They had to make some pretty big sacrifices in order to live in the relative safety of the Avalon.
27 Comments
Definitely raises some ethical questions there! Like the nemean lions possess the ability to kill through their incredible strength and I’m sure there are other creatures living there with deadly abilities. But to go through the extent of mutilation to be allowed to live in an Avalon (which I assume is what had to happen?) is very extreme. I can’t recall if manticores in this universe have venomous or acidic quills/spikes, but you’d think maybe putting a sheath or some sort of protective barrier would be acceptable? As I say, a big dilemma! Love this
I agree it is extreme, but I understand why they would have to do that. While nemean lions can choose to not use their strength (and can also medallion away their claws), manticores always run around with a weapon and especially in a crowd you run into issues. But yes, a sheath might be a temporary solution, unless they can grind through that, which means these guys might not have the money for it – so it was sort of a life or limb decision.
I notice Ike tends to bind his quills. Maybe they had to go with amputation because they don’t have hands for the binding.
I suspect this is partially the case.
Ike is also a shapeshifter who explicitly regrows tissue in order to shapeshift. Even if he could dock his tail it would just grow back when he returned to mid-form.
No you’re absolutely right. As monsters, Manticores aren’t treated equal. That’s a big issue in their society and just reflects that they aren’t any better than our human society, even if they pretend.
IIRC bandaging them is an option, and one that Ike practices (I’m guessing his shapeshifting would also render amputation ineffective anyway?) though I imagine it’s unfeasible for normal manticores, if they don’t have someone with opposable thumbs willing to help wrap their tail every day.
With binding as an option, I feel like the best Avalonians to do it for them would be the Nemean Lions – Their skin is impenetrable except by Nemean claws, so Manticore barbs can’t pierce their skin, therefore they can’t get hit with venom by them. If any group in the mythical world should feel for the Manticores, it should be the Nemeans who are always one wrong move away from Big Problems, medallion or not.
Yeah, I feel like the inequality within the mythics is kiiinda an ongoing theme of the comic. Or that the whole hidden society has gotten kind of fucked-up in general, once put under various pressures (hiding, medallion shortage, etc).
Works better than the usual “supers/mutants as stand-in for racism” plot element, IMHO. It’s often way too easy in those to point how how much more literally dangerous the ‘oppressed class’ are. With Manticores, it’s easier to see that it’s an excuse. You wanna tell me Bugbears aren’t particularly dangerous?
Ike explains that manticores have ‘teeth that can eat through anything’ and ‘poisonous barbs on the tail that can kill you’, back in Exchanges:
On the next page he says it seems to be ‘mostly superstition’ but he also exhibits the ability to eat through anything so they’re very likely poisonous, too. At the very least they’re quite sharp and intimidating.
I do want to mention that Sphinxes are explicitly racist. The species as a whole didn’t trust Nemean lions and it was only because of Jocasta’s more progressive mindset that the Nemean pride in her village has medallions (and therefore that Nemeans have medallions in present day). They didn’t give medallions to anybody they thought was dangerous or potentially even just unseemly. Manticores are scary even if they’re explicitly sentient (able to communicate in human speech in their fullform, which we’ve seen that creature like pegasi/pterippi aren’t capable of, but still ‘earned’ medellaions), so it’s probably assumed to this day that if the sphinxes didn’t think they deserved medallions, there’s a reason.
Confronting these long-standing prejudices has been an underlying theme of the comic, most exemplified in the dragon-sphinx conflict but bleeding into the periphery when we see things like this. Hopefully Michelle will learn how to craft medallions and solve racism forever.
I just noticed how thin they are. The Avalon may be safer than being on their own, but it doesn’t look like they are doing very well.
They might also be very old. I have had old dogs, cats, and horses that just can’t keep on weight no matter how well you take care of them.
I noticed that too, and makes me question the earlier request for free food as more than just “pushing Ike around”
Other lions and similar type creatures in the avalon can shapeshift into forms that have smaller stomachs; it’s a lot harder to find 20lbs of meat vs the roughly 3lbs of food humans eat in a day. It’d be a lot to ask from a society that already has biases against you to have whole game delivered daily for sustenance, and that’s assuming anyone in the avalon has help getting food- if they’re left to their own devices, poor chaps are probably scrounging rats in the alley
I’d imagine they can’t hold a job and probably can’t hunt in the Avalon. It’s hard to say how much food they’d be able to get.
Some big sacrificed indeed. lopped off tails and maybe not so ideal diets.
I honestly never though that I would reach a point in my life where I would feel sorry for a Manticore (or two) but here we are. :(
They’re both so skinny :C
They dont have their tails? Oh dear. Frankly this feels kinda undair.
I too very occasionally forget some letters when I write.
It’s an endearing touch; I like it.
I like the detail of Ike clearly having to write the rest of the header in a smaller size because he would otherwise run out of space. It’s a very charming and organic touch.
I never noticed he was left handed
It reminds me of a sign I’ve seen: “PLAN AHEAD” (in diminishing font size).
Random Thought:
While listening to music while cleaning I reached the conclusion that the song Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake is what I imagine the theme song of Wonderland to be.
That is all.
I agree. It’s absolutely a Wonderland Anthem. Also, definitely do catch the Pentatonix cover of that song. It’s an real treat.
That’s one of my favorite Cosmo Sheldrake songs!
These poor guys. I hope they’re not so sickly because of mistreatment. Mr Waldorf has such lovely spots too. I best he looked rad in his prine
The racism among mythics is so blatant that I’m imagining Sphinxes back in the middle ages screaming “inferior being!” to anyone who isn’t Sphinx.
27 Comments
Definitely raises some ethical questions there! Like the nemean lions possess the ability to kill through their incredible strength and I’m sure there are other creatures living there with deadly abilities. But to go through the extent of mutilation to be allowed to live in an Avalon (which I assume is what had to happen?) is very extreme. I can’t recall if manticores in this universe have venomous or acidic quills/spikes, but you’d think maybe putting a sheath or some sort of protective barrier would be acceptable? As I say, a big dilemma! Love this
I agree it is extreme, but I understand why they would have to do that. While nemean lions can choose to not use their strength (and can also medallion away their claws), manticores always run around with a weapon and especially in a crowd you run into issues. But yes, a sheath might be a temporary solution, unless they can grind through that, which means these guys might not have the money for it – so it was sort of a life or limb decision.
I notice Ike tends to bind his quills. Maybe they had to go with amputation because they don’t have hands for the binding.
I suspect this is partially the case.
Ike is also a shapeshifter who explicitly regrows tissue in order to shapeshift. Even if he could dock his tail it would just grow back when he returned to mid-form.
No you’re absolutely right. As monsters, Manticores aren’t treated equal. That’s a big issue in their society and just reflects that they aren’t any better than our human society, even if they pretend.
IIRC bandaging them is an option, and one that Ike practices (I’m guessing his shapeshifting would also render amputation ineffective anyway?) though I imagine it’s unfeasible for normal manticores, if they don’t have someone with opposable thumbs willing to help wrap their tail every day.
With binding as an option, I feel like the best Avalonians to do it for them would be the Nemean Lions – Their skin is impenetrable except by Nemean claws, so Manticore barbs can’t pierce their skin, therefore they can’t get hit with venom by them. If any group in the mythical world should feel for the Manticores, it should be the Nemeans who are always one wrong move away from Big Problems, medallion or not.
Yeah, I feel like the inequality within the mythics is kiiinda an ongoing theme of the comic. Or that the whole hidden society has gotten kind of fucked-up in general, once put under various pressures (hiding, medallion shortage, etc).
Works better than the usual “supers/mutants as stand-in for racism” plot element, IMHO. It’s often way too easy in those to point how how much more literally dangerous the ‘oppressed class’ are. With Manticores, it’s easier to see that it’s an excuse. You wanna tell me Bugbears aren’t particularly dangerous?
Ike explains that manticores have ‘teeth that can eat through anything’ and ‘poisonous barbs on the tail that can kill you’, back in Exchanges:
https://www.skindeepcomic.com/archive/hello-goodbye-4-a-whu-gane/
On the next page he says it seems to be ‘mostly superstition’ but he also exhibits the ability to eat through anything so they’re very likely poisonous, too. At the very least they’re quite sharp and intimidating.
I do want to mention that Sphinxes are explicitly racist. The species as a whole didn’t trust Nemean lions and it was only because of Jocasta’s more progressive mindset that the Nemean pride in her village has medallions (and therefore that Nemeans have medallions in present day). They didn’t give medallions to anybody they thought was dangerous or potentially even just unseemly. Manticores are scary even if they’re explicitly sentient (able to communicate in human speech in their fullform, which we’ve seen that creature like pegasi/pterippi aren’t capable of, but still ‘earned’ medellaions), so it’s probably assumed to this day that if the sphinxes didn’t think they deserved medallions, there’s a reason.
Confronting these long-standing prejudices has been an underlying theme of the comic, most exemplified in the dragon-sphinx conflict but bleeding into the periphery when we see things like this. Hopefully Michelle will learn how to craft medallions and solve racism forever.
I just noticed how thin they are. The Avalon may be safer than being on their own, but it doesn’t look like they are doing very well.
They might also be very old. I have had old dogs, cats, and horses that just can’t keep on weight no matter how well you take care of them.
I noticed that too, and makes me question the earlier request for free food as more than just “pushing Ike around”
Other lions and similar type creatures in the avalon can shapeshift into forms that have smaller stomachs; it’s a lot harder to find 20lbs of meat vs the roughly 3lbs of food humans eat in a day. It’d be a lot to ask from a society that already has biases against you to have whole game delivered daily for sustenance, and that’s assuming anyone in the avalon has help getting food- if they’re left to their own devices, poor chaps are probably scrounging rats in the alley
I’d imagine they can’t hold a job and probably can’t hunt in the Avalon. It’s hard to say how much food they’d be able to get.
Some big sacrificed indeed. lopped off tails and maybe not so ideal diets.
I honestly never though that I would reach a point in my life where I would feel sorry for a Manticore (or two) but here we are. :(
They’re both so skinny :C
They dont have their tails? Oh dear. Frankly this feels kinda undair.
I too very occasionally forget some letters when I write.
It’s an endearing touch; I like it.
I like the detail of Ike clearly having to write the rest of the header in a smaller size because he would otherwise run out of space. It’s a very charming and organic touch.
I never noticed he was left handed
It reminds me of a sign I’ve seen: “PLAN AHEAD” (in diminishing font size).
Random Thought:
While listening to music while cleaning I reached the conclusion that the song Come Along by Cosmo Sheldrake is what I imagine the theme song of Wonderland to be.
That is all.
I agree. It’s absolutely a Wonderland Anthem. Also, definitely do catch the Pentatonix cover of that song. It’s an real treat.
That’s one of my favorite Cosmo Sheldrake songs!
These poor guys. I hope they’re not so sickly because of mistreatment. Mr Waldorf has such lovely spots too. I best he looked rad in his prine
The racism among mythics is so blatant that I’m imagining Sphinxes back in the middle ages screaming “inferior being!” to anyone who isn’t Sphinx.