Endtown by Aaron Neathery for February 05, 2022

Duffy has discovered “compassion.” The problem now is that it’s going to follow him home, and he has no idea where to buy featureless ball-chow.

That’s a child’s soul of course. And Duffy’s heart just broke.

This is a replay of the mutant monster and the toy. Raised to a higher pitch.

Now it’ll never go away.

Duffy has come a long, long way from the arrogant, callous, selfish youth he used to be.

Kitty play with ball..?

Duffy is having a bawl. That is, he’s having a ball. Both, actually.

Silly characters, but a sad situation.

Scenes like this are one major reason I love this work of art

Of all the sad scenes I’ve seen in “Endtown” this is the absolute saddest. I won’t get Duffy’s face out of my mind’s eye for a long long time.

i’m reminded of a story in a much earlier arc: 21 September to 11 October, 2011.

That one still gets to me.

These are lost souls trapped in between the layers of realities. They can’t find the exit to get out. This reality collapse is affecting everything.

Really amazing sequence here. Notice that while Duffy has the soul in his hand, he is not holding it back from going on. It could leave his hand, but does not. Which really surprises him. But whatever he hears or feels, it really gets to him and draws him to want to comfort the soul. Pure pathos.

Exceptional work for most, but not for Neathery. Bravo!

This takes “go nowhere and have a ball” to a new level.

this is starting to drag

I think Duffy is more adult than teen at this point. He has done a lot of emotional growing up in a very short period of (their) time.

I see that the small blob hung back after the crowd passed on and then went to Duffy. I would bet that Duffy and Benny have found each other…though not in the way Duffy had hoped for. Benny was lost somehow, and Duffy has blamed himself, and had hoped to rescue Benny. It looks like he has just found out that’s not going to happen. Sad.

“Hey ma, look! Can I keep it?”

“Oh Duffy, you know you never take care of your pets!”

“But it likes me! Please? I’ll play catch with it every day, I promise.”

What we still don’t know is: what is the fate of the “ubermenschen” from the Lab, the horrors created by the topsider scientists back at the base to become the new master race? Those inhuman monstrosities with the special polymer added to their bodies to resist “grexation”?

If the lab is being destroyed, does this mean they’re about to be loosed on the world?

Awwww…

I hope they survive!

Pensive Duffy.