Housepets!

And suddenly this strip takes on a very different feel.

Ooh that was smooth. Nice.

Oh man though the difference between the two. Wow. These comics have come a long way. It really does put a different feel to it. Before it was funny but now that we know more it’s just sad.

Nicely done Rick, a perfect way of remaking that panel

Looks like Gale had a mirror, so at least she had that going for her while stitching her face in the dark. Is it just the art style change or misremembering the event, or has it been retconed that Lucretia is angrier and Miles is less unaware?

sometimes i feel that rick has planned the whole comic from beginning to end since he was a child

You know one day it would be nice to know what he’s reading.

At least now we know just how much the wild sucked.

Miles was so thin and lithe back then.

fenrirblack wrote:You know one day it would be nice to know what he’s reading.

At least now we know just how much it sucked.

Miles was so thin and lithe back then.

Tw*light. The Wild didn't have a library back then and he found it after a camper threw it into the bushes?

Circling time, back to the known
but now the invective behind is shown.
We still don’t know the actual event
but we know now why she won’t relent.
They lost their friend that day,
in the worst possible way.
An affection broken;
their lives a token,
one he returned today.
Back into the danger,
their friend now a stranger,
the hate running wild,
though she has child,
on Wolves now she’ll prey.

I notice that Gale demands that Miles never ask for a favor again, yet she still turned back around like Miles asked.

Welsh Halfwit wrote:

fenrirblack wrote:You know one day it would be nice to know what he’s reading.

At least now we know just how much it sucked.

Miles was so thin and lithe back then.

Tw*light. The Wild didn't have a library back then and he found it after a camper threw it into the bushes?.

I figured they would throw on the fire. But I’m being mean, I actually liked those books. I’m still not sure why though.

Well, Wasn't expecting it to transition that quickly.

However, it also shows Gale is attacking Miles for no real reason. From what I can Tell in the flashback, Lucretia had given birth not too Long ago, and Miles left with the pack to give Gale a chance to have a family.

And she repays him by trying to take his family away... Wow Gale, I have a few choice words for you, but I won't say them.

So I will say what I am able. Yer just Petty. Ye never let go, never learned to forgive, and decided to try and take Petty revenge, even willing to harm bystanders to try and Hurt Miles, with One of them having to threaten to violently kill you to make you back off. What Have you got to say for yourself, Gale?

Now I wonder what prompted Lucretia to say this. It's possible Miles informed her with what went down in the Lair in between panels 2 and 3, but then that would've been shown instead of panel 2. Now we have the information that this exchange happened when they were starting a family it makes less sense. Normally people are happy or scared, but not normally (unless Miles got Lucretia pregnant by accident and the previous strip was Miles rationalizing to Gale instead of admitting the truth or getting an abortion, but I don't think Rick Griffin would put that in the comic). Something to keep in mind is losing Gale as a friend isn't what catalyzed Miles to take the pack to civilization. In the strip after the one this is referencing, Miles said he "sought [his] fortune in the big city" because the pack "became fond of human culture", not because they hated being feral. There is some unaccounted for time including how long Lucretia had been pregnant before Gale found out (she doesn't look pregnant, but maybe Gale and other animals can smell the hormone change), but "wolf gestation is... four months" and her cubs were already talking and making mischief by the time they moved into the house.

Looking at those 2 next to each other really makes the art changes stand out.

I thought this would be one of the reasons, I didn't think it would be this direct.

You know, as dark as it looks, I don't think she really plans to actually hurt any of the pack. She'll probably let them go after she's done teaching Miles whatever lesson she has in store.

From what we've seen of the ones in the pit they're more or less fine. (Aside from DeeVee who was apparently dropped on his face, but never ascribe to malice what can more easily be explained by apathy, to paraphrase an aphorism)

Champion Wallace wrote:Now I wonder what prompted Lucretia to say this. It's possible Miles informed her with what went down in the Lair in between panels 2 and 3, but then that would've been shown instead of panel 2. Now we have the information that this exchange happened when they were starting a family it makes less sense. Normally people are happy or scared, but not normally (unless Miles got Lucretia pregnant by accident and the previous strip was Miles rationalizing to Gale instead of admitting the truth or getting an abortion, but I don't think Rick Griffin would put that in the comic). Something to keep in mind is losing Gale as a friend isn't what catalyzed Miles to take the pack to civilization. In the strip after the one this is referencing, Miles said he "sought [his] fortune in the big city" because the pack "became fond of human culture", not because they hated being feral.

Possibly true but I think something else is also clear. Her wounds seem to indicate that something major happened just before the flashback scene that we're seeing. The 'Our life sucks' may have been the instigation for upgrading their lives and the book and glasses show they were already conversant with Human culture so I don't think it would have taken more than a few weeks for Miles to start working out how to move them to town. And we don't really know how long they were in the house before they started trying to fit in with the neighbours either.

I agree with Wallace. In fact it was exactly what was I was thinking which is kinda freaking me out. What we still don’t know was how close the relationship between The pack and Gale was. I mean “Friend of the family” is vague. It could mean anything from her just being their go to for medical treatment ( My dentist is a “friend of the family”) to a actual close friend you invite for thanksgiving dinner. I bring this up because I wonder did Miles tell Lucretia what happened with Gale? Even if he did would Lucretia even care. So far Gale and Lucretia have had one interaction and it was not pretty. So would Lucretia even care if Gale is hurting? Again so far the only wolves who have had any kinda relationship with Gale in the past are Miles, Jack, Poncho, and Deadeye. From the looks of it Lucretia’s reaction and her comment might have more to do with the fact that the wild really does suck. But in all honesty I’m in the camp of Miles told Lucretia about Gale and that prompted Lucretia’s response. But I wonder if it is because she feels bad for Gale or because she realizes just how messed up the entire situation is. It could have been her who was told “Oh there are too many predators around here so no you can’t have kids”

javaman112 wrote:sometimes i feel that rick has planned the whole comic from beginning to end since he was a child

I know, right?

Hate to admit it, but I almost squeeed at that reference to one of my very favourite strips from the early days of HP. Back then, Lucretia's line to her wild yet glasses-wearing, literate wolf mate was slightly unsettling, albeit in a laugh-out-loud kind of way. Several years on, our fuller perspective gives her words a maturity and pathos that just weren't there before, making us question Miles' motivations all over again. Wonderful storytelling; can't wait to see where this arc goes.

anhedral wrote:

javaman112 wrote:sometimes i feel that rick has planned the whole comic from beginning to end since he was a child

I know, right?

Hate to admit it, but I almost squeeed at that reference to one of my very favourite strips from the early days of HP. Back then, Lucretia's line to her wild yet glasses-wearing, literate wolf mate was slightly unsettling, albeit in a laugh-out-loud kind of way. Several years on, our fuller perspective gives her words a maturity and pathos that just weren't there before, making us question Miles' motivations all over again. Wonderful storytelling; can't wait to see where this arc goes.

Had that been the case, Mile's expression way back Then wouldn't be of surprise.

It was just coincidental that the story went full circle.

fenrirblack wrote:I agree with Wallace. In fact it was exactly what was I was thinking which is kinda freaking me out. What we still don’t know was how close the relationship between The pack and Gale was. I mean “Friend of the family” is vague. It could mean anything from her just being their go to for medical treatment ( My dentist is a “friend of the family”) to a actual close friend you invite for thanksgiving dinner. I bring this up because I wonder did Miles tell Lucretia what happened with Gale? Even if he did would Lucretia even care. So far Gale and Lucretia have had one interaction and it was not pretty. So would Lucretia even care if Gale is hurting? Again so far the only wolves who have had any kinda relationship with Gale in the past are Miles, Jack, Poncho, and Deadeye. From the looks of it Lucretia’s reaction and her comment might have more to do with the fact that the wild really does suck. But in all honesty I’m in the camp of Miles told Lucretia about Gale and that prompted Lucretia’s response. But I wonder if it is because she feels bad for Gale or because she realizes just how messed up the entire situation is. It could have been her who was told “Oh there are too many predators around here so no you can’t have kids”

In my honest opinion, it still doesn't make up for Gale's hostile attempt on Bailey and her kids. Even if she didn't intend psychical trauma on Them, getting taken hostage by a Mountain Lion is not a very fun thing.

I mean, while it was meant to be funny, and I did find it hilarious, the fact that Bailey got awoken by Gale getting close, tells me she was emitting enough Hostility to sparr Bailey into full Mama Bear mode, to the point of threatening slow and painful death on Gale.

Frankly, even if she just wanted to throw them down a hole, she still threatened the mental state of three innocent bystanders to try and get back at Miles.

One of the awkward things about the Housepets universe is the fight for rights of the animals is interesting because it is pretty clear that a lot of the animals are pretty dysfunctional as people.

Miles is a responsible individual. The police dogs are mostly pretty together. You've got a few others, like Mr. I'm A Famous Author. Sabrina pretty much runs her house. And Tarot is... well, Tarot, though I have no understanding of what her life situation is like really - does Tarot even have an owner? Of course, Tarot was really weird in her initial appearance, but has become a lot less eccentric over time.

But a lot of the pets have it pretty good, and would be pretty dysfunctional as people - they think of things as being acceptable even when they're not, with Sasha being a particularly obvious example. And that's simply not condusive to living in society; you gotta deal with stuff. King is pretty irresponsible as a human but he is vastly more responsible than most animals are.

And the ferals seem to be even worse in that regard, with a few exceptions, like Jessica.

The fact that Gale is behaving the way she is really just sort of highlights what a mess the ferals are, and how awkward it will be if the ferrets win their fight for animal rights, because a lot of them don't behave responsibly in a way that is really consistent with living in society.

Titanium Dragon wrote:One of the awkward things about the Housepets universe is the fight for rights of the animals is interesting because it is pretty clear that a lot of the animals are pretty dysfunctional as people.

https://www.housepetscomic.com/2010/11/02/housepets-7500-bc/

Hey, Rick, could you give these snippets a permanent home?

Whoo boy. So it 'was' one of the reasons they sought to leave, afterall. Though i doubt they are leaving just because of Gale.

Also, Miles taking up books and reading after this incident confirms it for me: He wants to avoid making mistakes like this again.

John-056 wrote:
I mean, while it was meant to be funny, and I did find it hilarious, the fact that Bailey got awoken by Gale getting close, tells me she was emitting enough Hostility to sparr Bailey into full Mama Bear mode, to the point of threatening slow and painful death on Gale.

Frankly, even if she just wanted to throw them down a hole, she still threatened the mental state of three innocent bystanders to try and get back at Miles.

I agree that Gale's actions at that point were reaching something outside of her personal vendetta and she loses sympathy points for it and deserves to lose them, but we have to dissect also why she did it:

A)To get Miles back into the wild. If Miles brought innocent people to the wild and people found out they were attacked while he was with them, they could immediately revoke any chances of them staying in the city.
B)Supplies. That doesn't explain the kidnapping part, though, unless Gale is just doing what she does best and prefers removing the individuals from the camp first before taking the supplies. She's more intelligent than a normal cougar, so she has more options.
C)To send Miles a message. This one actually could be the most likely one, but it also rings pettiness on Gale's part. She wanted her rejection to be felt by another family close to Miles and wanted to see it pushed through - luckily, Bailey stopped that =P

So it is a flashback scene after all.

Champion Wallace wrote:Is it just the art style change or misremembering the event, or has it been retconed that Lucretia is angrier and Miles is less unaware?

It's more like we have now more context. Also the first time Miles told about this small sentence to Peanut and I guess Peanut did imagine it in a more light hearted tone.

Hey, Rick ... stupendous "tie-up" narrative, maestro!

GameCobra wrote:Whoo boy. So it 'was' one of the reasons they sought to leave, after all. Though I doubt they are leaving just because of Gale.

Also, Miles taking up books and reading after this incident confirms it for me: He wants to avoid making mistakes like this again.

John-056 wrote:
I mean, while it was meant to be funny, and I did find it hilarious, the fact that Bailey got awoken by Gale getting close, tells me she was emitting enough Hostility to sparr Bailey into full Mama Bear mode, to the point of threatening slow and painful death on Gale.

Frankly, even if she just wanted to throw them down a hole, she still threatened the mental state of three innocent bystanders to try and get back at Miles.

I agree that Gale's actions at that point were reaching something outside of her personal vendetta and she loses sympathy points for it and deserves to lose them, but we have to dissect also why she did it:

A)To get Miles back into the wild. If Miles brought innocent people to the wild and people found out they were attacked while he was with them, they could immediately revoke any chances of them staying in the city.
B)Supplies. That doesn't explain the kidnapping part, though, unless Gale is just doing what she does best and prefers removing the individuals from the camp first before taking the supplies. She's more intelligent than a normal cougar, so she has more options.
C)To send Miles a message. This one actually could be the most likely one, but it also rings pettiness on Gale's part. She wanted her rejection to be felt by another family close to Miles and wanted to see it pushed through - luckily, Bailey stopped that =P

To your Dissection GameCobra

Wasn't it more or less stated by Gale at the beginning and by the flashback by Miles that the whole reason she was doing this is that she doesn't know if Miles is trying to retake his territory so by that logic would A. be immediately rejected and impossible cause she is right back to the beginning of them having to retake their territory back and then food will be quickly over hunted.

As for supplies, she doesn't seem the type to actively attack large camps to take supplies from to suit her needs also it hasn't been stated at all that she needs supplies so B. is kinda a maybe, maybe not situation.

C. the whole take King, Baily and the pups to send a message to Miles is kinda obviously she did intend to do, that right up till she realized she was dealing with the uh "perfectly wonderful person" who channels Deadeye and I use that with the utmost reverence.

Gale's M.O. this entire time has been pretty straightforward she thinks Miles has come for the territory she claimed after they left she isn't having any of that and is sending a message to Miles not having any of that and she doesn't care who she has to go thru (Barring a mad Baily) to send that message.

I see the point of Gale, she's right about it. It's a signal of caring, indeed. So yeah, is better leave her, Miles. Aww, even Lucretia noticed it... Maybe, it's right after this that the wolves decided to go to live in the town.

Relative to little or nothing, we're still pondering as well the individual relations of other wolves to Gale … Lucretia, Deadeye, Poncho, Jack. More intrigue...

I like this, but it does beg the question why he chose THIS forest to go back to...

Perhaps Miles though training on familiar ground would go smoother and be easier to control. Obviously, the last thing he expected to encountered was embittered Puma. Did he think she'd also left or died ... you'd have thought someone in the pack would have asked "What if Gale's still around?".

Gale's expulsion from her cave, however, clearly did not allow for a " come round, say g'by a'fore yah leaves" send-off....

But , what about the other wolves ? I doubt Gale has killed them ?

tych wrote:

GameCobra wrote:Whoo boy. So it 'was' one of the reasons they sought to leave, after all. Though I doubt they are leaving just because of Gale.

Also, Miles taking up books and reading after this incident confirms it for me: He wants to avoid making mistakes like this again.

John-056 wrote:
I mean, while it was meant to be funny, and I did find it hilarious, the fact that Bailey got awoken by Gale getting close, tells me she was emitting enough Hostility to sparr Bailey into full Mama Bear mode, to the point of threatening slow and painful death on Gale.

Frankly, even if she just wanted to throw them down a hole, she still threatened the mental state of three innocent bystanders to try and get back at Miles.

I agree that Gale's actions at that point were reaching something outside of her personal vendetta and she loses sympathy points for it and deserves to lose them, but we have to dissect also why she did it:

A)To get Miles back into the wild. If Miles brought innocent people to the wild and people found out they were attacked while he was with them, they could immediately revoke any chances of them staying in the city.
B)Supplies. That doesn't explain the kidnapping part, though, unless Gale is just doing what she does best and prefers removing the individuals from the camp first before taking the supplies. She's more intelligent than a normal cougar, so she has more options.
C)To send Miles a message. This one actually could be the most likely one, but it also rings pettiness on Gale's part. She wanted her rejection to be felt by another family close to Miles and wanted to see it pushed through - luckily, Bailey stopped that =P

To your Dissection GameCobra

Wasn't it more or less stated by Gale at the beginning and by the flashback by Miles that the whole reason she was doing this is that she doesn't know if Miles is trying to retake his territory so by that logic would A. be immediately rejected and impossible cause she is right back to the beginning of them having to retake their territory back and then food will be quickly over hunted.

As for supplies, she doesn't seem the type to actively attack large camps to take supplies from to suit her needs also it hasn't been stated at all that she needs supplies so B. is kinda a maybe, maybe not situation.

C. the whole take King, Baily and the pups to send a message to Miles is kinda obviously she did intend to do, that right up till she realized she was dealing with the uh "perfectly wonderful person" who channels Deadeye and I use that with the utmost reverence.

Gale's M.O. this entire time has been pretty straightforward she thinks Miles has come for the territory she claimed after they left she isn't having any of that and is sending a message to Miles not having any of that and she doesn't care who she has to go thru (Barring a mad Baily) to send that message.

The M.O was there from the start like you say: show Miles who owns this territory. But Gale was showing as time went on that she actually had a history with the wolves - and a close, friendly one. Not the scary, random villanous mountain cougar type. If she wanted to hurt Miles personally at this point, forcing them back into the wild would be a mean and petty move on her part. That's assuming she knows about the system the Miltons setup with the wolves.

As for the supplies, i'm assuming she goes through them pretty quickly. We're not sure exactly how she does it, but the comic makes me think this is her usual M.O - sneak in, get what you want and maybe scare away anyone that challenges her.

King just felt like it needed to be reliterated =P

Maybe they'll bury the hatchet during the Summit at the Den and invite Gale and Pueblo to the mansion. The Miltons do need a new security staff now.

So that original strip just took on a way different tone. Didn't expect a call back to that moment though.

Panther wrote:But , what about the other wolves ? I doubt Gale has killed them ?

The last three panels of the last page and all of this page are a flashback; it's in sepia.

We'll probably flash back to the present later this week.

We have reached an interesting crossroads. We can either return to the present now that the story has come full circle or see the events that led to Miles actually journeying into the city where he met Keene. My money is on returning to the present since the flashbacks revolve around Gale and I doubt Miles ever saw her again after that confrontation. Unless the "cliff" incident happened after this but I don't want to dive into that scenario because that's an entire thing onto itself.

If this is truly a flashback, then Miles' "*sigh* I know" doesn't seem coherent with his shocked/surprised expression back in the original strip.
Does that mean Rick has kinda retconned that moment?
Unless Miles was indeed shocked by Lucretia's remark but quickly admitted to himself and to her that he agreed with her?

I personally go for the second cause it keeps things consistent, but it's not really a big deal either way, personally