"Coyote is no liar, and therin lies the danger."

[neuhallidae]

Filling the request of mullon for more Gunnerkrigg, and box_in_the_box for Coyote specifically. This is a very spoilery and image-heavy post.

First off, have a helpful map, courtesy of Chapter 20.





For those not already neck deep in the comic, Gunnerkrigg Court (where the humans and robots live) is separated from Gillitie Wood (where Coyote and the other magical creatures and animals live) by a river called the Annan Waters. Because no one can cross the river, the only path between the two is a long bridge, from which our protagonist, Antimony, fell during Chapter 7.

Helpful map, yes?

Anyway, the incident with the bridge comes back up in Chapter 14, where Coyote and Ysengrin, his second, demand a meeting with the Court's leaders just as school's letting out for the summer. Having been on the other side of the river before (and because, as we find out in this chapter, her mother was once the Court's medium), Annie is invited to the parley session.

Which doesn't exactly start out well, as Ysengrin refuses to accept speaking to the new medium students.











As the session continues, Ysengrin brings accusations against the Court of intentionally damaging the Wood's side of the waters in a spy attempt. His evidence is a mostly destroyed Tic-Toc, one of many mechanical birds of unknown origin that watch over the court, and a damaged jumper belonging to an "A. Carver". Annie reveals it's hers, and that both that and the Tic-Toc are a result of her fall from the bridge. This does jack to lessen the tension of the meeting, however, until...









Ysengrin does not take this apparent disrespect well, to say the least, and Coyote breaks up the resulting fight.



Jones, another of the adults at the meeting, and later revealed to be the trainer of the medium candidates, reveals that Ysengrin's rage, and possibly Coyote's provocation as well, was a ruse to plant something of unknown origin, and we don't see him or Coyote again for several more chapters.

Having talked with Jones about it in 17 (who informs her to be careful of handling Coyote's advice, as his truth is dangerous), in Chapter 20, Annie decides it's time to take Coyote up on the offer to meet, so Eglamore escorts her to the edge of the Wood, and Ysengrin escorts her to Coyote.

















He also mentions the process working the other way as well, which Annie's aware of, having already met a couple of fairies who'd become human. Both sides of the test were Ysengrin's idea, to prevent humans from becoming permanent residents of the Wood, as a handful had been after the Wood and Court were split.













And so Annie heads home (discovering once she's there that there's now a huge fingerprint in the side of the moon), and thus we have the end of chapter 20.

In Chapter 25, we learn some of the truth behind what the people of the Court did to the Annan Waters. I won't spoil that, other than to say it rattles Annie and her friend/sidekick Kat good. Which prompts Annie to make another visit to Coyote in the current ongoing chapter.

Also, a bonus page from Chapter 20.





Tags:
medium: webcomic
title: gunnerkrigg court

Comments

[box_in_the_box]

Holy shit, I love what a gigantic asshole Coyote is.

He's fucking awesome.

[tacobob]

Love the sound effect, "SPANKIES!"

[lakrids404]

It's a really great comic. I was not so keen on his drawing style, at my first look, but the the (very) slow story pulled me in.
I am amused that he could a subplot, where a haircut was part of the plot, and it was interesting!

[icon_uk]

Love the art style here!

[silverzeo]

It's like a cross between the Chesire Cat and Fawful from the Mario and Luigi RPG games...

[nezchan]

What a coincidence, I just got into GC last week. I love these stories where the story builds up through indirect references, giving you the general shape of what's really happening but leaving the central mysteries intact. Although there seems to be an awful lot of stuff revealed over the last couple of storylines all at once, I hope that's not a portent that we're heading for conclusions already.

[mullon]

In my head Coyote is voiced by Mark Hamill.

[crinos]

My favorite part of that first appearance is when he swats down Ysengrin. I mean here's this big intimidating wolf tree thing, tearing the place apart, and Coyote just swats him like a puppy on the nose, giving him this "you are embarrassing me, stop it" look.

Wish it was included above.

[red_cyclone]

Wow, this is awesome, and I am totally going to start reading it. Since reading American Gods and Anansi Boys I have renewed my childhood love of tricksters, so of course think Coyote is awesome.

[endis_ni]

It was a bit slow at first, but now I have to admit it's one of my favourite web comics!

[kingrockwell]

I love this and want to read more, but an archive binge just doesn't sound appealing at all. How long do the chapters tend to run?

[catbird]

I love tricksters to bits and this Coyote is damn near perfect. Lovely, lovely images, too, very dynamic and fluid. I'm also impressed by a trickster portrayed as a truly powerful figure (at least it seems that way).

[houbanaut]

I read Gunnerkrigg Court last year (some people were mentioning it as one of the best webcomics of the decade). It definitely has some really good things to it, and the bits shown here were some of my favorite ones. I can see what Gaiman likes about it.

On the whole, though, the plot seems like one big tease to me, driven by half-explanations that only reveal new layers of secrets. (This trick is something I hear Lost uses a lot, too. I could never get into that show.)

Also, the comic book storytelling is a little uneven and occasionally jarring, like the writer/artist hasn't quite figured out how to convey what's going on, or hasn't studied Scott McCloud's books well enough. Maybe it reads better if you follow the installments week by week instead of plowing through a whole chapter in just a few minutes.

[geoffsebesta]

This is amazing. Reading it right now.

[koschei]

The author also cruelly teases us about Antimony/Kat.