One thing that Tom Siddell of Gunnerkrigg Court delights in doing is turning expectations on their side. As the comic’s story commences, I’ve slowly realized that the Court are not “good guys” by most definitions of the word (unless you define a “good guy” as someone who enforces a policy to ensure humanity’s superiority and dominance). Most recent updates have taken this one step forward: not only are the Court not the good guys… but our protagonist’s mother, Surma, was an active participant in tricking and capturing the fox-spirit Reynald and in doing so renaming him Reynaldine, a demon who snares the hearts of young girls.

To be honest, there’s been signs of this before. Seriously, what type of person sends her young daughter off with two soul-collecting entities in what ended up being potentially dangerous if on a spiritual plane instead of physical). But out of simple fear the Court convinced Surma to encourage Reynald’s affections for her. The result was tragic; when the spirit Coyote granted Reynald some of his power, it turned bad. Whoever Reynald possesses ultimately dies when he leaves the host… and Reynald possessed a boy at the Court to try and be by Surma.

Fear appears to be a primary motivator for the Court’s actions. It resulted in Jeanne’s imprisonment on the banks of the Annan. It has colored much of the Court’s interaction with the denizens of the Gillitie Wood. And yet we’ve not seen anything that suggests that the Wood is the threat the Court perceives… which leaves me wondering when that shoe will drop. With the exception of the first few encounters with the Wood, Antimony has not seen anything to show just what the Court fears from Coyote. Given that Siddell is not the type to pull his punches, I look forward to seeing signs that while the Court are not “good guys,” neither is Coyote and the Wood.