Endtown by Aaron Neathery for March 21, 2014

The raccoon and reptile are stuck in the wasteOf more than mere dust: They’ve started off-basedBy forcing our unwilling couple alongThey’ll pay a big price. Their approach is just wrongBut Holly’s still pondering, there on the bunkTheir world’s upside down, and their plans turned to bunkBut she’s still a fighter, and he is resourcefulI’ll wager we’ll soon see their captors remorseful=|====/ Level HeadVote for Endtown 2.0And for Doc Rat, tooThe Endtown ForumThe Endtown AuctionThe Endtown Books

There’s an escape button on my keyboard. I’m not sure why, but I hope it works when I really need it.

Keep believing.Until you stop.

There’s a lesson in there for us all.

Our heroes are held captive by the evil Raccoon and his cohort the monitor lizard!Will they escape their evil clutches?Does Holly really have a plan?Or are they trapped in a sentient van?Is there a verdant and lush green world beyond the borders of the wastes?Or are they on a road to nowhere?Be sure to tune in next week for our next exciting episode!Same Cat and Mouse timeSame Cat and Mouse channel!

Anyone else wondering whats happening in back Endtown?Probably the same level of insanity as they left behind.

Agreed, Jenner.

At least Clive turned the lights out…

Well they are right next to the hatch with the brain that controls the vehicle. It did not seem to bee to keen on being ordered around. Maybe they can reason with it. (Umm..Him, Her. What is the pronoun for a disembodied brain?)

The curious thing is that Clive could easily be listening to them talk about any escape plans. The question is what would he do? While he seems to be a decent person, he would have to appreciate the advantage that Wally and his dittos bring to the table and he definitely does not have a death wish.Of course, he could be planning to sell the group out to the Topsiders so that he could get back into the TS support network. I imagine Jim and Sarah might find themselves in the pit.

Hats off to Mister Neathery. He never stops keeping this comic visually interesting. In the first two panels, Holly and Wally are upside-down. Of course, they are in bed together, and they are viewed from above. But still the convention is broken, and when I first saw it, for a moment I felt disturbed. Then enlightenment came, and I was tickledThis story is still at its start. I am now thoroughly intrigued. I have every confidence in Mister Neathery both to tell us a cracking tale and excite the eyeballs at the same time. Endtown is simply an amazing graphic novel.

See? This could have been done without the gun, Mr. and Mrs. Raccoon-Lizard.

Here’s what we know is competing for the planet so far: Mutants. Monsters. Topsiders. Mutts. Marx. Dittos. Lucranians. Magicals.We know the origins of the first five, but not so much the others. Dittos could be AIs or the dispersed cells of a mutant or a combination. (In George R.R. Martin’s Wildcards series, one mutant merged with a computer and became its circuits.) Some act as AIs, but others are wild and have their own agenda. They could have their own territory Outside like they do in Hillside. Wild mutts could also, or any other of the intelligences. We haven’t seen any intelligent monsters yet, but Sandy came close. There could be a monster city.The Lucranians aren’t aliens, according to Aaron Neathery. They may be interdimensional, but he suggested to me that they’re a civilization that was hidden on Earth until the End. Now they’re scavenging the remains. We don’t know whether they’re human or a separate evolution.There’s are two examples we know of so far of magicals: The Oracle, and the tree with the fruit that saved Al’s life. I expect there are more. They might not really be magical but they’re highly advanced or evolved or mutated enough to be.Then there are the intelligences we don’t know that could be lurking out there. Alien, mythological, machine, etc. It’s a big world Outside.

where is a oicture of the Lucrainians? I may have heard of them before, but can’t recall them.

By now, Jim and Sarah have probably had the joy and excitement of using the facilities for the first time.Actually, come to think of it, if Topsiders live their lives in suits, are the transporters actually fitted with facilities? or even food?

Wally seems a bit more zen than normal here.“We weren’t going anyplace in particular, why not there?”

I think the “sand” in the Great Waste is substantially made up of disintegrated plants and animals, and may be edible. Soylent Gray.

Maybe it’s just me, but, thinking over this strip, I started getting the feeling that Monday might start with “Meanwhile back in Endtown…”

I’m sure whatever it will be is already written and drawn.

I’m glad that Aaron has the capacity to keep several story arcs open and can revert to them at will keeping our rabid and rapt attention. Darwinskeeper makes an excellent point. I wonder as well what’s going on in Endtown. What’s happening to Linda? Is Jacob turning it to his own personal private feifdom with the rats as his own Gestapo? Well that might be a bit much, rats aren’t that smart. What about Al and Gustine? Or even Cooper? And even Maw?

Thanks Surfie, I hated to be gone mostly, but, I am … Okay. My plate was already full before I was pressed into doing research on Int’l Geopolitics. I kinda sorta wondered about Ukraine, but in a public forum mentioned Transdniestr was important. Now, on top of everything else, some advice that they will gladly pay me next… if they can get clarity on positions. Thanks for askin’, JusTired (and afraid cml may be back, weird dots and odd night sweats, I’ll be better.). Oh yeah, it’s really a good idea to move to Florida now.JusSayin, Nothin’Definite