Hey!
It's been a while since I was on the forums, huh.
I remembered that SSSS exists today, just out of the blue, and wanted to see what Minna's new work was like. I do feel that a lot of the feedback on the forums here has been very nitpicky with it from a realistic point of view, while they're more likely meant to be fables.
That said, this is my personal preference but I do think that focusing a little bit more on a xenofiction aspect could've given the story more depth for non-religious readers to enjoy.
I think visually I tend to hone in on little elements like that foodbowl-harness a pig was holding in one panel, or how the birds act as "hands" for larger animals, pulling up fishing nets and doing small dexterous tasks. I think that if the aspect of animals having different strengths and accomplishing more in a mixed-species herd was focused on more it could make for a great secondary message for co-operation and diversity. However, the lack of realistic thought into how animals would use and make technology doesn't necessarily divert from the narrative for me...just makes it more dull.
I definitely agree that the wolves were meant as a representation of pagan religions. In particular I'm reminded of Chronicles of Livonia (written by a priest during the Northern Crusades so take it with a grain of salt) which mentions both Livonians and Estonians offering captured monks up for sacrifice to their god(s) during the Crusades. In these cases it was said that they'd put a monk up on a horse or ox and lead the animal over a line on the ground. If it stepped with one leg, the monk would be sacrificed, if with the other, the god(s) clearly didn't want the sacrifice and the monk would be spared.
I also assume that the herds are meant to be partly metaphorical for...clans, tribes or nationalities? Thus things like a pack of wolves with a hundred members wouldn't matter much, it just means that somewhere there's a way bigger group of wolf-pagans doing wolf-pagan stuff.
I do miss having more expressive, unique characters like SSSS did. I'll be checking in on this webcomic every couple of months probably, because I'm curios to see if Minna's going to do anything unexpected with it.
The autobiographical webcomic being drawn with bunnies instead of people doesn't bother me in the least. I think it's partly a question of anonymity, but also one of distance. I know I find it uncomfortable to draw myself and my loved ones in a realistic or semi-realistic manner, it's much easier to invent cute little avatars to hide behind. I was surprised at how much I actually...found it relatable? I, too, tend to be a very socially isolated person and if you are chronically online it can become easy to start dehumanizing or looking down on people you don't agree with. In my experience the best way to help against that is to get out of echo chambers and discussion threads and get to know people in real life, so you can see that they are flesh and blood humans. But honestly, secretly looking down on those who don't agree with you is something I myself have been at fault. Same with feeling guilty over my thoughts, or feeling powerless because I don't believe any political party is good enough to be in power and that humans are not capable of creating an utopia. It can feel like a battle, trying to figure out if you're still a good person despite all these horrible thoughts and cynical opinions. There's a sort of bravery involved in being this open with your feelings, though like many in this comment thread I, too, found worrisome things in that comic and reckon that perhaps she should've seen a psychologist for intrusive thoughts and self-loathing. I'm glad she's doing better and hope that her comics keep going well enough for her to live off them though.
It is really sad to see her having moved on from SSSS though. I'd sometimes daydream how great it would've been if the comic - at least the first adventure - would've gotten an animated adaptation, but that seems unlikely now that she's no longer promoting it. I always looked up to Minna's work ethic and felt that SSSS was a labor of love, so to read her say in the autobiographical comic that it'd been made for mass appeal and that she was drawing it for the money felt like a hit to the face a bit.
