ComicWorm Speaks!- Tina of the South by Avencri

ComicWorm Speaks!

Tina of the South by Avencri

tinaofthesouth.katbox.net

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The Story: Tina of the South takes place in a region called Terra Rica (meaning rich earth), implied to be an island or a continent, and is inhabited by Anthromorphic animals. The culture is based of the American Wild West. Tina is an anthro armadillo, who lives in a former mining town, whose father was murdered by an outlaw. The fate of her mother is unknown. Tina now works at a bordello run by the town matriarch Jeanette Dubois, whom raised her after the death of her father. The town is menaced by a gang led by Three Chins Joe and after a particularly rough encounter Tina decides to take matters into her own hands. 

The Good: The comic already deserves credit for making the main character an armadillo, a very unique animal and character design. It is a refreshing break from the house pets that make up the majority of the furry fandom. 

While they are not exactly new, entertainment in general needs more female protagonists as their main characters. Tina is very attractive who works at a bordello but she is also tough and doesn’t take flack from anyone. This kind of character is desperately needed and deserve all the respect they can get. 

What makes her even better is that Tina does have a weakness. She has a thing for attractive men and can’t resist swooning whenever she sees well defined muscles. This is a great departure from a lot of female protagonists from across media, as the majority of the time, female protagonists are not interested in romance and its is often at the behest of the male love interest to induce kissing and sex. Tina throws herself at a man who compliments her even though she just met him. This makes her a very compelling who character who has the potential to screw up in very realistic ways. 

Sitala is also worthy of mention. Not much has been seen of her so far but already she crafts a compelling character. It is known that the Rattlesnakes have suffered much at the hands of the settlers and she is very angry about it. Both Tina and Sitala have a temper but whereas Tina’s is more like a firecracker, Sitala is more like a campfire, intensity varies on the fuel but it is always burning. The artist does a good job of implying this with her mannerisms. It is clear that Tina and Sitala will clash later on but ultimately develop a friendship, lets just hope its not too much like the Lone Ranger. 

Perhaps too much is being read into this, but the plight of the Rattlesnakes mirrors the treatment of the real life Native American’s but could also be seen in the real world in how reptiles such as snakes are not viewed as highly as mammals. Again…maybe reading too much into this. 

Finally: It is very clear from the first chapter that something bigger is going on in Terra Rica, and Tina will play a part of it. While just riding around the desert having adventures would not be unappealing, a larger arc can really tie the story and ComicWorm is eager to see how it will play out.  

The Flaws: Similar to many webcomics, the chief flaw of the comic is its schedule. The artist has been notoriously erratic when it comes to the update schedule. According to the artist, it has been due to fluctuations in the artist’s personal life. 

Due to the above fact, the comic is only a little way into part 2, so there is not much to say that could be at fault. 

In the latter part of first chapter, a little to much may be borrowed from anime influences. This is not exactly uncommon but thankfully the artist uses restraint in this regard, coming into their own style. 

A lot of this is just details, but details are important, that being said, it was an oversight to keep Tina in a skirt at the end of the first chapter. Skirts are very impractical, especially if one wants to be a wild outlaw. Thankfully it is swapped for trousers at the beginning of the second chapter, so it can be forgiven. 

Final Verdict: Tina of the South may only just be getting started but it definitely deserves reading and supporting. 

Five out of Five Stars.