VeeFriends Issue 09 Explained: Grief, Cursed Energy, and the Making of Kind Warrior

Before reading VeeFriends Issue 09, I strongly recommend starting with my article, Before VeeFriends Issue 09 You Need To Read These 3 Newspaper Comics! Once you have that backstory in place, you’re properly set up for the official issue.

VeeFriends Issue 09 opens by introducing Theo, a blacksmith who has sworn never to forge weapons again after his sister’s husband, Markos, was "seemingly" killed in battle. We never see a body and I've watched enough Netflix to know that this means there's a real chance he could make a return eventually. 

In the opening scene, Theo is standing firm in his convictions, refusing to forge a weapon for a paying patron. He isn’t conflicted. He isn’t wavering. He is resolute. The customer storms off, frustrated, asking what kind of smith refuses to smith weapons at all. And honestly, it’s a fair question. In a world defined by conflict and defense, a weaponless blacksmith sounds like a contradiction.

But then another question surfaced for me. Not about metallurgy. About posture.

Is Theo gay or bisexual?

I hesitated before even typing that sentence. Not because I think the question is inappropriate, but because I know how quickly speculation can be misread as projection. Still, it was my authentic reaction while reading the panel. It felt more dishonest to suppress the thought than to acknowledge it openly. Analysis loses integrity when it starts self-censoring.

Especially when you consider the setting.

This chapter of VeeWorld is visually and culturally framed in a Greco-Roman style environment. And in those societies, homosexuality and bisexuality were not fringe anomalies. They were documented, normalized, and woven into the social fabric. Through that lens, asking the question doesn’t feel forced. It feels historically coherent.

Then there’s the color framing. In a following panel, Ilana is visually washed in blue while Theo is cast in pink. That choice could be purely aesthetic. It could be compositional contrast. Or it could be subtle coding. Is it commentary on traditional gender dynamics? A quiet inversion? Or simply a palette decision with no deeper intent?

I’m not declaring an answer. I’m identifying a pattern and asking whether it’s intentional. In a universe that has already proven it embeds meaning in visual repetition, color is rarely neutral.

To be clear, I don’t have a personal stake in the answer either way. This isn’t about projection, advocacy, or preference. It’s narrative curiosity. If the story confirms it, it fits. If it doesn’t, that fits too. The question itself is what’s interesting, because it signals the possibility that VeeFriends may be willing to engage with themes of gender and sexuality at some point within its broader canon.

That becomes especially relevant when you remember the intended audience. VeeFriends operates in a space that is broadly accessible to younger readers while still layered enough for adults. That balance matters. So if the creative team chooses to explore identity in any capacity, it will likely be deliberate and measured.

Gary has frequently compared VeeFriends to Disney, and modern Disney films have gradually incorporated LGBTQ themes as cultural norms continue to evolve. If VeeFriends were to take a similar step, it wouldn’t be shocking. It would be aligned with precedent. And if that path were taken, a character like Kind-Warrior could function as a strong, grounded, positive role model rather than a caricature or token inclusion.

There’s also another possibility. It could be handled with restraint. A trait could be contextually true without ever being formally announced. No spotlight. No declaration. Just quietly embedded into the fabric of the world for those who see it.

For now, though, it remains speculation.

And the story moves forward.

As the frustrated customer storms out, Theo’s sister Ilana enters the shop. She isn’t there to debate philosophy or identity. She’s there as a mother. Her son Lukas has been acting out since Markos’ death, fighting constantly at school and now facing potential expulsion. She’s overwhelmed. Theo agrees to speak with him, stepping into a role he never asked for, but clearly feels responsible to fill.

Lukas acknowledges his rage. He is using other kids at school as physical outlets for feelings about his dad's death that he doesn’t know how to process. Even though Theo explains to Lukas that his dad died of infection, it's not enough. Lukas correctly points out that wounds can only get infected once inflicted, and that the enemy who inflicted those wounds is responsible for his father's death. Lukas craves vengeance. 

Theo tries to convince him otherwise but it changes nothing. Lukas savages him with a classic "You're not my Dad!" and runs away. 

Later that night, Theo is doing a bit of blacksmithing when he gets a visitor. I am curious about what he is smithing here. Is it meant to have significance or is this just how he channels his emotions? 

His visitor is a mysterious old woman wearing witch-looking robes (that sort of resemble Willful Wizards) and carrying a cursed sword. It's broken and she's asking him to repair it but respecting the vow Theo took after Markos died to never again smith a weapon, he refuses. 

She explains to him:

"You don’t understand. This sword, this curse, has been in my family for generations. It has power. Power that has to be contained. It needs a warrior to wield it. If it’s not repaired, then it could—"

It makes no difference. Exhausted and rejected, she tosses the sword into the bushes beside the smithy. We are left to wonder how the sword is cursed, why the sword is cursed, and exactly what the curse is. But one thing is clear. Something bad is going to happen. 

Of course, Lukas finds the sword and runs off into the woods with it to experiment. 

Unfortunately, he accidentally kills a rabbit while swinging the sword around, and the fresh blood activates the sword's curse. Lukas remarks that killing the rabbit felt unexpectedly good before the sword releases a blast of cursed energy. 

His eyes glow ominously green implying that Lukas has been possessed by the "Foom" of cursed energy the sword emits. 

Theo and Ilana step outside and see Lukas suspended in midair, lifted by an aura of glowing green energy pouring off the cursed sword. It isn’t just light. It feels alive. The panel doesn’t present it as a background effect. It presents it as a presence.

If you’ve read VeeFriends Issue 02, that color should hit you immediately. Bad Intentions’ Fear Carrot radiated that same toxic, corrosive green. And when VeeFriends repeats a color with that level of intensity, it usually means something.

So the question sharpens.

How did this sword become cursed?

Did Bad Intentions corrupt it directly? Is this sword another artifact of his influence? Or does this energy predate him entirely? If the Fear Carrot was infused with that same glow, then maybe Bad Intentions wasn’t the origin point at all. Maybe he was just the first visible carrier.

That opens a more unsettling possibility.

What if the green energy isn’t a symptom of evil, but its own autonomous force? Not an effect, but an entity. A current that flows through objects, looking for vessels. The sword becomes a conduit. The carrot becomes a conduit. The wielder becomes the interface. If that’s true, then neither Lukas nor Bad Intentions are the source of the darkness. They’re instruments. Hosts. Temporary anchors for something older and more systemic.

And if we’re willing to push that theory further, does this trace back to Resilient Red Devil as an architect of that force? Not as a random villain, but as a master of that specific wavelength of corruption? Or is even the devil of the VeeFriends Universe controlled by this green energy presence?

It’s a bold leap. Resilient Red Devil hasn't appeared in the comics or had any relation to this green color at this point. I’m not sounding the alarm yet. But if that thread connects later, remember where it was first pulled.

For now, the theory pauses.

The chaos doesn’t.

Theo tries reaching out to him and gets blasted. Lukas revels in his newfound power.  

Theo finally hears the call of destiny and follows its lead to don Markos's sword and helmet. 

In the armor, Theo resembles Markos and Lukas almost mistakes him for his Dad. It's almost enough to pierce through the madness of the curse and the tantrum but when Lukas realizes it's still Theo and not his Dad Markos he lashes out with rage. 

He unleashes a magical cursed energy attack on Theo, who is able to deflect it entirely with his shield. 

Then he hits him with a "You know nothing" which no shield, no man, not even Jon Snow could defend against. 

Theo does his best continuing the emotional appeal. He grabs on to Lukas' foot sharing his pain and longing for Markos. Clearly, Lukas is touched, as we see him shed a tear, but it still just isn't enough. Ultimately, Lukas blasts Theo into a crate in the ground and disappears flying off into the night sky. 

At this point, Ilana runs outside freaking out, realizing that she has lost her child and that no one has any idea where he has gone or where he is going. A mother's worst nightmare. 

Theo laments that he was so close to saving Lukas, but that he was missing something. As he says this, the panel shows him staring at his helmet, which VeeFriends OGs, and anyone who paid attention to the cover art, will immediately recognize is missing the iconic heart in the center. 

Clearly, in a later issue, we will learn how that heart is acquired. The absence is intentional suspense. Our curiosity isn’t just piqued by Lukas’ fate, but by the incomplete armor itself. That is the real cliffhanger.

The final panel shows the sun rising as Theo vows to bring Lukas home.

How he will do that, no one knows.

Which is exactly why everyone will be waiting for the continuation of this issue.

Bravo.

Before stepping back to evaluate the piece as a whole, return your attention to that sunrise.

Remember earlier when I questioned how Lukas was out so late without any mention of a bedtime? The sun coming up forces the timeline into focus. Either this battle extended far longer than the panels account for or Theo and Ilana didn’t realize Lukas was missing until well after midnight. And even then, we are still talking about hours of conflict unfolding without the panels accounting for the time. 

That raises a structural question.

Some issues of VeeFriends are tighter than others when it comes to logistical continuity. Notice that this cover does not list D.J. Coffman’s name. In the issues where his name is present, even the smallest details, or apparent omissions, tend to prove intentional upon reflection. There is usually a design-level precision behind the chaos.

Here, however, a few elements feel more incidental than deliberate. The sunrise timing is one of them. If Lukas disappeared earlier in the evening, the lack of urgency reads differently. If he disappeared closer to midnight, the duration of the battle stretches plausibility. The math doesn’t perfectly align with realistic time passage.

That does not diminish the emotional impact of the scene.

But it does introduce friction.

And in a universe where visual repetition and symbolic callbacks are often calculated, even small continuity gaps stand out more than they would elsewhere.

Overall, Issue 09 is really strong.

While I was reading it, I kept thinking the same thing: this is the best entry point into VeeFriends so far. If someone knows nothing about the project, nothing about the lore, nothing about the characters, this is the one you hand them.

It works as a story on its own.

Yes, reading the three newspaper Sunday comics beforehand helps set the scene. They establish that Markos has died and that Lukas is grieving. But that information is repeated inside Issue 09 itself. You do not need to know it going in. You learn it in pieces as the issue unfolds. The Sunday strips simply give you that context upfront. This issue gives it to you as you move through it. Either way, you get there.

Theo is Ilana’s brother. Ilana is Lukas’s mother. The relationships are clear without over-explanation. Nothing requires prior VeeFriends knowledge to function.

That accessibility matters.

In Issue 01 and Issue 03, the structure is very clear: a human needs help, and the VeeFriends intervene. Issue 02 takes place entirely within VeeWorld, where everyone involved is already a VeeFriend. Issue 09 feels different. These characters do not operate as self-aware VeeFriends yet. Markos, Theo, Lukas, Ilana — they exist first as people. The Kind Warrior, who we know will eventually become something more, is not there yet. He is simply a man in a Greco-Roman setting.

That distinction shifts the tone.

Issue 09 feels less like a “VeeFriends lesson” and more like a grounded story that happens to exist inside the VeeFriends universe. It is not centered on traits. It is centered on grief, responsibility, and family.

And that may be exactly why it feels like the cleanest onboarding issue so far.

If what resonated here wasn’t just the review, but the way identity, intent, and character traits were treated as forces that shape reality, that same line of thinking didn’t stop with this article.

Inspired by how VeeFriends treats character traits as forces that shape reality, I created Alien Traits: a 1-of-1 NFT series interpreting each of the 251 core traits. No repeats. Each visual piece also includes a written definition of the trait it represents in OpenSea's "About" section. 

It isn’t VeeFriends art. It’s a parallel conversation with the ideas underneath it.

Explore the full Alien Traits collection here: https://opensea.io/collection/alien-traits