A bit of a shorter round up this week. Half the comics I follow are on hiatus, or are just off for the week. Africa returns on Wednesday at least!
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 30 Page(s): 5 | Patreon
I called it last week. Tazim-Talash is piloting Melissa’s dead body. So that means the Melissa back in Dr. Xijo’s lab is likely the real deal. How can that be possible? I’m not sure, but there is an interesting reader theory. Tazim might have used that piece of the Black Idol in the facility to place the tiger’s body and soul there as a favor for getting Kenazil away from Zalef-Labev. It’s an intriguing theory, and I’d love to see if that’s what actually happened.
I’m excited about the exchange between Tazim and Zalef. Melissa, Julia, Rhoda, and even other mortals are just chess pieces these two particular gods have been moving around since the start of this story. The gods themselves made a pact not to directly interfere with the Black Idol, so a workaround like manipulating or pushing mortals forward was needed. If I had to wager what Tazim means about “crops,” I’d say he means the Earthlings and their individual minds and souls.
They, through the use of Shankar Radiation (aka the screams of the gods and other supernatural beings), forced the Black Idol to bear crops that would sprout into individual people. Yet those crops are connected to the idol like a plant connected to soil. People being exposed to the Black Idol say, maybe during it appearing on the moon were driven insane, and sought to become one again with the Black Mass. I feel this is the “blight” Tazim is referring to. Someone needed to beat back the idol, and since Tazim couldn’t directly do it himself, he had to push the girls into taking action. I’d also say, Zalef played his own role, as he was the one who originally had Kenazil stalking Mel, and revealed the black dog could eat pieces of the Black Idol.
The bigger question is again, what happens now. Is Tazim going to take back what belongs to him? Will these two gods fight? Or does the snake/tree demon have more underhanded plans for Zalef, and getting what he ultimately wants back?
On a technical note, I wish this page had used white borders instead of black ones. The separation between the first and second panel is really hard to see, and it almost looks like Zalef and Tazim are facing each other. But what’s actually happening is Tazim/Mel is behind the Smiling Man, and he’s looking behind him on the first panel. Yes, I know it’s a minor nitpick. Now granted, the third panel clears things up as the motion lines indicate that he’s sharply turning to face Tazim/Mel. (I absolutely love Tazim’s sassy pose and how it’s in sharp contrast to Zalef’s clinched-fist, smiling-while-angry pose.) I also like how on the last two panels Tazim is looking up, filled with amused indignation, while Zalef is literally looking down on his fellow god.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 119 | Patreon
Unsurprisingly, the guard has no interest in hearing what Tulpi has to say. So she’s kicked out right along with Motte. Sadly, this is how the Akita-mix discovers the world is very, very unfair. It doesn’t matter that Ezra attacked first, after being a creep toward Tulpi. Just that he’s friends with the those in the bar, and they’ll easily take his word over theirs despite all the physical evidence to the contrary.
On this page Motte’s head injury is very noticeable after she was slammed against the bar a few pages ago. I went back and checked, but she didn’t have a visible injury on previous pages. I wonder if this was an oversight from the authors. Anyway, it’s a shame that Tupli has to be the one apologizing to her for her injuries when the Foxhound started the fight. On the upside, at least we know this is the incident that will lead to the girls becoming traveling companions. I’m guessing they just ultimately end up sticking together. I’m starting to wonder the Akita scraps her plans of going home so she can travel with the Borzoi-mix.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 357 | Patreon
This page ends up being a bit of a breather, as we have some banter between Nero, Kasko, and Boneslav. They’re taking a break because Runi is stuck in bramble, and I’m guessing Usma stayed with her while Nero went on guard duty, and Kasko, then followed by Boneslav went to fetch him. Speaking of the Stonekrovn, he’s right about the Marshlander buck needing to sleep. The bags under Nero’s eyes are very visible, and I doubt he’s slept well since Usma joined their group.
That said, I doubt he could sleep well, even if he wanted. Not until he can at least be personally sure that Usma isn’t a danger to the group. Thanks to the power of dramatic irony, we know she’s not a threat and really does want to see her father stopped for the sake of deerkind. While the others in the group have a feel for her, Nero just isn’t satisfied. Again, he’s not wrong to be suspicious, but this is coming at the cost of his own health.
That said, I’m curious about what Boneslav has found to be worrisome about her story. I have the feeling it has to do with Antaras’ motives rather than the Northern doe herself.
Just like that, the leaders of the Brightvale Tribe let the Asmundr pack stay with them to rest. You can say they did the bare minimum of at least asking about the group, but it seems like they would have had the pack wait just outside the tribe’s borders for this meeting. Especially given how nervous Vileo seems around the very large group. I’m also kind of annoyed that we didn’t get a good look at the traveling group before or as they Asmundr territory.
Going by the fourth panel, the Rabisu and the Zioqa seem to have disguised their dark coat colors, in order to pass for other breeds. Unless these are just colorful-pelted individuals we’re just now seeing. Considering all Zioqa in Asmundr were black, and here in Home they’re mostly black with some leopard-like spots, I’m going with disguised pelts. Still, part of me wishes that if they had colored their pelts to make traveling easier, there should have been a page about it. So maybe I’m not so confident in this theory.
Moving on, I can understand Vileo being nervous about the unknown dogs, but even the felines too? I mean, are there so few Taiga Lions that he’d be able to know each and every lion from Shiverfall Tribe? Do all of these lions live in ST, other than breakaways like Ateus?
Circling back to the hospitality, I guess the leadership of Brightvale are some of the nicer dogs on this island. A shame that can’t be said for one of their members, as I’m assuming this dog is running off likely inform Solar Stag Tribe. Sure, it’s a bit of an assumption to make on my part, but now that Marduk is gone, and Roghir is holed up in the Akiulfr enclave, SST is the only current antagonist presents a threat to the Asmundr pack. Yes, Ranach still technically counts as an antagonist, but he’s a bit too tied up in his own rebellion against the SST further north to worry or even know about these Earth dogs.
Off for the week:
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): | Patreon
On hiatus:
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): | Patreon
