Endtown by Aaron Neathery for April 02, 2012

See you later. Surgery tomorrow. Comments delayed.Blessed Be

Two observers are watching this “fun” As she tells of her thoughts and her fears But what I had just thought was a “bun” Was her already-mutated ears! So society hadn’t quite reached The “kill all the mutations” stage yet Is she guessing the issue, once breached, Will get bad? That’s, of course, a good bet. =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum And don’t forget to vote for both For Ursa Major awards!

the teacher doesnt look mutant like on the first frame

and the suits they look so much like topsiders ones

Ooh, secrets!

The panel 1 suits don’t quite look like TSers. Looks like they have round respirator cartridges instead of the big flatiron-shaped snouts, and separate eye goggles instead of the beady round eye ports.

Not convinced that’s Flask. Would a school teacher later become a “key architect” of the rocket? (see 1/18/12)

There are all sorts of interesting subtleties here. Note, for example, that between Panel 1 and 2 is a zoom, not a camera move. The burning building is larger in the background, so the camera did not get closer, it zoomed in. Moreover, both views show Wally staring fixedly not at the woman who’s voicing the accusations, but at his own prior self. Wally is thinking about who … or what … he was, rather than any special attachment to her. Then the camera swings around, almost reversing — to show the two soldiers observing. Note the tree visible in Panel 3, and the shape of its branches. In Panel 4, we have spun around, seeing toward the couple from the soldier’s position — and we see the same tree, but now the branches are reversed, as they should be. That is attention to detail. But think about it — this is all illusion put on by dittos, crafted from Wally’s imagination before being rendered by them and then faithfully brought before us by Mr. Neathery. I am impressed. But I think that we will not encounter Flask here; there’s no evidence I’ve seen (other than the dream sequence) that connects her to his past. Her name has not changed, and it did not register on Wally at any point. Nor did she recognize him — her being impressed by him was only from Ally’s write-up, it seemed. Nor is Holly part of this past, obviously — though she’s now experiencing a bit of it vicariously, and it is likely to have a profound impact upon her. =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum And don’t forget to vote for both For Ursa Major awards!

For those wondering, the teacher is clearly human. Just check her face in the first panel.

Also, she’s talking with what in the present would be considered a topsider, but back then were probably soldiers (From APEX) wearing chemical-war-ready suits.

The Endtown mini-comic that I produced for Comicpalooza 2011 is now available to YOU for the offensively low price of $2.50 (price includes s&h, international add $1 for each copy ordered ). Besides sporting a snazzy full color cover, it contains an all-new 22 page story that is available nowhere else. And just because I feel like doing it, I’ll sign and personalize (if desired) each and every copy I mail out. Simply pay via PayPal using my email address, aaronneathery@gmail.com, and be sure to include your mailing address. If you can’t pay with PayPal, send payment to:Aaron NeatheryPO Box 920558Houston, TX 77292And, just so you know, I’m completely open to donations. The cat and mouse that live in my head will thank you. :-)PS: Original art is still for sale. Contact me at aaronneathery@gmail.com for details

Something doesn’t add up. If these uniforms are the same as what we saw in Wally’s dream, they arenot encapsulated and provide no protection against the mutagens. The silhouette in panel one looks human, panel 3 looks mutant; but as always with Aaron, the devil’s in the details. The hand in panel 3 has four fingers, not three as you would expect for an anthro. (Remember Flask’s “dangling digit” in the biosuit). Curiouser and curiouser…..

Not a romance… resistance!

I see all five fingers silhouetted in panel 3, and in 4, she has no tail, so I’m pretty sure she’s not a mutant.I suspect she’s telling him about Apex attrocities.

I think this is the war, and before the mutations, so the suits just have to provide against known “normal” toxics. And yeah, it loks to be the whispers of atrocities by your own group you try to ignore, lest you feel you can’t be part of the group anymore, and you know, from being inside it, that anyone who’s not part of that group is just a target, has no rights, can be done with as pleased, etc. Self-preservation makes you want to stay, and then desperation makes you do… things.. rationalisation is ugly, but real.

If I was Holly, I would be holding very tightly to Wally’s hand – even knowing it’s an illusion, it has to be dizzying to experience.

I assume the teacher is human, not anthro. But when I look at panel 3, she definitely appears mouse-like. What I presume to be her hair in a bun, looks like a mouse ear anyway. The shape of the face and head, in general, is mouse-like. A picture of things to come?? And very soon from what Wally says in poanel 4.

Or is she already anthro and the great round-up/extermination about to start?

Ahhhhh!! I can’t wait to see what happens!! The suspense is killing me!!

“She” really looks like a mouse. But may not be Holly. She looks bigger so maybe she is a rattie.

You haven’t been watching cartoons like I have for the last half-century. Cartoon Cats always have pointed ears, cartoon mice always have round ears. Obviously, it’s a mouse (female), I hope.

IT looks part mouse, part human, but the mutation, at least now, goes much faster. Maybe it took a few weeks to happen back then.

DOL, I hope you be blessed on your recovery. or blessed be you on your recovery.

I think we are scrambling our timeline. From previous stress we know the mutations came suddenly when the Amesworth radiation was released at the End of an already ongoing war. What we are seeing is earlier when the war was more conventional—PRE mutation. That does not rule out some foreshadowing on Aaron’s part with the shadow characters.

I agree with BikeNBoatN — these are not Topsider suits. The Wally silhouette clearly shows his open mouth talking to the teacher. And I think JanBic might be right on the foreshadowing — yesterday’s teacher is definitely human and today in panel 3 she is mouse-like. Hmmmmm.

The problem with a silhouette is that you lose the perspective of the 3 D figure. All you see is an outline, which can be very deceptive if the actual figure is complicated. Panel 3 “looks” like a facial profile, but it could easily be something else. Think about making shadow pictures. All I’m saying is things are not always what they seem; like that’s a new concept here! ;-)

Did you guys see what Mr. Neathery offered? I’m saying yes to that one!