As I have mentioned in previous reviews, it is a challenge when you come upon a series “already in progress.” Unless you are left with a really concise breakdown of the previous events, it is difficult to follow. So for those of us who haven’t read the previous issues. Here is a brief summary of what you missed in Ahoy Comic’s 2nd Season of Captain Ginger. For the rest of you, skim on down for Issue 6.🖖🏻
Issue One
The story started as Captain Ginger and crew came upon a mysterious signal. It was seemingly coming from a planet with an unusual species. They analyzed the video and came up with the scientific classification: Dogs. Whether or not they were intelligent or not was up for debate. But that was not their only issue. An old enemy had returned: The Lumen. Their mission was single minded: complete and utter destruction. (Not the brightest bulbs, are they?)
Issue Two
Captain Ginger tried to negotiate but was met with a ship weapons rebuttal. His team struggled to hold things together as they returned fire. As the fight continued the end was coming clear. The answer was to abandon ship. All hands (or paws) to the life rafts. As for Captain Ginger, he stayed with the ship as it crashed upon the planets surface.
Issue Three
So what’s the worst place Cats can crash? Water. But fortunately for them, some of the dogs on the planet were intelligent and came to save them. Even though they had no idea what the cats were. But they did find out they had a common enemy. The Lumen. Or as the dogs called them, the Pointers.
But the problem is, because the Cats followed the signal that lead them there, the Lumen followed them there. And now they know where they are. But they also need to find the ship and see if Captain Ginger’s still alive. And if not, at least retrieve the maker. Fortunately, the Captain survived. But he has run into a more primitive looking pack of dogs. Big Dogs.
Issue Four
Back with the rest of the crew, Science Cat is not fairing well. But as his end draws near, he knows what needs to be done. The dogs and cats must work together. Their evolution is not that different. And they have a common enemy. They must defeat them, together. When Science Cat passes, the dogs ban together to give him a dog like funeral. At the end, dogs and cats howled together as one.
As for Captain Ginger, he and his crew-mate were with the more primitive dogs. They could talk but they missed their previous lives. The ones where their feeder took care of them. They thought the only way for that to happen was for them to Ginger’s crew to come to them. And they are.
Issue Five
So both Cats and Dogs head toward where Captain Ginger is. They reunite but there remains bad blood between the dogs. It manifests itself into a large fight. Unfortunately, Sgt. Mittens attempts to intervene and in the confusion the leader of the more intelligent group is struck down. The Big Dog. At first they wanted to blame Mittens but there were other issues to resolve. The most important was to retrieve the maker.
When they arrive they find their engineer RamScoop had stayed behind to make repairs. He was having some luck but the maker needed a part that is missing. This angers the dogs who believe they have been lied to. But as that skirmish starts to escalate, a call comes in. The Lumen/Pointers are attacking. Which leads us to issue 6.
Issue Six
With imminent danger coming, both groups met separately to discuss their options. Captain Ginger’s crew were using the slowly restored ships systems to analyze what the Lumen seem to be planning. With ships sensors, they see that the Lumen are bathing the planet with radiation. That makes the need to get the ship flight ready more important than ever. But with the radiation levels rising, there is only one place safe for the dogs, and for the moment…the rest of their crew. The problem is, will the dogs listen. Especially now with a new big dog. The answer would be, no.
While Treever was more open minded, and actually looked upon the cats as their cousins. The new big dog saw them as enemies. And reacted as such. It just proved what Bill Murray said on Ghostbusters about what would happen with dogs and cats…living together…total chaos. This forced Captain Ginger to move off to another section of the ship. They quickly told the dogs to gather some food they have stored and go underground with the rest of their group. He told his land based people to do the same. His plan was to go back and retrieve them, once they were safely away from the Lumen.
The Best Laid Plans
That was the plan, and part of it was successful. They WERE able to leave the surface and approach orbit but once in space, the Lumen opened fire upon them again. They were taking a beating. No way to fight back, with only the hyper drive working. This forced them to decide. Use the hyperdrive to escape, while leaving their people behind, or stay and likely be destroyed. The choice while painful, was clear. They jumped. Away from the conflict. But also, away from their friends. They were on a ship with no maker, held together by spit and string. What they wouldn’t give for a warm spot, to lie in the sun. But that time will have to wait. Their friends were waiting…and someday, somehow, they needed to get to them. As Chapter Two ends.
Thoughts
As might be expected, I have been somewhat vague on all the details of this series. The purpose is to get you to read it yourself. There is more going on here than I have explained. But it’s clear that dogs and cats are just as muleheaded as humans when it comes to their differences. At least some are. All it takes is a bad leader to turn things from bad to worse. Science Cat laid out their avenue of survival. And if not for a simple accident, Treever might have convinced the dogs and cats to work together. But his passing made it all but impossible. Now, each group will have to fend for themselves until they can reunite. And the Lumen still await them when and if that happens. Sets it up for an exciting Season Three.
If you overlooked the fact that the main characters are cats, their character traits are not much different than the humans you would see in such science fiction tales. That is part of its charm. Stuart Moore keeps the action going with conflicts that scream classic space fare but throws the occasional fur ball into the works. The results make for an entertaining and original take on the genre. As for the art, June Brigman’s pencils give us the best looking cat characters in space since the Kilrathi in Wing Commander. Especially the officers. That is a major plus. Always loved that take on cat space warriors. Out of curiosity though…Are all one-eyed Sergeants so cantankerous (see Classic Nick Fury)?
If you have been following Captain Ginger, what did you think about Issue 6 and about the 2nd Season as a whole? If you haven’t, you now have two seasons to catch up on. Share what you think of the series with us at Geek Vibes Nation.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
