Swan Eaters by Georgia Dunn for July 24, 2020

Winnie gets to rescue Salem and get a snack!

Oh no! Wiggie did arrive in time to save Vesper, but where are Salem and Ivan? Will Pilot’s newly discovered medical skills be enough to save Wiggie from that stab wound?

Wow! Thanks for not giving any spoilers, everyone.

Salem: “Lassie fell down a well!”

Fantastic AND dramatic :-)

I knew you were a great artist from all of your other work Georgia, but WOW!

I’m glad Winnie showed up in time but I was kind of hoping this adventure would give Peter a chance to show what he could do. So far he is about the only one who hasn’t had a chance to shine yet.

I thought Winnie was help.

I wonder if/when Hemlock and his flunkies will show up, or if they were captured/dealt with before Ivan brought Salem to the portal so he could gloat. Either way, I’m almost as happy as Salem to see Winnie back.

And here I thought their big problem would be Olwen Still might be…

Hurrah Winnie….so Salem and Fox are saved by Winnie who took out two horrible Demons. Now we need Grannie to get Vesper, Wiggy and, I guess, Ivan, back to this world and close the portal. Then we have to hope Peter’s skills can save Wiggy. Phew! Hurry Winnie! And did you see brave little Fox baring his teeth and claws…you could almost hear Fox yelling “let me at ‘em!”?

Ohhhh, Olwin is gonna be PIIISSSED!

Nooooo! Not wigglesworth! Just when he finally fessed up and won!!

Wow!

Wow! So much packed in to one episode!

Although we have seen some impressive spells before, will we now see Olwen unleashed? It’s pretty much been prove that she is like the Hulk…you don’t want to get her angry.

Oh why can’t I give this more than one heart?!

Well, that’s a start, Winnie. I do believe we may see more of “Winnie unloosed”. Hrm “Cry ‘Havoc’ and let slip the Winnie of war”?

And our little Foxy has taken an immediate shine to Winnie!

Wow! Takes my breath away! And Winnie’s satisfied smile in #9 with blood running down his face is precious! Who’s my little murder beast!? Who?

Never so happy to see a monster before! You go Winnie!

Maybe I’m showing my ghoulish side, but WOW I love the artwork . . .

OMG!!! Love this on so many levels. Also hate it… Wigglesworth better be okay!!! Maybe Olwen will get him back and Peter will heal him. I love how Pepper is trying to defend Salem with her tiny paws of fury and then 100% snuggles up to Winnie. Also love how Salem is like “don’t care if your covered in blood, gimme a hug!”

Panel 9, the fox looks pleased.

I like how the fox was ready to box with the demon!

WHOA!!!!! Winnie in the nick of time, although some issues are still up in the air! Salem Wiggy and little devil Ivan are through the portal!

Yup, invasion portal. Thankfully the Iskmath were no match for a wendigo. Unfortunately for Mr. Wigglesworth and Vesper, Winny arrived too late. Ivan…… well maybe this will teach him to listen to Salem and Olwen. Make him realize that even Clover is twenty thousand times smarter than he is where magic is concerned. That foolish little white patch is meaningless beyond showing he could be taught to use magic, if he’d just obey his grandmother. The trobe that cons are easier to con was certain true in Ivan’s case.

Now we know how Wiggy got the wound he had in Vesper’s dreams.

This is so gruesomely adorable!

The familiar ready to rough up the “thing” frightening Salem, Wigglesworth using his body to protect Vesper, Winnie crunching the enemy…now that’s family!

So the “you two” — is that Wigglesworth and Vesper or Ivan and Vesper? It’ll be easier for Peter to save W if he’s been left behind to die, but that seems like it’d be sloppy on the part of his brother…

Okay, one bit of confusion on my part. In the first panel, who is shouting “IVAN”? And why?

oh, I do love it when the bad guys are converted to a thick, red spray.

Excellent cliffhanger, Georgia Dunn Dunn Dunnnn!!!

I love all the fierce expressions of the brave fox!

This reminds me of how “Lost in Space” (and the old Flash Gorden serials) ended each episode with a cliff-hanger to make sure we tuned in next week.

Over on BCN Facebook, Georgia has posted some early sketches for this plus has this to say: "Considering today’s strip, I thought it might be fun to share some old (olllllld! From 2002-2007 or a so) sketches. You can see from these monsters and styles some origins of Swan Eaters monsters and witches. Wigglesworth is heavily based on a giant monster man I’ve been drawing since I could hold a pencil. He has changed many times (he has ram horns in these sketches, for example. And is fighting rabbits for some reason lost to memory but his overall spirit of rugged kindness has endured. In a sketch of an old hag witch you can certainly see the beginnings of Olwen. A wizard thrown in. Some elements of romance, a big white fluffy monster (called “the Risi Risi”, from a story I wrote a long time ago and have not published about a ghost child living in a cave with a monster), a well intentioned hero imprisoned in chains (more origins of Wigglesworth, in a few ways). A fun fox queen and a monochromatic scene in watercolors. Bits and pieces are always coming together for stories, I think. I hope you enjoy this peek! Most of these were sketched in pencil and then I would scan the sketch and “burn” the colors over the pencil marks in Photoshop. I always liked the look of it, it felt like trying to create pictures in old, lost books.

Hope you have a good weekend! And good luck to Wigglesworth!"

Awww Salem holding Foxy back! So much cute and gore. I love it.