Endtown by Aaron Neathery for February 03, 2012

Umm… All I can say is “Wow!”

Wow! First comment!

Only need 103 comments to break 500 for the week

he only lost a wheel his brain should be fine

“What hath God wrought?”

his body is a machine and it just crashed

today strip doesnt have that ‘its friday’ feeling

This does not sit well.

I know I had some hope yesterday, but after a particularly unwelcome “surprise” in a different comic, I have decided the best thing to do with all my hope is to abandon it

The Topsiders are being lured into a false sense of security. Yeah, that’s it.

I expected a “hint” about what you have in mind. This is very depressing. I have grown to love all your characters except for the “Starwars white troop”. How about she turns and slashes the protective suits? She has the claws. Would be a good “gottcha”. I still think there is something under ground. I don’t think Aaron would give us that little tidbit without following through. Any others follow along this line? Am I the only optimist????Blessed BE

They Can’t Take That Away From Me (Endtown version), based on the song by Gershwin/GershwinOur story won’t end on a sorrowful note,Though you’re all dead in the dust.The song is ended, but as the songwriter wrote,The melody stays, ‘cause it must.They may take you from me, I’ll miss you every day.But I’ll carry this with me, along the way:The way you draw your catsThe way your fans agreeThe way you laugh at ratsOh, no, they can’t take that away from meThe way you wind your gunThe way you set things freeThe way you shoot to stunNo, no, they can’t take that away from meWe may never, never meet againOn the bumpy Endtown roadBut, I’ll always, always keep the memory of:The way you play your partThe things you help us seeThe way you break my heartNo, no, they can’t take that away from meNo, they can’t take that away from me

Is Flask still looking at whatever unknown whatever she was staring at last week (our time, not Endtown time, which would probably only be about 2 minutes, max)? Maybe the unknown whatever will bring about the impossible happy solution to this seeming disastrous situation. Or …>sigh<Oh, Aaron .. what have you done? :(

We all know that the reason we’ve gotten into the corner that we’re in is that Flask’s backstory requires more setup than a simple “Petey, sit on my knee and let me tell you what life was like before you were tincanned”. And to get that backstory, Flask has to go toe to toe with her nemesis. The abyss is still calling for her.

You win some, you lose some. They will extract the location of Endtown from Flask’s or Petey’s brain and there will be no safe place for mutants to ever go or be. Flask’s brain probably also has imprints of other city locations as well. Buh-bye mutants. Although the Oracle idea someone mentioned or a dream sequence like Gustine’s are possible. Or a bunch of 404 messages on all of Neathery’s sites on Monday might be possible, too, with a note on Gocomics “Endtown was not updated today.”

Well that’s it for me. I grew to care about Wally & Holly. I’ll check out Flask’s probable demise but after that…

Flask is still looking at that “something”…

I, for once, am glad it’s Friday. I could barely look this morning.I will be back Monday, tho.

I don’t like this strip anymore.

Well, it’s happened. Aaron has turned US into Endtown.We have our pessimists, optimists, confused readers, our heroes—our Alleys, Blackies, Wally’s and Hollys. Instead of weakly reflecting the real world in cross section, Aaron has amplified our emotions to mirror Endtown itself.I will leave it to each of you to decide where you fit and the character you most resemble.This is real power, Aaron. Please use it wisely.

Time dilation is killing us. Aaron can conceive a story arc which takes place over a few hours or day Endtown time and probably fleshes out that storyline over a few days or a week.We have to live it FOUR-PANELS-AT-A-TIME and with a weekend every twenty. While I speculate that he has moved on, we are stuck at this pace with days (weeks?) to go.All we can do is pull it together, lean on each other and carry on.Hang in there Endtown community, friends, family.

WOW !!!

I do not have any inside information. However, I encourage everyone to have a little faith. This storyline may not play out to a idyllic ending, but I feel that it will play out to a generally satisfactory ending. Just hang in there.

Aaron, if all these guys really are gone, please no memorial service like you had for Hank. A simple plaque in the park “in loving memory” will do nicely. Doc Chase can place flowers.

Now look, I’m getting all morbid again. Just when I thought I was handling it. Guess Friday’s can do that….

Not the Friday strip I was hoping for and not sure where Aaron is taking us but wow what a ride. See you all Monday!

“Abandon hope all ye who enter!”

Don’t think we’ll hit 100 today. The combination of gathering gloom and the weekend has everyone bummed to the max.

Forget about me ordering the book. If this strip moves on without Wally and Holly, I’m moving on…elsewhere.

Have faith people. Have faith.

Aaron will see us all right.

… of course WE haven’t been blasted into dust…..

Roll on Monday. I for one Want To Know What Comes Next.

I just have this sneaking suspicion that Flask is about to really ruin their day.

Oh my! The Captain is back! Look at the depiction of Flask (from behind) last Friday (panel 3). The ears are down the hands are (apparently) relaxed, the back has a sag to it. Now look at her today. The ears are up, the hands are clenched, the back is straight. She may be beaten, but she’s not defeated, yet.

See what you’ve brought down upon yourself, Flask? Hmm? Hope you’re proud of yourself, because there’s really no one else to blame.

I hope she has something up her sleeve, something set up while she was in the facility several pages ago maybe. But the realist in me says otherwise.

And while this rages on above, life continues below…

Time for Bobby Ewing to come out of the shower.

I fell in love with Wally and Holly during the strip in which Wally wakes on the bench (after escaping from the clinic) and finds Holly hovering over him. What was it he said? Oh yeah, “You really don’t give up, do you?” I think that one frame was the best picture of Holly, showed Holly’s loving and caring nature, and was the start of Wally’s acceptance of his new life. They’re everything the TSers are not.For the sake of all the joy those two have brought me, I’m not gonna give up until I have indisputable proof they are in fact gone for good.Have a good weekend all. It’s going to be a long one.

Petey’s gonna get him a TSers, if I read panel 2 correctly. No other reason to show him reaching toward the little robot/mutant. And, yes, you’re right Dadof3. Looks like Flask is getting back up off the mat.

Hmmm, interesting ground-level perspective in frame 3. Wonder what that’s about.

This is the mark of good storytelling… we ALL can’t wait for Monday to see what happens next. My hope? All this happened in Flask’s warped psyche.. a dream sequence, like DragonRydr said. All of you saying “I’m not coming back anymore,” that’s happened in the past. R.A. Salvatore caught a LOT of heat for killing off Chewbacca in his Star Wars novel, but it was necessary for the story development..It’s been a good ride so far. Even though I saw three major players vaporized (or did I?), I, for one, will be back on Monday to see what happens next.

I have to say, Aaron’s willingness to follow the laws and rules of the world he created — even when it brings us to a difficult and painful place — is what keeps me reading this. It may not be a just world, but it is an honest one.

Now that gocomics has fixed my account activation, I can finally comment! Yay! Anyway, I already picked up a lot of clues and I can safely say our favorite heroes are not exactly dead, so everyone needs to chill out and stick around for next week. Aaron has something very interesting, unique, and incredibly meticulous planned like he always does, if you’re truly a fan of Aaron you need to be patient and have faith in what he’s planning. We will not only be finding out about Flask and Petey (which is part of the clues I’ve been picking up) but we will more than likely be given an explanation for Linda, Holly, and Wally too.

I will leave you with a hint, since I’m tired of seeing people threatening to leave because they can’t handle the idea of a non-Hollywood ending.

They are both alive and dead, if my suspicions are correct. ;)

@dadof3 All this week I’ve resisted making a comment, but now you have made me cry! “No one ever really dies as long as we remember them!”Aaron, this is a great, heartfelt story. And I am sticking around for more.

You know you people are starting to scare me just a teensie bit! Aaron’s a great writer and in this world he created we see great humanity in creatures that look not like human. And perhaps we see some of ourselves in them. But still and all remember the cat and mouse still live in Aaron’s head. And dadof3 ya made me cry too….Aaarg!! On with the show!!

Yes, they may very well be dead, or at least as dead as any creation of our imagination can be. But you should understand that in the Universe Neathery things may not always be what they seem at first glance. Aaron always has the last word, and the last word for this arc has not been uttered yet (in Endtown time that is). We all die, that is a fact, in this world, but in the world of fiction? I would strongly disagree. Creations of the imagination live on as long as there is someone to tell the story, read the words, or watch the images. Maybe their storyline has ended, but Wally, Holly, Linda and Petey live on in Aaron’s mind and in the minds and hearts of everyone who has read and who will read their story here, for they live in the archives as well. I may chose not to dwell on the panels from Jan 31 and Feb 2, but that is a choice available to me thanks to Aaron having shared a full years worth of their laughter, tears, love and adventure. That,sir, will never die.

“It’s darkest just before dawn…”I guess this means I’ll be spending the weekend waiting for the sun to come up.

Illness aside, and I hope you get well soon Aaron, Aaron’s silence this week may be an attempt to keep from accidentally revealing clues.

I’m betting that Flask is a collaborator! Trying to play both sides in her favor.

Oh Danny boy, the pipes the pipes are calling. From glen to glen and down the moutain side. The summer’s gone and all the leaves are falling. Everything it seems, must go and die.(Scottish folk song). For my next musical trick, I’m gonna pull out my jaws harp and using a opal stone as a pick, play Turkey in the Straw until I smack one of my teeth…then I’ll stop.C’mon you most lugubrious people, it’s a CARTOON! (though a bloody well good one) Slack yer whining and go cut yer grass or mow yer snow till Moanday…Watch the Gents beat the Pats in the Superbowl or somethin…As the Cajuns like to say “aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!”

Only 23 more comments for the fourth day in a row of 100+.Only 25 needed for 500 comment week!

Hats off to Aaron; as a another with ill health (bed bound), he needs to know that endtown is part of what’s keeping me going. I’m really looking forward to what he has in store for us next week!

Anybody else notice that next Thursday is Endtown #800?I hope we have good news for that milestone.

Oh, Wally boy The fans, the fans are calling From page to page, and down “More comments” slide The trio’s gone, and Flask has been caught lying If you and she must go, then we’ll abide But are ye dead, while Flask looks out the window? Are you and Holly down below that “snow”? We will be here to smile or in pain’s shadow Oh Wally boy, oh Wally boy, we want to know And if you live, though we all saw you dying Holly’s not dead (though dead she well may be) We’ll soon rejoice, we all who have been crying We still salute our Aaron Neathery And though I feel the weekend dread before me My memories will warm and sweeter be “Endtown” is grand, and cannot ever bore me I will remain at peace, and will the future see We will remain at peace, no matter what may be =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum

Wow, guys. I’m a little surprised by all the “If they’re dead, I’m leaving!” comments! I am well aware that sometimes the loss of an important character (and especially a favorite) can spell the end of the series in the hearts of that character’s biggest fans (I have examples in mind, but I don’t want to spoil other stories here), but a masterfully told story doesn’t do this kind of thing just for shock value. If the characters are dead, then the shockwaves will move across the entire world and will reverberate throughout the rest of the story. However, despite how dark Endtown can be at times, I never saw Endtown as one of those “Everyone suffers, and suffers, and suffers and then they all die. The end!” Also, Aaron has not lost interest in Endtown. I have every reason to believe that he cares as much about Endtown now as he ever has, and thus we’re not going to get the cop-out “I don’t feel like thinking anymore” conclusion that I’ve also seen at times. However this ends, it will end probably happier than it appears to be right now (“It’s always darkest before the dawn” is an appropriate term here) and it will end with an opening to continue – be it as Wally and Holly’s continuing story or Endtown 3.0 with a new cast. Aaron promised that we’d know more information about Wally and the others eventually, and I have no doubt that we will. Don’t write off the strip so quickly – at least see where it goes from here. I will eagerly await Monday.

What?! Romeo and Juliet died?? That does it! I’m not reading any more Shakespeare!!

I’m pretty new to this strip (although I’ve been here long enough to care about Holly & Wally), so I am kind of guessing here.

But as I remember, it sounded like the Top Siders seemed to know all about Flask, and seemed to have a somewhat nasty history with her. It is not out of the realm that this all is some sort of setup created by Flask. She is certainly cold enough to consider the rest of the crew expendable, if the goal of the mission was achieved.

I remember Flask sitting on top of the transporter watching while Holly and Wally fought the T/S’r, then clapping when they won.

For the first time since I started reading Endtown, I’m not looking forward to Monday’s strip. I hope Flask at least takes a few Topsiders out before goes down.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

monday….

There was a question of Aaron’s silence in the comments section here this week. He’s stated that he’s taking something of a break in order to recover more in bed. He should resurface here again next week. (This also explains Linda’s silence over in the Underground.)

Everyone, we have given Aaron a get well gift of over 500 comments this week. I hope GoComics takes notice.

There’s still at least two wild cards in play. The treasonous transporter and Flask.

However I would not give two nickels for Flask.Also if it were possible to squeeze the information for finding endtown from mutants, the topsiders have had plenty to play with up to this point.

Also we don’t know how the radiation from the topsider guns actually works. Perhaps it just sends the essence of the target elsewhere leaving only the meaningless dust here. Evaporating that much mass would result in a sizable explosion sending the dust up in a billowing cloud, not crumpling into a smoking pile. Sparkplug is probably the only one that truely understands how it works.

We also don’t know how the mutagen works. Strange thing that can create/distroy mass (or radically change density)without creating an atomic explosion. I would guess the radiation and the virus are some strange way related in this post war senerio. The world may have just been split into a hall of mirrors resulting in the appearance of a dust world.

Does this story arc have a name?

…to the people that say they are leaving,I am not going to go so far as to say to just go back to Hi & Lois,but the sad state of comics today is partially caused by so many readers demanding the plain,the dry,familiar predictable over and over again.It takes guts and talent to deviate from this path of least resistance…taking chances = lost readers..and Aaron is taking chances.How long has it been since any of us have been so moved by a ‘comic strip’?!?In a way,End Town reminds me somewhat of Lonesome Dove in that the characters you enjoy could die at any moment.(Besides,what do we really know yet?)What other surprises will Monday or Tuesday give us?We don’t know.That is good of an excuse to keep reading as any.KEEP READING.

If anyone is leaving this great strip, they are whinney weak butt losers. They are probably the same ones that were all aghast at Blackies blood lust. Well as per the people who can’t fend for themselves, this is typical of the weakling in this country. Get real people, everything isn’t going to turnup wine and roses. People die and sometimes they don’t, so stay tuned whiners this story ain’t over!!!!!!

Wow, I think that one topsider recognized that it was petey and went in to see Flask. Maybe more than one recognized him, maybe he was a best friend of theirs! I hope they are all safe underground with the “feeler kid”

Just waiting to see which way Flask finishes coming unglued. BrrrH! Till the next comic…

Flask is a cat.cats have tails.How does she sit down with no place for her tail to poke out of the back of her pants?

Aaron is a very good author. You guys need to trust him..To everyone gasping in horror, chill. The story arch isn’t finished.

I’m convinced Flask had a tail when she mutated, but she so hated the mutation, she cut off her tail, and wore lipstick, to be more like the human she was. She may be close to accepting the mutation now as a rejection of her Topsider roots, but she still can’t bring herself to give up the lipstick, and she can’t bring back the tail, of course.

If this arc doesn’t have a title, I would call it “The Prestige”.Aaron has set up a grand illusion, and we don’t know the trick yet. It’s all smoke and mirrors. It’s too bad some people see their favorite rabbits disappear and curse Aaron for killing them, even though they know he’s a magician, the act isn’t done yet, and they’re told the rabbits are safe.

level head, bravo! there is still hope…

I love this place.

I STILL love this place

heh, things really don’t look good do they :/

Everytime I think I have a handle on the situation, I look around a bit and find even more reason to be amazed. The emotional response so many of us have experienced this week is not without precedent in the Endtown story. Aaron set us up for this moment months ago, in October. Aaron has taken the audience full circle from concerned observers to actual participants in the story. I am referring to the “Sandy” incident. Although individual motivations may vary, the official TS position is that the dusting of mutants is an act of mercy ( as was so eliquently expressed by Linda on the Endtown discussion page. ) In the Sandy Incident, Flask instictively reverted to her TS self and dispensed what she believed was mercy. We, on the other hand, have been meticulously positioned square in Holly’s comfortable shoes. She looked at Sandy and saw a child, Wally saw a monster, and Flask saw a mutant who was suffering. We look at our mutants and see noble, loving friends while the TS’s see monsters to be eradicated or freaks suffering a hellish existance in need of mercy. Our reaction has been, for the most part, no different than Holly’s, yet it is expressed slightly differently because the relationship we have developed over time with Aaron has a component of trust that did not exist between Holly and Flask. It was easy for Holly to go straight to the “Monster” label, she likely had a veiw of Endtown Security personnel that was suspicous to begin with. We feel the same horror and pain as Holly, but we express it as confusion, disbelief, and frustration. In my 54 years, I have been swept away by many cinematic and literary masters, but I can honestly say that this experience that is Endtown is unlike anything I have encountered before. C.S. Lewis described Aslan’s country in “The Last Battle” as being “bigger on the inside”. I believe the same could be said for Endtown. So, let us move “further up and further in” and see what other wonders lie ahead.

Topsiders do have a monsturous tendency – notice they do not grieve when one of their number is lost. They just consider comrade – not comrade. Notice this in Linda’s reaction to her partner being distroyed by Flask. Concern until he was gone – then he is not mentioned again. Also in a previous arc. One of them was exposed and well they just stepped on him and continued on.And finally Linda’s begging to contact her son. No mercy – no sympathy – no grief for the lost- just a reaction as one would have for a traitor – as if Linda chose to become a mutant.

Okay, 140 comments in, I’m gonna risk being banned and say itGood morning, Cre >sp-TANG< >CRASH!< AUGH!!o.O

Well, we’re halfway to Monday folks. It seems most people are either taking care of last minute details for the big Super Bowl festivities, or in bed with the covers over their heads hoping to make it through the next 34 hrs. I have a hunch we’re more than four panels away from anything approaching an explanation, but I’ve got to believe the good Capt. will find her voice again Monday. Let the verbal sparring begin!

How could anyone consider leaving the strip now, without knowing what happens?

Maybe this has all been just an elaborate rouse to kidnap Flask away from the Endtowners to deprive them of her knowledge?

I’ve always assumed the TS’s essentially exiled Flask after purposely mutating her. Given the trouble they went to to get her back, that now seems a less likely scenario.

Again, as said by someone, I don’t remember who, look at the Jan. 27 strip. That strip has not been explained yet, so those who need a hope to cling to that is it. Just remember the story ain’t over yet!

The guns are smart guns, complete with harvested mutie brain. We know that from the past. I presume they’re from small muties, like rodents and cockroaches and maybe birds.

The whole fake rocket trap wouldn’t make sense if the Topsiders just wanted to torment Flask. It would make sense if she had some critical knowledge. I’m guessing it’s knowledge that would hold the key to their ability to destroy all mutant colonies for good.

Actually, would it really destroy the world it the Topsiders and the mutants just left one another alone?

Hmmm… I’ve been going back over the last few month’s worth of strips and one specific thing is really bothering me. Wonder if anyone else has noticed it.

What blows my mind is when I realize that (assuming this world has a 24 hr day, can’t imagine why it wouldn’t) the events of the current (storyline) day began back on Sep 15. 404 panels ago. The “Sandy Incident” occured at sunset, and everything since has happened in the course of a single night. They’ve only been on the surface a little over 24 hrs. It’s been one hell of a day…

Goldenroya, that’s a very good observation. The Topsiders want an enemy to hate. It’s as if they need an Other by which to define themselves: “We are not Them”.

Nine more hrs….nine more hrs…

@JennerHaving a “Them” is pretty good glue to hold “Us” together. In the history of human conflict the concept of demonizing a group in order to consolidate ones own group is a common occurrence.

Of course being an Englishman I’m above such considerations….;-)

I think there’s more at play here than simple “us” and “them”. There’s an underlying feeling in how the Topsiders speak that reveals a projection of their own discomfort with the existence of mutants, that informs their conclusion that mutants themselves must be suffering. Because their own discomfort will persist despite protestations from their victims, then it “must be” that the mutants are the deluded ones in refusing obliteration, thus ‘exonerating’ themselves from the consequences of their actions. Some nice

Jenner and 3 Steps and others, i envy you not having to stay up to midnight to see the new installment. I think we will have a record number of viewers online tonight. Just like the record number of weekend posts. 5 hrs 15 minutes and counting.

Only 10 messages since I went to sleep 8 hours ago? And here I was hoping that you guys would have broken 200 for the weekend…

Well, I’ve been trying, but nobody wants to chitchat… :-)

Everyone’s holding their breath…

Ok, yes, the shading, the fact that it’s still night, they’re part of it. Other people have picked up on some of it too – the massive gunfight just before Wally intercepted Linda’s PT; the big “WTF” moment a week ago that the Topsiders STILL haven’t noticed. And the biggies – Wally went down virtually without a fight, Petey didn’t even try to evade; and Flask doesn’t look just frozen in shock, she’s just stopped moving. At a minimum, if Wally really wanted to go out fighting, he would have sniped from the inside of the PT from behind one of the chairs, or around the bulkhead wall. He could have ordered the PT to spin in a tight circle to make him a harder target to hit from the outside. No, this night is taking too long to wrap up and our heroes went down too fast. There’s one more hint – why would our heroes go down so fast at all about the same time?

TSOJ, if you were serious about your hint on the board, it’s an interesting possibility, and meshes with some other things I’ve been thinking. It’s hard to see a motive though, based on what we saw the last time. It can’t explain everything though since there was no audio before, but it could offer a glimmer of light. Time will tell…

What happened to Flask’s gun? Petey flew off with it but did not have in the last panels he has been in.

Pretty good picture of a possible “what”. Still clueless as to the “why”.

“Down goes Brady! Down goes Brady!”

I think we have one more week of anxiety culminating in next Friday’s cliffhanger which is Endtown # 800.

Less than an hour to go. I’ve written a new song on the weekend, and I’m looking forward to posting it when the readership is more refreshed.

They are dead. On the thrid day, they will rise again. Where have I heard that before?

I hope that – given his recent illness – Aaron isn’t stressing over how we’ll react to how he’s planning to resolve this story, especially considering that some people claim to be “leaving” if they don’t like it. I think it would be difficult to see all these comments and not feel it in the gut.But I think it also speaks to the level of involvement created by such a talented artist/writer. We quickly grow to care for these characters, and try to analyze their motives.As for TSOJ’s clues – I dunno. I agree with a number of them, but the nighttime idea as being something other than night doesn’t click with me. I’m happy to wait and watch it all unfold (although it is fun to try to guess what’s happening).Only an hour to go ….. !

I am here as well, though a project looms And a lot must be done ‘ere the morrow In some ways it’s slow, but where Petey zooms I cautiously approach Endtown’s sorrow =|====/ Level Head Vote for Endtown 2.0 And for Doc Rat, too The Endtown Forum

Ok 200 for the weekend

hard to tell whatll happen next but maybe well learn more about the topsiders soon

i still think there must be some topsiders who dont agree with killing all mutants but had to do it or hide it to survive (sometimes i even think flask could been one of those )

Final hint – the reason why Wally/Holly/Linda and Petey fell at the same time is standard guerrilla tactics – to lure the Topsiders all into tighter knots. The trap springs around Flask, Waly and Petey all at the same time.