My apologies for getting this round up done late. I had a busy weekend, but I didn’t want to miss another week.
I may end up missing next week because of Easter. If nothing goes up you’ll know.
Africa | Page(s): 417 | Patreon
It looks like our boy has found the lion pride. Since Mosi has been taking his rage and resentment out on Mondo, it’s easy to forget that also has a grudge against them. Yes, Sabra was the one who told the lions about his and Binti’s location, but Bes and his pride did the actual murder and maiming. Our young leopard’s anger toward the lions is so great that at one point he tried to attack Bes even as a cub. Fortunately, I don’t think Mosi would be rash enough to lunge at the lion again, despite being older and stronger, especially with several lionesses around.
That said, there are two young cubs and I wouldn’t put it past Mosi to consider taking revenge on Binti by targeting them. Right now he seems to be observing and hasn’t been noticed. If he’s smart, he’ll stay up in the tree.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 882, 883, 884, 885 | Patreon
Before I get into last week’s pages, while browsing Tumblr I came across a fascinating post from a fan of What Lurks Beneath. It links Hake’s love of butterflies with Tusk, and how meeting her changed him.
As suspected, Trout is taking Skua’s advice and is giving up on helping anyone outside The Family. Furthermore, she now sees helping the Daisys who joined the cult as a mistake. She’s hellbent on doing whatever The Family expects of her. Definitely not the outcome Sturgeon was expecting when she set up that boneheaded assassination plot in an attempt to show everyone members of The Family weren’t beyond trying to assassinate the Queen. If she had just made Krill walk into the ocean or silently had him killed for treason, we wouldn’t be here.
While it’s unclear if Trout will expel the Daisys who joined, it is clear she’s making a sharp turn inward. Setting herself up to be loved and adored as a leader is probably one of the worst mistakes she could make. Being a people pleaser will stop Trout from making difficult decisions on the fear that The Family won’t approve. At some point, savvier members will realize their queen will do anything they ask if enough of them put pressure on her. In this way, it becomes the cult that leads the leader, instead of the other way around. So even if Trout doesn’t intend to remove the Daisys that joined The Family, someone like Gull could put pressure on her to do so anyway.
Other scenarios could include a continuation of Thresher’s failed genocide as a way to solve the lack of food on the island. Again, if it’s what The Family thinks The Tide would want, by her own logic Trout would likely agree. In another possible scenario, someone among the Daisys could manage to unite them, and they make a push to take down The Family. If they’re starving and dying anyway they’d have nothing left to lose. So many ways Trout’s plan not to help anyone could backfire. I’m not even sure Sturgeon can bully or manipulate her way out the mess Trout is currently setting up. Once more for the crowd, it’s Sturgeon’s own plotting that drove Trout to give into her paranoia. She probably can’t make amends now.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 29, Page: 2 | Patreon
As I thought, Dr. Njeri is looking for Agent Jackson because something is going on with Okpara. I’m not sure what they have cooking, but I feel like she’s ready to help them by identifying the other doppelgängers that have infiltrated the facility. Or perhaps she’s going to tell them more about the man who brought their civilization back. Either way, I’m excited about the next page.
As for this page, it feels odd that Agent Jackson would take the time to replace an air filter in the ducts. As the doctor pointed out, they have engineers who could have easily done the task themselves. I believe the agent has actually planted something in the air ducts. It could be a monitoring device or something else. Again the incident that cost him both his eyes, and part of his ear could happen again once they try to reactivate the portal to the moon. Best to be proactive rather than reactive.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 82 | Patreon
Tulpi’s issues go beyond just Morgan flirting with Motte. The Akita-mix feels like she doesn’t belong in the group. Morgan has charisma, and the rest of them are just cool. Additionally, Tulpi does have a crush on Motte, but fears the Borzoi-mix is a better fit for Morgan’s group than she is. That said, I think her own self-doubt and anxiety blinded her to the fact that everyone was trying to make her feel welcome and a part of the group.
At the moment, she’s just having a chat with PIG, so my fears about Tulpi doing something rash are fading. It’s also cute how PIG is trying to comfort her. I wonder if he can understand dogs? I also saw how Motte noticed Tulpi, so I’m hoping that she’ll come and talk to her traveling companion. A nice heart-to-heart would probably do both ladies some good.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 305 | Patreon
I can appreciate Runi’s attempt to break the ice by having everyone introduce themselves. I’ll say it as many times as needed– at the moment what the group needs is information, and Usma is a valuable source of that. Because of Helevise she knows a little about them, as she revealed to the group. It’s right here that Nero rubs me the wrong way yet again.
Let me start by saying that I understand his caution, especially since he doesn’t know if Usma is a spy sent by Antaras, or if the Northerner plans find and kill them. Still, the Marshlander buck can’t help but be abrasive. The logical thing to do would be to let her have her say, then determine if the information is reliable, and if Usma is someone worth taking with them. But no, he’s already made up his mind not to hear her out. Even the rest of the group is tiring of his antics. Judging from Usma’s muzzle wrinkling up in the final panel, I think she’s either about to defend herself, or vent all the frustrations she’s put up with since Antaras captured the stars.
Looking back on earlier pages of Golden Shrike, I’m completely certain that she’s going to join their group. First there’s the Seer who said she’d serve as the group’s hope. Second there’s Helevise’s observation and her realization that she wants Nero’s group to put a stop to what her father is doing. Then there’s Usma seeing that Antaras killed Gitta and Prue, and her just being mentally done with him before actually running away. The difficult part will be her conveying all of those feelings effectively to the group. I.e., that she’s not a threat, and she wants to help make the world right again.
At the moment, I’m curious about what Antaras did to capture the stars and how that was an accident. If it was, this points to him getting way in over his head regarding Eve and Loss. Upon rereading some of this comic I’m convinced (until proven otherwise) that Eve is manipulating him, and might be working with other deer, like say, Dousa. This just a theory, but I’m curious to see if it pans out that way, or if I was just reading the scene incorrectly.
Since the Solar Stag Tribe is speed-running their way to being evil, I’m not surprised that Ronja sent them off. Again, it’s insane to me that they’d come all the way north to enlist Kargo via threats, when they could have just tried to make an alliance. Perhaps that’s what Lahmina wanted, but Faekas wouldn’t allow her to negotiate without making threats. Still, the proposition is dumb, and if they know of Ranach’s brewing rebellion, perhaps that time would be better spent shoring up their defenses, and standing with the few allies they do have.
Honestly, I still see SST as a tribe that was originally meant to do good, but their stances were grossly incompetent at best. Kique doesn’t know what to do with them, so they had to be villains. It would have been better if they had been painted as evil from the start. Then their actions would have made more sense.
I don’t think it was completely wise of Ronja to threaten them either, but I think Nordgarde will be fine in the long run. (Let me paint you a picture other than pointing out the obvious plot armor.) After all, if anyone in Solar Stag has a working brain, they’ll see it’s more logical to focus on Ranach first then worry about Nordgarde later. If the coming rebellion doesn’t decimate them first. I think it would have been unwise of Kargo go with them, because if they were willing to genocide entire species and throw the dogs who ratted out his location under the bus, they wouldn’t think twice about executing Kargo after the war.
The last few panels are meant to show how badass Nordgarde is by barking and sending Solar Stag away. Honestly with the spit and the unfocused eyes, it just looks like the dogs are rabid. They don’t even look close enough to the cliff to be looking down at the capital dogs. Sure, Ronja gets to look dignified as she threatens violence with her tribe. In response Lahmina looks mildly concerned, while Faekas just seems to be plotting something else. I can’t say I found this scene or exchange to be inspiring.
Furthermore, in the penultimate panel Onofre is visible behind the trees, spying on the meeting. Friends have pointed out to me that in the original Patreon version of this page, he’s not there. Kique adding him in will make sense in the future. I’ll discuss it then.
On another note, looks like a huge update was done on the Wiki regarding other tribes. Feels weird to see characters there we’ve not encountered in the comic, including spoilers on who’s going to join Ranach’s rebellion. Honestly, these feel like author’s notes that should have been left offline.
On hiatus:
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): | Patreon
The popular Antaras theory is that Eve is possessing the corpse of his deceased mate. Maybe his mate was dying while pregnant and to save his unborn he summoned Eve to save him/her but since he’s a terrible god caller‚ ended up dragging all the other stars. Would be pretty ironic‚ he losing his daughter over his unborn.
In WLB‚ it’s very cool to see how Sturgeon’s plans keep falling‚ Trout wouldn’t be in this mental condition if it wasn’t for Krill’s attack. She wanted to save the daisys and by doing so has doomed them even more.
Home keeps being stupid as fuck‚ the dogs aren’t even looking down!! I don’t think we talk enough about how little sense or straight up ugly some Home comics are. Wtf kinda name is “Faekas??”
I think the theory about Antaras is pretty sound. Makes sense because he keeps asking about his unborn child. It would be both hilarious and sad if him breaking the world was an accident because he wanted to save his unborn child. The irony of him pushing away Usma is pretty strong.
Trout didn’t have great opinions about the Daisys before, but Sturgeon has made everything SO much worse.
Wtf kinda name is “Faekas??” – I think Kique has stated before that he uses a name generator for the side characters in Home. That explains a lot. X_X
Thanks for your hard work, even with the busy weekend. I hope you enjoy Easter and manage to take some time for yourself. It’s interesting to see the dynamics between Mosi, Binti, and the cubs—hopefully, things remain calm for now. Trout’s shift inward and her focus on pleasing The Family could lead to some complicated situations. Do you think Trout will eventually stand up to the pressure from members like Gull, or will she continue to bend to their will?
Thank you so much! I ended up having a pretty good Easter. Saw a movie called The Substance. I was shocked at how much I came to enjoy it.
I’m curious if Mosi will take revenge for Binti by attacking Bes’s cubs.
Honestly, I believe Trout will continue to bend to the pressure from members like Gull. She’s essentially resigned herself to do anything The Family wants as long as it will keep her safe, and they believe it’s what the Tide would want. If Trout ever stands up for herself to cult, it will likely be because of an event that threatens her safety (or someone she loves), and by then she’ll be in too deep for it to end well.