I had a lot going on this week. So much in fact, that I jumped at the chance to take a night off from work to finish this up rather than skip a week. Personally, I may just need to skip weeks as needed until the personal problems that eat into my free time are resolved.
I decided to spend my night off writing. The rough draft of tomorrow’s post on the gaming blog is complete, and I circled back around to finish the post I started on Monday for this blog. There’s a 50/50 chance of a round up for next week. If you need anything to hold you over, I wrote about The Substance and shared my thoughts on Monster Hunter Wilds. Since those are staff columns, just scroll until you find my contributions. They’re not webcomic related, but I’m sure most of you reading are into more than just webcomics.
Africa | Page(s): 420| Patreon
Fortunately, Bibi and Mondo look no worse for wear, and hiding inside a tree was a good move. Unfortunately, Mosi is still extremely hostile to Mondo. To be fair, he sees the serval kit as Sabra. So much that it clouds out everything else in his mind. While I’m not sure if these two kids will ever become friends, at the very least getting to a point of neutrality in their relationship would be a good start. For that to happen Mosi has to stop seeing Sabra in Mondo. He’s going to have a hard time doing so without sitting down for a proper heart-to-heart talk with either Bibi or Africa. Sabra’s dead, Africa having gotten revenge for her cubs. Yet little has been solved, tensions are high, and feelings are still raw. The young leopard’s trauma runs deep, and our favorite serval kit doesn’t deserve any of the flak he’s receiving.
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): 892, 893, 894 | Patreon
I hadn’t noticed the little tuft of Trout’s fur stuck on Sturgeon’s claw until page 892. Though it is very visible on pages 888 and 889. It’s such a small detail, but that fur is enough to send Sturgeon into a dark spiral. Here’s fun fact: the Patreon version of page 893 was changed three times. The first version had a black scribble flowing out and growing in the background, the second version just had the cracks in the background, and the final version had a combination of the two. I only noticed the difference when I came to read comments on Patreon and saw the page had been changed. I loved seeing Arual work with the symbolism they wanted to convey.
My original interpretation was a growing darkness within Sturgeon. She came very close to striking her little sister with her claws out, and might have done so if Skua had not intervened. She could have been horrified at herself for losing control of her anger for a brief moment. For the newer version of the page, I can only guess the cracks and the darkness might represent something breaking in Sturgeon, much like what happened with Hake and his faith in The Tide. Could this be her faith in Trout and her reign cracking? Or is it Sturgeon’s ability to guide Trout’s actions to better the island for everyone? With the cracks and darkness combined could it be a loss of faith in herself and in Trout, horror at what she almost did to her sister, or dark thoughts about forcibly removing the queen from her throne?
The latter is a popular reader theory right now. I think there’s merit in it, especially if Sturgeon comes to realize Trout dying is the best course of action for the island. Much like she called Auklet out on with Thresher, and Auklet recognizing that his brother had to die for the good of the island.
This might not come to pass because Sturgeon finally has someone she can rely on as a friend (and perhaps mate) in the form of Tansy. Her new Lionheart might be able to keep her grounded and away from her worse impulses. (Like the entire bone-headed assassination plot.) I just hope Sturgeon and Tansy’s relationship doesn’t mirror what happened to Hake and Tusk. Though Tansy is a smooth operator in a way that Tusk could never have been.
This is also the end of chapter 31. What Lurks Beneath goes on hiatus until May 30th. So this comic will be back on my round up list in June.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 29, Page: 5 | Patreon
It’s finally happening. Mel is going to the moon. While I’m excited to see her take a shot at the Black Idol, I’m slightly worried about her being away from Julia. Yes, Mel has a strong will, but of the pair, Julia is the action girl. We’ve seen Julia rush in and help save Mel’s father’s life, we’ve seen her survive being off-planet and find a way home, and she’s stood up to the gods numerous times. That said, Julia wasn’t compatible with the experiments the scientists were running and Mel was. Thinking about it, Mel was able to get a religious fanatic to stand down with a mix of threats and persuasion. Perhaps of the two she really is the best suited for this mission.
She scored high on the experiment, has dealt with the Black Idol before, and has the Black Dog’s crystal. I’m just worried that something will go wrong or if something does go right there will be a cost. After all, spiritual beings and the gods don’t usually help mortals without a cost– even in this universe with advanced science.
There is a spot of hope for me. Thinking about Mel helped Julia come home, so the reverse could happen here.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 84 | Patreon
Even though PIG is a creature of few words, I’m glad he’s there for Tulpi. (I’m not entirely certain he can understand her words, but maybe he understands her feelings?) This page circles right back around to Tulpi’s anxiety. It’s not that Motte is unwilling to listen to her, or that she can better connect to Morgan. The issue here is that Tulpi’s awkwardness and her fears are preventing her from having that heart-to-heart with her traveling partner.
How many times has crushing anxiety stopped you dead in your tracks when came to talking to someone, or accomplishing something? It could be working up the courage to tell somehow how you really feel about them, reaching out to be friends, or just standing up for yourself. You’re in a situation that’s not completely ideal, but maintaining the status quo feels better than the possibility of making things worse.
That’s what your anxiety tells you. In a way, you’re kept in mental stasis while you wonder how or why others have it so easy. Perhaps they’ve broken through their own wall of worries, or they’re naturally more outgoing. Tulpi will never make any progress until she can either smash that wall herself, or Motte somehow breaks through. Of course this would take one or both of the girls having a revelation. Or an outside force pushes them closer together and they finally have that talk.
I’m starting to wonder if Lost Scent is less about Tulpi and Motte’s destination, and more about their discovery of each other as people as they open up and become closer.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 310 | Patreon
Whoa! Antaras’s Halv’s broken beak looks gnarly. Considering how much love Antaras has for his Halv, I’m thinking maybe an accident caused it rather than violence he’d inflicted on his own bird. That said, the full story of what this former Caller did to capture two gods is going to be a captivating one. The bits and pieces being placed before us are already fascinating. I’m very much getting the impression that whatever trouble he stepped into was more than he could handle. I’ll also wager a guess that the Northerner buck isn’t interested in stopping until either his fawn is born, or whatever goal he originally had in mind is completed.
It is clear that Antaras’s actions first drove his Halv away, then his daughter. Possibly any other family or herd members he had left. Then a third-party murdered Helvise, painted the crime on her helpers, and Antaras took the bait and killed them. Without anyone else to anchor him or provide him with an outside perspective, Eve seems ready to take control. That’s just the impression I’m getting from the last panel as her smile is sinister, and his eyes seem to have clouded the moment his gaze met hers. Notice this happens as soon as Antaras’s Halv leaves him, possibly for good.
This makes me believe that his bird was desperately trying to get him to see reason, going as far as digging its talons into his shoulder. This was the buck’s last out on whatever his goal is, and he just blew past that final exit ramp. There’s truly no going back for him now.
It’s good to have a page that’s not talking about sex, or characters having sex (albeit with a discretion shot). We’re finally seeing what Jahla has been up to since she left the Asmundr pack. Of course the last time we saw her she and Romé boned on page 886. This time around, she’s actually working on something useful. I guess that post-dicking down clarity really helped. (I’m fine with romance and sex in a story, but NOT when it comes at the expense of a competent plot.) Anyway, as Jahla pours through the scrolls she created at Origin Orion Tribe, she gets some translation help from Avanti. I nearly forgot that Argeirr was the one who brought her the scrolls. It’s been 259 pages and four years in real time, but at least that event in the story didn’t go to waste.
I really wish there was more clarification about Folluin. All we know is that his particular breed was created by the Sky Gods to serve as a familiar. This particular hare was selected to help Jahla (which raises the question of why they’re with Ninmah and not Rohgir, but I digress). He has wisdom, but there’s no mention of him actually knowing the original language of the Sky Gods. Avanti is a little less vague. She speaks the language of both the gods and the dogs because she’s a fusion of the two. I suppose I’m hung up on Folluin needing to translate the gods’ alphabet into Old Norse. Is this a skill every hare from his species has? Could Avanti have done both herself? Why couldn’t Folluin have done this translation on the scrolls sooner? Did Jahla only remember they existed because Marduk is suddenly a threat?
While it’s cool to see the supporting characters in Home do something, this page raises more questions than answers for me. I’m positive the scrolls will be translated. However, it’s the lack of good world and character building in this comic that is dampening my enjoyment of these scenes.
On hiatus:
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): | Patreon
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