I apologize for the sudden hiatus. It’s thankfully not related to the physical health and well-being of myself, my family, or friends. At the start of this month my husband’s car was stolen, and we’re still dealing with the related fallout. If you’re curious, feel free to read about it in my section of this staff column. I also provided an update which kept me occupied last week on social media. I will say we’re fortunate enough to have been able to find a cheap replacement car, but dealing with both regular insurance and gap insurance is becoming a nightmare.
Fortunately, this weekend was uneventful. Though I took a break from writing, chores, and errands to get some rest. I can’t say if I’m fully back on schedule, or if updates will be slightly sporadic.
Africa | Page(s): 400 | Patreon
All is not well with the clan, despite finding the massive elephant corpse. Nuru is not only still sore about how things went down with Africa, but how the clan took in other predators. She also revealed that Faida never told any of the other hyenas about her plans for revenge on the lions. Honestly, I’m getting Tofauti Sawa vibes (though hyenas and lions fighting each other is a pretty standard trope, and Faida is way more capable than Sahara).
It looks like a mutiny might be in full swing as Nuru displays Faida’s faults, and another hyena attacks the matriarch from behind. We’ll have to see if this revolt is successful or if the clan leader and her mate can fight back. If all the hyenas decide to attack at once, this could be the end of Faida’s reign. Either way, Fikra and Kitendo are shocked as they witness everything happening.
To Catch a Star | Page(s): 599 – 609 | Patreon
The final pages leading up to the end of To Catch A Star were all about filling in the bigger pieces of the puzzle regarding the sun and moon’s celestial bodies, and each sending down a Lupi. We have confirmation that the Sun deeply regrets what happened to the moon and why the pair originally created the world. It was nothing more than to give themselves a purpose and each surprised the other with the creation of their own children, the Dusky and Nova. Unfortunately, that led to everything unraveling as the children of both celestial bodies fought with each other, causing their mothers to become estranged from one another.
Thanks to the previous flashback we already know Lupi’s story, how they died, and how the sun and moon each took half their soul. What was a surprising revelation was how both celestial bodies shared Lupi’s story with the Dusky and Nova. However, time and maintaining a certain ideology warped the story into the present day myths. Back in May I theorized that the legend of Lupi was twisted to change the original meaning of the story. I had no idea the reality would be much simpler. Not only that, but the two halves of Lupi’s soul were sent down by the sun and the moon to collect shards in order to restore the moon’s original celestial body. Except, sun Lupi who was sent to bring light to the Dusky’s realm kept being murdered each time they were sent down. (It’s probably for the best their memories weren’t kept intact.) Backlash’s pack did it to pay tribute to the moon, not knowing that Lupi’s purpose was to help restore her. Meanwhile, the moon only had the strength to send down her Lupi once, then a puppy version one more time before falling into a slumber.
What’s not explained and bothers me slightly is the fact that the sun who was probably more than capable of communicating with the Nova, never ordered her children to rescue Lupi. Nor did she ever communicate her true wants. Perhaps it was the fact that Scorch leading the Supernova didn’t care about what she wanted, but their goals of seeing all the stars (aka pieces of the moon) collected aligned. Perhaps she intended to fulfill her own goal of reviving the moon, no matter what the Supernova actually wanted and just used them.
Maybe her children refused to listen to her so much that she gave up on talking to them. Hell, there’s a possibility that she was so devastated by the Nova destroying the moon with the power she granted them, that she just cut off all communication to her children. It would have been nice to have some clarification on if she just put all her trust into Lupi, or if she simply gave up on her children.
As for the Supernova keeping moon Lupi, I’m not sure why the sun couldn’t have just asked the group to release them. (Unless she did and Scorch didn’t listen.) Seems like they could have been as capable of collecting the stars as sun Lupi. Perhaps even more effective since their memories were intact. Unless, moon Lupi just gave up so much on the world that they refused to help, and Scorch had no intention of listening to what the sun said. Again, I’d love some insight into this from Sleepy.
As Lupi’s wish is granted it is confirmed that the sun has the final say in whether to accept that wish or not. She ultimately goes with Backlash’s wish for everything to work out for everyone. Which means the moon and the world are restored. Perhaps the celestial bodies now play an active role in guiding their children. Now for Lupi’s other wish, it seems to be having Backlash and Shadow honored as a cloud formation and a constellation, respectively.
After their duty was finished, both halves of Lupi’s soul was recombined into a single wolf who was sent back to the regular world– the combined pelt colors make this as plain as day. Given that Lupi still has their broken ear and scars, they weren’t reborn because they didn’t die. It’s a fitting reward for Lupi to have a shot at a regular life again for helping the sun and moon fix the world.
Another question is if everyone had kept their memories. I think the clues in the story point to yes, despite Sleepy leaving the matter open to interpretation. Cloud’s pack is still together, Blaze is enjoying the company of her grandchildren and her son’s mate. Tussle and Sweep have joined up with the two mated Nova for adventures. The one Nova collecting flowers for medicine has been joined by Shadow’s sister, and Flare is handing her flowers while an overprotective Scorch stays close. Even Hearth and Sunny are still pals and the latter has partially dyed his fur again. If all their memories had gone would the pack be together? Maybe, but I couldn’t see them being chummy in the same way that they were before the world was restored. Also, Scorch seems unhappy about everything. If his memories were gone would he have a reason to be such a grump?
On a side note, it’s unfair that despite all of Scorch’s evil that he gets to live. Sometimes evil people get away with their misdeeds. I don’t think this is redemption for Scorch, rather the fact that no one saw a reason to end his life. He can’t hurt anyone now and isn’t in charge, so that’s going to have to be good enough.
A huge point of contention about the ending of this comic was that Backlash and Shadow weren’t brought back to life despite Lupi being sent back by the sun and moon. There were also a few complaints about Ray not coming back. He died, but he left behind a legacy with his surviving pups. If their deaths could have been undone that easily, it would have cheapened what had been already said about the dead. Lupi silently confirmed that the dead would not be coming back to life, thus Hearth’s anguish over Backlash and Shadow not being able to see the new world. If Backlash and Shadow had come back, it’s likely they would be reincarnated. They would be totally different wolves. Even Lupi looked different each time they died and were sent down from the sun. I’d argue even Lupi’s deaths were different as their bodies turned into a flower with each death, and their living bodies had a slate of powers regular wolves didn’t have. They were absolutely favored by the celestial bodies. Powers and favoritism Backlash and Shadow didn’t have.
It’s more meaningful that Backlash and Shadow received the original Lupi treatment in. While Lupi lives on as a mortal wolf again, the sun now has Backlash as a cloud formation and the moon has Shadow as a constellation. A flower that is part cloud and part constellation sits between them. I can’t think of a better way to honor their legacy in helping Lupi to restore the world, and to be remembered by those who loved them. They’ll go on to create new legends, hopefully ones that continue to create bonds between the Dusky and Nova. This is more impactful in the grand scheme than them coming back to life. I also wonder if Lupi will join them again in the sky as either a cloud formation or constellation when they finally pass on?
I firmly enjoyed To Catch A Star. Yes, it had pacing issues and left some aspects of its plot too vague for my tastes, and I wish the info dump near the end was a bit more elegant in its execution. Nevertheless, it was a better ending than White Tail and Sleepy grew in leaps and bounds a storyteller and visual artist. I will be checking out her new comic, The Dragon Slayer. I don’t know if I’ll write about it here, as I might fill this gap with another comic. We’ll see!
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 37, 38 | Patreon
We receive a little more backstory regarding the monarchy in The Lion’s Den. It makes sense that while some members would try to live regular lives, others would fight back against the new regime. After all, it has to be a blow to have had power, only to see it snatched away by a rebellion followed by a tyrant take over. It’s also fascinating to learn that despite there being numerous factions, none have been able to take power. I’m guessing they are all fighting separately instead of together. After all, they may have lots of differing visions for a new city government. If only there were someone able to unite them all. I’m split on wondering if that would be Kay, Harzuk, or someone else. Would such a union of factions even be possible?
I am a little surprised to hear the police are cracking down on dissidents. It seems like in The Wolf’s Veil, the wolf therian was mostly responsible for keeping the town in check. Here, the city’s much bigger. Turning the police into a fascist force is key to maintaining that power.
Not that Kay cares so much about that. She’s more interested in finding her partner, which may either be a friend or lover. All we know is that she’s also a Diamond Abyssinian feline. Luckily, Harzuk is not trying to stop Kay and actively helps her by gifting her new clothes. Seems like she came quite prepared to help the former feline royal. Of course having Kay go around in those tattered clothes would raise too much suspicion or people might assume she escaped from an asylum or prison. Let’s just hope that Harzuk continues to accompany Kay (she rescued the cat for a reason), and that being a former royal doesn’t cause them too many headaches.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 70 | Patreon
Several pages ago I was correct about the Labrador mix being The Selkie. It looks like numerous types of dogs seek favor with her, but she’s more than happy to turn them away. She seems interested in Motte and Tulpi, but Motte’s rudeness is understandably off-putting. I was wondering how the situation would be salvaged, but Tulpi has a knack for winning over strangers. She did so on the farm a while back, and she seems set to do so with The Selkie and her friends.
It helps that her story is not only captivating, but also harrowing in its desperation. You can’t help but feel bad for the Akita mix as she runs down their day, how they’ve been treated in this territory, and why they want to cross the strait. I’m not sure if Tulpi’s reasoning is completely honest, as she was separated from her brother and cousins, but it no longer seems to be her priority to return to them. After all, they abandoned her. But hey, it makes for a great story on why she and Motte need help.
Judging from dogs’ expressions in the last panel, Tulpi’s at least found a sympathetic ear with The Selkie and crew. Let’s hope these dogs will actually help them out. On a lighter notes, Tulpi’s name is a play on tulip.
I know I’ve missed several pages of Home, but my god not much has happened. As suspected, Romé has decided to comfort Jahla. And that comfort consists of a bed and canopy he’s put together. Honestly, the whole thing screams of being a sex bed. Which is exactly what happened judging from this page. Considering there was a bonus sex page on Patreon, it’s not even a question of if the two got it on. The Wiki hasn’t been updated to reflect Jahla and Romé becoming partners yet, bit I’d be surprised if it wasn’t in the future.
This page also confirms Romé exists to agree completely with Jahla, and to distract her from the pressing issue she’s not facing as a tribe leader. If she were actually a good Viscountess to her tribe and needed a break, that would be one thing. Instead, she’s been running from her problems since founding Havenreach at her grandmother’s request. I suppose that’s my bias speaking as I don’t care for them as a couple, AND I think Jahla’s breakup with Rhov was pointless. Rhov at least challenged Jahla because they didn’t agree on everything, but it only took one argument and being artificially kept apart for their relationship to fail. In contrast, Romé will literally worship the ground Jahla walks on. After all, he did call her his “young goddess.”
But hey, I guess finding a love life is one less concern Jahla has to deal with, as she continues to be indecisive regarding her own tribe and what to about Marduk. I just hope that in the future she doesn’t give all her responsibilities to her new lover, and that she actually shows some leadership initiative.
On hiatus:
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 29, Page: | Patreon
Golden Shrike | Page(s): | Patreon
