How to upgrade the skills

This link has a list of every weapon attainable in the game and how to unlock them all. It does not have the comb as a usable weapon.

I have every animal orb in my game and I know you don't get a comb from those.

However you can unlock one weapon in Medusa's lair. The Buster Sword.

The reason melee attacks are not effective against those beefy enemies is that it does not stun them like the normal size enemies, leaving you open for a counter attack. However, there is one spot that can stun those beefy dudes and that is the head. Running attack might help, but if you only manage to hit him in the head once, then you are within his attack range and will get thrown or punched. So, this is what I do against this type of enemies:

Get a little distance between, when the beefy enemy gets close, jump straight up, and try to hit him in the head. If you manage to hit him, he will get stunned. If his head is been hit 4 times in a row, he will fall down, giving you enough time to re position yourselves.

Couple things you need to watch out. If you missed him in the first two hit, there is a chance that he gets close enough to attack you, so time your jump and attack carefully. Practice more and you will get the hang of it. Also, another weakness about this tactic is that jumping straight up leave you open for range attack from other smaller enemies. Sometimes it's good to take those smaller enemies out first, or do this when you are clear. Hope it helps.