Editor’s Note: Sorry, everybody! Seems I plumb overlooked including today’s strip. It was in my draft, but for some reason, I failed to transfer it in the final post.
It seems the hog-hunting heroines may not be the experienced hunters they pretend. In addition to Shania standing in a vulnerable position and facing away from the wild hog, she apparently brought along her child’s small toy rifle instead of her own. And Reba has her own rifle slung, rather than in her hands, at the ready.
Art Dept. Sure, traditional syndicated comic strips are usually restricted in size, but the framing of the figures in these panels does little to enhance any sense of danger. Proportions and space look out of whack. Ending the series with an alliterative joke further kills any suspense. The hog in panel 4 looks like it is stepping out from another spatial dimension into ours. As if we don’t have enough feral hogs, they are now popping in from a parallel universe.
Perhaps a more dramatic version of panel 4 could have been accomplished with the reverse of what we see now. The hog is in the foreground looking back towards Shania, standing alone in the open.
Or maybe just show an extreme close-up of the hog’s head, like this one. Imagine turning around to see that head staring at you, close up. Pretty damn scary all by itself!
The Daily Trail 
Pssssst. George. I’m not seeing today’s comic strip.
With all the trouble I’ve been experiencing in the Comics Kingdom lately, I figure the blame is theirs.
LikeLike
Thanks, but the fault is entirely mine. CK has no direct link with me or my site. I simply d/l the strip from them and post it here. As I noted in my revised post, I just forgot to include it in the final post today.
LikeLike
I got stuck on “Cover me.” It’s used in gunfight scenes where one person wants to move through unprotected space to another protected space with a better firing angle. Given that she’s already in a perfect spot, and the hog has no firearms: Why? So Reba can spray bullets all over & maybe hit Mark, Tess, Shania and/or her own foot?
LikeLike
Yup! Gotta build that suspense, somehow.
However, maybe (and I’m being generous here) Shania is thinking about the other two hogs, current out of the frame, though she didn’t really say that.
LikeLike