Long time no see! My vacation is over, and I had an excellent time at Otakon and Furrydelphia. Going back to work after being away for two weeks was a little rough, but I got through it. Now I’m just working on getting back into round ups while also finishing my convention coverage for the gaming blog.
As for this blog, as I noted in my last update, I won’t be covering the weeks I missed. So we’re just jumping into the newest comic updates.
Africa | Page(s): 482 | Patreon
After many pages we finally see Chui again. Luckily for Bibi and Mondo, he walked right by them. Everyone else has bigger problems. I’m not surprised Kafil ran away, but I’m a little worried about Hasina standing her ground. She’s a fairly new leader, and I’m not sure if she can take on the leopard alone, like Abasi. Still, I’m certain she won’t be an easy fight. Will Kafil find his courage and help her? Who knows? If she had not ordered him to leave, I’m doubtful we would have stayed.
If she survives this encounter, she’ll definitely earn some valuable experience as a herd leader. Nevertheless, Chui has me worried. He’s a cunning jackass.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 1021- 1023 | Patreon
I’m glad the scene with Gull and Wrasse is over, but getting into what happened at the beach is rough. Going in, we knew seeing the Daisys exiled would be ugly. Wrasse is silent and uncomfortable, but unwilling to say anything to Trout. Gull is leading the charge with a level of cruelty that would make Thresher proud. While the Enforcers did their jobs, I have to wonder if any of them had doubts. The Family certainly did, even if Trout could only see them as being pleased with the decision, because she refuses to acknowledge the truth, and Gull probably praised her. If I were a regular member of the Family I’d be questioning the sanity of the Queen, and my own future safety with all these rapid changes.
Speaking of exile, of course the Daisys would protest. They’re the ones that stayed after Trout’s initial offer. They chose to believe in the Family, and many were likely true believers in The Tide. I can’t imagine after the stings of “I told you so,” from other Daisys who (rightfully) never trusted the Family, that anger wouldn’t continue to fester. If said Daisys were condemned to die in the forest via starvation, why not use the last of that energy to make a coordinated attack on the Family, and the queen herself? I can absolutely imagine a subset of these Daisys lashing out in the future.
The excuse that Trout gives of Tusk’s “betrayal” as a reason for the exile is beyond fucked up. For one, the Family betrayed Tusk by not honoring her wishes for Ray, and demanding her exile/death for something she never did. (Even if they knew Ray was buried in the forest, Tusk would still be guilty in their eyes for not laying him to rest on the beach, and some would still want her dead.) That was an issue solely with Tusk (and Mollymawk), and none of the other Daisys had a say in her decision with Ray. Yet they all collectively share the blame, because the Family cats, as riled up by Gull, can’t stop being bigots. And setting an example of having Tusk exiled from the island was already example enough, as Sturgeon points out.
In giving into her cowardice in order to feel safe, Trout is effectively setting up the conditions she’s so desperate to avoid. Confiding in Skua about The Tide and what she should do as a monarch was a mistake. Letting Gull convince her to chase off the Daisys was a mistake. And when all is said and done, this is something Sturgeon can’t fix. Yes, there’s some bitter irony here, as Sturgeon trying to show the Family that members of their rank i.e., Krill, are no better than the Daisys they feared backfired massively.
I can’t see how this doesn’t end with Sturgeon either sidelined and effectively forced to help Daisys in secret like when Thresher ruled, or she gets herself exiled like Hake. As for Trout, either her downfall comes from cats within the Family who find her rule too unstable, or the Daisys she’s wronged with her inaction. There is a tsunami of destructive change coming for these island cats, especially for the beach cats, and everyone is powerless to stop it.
On a technical note, Trout’s shaky speech bubbles and her insistence that she’s just a passenger in this moving disaster and not the head of a cult, is just amazing. She absolutely refuses to take any responsibility for her actions, or admit any fault. Even her evil ass father could do that much. The colors have also been incredible, as the green hues just paint everything in an unsettling light. Finally, the symbolism in the second panel on page 1022 is so good. Pleasing the Family that believes they’re adhering to The Tide’s laws has literally washed over Trout’s point of view. Rose-tinted water is covering up the reality of a cult that’s losing faith in her decisions, even as she tries so hard to make them happy.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 30 Page(s): 20 | Patreon
It turns out the cloaked creature was indeed Rhoda, and Tazim is elsewhere. I do wonder if she’s doing Tazim a favor by returning the two memories she swiped from Zalef’s realm. Surely, that has to be what the spirit wanted in exchange for helping Julia and Melissa obtain Kenazil. We’ll just have to wait to find out. As for the moment, I’m surprised to see Mal-Fa’asha again. We haven’t seen him since issue 3. Given how condescending he was to Rhoda back then, he can at least acknowledge how she’s grown.
I’m shocked that Mal-Fa’asha is actually doing Rhoda a favor. He’s been keeping an eye on Melissa, and she was the one responsible for placing Mel’s soul in that Black Idol embryo. It wasn’t Tazim at all! If a person can transform into a chunk of the Black Idol because that’s what the people of Earth really are, then why not transform a chunk of the Black Idol back into a person through magic rituals? I feel like some types of sacrifices alluded to with Mal-Fa’asha consisted of exactly this. If done correctly, a person could be effectively immortal, though based on the entity’s words Rhoda (or Mel) may have paid a price for this action.
That said, what on earth was the creature sacrificed? What kind of value did it even have? This page raises as many questions as it answers. Perhaps someone else was trying to use it as a vessel?
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 95-96 | Patreon
After some bickering, we learn that Rozaria is a bigot. I guess each member of this council of elites has a say, and the leader is just a spokesperson. Otherwise, I’m sure Rozaria would have been tossed out by Klea after the (commonplace) transphobic remarks. But there’s not much she can do, except sass her fellow councilwoman back, and I respect Klea for that. As for everything else she’s about to explain, it really is all authoritarianism.
We learn what the Panthera Ligo really wants. From what I can untangle, Kay’s been gone for about five years, but in her flashbacks, a Therian did not help with the uprising. So I can only guess that about a year ago Maximus arrived on the scene and made a deal with the Panthera Ligo. Or maybe a member of the council became a Therian, and still worked with the group instead of usurping sole power for itself. Either way, the neighboring cities wanted nothing to do with The Lion’s Den, the Therian, and the musk it excretes to control Critters. Thus, the sanctions. This is just a theory on my part.
So instead of maybe not working with Maximus, or finding allies that could help (as I’m sure there are other Critters with a similar mindset), they’re just doing a forceful takeover of other towns via the musk. I’m guessing Kay’s connection with her Giant, the fact that she has Giant’s tears, or her being a Diamond Abyssinian has caught the Panthera Ligo’s attention. Perhaps, they figure having a former noble added to their ranks could help.
On a less serious note, Ursus’ very stoned face is hilarious. You know I had to include it in the preview for this comic’s update.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 131 | Patreon
After quite a bit of persuasion, the scholar has convinced Tulpi to let him take a look at the meteor fragment. I certainly hope her trust isn’t misplaced. Doubly so since Motte and PIG are so far away. To be fair, Doctor Ferris doesn’t seem skeevy in the same way as Ezra did from the previous chapter. He was genuinely looking for the fragment, but Tulpi found it first.
This page is mostly world building. I love how he introduces himself as a Red Terrier, and Tulpi as a Northern Spitz, which is how I’ll refer to her from now on. We also learn that society really has collapsed, but even so, some dogs still have a love for natural science. I can’t help but wonder if dogs and other animals that built this world, and its civilization collapsed, or if they took over after humans disappeared. If this question is never directly answered, I’ll be okay without never fully knowing. There’s a charm in this mystery.
I do like how cats and dogs work together, and in this case the cats are playing the role of security. Doctor Ferris notes that the cats are on guard for “industrial espionage.” In other words, that means they’re not guarding his building against other dogs, but mice, rats, and perhaps even birds. What better way to gather secrets than to use rodents or small birds to sneak into a place, gather information, and then get out quickly? Who’d be best suited for guarding against these types of attacks? Cats. Even more so if they’re paid in both food (catching and eating the spies), money (assuming they also trade with nupsies), and shelter.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 372 | Patreon
I didn’t expect to see Antaras and Iralee again so soon. The drugging continues, as does the buck’s insistence that the God-caller is safe with him. Because yes, even if he won’t allow the beasts to eat her, nothing screams safety like being held and drugged against your will. Even now he wants her to keep talking with Eve, but Iralee is insightful enough to know the god has her own plans and desires. It’s Antaras’ stubbornness that got them into this mess, so I’m doubtful that he’ll take the advice to “let go.” If Usma and even his Halv couldn’t get through to him, I’m not sure about Iralee.
That said, now is as good a time as any to ask about the murdered deer. Unsurprisingly, Antaras admits to killing them all. He has no reason to deny it. Though like our trapped God-caller, I’m curious as to his motivations as well. I know for the couple it was to keep them from getting Eve to share her power, and for the girls he insisted that they helped kill Helevise, but was it something more than that?
The nice part about being off for about two weeks was getting to skip the remainder of the battle between the Asmundr pack and the Solar Stag Tribe. As usual, the battle ended abruptly and on an unsatisfying note. Raela will probably be okay, as she’s alive. Now we have the concept of internal tree bark. I guess if an injury doesn’t instantly kill, and not too much blood is lost, the concept works. It’s just amazing that nearly 1000 pages in, we’re just learning about this. It’s a small nitpick, but it kind of annoyed me. I feel like this wouldn’t be an issue if Kique bothered to do more world building instead of offloading it to a Wiki with information that is rarely depicted in the comic itself.
After not double-checking to make sure his mother is okay, or if they didn’t need any help with her wounds, Rhov runs off. Granted, it’s to make sure Feaf is not dead, but the entire scene could flow better. After all, as the battle started, he was the one who told Nirah to take Feaf to safety. So of course she wouldn’t be with them. If he had to have an excuse to check on Feaf, he could have just excused himself once Raela was being taken care of to make sure his mate was actually safe. Otherwise, he looks like a scatterbrain at best.
This comic also serves as an excellent example of why the 180 rule is important. The direction Rhov is facing changes several times in panels three through seven, yet he’s not actually turned around at all. It gives the impression that he slipped on blood, fell in the opposite direction he was facing, and then turned around again when finding Feaf behind a tree. When in reality, he slipped in a large pool of blood, fell forward, saw the dying Solar Stag dog, then walked around to the other side of the tree were Feaf and Nirah were. This is the only time he actually changes the direction he’s facing.
If Rhov’s running pose weren’t so lazy in the third panel, him slipping on the blood in the would make more sense. It looks like he’s just rearing up for no reason, and just somehow slips. Honestly, I think a panel of him stepping in the blood and lifting his paw in horror would have worked better. As for all the extra blood, somewhere between the dying dog, Feaf’s cut, and her likely giving birth explains it all. Because in Home, women simply have to give birth at the most inopportune times.
I’m going to cleanse my palate and reread the newest pages of What Lurks Beneath.
See you next week.
Off for the week:
On hiatus:
Hey Husky, welcome back!
A quick correction: Maximus The Revenant emerged during the peak of the uprisings between the anarchists and the monarchists. Subsequently it ended up forcibly ending the conflict by usurping the Diamond Monarchy and also rendering the anarchists powerless against it as well. Then the most influential socialites quickly flocked to Maximus’ side to form The Panthera Ligo, a third unaffiliated faction.
Hope that clears things up a little!
*Scribbles down notes.* Oh, that is helpful to keep in mind! Thank you, Renby! And thank you kindly for the welcome back.