An allegorical story about religion, cults, Marxism, Anarchism, teenagers and self-actualization. Being allegorical, it does feel like I'm only getting half of the story, the other half coming studying these things. I understood a few things though.

Richard's Valley (religion) dominates the beginning of this story, until the animal outcasts were thrown out of their cult. The Snake formed Marxism while the Dog formed Anarchism. The only thing they shared in common was a resentment for Richard's Valley. Marxism is it's own cult, rooted in its own spiritual ties, but eventually took over for more political means (seeming to miss the point of what Marxism's original intent was, or that it's impossible to separate that intent for a new direction.) The Dog remained aimless with his merry band of animal friends, vagabonds searching for a home while the system they live under does not, cannot, provide one. Regardless, they're still happy to simply have each other and be free of the lotus-fruit which had originally illusion them, deceiving them to believe that Richard was any more an animal than them. Eventually Richard leaves the valley, publishing books about his teachings, but eventually finds himself sick from the pollution that the city introduces him. The Snake, Dog, and every else who was forced to leave are now allowed back into the valley.

I feel that I'm missing details, but that was all I could take away from it. This is a good book to re-read after some time has passed, perhaps a year later. Hehe, I can hardly wait, something so long-term makes me excited.

I think this is my favourite DeForge book so far. ( )

I love love love Michael DeForge, so when I saw this at my library I didn't even think and checked it out. And now I have found the one DeForge work I don't like :(

I think it would have helped to know that this was a webcomic/daily strip first, but I caught on to it soon enough. There are plots that run throughout but they're interrupted by random panels with characters that never appear again, or the beginnings of some other story that isn't followed up on until much later. It makes for very choppy reading. The few pages where the art style changes to some kind of 3-D rendering is truly awful - ugly and messy. If it had continued to the end of the story I don't think I would have finished reading.

The beginning was very strong, and I was hoping for more time spent on the cult-like aspects of the valley (the purifying stones, Richard's stone wives and husbands, Richard's philosophy, the enforcement of the rules by everyone else vs Richard's aloofness), but it is called LEAVING Richard's Valley, so I guess that's on me. When our little group (Oscar the spider, Norman the dog, Ellie Squirrel, and Lyle the racoon (special guest star: Julianne Napkin)) is exiled, they're thrown into an uncertain world filled with freedom and indifference in equal measure. There's also Snake Mark who leave of his own volition and ends up forming a cult based around his love for Lyle, and Caroline Frog who leaves because Richard doesn't value her enough (and then she becomes a famous political artist).

I'm not sure what I'm supposed to get from this. Don't be a dick like Lyle (the only one other than Richard without a "happy" ending)? Don't be swayed by charismatic people? Whatever. I'm glad to be done. ( )

Sublime, poignant, transcendent: seriously!