"Life goes on."
- Brutus himself. He had a very, very, very rough past! He was separated from the very first human he bonded with, and he saw his handler get shot right in front of him. He is even shown to have flashbacks from his time in the military.
- Brutus explains his past to Pixie (i.e. that he was a military dog). When he gets to describing what war entails, he sees Pixie surrounded by guns, knives, grenades, and tanks, and quickly decides not to tell Pixie the whole truth about war.
- Brutus looks back on his time with his handler
, who is strongly implied to be dead.Pixie: He looks like a really nice guy!
Brutus: Yeah...he was a nice guy.- No matter how you look at it, it's sad. Brutus is retired, which implies one of several things: either he was too old to continue working, was too badly injured to continue working, or his handler was no longer able to care for him. Since he doesn't appear to be terribly old (his fur hasn't grayed much in comparison to his puppy photo), the best case scenario is that he was forced to retire due to injury (entirely possible, given his scars and his blind eye) and was separated from the first real human he bonded with.
- Also, how bright and happy and optimistic young Brutus looks, when compared to his current hardened, grizzled, scarred self.
- A more recent comic confirms that Brutus did retire due to injury. It doesn't reference what happened to his handler, but given the circumstances (he was part of a bomb disposal squad) and the nature of Brutus's injuries, it isn't hard to guess...
- Brutus hearing thunder triggers flashbacks to being in a gunfight with his former handler, complete with crouching and pitiful expressions as he relives the trauma. Thankfully, Pixie arriving snaps him out of it.
- "Too Fast" finally reveals the incident that got Brutus retired. It's just as sad as you'd expect. Brutus and his team were attacked by insurgents posing as civilians. Brutus saw one draw a gun — but he wasn't fast enough to keep himself from taking bullets and slashed across the eye...or to keep his handler Sergio from being shot.
- Jacko's first appearance in full. Pixie thought he was a mutant vampire rat, but he was a hungry stray with mange, and Pixie kindly assures him that if they come with him, they can help get him healed up and taken care of. And they do.
- Jacko's first words in the comic, when Pixie approaches him to explain he needs help. He likely hasn't been spoken to kindly in so long he barely can speak.Jacko: ...it hurts.
- Followed by his response once she assures him they'll make him all better.Jacko: ...Promise?
- Jacko's first words in the comic, when Pixie approaches him to explain he needs help. He likely hasn't been spoken to kindly in so long he barely can speak.
