This page went up a bit later than I wanted. Amazingly, WordPress had a glitch that wasn’t showing any images early this morning. This is a bit off subject, but I’m starting to question the benefits of being hosted on WordPress.com versus going the self-hosted route. Yes, this hosting is free yet the Gutenberg editor is extremely buggy at times. On my self-hosted blogs, I have the option to turn it off, and it’s been a much smoother experience. Anyway, don’t be surprised if one day I move this blog to a self-hosted option out of sheer frustration.
Africa | Page(s): 359 | Patreon
After way too close of a call, Safari is safely out of the swamp and Africa is there to greet him. Mondo looks on pensively from the distance. Africa apologizes to the old cheetah for not paying attention to him, and asks if he recognizes her. Fortunately, he’s not that far gone that he doesn’t know his adopted sister. Unfortunately, their reunion is cut short when Safari suddenly falls.
At first, I was confused by the last panel and the visual effects behind him. I assumed the act of running away on a badly infected leg stressed his body out to the max, and the lightning was a visual representation of this. However, the sound effects imply Safari may have been struck with something. If it was a gun shot, the usual sound effect is “bang!” not “krk whammm.” However, some very astute readers on DeviantArt have pointed out that it could be a human with a gun. On page 258, Chui mentions this (even though his prophecy is mostly a lie). Humans with jeeps and guns are referred to as the “wielders of lightning,” and this could be how the animals in this comic interpret gun fire. Still, it feels odd for Safari to just randomly be gunned down.
To Catch a Star | Page(s): 447, 448, 449, 450 | Patreon
Remember last week when I mentioned that attacking Takedown during his villainous monologue was the perfect opportunity? Despite the pain and betrayal Backlash was feeling, he didn’t miss out on the chance to catch his older brother off guard. He took Shadow’s advice about going for the eyes to heart as his fangs hit their mark. Takedown certainly didn’t see it coming! Nor will he ever see out of his left eye again. It doesn’t take much effort for him to dislodge his younger brother, but Backlash was still thinking ahead.
Just as Takedown goes in for the killing bite, Backlash has enough strength left to dodge break the glowing orb hanging from his brother’s neck. This is his last action as he falls, either unconscious or dead. It’s only now that the older brother realizes he’s been bested by the younger brother he severely underestimated. As the rest of the pack looks on in the distance, I can’t tell if he’s feeling rage, fear, or both.
Again, Takedown may have beaten his brother to death (or close to death), but when it comes to determination and outsmarting an opponent, Backlash won in the end. He couldn’t convince his brother to be a better person, but he was able to help his found family by smashing the orb. Now, Lupi and Shadow can’t be followed as they go to gather the rest of the stars. Even better, Takedown is the strongest wolf in the pack, but someone considered little more than a weakling (even if he was made an alpha), broke his means of finding the sun, and blinded him in one eye. Everyone else now knows that he murdered his own parents, thanks to his unhinged rant from earlier. Not only is this psychopath’s pride damaged, but other wolves in the pack might try him, seeing how Backlash was able to wound him.
That’s something to think about down the line, because if Backlash has died here, who’s going to relay the message back to Shadow and Lupi? When they found out, will they confront Takedown?
The Order of the Black Dog | Page(s): Issue 27, page 32 | Patreon
We finally have some action regarding Mel and Julia’s ritual. No, Kenazil hasn’t appeared yet, but it seems the two of them have been spiritually transported to a new location. The dilapidated mall is gone, and the girls are now in the waiting room of a mansion. Both are wearing Victorian era dresses. As Julia tells Mel, she has to think about moving since their bodies are elsewhere, we’re treated to one of the trippiest scenes in this comic yet. I hope no one reads these pages while they’re under the influence of psychedelic drugs!
They seem to be in a dreamscape similar to when Rhoda sought to free Julia from The Black Idol. As they move around, I wonder who or what the girls will encounter as they seek out Kenazil. I also hope that seeing this place doesn’t leave them temporarily insane like Rhoda after her first spiritual journey. I suspect Julia will be fine, having taken back her sovereignty as she freed herself from the Black Idol. Mel on the other hand is new to this type of world. Still, I think she has enough determination and willpower to be okay in the long run.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 39 | Patreon
Just as I suspected, Motte returned and found Tulpi in the midst of the blizzard. The visual effect of her waking Tulpi up was nice as her voice and face literally broke through the Akita mix’s self-doubts and overly critical inner-voice. The Borzoi mix seems surprised to find her smaller traveling companion outside in the cold. Which means, whatever she was doing in the blizzard wasn’t supposed to take long, and she intended to return before Tulpi woke up. She’s also caught off guard by a sudden embrace, as Tulpi is overwhelmed by emotions after convincing herself that Motte had left her for good.
Other than surprise, Motte’s expression is a bit of mystery. I wonder if she’ll say anything to comfort her friend, or if they’ll just return to the safety of the cave. I’m still certain that she won’t tell Tulpi where she went or why. At least not yet.
After Marduk halts his attack via the obelisk, the Rabisu drag themselves away from the Asmundr pack. At the edge of the grass they’re greeted by Zioqa who wordlessly carry the badly injured glow dogs off on their backs. Meanwhile, Kainan snarls and snaps at Marduk. He claims the former Sky God lied about the true purpose of the obelisk and that Father would never create something so cruel. Annoyed, Marduk insisted that they just witnessed the power of their god, and they should be bowing to him in admiration. Pressing his face to Marduk’s, Kainan retorts that their one true god bowed before them.
Again, Kique introduces more twists in this story without any foreshadowing. Not only are the Rabisu a complete surprise, but the Zioqa are there. Their builds are smaller than the Taiga Lions, and some of the cats have the same eye color as Zahira. I’m only confused as to if the golden spots on their heads, ears, and tails are tribal paint or markings. They come and go, and no one seems to be surprised, just angry at Marduk. Honestly, this is another asspull, as no one prior in the story has mentioned or hinted at the fact that Zioqa are alive and well on Aedra. In Asmundr, all the Zioqa encountered in that story died, and as far as Zahira and Zilas knew, they were the last of their kind.
When Rhov asked Feaf about Zioqa, she’d never heard of these cats. Considering how badly the Taiga Lions are treated by the dogs (or at least it’s implied in the story), you’d think they’d like to make more feline allies. Also, no one in the Capital hinted at any other types of cats, aside from when the Forngrym were suddenly introduced. I have the feeling that if we do receive an explanation of the Rabisu and the Zioqa, it’s going to be rushed or poorly fleshed out. I imagine the excuse is that this group of dogs and cats are living underground in caves, and no one else has ever bothered to explore those caves. Or those that do know about these other types of dogs and cats are really good at keeping a secret.
As for Kainan and Marduk, it’s funny how the former Sky God was first introduced. He was remorseful and overly helpful regarding the pack. For whatever reason now, he’s being painted as an antagonist, even though it’s only been implied that he may be jealous of Father. Still, the Sky Gods brought them to Aedra and left them to hostile dogs and ghouls, only to move them without a word. Yet no one is questioning Father, except maybe Rhov, and that led to him breaking up with Jahla. I don’t feel like Marduk’s shift to being evil or controlling has been properly built up, and whatever resolution is reached will feel unsatisfying.
It just impresses me how Home manages to lower an already low bar each week.
On Hiatus:
Golden Shrike | Page(s): | Patreon
like with the suddenly missing tribe. marduks flip was because he was added by one of kiques friends at the time. of course it went as usual and they wanted their character back(and the map they made). which is also why he looks different from his original premier looks.
this is all kique just trashing the character to boost his ego and get people to hate him as well.
Yep! Kique did J Harper pretty badly. He does this all the time with friends he has a falling out with. I’m just shaking my head.