What can a young girl, a survivalist rat, and a bunch of rescued rabbits do to save their home from certain destruction?

AUNTIE AGATHA’S HOME FOR WAYWARD RABBITS #5

Writer: Keith Giffen
Artist: Benjamin Roman
Publisher: Image Comics, Inc.
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: March 13, 2019

Previously in Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits: Auntie Agatha’s property is the last parcel needed by the developer, J. Jackson Jackson. Sawyer realizes that this means that the rabbits would lose their home, and he wants to do something about it. He talks with Loomis, the rat, hoping to get some ideas as the paranoid Loomis rigs the shed of rabbit food to explode. Naomi and Raquel failed to get Agatha to sell her property, and they report back to Jackson who tells them in no uncertain terms that he needs that land and doesn’t care how he gets it.

TAKING A DARKER TURN

Despite the goofiness that is present, Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #5 has some pretty serious undertones. I respect that in a book. Sawyer still wants to do something, and at the outset, he has arranged to speak to all the rabbits. As they gather around him, he wonders if he hasn’t just made a mistake. These are not your normal, average rabbits. It turns out no one else has any clue what is going on. In fact, the dependable Annette derails the discussion to talk about the horrors of ecru. He interrupts her and forges ahead, with Pope (who talks mainly in quotes) contributing something weirdly relevant. Sawyer’s fear is made plain. If they lose their home, they will be sent to the Elmhurst Research Facility.

Sawyer gives quite a heartfelt speech, and talks about rabbits being abandoned because of being bought as cute Easter gifts, only for their new owners to realize they don’t magically lay eggs. It’s clearly about rabbits here, but it’s a fitting metaphor for the abandonment of unwanted pets of all sorts.

It’s at this point that Julie arrives and essentially reads them the Riot Act. As the rabbits wander off, she scolds Sawyer for trying to panic them. (In this group, it’s a valid point – a few are panicking already.) He chides her for not doing anything. They really start to argue but, in a move I can also respect, they step back and each think for a moment and apologize. At about this point, Loomis comes over with his spare detonator and gives it to Julie for safekeeping.

That night, a car drives up. Naomi and Raquel step out and get a couple containers of gasoline from their trunk. Their intention is just to frighten everyone when a voice from the shadows suggests they burn down the storage shed. It is Sawyer, “the snarky rabbit” as the ladies describe him. Now that he’s seen them, he has to come with them. They cannot risk his making “alarmed rabbit noises.” I love their speech pattern, which is very precise and just a little bit odd. He leads them to the storage sheds. There are the sounds of a struggle, and Sawyer sends Loomis to get the detonator.

DELIGHTFULLY IDIOSYNCRATIC

Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #5 has an art style all its own. We open with a great splash of all the rabbits, many more than we’ve met as characters. This is a decidedly odd bunch, but they are all very distinct and are all interesting. As the meeting ends and they all wander off in their own directions, they’re a surprisingly good metaphor for groups of people, drawn together briefly, and then wandering back to their own lives and routines.

I really like the night scenes, when Naomi and Raquel show up. We get a great overhead shot of Agatha’s house and property, which are much smaller than they feel like at ground level. After Sawyer gets them into the shed, there’s a very clever set of panels. We’re looking out at the shed, where the action is, from Julie’s bedroom, where she’s sleeping. I love this juxtaposition. And then that’s followed by the panels of Loomis stealing the detonator – no words, just pictures, very clever.

BOTTOM LINE: HITTING ITS STRIDE

I think that Auntie Agatha’s Home for Wayward Rabbits #5 has really settled into the story. We know enough about enough of the rabbits that we care for them, even the annoying ones. I like the weirdness of the bad guys. And I really like that Julie reminds us that she is a girl – really, what can she do against lawyers and such? That touch of realism is refreshing.