The announcement came last week, a few days after my round up. If you haven’t heard, The Dragon Slayer has been officially discontinued. I’m sorry to any fans or readers who were curious about how it ended. I will say that Sleepy was very close to understanding some of the criticism she got regarding her newest comic, but still doesn’t get why a good number of readers had issues with TDS. Her handling of serious topics was poor. I honestly believe another part of the problem was that her more zealous fans were more than willing to dogpile on anyone who offered helpful critique even when she asked for critiques. Not to mention people who took things way too far with DMs. It’s a mess all around. I do hope that Sleepy just takes some time for herself and finds peace. If she returns to the comic-making space, hopefully it’s after a long period of rest. As for that review, I’ll get to it when I’m able. (I still need to actually read The Dragon Slayer beyond where I left off.)
On another front, I was told by friends that I Didn’t Know is on hiatus for the public, and may not be continued outside of Patreon. The reason given for that was harassment from fans in the form of DMs about the behavior of other fans. New signups for Patreon have also been turned off. It’s a shame for fans who enjoyed the story that the behavior of a few pushed the author to this decision. Sadly, turning off comments didn’t seem to be an option, I guess. Again, I don’t know how ComicFury works as I don’t have an account there. Or maybe SD is just frustrated and done with public comic creation for now. I can’t really say. I haven’t followed their work for years now. Honestly, I thought they’d reached the point of no more public comics after Repeat, but I was wrong. Maybe in due time I Didn’t Know will return like Repeat did to the public. I hope the hiatus does them some good as well.
I will say that for those bummed out, there are other comics to check out in the meantime. For example, Follow Your Heart has just returned from break, and Tofauti Sawa returns from hiatus on Wednesday.
Africa | Page(s): 439 | Patreon
Nevermind about Mosi sneaking away. The kid is totally busted. Ironically, it’s the coughing dogs that startled the leopard, making him fall. Now the biggest question is, are enough of the dogs in the pack sick to give Mosi a chance to run away? The only issue with that is how limited his stamina and mobility are because of his injuries. Fighting his way out might not be good option either, as there are way too many dogs to risk serious injury or death. Maybe can he talk his way out of this situation?
The fact that the dogs are assigned to follow Faida’s clan and Bes’ pride might mean that they don’t really want to waste time on a leopard teenager. Let’s hope that these factors work out in Mosi’s favor.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 936 – 937 | Patreon
It has been confirmed. All the Daisys that joined the Family were given the boot under Gull’s direction. Of course, she got to sit in the background as Trout gave the order as word from The Tide. Everything has gotten so much worse for Sturgeon. There’s no way she’s bringing Trout back from this decision. Even if it were reversed, it’s too big for cats to simply go along with. Some were already questioning her suggesting to The Tide to convert Daisys. More would question The Tide reversing that decision, then reversing it again.
I hate to stay it, but Sturgeon’s back is really against the wall now. She’s rapidly running out of peaceful solutions to resolve relations between these two groups of cats. Not only that, but food is still scarce, which means the Family would absolutely be unwilling to share with cats they view as dangerous and heretical. At this point it’s either assassinate Trout for real, have her step down (which means being fed to sharks) and take her place, or try the plan of leading cats to the smaller island. The issue is that many likely wouldn’t make it there in shark-infested waters, and I doubt Daisys would be willing to go with her plan like Family cats.
Of course, all this hinges on if Sturgeon is even still an advisor. A big part of me is worried that in her absence Gull, Skua, or Trout came up with the idea to strip her of her rank, and possibly banish her. If Sturgeon retains her rank and/or a place in the Family, it would only be because she knows the truth about The Tide, and Trout is likely afraid of word getting out. That’s just a theory.
We won’t know what happens next for a while, as What Lurks Beneath takes its usual hiatus between chapters. See you all on the other side of the break!
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 29, Page: 24 | Patreon
The Black Idol has gone for directly trying to absorb Melissa. Except, it doesn’t seem to be working. Instead, it’s just pierced and strung the poor tiger up. Not going to lie, I was confused by the last four panels, and the comic transcript helped me out. I was pretty sure that she was in the process of being absorbed, maybe right before the Black Dog finally went to work. But I’m curious as to why the Black Idol can’t fuse with Melissa.
If I had to wager a guess, it’s either because of Kenazil freeing her body of the Black Idol once before. I also thought it might be because of Tazim-Talash’s deal with Rhoda, but his deal only covered Julia. So the Black Dog must be protecting Melissa. I’m guessing the dog’s influence must be passive, as the Black Idol is more than capable of killing Melissa without absorbing her. So to get out of this ordeal alive, the tiger is going to have to make a deal. What will she give to Kenazil in exchange for her life?
Lost Scent | Page(s): 98 | Patreon
It’s good to know that Gooselake is a pretty tame territory, or at the very least at has rules that are enforced. Quite a departure from the hell that Tulpi and Motte went through, though they were still robbed in town. That said, nothing like a crash course in crab fishing. As Tulpi concentrates on the job, she’s missing her chance to learn more about Motte. I mean, she has a crush on her borzoi-mix companion, and small talk could help with that. Then again, I’m guessing the smaller dog doesn’t want to embarrass herself by failing the given task. Either way, Motte is the most relaxed we’ve seen her in a while, so I hope the girls can at least bond during the boat ride.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 329| Patreon
Antaras really wanted the March to suffer, and at the very least Ame has figured out this is likely his doing. She might not be jumping with the rest of the herd, but I doubt she can fight off five wolves. Although judging from the last panel, she looks about ready to give into her own panic and jump, despite telling everyone else not to. They’re all ignoring her, as fear of the uncertain probably seems better than being eaten alive by hungry wolves. Though I’ll tell you one thing, no one’s surviving that fall. Go back to page 328 to get a sense of the ice falls’ height. Even if that’s not clear ice below, and cold water, they’re still going to die upon impact. And if any of them DO survive, it won’t be for long.
What strikes me about Antaras’ choice is how he picked the most painful way for the group to go. Not a quick death like with Loss (though he doesn’t have the god yet), but absolute terror as deer have to decide to either jump to their deaths or being eaten. Also, they’re at the perfect pinch point where running is all but impossible. Worse, they were given a false sense of security with the God-Caller’s “blessing.” None of them saw this coming.
Poor Usma can only look on in horror and fear as more death and violence unfolds around her. The girl’s father reached a point of no return long before he got that ring on his tine. He’s the type of person to burn the entire world down to protect his loved ones. Nevermind bringing the same kind of pain to others.
Home | Page(s): 932 – 935| Patreon
This week is a four-page update, including starting a new chapter, “Fractured.” I guess it’s to do with the bloody civil war that Ranach is trying to start, and something to do with the Akiulfrs at Origin Orion Tribe. This is an okay cover, as it’s conveying the conflict to come. I’m just worried that as usual with Home, the story will overpromise and under deliver.
I’m wondering why the Asmundr pack made the effort to chop off the head of Marduk’s statue. It was made of wood. Seems like it would have been easier to burn it. Anyway, Thakir found his faith again (cloak and all), and Lifa apologized for dismissing Jahla’s concerns. As usual, it feels like Lifa’s addressing audience complaints rather than coming to realize what she said to her daughter was out of pocket. Rohgir slashed her muzzle for Sky Gods’ sake! But all of these revelations happened off-screen as usual. Still, I’d rather an apology versus it never being acknowledged.
Also, I wish Kique had expanded upon Lifa’s visit. What did she think about her daughter running her own tribe? How about having Argeirr back after him being gone for so long? She hasn’t seen her boy since they parted ways at the start of this comic. How did she feel about Jahla breaking up with Rhov, and finding Romé only to see him murdered? Can Lifa relate, seeing how her partner (as evil as he was) died, and part of her still cared? Nope, we get none of that character building. The only thing we learn is that Jahla knows about Ranach (somehow), and that she’s ashamed of herself for ripping Marduk’s head off. At least I can get why she’d want to reflect on her actions, and the anger that started the chain reaction leading to Romé’s death.
And I think this is the first time she’s reached out to directly talk to Father in ages. Why couldn’t she call him before running off to confront Marduk? I’d be one thing if she tried, and she never got an answer, but she didn’t even try. Yet it works here with a call-back to how the Sky God used to appear to characters in Asmundr. Too bad Father looks significantly worse here, and his Rifle design is gone. He looks like a Southern Jaro with a crest and the Rifle silky chest hairs. Perhaps the point was to make him more relatable to Jahla instead of other-worldly, as he appeared to Kainan. Still, I wish there was a better compromise between his two designs. He doesn’t even have the Roman nose anymore.
Anyway, Jahla bawls her eyes out about running off and how it got Romé killed, and Father tries to reassure her. Personally, I’m way more interested in Father’s explanation on how Marduk managed to deceive the pack, and why Father’s only now just showing up after being away for so long. I can only hope the remainder of this scene is mildly satisfying.
Off for the week:
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): | Patreon
On hiatus:
Nothing!
