Plush
Doug Wagner, writer; Daniel Hillyard, artist; Rico Renzi, colorist; Ed Dukeshire, letterer
Image Comics, 2023
The story starts out at least somewhat normally. Devin has just broken up with his fiancée. It's an especially hard breakup: she is pregnant with another man's child. His roommate Levi offers to loan him a fursuit so they can attend a furry convention together. Shortly after arriving Devin starts to feel sick from the strong drink Levi gave him. When he goes out back into the alley everything changes: he sees a group of furries cannibalizing another furry attendee. After his arrest (by the deputy who knocked up his girlfriend) and a threat by the Sheriff that he will be framed if he does not marry his daughter (apparently Devin's parents make him a good match) Devin is surprised to be rescued by the cannibals. This results in an epic battle between the police and the cannibals, who Devin has thrown in with. It is easy to root for the cannibals, since the police are clearly corrupt. But when Devin and Levi hit the road with them, somehow cannibalism is just accepted as part of the package. Weird. The whole thing works somehow, largely due to Hillyard and Renzi's wild artwork.
Replies
When I realized that cannibalism was the implied twist in the advance PR, I wondered if Devin was supposed to be on the menu. Was the "strong drink" meant to incapacitate him, or disorient him to make him more amenable to cannibalism? If he and Levi are still buds at the end of it, maybe the latter.
That's an interesting theory. I just took the drink as a way to loosen Devin up so he could relax and enjoy the convention. But it was stronger than intended, and the rest just happened by accident. The storytelling is pretty chaotic!