WoW Insider's Weekly Webcomic: Safe Passage
by Kelly Aarons 
Jun 14th 2011 at 3:00PM
If Ash'gor had just nicely asked for his sword, this wouldn't have been a very exciting page, now would it?
Check out the full comic right here, and tune in next Tuesday morning for a new page. You can also see all the previous pages in the gallery below.
Filed under: WoW Insider's Weekly Comic
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kharsi Jun 14th 2011 11:30AM
I was able to see the strip and read the post yesterday evening (6/13/11). Not sure if that is bug or a feature..was fine for my impatience to see the next set of panels.
Glad to see Mr Orc is making friends in his own special way
Cadychan Jun 14th 2011 4:12PM
I complete each page a few days early, and post it so our copyeditor can make sure it's okay. You're not supposed to find it, but hey. ;)
Amaxe Jun 14th 2011 3:07PM
Wouldn't it be funny if after the escape is made, it turns out the Alliance was going to let them go for helping the children? (Which, unless I missed it, seems to be something Ennari never considered doing to begin with ;-) )
Sakirsha Jun 15th 2011 11:05AM
Would. Never. Happen.
The orc and the troll were as good as dead as soon as the Alliance scouts spotted them near the encampment. The kids and the Horde were never seen together, so there would be no reason (even with the testimony of some Elfie hunter who's not affiliated with the Alliance army anyway) to believe two squealing kids when the Alliance soldiers want blood.
fudge Jun 15th 2011 11:35AM
Yes! They're out for blood!
Alliance shaman are already casting Bloodlust, entering Blood Fury and are maybe even Berserking a little.
Oh, wait ...
Amaxe Jun 15th 2011 8:48PM
@Sakishira
Since Ennari never attempted to tell them, we'll never know what the Alliance leaders would have done. You certainly have no basis to say "Would. Never. Happen."
Certainly I believe General Hawthorne would have listened to Ennari, even if his solution wasn't what she would have wanted. He might, for example, have decided the two needed to be interned until the end of the war rather than killing them.
If only somebody hadn't demonized him and assassinated him for something he wasn't guilty of, things might not seem so bleak for the Horde duo.
Sedna Jun 14th 2011 3:10PM
I know I've said this before, but boy do I love that orc. One punch!
Hught Jun 14th 2011 3:53PM
This is why we soulbind our weapons. Noobs.
VioletArrows Jun 14th 2011 3:59PM
That'sss a very nice ssssword you have there...
It'd be a shhhame if ssssomething were to happen to *you*...
Cadychan Jun 14th 2011 4:13PM
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS *KRAKA-BOOM*
While it would be pretty cool to have Ash'gor explode in a fiery death, that's a bit out of character for him. ;>
Throm Jun 14th 2011 4:04PM
This page smells of Garrosh.
Prelimar Jun 14th 2011 4:16PM
perhaps human blood wasn't needed to "cleanse" it at all. : )
Angus Jun 14th 2011 7:49PM
I like to think the CRACK was the sound of a neck snapping. Either way I am pretty sure there is blood available, even if it is just a split lip or broken nose.
CS Jun 14th 2011 9:18PM
Oh man.. looks like work for Fort Triumph's resident dentist and plastic surgeon.. Maybe he'll end up with Deathwing-like lower jaw...
ISA Jun 15th 2011 5:25AM
Someone tell me this elf will hang for treason? All of the guard harassing and tolerance for horde filth is more annoying than jaina proudmore.
Heres my prediction: Theyll punch out a few more guards, moon General Hawthorne, escape unharmed, remind us again how irrational and bigoted alliance is, kids get adopted by the orc, troll teaches draenai girl shamanism, and the elf joins the horde because shes wanted traitor and somehow the horde "feels" more like home.
fudge Jun 15th 2011 10:40AM
Would it be possible to have a comic where the Alliance are not the obvious butt monkeys?
Pretty please?
Sakirsha Jun 15th 2011 11:06AM
If it wasn't set in a zone that the Alliance invaded solely to be buttmonkeys, sure!
fudge Jun 15th 2011 11:31AM
Sigh ...
Alliance invaded, because they needed to move supplies to their Night Elven allies in Ashenvale and Stonetalon, who are being attacked by, you've guessed it, the Horde.
The whole zone is quite ambiguous as to who's "the bad guy" and who is not and frankly, war is never pretty. But to portray the Alliance as a bunch of blood-crazed, lunatic losers is far from what's found in-game.
Cromlech Jun 15th 2011 1:34PM
You mean, you want a story set in a fantasy world where humans, dwarves and elves are the heroes and orcs, goblins, and trolls are the baddies?
Like *that* would ever happen...
Amaxe Jun 15th 2011 9:07PM
I'll do a brief critique of the problem to the story thus far.
That to members of the Horde, Hawthorne would seem evil is understandable if mistaken. To people living in the Barrens who didn't know of the Horde attacks which kicked off the war, it could seem like unwarranted aggression for the Alliance to believe here, so I don't fault Kelly's story for this rivalry. I can also understand the fact that Taurajo was seen as deliberate, and Horde members in the Barrens might not know of Horde atrocities elsewhere. So again, no objections here.
However, we see Horde members being shown as kind, compassionate and wise. In contrast, we see Alliance members portrayed as cruel, bigoted and stupid. This is a problem, because in essence it gives a view that "Horde = Good. Alliance = Evil." In other words it makes a caricature of the Alliance to be the villains.
It's kind of like the last comic, Byron the Tauren Rogue. That gnome rogue portrayed as a villain is doing nothing more than defending the Alliance lands.
So the one-dimensional presentation of the Alliance is a problem.
This becomes a problem because, as I mentioned in a comment above, Ennari never attempted to come to the defense of the two Horde members. It is assumed that they need to break the two out of prison.
This is a huge plot hole which seems to reflect the one dimensional take on the Alliance. Objectively speaking, since Ennari never sought to go through legal channels before breaking them out, we can't say that the Alliance **wouldn't** have given them a fair hearing.
Such an omission from the story is a glaring weakness in the plot, and can reasonably lead someone to think this is going to be a typical "Horde = Good, Alliance = Evil" story.
Now, I have no idea what will happen in the coming story line. It may turn out that my concerns are addressed in future comics, or it may continue along these lines. The story is entertaining, and Kelly can and has surprised me before, so I won't write this off.
I think I would ask this however. If the story was told in reverse... two Alliance members trying to return some Horde children, getting captured and treated as our Horde protagonists were and being aided by a rogue member of the Horde... would you who play the Horde object to the Horde being portrayed as the Alliance is being portrayed now?