Goblins XIX: New Year, New Updates

[Silly Name]

If I was forced to do an analysis of the themes of Goblins for the past few years... I don't know. Something about becoming who you want to be versus accepting who you are?
With Dies and Fox' opposing views on fate, Complains and Big Ears turning into demon/angel, the gargoyle missing his old body, bunny girl's weird speech about dying peacefully, Forgath becoming a horrifying eldritch abomination. There are a lot of identity crises going around.

But that's reaching. The comic seems thematically a lot less clear than it used to be.

Considering the author is trans, reading matters of identity and self-determination, especially in opposition to what others/society/fate says "you ought to be" in the story isn't that big of a reach. But that does require we bring in the author's personal history into the reading. In particular, seeing goblins go against the "fate" implicit in many of their names, especially Vorpal going as far as telling the others he no longer wants to be called Fumbles (something even Saves-A-Fox hadn't gone as far as doing), does help sell this reading of self-imposed identity vs outside-imposed identity.

Honestly, I think that Big Ears cutting his ears off to use the golem-controlling helmet and fighting off Kore could have also worked into this, but that opportunity wasn't really seized, and he got his ears back pretty quick (within the story, at least).

I do however agree that the comic has lost focus, both narratively and thematically. Kore still exists as the representation of extreme racism and prejudice, and even the Well of Darkness arc still dealt with those themes. But Forgath's side-quest seems really divorced from that theme, and the whole Axe of Prissan arc is removed from any interpretation of the comic's messages.