Endtown by Aaron Neathery for March 11, 2019

Whoa! NOW we’re getting to the meat of this part of the arc.

They’re all good guys.

I knew it. Chic was bait!

Finally! Some sense has been spoken about Duffy, to Duffy.

It’s the rabbit that I am liking.

Interesting they assume this being is a “she.”

We’re finding Duffy’s not the tough guy he pretends to be. He’s tough to protect himself from true friendship and the possibility of more pain.

The voice of wisdom. Truth hurts.

I’ve been thinking about the creature that killed Benny. Definitely human, but the mask looks different from that of the topsiders. Are we looking at a new player; the “bottomdewllers”? Humans living in domed cities under the sea? With bio suits adapted to allow the occupant to breathe underwater and giving the occupant invisibility. Also the idea of the beach being a trap for mutants doesn’t quite hold water. For a trap to be effective it needs to be set on a well traveled trail, where there’s the possibility of catching something. Not the case on this beach where mere chance MIGHT bring by a victim eventually. The “bottomdwellers” have some other reason for being on the beach.

In other words his kid brother is most likely still alive, so could be some female thing that kidnaps kids to replace their missing child – unless ofc it lives in the water then his brother is most likely dead.

how do they know its a female?

New info, new questions. How long ago was Benny taken? How did Duffy explain Benny’s disappearance to their parents/guardians? If he did explain to adults, why have they not checked this out?

Survival guilt.

Although it looks like they were using Chic as bait, he did try to record the odd sentences he heard (he is shown pointing the recorder towards them). So, there is some kind of audible manifestation. I wonder what they’ll hear when they play it back.

Every good boss has a great consigliere, every great boss listens to them…

A lot of things are coming together here that could spell problems for this colony. The new flora appearing outside the window could attract unwanted attention to their location, especially if it spreads. There’s this new contact with an unknown origin and motives, that is now aware that there are mutants in numbers hiding someplace nearby. And finally, we have Wally’s dittos, which are showing signs of independent will. Any one of these developments would be problematic by themselves.

Sadly you need to draw out a spirit to you. You need to be bait

“…if you cut you’re gonna bleed ‘cause it’s the price you pay…”

Beat feet, Chic! The sooner the better.

Chic’s actually got friends in the crowd.

I think this is how the Scooby Doo Gang got started.

Similar to the legend of Lorelei Rock in Germany. “A beautiful maiden threw herself into the Rhine in despair over a faithless lover and was transformed into a siren who lures fishermen to destruction”. Some sources say the story was inspired by the natural “murmuring” sound made by the rocks.

This story just got a new protagonist!

When does this strip update? It’s always been late, but now it seems to be slipping further.