Netflix has definitely captured people’s attention with their new documentary Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, a story that follows Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin’s crazy lives and how they intertwined. It also includes quite a few tigers, and at one point we learn there may be more tigers in private owners’ hands than left in the wild. Exotic and Baskin are just a few of those private owners, though we meet a few more owners in AfterShock Comics’ Animosity #27. The comic series is based on an event known as the Wake, which has animals gaining human intelligence and the power of speech, and during the newest issue, a reference is made to Netflix‘s newest conversation starter, which you can get all the details on below.
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At one point Sandor meets the leaders of the new Holy Texan Empire, who explain what happened after the Wake and how they came into power. It’s here that we see one of them make reference to Tiger King.
“It was so easy, in those first days after the wake. We had all the guns, food, ammo, fuel, cars, and critters we needed out here. Hell, we’d been ready to secede for years, if the government ever fell! You really have no idea the money and power in these plains. Christ, we got more tigers in this state in private hands, than there are left in the wild!”
No. 1 Tigers is bolded, and no. 2 that is a reference to how many tigers in captivity overall, something highlighted in the Netflix documentary, especially since Exotic and his rivals owned quite a few themselves.
For those unfamiliar with Animosity, ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with writer Marguerite Bennett about the premise of the series.
“Animosity is a story not of the end of the world, but of the start of a new one – a world where all the Animals, at once and with no conceivable explanation, one day wake up,” Bennett explained. “They gain human intelligence, the power of speech, the astonishment at the world around them – rage, horror, love, absurdity, hunger, and undeniable need for a purpose, for a reason to be alive. Everything changes. There has never been an apocalypse like this one.”
“Our story follows a Bloodhound and the little girl who used to be his owner, and who is now as good as his daughter, as he ushers her across a wild, savage, and strange new frontier of humans and animals alike, seeking to get her from the East Coast to the West, where a safe haven can be found. The story is funny, brutal, ridiculous, emotional, and, I hope, powerful,” Bennett said.
Animosity #27 is written by Marguerite Bennett, drawn by Rafael de Latorre and Elton Thomasi, colored by Rob Schwager, and lettered by Taylor Esposito with a cover by Rafael de Latorre and Marcelo Maiolo. You can find the official description below.
“Conflict reveals character! Amid the chaos and bloodshed of the arena, Sandor realizes that the lies he has fed Jesse cannot endure much longer.”
As for Tiger King, you can find the official description below.
You can find the official description for Tiger King below.
“Among the eccentrics and cult personalities in the stranger-than-fiction world of big cat owners, few stand out more than Joe Exotic, a mulleted, gun-toting polygamist and country western singer who presides over an Oklahoma roadside zoo. Charismatic but misguided, Joe and an unbelievable cast of characters including drug kingpins, conmen, and cult leaders all share a passion for big cats, and the status and attention their dangerous menageries garner. But things take a dark turn when Carole Baskin, an animal activist and owner of a big cat sanctuary, threatens to put them out of business, stoking a rivalry that eventually leads to Joe’s arrest for a murder-for-hire plot, and reveals a twisted tale where the only thing more dangerous than a big cat is its owner.”
Tiger King is available on Netflix now.
