One of my favorite scenes on p. 50 and 51. It’s when #2, otherwise known as Tinker in the wanted ad, jumps down from the tree to attack the soldiers on foot. At the same time, #1 or Bandit, rockets through the windshield of the military vehicle. Both scenes seem to take place at the same time. I like these pages because the way they are set up visually, and also for the violent capability showcased by both animals.
First of all, this is a visually striking scene. For Bandit, the illustration of him actually going through the vehicle looks like one of those time lapse videos. You can see him in each stage of the action. It looks like the artists drew that as one picture first, and then added the clipped images to throw on top. Tinker just seems to be shooting razors from the trees, but the clipped images slow down that action and show you piece by piece what is happening. What intrigues me is that while these little boxes show the action like slow motion, the way they are set up makes it seem like a lot of fast paced action as well. It’s hard to explain but it achieves some dual effect for me as I read it.
The other thing I really like about this scene is the violence. And I don’t mean that because I’m sick in the head or something, but these two scenes in tandem truly show us just what these animals are capable of. For instance, both scenes have a little box showing the eyes of Bandit and Tinker They are the eyes of predators. This makes those cute cuddly animals, who you might feel sorry for earlier in the story, seem a bit terrifying. The nature of these military guy’s deaths is so visceral and graphic that I can really get a sense of animalistic lethality. In the little boxes you can see a bullet about to hit someone’s eye, a mouth gasping in surprise, teeth being shattered, and a severed foot flying. That’s just for the dog. In Tinker’s half they have split open fingertips, eyes being punctured by razors, teeth and gum sheered in half, and a guy getting impaled face to throat. These wounds just show how completely and utterly Bandit and Tinker can destroy a human, because even little things like fingertips, eyes, and teeth are getting mashed.
Simply put, this scene shows how lethal these main characters can be. I love them, but at the same time I fear them. Tinker and Bandit’s opposition get cut to shreds. The time lapse artwork along with graphic detail really help bring this brutality to the fore, while showing the true lethal abilities of the animals.