot. Wiglaf and Mordred decided to name it 'Hissy'.
 * I Lied - Janus.
 * Instant Awesome Just Add Dragons - Arthur breeds dragons.
 * Invisible to Normals -
 * The only ones who can see him is and, for some reason, Gawain. Probably because of the whole Zombie thing.
 * and also fit this trope, and are also probably visible to Gawain.
 * Karma Houdini - All of the Garrotts and everyone who works for them, to a greater or lesser extent, except Boudica. Azrael, apparently a known and wanted serial killer, is even able to casually attend a probably-televised concert and greet the famous pianist.
 * Kuudere - Mordred is a Type 1.
 * Let's Get Dangerous - Surprisingly
 * Loads and Loads of Characters - WAM has a constantly expanding cast of characters. Currently it sits at 52, with a number of dragons having also made an appearance.
 * Mad Scientist -
 * Lancelot is a Mad Botanist, and is in denial about it.
 * Galen is empirical in her approach to testing pain endurance.
 * Meaningful Name -
 * Azrael, known as the "Angel of Death". It fits his murderous tendencies, to say the least.
 * Ainsley Driver, possibly by way of Prophetic Name or What Did You Expect When You Named It?.
 * "Bliss," "Grace," and "Eclat" also fall under this trope, in twisted ways.
 * Morality Pet - Wiglaf is one of these to Mordred, according to fans, though there has been debate.
 * Named Weapons - Camlann, the magical (chattering) sword.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast - In universe, Arthur Garrot (Sr) actually, just the name 'Garrott' in general.
 * Also Azreal, Ricky, Galen, The Valkyires, Alistair and, pretty much anyone working for the Garrotts.
 * Wiglaf and his other name 'The Devil of Bohuslän' except in this case, it's the villains running, not everyone else.
 * Though The Devil of Bohuslän is a pretty ominous name for the hero.
 * Nigh Invulnerability - Word of God has stated that, although the artifacts are magical they are not indestructible, but it would take a lot to destroy any of them and that it is very hard to do so.
 * No Name Given: Wiglaf's sister is known only as "brat".
 * Noodle Implements - Gawain's zombiefication "involves a golden egg, a spork and a swamp witch... Oh, and there was a puffer fish"
 * Obfuscating Stupidity -
 * Mordred seemed ignorant of Wiglaf's hero persona, but later revealed to Driver (and the audience) that he'd know since the beginning. He just enjoyed bossing around the his brother's rival, and figured Wiglaf wouldn't have put up with it had he.
 * Another time was with Arthur, who'd been shown insisting to Sedrick that his male dragon Gustave had indeed laid eggs.
 * Odd Couple - Wiglaf and Mordred, and the basic premise of the entire comic.
 * Offhand Backhand - Svafa in this strip
 * Offscreen Teleportation - Security. 'Nuff said.
 * Overlord, Jr. - Apparently the original intent for Safir, but subverted in practice.
 * Our Zombies Are Different - Gawain is a zombie. He is also pretty much indistinguishable from a living person apart from the fact that he regenerates from every injury. Although, injuries can have lasting effects, as being shot point blank in the head causes him to lose some important memories. It is unknown what you would have to do to rekill him for good, or even if it's possible. Headshots certainly don't work.
 * His amulet seems to have something to do with keeping him "alive".
 * Papa Wolf - Do not talk to Safir without talking to Geoffry and Janus first. Geoffry will fuck you up.
 * Pre-Explosion Glow - Bliss, when she gets very angry. Her silvery-blue orb, turns blood red. That's when you know to duck and cover.
 * Puppy Dog Eyes - Safir on these two pages.
 * Pure Is Not Good - Arthur Sr.
 * The Rant - Both a regular blog and accompanying text with each comic, which almost always has very little to do with the comic itself (including random song lyrics).
 * Real Men Wear Pink - Azrael. Down Time & Roomies just to name two chapters.
 * Though "real man" might be a little inappropriate as the latter page reveals that.
 * Redhead in Green - Lancelot
 * Removing the Head Or Destroying The Brain - Lampshaded by Arthur and averted by Gawain.
 * Real Men Wear Pink - Azrael. Down Time & Roomies just to name two chapters.
 * Though "real man" might be a little inappropriate as the latter page reveals that.
 * Redhead in Green - Lancelot
 * Removing the Head Or Destroying The Brain - Lampshaded by Arthur and averted by Gawain.

Gawain: "Have you ever killed a zombie?"

Arthur: "No."

Gawain: "Met one?"

Arthur: "No."

Gawain: "Then, how exactly do you know that actually works?""

"Arthur: Why don't I ever just kill you?"
 * Retired Monster - Arthur Garrott Senior, and probably his wife Agnes "Hera" Garrott too.
 * Alistair, aka 'The Golden Barber' who 'made his claim to fame lobbing off heads with a rusty butcher knife.' He also happens to be
 * Ritual Magic - Several characters have come about through the use of ritual magic.
 * Gawain, a zombie, remembers his creation involved ritual use of Noodle Implements.
 * explained that he was part of a set, and Word of God explained that all the objects in the set were
 * Running Gag -
 * How Security got his start.
 * "Was that the Stable Boy?"
 * Scary Shiny Glasses - Vilhelm channels Gendo pretty often.
 * Schedule Slip - It's alright, though; it's not her fault.
 * Somewhat less slippery now that the author Ustream's most of the comics.
 * Security Blanket - Wolfy for Safir.
 * So far, very little indication that Wolfy might be a Companion Cube.
 * Wolfy may be a Number One Dime, but loss is more likely to be a Berserk Button for Geoffrey or Arthur Sr. than for Safir.
 * Grace was initially considered a Security Blanket for Azrael.
 * Signed Up for The Dental - Gawain joins the side of evil for the dental.
 * Sliding Scale of Undead Regeneration - level four, Gawain only feels pain when he first takes injury, and can stick any bits that get chopped off him back in their respective sockets. He also doesn't degenerate, although his flesh and skin slough from his bones when he touches an Anti-Magic field.
 * Snarky Non Human Sidekick - Three, all swords. One won't shut up when he's allowed to talk (see Talking Weapon) while the others lines are inaudible to anyone else.
 * Somebody Else's Problem - Mordred.
 * Stalker With a Crush - Brat.
 * Stating the Simple Solution: Arthur Sr. to himself, after Security escapes him.


 * Stockholm Syndrome - One possible explanation for Janus and Geoffry's relationship
 * Strong Family Resemblance - Hagen truly looks like a combination of her parents.
 * Wiglaf and
 * Subordinate Excuse - Sedrick with Arthur, Wiglaf with Mordred
 * Talking Appliance Sidekick - Camlann, a lot.
 * Talking Weapon -
 * Camlann. And really, it's more like the sword that won't shut up.
 * Grace, although fewer people can hear him.
 * Eclat, with the same caveats as Grace
 * Tangled Family Tree - It rivals the X-men chart that is the page example.
 * Teen Genius - Hnæf, despite being twelve and not actually a teen.
 * Also combined with Photographic Memory to make him the most potentially annoying Teen Genius ever.
 * According to a recent comic, Hnæf turned 13 in October, making him a true Teen Genius.
 * Traumatic Haircut - Mordred has cut Wiglaf's hair without permission on at least two occasions. Recently, Wiglaf got back by dyeing Mordred's hair neon pink.
 * Torture Technician - Galen.
 * Ugly Guy's Hot Daughter - Hagen. There's no denying that, while he might have only gotten that way because of his wife, Ricky is not pretty and his daughter is.
 * Ugly Guy, Hot Wife - Galen and Ricky. This is probably Galen's fault.
 * Vitriolic Best Buds - Wiglaf and Mordred.
 * Walls of Text -
 * Actually used to describe the comic in at least one review: "The Adventures of Wiglaf and Mordred, who are hot for a wall-o-text". Most often perpetrated by Mordred, though the most obvious example is.
 * Anytime  opens his mouth really.
 * Bliss after Mordred tried to throw her out a window to shut her up-with no success as she was brought back back Julian.
 * Weirdness Coupon -
 * Sometimes Lancelot, sometimes Wiglaf.
 * Generally averted by Mordred.
 * Subverted by Azrael.
 * Bliss
 * Wham Episode:  decides that it's time to make some changes around here. And this is only the beginning...
 * What the Hell Is That Accent? - Driver's intended accent (southern US) had to be clarified by Word of God.
 * Possible Wild Magic - Camlann's background has not been sufficiently explained, and he cannot interact with the possessed objects, so he is likely to be a different sort of magic, possibly wild magic since he is sentient and willful.
 * Would Hit a Girl - As demonstrated here, Wiglaf isn't afraid to hit back when provoked, regardless of gender.
 * Writing By the Seat of Your Pants - With general ideas of plot direction, Liliy tends to leave dialogue until the day she creates the page and occasionally incorporates gags suggested by family members or U Stream attendees.
 * Yaoi Guys - Most of the male cast qualify. Lampshaded in the filler pinup "Traumatized Yet?"
 * Yandere -  in the latest arc (as of october 2011). So much. See this.
 * Your Cheating Heart - Linnéa, Wiglaf's mother. She's married to Vilhelm, but has been having an affair with Lennart for likely just as long. Vilhelm knows about it too.