Oops I Arced | |
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Peanut's short attention span proves costly. Comic: "So Cool" (click for full size) | |
Info | |
Number of Comics | 11 |
Dates Published | November 2nd - November 25th, 2009 |
Featured Character(s) | |
Zach, Raccoons, Pete | |
Previous Arc The Visitor Following Arc
It's A Wonderful Dog's Life |
Oops I Arced is the 26th arc in Housepets!.
This arc marks the return of Pete the Gryphon as a character, and begins the setup for plot elements of the Cosmic Game that would dominate the main storyline of the comic for the next five years.
It also marks Zach's naming as "The Opener Of Ways" by the Woodland critters.
Characters[]
- Tiger
- Marvin
- Jerry Arbelt
- Zach
- Custom Ink (not identified by name)
- Woodland creatures
- Fido
- Spo
- Bino
- Peanut
- Grape
- Hermit (Identified in the comic as "Crazy old man who only speaks in limericks")
- Tarot
- Sabrina
- Pete
- Earl Sandwich
- Jeff
Story[]
Tiger and Marvin are up to their usual hijinks. But after nearly a year living with them, Zach is still confused by it all. He writes in his journal that he fears nobody knows he's even there at the Arbelt household. At that time, he catches a raccoon trying to break in to steal trash. Zach asks the raccoon what it's like to live as a feral, and the raccoon offers to take him to the woods so he can find out for himself.
Jerry Arbelt calls on Tiger and Marvin, alerting his other pets that Zach has run away, having abandoned his collar, and dumped the trash beforehand. They go off to search for him, and to get others to help. Meanwhile, in the forest, Zach is awestruck by the beauty. He meets some of the other animals, wishing they wouldn't get eaten. They come across an unknown building, which Zach somehow opens with a touch. The other animals hail Zach as the "Opener of Ways".
Further back, Fido tries to get any information he can out of Tiger. But the other dog clams up, not wanting it to go back to Bino. For his part, Bino has no interest helping Tiger, either. The Arbelts also get the help of the Sandwiches. Peanut and Grape find the log cabin of a crazy hermit who only speaks to others in limericks. Grape deciphers his latest limerick into directions to find Zach.
Peanut and Grape find the temple, and one of the raccoons stops them. Grape is able to intimidate him into letting them pass. They find Zach, who the animals have locked in the temple until he "ushers in a new age". He is in a room with a weird altar. As Zach and Grape begin to talk about similar visions, Peanut hears Tarot's voice in his head. She warns her boyfriend that the altar, which she refers to as a gate, must not be opened, lest what she has predicted come to fruition. She begs Peanut not to let the gate be opened. Peanut, however, is too excited by the fact that his girlfriend can speak telepathically to him to stop Zach from opening the gate.
Pete emerges from the opened gate, bellowing that he is free, and flies off into the night. Tiger and Bino jinx each other in their awe and get in a good laugh, although Tiger mentions he's going to kill Bino in his sleep.
Events[]
- Zach is hailed by the woodland critters as 'The Opener of Ways,' a title that the woodland animals would eventually come to religiously worship.
- Pete is freed from the temple, setting up the events of the Cosmic Game.
- First appearance of the Hermit (also known as "The Crazy Old Man Who Only Speaks in Limericks"), although he was first mentioned in The Grove.
Trivia[]
- The arc's name refers to the fact it originally began as a one-off but Rick continued with it, eventually making it into a story arc.
- This is one of the five story arcs whose titles weren't initially revealed when the arc started, the others being Not All Dogs, Housepets Babies!, Let's Imaginate Jurassic Park! and HECKRAISER.
- Zach's quote in I Could Have Done That is used as the title for the second book, "Housepets! Hope They Don't Get Eaten."
- The raccoon's line in Zach Is One Bad Bunny about "no brooms" is a reference to The Raccoons, when Grape hit them with a broom.
- Rick has revealed that this raccoon was actually Custom Ink, and that he had not decided her gender nor intended for her to make another appearance.