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YES!âŠ. I was a little bit worried this would turn into a Mr and Mrs Smith esque shoot out against all odds ! My optimism is probably misplaced though, something else might be going on.
You know⊠I knew not everyone was getting out of this, or I doubted it, anyway. But I figured the loss would be Petey, Flask (even though sheâs my favorite, I just figured sheâd die in a blazing fight or in some final act of redemption) or maybe Linda. Never did I think itâd be Wally or Holly, much less both. So much for plot armor. ;O; Now please excuse me while I pick my heart back up off the ground.
Well either the writer wrote himself into a corner or what? Our heroes are dead, right? But at that point, what else could be expected? Now only Flask lives, and only for a moment, I suspect. And Endtown is likely in trouble. Not what we hoped for.
I have no idea where this is going. The only possible turnarounds I can think of involve Deus ex Machina style ret-conning and âit was all a dreamâ scenarios, and both of those seem below the level storytelling on display so far. If itâs some kind of technological illusion, then I canât think of a setup that allows the audience to think that was possible the way the world has been established..
If they really are dead in this continuity, then Iâm struggling to understand what the whole controlling idea of the story is, and how their actual death serves that purpose. So far, I believed it was that love triumphs when grief and bitterness are abandoned. Not sure what comes next.
Wait, everybody. Sit down! Donât leave the cinema yet!I know it seems ridiculous, but even if everybody else is gone, Iâm still going to sit in the front row, with my bag of popcorn in my lap. I still trust Neathery. I do.He loves Wally, and he loves Holly, and heâs not too bad about Linda, too. For a hint that Linda is not dead, go to the Endtown Underground site. http://s4.zetaboards.com/Endtown/topic/9348385/1/If Linda lives, surely somehow Wally and Holly do.I still donât know how itâs going to happen, but Aaron has promised that the Endtown story will continue. Itâs gotta. Itâs just gotta.
Now, one thing I keep hearing is that thereâs still a lot more of Endtownâs story to tell (which seems to imply that Wally and Holly have to be alive for this). Donât forgetâŠthe entire first arc of Endtown was about Al and Gustine. The story could very well continue as Endtown 3.0 with a different main cast.
I think I could be fine with the deaths of the leads, if I could see how that kind of event would serve the overall theme of the story. Someone mentioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and that is a true classic, but the theme of that film revolved around the leads spending their lives only ever running from the inevitable, never facing up to it, and the climax with their death made sense, because they finally faced it head on instead of running from it. That was the turning point, and so their death is acceptable. In Serenity, two of the cast regulars die in service to the motivation and resolution of the leadâs story arc, and to raise the stakes for the remainder of the cast, but there doesnât seem to be a similar necessity for these characters to die in the service of this particular story, from what I can tell. The fact that they believed they were likely going to die would seem to be enough.
And I thought about the ditto creatures myself, but they havenât been played up as as even a potential factor in this plotline so far, and I think itâs too late for them to be introduced as one now, especially given that of these characters, only Petey has been made aware of their presence.
This is a harsh reality show and Neathery isnât out to pull punches. You are looking at the end of THIS story folks! We will be able to see what happens to Flask and Im sure It wouldnât be a pretty picture . . . Why do you think its called âENDtownâ?
For certain there are many more good story reasons for leads to die, but looking back through what we do know, there was the one longing glance she gave the pair as they embraced almost as if she recognized something she once had that no longer is. Seeing that representation (in her mind) of her positive past relationship (possibly with Petey) vaporized doesnât seem likely to inspire a change of heart, but to reinforce her current stance.
I keep scanning what we do know in my mind now, because whatever happens next has to be supported by what has already come to pass.
I donât know, maybe it is the ditto creatures casting an illusion, and last Fridayâs reaction shot was in response to a tidal wave of the bugs about to converge on the area.
WellâŠis it GOOP? Or is it disintegration?The best stories are those which are closest to Real Life. And the hard thing about Real Life is that you donât always get a happy ending. We want to see characters survive and thrive in spite of overwhelming odds, but realistically they donât always.There was a Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos story where the Nazis captured them and a bunch of other soldiers, lined them up in rows of four and proceeded to execute them, firing sqwuad style. The Howlers were in the back row and every single one of them survived, but none of the other soldiers did. TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE! Still, it might be goop. And we still donât know what it was that Flask and Wally were looking up at on Friday.
@Aaron â this many comments this early and the general AAAAAGH over what would appear to be the âdustingâ of a favourite pair of charactersâŠ.Sir, itâs a tribute that you make ink and paper inspire such emotions â but PLEASE donât disintegrate Hol & WalâŠ.. ;-(
Well. Thatâs all I can find to say. I want to be angry, but Iâve no one to be angry at but myself. I got on this roller coaster and if I donât like the ride, then the solution is simple, donât ride it again. How someone can craft characters capable of capturing the heart of an audience to the degree that these have, and then just erase them like this is inconceivable to me. But then Iâm a scientist, not a writer. Well played, Mr Neathery, we now understand that the envelope has no bounds. Short of a Dallas dream sequence, or Petey spinning time backwards a la Superman I, it seems our âfriendsâ are gone. Itâs your party Aaron, and itâs been an enjoyable one so far. But if todayâs strip is the price of admission, I donât think I can afford it much longer. This little flight of fantasy feels too much like real life right now. Until tomorrow, I suppose.
Congrats to Aaron on achieving high art by evoking so much emotion! Donât forget that Aaron promised to explain Wallyâs badge and the rest of his backstory. That would not be as effective if the character were dead.
I for one donât know what to sayâŠ..just stunned. Wow. Nice job Aaron. Guess Iâll just keep the faith for now and wait to see how it comes out. I just hope that Aaron loves the cat and mouse in his head enough that they donât go out in a blaze without any real glory.
Hang on to your hats, everybody. If there is anything that I have learned about Aaron since I started following Endtown, it is that Aaron LOVES a good storyline and REALLY LOVES a good cliff-hanger. We are just going to have to wait this one out to its conclusion.
You know, Friday is only three strips away. Aaron can certainly maintain the suspense that long. One day will probably be Peteyâs reaction, one will be Flaskâs reaction. We may have here the longest cliffhanger yet!
That definently looks like a new weapon, Z guns usually take out the target and anything behind the target. These hits arenât going past the targets. The topsiders might take them alive to make Flask a little more coopertive, maybe, I donât knowâŠ
Okay, now I really canât wait to see where the writer takes this! All but two of the squad are gone by what appears to be a zero gun. But Wally and Flask looked outside in surprise before running outside, so all is not as it appears.
Excellent work. I only recently discovered this comic and I spent all weekend enjoying playing catch up.
Oh ye of little faith! If theyâre gone they gone and weâre better off for reading about them. Weather here or gone, the story goes on. Aaron, ya had to enjoy reading all these comments!
The name of the strip is Endtown, not Wally & Holly. The world these characters live in is full of death, and it appears they died. Just as we moved on from Al and Gustine, we will move on from Wally & Holly. RIP
If itâs any joy from this, no doubt Allie (remember her?) is probably happy now that Wally has met his demise since sheblames him (which was the alcohol talking, not her) forthe lost of her three friends after Wally lost it and violently scratched her in that diner brawl a year (or two) ago. Butthen sheâll die from alcohol poisoning after hearing her best friend Holly bought the farm along with him (and end up joining them). Sorry if I painted a dark picture, Arron, but thatâs how you like things like this to beâŠ.
Hey gang, whadda ya say we send good old Wally and Holly off to that big dustbin in the sky with a proper wake! Weâre up to 80 comments and itâs still only 4pm Central US. We can make 100 easy. This revoltinâ development has brought most everyone out of the woodwork anyway, so why be content with half measures? Letâs start the COUNTDOWN to 100 comments! 20âŠ.
From what Aaron has written in his comments here and elsewhere, Holly and Wally are far too dear to his heart for them to be (pardon the expression) âdustedâŠâ
The GOOD thing is that itâs only Tuesday, so we donât have a nail-biting weekend to fret over until we see what happens next.
I will only add, that if there is any sense of triumph at the end of this arc that is as deep as the sense of loss here, I will jump out of my chair, fist-pump the air, while screaming âYES!â
As Dadof3 mentioned above, yes, it is true that I exchange emails with Aaron once a week. He refuses to give me spoilers regardless of how much I cry, plead or beg (which is a good thing, because now I have enough material for my editors on my âCrying, Pleading and Begging for Complete Dummiesâ book.Aaron had mentioned a while ago that GoComics rewards artists (a little bit) based on comment count. He then asked (what I had thought at the time was a rhetorical question) â âWhat do I have to do to break 100 comments, kill someone?âJust 14 more comments and you all will have hit the big time.
Wow. Just⊠wow. Wasnât expecting this. I read this at 6:30AM Atlantic time this morning and can only now , at 7:30PM Atlantic time, bring myself to comment on it. Iâve been thinking about Holly & Wally all day, trying to imagine ways out of it. I just canât. Once again Iâd like to congratulate Aaron on his masterful storytelling â to make an imaginary mouse & cat have such a profound emotional impact on so many people (the comments here sound as though they refer to real death, not comic strip death) is just creative geniusâŠ
I just finished a first draft of a fantasy novel where I kill off a minor, but helpful, character during the Climax. My mom wailed when I told her. Now I know whyâŠand these are not minor characters, but those we have become deeply invested in.Except, for my part, Flask.
That 100 comment remark was made completely tongue in cheek, as I have spent most of my day trying to come to grips with the fact that I was actually grieving the demise of two imaginary characters in a comic strip. Now you tell me it was all a publicity stunt! Look, Iâll gladly kick in 15 or 20 comments a day, just stop slashing the heart from your storyline!
There was something else we didnât ask And for that, weâll be taken to task From the Topsiderâs jive They had wanted alive The not-currently-talkative Flask We know theyâve got high tech out the ears And that ârayâ isnât how death appears Since they planned to take Blackie Our gang (and their lackey) Still live, which should calm down our fears But that beam or that powerful squirt Came in fast, and it seems to have hurt Theyâre werenât shot by the cat Angleâs too wrong for that But I donât think theyâre turned into dirt. =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum
If nothing else, today has exposed the full extent of the spectrum of feelings this unparalleled work has engendered. The sad part for me is the realization that participation has itâs price, and it would appear that I am very susceptable to the storytellers spell. If the best and brightest in this fascinating world are subject to instantaneous non-existence around any corner, then the price is too high for my emotional budget. That just mirrors reality a bit too much. Reality is all around us. I come here to get away from that, if only momentarily. I was quite frankly shocked by how much todayâs strip affected me. In a way it was much like an auto accident, you donât want to see carnage, but you canât help but look anyway.
They did not have the opportunity to work out those emotions through imagination. Aaronâs world is our catharsis and i for one welcome whatever comes.
Well I expect that I will get up tonight and find out what next. Almost the best for Endtown that could happen is that the rocket is returning and wipes out the command center. Wally might be firing disabling shots, the endtowners will not.
This story is affecting me, too, quite profoundly. I simply cannot see where this is going to go, but I can ASSURE everyone that itâs going to turn out better than it looks, at the moment. But be warned: the glimmer of hope is unlikely to happen this week. Friday is still probably going to be a soul-testing cliff-hanger.As with Three Steps, I correspond directly with Aaron Neathery on an infrequent basis, when both he and I can find the time. And as with Three Steps, I am told almost nothing about the future. But I am told broad movements, and one thing Mr Neathery stressed is that things will not turn out as badly as they seem. (Admittedly, he DID say that to me before he had his three main characters apparently gunned down in cold blood.) And in fact, I have strongly pleaded with him NOT to give me any spoilers. All I needed to know from him is what I know now: it is worth holding on. Thatâs all I need. Neathery says none of us will be betrayed.No spoilers. Once spoiled, the magic can never be re-made. Because the best frame of mind to experince this is one of ignorace. Take it as it happens, no more, no less. As much as this story is causing me distress, I see myself, indeed all of us, as existing in a special moment in history. It will be talked about, for years to come: The Endtown Crisis,or whatever fans in the future will call it. We readers are part of a select, privileged group who AT THIS VERY POINT OF TIME are enduring the exquisite agony of total doubt weighed against total faith, in the absence of any foreknowledge other than the soothing message from its creator that optimism will be repaid.No reader of Endtown in the future will ever experience the full piquancy of the uncertainty that we are braving this week. Younger fans, later on, will ask us what it was like to see the characters die and not know, REALLY not know, what was going to happen next. After us, no-one will ever have the bitterness and the sweetness of this present-centered moment that will live in out memory and in history.Mr Neathery is about to accomplish something not just clever, not just amazing, but legendary. I have no idea what. Literally, I cannot conceive of the solution, try as I may. With all of our collective thoughts, none of us can. Mr Neathery â if he delivers on this mammoth promise, and I can only take it by his track record that he will â will create an event in the history of comics of the 21st century that will be an occasion of legend. You and I, my friends, the daily readers, the dogged followers, the five-past-the-hour refreshers, will be able to say: âI was there. You know The Endtown Crisis? Well, I was there, reading it when it happened. None of us knew what to do. We didnât even know what to say. and then, when it finally turned out that [XXXXX happened], well it was so awesome that⊠weâve never seen anything like it. and we probably never will again!â Yes, thank you one and all, my talkative fellow travellers on this long road to the legend: It IS worth it. Just a few more steps. Hold the faith. Push through the pain. Swallow the bitterness. Remember History. Remember Legend. Remember the days we but no-one else will have. Keep reading Endtown, and have faith.One more thing, just one. Aaorn Neathery is not made of stone. For what is happening to Wally, Holly, Linda, Petey and even Flask, if the emotion is hurting us, you can be sure it has hurt him even more. Whatever distress we are feeling, take it, double it and thatâs what the writer/artist dosed himself with in order to create this tale for us. Sometimes a medicine is severe. If Neathery says the pain was worth it in the end, then please take it from someone who categorically is in the position to know.These are amzing times. Awesome times. Legendary times.
If there was such a thing as a reintergration ray, it would have been used to bring back the rest of civilization. And I suspect, that alive or not, Linda is counted as effectively killed by mutants, making those mutants liable criminally for her death.
Looking at panel 2 again I see an accumulation of material beside and engulfing Kowalinda. This MUST be a capture material. 1-1/2 hours to go. Wonât sleep before midnight posting!
The Topsiders wanted Flask alive, so they can torture her for information on how to locate and wipe out Endtown. Maybe the guns are set on stun, so that the mutants can be immobilised, while they have their brains cut out. But the Topsiders wonât get to cut out the brains if the crashing rocket lands on them all first.No, it still doesnât work. Iâll keep thinking.
Whew, I canât believe how many comments exploded on this page today haha! Itâs quite a testament to how powerful todayâs strip was. I know thereâs been a lot of hysteria over the (possible) deaths of Wally and Holly (and boy did my heart drop as well). But regardless of how it goes, and I know some of you disagree, one thing I do like about Endtown is the fact that the threat of death/loss is real. Characters can die and the heroes can lose. What I mean is that Iâve watched/read stories where you just know that no main character is ever going to die and everyone will win 100% in the end. For stories directed at younger viewers, thatâs fine. However, in a story that is supposed to be serious, it weakens the sense of danger to the point that you canât really take the villains seriously as a threat. There was a series Iâve read where youâd have everything you need in a death scene without the actual death (some deus ex machina would save the day, or itâd be just a dream, etc.) and once thatâs been done a few times, then I stop taking that story seriously and the sense of danger is gone. It becomes Adam Westâs Batman where the heroes are tied up over a giant pot of acid but we all know itâs not a matter of âifâ theyâll get out of it, just âhowâ. For Endtown, even if Wally, Holly and Linda survive here somehow, I do get that sense of danger and attachment to the characters. The Topsiders are a serious threat, as is the threat of insanity within Endtown itself (Flask, Jackrabbit). The worry of âifâ theyâll make it combined with the curiosity of âhowâ theyâll make it (because as much as I see this strip having a âsense of dangerâ, I also donât see Endtown as being one of those âand then everyone died! The end!â type of comics, either. I anticipate â and hope â that it wonât be a hoaky type of happy ending, but an optimistic ending nonetheless)
Oh no oh no donât do that!1 they are main characters, I like Holly and Wally and even like Linda! The main characters donât die! What did Linda and Wally see? Is the ground soft? maybe it blew them into the surface??
SapphireDragonStudios about 13 years ago
D:
Ida No about 13 years ago
And the gnashing of the teeth beginsâŠ
DarkDain about 13 years ago
YES!âŠ. I was a little bit worried this would turn into a Mr and Mrs Smith esque shoot out against all odds ! My optimism is probably misplaced though, something else might be going on.
dirtyoldlady1 about 13 years ago
Goop? Is that what we get. Goop? Well I suppose it would keep them alive and brainy worth saving. HUH?Blessed BE
SapphireDragonStudios about 13 years ago
You know⊠I knew not everyone was getting out of this, or I doubted it, anyway. But I figured the loss would be Petey, Flask (even though sheâs my favorite, I just figured sheâd die in a blazing fight or in some final act of redemption) or maybe Linda. Never did I think itâd be Wally or Holly, much less both. So much for plot armor. ;O; Now please excuse me while I pick my heart back up off the ground.
OdderOtter about 13 years ago
Well either the writer wrote himself into a corner or what? Our heroes are dead, right? But at that point, what else could be expected? Now only Flask lives, and only for a moment, I suspect. And Endtown is likely in trouble. Not what we hoped for.
Bronkster Premium Member about 13 years ago
O.O Iâm not sure what to say âŠ
chireef about 13 years ago
maybe its a dream like when that J.R. guy from the TV show Dallas got shot
vburke about 13 years ago
âInto the valley of death rode the 600 âŠâ
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
Captured, frozen, encased, GOOPED, NOT DEAD, anything but dead! Please, anything but dead.
PhycoKrusk about 13 years ago
Well! That was, umâŠâŠhttp://bit.ly/wCdPIn
jerseycajun about 13 years ago
I have no idea where this is going. The only possible turnarounds I can think of involve Deus ex Machina style ret-conning and âit was all a dreamâ scenarios, and both of those seem below the level storytelling on display so far. If itâs some kind of technological illusion, then I canât think of a setup that allows the audience to think that was possible the way the world has been established..
If they really are dead in this continuity, then Iâm struggling to understand what the whole controlling idea of the story is, and how their actual death serves that purpose. So far, I believed it was that love triumphs when grief and bitterness are abandoned. Not sure what comes next.
Jenner Premium Member about 13 years ago
Wait, everybody. Sit down! Donât leave the cinema yet!I know it seems ridiculous, but even if everybody else is gone, Iâm still going to sit in the front row, with my bag of popcorn in my lap. I still trust Neathery. I do.He loves Wally, and he loves Holly, and heâs not too bad about Linda, too. For a hint that Linda is not dead, go to the Endtown Underground site. http://s4.zetaboards.com/Endtown/topic/9348385/1/If Linda lives, surely somehow Wally and Holly do.I still donât know how itâs going to happen, but Aaron has promised that the Endtown story will continue. Itâs gotta. Itâs just gotta.
farflungfloyd about 13 years ago
HOLY S#!T
SapphireDragonStudios about 13 years ago
Now, one thing I keep hearing is that thereâs still a lot more of Endtownâs story to tell (which seems to imply that Wally and Holly have to be alive for this). Donât forgetâŠthe entire first arc of Endtown was about Al and Gustine. The story could very well continue as Endtown 3.0 with a different main cast.
jerseycajun about 13 years ago
I think I could be fine with the deaths of the leads, if I could see how that kind of event would serve the overall theme of the story. Someone mentioned Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and that is a true classic, but the theme of that film revolved around the leads spending their lives only ever running from the inevitable, never facing up to it, and the climax with their death made sense, because they finally faced it head on instead of running from it. That was the turning point, and so their death is acceptable. In Serenity, two of the cast regulars die in service to the motivation and resolution of the leadâs story arc, and to raise the stakes for the remainder of the cast, but there doesnât seem to be a similar necessity for these characters to die in the service of this particular story, from what I can tell. The fact that they believed they were likely going to die would seem to be enough.
And I thought about the ditto creatures myself, but they havenât been played up as as even a potential factor in this plotline so far, and I think itâs too late for them to be introduced as one now, especially given that of these characters, only Petey has been made aware of their presence.
knudtzon about 13 years ago
This is a harsh reality show and Neathery isnât out to pull punches. You are looking at the end of THIS story folks! We will be able to see what happens to Flask and Im sure It wouldnât be a pretty picture . . . Why do you think its called âENDtownâ?
knudtzon about 13 years ago
Romeo & Juliet story . . .
GreyAcumen about 13 years ago
Itâs not Friday. Ergo, a cliffhanger moment like my two favorite characters dying like that just isnât going to happen.
RHJunior about 13 years ago
that begs the question:what were Wally and Flask looking at two days ago?Something VERY peculiar is going on that we havenât seen yet.
spamster about 13 years ago
The only things I know of that could provide this effect without it being a reality are the nano video bugs from Sparkyâs town
Rennjack about 13 years ago
Hopefully its a movement restricting goo or they have been stunned. I thought the TSs wanted to use their brains.
jerseycajun about 13 years ago
For certain there are many more good story reasons for leads to die, but looking back through what we do know, there was the one longing glance she gave the pair as they embraced almost as if she recognized something she once had that no longer is. Seeing that representation (in her mind) of her positive past relationship (possibly with Petey) vaporized doesnât seem likely to inspire a change of heart, but to reinforce her current stance.
I keep scanning what we do know in my mind now, because whatever happens next has to be supported by what has already come to pass.
I donât know, maybe it is the ditto creatures casting an illusion, and last Fridayâs reaction shot was in response to a tidal wave of the bugs about to converge on the area.
FENRISULFR about 13 years ago
WellâŠis it GOOP? Or is it disintegration?The best stories are those which are closest to Real Life. And the hard thing about Real Life is that you donât always get a happy ending. We want to see characters survive and thrive in spite of overwhelming odds, but realistically they donât always.There was a Sgt Fury and his Howling Commandos story where the Nazis captured them and a bunch of other soldiers, lined them up in rows of four and proceeded to execute them, firing sqwuad style. The Howlers were in the back row and every single one of them survived, but none of the other soldiers did. TOTALLY UNBELIEVABLE! Still, it might be goop. And we still donât know what it was that Flask and Wally were looking up at on Friday.
aneathery about 13 years ago
Donât make me spoil things, folks.. I havenât written myself into a corner yet. :-)
Coyoty Premium Member about 13 years ago
I wonder if they got their disintegrator guns from a Professor Farnsworth.
Arcaton about 13 years ago
@Aaron â this many comments this early and the general AAAAAGH over what would appear to be the âdustingâ of a favourite pair of charactersâŠ.Sir, itâs a tribute that you make ink and paper inspire such emotions â but PLEASE donât disintegrate Hol & WalâŠ.. ;-(
Dkram about 13 years ago
This brings to mind the ending of âFarscapeâ..\\//_
lbatik about 13 years ago
NOOOOOOOOOooooooooo
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
Well. Thatâs all I can find to say. I want to be angry, but Iâve no one to be angry at but myself. I got on this roller coaster and if I donât like the ride, then the solution is simple, donât ride it again. How someone can craft characters capable of capturing the heart of an audience to the degree that these have, and then just erase them like this is inconceivable to me. But then Iâm a scientist, not a writer. Well played, Mr Neathery, we now understand that the envelope has no bounds. Short of a Dallas dream sequence, or Petey spinning time backwards a la Superman I, it seems our âfriendsâ are gone. Itâs your party Aaron, and itâs been an enjoyable one so far. But if todayâs strip is the price of admission, I donât think I can afford it much longer. This little flight of fantasy feels too much like real life right now. Until tomorrow, I suppose.
3hourtour Premium Member about 13 years ago
âŠWoW!âŠ
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
Congrats to Aaron on achieving high art by evoking so much emotion! Donât forget that Aaron promised to explain Wallyâs badge and the rest of his backstory. That would not be as effective if the character were dead.
ToborRedrum about 13 years ago
If Holly and Wally are dead, then as far as Iâm concerned so is this strip and its author. :(
crookedwolf Premium Member about 13 years ago
Iâll always have Hollyâs little face smiling at me from my mini-comic. YeepâŠ
Jml58 about 13 years ago
It is not over before the fat lady sings, and I donÂŽt see any fat lady.
davidf42 about 13 years ago
Ya gotta admit, this is one heckava comic strip!
finder10030 about 13 years ago
I for one donât know what to sayâŠ..just stunned. Wow. Nice job Aaron. Guess Iâll just keep the faith for now and wait to see how it comes out. I just hope that Aaron loves the cat and mouse in his head enough that they donât go out in a blaze without any real glory.
nerdhoof about 13 years ago
Maybe somebody was trolling, or didnât remember, but in Dallas it was Bobbyâs death that was a dream. J.R. was really shot, but not fatally.
Ron about 13 years ago
Hang on to your hats, everybody. If there is anything that I have learned about Aaron since I started following Endtown, it is that Aaron LOVES a good storyline and REALLY LOVES a good cliff-hanger. We are just going to have to wait this one out to its conclusion.
shelly about 13 years ago
all I can say is â at least itâs not Friday!
andrew_c about 13 years ago
Well, if capture and coring by the Topsiders is the only alternative, they are better off dead.
APersonOfInterest about 13 years ago
Oops!
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
You know, Friday is only three strips away. Aaron can certainly maintain the suspense that long. One day will probably be Peteyâs reaction, one will be Flaskâs reaction. We may have here the longest cliffhanger yet!
Ida No about 13 years ago
As Jenner pointed out above, for those of you losing faith, there is a hint of a light at the end of the tunnel, at the Endtown Underground.
Mapper2 about 13 years ago
That definently looks like a new weapon, Z guns usually take out the target and anything behind the target. These hits arenât going past the targets. The topsiders might take them alive to make Flask a little more coopertive, maybe, I donât knowâŠ
shockwave77598 about 13 years ago
Okay, now I really canât wait to see where the writer takes this! All but two of the squad are gone by what appears to be a zero gun. But Wally and Flask looked outside in surprise before running outside, so all is not as it appears.
Excellent work. I only recently discovered this comic and I spent all weekend enjoying playing catch up.
boreas2 about 13 years ago
O_O!
is so good isnt friday
now im more curious about what the topsiders need from flask to keep her alive
Paul Gabbard Premium Member about 13 years ago
ACK!!! just ACK!!!
gary wolner about 13 years ago
Oh ye of little faith! If theyâre gone they gone and weâre better off for reading about them. Weather here or gone, the story goes on. Aaron, ya had to enjoy reading all these comments!
Demonick about 13 years ago
and we never even found out what the deal is with that button Wally wears.
Dragoncat about 13 years ago
OK, Jenner. Iâll play along for now. But stillâŠNeathery⊠YOUâVE GOT SOME EXPLAINING TO DO! GOSHDARNIT!!!
twcowdery about 13 years ago
The name of the strip is Endtown, not Wally & Holly. The world these characters live in is full of death, and it appears they died. Just as we moved on from Al and Gustine, we will move on from Wally & Holly. RIP
Reldn about 13 years ago
Iâm really gonna miss those two, even Linda⊠because, unless thereâs some serious Deus Ex Machina coming down the pipe, theyâre gone.
I was afraid theyâd not survive this, but, kept hoping that somehow they would.
Lyons Group, Inc. about 13 years ago
If itâs any joy from this, no doubt Allie (remember her?) is probably happy now that Wally has met his demise since sheblames him (which was the alcohol talking, not her) forthe lost of her three friends after Wally lost it and violently scratched her in that diner brawl a year (or two) ago. Butthen sheâll die from alcohol poisoning after hearing her best friend Holly bought the farm along with him (and end up joining them). Sorry if I painted a dark picture, Arron, but thatâs how you like things like this to beâŠ.
awesome person about 13 years ago
)-=)-=)-=)-=)-=)-=)-=
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
Hey gang, whadda ya say we send good old Wally and Holly off to that big dustbin in the sky with a proper wake! Weâre up to 80 comments and itâs still only 4pm Central US. We can make 100 easy. This revoltinâ development has brought most everyone out of the woodwork anyway, so why be content with half measures? Letâs start the COUNTDOWN to 100 comments! 20âŠ.
Proxima about 13 years ago
From what Aaron has written in his comments here and elsewhere, Holly and Wally are far too dear to his heart for them to be (pardon the expression) âdustedâŠâ
The GOOD thing is that itâs only Tuesday, so we donât have a nail-biting weekend to fret over until we see what happens next.
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
We just have to wait for the dust to clear. . .
jerseycajun about 13 years ago
I will only add, that if there is any sense of triumph at the end of this arc that is as deep as the sense of loss here, I will jump out of my chair, fist-pump the air, while screaming âYES!â
starlilies about 13 years ago
MAYBE, MAYBEâŠ. they went DOWN! :O Maybe they got pulled by the baby âoctopusâ from earlier into the underground! :D
Thatâs my story and Iâm sticking to it! :P
Rocky Premium Member about 13 years ago
Well THAT sucked!
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
So help me, if even one of those TS sticks their head into the transporter and says âWelcome home, Philomena.â âŠ..
Ida No about 13 years ago
As Dadof3 mentioned above, yes, it is true that I exchange emails with Aaron once a week. He refuses to give me spoilers regardless of how much I cry, plead or beg (which is a good thing, because now I have enough material for my editors on my âCrying, Pleading and Begging for Complete Dummiesâ book.Aaron had mentioned a while ago that GoComics rewards artists (a little bit) based on comment count. He then asked (what I had thought at the time was a rhetorical question) â âWhat do I have to do to break 100 comments, kill someone?âJust 14 more comments and you all will have hit the big time.
up2trixx about 13 years ago
Wow. Just⊠wow. Wasnât expecting this. I read this at 6:30AM Atlantic time this morning and can only now , at 7:30PM Atlantic time, bring myself to comment on it. Iâve been thinking about Holly & Wally all day, trying to imagine ways out of it. I just canât. Once again Iâd like to congratulate Aaron on his masterful storytelling â to make an imaginary mouse & cat have such a profound emotional impact on so many people (the comments here sound as though they refer to real death, not comic strip death) is just creative geniusâŠ
crookedwolf Premium Member about 13 years ago
I just finished a first draft of a fantasy novel where I kill off a minor, but helpful, character during the Climax. My mom wailed when I told her. Now I know whyâŠand these are not minor characters, but those we have become deeply invested in.Except, for my part, Flask.
Karma, baby.
vburke about 13 years ago
âThere is but one task for all-One life for each to give.What stands if Freedom fall?ââ Rudyard Kipling
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
That 100 comment remark was made completely tongue in cheek, as I have spent most of my day trying to come to grips with the fact that I was actually grieving the demise of two imaginary characters in a comic strip. Now you tell me it was all a publicity stunt! Look, Iâll gladly kick in 15 or 20 comments a day, just stop slashing the heart from your storyline!
Level_Head about 13 years ago
There was something else we didnât ask And for that, weâll be taken to task From the Topsiderâs jive They had wanted alive The not-currently-talkative Flask We know theyâve got high tech out the ears And that ârayâ isnât how death appears Since they planned to take Blackie Our gang (and their lackey) Still live, which should calm down our fears But that beam or that powerful squirt Came in fast, and it seems to have hurt Theyâre werenât shot by the cat Angleâs too wrong for that But I donât think theyâre turned into dirt. =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum
calvinballer07 about 13 years ago
Well, With Al and Gustine they had a fruit that can bring you back to life, so maybe.. Time travel or something? SOMETHING!! Save them!
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
Well, hereâs No. 101. Cheers.
noreenklose about 13 years ago
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!Aaron, have mercy! Some of us have bad hearts!Great story, but Iâm trusting you that this isnât the endâŠ
KUTGW,
Noreen
Sabreur about 13 years ago
Welp, looks like we just barbequed a couple main characters. That, or the Dittos came back. Either way, fun times ahead!
DADOF3 about 13 years ago
If nothing else, today has exposed the full extent of the spectrum of feelings this unparalleled work has engendered. The sad part for me is the realization that participation has itâs price, and it would appear that I am very susceptable to the storytellers spell. If the best and brightest in this fascinating world are subject to instantaneous non-existence around any corner, then the price is too high for my emotional budget. That just mirrors reality a bit too much. Reality is all around us. I come here to get away from that, if only momentarily. I was quite frankly shocked by how much todayâs strip affected me. In a way it was much like an auto accident, you donât want to see carnage, but you canât help but look anyway.
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
They did not have the opportunity to work out those emotions through imagination. Aaronâs world is our catharsis and i for one welcome whatever comes.
OdderOtter about 13 years ago
Well I expect that I will get up tonight and find out what next. Almost the best for Endtown that could happen is that the rocket is returning and wipes out the command center. Wally might be firing disabling shots, the endtowners will not.
Jenner Premium Member about 13 years ago
This story is affecting me, too, quite profoundly. I simply cannot see where this is going to go, but I can ASSURE everyone that itâs going to turn out better than it looks, at the moment. But be warned: the glimmer of hope is unlikely to happen this week. Friday is still probably going to be a soul-testing cliff-hanger.As with Three Steps, I correspond directly with Aaron Neathery on an infrequent basis, when both he and I can find the time. And as with Three Steps, I am told almost nothing about the future. But I am told broad movements, and one thing Mr Neathery stressed is that things will not turn out as badly as they seem. (Admittedly, he DID say that to me before he had his three main characters apparently gunned down in cold blood.) And in fact, I have strongly pleaded with him NOT to give me any spoilers. All I needed to know from him is what I know now: it is worth holding on. Thatâs all I need. Neathery says none of us will be betrayed.No spoilers. Once spoiled, the magic can never be re-made. Because the best frame of mind to experince this is one of ignorace. Take it as it happens, no more, no less. As much as this story is causing me distress, I see myself, indeed all of us, as existing in a special moment in history. It will be talked about, for years to come: The Endtown Crisis,or whatever fans in the future will call it. We readers are part of a select, privileged group who AT THIS VERY POINT OF TIME are enduring the exquisite agony of total doubt weighed against total faith, in the absence of any foreknowledge other than the soothing message from its creator that optimism will be repaid.No reader of Endtown in the future will ever experience the full piquancy of the uncertainty that we are braving this week. Younger fans, later on, will ask us what it was like to see the characters die and not know, REALLY not know, what was going to happen next. After us, no-one will ever have the bitterness and the sweetness of this present-centered moment that will live in out memory and in history.Mr Neathery is about to accomplish something not just clever, not just amazing, but legendary. I have no idea what. Literally, I cannot conceive of the solution, try as I may. With all of our collective thoughts, none of us can. Mr Neathery â if he delivers on this mammoth promise, and I can only take it by his track record that he will â will create an event in the history of comics of the 21st century that will be an occasion of legend. You and I, my friends, the daily readers, the dogged followers, the five-past-the-hour refreshers, will be able to say: âI was there. You know The Endtown Crisis? Well, I was there, reading it when it happened. None of us knew what to do. We didnât even know what to say. and then, when it finally turned out that [XXXXX happened], well it was so awesome that⊠weâve never seen anything like it. and we probably never will again!â Yes, thank you one and all, my talkative fellow travellers on this long road to the legend: It IS worth it. Just a few more steps. Hold the faith. Push through the pain. Swallow the bitterness. Remember History. Remember Legend. Remember the days we but no-one else will have. Keep reading Endtown, and have faith.One more thing, just one. Aaorn Neathery is not made of stone. For what is happening to Wally, Holly, Linda, Petey and even Flask, if the emotion is hurting us, you can be sure it has hurt him even more. Whatever distress we are feeling, take it, double it and thatâs what the writer/artist dosed himself with in order to create this tale for us. Sometimes a medicine is severe. If Neathery says the pain was worth it in the end, then please take it from someone who categorically is in the position to know.These are amzing times. Awesome times. Legendary times.
OdderOtter about 13 years ago
If there was such a thing as a reintergration ray, it would have been used to bring back the rest of civilization. And I suspect, that alive or not, Linda is counted as effectively killed by mutants, making those mutants liable criminally for her death.
boreas2 about 13 years ago
i hope it isnt a dream nor a oracle vision
JanBic Premium Member about 13 years ago
Looking at panel 2 again I see an accumulation of material beside and engulfing Kowalinda. This MUST be a capture material. 1-1/2 hours to go. Wonât sleep before midnight posting!
Jenner Premium Member about 13 years ago
The Topsiders wanted Flask alive, so they can torture her for information on how to locate and wipe out Endtown. Maybe the guns are set on stun, so that the mutants can be immobilised, while they have their brains cut out. But the Topsiders wonât get to cut out the brains if the crashing rocket lands on them all first.No, it still doesnât work. Iâll keep thinking.
SapphireDragonStudios about 13 years ago
Whew, I canât believe how many comments exploded on this page today haha! Itâs quite a testament to how powerful todayâs strip was. I know thereâs been a lot of hysteria over the (possible) deaths of Wally and Holly (and boy did my heart drop as well). But regardless of how it goes, and I know some of you disagree, one thing I do like about Endtown is the fact that the threat of death/loss is real. Characters can die and the heroes can lose. What I mean is that Iâve watched/read stories where you just know that no main character is ever going to die and everyone will win 100% in the end. For stories directed at younger viewers, thatâs fine. However, in a story that is supposed to be serious, it weakens the sense of danger to the point that you canât really take the villains seriously as a threat. There was a series Iâve read where youâd have everything you need in a death scene without the actual death (some deus ex machina would save the day, or itâd be just a dream, etc.) and once thatâs been done a few times, then I stop taking that story seriously and the sense of danger is gone. It becomes Adam Westâs Batman where the heroes are tied up over a giant pot of acid but we all know itâs not a matter of âifâ theyâll get out of it, just âhowâ. For Endtown, even if Wally, Holly and Linda survive here somehow, I do get that sense of danger and attachment to the characters. The Topsiders are a serious threat, as is the threat of insanity within Endtown itself (Flask, Jackrabbit). The worry of âifâ theyâll make it combined with the curiosity of âhowâ theyâll make it (because as much as I see this strip having a âsense of dangerâ, I also donât see Endtown as being one of those âand then everyone died! The end!â type of comics, either. I anticipate â and hope â that it wonât be a hoaky type of happy ending, but an optimistic ending nonetheless)
Jenner Premium Member about 13 years ago
Thirty minutes to goâŠ
Jenner Premium Member about 13 years ago
Ten minutes to goâŠ
pam Miner about 13 years ago
Surely this didnât just happen. well I guess it happened, but can it be undone?? I hope?
pam Miner about 13 years ago
Oh no oh no donât do that!1 they are main characters, I like Holly and Wally and even like Linda! The main characters donât die! What did Linda and Wally see? Is the ground soft? maybe it blew them into the surface??