Tapas is shutting down. It’s unclear when the plug will be pulled, but it’s time to start looking for a new comic home if you’re a creator or reader using this platform. After being acquired by Kakao Entertainment in 2021 for $800 million, Tapas has been deemed unprofitable, so the service is being shuttered. As of this writing, they haven’t made an official announcement. I’ve personally never used Tapas, so I don’t have any input on that front. Even so, I suggest an alternative platform like ComicFury as an independent alternative for creators and readers.
On the creator side, it never hurts to have your own website either. At the very least, you won’t be scrambling for a place to host your comics should a platform close. Here’s a great guide to getting started on self-hosting. On the viewer side, RSS is an easy way to follow all of your favorite comic artists on different websites. Here’s my guide to getting started with RSS.
In better news, my copy of Jumanlanpelko arrived last Monday. It was actually sent back to the post office because I had to sign for it, and the mail carrier arrived while I was still in bed. I had the book sent to the post office so I could pick it up instead of attempting a redelivery. I was misdirected by the confirmation email, and had to go two different post offices before I got my package. The comic looks great, and I appreciate all the little changes that Sysi made for the print release. This is just book one of two, and I’ll keep an eye on for the second book when it’s ready to go. The only downside, the shipping was expensive. More than double the price of the comic itself. I’m not stating that as a discouragement, but just an acknowledgment of reality, just in case you’d like a copy for yourself whenever Sysi reopens orders. (They are currently closed.)
Africa | Page(s): 488 | Patreon
And there we go, Chui is agile enough to springboard off of Kafil and reach the edge of the gorge. I knew he wasn’t going to bite it here. Still, I’m just waiting for day the slippery bastard gets his comeuppance. Speaking of that, Kafil certainly got his. Now, him trying to take the rotten leopard with him was admirable. One good deed on his way out.
That said, I feel bad for the zebra because that jump wasn’t an instant death. He’s still conscious, has at least three broken legs, and is about to be eaten alive. Even the members of the herd he hurt with his actions and inaction didn’t suffer this badly. I can only hope that the poor guy will be in shock by the time the crocodiles get to him. But thanks to Kafil’s final act, Hazina should be able to slip by the crocs and get herself to safety. Other than seeing the shock of her former friend broken and dying at the bottom of the gorge, I wonder if she fears that could have been her. You know, if her own slide wasn’t halted by the gash in the canyon’s side.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 1032 – 1034 | Patreon
Sturgeon reveals to Trout that Thresher’s attacker was Auklet. Kudos to those of you who figured out immediately that she was going to talk about their uncle. I didn’t quite see it coming myself. These three pages don’t quite clear up the mystery of Auklet’s disappearance. As Sturgeon only reveals that her father was being poisoned. She pins the blame on their uncle, but we all know who laced that food with lavender.
I do find it amusing and clever that Sturgeon simply swapped her role for Auklet’s when telling the queen about these events. It’s a good way to show how Family cats didn’t approve of their former king, while twisting the fact that she was the only one willing to do anything about it. Some of it is the truth, because she is the Family cat who took action.
Both Sturgeon and Trout’s views on Thresher are on full display here. The queen still holds love in her heart for their father, and like with Petrel, if she were in the same (mostly fictional) situation, she would have snitched. Again, our Daisy called it when they noted Trout wasn’t afraid of Thresher, nor does she have contempt for him like the other two siblings. Meanwhile, Sturgeon knows the full depths of his horror, but never really conveyed it to her siblings, though Hake picked up on some of it.
Even with Sturgeon’s angle of attack of trying to get Trout to see that her actions won’t ultimately keep her safe, I’m still not sure if it will work. Again, learning the truth about how other cats didn’t like the king is a good thing, but won’t help the queen’s own paranoia and fear. I worry that this line of reasoning will either close Trout off from much of the Family, or make her entirely dependent on Skua. She doesn’t have the level head or cold rationality of her older sister.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 30 Page(s): 26 | Patreon
Agent Jackson continues to catch Sedjet (and the audience) up on the rest of the staff related to The Black Idol. I’m glad Dr. Dara is doing well, and is taking a sabbatical from all this research. She certainly has earned it given all she’s seen and experienced. We also get to see her partner and their dog. (It is interesting to see feral animals in a universe with anthro animals.) Dr. Xijo has returned to Mars. I’m guessing quite a few months has passed between his observations of Melissa and this point. Or like Dara, he might just need some time off.
Whatever monitoring the SIU was doing for Dr. Xijo missed his infection with the Black Idol. I’m not sure the covert monitoring by Mars officials will do much better, as he’s at home and is coughing up bits of the idol. Considering that he’s not from Earth, this is a curious twist. Can he be assimilated into the idol with time? Is his infection contagious? Is this the idol’s backup plan since things aren’t going well on Earth? I’m going to assume he was infected by Sedjet in issue 20. What this means is unclear to me. It looks like if the Black Idol is eradicated on Earth, it may find a way to continue living elsewhere, especially if the Dr. Xijo doesn’t seek treatment for his infection. Maybe this is how it threatens so many worlds beyond Earth as mentioned in issue 11.
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 101 – 102 | Patreon
We’ve had flashbacks into Kay’s past, but here Klea is laying it all out. Kay’s name is actually Caecilia. While she was an orphan, she was later recruited as a soldier in the Royal Army. For whatever reason (that will likely be made clear in the future), she murdered a Royal General Officer. Given her panic, I’m certain that Kay is telling the truth, and whatever happened wasn’t murder in cold blood. I can’t begin to theorize what may have happened, so the reveal will be something. Also, was this murder on the same day as the rebellion? That’s likely the general’s blood on her dress, and she was chased by what looks like the Royal Guard. I’m going to chuckle if all that happened on the same day or in short succession, as the murder of a high-ranking officer, a rebellion, and the emergence of a Therian is a LOT.
I’m not surprised that Kay ultimately took Klea and Ursus’ offer. She’s wanted by the Old Guard, which might still be around and could explain why she was kidnapped from the land of Giants. Not only that, but she’s in trouble with Panthera Ligo after assaulting that officer. The offer of having her crimes cleared and being compensated for searching for the Aconite seems like a good deal. Doubly so since the alternative is likely jail time or being fed to Maximus. You’d have to have a death wish NOT to take the offer. Even so, making deals with fascists never go well in the long run, so I hope Kay realizes this and forms a plan B in the future. I’m not expecting that plan now, because our girl doesn’t even have a plan A.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 378 | Patreon
As Nero’s group heads to Farnorth, Usma brings up an excellent point. One I’ve never considered. It’s cold there, and the Grasslanders might have some trouble with their shorter coats. Winter is approaching so that’s a danger for Nero, Runi, and Kasko. And Usma is understandably traumatized from the March and watching so many Grasslanders die, including Oudia. At this point we can only hope that finding War doesn’t take the group long, and they can book it South ASAP. Usma’s worries aside, I’d like to think that Oudia and other deer with short coats lived in Farnorth without too much issue, so the group will be fine.
The other interesting take away here is that Usma doesn’t really believe in the gods, even with her father being a God-caller. Her lack of faith makes sense as it doesn’t seem to be very widespread in the North, and Antaras wasn’t much of a believer himself. I should clarify that he knows about the gods, and how to summon and control them. Yet, he doesn’t have any faith in them, and maybe because of his mother, he has some resentment. While that resentment wasn’t passed down to Usma, the lack of faith certainly was, even before the unnatural storm that killed so many.
Lacking in faith and traveling with a god bound to your father sure is a lot to process.
Naeva gets a front row seat to Vamr’s murder. The distance between the two isn’t clear, and she appears much closer to Ranach on this page than she did on previous pages. Honestly, if she had been that close from the start, she would have been immediately spotted or scented (if the dogs’ noses actually worked). The discrepancy in distance does take a little away from this scene. Still, she and Ranach do lock eyes, and his cold stare (combined with the murder) sends her running. Some indication that he noticed her sooner would have been nice without her somehow suddenly being closer to him. I do like the detail of their eyes in the fourth and fifth panels.
That said, I have to question why Ranach saw Naeva and didn’t even attempt to pursue her. She did just witness him kill someone. Though he has no idea who she is and what tribe she’s come from, though she’s clearly wearing tribe paint. (On a side note, the wiki page for Nordgarde needs to be updated. Her Artisan markings aren’t on the chart at all.) Ranach just looking confused as she runs is lame. It would make more sense to me if he started after Naeva, then remembered he needed to take care of Vamr’s body first, and that’s why he doesn’t chase her.
Ultimately, this scene was about Naeva discovering for herself that everyone was right about Ranach being an awful person. Now that she’s witnessed his cruelty first hand, she needs to escape. And he has a body to dispose of, to hide his crimes from his fellow tribe members. Him taking action by starting a chase, then realizing he has more pressing issues would at least be more proactive than this weird stare.
As for Naeva, I’m guessing she’s going to run home. This adventure was about her finding and seeing Ranach for herself, or at least getting away from tribe that failed her in so many ways. Her running off was foolish, and at the very least she now knows her father really is dangerous. That talk with Ronja and the rest of the tribe should be an event, but don’t get your hopes up too high. I expect their talk to either be off-screen or rushed because character development barely exists in this comic.
Off for the week:
Lost Scent | Page(s): | Patreon
