Another busy weekend, but I’m determined to not let it stop me from doing my weekly round up. Though writing these on Mondays feels a lot more stressful versus having that nice Sunday buffer.
Africa | Page(s): 472 | Patreon
As I mused about on the previous page, Bibi and Mondo are very similar cats and there are things she can teach him that Africa simply can’t. Unsurprisingly, Bibi brings up the topic of the serval kit living with her. Honestly, it’s a better match up for him, as his leopard mother can only teach him so much. I do believe the arrangement could work and there’s no reason Mondo can’t keep visiting Africa. I think the biggest obstacle would be Mosi and his anger issues. Fortunately, it seems like he’s slowly getting better.
Then there’s the issue of Bibi being sick. Even Mondo can see it, no matter how hard the caracal tries to hide it. Fingers crossed that this sickness isn’t fatal.
The Order of the Black Dog | Issue 30 Page(s): 10 | Patreon
The suited figure is after memories, and they couldn’t care less about the body they’re inhabiting. That tells me that either they’re one of the strange small fuzzy aliens stuffed inside a cloned meat suit, like with Kaz, or it’s something else. I’m still thinking this might be a clone of the hedgehog scientist who was kidnapped, had her memories extracted, and was then left for dead. I wonder why the memories are so crucial. Does whoever’s pulling the strings need the memories to implant into another doppelgänger? Or do they want a play by play of how their plans were stopped? Or maybe both?
That said, I love Julia’s quick thinking here. If extracting memories are the only thing that matters to the suited figure, then hold the bodies of the dead Kae-Kariin hostage. No skull, no memories. This gambit actually works as the figure stops, and holds their hands up. Will they surrender long enough for the facility’s security to apprehend them, or do they have a plan b?
In The Lion’s Den: The Scarlet Uproar | Page(s): 87-88 | Patreon
Kay’s interesting day continues as she’s hauled out of her jail cell. Her outburst at the gathering really did turn some powerful heads. Escorted in handcuffs and by two armed guards (their guns trained on her the entire time), she’s being taken to someone important. If I had to wager a guess, it’s probably the elite feline who also has a diamond marking. The one who told the guards to remove Kay from the games and toss her into jail. The giant’s tears were already confiscated, so what could this feline want? Maybe to invite our protagonist into their ranks? An interrogation on how she actually got her hands on the tears?
On another note, I love how the building Kay is being walked into is cracking and seems ready to fall apart. Now that could be because of all the construction happening around them, and thus the need for those luxury condos. Though it could also be taken a visual sign of the overall rot and decay in The Lion’s Den.
Lost Scent | Page(s): 123 | Patreon
The talk is finally happening, and Motte is refreshingly open with her feelings. Just because you get along extremely well with someone, and they’re charming doesn’t mean you’re in love with them. Things such as temporary flings do exist. As for Tulpi she mentions falling in love quickly. I have the suspicion that the “last time” it happened, was with Motte and that she’s still in love, but is trying to talk herself out of it. Now, I could be misreading that and maybe another dog in the past did break her heart, and she’s worried her traveling companion could do the same.
That said, Motte isn’t wrong about catching feelings, and is essentially validating Tulpi. At the same time, the Borzoi-mix notes that really falling in love means spending time together, talking, and forming a connection. In that sense, even if she fell for Morgan’s charm back on the ship, that was more of a superficial connection. In terms of our girls, Tulpi still has a shot if she’s willing to take a chance and put her feelings out there.
Golden Shrike | Page(s): 362 | Patreon
Among some GS readers, there had been a theory floating around that Antaras was the reincarnation of Mousara because of what Loss said. This page pretty much confirms that everything the Northerner buck knows was taught to him by his mother– including how to capture gods. Once again, he comes from a line descended from Mousara. Unexpectedly, Antaras has a lot in common with Iralee. They both had mothers who taught them, were less than nice to their children, and are dead.
In an alternative universe where Oudia had survived, or the storm never happened, Antaras could have used his God-Caller knowledge to help deer. He could have been a great comfort to others like Iralee. If not in the north, maybe by traveling south to deer who still believe in the gods. Instead, that knowledge became a tool to trap Eve and Loss, and now to keep this particular God-Caller hostage. Since she can’t hurt Antaras physically (especially thanks to being drugged up), harsh, biting words are all she has.
This buck’s plan is truly desperate, as it hinges on wearing out Iralee until she agrees to help him with Eve. It amazes me how he actually doesn’t have a clue on what to do, but can only watch as the stars he ensnared strangle what sanity he has left.
A handful of dogs are going out with Ronja to track Naeva. It’s wild to me how Kique says they’re not particularly good at tracking scents older than a day or two. I’m just struck at how he’s given his characters dog bodies, but wants so badly for them to be human-like. I’ve said it multiple times in the past, this comic really would work better if these characters were fully anthro. Instead, he’s going with an evolution via interference from the gods angle, and they’ve somehow made worse dogs. Maybe they were on to something with Avanti, but then stopped because they didn’t want to mess with nature too much. But if that were the case, why make a worse dog where they’re essentially stripped of their nose, one of the most powerful assets on a canine?
Sure, I guess I’ll just have to blame bad writing and an attempt to cover up plot holes with a less than ideal explanation. Otherwise, good chunks of this story fall apart.
We have another mid-page transition to a new location and scene. I wish Kique would have just ended the page with Ronja, and her group looking for Naeva, but that’d mean fewer panels. Playing with the number of panels and their size is just something this author is unwilling to do a lot of the time. So we get two scenes crammed into a single page.
Ferah and Felidae are back at Whispervale Tribe, and they have a brief conversation about Fraujar. It seems like he spends enough time with Ronja for the others in his tribe to notice. Ferah might be on to something with having him move in with his partner at Nordgarde Tribe and passing the leadership of WT to either his son or daughter. For whatever reason, Felidae doesn’t agree, and I guess the fifth panel is supposed to demonstrate how immature they are. That said, a single scene isn’t enough to gage their full personalities or leadership skills. Hell, we know so little about this tribe beyond the fact that Aira, Keirr, and Ferah now live there and that the tribe is kind unlike the former Meteor Tribe.
I don’t think the plan to merge tribes would have been a bad one, given how small Nordgarde is. No missing leadership for days, and no worries about the other tribes wanting to attack again. Hell with enough other dogs around, maybe Naeva wouldn’t have run off. But that’s what could have been, not what we currently have.
Off for the week:
On hiatus:
What Lurks Beneath | Pages(s): | Patreon
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