Recent Comments

1. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   Interesting thoughts. It is easy to forget that while we have spent more than a year reading this particular story (or, in my case as a recent devotee, several months), the characters themselves have only had weeks at most do deal with new developments. I agree, that makes Jim all the more sympathetic. I’m still hoping he makes it out (maybe killing Sarah in the process), though at this point those hopes are seeming more and more remote.

2. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   Also, I have a feeling that Jim’s death may be greatly exaggerated. There’s no real way that Piotr would know for sure that he is dead, he’s just assuming the gas will have gotten him. Normally, that probably would be a fair assumption, but I doubt they’ll be rid of the crazy raccoon that easily. You know what they say about assumptions…

3. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   Wow. I mean, there’s cold, and then there’s that. Looks like Sarah’s showing some real signs of sociopathic or even psychopathic tendencies. All of the manipulation coupled with absolutely no show of emotion…looks like her mutation is just showing her to be what she always was—cold blooded. I wonder if that is an actual aspect of the mutation process.

   Also, looks like Piotr is none too pleased in the final frame…

4. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   You know, I just had a thought, and I think it works. I think Schism Syndrome is connected with the rapid healing (though I haven’t worked out why they don’t seem to be able to remember that they have that advantage). *It seems to me that the healing factor is related to the amount of mutagen a being is exposed to. While underground, the mutants do not appear to benefit from any sort of quickened healing. When the Rats fire into the crowd, some die quickly from overwhelming trauma, while others seem to take days, or possibly even weeks to succumb. If they were benefiting from the rapid healing, it doesn’t seem likely that so many would have died after the fact. Also, at one point, Jim (or maybe Sarah, I don’t remember) asked if the mutants did not have doctors, surprised that they wouldn’t have noticed things like broken bones knitting back together impossibly quickly. Of course, broken bones and other small injuries probably wouldn’t have been terribly rare, so how could the doctor not realize that people are healing so much more quickly than normal? The logical reason is that the people aren’t healing quickly.*This brings me to the point about the mutagen. So far, we’ve been told that the surface is still teeming with the mutagenic virus (or whatever it is), but it seems that the underground communities may be unaffected. If this is true, it may lead to the fact that current exposure to the mutagens causes the rapid healing, meaning that the mutants would only benefit while on the surface, or very soon thereafter. *From there, I began to think about Schism Syndrome. I think the Syndrome works on two levels: one being simple psychology (dealing with a human mind in an animal body), and the other something more supernatural. In Al and Gustine’s story arc, Gustine is already suffering from what I believe to be the psychological form of the Syndrome. She’s simply having a hard time coping with the reality of her situation, which is certainly understandable. When she goes to the surface, however, the Syndrome appears to get worse. Once quiet and gentle, she begins to show more violent tendencies. She also starts to have dreams about becoming more animal, one of which we see. Now, this might simply have to do with the stress of the journey, but what if it’s more? What if her increased exposure to the mutagen is exacerbating the situation, causing her to see visions and whatnot (sound familiar?)?*At one point, Piotr mentions that Schism Syndrome is more likely when the subject has recently mutated. This seems obvious enough, but again, what if there’s more? As the person has just mutated (as with Jim) and has recently left the surface, it would stand to reason that the subject would carry more of the mutagen, at least for a time. What if part of the time risk is the fact that the higher levels of mutagen are attempting to invade the subject’s conscious mind? When people mutate, they have to be unconscious, possibly because the conscious mind rejects the change resulting in the nightmare fuel and insanity. When the subject is already changed, though, that particular danger has been removed, but the person’s consciousness is usually enough to keep the mutagen’s mind affects at bay. When the subject experiences extreme mental trauma (as with Jim), the conscious mind’s defenses begin to slip and the mutagen can take hold. If this is true, it would make the mutagen far more alien and insidious. It seems to have some sort of overmind, an intelligence that simply seems to know things. *When his mind is being taken over, we see spectral raccoons chasing Jim. At first, I thought they were metaphorical, but I’m not sure now. I think they are the visual representation of the mutagen invading and usurping control of Jim’s mind. The cascade scene at the end of that strip is Jim losing the battle. The cry of pain is not over losing Sarah, not entirely, but literally over losing himself.*Later, when the Jim-thing says that Jim’s not here, that it’s god, he isn’t just trying to be freaky, he’s being literal. The mutagen that has overtaken his conscious mind is connected to every other mutagen, and they know things. They are nearly gods in their own right. *This terrifies me. As a person whose family has a disturbing trend of Alzheimer’s, my greatest fear in life is eventually losing who I am. I can’t imagine what it must be like to for Jim, trapped within his own mind as an alien intelligence takes over. If he’s still there at all. Man, if I felt sorry for him before…

5. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   You know, maybe the virus already has a mouthpiece. I’m thinking of the Oracle, the magic glass of water. That’s never really explained, and honestly I took it as a holdover from the less serious origins of the strip, but what if the two are connected? If so, I really want to know exactly what Jim has become.

   Either way, I still kinda like the little coon, hope they manage to get him under control somehow. At this point though, I kinda doubt it…

6. almost 10 years ago on Endtown

   Seriously though, I don’t know the last time I’ve seen a webcomic, or comic in general, this well written. The simple fact that all of the characters, villains included, are presented as fully realized and generally sympathetic (at least in some ways) beings. There are no comic book “bad guys” here. Aaron has a brilliant way of giving even the most despicable among them human personalities and flaws which highlight the fact that most seem to be attempting to adapt to an impossible situation, but making mostly understandable mistakes along the way.

   Jim certainly isn’t a paragon of morality, but I can’t help but understand his situation and his motivations. Playing devil’s advocate, I sympathize with most of the Topsiders, who are mainly just decent people who are, again, facing an impossible situation and who allowed themselves to be indoctrinated by fear. Who knows what they are made to see through those eyeholes?

   Right now, I am physically a little sick with apprehension. Like I said, Jim has more than a few faults, but he doesn’t deserve this. He tore his entire world apart, ultimately for madness and nothingness. I can’t help but feel sorry for the poor bastard. I hope he comes through.