Jeanette: Why then?
Tina: ’Cause I feel strong. I feel confident. Fearless. Like I could take all of Terra Rica by myself!
Tina of the South
is a Furry Webcomic set in The Wild West. Written by G3off and drawn by Avencri (of The Eye of Ramalach fame), it was produced between 2010 and 2017, when it abruptly ended mid-story.
The protagonist, an anthropomorphic armadillo named Tina Winchester, is introduced as a waitress at the Honey Pot, a saloon/brothel in the Dying Town of Gold Digger’s Haven, part of the Terra Rica territory. She’s haunted by memories of her father’s murder, which she witnessed as a child. However, she soon has a new trauma to deal with thanks to Three-Chins Joe, an obese, obnoxious outlaw. Joe and his posse show up at the Honey Pot to terrorize the employees and customers while wrecking the place; Tina and her friends try to stop them, but it doesn’t go well. Joe leaves, threatening another raid unless the Honey Pot’s owner begins paying him “rent’’, and Tina is riled up enough to go after him and his men. With more time to prepare her assault, Tina actually succeeds in grabbing Joe and capturing or killing his entire gang. Between the hefty reward she earns and the new sense of empowerment she feels, Tina is motivated to quit her waitress job and become a professional Bounty Hunter.
The comic’s second and (at least for now) final chapter begins after a Time Skip. Tina, now an established bounty hunter, is tracking two criminals called Handsome George and Shakey Lenny. However, she is intercepted by a rival pursuer: the warrior woman Sitala, a member of the Diamondbacks, a tribe of humanoid Snake People who are the story's equivalent to Native Americans. Sitala wants to kill the two outlaws because they’ve been attacking her people with advanced weaponry, while Tina needs them alive so she can collect her bounty. They decide the only way to resolve things is to track down George and Lenny together, although they’re both reluctant about teaming up. Meanwhile, Tina begins a relationship with Sitala’s father Hothlepoya, a handsome widower who happens to be chief of the Diamondbacks, despite Sitala’s disapproval. And amidst all this, the sinister Hazard Company is up to no good. Will any of these plot threads ever be resolved? Avencri has said that he hopes to finish the comic eventually, but it’s anyone’s guess as to if or when this will happen.
Tropes of the South:
- Action Girl: In Chapter One, Tina evolves from an ordinary waitress to a formidable fighter who defeats Three-Chins Joe and his gang single-handedly. In Chapter Two, she meets her match when she fights Sitala, who knocks her out.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Sitala intends to track down and kill George and Lenny herself because she doesn’t trust the settlers’ legal system. Tina sympathizes, but tries to talk her out of resorting to “mob justice’’.Sitala (to Tina): Your laws and your government barely consider us people. You treat us as inferior, you take our land, kill our loved ones… and none of your people care. We will never have justice for any of the wrongs committed against us, unless we seek it ourselves!
Tina: And you think killing two thugs is going to make up for all that?
Sitala: Yes! No… I… - Bounty Hunter: Tina becomes one for several reasons. She has an aptitude for the job; she can protect her friends at the Honey Pot from outlaws; she just might find her father’s killers. Also, it pays better than waitressing.
- The Casanova: Chief Hothlepoya makes no secret of his attraction to Tina (and the feeling is definitely mutual). According to Sitala, her father has “been very open” with many women in his tribe since his wife died.
- Clear Their Name: A variation. Tina overhears a customer at the Honey Pot accusing her late father Luke of hiding the fact that the local mine was running empty, which allegedly led to his murder as well as the town’s decline. Tina doesn’t protest her father’s innocence; she just “accidentally” pours whiskey on the loudmouth’s lap.
- Cool Horse: Tina’s world doesn’t have horses, but the populace uses a similar species called “striders” as beasts of burden. Tina describes her strider, Bullet, as ”clever, loyal, and the most reliable man I ever met”.
- Cruel Mercy: After Tina defeats Joe and his gang, she brings Joe and his remaining henchman into town alive – not just to collect her bounty, but to twist the knife one last time.Tina (to Joe): Now everyone’s gonna see that you’re nothing but a bully who can’t intimidate anyone. Also, so everyone can know the big bad Three-Chins Joe was beaten by a girl.
- Didn't Think This Through: Sitala uses the exact phrase while she’s dragging the unconscious Tina to the Rattlers’ village.
- Evil, Inc..: The Hazard Company, whose activities include War for Fun and Profit, stealing secret plans, and murdering rogue employees.
- Fat Bastard: Jeanette uses the exact phrase to describe Three-Chins Joe. Since he’s a brutal outlaw, a treacherous thief, and an overall horrible person as well as being morbidly obese, he really earns it.
- Fully-Dressed Cartoon Animal: The settlers wear full Western outfits complete with boots. By contrast, none of the Diamondbacks wear shoes, and the males don’t wear shirts.
- Gambit Pileup: Tina is about to capture George and Lenny when a sudden landslide allows them to escape. It turns out that the landslide was caused by Sitala, who was making her own attempt to bring the outlaws to justice.
- Genki Girl: Clarisse, one of Jeanette’s girls, is a hyperactive, perpetually upbeat Cloudcuckoolander.
- Guilt-Induced Nightmare: Combined with Past Experience Nightmare. The comic begins with Tina reliving the night she saw her father’s murder. She feels guilty for being unable to save him, although as a child there was really nothing she could have done. We soon learn that she’s been having this nightmare for the last 12 years.
- Hate Sink: Three-Chins Joe is thoroughly despicable. He’s a sadistic bully who enjoys beating up ordinary citizens at the Honey Pot, a thief who betrays his employers, and finally a Dirty Coward who suffers a Villainous Breakdown when Hawkeye the assassin shows up in his cell to make an example of him. It’s safe to say that no one will miss Three-Chins Joe.
- I Own This Town: Joe comes close to using the exact phrase (“Me and my boys own this town”) while boasting that he effectively controls Gold Digger’s Haven, since the sheriff is afraid to confront him and his posse.
- Interspecies Romance: Between Tina and Chief Hothlepoya.
- It Gets Easier: Tina’s reaction after she guns down Joe’s henchman Kirk.Tina: I… I killed him.. And I think I can do it again…
- The Medic: Dr. Brooks, the town doctor in Gold Digger’s Haven.
- Miss Kitty: Jeanette, owner of the Honey Pot. She’s a Benevolent Boss to all her employees and a Parental Substitute for Tina’s late mother; she also remains friends with Tina after she leaves to go bounty hunting (they stay in touch with letters) and fears for her safety.
- Mistaken for Prostitute: Tina works at the Honey Pot, but she's a waitress – and nothing else. However, Marshal Edward Bradley (the handsome lawman who comes to take Joe into custody) doesn’t realize this. After a one night stand with Bradley, Tina is insulted when she sees that he left her a large tip for her “services”.
- No Ending: At least not yet, due to Avencri deciding to focus on The Eye of Ramalach since 2017.
- No Honor Among Thieves: The Hazard Company hires Joe to steal some secret plans for them, but he decides to hang on to them himself. He pays for it with his life.
- The Outsider Befriends the Best: Both Played With and Played Straight. Once Tina enters Diamondback territory, she soon encounters The Chief's Daughter Sitala; they fight, then form an uneasy alliance to go after George and Lenny. Soon afterwards, Tina meets Chief Hothlepoya and they fall in love.
- Names to Run Away from Really Fast: As The Hazard Company isn’t a scary enough appellation, the salesman they send to talk Chief Hothelepoya into buying their weapons is named Patrick Harm.
- Painting the Medium: To emphasize what a Talkative Loon Clarisse is, her dialogue often completely fills her speech bubbles.
- Perpetual Frowner: Sitala, whose anger at the world shows in her facial expressions.
- Protection Racket: As soon as Joe and his gang finish tearing up the Honey Pot, he threatens a repeat performance.Joe: Since none of y'all is gonna show me the respect I deserve, I decided y’all gotta start paying rent to live in my town. So I’m comin’ back tomorrow… and if’n you’re still here, I’m takin’ my pay, however I like!
- Psycho for Hire: The Hazard Company uses them on a regular basis. They hire Three-Chins Joe to steal some secret plans for them; when he tries to make off with the documents, they send Hawkeye the assassin to kill him and retrieve the plans. George and Lenny are working for Hazard too.
- Reptiles Are Abhorrent: Averted Trope, as the humanoid rattlesnakes known as Diamondbacks are portrayed as decent and honorable. Even the antagonistic Sitala, who hates the settlers, has an understandable reason for holding a grudge against them – one of them killed her mother.
- Scarily Competent Tracker: Sitala, and she’s not shy about admitting it.Sitala: I’ve been hunting since I was a child. I can find anything.
- Shout-Out: The villains of Chapter 2 are a Big Guy, Little Guy pair of outlaws named Lenny and George.
- Show Some Leg: Tina does this for Kirk, one of Joe’s men. Kirk is smart enough to realize Tina is luring him into a trap but goes to investigate anyway, confident he can beat her. He’s dead wrong.
- Trash the Set: Joe and his posse smash up the Honey Pot while attacking the employees and customers.
- War for Fun and Profit: Handsome George spells out the Hazard Company’s Evil Plan.It was supposed to be so easy! “Terrorize the snakes to get them clamouring for war, arm them with the same gear we're usin’ on them, and get them to do the same to other towns.”
- Would Hit a Girl: When Tina tries to stop Joe’s rampage at the Honey Pot, he responds by punching her in the face.
