I was this close to taking a break this week, but then I started writing and immediately felt better. Lesson learned? Sometimes you need a break, and other times you just need to do the thing that needs to be done.
Africa | Page(s): 427| Patreon
I have to admit, it’s pretty cute to see Bes resting with his two young sons. I guess he can’t be an asshole all the time. Meanwhile, Kitendo is pretty salty about having that hog stolen by the lions. So it’s not surprising that the gemsbok would be a tempting target.
I had to look at this page several times to make sense of what was going on with the gemsbok. First it appears out of nowhere and drinks that nasty contaminated water. After taking a drink it appears to be struggling just before it falls over. In the final panel, I nearly missed it, but it appears to have been darted by humans. So perhaps they were tracking this loner after it got separated from its herd? Maybe the humans hope to catch it and understand what’s going on with the crater’s fresh water source. Or maybe they’re putting it out of its misery?
Either way, if Kitendo doesn’t try to go for the gemsbok, I’m sure the lions will eventually notice it.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 901, 902, 903 | Patreon
While Hake and his little group waits for the storm to clear up with Egret, Sturgeon is back home in the caves lamenting to Tansy. Right after they’ve rolled around in catnip. It’s really cute that some of it is stuck to Tansy’s tail.
On a more serious note, I’m glad Sturgeon is finally confiding in someone else. She probably hasn’t had anyone to confide in since Petrel died. Tansy is a reasonable cat, and someone who’s definitely in the advisor’s court. I think it is also important that Sturgeon is admitting that because of her intentions, she inadvertently did the same thing to her siblings that Thresher would have done, if the former king had trained them. By protecting them in the most roundabout, underhanded way possible, she’s fulfilled her biggest fears.
I just hope her next course of action will involve figuring out a way to make things better on the island sans the underhanded schemes. Tansy has a good head on her shoulders, so I hope she provides Sturgeon with some sound advice, or at least keeps her from scheming too much.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 29, Page: 12 | Patreon
The Lunar Base has another surprise for the exploration team. It sent out Krizman to greet them. This guy was one of the first to be absorbed by the Black Idol when they were all sent to the moon in that sabotage event. It seems like the group’s guard knows him, and she’s lowered her spear. I fear this might be a big mistake if his likeness (in reality it’s the idol) goes on the attack. Judging from Agent Jackson’s surprise, no one saw this coming. Nothing like it was picked up on their drone footage.
This means Melissa’s device is only keeping some of the Black Idol suppressed, or the thing is allowing them to continue with the idea of luring them in with a familiar face. I don’t like this, and I’m worried that this will be where the expedition group comes apart. I fear that by using Krizman’s likeness it will either attack or somehow trick the group into lowering their defenses so they can be absorbed.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 89 | Patreon
The more Tulpi’s traveling companion explains to her who Ocean is, the more I’m convinced this is a cult. It’s one thing to live in a commune and have a leader. It’s another thing entirely if that leader manages everything and makes the most important decisions for the group. She even describes Ocean as a big mother hen, and the rest of the group as chicks. Then in claims how relaxed she is by handing over her self agency, only to panic when an event completely beyond her control knocks over a jug of milk. If things were that relaxed, why is this dog panicking over spilled milk? Is she afraid Ocean will be angry at her?
Her words not quite matching her actions screams that this dog is in a cult of personality. Things are well when Ocean is happy. If anything displeases him, there’s hell to pay. Again, I don’t think she’s trying to recruit Tulpi or anything of that nature, just explaining how her group works. I’m eager to see how the rest of this scene plays out. Of course that will have to wait until the first Sunday in July, as Lost Scent takes a break on the last Sunday of every month.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 317 | Patreon
Here it is. Oudia’s currently pregnant. The poor girl wasn’t able to tell the rest of her family before they set out on the March. Which means in terms of plot, whenever the bad thing happens it’s going to be extra emotionally devastating. A fawn between him and Oudia is the one thing Antaras has wanted, even after accepting Usma as his daughter. And Usma was very happy to learn that she’d soon have a sibling. If not for whatever happened during their journey.
Not much else is happening here, except building up the reasons why Antaras has decided to trap two stars while possibly condemning the rest of deerkind in the process. If I had to take a stab at it, I’d say Antaras had a kind heart that was crushed, and he’s doing it selfishly to make sure some part of Oudia survives in the form of their fawn. There’s likely much more to this, but I’m fairly excited about where this backstory is going. So far it has been doing a great job of building empathy and understanding for Antaras while not excusing his actions.
So my long-running confusion with this page has been settled. The sun is rising. Good stuff. Until next week, folks.
Oh, wait. There’s more happening here and you want me to talk about it? Okay, if you insist.
For whatever reason Rhov literally has to rally and push the pack to join Kainan outside their territory borders. Except, Marduk is surprisingly fast and catches up to Kainan in no time. Worse, they haven’t gotten very far from the obelisk. Then things get weird as the gray dog alien shifts his body, revealing he can change into an anthro form at will. It looks quite dumb, and he looks emaciated.
But yeah, despite not really acting like a villain, Marduk has gone full evil with a toothy grin and all. A reminder of how much Kique changed this character from what he was originally introduced as way back in 2017. This unbelievable villain arc is because this author had a falling out with his co-author years ago. I don’t really care that Marduk’s original purpose was changed, I just wish it was a more compelling shift because this build up has been lackluster at best.
It’s time for the Asmundr pack to either keep running or fight with all they have, because Marduk is finally making his move.
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In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): | Patreon
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also based on the direction the asmundr pack was running. they were running, somewhat to the side, toward the oblesk to then go past. not directly away in the opposite direction.
I know you put more thought into the direction the Asmundr pack was running than the author, Red. XD
But Kique aside, if we just examine their actions alone in this story, then this entire escape plan was a mess. It was rushed for no reason, no one plotted their route out, and no one had a backup plan for if Marduk woke up early. And why did they decide to wait until it was nearly dawn??? I wish more thought was put into these scenes instead of just rushing to the end result, details be damned.
Something that I’m appreciating with Lost Scent is that bottom half of page 89. Seeing the artist cram 6 panels into half a page, and have them all still read well is always really impressive! We’re also going from a fairly well ordered panel layout to something a lot more chaotic, so it’s really fun to look at from a design perspective.
Very much so! This is a good reminder how much visual storytelling and mood setting you can do with just panel layouts alone. 😀