Epiphany follows Eli, a young boy in his first year of high school, through his life with his friends, his distant preacher father, and the Popularity Food Chain.
Oh, and there's also some subplot about duality, the major religion of this universe, and the two gods who created the world, and the fact that (spoiler) one may still be around.
A rather slow paced comic that nonetheless builds up to a very strong plot and offers a more realistic view of how a world of anthropomorphic animals would function and even come to be. Showcases a realistic set of characters with a subtle sense of humor mixed in with some bigger laugh-out-loud moments, with a very unique art style.
This series provides examples of:
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Eli's dad is fixed from Oscar's perspective, at least!
- Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: In ancient times, a cult of Rabbits tried to contact one of the spirits through the sacrifice of several wolves. When one of then (Oscar) really came and found out about this, he became extremely disgusted and tried to lecture them about their immorality. However, when the druid of the cult angrily accused him of being a "False Spirit" and stabbed him in the neck, Oscar kicked him across the sky
. - Came Back Wrong: Type IV. Sure, Oscar healed Eli's comatose father, but he now he's a actual deer.
- Cast of Snowflakes: Besides Eli and his dad and Andrew and his family, no two characters are the same species.
- Deadpan Snarker: Andrew. So hard.
- Epic Fail: In this strip, Oscar tries to give food to those in need. However even though he apparently makes a normal sandwich, he somehow makes it so poorly that even a homeless bum can't eat it.
- Furry Confusion: Averted. Eli knows the difference between a "people deer" and a "deer deer". And his dad is definitely not the latter.
- God Is Flawed: The aforementioned Hipster Lion/Oscar is kind of a selfish jerk.
- Turns out that his former "partner" is even worse.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: Worshipers give a portion of their life force to the Gods. Oscar couldn't restore Eli's dad to his pre-accident self because he didn't have enough power left, and Eli tries to convince him to get some new followers.
- Human Sacrifice: In ancient times a tribe of rabbits sacrificed several packs worth of wolves from a neighboring tribe, eventually getting the attention of one of the Gods, who told them in no uncertain terms to knock it off. And it's implied to have only worked because they unwittingly sacrificed the other God.
- It's All About Me: Oscar's former "partner" seems to have this point of view.
- Jerk Jock: Scott, who also qualifies as a
Jerkass Woobie. - Non-Mammal Mammaries: Val has 'em.
- Oh, My Gods!: Quite literally. Since the religion is based around two gods all phrases with 'God' use 'Gods'.
- Or Was It a Dream?: After telling off Oscar and Anna over how they keep making things worse, Eli wakes up back on the bus where he first met Oscar. Holding the book that burst into flames when they met, with scorch marks, and the word "Remember" written on one page.
- Pals with Jesus: Eli and Oscar.
- Psychic Nosebleed: Oscar after "curing" Eli's dad. Combined very unsettlingly with a Slasher Smile.
- Scars Are Forever: Anna still has the mark across her throat from when the rabbits tried sacrificing her.
- Shout-Out: President Bird is on their money!
- Stealth Pun: The author loves these.
- The cast are all animals. They live in Savannah, Georgia.
- It's a deer in headlights.
- Andrew, rebellious scion of a well-to-do family, is a sheep. While he's usually white, there are occasions when he's in shadow.
- Anna, a goddess who's been influencing society from the shadows since she made Oscar destroy a city, appears as a wolf in flashbacks, but when she appears in the present she's passing as a sheep.
- Unanthropomorphic Transformation: Oscar's attempt to heal Eli's dad turns him into a "deer" deer rather than a person deer.
- Wham Episode: Chapter 2, Page 37 in which Eli's dad is hit by a truck.
- Or how about when Eli bursts into flames and sees into forever? That's where it goes from "slice of life with funny animals" to... something else entirely.
- What If God Was One of Us?: Oscar is the apathetic, trying to avoid notice after too many attempts at playing God went wrong. Anna was the despot, but has been taking a more subtle approach since their city turned on them.
- Wreathed in Flames: Eli, temporarily when he meets Oscar until he puts him out. And again on meeting Anna and a third time when telling them off in the climax.
