"Find the center, the lost one will know the way. A woman who cries but sheds no tears, and a man who hates in the name of love."
The Meek is a graphic novel about Angora, an inexperienced young girl who has been sent on a quest to save the world. War looms on the horizon, and at its helm is Luca DeSadar, the Emperor of the North, and his hellish adviser. The two countries are overwhelmed with as much terror, crime, disease and revolution as they are with those who wish to create peace. Armed with only her instincts and an unexplainable power, she must experience and judge the world and decide once and for all if it is truly worth saving.Readers take warning, the first chapter is definitely Not Safe for Work. You know, cause she's naked for most of it.
The comic's DeviantART gallery contains several sketches, including those of characters who won't be appearing for a few chapters.
Anime Anatomy: Pretty much averted in the first chapter, but Angora's showing signs of it in the fourth.
Ass In Ambassador: Tesa, oh so much, though it bites her in the ass in the next page. Her companion Lethy on the other hand seems to be much better at it.
Attempted Rape: The very first scene features Angora dashing naked through the woods, pursued by three men who haven't "seen one woman...for months," and are "not losing this one." She's saved by her own running skills and the interference of an angry drunk. Worth noting is that Angora appears to have no idea what they wanted to do to her.
Author Appeal: The author admits to liking sideburns and gloves, Pinter has sideburns while Luca happens to have both. The author is also a trained biologist, and though not blatant this knowledge does show up in the comic.
Banana Republic: The Northern Territories ruled by Emperor Luca seem to have aspects of this, including background information that he dissolved the cabinet and essentially became a dictator.
Belligerent Sexual Tension: Luca and Phe started out like this (it's stated in the Wiki that they didn't get along too well when they first met) and even after about two decades of marriage still have a bit of this, including fairly frequent arguments that involve things getting thrown. They do however deeply and sincerely love each other and always make up.
Big Brother Instinct: Pinter towards Angora. Yes, he finds her irritating, but it's obvious he's protective of her, especially when would-be rapist Kiz is around.
Cast of Snowflakes: As testament to the skill of the artist, despite the relatively simple art style no two characters look exactly alike.
Cerebus Syndrome: The first chapter is pretty lighthearted for the most part, but Chapters 2 and 3 certainly aren't following suit.
Closed Door Rapport: Phe locks her husband Luca out of their bedroom after a heated argument got out of hand and gives him an ultimatum; he can have his revenge, or her, but not both. It's not until Luca apologises does Phe open the door and drag him inside for make-up sex.
Cradle Of Loneliness: Luca cradles his wife's body for an extended period of time after her death here.
Deliberate Values Dissonance: Luca's values (especially his views on women and his own wife and daughters) are quite deliberately politically incorrect and racist, reflecting the culture he comes from.
Pinter: You can start by putting on a shirt like a god-damned normal, modest, respectable, civilized, sane, normal person! Angora:You said "normal" twice!
Domestic Abuse: Although it's well known that Luca and Phe fight and then make up, the arrival of the ambassadors causes Luca to cross the line. Der-Shing outright says that their relationship is unhealthy and dysfunctional on many levels. And yet, they're Happily Married with bouts of great make-up sex and plently of Crowning Moments Of Heartwarming between them.
Exact Eavesdropping: Rana eavesdropping on her parents gives the reader backstory on Luca and the current political climate.
Eyepatch of Power: The boss of Tyros wears one, which seems to cover his missing left eye.
Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Somewhat averted, the three ethnicities aren't like any found on earth, but the Pasori are kind of like very militant Finno-Ugric people and the Carissi have a Byzantium vibe to their architecture.
Foot Focus: Both Angora, a girl, and Alamand, a guy, are portrayed barefoot, and both of them (especially Angora) get close-up shots.
Foreign Cuss Word: When Luca gets mad, he reverts to his native language of Basori, the insults of which are apparently quite colorful. The author won't say exactly what he's saying, but it's easy enough to fill in the blank.
Foreshadowing: "You can have your revenge, Luca, or you can have me. But you won't have both." As one commenter put it after page 33 of chapter 2, "Well, that solves that problem".
Grey and Gray Morality: You know you have a complex plot when a dictator who silences dissidents is the only person holding the morally correct position in the aftermath of a war.
Hair Colors: Although it's a fantasy comic, everyone has natural hair colors- with one obvious exception. Angora has green hair, but this is not considered normal. It's been described as both green and mossy, and it apparently blooms. Flashbacks show it to have originally been a normal colour (brown).
Heroic Sacrifice: The kid boss of the Tyros trade network is shot at the heart while trying to get the kids to escape from soldiers.
Hypocritical Humor: Pinter berates Angora for not respecting his personal space. Her response? Getting right into his face and screaming, "Yes I do!"
Later on Luca insists to his wife Phe that he doesn't need her help, only to need her help fastening his jacket. Supplemental material says that several of his fingers were broken in the past (hence why the appear purple), so it's possible that he really can't do it himself.
Innocent Fanservice Girl: Angora is the new poster-girl for this trope, having summed up the entire trope in one elegant quote. She arrives in the comic nude, sees no need to dress, and is downright confused when people ask her about it. She does put on a pair of pants (and only pants) at the end of the first chapter, which Word Of God says is an allegory for her losing her innocence during her trip. Interestingly, Angora lived in a commune called "The Monastery," a sort of druidic community deep in the jungle, however, they did not encourage (nor share in) her nudism.
Maligned Mixed Marriage: Luca and Phe◊. Subverted a bit in that their children aren't persecuted for mixed heritage, and they don't seem to be either anymore (this could be because Luca is a Bad Ass dictator and you don't mess with him).
Mood Whiplash: Not in-comic, but very good recent events for Der-Shing just happened to coincide with VERY bad events comic-wise. One comment by a reader summed it up well:
"Hey guys, comic is up! Oh, I’m killing Phe. Thanks for the new computer!" 8D
In-comic example: Chapter three starts off as a rather hilarious chapter, but then, in the most recent page, shortly after introducing the boss, all the kids are forced to retreat due to oncoming soldiers, and a gunshot is heard, heavily implying that the boss was killed.
Oh Crap: Tessa's face when she realizes Phe listened to her insulting her husband. Lethy, on the other hand, seems to be mentally screaming at her companion.
Schedule Slip: Happened once due to a catastrophic computer failure, and, more recently, due to the author getting a new job.
Series Hiatus: An apparently unscheduled one starting in July 2011.
Shown Their Work: Der-Shing is a biology major, and even thought the webcomic is fantasy, it shows. One prime example is the depictions of a poisoning and a subsequent tracheotomy. All in lovingly non-Gory Discretion Shot rendered detail.
Simultaneous Arcs: Chapter one deals with Angora near a rural logging camp, while chapter 2 has been focused on Luca, within a (presumably) large city. Chapter 3 is about Soli, and seems to take place in a desert.
Somebody Else's Problem: Queen Symon Amakessar refuses to take any responsibility for the brutal war that her father waged against the Northern Territories. Luca points out, quite rightly, that it was not her father alone that committed atrocities against his people.
And then Phe points out that everyone who did commit those atrocities is now dead, so there's no one left to be held responsible.
Understatement: Der-Shing is a master at these in The Rant. For instance, the scene of Luca clutching his dead wife's hand while some calls to him was accompanied by the comment "Awkward!"
Wham Episode: Page 32 of Chapter 2. This can't end well. Adding to the wham, this was the first page put up after a hiatus due to computer trouble, and The Rant contained several bits of good news, resulting in a rather jarring experience.
1 reviews 