Gmod's End: An ongoing story of survival in the mingebag apocalypse. [VERY IMAGE HEAVY COMIC] - Garry's Mod

Alright, let me start by saying that I've been working on this for almost a year now. It's gone through about seven different iterations before I finally decided this was my favorite story. Needless to say, I'm relieved that I can finally tell my story to you guys, and I hope you'll enjoy it. This will be an ongoing series, and I will update (With some regularity) with new chapters every so often. I do sincerely hope you guys enjoy and stick around for more! Yes, I have done a mingebag apocalypse comic before, and it sucked absolute balls. Here's a link to it if you truly want to torture yourself: [url]http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1174531[/url] And without further bullshit, I present to you, Gmod's End... [quote]When I started my life in this RP Server I had nothing; No money, no friends, and no job. I moved from town to town trying to find work, but it always escaped me. Then, finally, I caught a break after a few months when the mayor held a lottery and I won. After that, I was Steven the millionaire. I bought a house in the suburbs of Evocity, got myself a wardrobe of suits, a nice pickup truck, and small collection of guns. Life was pretty good for me, I didn't have a single thing to worry about anymore.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/rp_evocity2_v2p0004.jpg[/img] [quote]But as always, the man who has it all is never contempt. I needed something, but I had no idea what that something was. I developed a habit of going to clubs and bars on Friday nights and meeting different people. After my collection of friends grew, I met her. Heather, her name was. She and I hit it off almost instantly. We shared our love of movies and music, our interest in firearms, we had literally everything in common. We dated for a year before tying the knot, and after that we had our son, Josh. This was the happiest I'd ever been in my entire life, I didn't want anything else.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/happieness.jpg[/img] [quote]But things never go according to plan, do they? Your life can take a turn for the worst in the blink of an eye, and the world will keep on turning, same as always. One day I got a phone call from the coroner of the Evocity PD. They wanted me to come down to the station and identify a body they had recovered from a bank robbery gone wrong. It was her. The rest of that night was just a blur. I faintly remember sending Josh to my Mom's place while I drank and tried to fight my tears back with whatever meds I could choke down between the occasional swig of whiskey. It all came to this, after 7 years it was over. I still fucking hate myself for every time I yelled at her. I wanted to put a bullet through my brain and be at peace at last. I couldn't get myself to pull that trigger. I couldn't leave Josh without a father too...[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/depression.jpg[/img] [quote]Things got hectic in the world of Gmod after that, the Server Media started getting reports of strange happenings in neighboring servers. Now, I'm not one to get paranoid but I had the gut feeling that I should get my go-bag and get out of the city with Josh. But I stayed, I didn't want to scare him after all he'd been through, and he'd been through enough already. It was time to get back to living, time for me to raise my son.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/family.jpg[/img] [quote]Almost a month after Josh came home, things got really odd. A town just not a hundred miles away was firebombed into rubble without any official explanation . Then a club was shut down because a man became belligerent and mauled his brother in law. And after that, a mass shooting following a riot in a small town. Those stories got hushed really quick by the Administration. After that things spiraled into chaos, people started buying ammunition and weapons at an all time high rate, people moved out of cities, the whole thing just got out of control[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/newsfootage.jpg[/img] [quote]I feel like I'm wasting valuable time so I'm going to cut to the chase here. The entirety of gmod is gone now. Gone are the RP servers, build servers, TTT servers. There is no law, no organization, no order. An epidemic has wiped out 75% of the entire population, replacing them with hostile zombie-like mingebags. Nothing between the ears but the insatiable urge to kill. The virus itself is airborne, we're all infected. And the moment you die, you turn into one of those things. The survivors of the virus have been trying to scavenge to accommodate for their basic needs since the beginning of the epidemic. I'm not sure what remains of the Admin Military, although I have seen lots of dead ones around, so I'm assuming they aren't faring much better than us.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/mingebags.jpg[/img] [quote]On the day it all started, Josh and I were playing catch in the yard. A bunch of military trucks crawled past our houses, and the guys on the megaphones were telling everybody to get to the safe zone out of town. I knew then was the time to go. I went inside, packed my duffel bag full of food, water and ammunition. I took only the stuff I'd need, except for that busted up old picture frame with her picture in it. I'll be damned if I leave her again. After I was done, we jumped into our truck and sped for the military safe zone.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/tothesafezone.jpg[/img] [quote]When we got there, things were chaotic to say the least. People were shouting, soldiers were pointing their guns everywhere, it was utter chaos. Me and josh got checked into a small hotel room where we would be calling home for now. Of course that didn't last too long. The safe zone fell within almost a week. We managed to escape, and we just hauled ass for the nearest city.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/escape.jpg[/img] [quote]We arrived in bigcity by night, the streets were jammed tight with abandoned cars and other traffic. But no mingebags or other people. I didn't like one bit of it. [/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/streetsofbigcity.jpg[/img] open image in new tab to read. [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/gmodsendcomicpart1.jpg[/thumb] [quote]I hate those things. They smell like shit and they're louder than hell, which draws in more when they scream. Josh and I had gotten good at running from them, we'd been doing it for the past month. We did just that, ran. We ran for blocks before spotting an open door. I charged through it and pulled it shut behind me. Whatever I could do to get as much space between me and them, I suppose.[/quote] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/gmodsendcomicpart2.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/gmodsendcomicpt3.jpg[/thumb] [quote]We made it to Wyatt's safehouse without any major incident. I was happy to have someplace to call home again, and happier to have a group to survive with.[/quote] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/gmodsendpt4.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/gmodsendpt5.jpg[/thumb] [quote]And so, for the first time in weeks, I slept like a rock. I don't think even babies get this good of sleep. I dreamed that I was in an endless field with my family. We watched the sun set over the horizon, all holding hands as the breeze blew the tall grass slowly and gently. I didn't want to wake up. I'd have been happy if I had just slipped into death right then and there. But my story has to go on. I have to keep going.[/quote] [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/thedream.jpg[/img] [B]*Chapter One End*[/B] Like I said, I hope you enjoy it, and there's definitely more coming along in the next few weeks!

HOW ABOUT A HUG FOR YOUR OLD PAL WYATT. This is great, can't wait for the next part!

more

excelent, more.

I'm honored to have so much positive feedback from you guys. I'm thinking Chapter Two will be done (don't quote me on this) either this week or the next. Again, thanks for the positive remarks everybody, it truly helps me with my motivation.

This was a very well-paced, story-driven comic and I can tell there's a lot of love been put into this. It's also very clear your enthusiasm for this project. It is a bit tricky to read going from single shot, to written narrative, to comic strip, but it does work for what you've put together here. I agree with the others, you absolutely need to keep this going. This is a very strong foundation and I'm excited to see where this goes. Keep it up!

Really liking it so far. I noticed some speech bubbles were a little rough in some areas, but the overall quality is great. Can't wait to see the next installment.

This is the only time I bothered to open this section. Immediately, that first picture hooked me in. I am really impressed with this, good work.

Amazing dialog, well shot angles and lots of character. I'm loving it already, keep it up!

Oi, where did you get those sexy fucking ArmA 2 OA (/DayZ, if you've never played ArmA 2OA~) models? <3

[QUOTE=#Raptor Jesus;41030821]Oi, where did you get those sexy fucking ArmA 2 OA (/DayZ, if you've never played ArmA 2OA~) models? <3[/QUOTE] I'm pretty sure Pvt. Jenkins made them from scratch. You'll find them in his misc release thread in the modeling section.

[QUOTE=OficerHonkHonk;41030999]I'm pretty sure Pvt. Jenkins made them from scratch. You'll find them in his misc release thread in the modeling section.[/QUOTE] Thanks man, this comic has actually made me want to do my own, hard-core apocalypse survival comic. c;

Heh, a mingebag apocalypse, it's been a while since I've seen one of those. It's really well posed and with nice lighting. The use of quotation tags as narration boxes is original, though I'm not really sold on them, they kind of break the flow of the comic for me. I have to agree with Tasty Sub that the speechbubbles need a little work, they detract a little from the presentation. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but [url=http://efmonline.wordpress.com/tutorials/comic-layout-tutorial/]this tutorial[/url] has a method of doing simple speechbubbles without jaggies that you may find useful. Overall, it's a really cool comic and I'm looking forward to the continuation. It just needs a little work on the comic editing side to really be perfect.

[QUOTE=Mythos;41031128]Heh, a mingebag apocalypse, it's been a while since I've seen one of those. It's really well posed and with nice lighting. The use of quotation tags as narration boxes is original, though I'm not really sold on them, they kind of break the flow of the comic for me. I have to agree with Tasty Sub that the speechbubbles need a little work, they detract a little from the presentation. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but [url=http://efmonline.wordpress.com/tutorials/comic-layout-tutorial/]this tutorial[/url] has a method of doing simple speechbubbles without jaggies that you may find useful. Overall, it's a really cool comic and I'm looking forward to the continuation. It just needs a little work on the comic editing side to really be perfect.[/QUOTE] Thanks for that tutorial man, I appreciate it.

[QUOTE=OficerHonkHonk;41031161]Thanks for that tutorial man, I appreciate it.[/QUOTE] No problem, my pleasure. Hope I didn't sound too condescending with that. I also made a [url=http://metrocop.net/2013/06/14/gmods-end-the-mingebag-apocalypse/]post[/url] in my blog linking to the comic. It's not the most viewed blog ever or anything, but it might attract some extra attention.

Came here from Mythos' blog. I really liked it, but I have to agree; the quotes kind of mess up the flow. I expected them to be photoshopped into the picture, or something like that.

Really nice comic, mate. Keep up the good work! I hope to see more soon.

You're in luck, Swedish. [img]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/promoimage2.png[/img] soon [sp]ish[/sp]

Nicely done! I like it!

Hey guys, small update. Next chapter [I]may[/I] be delayed due to Garry's Mod having a strange error for me. When I load RP_Downtown it crashes without any error. I'll try to get it fixed today, but it very well may delay my progress.

another update: So, I've been reading The Walking Dead for inspiration, and I think I want to delay Chapter 2 a bit longer to give the comic a better feel. I want to make it not look like a slideshow with captions, so I'll be doing that this week. I hate to keep you waiting (if you were anticipating the next part), but I want to really increase my work quality.

[QUOTE=OficerHonkHonk;41060845]another update: So, I've been reading The Walking Dead for inspiration, and I think I want to delay Chapter 2 a bit longer to give the comic a better feel. I want to make it not look like a slideshow with captions, so I'll be doing that this week. I hate to keep you waiting (if you were anticipating the next part), but I want to really increase my work quality.[/QUOTE]Dude, we'll take a longer wait for increased quality any time. Part 1 was already pretty good, improving on it will only make people happier. Don't worry about it.

[QUOTE=OficerHonkHonk;41060845]another update: So, I've been reading The Walking Dead for inspiration, and I think I want to delay Chapter 2 a bit longer to give the comic a better feel. I want to make it not look like a slideshow with captions, so I'll be doing that this week. I hate to keep you waiting (if you were anticipating the next part), but I want to really increase my work quality.[/QUOTE] Take your time. At least you have content to show(and good content at that). At least you haven't made like 15 threads talking about a super duper revolutionary idea that you still haven't started working on yet.

OK. This is a brilliant comic, keep up the good work! [QUOTE=lonefirewarrior;41060944] At least you haven't made like 15 threads talking about a super duper revolutionary idea that you still haven't started working on yet.[/QUOTE] Would you please stop picking on me?! I've said that I'm initiating a blackout, so just stop it, ok?

Okay folks! It's time for me to release Chapter Two: The Best Laid Plans. [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt1.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt2.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt3.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt4.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt5.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt6.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt7.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt8.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt9.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt10.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt11.png[/thumb] [thumb]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/100708596/chap2pt12.png[/thumb] [quote]Small bit of uninteresting trivia: This episode underwent a major cosmetic change before I went back and re-did the story. It was originally in the exact same fashion as the first chapter. But under the constant nagging of my comic book fanatic cousin (Who the character Alison is based off of) I changed the entire thing. The story changed drastically as well. It was to start off with Steve and Wyatt investigating a crashed helicopter in the city center of Bigcity, where our friendly neighborhood bandits would shoot and kill Wyatt. I ditched that idea really quickly and wrote the final draft of the episode in two days.[/quote]

Man that was a pretty intense episode. I'm really, [I]really[/I] impressed with your writing. You've got some strong characters (Who are likeable, which is especially important in a zombie-esque setting I feel) and some great direction with the storytelling. I was especially impressed with the scene where Joel attempted to shoot himself but had a change of heart after his gun jammed. That was pretty potent. I mean all-in-all this is an exceptional comic, storylines and pacing are really your thing. I'm envious. If I had to offer any constructive feedback I would mention that your comic pages have a lot of empty space in them, especially in the earlier pages and I think that's a little too distracting sometimes. You don't have to go the traditional route of tightly-packed comic panels, but I think as a general rule the less white on the page, the better (Unless it's vital for some reason). Really awesome work overall, I'm totally invested at this point. Keep this momentum going, I can tell you've got a fanbase on your hands.

I think you really, really need to cut the amount of text in your narrations, or at the very least trim and split it. And I hate to be the harsh critic, but I have to say that the editing wasn't really very good, sorry. It's not only what Dactrius says about the white space - although I agree, to a certain degree -, it's also stuff like some panels lacking black borders, being badly positioned, or cropped in a way that makes the panel look like it's missing something, not to mention the aliasing in the speechbubbles. Cases like, in part 5, "Smart." being cut off just make the comic look lazily done. I don't mean to be an asshole and it's not like you owe anybody to be up to whatever standard. I just think that, to make this a really noteworthy comic, then the comic editing needs to be improved. It's not that I don't like the story or the characters, but presentation is very important, and layout editing is much more important than the typical screenshot added value.

I'm sorry if the editing wasn't the best. I was battling computer trouble all throughout the production of this one. Your criticisms have been noted and will be corrected when I get around to making another chapter. I'm still learning the whole comic layout thing, which is why it's pretty bad right now. But I do hope to improve later on. Thank you once again for your constructive criticism.

You owe me no apologies, don't worry about it. Just wanted to point out the shortcomings so you can best them and make an even better comic.

[QUOTE=Mythos;41265585]You owe me no apologies, don't worry about it. Just wanted to point out the shortcomings so you can best them and make an even better comic.[/QUOTE] And I plan to do just that.