Subterranean Tears (Vol. 2, page 60)
Jul12
Happy Wednesday!
I’d love to get into a whole “what is prayer and does it work” discussion, but this is comic is probably not the place for it. At least within the comic panels. The comments section is fine as long as you don’t troll.
In general, what really annoys me about the Walking Dead TV show (not so much the comic) is how often we have to watch characters go sit alone and contemplate life and cry while looking out at a lake or something. It gets exhausting. However, I felt like this was a good time in the story for Joel to face how scared he really is about Louie. He’s been through a lot. He needs to catch his breath. I promise not to do it every other scene.
Ethan
So uhh, Joel is just sitting there with his legs marinating in sewer water? Damn, that dude is DEPRESSED.
Might just be a drainage pipe, not a sewer. Still gross, but not ‘everyone’s used dinner’ gross.
I remember once praying at a McDonalds when I was still quite young while my parents were on line to get a certain happy meal toy. I actually got it. XD!
I had a similar experience with Ironhide (of the Autobots). I think it was by my next birthday that I specifically mentioned how “amazing” my Transformer was because it was the exact one I wanted… and my dad dryly told me, “You were talking about it all year.”
Praise Jesus!
I would say that, regardless of whether there is a higher power, prayer is a valuable reminder that there are things far beyond our ability to control or comprehend. The Christian take says that God knows our prayers without us saying them; the physical act of praying seems more like an acknowledgment of our smallness and humility in the face of God’s awesome power, rather than a direct means of obtaining a desired outcome.
I suggest Joel read 2 Kings 2:23-24
“And [Elisha] went up from there to Bethel, and he was going up on the road and some little boys came out of the city and jeered him, and said to him, “Go away, baldy; go away, baldy! And he turned around and saw them, and he cursed them in the name of God. And two she-bears came out of the forest and tore apart forty-two boys of them.”
That’s right, praying will result in she-bears mauling a bunch of kids.
You are cruel and unusual. I respect this.
Lest I forget, Mister E, as a bit of a “apocalypse fiction” fan in general, I think your pacing is on point. It’s just so good from a plotting and action perspective that the only specific extra I keep wishing for sadly remains the most expensive for the creator: the printed edition. No idea how to remedy that, so I will simply say again: even that problem is just a sign of how well the comic flows. (Flows… there’s a sewage joke in there, but I can’t sniff it out).
Yeah, I really want to make a book. If I come into some money or get the time to do a Kickstarter hopefully it will happen.
oh dang, they are about to be attacked by Teenage Mutant Ninja Beartles.
Cowabunga dude!
Or Octobear payoff! I’d be fine with either.
Really liking how you have a comic that is at once grounded and fantastic. And I appreciated the mouseover text, it led to some good reading.
Also, Spurgeon should totally make a guest appearance. That man had an epic beard.
Oh look! More bricks!
Gaudeamus igitur, also, Kailey’s work in this underground portion.
Having duly digested your point about The Walking Dead television show and lengthy moments of self-pity…can there be a new panel soon?
Or, as Oliver Twist so piteously put it, “Please sir, can I have s’more?”
Sorry I had a big issue with my Adobe programs this week. They all crapped out for days and I had to go through a couple different support people to resolve. Just got it fixed but I’m going to skip this week. Next page will post Wednesday. Actually it might not. My kid is being born Monday so I’ll be taking a few weeks off. I’ll post an update or blog of some kind.
Welllll……. okay. I guess the birth of your child is excuse enough for a week or two off. Don’t you already have one, though. I mean, really, after the first one, doesn’t the whole new-ness of new kids wear off?
(I really hope the tongue in cheek is showing through. Message boards can really be bad at communicating well-meaning satire. Congratulations on your new cub.)
The show of Joel’s vulnerability was handled expertly, Ethan. It loops us back to his family and Louie (even Joel’s dad) — which at times we kinda forget — and realize although Joel is the shocked observer and semi-love interest to Andrea, he’s human after all. Family is important, as much of Vol 2. has proven. Keep it up.
Thanks so much, I appreciate that!
I am a secular dude and this page moved me tremendously. I think you are handling people’s faith in this comic in a really thoughtful and mature fashion. Kudos.
And I hope you have some good supper-train and laundry-help folks right now. Newborn babies are serious business, best handled when friends bring you food and help you deal with dirty clothes. (and don’t bother hanging around–they should just help and leave! :D)
Thanks, I really appreciate it! We have an abundance of food. One advantage of being churchgoers, we have a ton of people bringing us food!
Dickinson Killdeer is unusually sane, sensitive and talkative in this scene. I wonder what his real role is in this world. And why the heck he has those headsplitting migraine attacks.
Also I like the modest form you’re bringing faith into the lot. I’m an outside-of-church-christian (wanderer) who has little use for attending service or prayers and I’m happy how you handled this matter without the awkwardness or overly exaggerated righteousness of what I see usually when religion is portrayed.
This page is btw a good statement of your art. Your simplifications are met with clever details like the reflections in the eyes and the shadowplay on Dickinson – rounded up by the fitting colour scheme. Great job!
I need more…
More coming in September! Sorry for the delay. See recent blog about the new kid.
I can’t remember how I stumbled upon Bearmageddon, I am glad I did! I’ve never read online comics and I have been hooked since, keep up the great work!