To do: find the sword of legend, beat up Mildred's dad, and make out.
Haircut is a short webcomic by Sara Goetter. Knight Lady Beatrice and Princess Mildred set out on a quest to obtain the sword of legends and defeat Mildred’s evil necromancer father.
The story and its prequel can be read here
. Goetter has also created bonus content on her blog and in the printed edition.
Tropes in Haircut
- Absurdly Sharp Blade: Beatrice’s sword cuts through bone in one slash.
- Action Girl: Lady Beatrice is head of the Knight’s Guard and capable of slashing through hordes of undead on her own.
- Always a Child to Parent: Mildred’s father does this: trying to ground her, referring to her as “Milly” or her full name with title, and believing that she couldn’t possibly have left of her own free will.
- Ambiguously Absent Parent: Mildred’s mother never appears or gets mentioned, though her husband and daughter are main characters.
- Ambiguously Brown: Lady Beatrice. Understandable, as the comic is very short and takes place in a fantasy world with minimal worldbuilding.
- Archnemesis Dad: Played with. The king believes that Mildred has been kidnapped and will be happy to come home. In fact, Mildred hates him and is actively working to bring him down.
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Mildred angrily tells her father that Lady Beatrice is stronger than he is, home is the only place too dangerous for her, and her hair looks really good short.
- Badass Cape: Beatrice wears a cape with her armor while slaughtering hordes of undead.
- Bodyguard Crush: Discussed in Mildred’s internal monologue as she tries to get over her crush on Lady Beatrice.Mildred (thinking): Stop reading into every little thing. She’s just being nice. It’s literally her job. I’m the princess and she’s the head of the knight’s guard. That’s it...I mean, it’s not like a princess and a knight dating is unheard of…
- Calling the Old Man Out:Mildred: First of all: that “brute”’s name is Lady Beatrice and she’s stronger than you’ll ever be! Second of all: the only place too dangerous for me is at home with you! And third of all...my hair looks really good short!
- Cool Crown: Mildred always wears her crown.
- Dem Bones: The king’s army is made up of skeletons.
- Expressive Skull: The skeleton General through which the king channels himself.
- Faked Kidnapping: Downplayed: while the king thought that Mildred was kidnapped, she in fact left of her own free will and didn’t realize that he thought otherwise.
- Forceful Kiss: Overwhelmed by confidence after dispelling her father, Mildred grabs a shocked Beatrice and dips her into a kiss.
- Full-Name Basis: The king greets Mildred as “Princess Mildred the Third!” to show his displeasure.
- In-Series Nickname: Mildred’s father calls her Milly. Mildred calls Beatrice “B.”
- Lady and Knight: A same-sex variant. Mildred is the lady to Beatrice’s knight, although Beatrice’s official title is “Lady.”
- Legendary Weapon: Implied: The MacGuffin Mildred and Beatrice are after is the Sword of Legends.
- Necromancer: Mildred’s father the king is one. His abilities include making skeleton armies pop out of the ground anywhere and channeling himself through one of his undead generals.
- Night of the Living Mooks: Mildred’s father utilizes an army of skeletons. See Dem Bones.
- Outgrowing the Childish Name: Implied: Mildred’s father always refers to her as “Milly” and refuses to acknowledge that she’s an adult and not under his control anymore.
- Parental Title Characterization: Mildred continues to refer to her father as “Dad” even when fighting with him, implying that their relationship was relatively close despite his evil and her running away.
- Rebellious Princess: Mildred recognized that her father was evil and ran away with Beatrice to try and stop him.
- The Runaway: Mildred ran away from her father and joined Beatrice on her quest to get the Sword of Legends and defeat him. He thought she was kidnapped.
- Skeleton Motif: The king is a necromancer, and a brief Imagine Spot has him standing atop a pile of skulls in triumph as his banner of a skull on a crown flies above his skeletal army.
- Speech Bubbles: When the king is shown from Mildred’s perspective, his speech bubbles are black because he is channeling himself through an undead general. In person, his speech bubbles are normal white.
- Take Over the World: The king’s goal is to take over the world.
- True Blue Femininity: While the comic is black and white, a color reference on Goetter’s blog has Mildred wearing a blue dress while Beatrice wears a blue cape.
- You Are Grounded!:King: PRINCESS MILDRED THE THIRD! Not one more step young lady. You are so. Grounded.Mildred: Dad, you can’t ground me. I’m an adult now.King: Oh, I can and I will!
