Soup - the Comic Strip

Soup the Comic Strip by Alun Clewe

Comic strip for April 24 2024.

PANEL ONE: The goddess from the previous strip faces the champion. Erlak is visible in the background. GODDESS: I am Tfylaon, the Rat Goddess. ERLAK: It's true; she is. CHAMPION: Thanks for the verification. PANEL TWO: Close on Tfylaon. TFYLAON: Nezhoni serves me by serving you. And Nezhoni serves me because of a bargain struck, between me and Nezhoni. PANEL THREE: Angle on Tfylaon and the champion. CHAMPION: So what makes you so sure Nezhoni won't try to eat Maiz or something? TFYLAON: Because that might contravene the terms of the bargain. And Nezhoni will not risk losing what I have promised to grant. PANEL FOUR: Erlak comes between Tfylaon and the champion with a bowl of soup. CHAMPION: I'm finding that hard to reconcile with Nezhoni's constant threats to bite my kneecaps off. ERLAK: Well let's sate the rat's hunger with a big steaming bowl of kneecap soup! CHAMPION: Erlak? Not helping. CHAMPION: Also, yuck.

April 24 2024

Despite her not being introduced until this week of strips, Tfylaon the Rat Goddess is one of the characters I designed before the strip even launched. (She has in fact been seen in the background in some previous strips; she just didn't have any lines till yesterday's strip.) She's not the last; there are at least four more characters I can think of offhand who were designed before the strip's launch but haven't been seen yet: a demon, a king, a rat, and a blob monster. Although one of those characters (the demon) may be due for a drastic redesign (as well as a possible sex change) before his/her appearance. (The king will probably appear first, followed by the blob monster, then the demon, and finally the rat. Although that's subject to change. Also, when I say "the blob monster", there are actually several blob monsters, but they all look pretty much the same. Or at least they do now; I may redesign them before their appearance as well. Not that they have much of a design. I mean, they're blobs.)

Oh, and there's at least one more character who was designed before the strip launched and who, like Tfylaon prior to this week, has appeared in the background but hasn't had any lines yet. (Also like Tfylaon prior to this week, he has been mentioned by name, but not in any of the strips in which he's appeared.)