From what I have managed to observe throughout the years, music such as rock or metal holds an effect on the people that listen to it that makes them have a lot in common with the Smurfs. The Smurf’s language was apparently equal in every aspect to whatever language the humans spoke where they were – with the exception that the Smurfs only had one adjective: “smurf”. This unique and valuable word kept a positive connotation, so things could only be “smurf” or “not smurf”. In some situations, the word could also be used as a verb, a noun, or even an adverb. Therefore you could find yourself “smurfedly smurfing your smurfy smurf in a not-so-smurfy manner”. Of course, this phrase might result confusing to us, since we are not smurfs (I’m not that short) – but to an actual member of the smurf race, it probably made perfect sense.

Now, as I was saying, it seems to me that people that listen to rock and metal have this in common with the Smurfs, since the words “rock” and “metal” are pretty much used just like the word “smurf”. Things can “rock” or “not rock”, or something can be “metal” or even “@$*#-ing metal”. In the case of rock, you can use it as a verb too, since rockers can pretty much “rock” anything they wish to rock. And metal heads seem to believe that there is no obstacle in this world that cannot be overcome with the power of metal (and perhaps a tasty guitar rip). These words are not just adjectives or verbs, they also seem to work as nouns and can be used to name places, for example. I distinctively remember the group Manowar declaring itself to be composed of “Metal Kings”.

One of the things I still love about the metal (and rock as well) bands I was into growing up is how shamelessly ridiculous they were (or are). To wear a puffy satin shirt, tight leather pants, and take pictures of yourself with fake swords and a scowl on your faces, all the time making believe you're some medieval warrior with an electric guitar isn’t really all that special – after all, a lot of us do it on a regular basis. But to do it and make butt-loads of money off of it, well, that’s something amazing. Personally, I can’t really distinguish all the different types of metal there are – but I believe these bands I speak of are regularly known as “Power Metal” bands.

A basic aspect of Power Metal is that it seems to attract mostly people of Nordic heritage. It doesn’t really matter if you’re some short, round-faced Latin American with curly black hair and a stubby nose; if you’re in a Power Metal band you automatically bring to life some distant Nordic gene you probably had buried deep within yourself. This really makes life a lot more convenient for the rest of the world, since these musical groups all seem to be built in the same manner, no matter where they're from, thus making it a lot easier for the rest of us to identify them (with what purpose, I really do not know).

Members of a metal band never smile. Ever. They permanently scowl, and they’re warriors that can win any battle through the awesome might of their music and there is no force so strong that it cannot be overcome by a guitar solo. Furthermore, musical instruments can be used as weapons, since they normally come with the power to hit, cut and even shoot fireballs or bolts of lightning. Also, all members of a metal band have long hair, because everybody knows that short hair in men was not invented until the late 19th century. Even so, we do see some short-haired members nowadays, but they suck.

All of these aspects (and perhaps plenty more that I have overlooked) lead me to believe that Thor stands as one of the champion gods of the Nordic Pantheon, with his hammer in one hand and his electric guitar in the other. It could be no other way. I thought of all this while I drew the first panel in today's comic, and it gave me the idea for the rest of it.

So there you have it.

Good hunting;
O

NOTE: If there are any other aspects that would identify a Power Metal band, please post them in the comments.