Anyone who gets hold of the pen & writes history then becomes the winner

June 5, 2017 3:56 AM

Love in the time of the Apocalypse.
posted by divabat (14 comments total)

Wow. That was good.
posted by domo at 7:47 AM on June 5, 2017

That was simultaneously amazing and not okay at all.
posted by Sequence at 8:20 AM on June 5, 2017 [1 favorite]

"The broken hearts of broken systems
Entire maps of grief
Hopeless sorrow at the atomic level
Millions of times over
An entire history of it."

Kiss the apocalypse eh?
posted by Oyéah at 9:10 AM on June 5, 2017

I got to the first panel and kinda sighed and said 'zombies, again?'. Is it something more interesting than zombies?
posted by tavella at 9:13 AM on June 5, 2017

Is it something more interesting than zombies?

It's not zombies. There is no clear explanation for the apocalypse in the comic, just its effects. Is it more interesting? Is love more interesting than zombies? I found it gut wrenching.
posted by Mister Cheese at 9:26 AM on June 5, 2017 [4 favorites]

This may be Winston Rowntree's best work to date (and longest; in a single webcomic update he's done an entire Graphic Novel). Previous honoree: 2014's "Watching". (Was it really almost 3 years ago?)

And you may enjoy his animations for Cracked.com, "People Watching" (unrelated). I've only gotten through the first few, but the best so far is about a 'Non-Religious Confessional'.
posted by oneswellfoop at 10:00 AM on June 5, 2017

Jesus. That was outstanding. I am a lucky, lucky man.
posted by _Synesthesia_ at 10:15 AM on June 5, 2017

I'm going to admit I didn't fully engage with all of the text, but the part about horror movies being unbearable if the people in them seemed fully human, and the same about history texts... Well. That was pretty good.
posted by brennen at 10:31 AM on June 5, 2017

Oh yes, new Subnormality is always a treat!!!

It's not a perfect comic, and sometimes I think it's too in love with it's own wordiness, but when it hits it out of the park there's really nothing like it.

(also Ethel/Pink Haired Girl 4ever ok bye)
posted by colorblock sock at 4:19 PM on June 5, 2017 [4 favorites]

That was great. Thank you!
posted by ejs at 6:23 PM on June 5, 2017

SPOILER ALERT: I loved it but didn't quite understand the ending. What were all those white things floating away? The words seemed to describe an incredibly romantic and perfect relationship despite the circumstances... but the woman "won" so does that mean something more sinister was going on? Did she kill him in the end because she could hear him? Or have I lost my mind and it's only about winning against the anomaly. And if that's the case where did the man go?
posted by hazyjane at 9:27 PM on June 5, 2017

One of the signs of the impending anomaly is a sudden increase in organic matter - that's why the white leaves are multiplying.

The guy's there at the end, she wakes him up to get him a glass of water.
posted by divabat at 10:30 PM on June 5, 2017 [2 favorites]

Thanks, divabat. Towards the end as the story got darker the drawings did too until I couldn't see them properly on my old worn-out tablet.
posted by hazyjane at 11:24 PM on June 5, 2017

Partway through, when they were talking about flocks of birds heralding impending doom, I got so excited. "PLEASE let the anomaly just be Love, as inspired by 'Why Do Birds Suddenly Appear.'"
posted by lizzicide at 6:27 AM on June 6, 2017