The current story arc started with this strip: A New Adventure.
- Cloud: One false move and it’s game over.
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Currently on hiatus :-(
 S&W in German/auf DeutschGaia (my fantasy comic) Scarlet (my science fantasy comic) |
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![[0286] Special Attack III](/comics/2011-06-30-0286-special-attack-iii.png "[0286] Special Attack III")
[0286] Special Attack III
└ posted on Thursday, 30 June 2011, by Novil
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Poor Roq 🙁
Cloud, don’t hurt the poor wolf.his pride is already hurt enough.
i was shocked a little when i saw the 5th and 6th panel. i thought cloud had stabbed roq in the head with the knife, that would been quiet brutal for that comic .it was only in the last panel that i saw that he didn’t use his knive.just his body and fists.
I guess all that training to be warrior pays off in the long run.
Good thing he’s taking a not so violent approach on this, btw.
If I were Cloud, I would be worried about fleas, ticks, and the mange!
Meow wrote:
*facepalm*
Cloud heard Woo talking once from another room (when he scared the wee out of Woo while Sandra was watching a scary movie she wasn’t supposed to have) but wrote it off as his imagination (“Funny, I thought I heard another voice…”) and never brought it up again. But I think he’s too observant not to have suspected something about Woo. If Larisa finds out she is going to have a massive freakout (and possibly try to throttle Woo) since he saw her “secret” (taking medications for more than just diabetes). We don’t know if he’s told Sandra what he saw but he probably didn’t.
On the other hand this feels like a bad move. Is he trying to take the wolf hostage? Trying to reason with wild animal? The moment he lets go, Roq is going to try to take his hand off. Also Roq is exhibiting signs of rabies, even if he doesn’t really have it, and the right move would have been to knock him senseless and get as far away as possible (and then go get rabies shots). Normally I’d say he’s trying to act cool but we’ve already seen that’s not the kind of thing he’d do.
Interesting that the wolves are on all fours while Shadow and Sid are seen on two all the time. Makes them seem more feral, but I’ve always found it a bit disconcerting that even though Woo can talk, animals still do mostly animalistic things in this world, so it’s weird to see them standing upright, especially Shadow.
That shadowed panel with cloud just the dark figure is absolutely amazing! GO CLOUD GO! USE DAT SWITCHBLADE LIKE THE NINJA U ARE ^^
guess all that training paid off, go get him soldier! >: D
Rock, Paper, Scissors game- Clour Pwns Roq
@ Nick/Tyrong:
This is a rather unrealistic but family friendly webcomic with gravity defying jumps and talking animals.
You’re welcome.
PS: Yes, I [b]did[/b] hold myself back this time 😛
@ Tendo:
Dogs (and wolves) understand tone and intent much like pre-verbal children. They can also learn words through repeated exposure. Which is why verbal commands are used with working dogs. Consider guide dogs, they would have to have some understanding of verbal commands to do their job.
you know….at the end of this arc I think it’s gonna be like:
Sandra: thank you cloud, thank you larissa
Larissa: No problem
Cloud: yep! that’s what friends are for…good to see woo is still alive…
Woo: yeah!! that was close…..
Cloud and larissa: wtf????
Woo: I mean..err…”woo”???
@ vash_ts:Wolf Pack wants to join the party!
Why is such an awesome character not allowed to look Asian while his mother and sister clearly do? 🙁
Asian males don’t exist, apparently.
@ Nick/Tyrong:
If that happens, we will need to hold a funeral for Cloud’s Hand.
~Leptictidium, who is, unfortunately, next on the terror bird’s menu *gulp*
@ Nick/Tyrong:
cloud will just cut its mouth off if it bites him!
I expected a 100-hit combo followed by a super haduken.
Cloud’s father is white, and Cloud looks more like his father.
Plus I think the author rather liked the idea Cloud look like the character he was named after.
I can see, based on appearance alone, why Cloud would be underestimated consistently. Doesn’t help that his training would probably make Marine Boot Camp look like an afternoon aerobics workout.
When will Cloud start calling himself Leon?
My bad. Cloud was Cloud, Squall changed his name to Leon.
*sigh* I hate being wrong, pity I’m so good at it.
So makes up for the lacking of a special attack with the lumberjack guy person.
Makes sense that his mom would have trained him to a point that he could use Braver with anything. Still a nice, unexpectedly quick, subdual.
@ Someone:
True, but still. It’s a freaking wolf. Bitey.
Also where’s my comment?
@ Someone:
Also I thought Woo was an exception when it came to the talking.
Me thinks that is a swiss army-issue buster pocket knife/sword with folding limit break blade :P. Instant pwn 😛
Gamesman wrote:
Yes but how much human tone and language could a wild wolf have come across to learn anything?
@Shippou-chan
Your point is invalid because Cloud’s sister Yuna looks almost stereotypically Asian while her namesake has brown hair and blue eyes.
I’m not calling the author racist, I’m just saying that since Cloud’s backstory shows him so dedicated to Burmese independence I don’t understand why he isn’t drawn to look more Burmese. Its even a significant part of his character!!
It seems that international media just loves depicting Asian girls but when the situation calls for an Asian male they’d rather insert a white guy who likes an Asian country.
No offense to Clouds fighting abilities, but in real life that wolf would tear him into tiny bite size pieces….good thing this is a comic GO CLOUD!!!
@ Deko:
Good question, since in the real world, a full-grown (and angry) wolf wouldn’t just be laying still and wouldn’t understand the kid. He’d be thrashing and snarling.
Dos moves. o.o
@ Kilua:
video game/ninja physics, he is just that fast dude
@ Xane:
You have summed up everything I have ever thought ever. You win +9 Internets.
His mother has trained him well. Cloud is on his way to becoming an epic bad-ass.
@ Doodleydoowop:
Remember: half-Burmese. Cloud’s father is American.
My point was not that Cloud’s father’s race ensured Cloud would be caucasian, only that it made it possible, so that we aren’t surprised by it.
In a parallel universe, Cloud could end up looking like Bruce Lee, and his little sister like Shirley Temple. In this version, he’s taken his skin tone primarily from Dad, while little sister got her looks from Mama.
And I don’t recall anyone saying or inferring that the creator/artist was racist, or that anyone else has suggested it.
I again petition that there be a “Cloud being a BAMF” tag.
@ Shippou-chan:
You speak of possibilities and parallel universes as if Cloud and Yuna’s depictions here are completely random. But these aren’t real people whose genes randomly determine their appearance.
They are cartoon characters, and so how they appear actually speaks to how the artist intends for the audience to perceive them, even if only for a first impression. And Cloud is a “BAMF”, as Rikushadow states, whose character depth as written often shows he is loyal to Burma and wants to fight for his people’s rights. He has *reasons* to look Burmese, as a reminder of those aspects of his character.
And I believe in an ideal world he *would* have looked Burmese, or at least had his half-Asian characteristics more prominent (i.e. a mix of Asian and Caucasian features). But because Asian males don’t exist as strong protagonists in popular media the artist’s decision was likely unconsciously influenced. Instead s/he replaced what could have been a character close to his roots both physically and emotionally with friggin’ Tom Cruise as the white hero savior of another Asian country.
Roq: “Your move creep!
Cloud: “Huh?!?
Roq: *Analyzing Target* *Initiating Directive # 573: Fire Plasma Artillery*
It turn out that Roq is actually RoboWolf, what will Cloud do? Tune in next time for the exciting conclusion.
@ Doodleydoowop:
You do raise some good points, but I have a hard time agreeing with you that there’s some sort of discrimination going on by the artist. Of course media portrayals of Asian characters, male in particular, have been done with caucasian actors or representations, and “yellowface” is a serious problem in western media – particularly in America.
But part of the reason I doubt that’s what’s happening here is because the artist, Puri Andini (aka Powree), is from Indonesia. That’s not proving anything of course, but what I’m saying is that any “unconscious influences” you talk about aren’t universal – artists in one part of the world may be influenced in a very different manner by their surrounding culture.
Actually, I’ll admit I’m not sure if Powree lives in Indonesia currently, as the FAQ page only states she “is from Indonesia”. But I didn’t know if you were aware that she isn’t from America, kind of like some users who seem to not realize the comic’s author is German.
All that being said, honestly I do see a little Asian in Cloud. Not as much as his mother and sister, of course, but like Shippou-chan said, having a Caucasian father is certainly enough to make him look more Caucasian than Asian.
To your response regarding Yuna and comparing her with the character she’s named after – in all honesty, Yuna from Final Fantasy seems more Asian than Caucasian to me. In fact, far moreso than Cloud (again, the FF one), who I feel looks Caucasian. The fact that Yuna was given blue eyes doesn’t automatically mean she wasn’t meant to be interpreted as Asian – in fact, I perceive the eye color choice was meant to match the game’s heavy symbolism regarding water. Considering we’ve got games with characters that have red, yellow, and white eyes (and I mean to the point that you simply wouldn’t find a human in the real world who naturally has such eyes, unless they have a disease causing it), it’s not far-fetched to assume symbolic choices in eye color like that.
Your point isn’t invalid, of course – even in this arc we see a character’s personality and behavior dictating appearance (the three wolves). Personally, though, I think the influence of discrimination in western media was minimal on the artist’s choice of how to depict Cloud.
This is how a wolf turns into a dog.
GO CLOUD!
COMPLETELY BADASS!
Bowchichawowow
Cloud is too cool.
On a side note, during the school year, my mom saved the cutest baby raccoon that had (we’re guessing) strayed away from his mother and was on the side of the drive into my school. I named him Woo before she put him back into the woods.
I don’t know, this comic – and this arc, to some extent – disappoints me somewhat. However badass Cloud is, and however much training he’s received, he’s still just a kid – this stretches it a bit for me.
Don’t get me wrong – I love Sandra and Woo, and accept that the characters have got older, and the series has moved away from its’ more whimsical and sweet roots – in many ways, that has benefited it – but both physically and mentally, this action sequence doesn’t measure up. The previous comic I felt was more accurate – a rash and hasty, yet selfless action; more like someone his age. Here, we seem to be moving into unreal action stunts!
I know you create the comics in advance, however, so I won’t gripe and moan too much. 😉 I am, however, waiting out for the better pieces I know you can create.
I got a feeling she’s going to be oh so much more in love with cloud after this.
@ WolfieMario:
That… was a very well-written response.
I’m glad you understand where I’m coming from. Your points do make it seem less likely that the art was affected by societal bias, however, because the same biases I am arguing against may not exist where she lives. That is not certain.
But when you say that you see some Asian features in Cloud it reminds me that art is often subject to interpretation, and that though I saw him as whitewashed others may see him differently. Perhaps the artist’s intention was that reflect both his Asian and Caucasian heritage, in which case I have been making a big deal out of nothing.
If that is the case I apologize.
Here we go again, a whole bunch of people over-analyzing something fictional. Jeez, people. It’s a comic meant to be enjoyable and entertaining, not some secret of the universe that’s supposed to be picked apart and searched for philosophical meaning or real world accuracy. One of the titular characters is a TALKING RACCOON for crying out loud! Who cares if Cloud doesn’t look Burmese? The comic’s called Sandra and Woo, not Cloud and His Non-resemblance To a Real World Asian.
Oh yeah! that’s the way Cloud! I call it for Roq to become your partner from now on!! yay!! Tame the beast!! Woohoo!
Fee wrote:
Unlike Fate in Mirror’s edge, when we haven’t ever seen her training (I don’t count the player training ¬¬). Even in the prequel comics, it looked like Merc trained her in “parkour” – Unless she had the previous experience//knowledge before. And considering that she “swapped” from one train to another one GOING TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE, along all the sh*t you do in the game… well, being a kid doesn’t mean being unable.
Fee wrote:
…Or someone who was able to take enough momentum, then using the tree as “impulse plataform” for a bigger move. Parkour anyone? =P~
BTW, no one else EVER remembered mirror’s edge in this comic?
Insert crowning moment of awesome here.
@ A.Fox:
Way ahead of ya buddy.
*CRZZZ* DEAR LORD! The Awesome Meter is overloading!
@ Tendo:
Wild animals can smell fear and sense when another animal (or human) is dangerous. Also millions of years of our killing them has given them a good understanding that we are dangerous. Plus even in remote areas humans are not unknown as Rangers, hunters, campers and lumberjacks (3 of which have been in this neck of the woods lately) are often in the woods. So the wolves have had contact with humans before otherwise how would they know what they smell like. I could go on.