I ultimately ended up loving the first book of The Lion’s Den so much that I bought a physical copy. I’ll have a write-up posted before the end of this month.
Chapter 28 of What Lurks Beneath is coming to and end soon. It has been an intense chapter. I’m debating on writing about it here. Maybe if I have time, I could shoot for a short post. Speaking of WLB, I nearly missed the Sturgeon and Tansy as hyenas cameo on page 458 of Tofauti Sawa. I love how chill they are together.
In a final bit of news for the webcomics I’m following, chapter two of Friends with a Monster will be starting soon. The chapter cover is up on DeviantArt now, but you can read the comic on ComicFury. Suskisusi also has a Patreon if you’re interested in joining and reading ten pages ahead of the public.
Africa | Page(s): 371 | Patreon
As Mosi considers Africa’s suggestion to talk, he glimpses at Mondo and hisses. The young leopard then turns away, rejecting his mother’s offer as it’s too dangerous. At that, Africa suggests they remove the danger by talking at a river gorge outside their old territory in four days. Mama and Mondo on one side of the bank, Mosi on the other. The young leopard hesitates before confirming that he’ll be there. As he turns to leave, Africa remarks how much he’s grown up and that she’s proud of him. Mosi smiles before leaving as Mondo watches him go with raised hackles.
Africa is proud of how Mosi has grown, but I’m proud of how Africa has grown as a character. A chapter ago, she might have been angry or standoffish with her son. Now, she’s more thoughtful and considerate. The idea of them just talking at a safe distance is brilliant. In this way Mosi can talk about what’s bothering him without going into a rage when Mondo is near, and Africa can give him some life advice. Before he left, I’m also glad she was able to relay how she’s proud of him. When she didn’t find his body along with Binti’s, she never lost faith that not only was he alive, but that he’d survive. I’m glad to see that faith has been repaid as they finally reunited, even for a brief moment.
As for the meeting in four days, a lot can happen between now and then. Let’s hope everyone gets to the gorge safely and that Chui isn’t nearby as a threat. He’s been out of Africa’s paws since their last disastrous meeting, but he’s still the main antagonist of this story.
To Catch a Star | Page(s): 495, 496, 497, 498 | Patreon
Scorch berates his underling one last time as he tells her she’s pathetic. She’s not only lost the sun, but the only star they had as well. Sneering, he walks off as he states they no longer have a way to find or capture the sun, and he is at a loss on what to do. Once Scorch is gone, Hearth attempts to ask the wolf about the dead Dusky, but can’t bring himself to actually utter the question. He says “Nevermind,” before turning to walk away. As he trots alone he tries to convince himself that Backlash wasn’t the dead Dusky. Before long he comes across a group of new Supernova recruits gathered around a fallen wolf. The wolf is the leader of the Nova pack that came across Backlash and Lupi. Said leader is not doing well as he’s suffering from heatstroke.
As he huffs in pain, a red Nova notices Hearth approaching the group to ask if they need help. The wolf glares at Hearth before answering that there isn’t anything he can do to help. The former pack leader begins to mutter “I’m sorry” over and over again as his breathing becomes more labored. His last words are “I should have never agreed to come…” just before he dies. Hearth tells the pack he’s sorry, and that he’d like to talk to the red wolf. The red wolf replies that he has nothing to say to the chosen one. Hearth then informs him that it’s about his mate, and all the wolves turn to him with wide eyes.
As I noted in my own comment on page 497, I thought the switch to the Supernova’s point of view would be an emotional break from all the death we’ve just witnessed. After all, we just sat through multiple pages of Takedown literally beating Backlash to death. Then we watched Shadow give her own life to save Lupi from Takedown. While it looks like Scorch is not like Takedown in the fact that he doesn’t directly murder his own subordinates for failure, it’s clear the Supernova pack has their own system of brutality. The irony is amazing.
Even though the Supernova pack doesn’t have to fight for scraps of food, survival, or to gain a higher rank, they’re still being killed because of their way of life. Namely, forcing members of this pack to endure standing out in the sun all the time. Since this world doesn’t have day/night cycles, there’s no rest from the sun for these wolves. They’re punished if they try to stand in the shade to take a break from the heat. Worse yet, I’m sure the Supernova justify the deaths by considering wolves who die of heatstroke weak or unworthy of the sun’s blessings. Those who haven’t been drawn in by the complete fanaticism of this cult likely regret their decision to leave their friends and family behind.
Case in point, the leader of the other pack who just died. His final words were filled with regret as he overheated under the sun. His last thoughts were likely not only of his impending doom, but of members of the pack who may have already fallen, and the cooler colored Nova that were forced below the clouds. In his quest to repent for his perceived failings, he’s doomed his pack to greater tragedy. Worryingly, I’m not seeing the small pup who was with the red Nova among the others shading their leader from the sun.
I’m curious as to what Hearth could or would say about the red wolf’s mate, other than passing on the message that he’s doing fine. Would he also tell them about the mixed Nova and Dusky pack being led by Cloud and Blaze under the clouds? Could that give these wolves the motivation to escape the Supernova and reunite with their old pack– especially given how life for them is much worse under this cult? Better yet, will this moment of sadness give Hearth the kick in the tail he needs to suggest that he find Lupi to take a chance at restarting the world?
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 28, Page 1 | Patreon
An underground tram is transporting a hedgehog woman toward the surface. She goes through a full body scanner before wrapping herself in robes and concealing her face. She exits to the surface through a door. Now in a desert area, she’s surrounded by Avians as a shadowy figure spies on her in the distance.
As the newest issue slowly gets rolling this page is nothing but setup and world building. I had to read the transcript provided on this page to learn that this woman is actually one of the underground facility scientists. Those scientists were supposed to be in isolation studying the Black Idol. I wonder if this particular scientist is on a special mission or is just taking a vacation. Given that she’s immediately being spied on after leaving the underground, perhaps it’s a special mission.
I had to go back to Issue 26 to find her among the staff of the facility. She can be seen briefly on page 11 as Agent Jackson scrolls through data files. She appears again on page 18 of the same issue being asked questions during an interrogation to weed out infiltrators and doppelgängers. The Order of the Black Dog has been known to give minor characters in the background a major role, so I’m curious about this scientist especially since we’ve seen her several times in the past.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 264 | Patreon
Nero looks at his reflection in a lake as he’s elated about his new tine. Runi is confused and Kasko wonders out loud if Nero is going to lick his own reflection. The Marshlander buck then runs over to his friends, showing them his new tine. Kasko (who’s sporting a much more impressive set of antlers) wonders if it’s a tine fitting for a beetle, and Runi wonders if it’s a splinter. Surprised at their lackluster reactions, Nero insists the tine is there. He then asks the Woodlander buck where they can find antler booster plants. Chuckling, Kasko replies the group isn’t taking any detours and Nero is just going to have to find them on the way to their destination.
First that “Yes! Yes! Yes!” moment from JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure: Stardust Crusaders comes to my mind when looking at Nero’s reaction to his new tine. Second, I’m also not surprised that Kasko and Runi aren’t impressed. Though I am surprised that it’s Kasko keeping the group on track rather than allow everyone to be detoured for the sake of Nero’s vanity. As if a certain someone’s ego couldn’t become any more inflated. Little moments like these really make me appreciate the character development and world building in Golden Shrike. I’m glad things haven’t gotten so serious that the young adults don’t have time for fun.
With my discussion of fun comics out of the way, let’s get to Home. This page sparked quite a discussion on Grass Cake’s DeviantArt discussion page. I didn’t have time to contribute, but it’s worth reading.
Rogio gasps for air as he places a paw on his lower throat. Brutus slams and pins Roamer against a rock outcrop, and Kargo stabs the large dog with a knife just behind his spiked armor. Brutus barely flinches and elbows Kargo in the face. Not one to give up, Kargo grabs him by throat, latching on with fangs above the section of Brutus’s collar that’s not protected by Spikes. The grab is forceful enough to spin Kargo around so that he’s facing the edge of the cliff, or Brutus turns him around. Either way, the Jaro-Rifle Royale mix pushes back and regains his footing so he’s no longer dangling dangerously over the cliff. Kargo is somehow turned around again and now faces away from the cliff. Just then Ferah yells his name, and the point of her sword is visible in his eye. He lets go of Brutus just as Ferah rams the sword into the unprotected part of the King’s Hall Hound’s throat. As Ferah pushes the sword blade in deeper into the shocked dog, lightning flashes in the background and reveals the face of a spirit.
At this point I kind of wish Kique would stop with the battle scenes, as the placement of characters is so confusing. Readers pretty much have to infer what probably happened, as motion lines are unclear, and this author openly scoffs at the 180 rule. That rule is there for a reason. When it’s broken following characters is an exercise in confusion. Why did Kargo and Brutus switch places so many times during the fight? Was Brutus attempting to throw Kargo off the cliff? If so, the motion lines in the fifth panel should have been longer, better indicating who flipped who. As they are now, it just looks like Kargo is flailing about as he realizes his position over the cliff.
The sixth panel does a better job of showing that it is Kargo who regained his footing and is actively pushing Brutus back. Then things just get confusing again in the seventh panel as Kargo is suddenly facing in the opposite direction. When he did switch places with Brutus? How did Kargo get away from facing the edge of the cliff while still holding on to the King’s Hall Hound? I understand that for Ferah to easily stab him, without him falling on Kargo and both going off the cliff, the positions had to be switched. However, there are several transitional moments missing. The bulk of this page should have been dedicated to showing Kargo overpowering Brutus and pushing further and further away from that edge. The last panel could have been a cliffhanger with someone shouting Kargo’s name. Instead we have a rushed, confusing mess.
Let me give you an example of a comic that does use the 180 rule well in an action scene. I was just writing about Issue 26 of The Order of the Black Dog. So let’s detour and breakdown a fight scene really quickly. On page 26 of Issue 26, Agent Jackson and Ms. Okpara are in a standoff. Jackson is on the left side, while Okpara is on the right. Their heated exchange becomes violent when Okpara suddenly throws a cup of hot coffee at Jackson.
On page 27, he blocks the coffee with his arm, but is still forced to turn away to protect his face. Okpara uses the moment to unsheathe a dagger she had hidden. She lunges for Jackson, who instead grabs outstretched arm while using a taser on her with his free hand. She’s stunned and goes down. Jackson looks at her fallen form in surprise.
In this exchange the characters stay in position and never flip around. The motion lines are clear and make the flow of action easy to follow. The fight scenes in Home lack this clarity.
If you want to keep the comparisons to feral anthro comics, let’s take a very quick look at page 164 of Golden Shrike. Kasko and his herd leader have a showdown. The Sire stays firmly on the left and Kasko comes in on the right. In the large panel, we see the Sire flipping Kasko into the air, and up and behind him. The motion is quick, but easy to follow.
Going back to this page of Home, other things that bother me about the scene include a reused scene of Roamer being pinned by a larger opponent, just like he was with Aira ages ago. The scene is almost exactly the same! Again, Kargo has to come in and save his ass with a knife. Brutus never drops the knife in his mouth, except for when Ferah stabs him. Seems like he could have used said knife to either shank Roamer or Kargo. Heck, he could have used it on Rogio on the previous page. The knife only leaves Brutus’s mouth when he’s stabbed, but even then he still has a clenched teeth expression. So when did he have time to drop the knife? And sword in the final panel of this page looks crooked. Nevermind that space in Brutus’s spiked collar allowing the sword easily pierce through it like butter.
On a final note regarding that spiked collar, it was completely pointless if there was a gap where Kargo could grab him. Seems like the spikes should have been longer, like the wolf collars shepherd dogs often wear.
On more page to go on this awful raid scene.
On hiatus:
Lost Scent | Page(s): | Patreon
and the fact the dog got stabbed in the ribs, very likely gaining a popped lung/ stabbed liver. like sure, i GUESS they could shrug off a side slash, but def not a whole chest stab like that. ribs and lung aside,its blocking the elbow from moving back. (conveniently not enough to stop from elbowing kargo)
and why bother giving him a knife at all? this is probably the biggest time to just have him use his jaws and explain away why he didn’t use it at all.
I get that he was supposed to be a big strong opponent, but there’s no way he should be tanking damage like that. ESPECIALLY a knife to the lungs. That’s pretty hard to work around. And yeah, amazing how he was able to push on that knife with his elbow, not feel any pain, and still elbowed Kargo in the face. This comic!
I guess the knife was there for rule of cool. He sure as hell didn’t use it, even with all the chances he had.