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Because it's not a proper Charlie Foxtrot without Murphy being involved
 (From Wandering Ones. Click on image to see full-sized image.)
Yesterday I was struggling between two comics I wanted to comment on. There was Anywhere But Here in which I was confused about a few things and just wanted to comment on it, and Wandering Ones. I ultimately chose ABH because it runs five days a week, and the immediacy of it called out to me.
Today, terrorists struck in London, killing at least fifty and injuring hundreds more. And I sit here looking at a comic about a war being fought in the future between two factions of the former United States, before a biological terrorist device wiped out most of humanity. Further, we have a group of resistance fighters struggling to maintain their freedom against an aggressor who ruthlessly drafts their people and forces them to fight a meaningless war.
There are parallels here. You could consider the Reich to be representative of the more ruthless aspects of American society, and the Western Alliance to be the last bastions of freedom and liberty, what we want American society to be. However, the warriors and scouts in The Wandering Ones are nothing like Al Quaida.
Recently, Ravenwing was reunited with her father, who fights for the Nez Perce and for the loss of his second wife and children. But rather than striking at civilians, the Nez Perce and the Clans are striking against military targets, and also striking at the supplies in an attempt to bring a war to an end.
Without the fuel in this depot, the Reich will be unable to continue its war against the Western Alliance. Indeed, the very social structure of the Reich may start to fall apart as its economy and industry founders without fuel, and perhaps the Western Alliance may end up in a position of offering aid and support once the Reich disarm.
Further, this war will come to an end thanks to the efforts of the Clans and the Nez Perce. We very well may see more people turning to the Clans for knowledge and understanding of this new world in which they live, living more in harmony with the Earth and the spirits that inhabit it.
What's more, whether this situation becomes a full-blown Foxtrot Charlie or if the Clan and Nez Perce are able to finish their mission against the Reich (or even that we learn that the valley was a big trap, and that the munitions and fuel are not kept here but instead are scattered in numerous depots across the landscape, as I suspect), Ravenwing and her friends will be able to return home, and get back to the lesson of teaching scouts... and respect for the land.
Still, we should take heed to the hidden message in this comic. The Reich was created of Americans, by Americans, for the sake of creating a secure and viable nation for its citizens. Every terror attack in the world brings with it a clarion call for more security and more protection. Every terror attack also results in more rights lost, and more freedoms restricted. At what point does security mean losing our freedoms and liberties? Is it worth the cost?
If we stumble now, the Reich might not be futuristic fiction in a web comic.
Addendum: My heart goes out to the families of the victims, and to the survivors and those who witnessed this horrible event. Britain was here for America when Al Quaida struck on 9/11. We will be there for Britain on this dark day as well. Rob
Robert A. Howard
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