The plots thicken. In the main story, time travel is so ubiquitous that Viking warriors take out bank loans in 2007; while the framing story is set in a matriarchal society that practices marriage by capture. The mother may have had to settle for a marriage less dramatic than that, but at least her daughter (who's a little young to be married!) is upwardly mobile.

Now I'm _really_ curious what the original comic said -- but I'm pretty sure it wasn't as interesting as this.

(I agree with the mother's advice: if you hire a pirate to defend the city, make sure he and his crew stay outside the walls.)