Endtown by Aaron Neathery for July 25, 2013

Post-traumatic stress disorder. Phobic avoidance pattern. Possible progression to a fugue state.Calling Doctor Chase.

Can’t go home again.

Crazy mode! Activate!

she looks angry to me. and possibly crazy. Her whole world has fallen apart.Wally wasn’t there to meet her at the start, Wally probably guessed where she was going and has stopped chasing her.I expect he is feeling like he really blew it.Unless, like someone said, he maybe abandoned that house, too many painful memories, and fixed up a new place.If that is the case, he better get to her, before she jumps off a tower or bridge.

FOR GODS SAKE WALLY, GO GET HER!Holly don’t do anything Crazy. Remember We love you. ♥

No question in my mind that she is headed to the elevator. Blessed Be

Wally! Go get her before she goes Flask-crazy! I’m guessing that she’s going to the Clock Tower that she originally brought Linda to. The elevator, as DOL mentioned, is plausible as well.

You know, one of the many things I love about Endtown is that not only can Neathery write a complex socio-political thriller and create an internally consistent imaginary world, he can also do all the other stuff. The tender vignettes are handled with a light, deft touch. The emotional moments are vivid, immaculate and heart-breaking.This latest is as good as any masterpiece of cinema. “Show, don’t tell.” I cannot imagine any way the scene could have been done better.Reading Endtown can sometimes be painful. But I’m willing to endure the pain for moments like this. Exquisite.

Beautiful, expressive artwork.

For a few nice sketches, of which prints are, or shall be available, see here: Gallery Be sure to scroll down the first few pictures, and check out the little yellow button.

Vote ENDTOWN Vote ENDTOWN first generation Vote Doc Rat

Remember, Endtowners do not live on votes alone. Donate, buy stuff, whatever you can do to help out the cat and mouse who live in Aaron’s head. Buy them new drapes, or Cymbalta or anything you can to keep one of the most powerful comic strips alive.Previously, hit submit too early before I could thank SurfStuff55 and TSOJ via Surfi for the coding assistance.Sincerely and Respectfully,JusSayin.

Yesterday someone claimed to have said nothing negative about Aaron’s writing after he accused Aaron of sloppy writing. I submit that this person has been doing some sloppy reading.

Well, looks like I was completely wrong about Wally catching up and passing Holly and then meeting her here. I can only hope he does catch up soon, and is a comfort to her.

Haunted eyes..

I bet Wally will bring her out of it.

Grief.

And that is why I read the comic strips, because they usually can.

Poor, poor Holly. :(

OMG.She has spotted the tower.Once before she went up there probably to jump off. She decided to get into Endtown instead of jumping. Now she is badly damaged from how Endtown treated her, how the folks treated her, how Wally has treated her, everything her stepdad warned her about has come to a flashing bright truth. Now she will probably go up that tower again while Jacob has his rally there. Remember yesterdays poster? This minion is concerned.

We don’t really know what she saw in there. It could have been Aaron Marx. Or Jacob Jackrabbit. Or a graffiti death threat.

It is interesting that the April 9 strip seems to show Wally sitting at home in a tidy house, after at least one earlier strip showed it being a mess. Whomever said the mess could be an illusion might be right.

Ever see the old Warner Bros. cartoon “Feed the Kitty?” I was just thinking about it this morning, and, well, here I find Holly’s state and expressions reminding me of it again…

come on wally be there for her

Yep, I’m done with this both because I don’t like the story and because I don’t like the readers. Nobody here seems to be able to have a reasonable discussion from either side, though I do notice the “fans” are more likely to simply tell other people to shut up.I quit reading Citizen Dog because I said one strip was pretty bad and the entire crowd told me to get lost. I quit reading Big Top because it’s impossible to even discuss the comic anymore since people treat it like a giant chat room. This website needs real moderators, and not this flagging system that just lets people gang up and bully anyone they don’t like instead of people who are actually breaking the rules.

Did it just occur to her that a certain cat should have tried to clean up this mess or did she see something else?

Well, she’s come to a decision (based on the change in her between panels 2 and 3). That much seems apparent, just no idea just what she’s decided. But the Jackrabbit/tower thing that others are propsing makes sense and was where I was leaning. As soon as I think I can’t feel any more sorry for our little mouse, Aaron comes up with another winner. The change I mentioned earlier has me a little afraid of what she may be thinking. Uuuuh, and tomorrow is. . .cliffhanger day!

The “Tower” mentioned in the poster may be the name of the theater where he has his meetings. The clock tower really doesn’t have anyplace Jake can place a podium where the audience can easily see him.

Jayce and Xane, we’re all here of our own accord. Nobody is compelling anyone to read any of the GoComic strips nor scroll down the comments section.

I noticed when I had about a dozen strips bookmarked on this site that most have their cadre of true believers who tend to circle the wagons whenever an outsider speaks contrarily about “their” strip. Think of a cyberspace version of those cliques we lived with in high school.

I’ve learned that the best way to enjoy any of these strips is to just bookmark ‘em, read ’em and move on. Don’t like the strip? Vote with your fingertips and delete the bookmark from your Favorites list.

Crying time is over…time for action.

Odd discussions. There are lots of strips and online comics and whatnot that I think are awful…but it’s not worth my time to get into slag-fights with those who think they’re wonderful. Besides, there may be something in them. If somebody finds merit in some artistic endeavor, we must take them at their word. (Paraphrasing Edmund Wilson.)

There’s only one place I can think of where she’d go to now…She had spent two years of her life living in the Tower.I wonder how long she plans to stay there now?

If she does go to the clock tower“Hickory Dickory DocThe mouse ran up the ClockThe Clock struck oneAnd down she comesHickory, Dickory, Splot.”I know its not a pleasant thought but one must keep eyes on possible realities.

I really REALLY hope she’s not running to the bridge….

I think now’s the time for Linda to take Holly up to the clock tower..so they can both get some perspective back. Perhaps Linda will save Holly this time, and they will become true friends. Not sure who’s really the strongest of the two. We don’t know all that much about Linda, really. It’s times like these that bring out the best in people. “That which we survive, makes us stronger.”

I was thinking of two of the witches of “Oz the Great and Powerful”. At times, Holly seemed a bit like Theodora, good but perhaps a little innocent. Now the trial has opened her eyes and put her on a dangerous path. Theodora became the legendary Wicked Witch of the West and Holly runs the risk of becoming hardened and callous. She also could strengthen and become more like Glinda, able to see Endtown for what it is and still strong and warm enough to care.

In panel two, Holly sees something that she’s reacting to. Could it be the picture of her and Wally on the wall?

Read her comments further. When you call the artist being lazy. That draws the line as far as I can say. Marx whether you realize it or not is a prime character and has been so since the original writings. The one common thread through the whole universe Aaron Neathery created. He puts his heart into this story and has done so a lot longer than many folks know.

Doc, Wally, Somebody -- ANYBODY please save Holly!!! She needs hugs, TLC, and a whole lotta LOVE .

I never thought of Holly actually being suicidal. My mention of the tower (which most of us assume is where she’s going) is that it is her “safe” place. No one knows it except Angus and Linda. I’m presuming she forgot about telling Linda and never told Wally about it. Angus is a standard scotsman and not a talker. He won’t even tell Doc where she’s at unless he feels he needs to.

I heard two songs on the radio that would fit.Billy Joel-Tell her about it. What Wally should have been doing along.Rolling Stone-I see a Red door and I want it painted BlackThe place Holly is in right now.Star crossed lovers on a collision course with destiny.One can hope for the best but be prepared for the worse.

Of course she could be thinking,“Damn! I’m late for work!”(Sorry could not resist. Its a cop thing. I will serve punishment later.)

I sense alotta tequila and tattoos coming up. Pick up some Joseph Campbell books, black clothes and sunglasses to try a new look. Maybe go down to where the hallucinagenic cane toads live, and on the way get robbed and ravaged and savaged. That is definitely a possibility. Sweet little, happy, level-headed(no offense!) Holly Hollister would never think of debasing and degrading herself in such a way.Fugue state is a definite possibility, but you must admit a break with the old life is a definite temptation. The only thing is, you cannot run too far away from yourself. You cannot run away from all those you helped, and and you’ll carry all the memories of helping and not being helped with you.If she heads to the elevators the rats will probably refuse, and hold her until further orders. Lt Glasses Rat may hate Jacob, but I think they will accept Marx’s agreement that Endtown does need a strong leader like JJ. Lt Glasses could be persuaded to switch teams if he had been observing Endtown and seen Walt step up to his responsibilities, and Holly would be excellent as the Mayor’s ombudsman(ombudswoman, ombudsrat?) and all those could effectively counterbalance Jacob.Remember to vote early and often:

Vote ENDTOWN Vote ENDTOWN first generation Vote Doc Rat Remember, the moose and squirrel and all the residents of Endtown living in Aaron’s head need food and drink and ink and paper and electricity and the necessities to keep them going. When my parent’s house burnt to the ground, the only mementos of my childhood were my very first traffic ticket and some convention coffee mug, which suggests buying a coffee mug from cafepress.com/endtown. You can best get to that site from the Cafe Press button to the right of the comments. You can also donate cash through paypal at the auction siteSincerely and Fraternally, JusSayin

You know, I am just an everyday ordinary guy. It seems to me the reason the discussions of this strip get so heated: Because the strip as a whole is so good, people get drawn into Endtown and are made to care about the strip and the characters To quote a philosopher from the sixties:*And That’s The Truth (raspberry sound) *JusMusing