Endtown by Aaron Neathery for December 05, 2014

THAT wasn’t what Jim expected.

This must be a very delicate subject for Holly, and It looks like she’s going to kill Jim…

On another note, how will wally escape when the gas come through the hole in his prison cell? Will he live? Will he die? Will the entire colony fill with gas? will they blow up? So many unanswered and pretty senseless questions.

And Chic (or whatever his name is, I think I got it right though) looks a little uncomfortable.

Holly is one tough mouse! But what she’s doing makes you think she is treating him like he’s having a seizure. Maybe so, maybe so…

I honestly hope Jim is able to purge the force that has possessed him.

Yes! Sweet demure Holly, the mouse that roared!You a stone face killer, girl!You do what you gotta do to make things right, but save that stranglin’ apron, it might work temporarily as a gas mask once Jim is done using it.Jim spoke the magic words that made Holly snap.Welcome to the club Holly..

Time to “put down” the rabid raccoon.. if only he doesn’t gnaw through the apron!

Mouse got your tongue?

That’s it…muzzle him!

are his hands still on Chic’s throat?!?

That’s the thing about trying to mess with someone’s emotional buttons…you don’t really know what to expect. If the Jim-thing expected Holly to fold at the mention of thebaby…boy was he/it wrong.

I get the feeling that Holly has dealt with Schism Syndrome sufferers before, hence her mental preparedness for a psychological attack.

Holly’s tears show her compassion even while doing what must be done. She is the strongest of the group by far.

Well, she doesn’t seem to like the situation at least. And hth did he turn his head 180 degrees?

Its interesting that she’s trying to muzzle Jim by tying the apron between his jaws. I would have assumed she was planning to strangle him with it.

the will to survive…..

Did NOT see that coming! Thought it was going to be all bash him with the lantern. So she’s gagged him – but his hands and feet are still free. The outcome may not be what we’re hoping for.

Just think… we got to this point here all because of an omelet. OMELET: Destroyer of Worlds!

It will be interesting to see what she does on Monday. Its all good and well to gag Jim, but somebody needs to do something about the way he’s choking the daylights out of chic. Hopefully, that’s next on her agenda.

Aaron outdoes himself again!

Maybe Holly is gonna wind Jim up like a top. Wrap the apron around his head a few times, and pull one end like a starter rope./voting links in profile. Just click on my empty avatar

As McCoy would say, “You’re dead, Jim.”

Oh, Jim… You’ve done it now.War has been declared…

I’ve been wondering how different it would have been if Jim were the lizard and Sarah were the fox…

By golly Holly – Mighty Mouse in a dress!

Seems to have the strongest heart of all the players… she’s been through a lot already, and may save the day. We hope!

This is amazing. I thought at first Holly was quite deliberately setting out to strangle him, but she is just gagging him (and wishing she were strangling him).

I agree.

Have a good night folks. I may be back this weekend or not.Things to think about in this story line.One last WAG…….Monday we go to the lizards prepping the gas leaving us hanging. Aaron, I know you like to do that. I can hear your laughter over here.Its all good.

Do you see Jim? This is what you get when you ask the wrong question.

@Coyoty:[Snicker.] You said “ova”.

Well, I guess I can’t vote for Endtown (or ANY comic) on Topwebcomics anymore. I just get a message saying I’ve already voted….or else the site just doesn’t load. I’ve emailed their site quite a few times, they just don’t respond. And judging from Endtown’s spot in the rankings, looks like maybe I’m not the only one having problems.

Veteran,I think we’re reacting to more than just Holly’s size, with the exception of a few large mutants, like Walt, Gustine and Flask, most of the mutants in this strip are small enough to be considered halflings. I think part of it is that, particularly in the beginning, Holly radiated a certain kind of goodness, buoyant optimism and innocence. Cooper noted that when he mused that her eyes were closed to the way things were changing in Endtown. I think its this innocence that has makes her seem somewhat childlike, and makes me feel somewhat less comfortable thinking of her as pinup material than say Flask.I think a good part of the trauma that Holly felt after the milk trial was the loss of innocence. Being forced to acknowledge that there were people in Endtown who could treat others as she, Maude and Linda were treated. I think that is what forced her to leave Endtown and see something of the topside world. Maybe she hoped to find a place that might be what she thought Endtown was. If she and Wally ever to return to Endtown, she will have a much more mature outlook on life and the society, a realization that there is no perfect place, that there will always be good and bad wherever one is.I wonder if her confrontation with Jim will be a part of her awakening. Moving from a peaceful person who would recoil in horror at the prospect of killing someone to someone who is able to do what she needs to do, even to the point of taking life. It is possible that she could go completely dark, like Flask did, but I’m hoping that she will remain a good person who is bothered by violence even if she has to participate in it.

it is odd to think that Jim might not really be there. I don’t see what it is that Veteran sees there.I don’t have any experience of killing anyone, thankfully. So don’t feel qualified to make any judgement

Go Holly, GO! WOOT!

Maybe I can start a new conversation for just a few days. 34 years ago this coming Monday, I was with several friends at a Pizza Inn, near the Uni. Some guy came in alone, and repeatedly played  Watching The Wheels over and over again. I did not really know why. The guy was too broken up for us to talk to and inquire the nature of his despair.

Maybe Jim’s world was shattered by Sarah’s betrayal much like that stranger was by the murder of John Lennon. Yeah, he was that important to some people, others didn’t really care. I am trying to make a connection between GoComics and Endtown and remembering the life and work of someone who was a part of the shared history of so many of us, even those born after 8December1980, To justify talking about the life of John Lennon.

Rest in Peace, John 

Even the people who were not fans received a measure of grace because you lived. 

I may touch on this topic some more through Monday, Central USA time. 

I just had a thought…

That maybe..Just maybe..

We are over analyzing the crap out of this?

Nawwwwww!Who am I kidding?Carry on as you were!

Late on Saturday, not sure if anyone is still looking at this strip until Monday..I think I see what Veteran sees. The grey scale that Aaron uses is adding to the obfuscation – probably intentional..While Holly is “on top,” what we see “below” her is the raccoon’s tale, but “above” her is Chic’s head. Hence, as Veteran (and a handful of others) has suggested, Jim’s presence in this panel is an illusion – it’s really Chic that Holly is killing..The fly in this argument would be the relative sizes of the mutants. Is Jim the raccoon small enough not to cover Chic’s entire body? But, if so, does this mean that Jim is smaller than Holly?.Earlier this week, someone noted that the current arc is as dark as this strip has ever gotten. I agree. And sadly, it looks to get a lot darker before anybody is going to escape Lizard Land..With all of their routes already blocked, and the Lizards already applying whatever that gas is to their tunnels, the stage has been set for an expectation of no survivors..Only incredible miscalculation on the part of the lizards, or an incredible miracle on behalf of the mutants, could lead to anything less than a totally unhappy ending – for anyone other than lizards.

Got some free time Sunday.Yea, we do analyze the heck out of this.Part of the fun.Its like a book club getting together but instead of the whole book we are only getting a few pages at a time while our author continues to produce the work.Why I think Jim is not there is based on a few assumptions.Why would Jim kill so fast? If he wants to make folks suffer the way he is suffering what better way than to mess with their heads sharing his madness, pain, anger. Terrorize them for some time. Drive them so crazy they will end their lives themselves. I draw some of that from Flask and her time after her tearing off her tail. That was her Schism but she was rendered unconscious. Now she was removed then came to. Look what she did with that zero knife. She could have killed but all she did was tear their suits so they would experience the pain and horror of mutating to a monster. She did it to all of them. She did not kill a single one. She let them turn on themselves. Jim is doing the same thing but doing it by mess with their heads. They are already mutants.I look at Holly’s position. She had a good firm base when she attacked Jim now she is flying forward loosing that base and would be loosing her ability to apply pressure downwards with that apron. So either Jim is tossing her over or disappearing from under her as she shoves the apron forward.Now what does Chic fear……that no one would care for him. No one likes him. No one wants him. Imagine his fear when he looks up no longer seeing Jim but seeing Holly trying to strangle him with that rolled apron. Chic would run from Holly in fear.What better way for Jim to work. Separate them, drive fear into them. Then work those thoughts.In Jim’s words.See Chic, no one wants you, no one loves you, everyone wants you dead, you are so insignificant.Well Holly, trying to kill another baby. My you hate babies that much that you even kill others not your own. You are the most horrible mother I have ever met. Now go hang yourself with your own apron, you rolled it, now hang yourself. (Remember he told Wally he knew how Holly would die)Jim’s weapon in his Schism I believe is his mind not his strength or his teeth. Now think of him doing this to an entire colony making every one turn on each other. Its going to take someone with a strong mind to get anywhere near Jim to take him out. They are going to have to able to see the reality not what Jim projects. He never even made contact with Wally and look at how much he took Wally out. Push Wally right into enough depression he still has after Teacher so he becomes ineffective. Wally I believe can push through it if he can recover. I even hold hope that Holly can recover, not allow Jim to work her mind, get her inner strength back, Jim will not kill Holly. He will attempt to get her to kill herself.Jim is probably aware of them attempting to gas the passages. Jim will use that to his advantage. Make them mess up the connections flooding other areas. Seems funny that Lizard leader is so set on gassing. Makes me wonder has Jim just tweaked his mind enough to make him take that path?Time and more panels will tell.And a slant 6 Charger doing those times……yeah somewhat believable but like you said. I think some things were left out in the specs. But understandable. I would not be willing to give out all my speed secrets either. Keeps up the mystic.And its just not engineers that over analyze things, us cops do it too.Have a great weekend. See ya’ll Monday.