Relief
Whatever the witch influencers did to Brian in this comic just came home to roost. I’m sure everyone’s fine.
STEEPLE – A Scary Go Round Comic
by John Allison
Whatever the witch influencers did to Brian in this comic just came home to roost. I’m sure everyone’s fine.
In an unexpected Blake’s 7 homage, everyone dies. The end. I am h-a-p-p-y, I am h-a-p-p-y…
Maybe not: there’s enough nameless redshirts (in figurative terms, I know they’re blue!) within arms’ reach of Brian that all of the principal characters should have enough time to dive out the windows while Brian is busy devouring all the background extras.
Oh, come on. Brain may be a savage werewolf, but I’m sure he wouldn’t tear those people to shreds while they’re scratching his back so nicely. He’ll wait until they’ve stopped, right?
Do you think one of his back legs will be going like the clappers?
Is it weird that I find this a less shocking transformation than Brian turning into a network technician?
No.
It IS a less shocking transformation.
No. Actually is quite satisfying to finally see him become a werewolf.
You talk like “network technician” and “werewolf” are different things.
I’ve been a network technician, but I’m clearly not a werewolf, as I’m hairy, nocturnal, and antisocial all month long.
So… this is how “Steeple” end? With Brian returning a metalhead and Kill’em all? This sure is a surprise. Probably Ludmilla and Clotilde planned this three months before. They’re the true villains of the comic!
I’m very curious about tomorrow’s page. Let’s see if it will be on Bob in his shop with his wife after his daughter’s funeral. Both Sad, but together again and determined to fight the sea creatures that have conquered the old church.
There’s one of the main characters who hasn’t shown up yet in this story. The title of tomorrow’s page, presumably taken from the dialogue, is “Happy”.
From these meager facts, my Lottie-like intuition tells me that tomorrow’s page will take us to Shelley’s house in Tackleford, where sitting cozy by the fire, with his arm around Shelley’s Maserati, is Gareth, who says, “Finally, a happy ending.”
Nice. Gareth deserves to be happy. Penrose too. I would love to see him, Shelley and Peggy tomorrow as an happy family.
SPOILER! Is a feature on many generic car-robots in their auto-form.
This is the way the world ends. ☹️ Or at least Tredregyn.
(though I hold a small hope that Maggie and Billie escape – maybe the Sesh Gremlin delays Brian, or Brian remembers their smell and spares them)
Some possibilities:
1) The next page will feature the end of Tredegyn, with Flovorr rising and destroying everything. Only mrs Clovis and Reverend Penrose will survive, since they aren’t in Tredregyn.
2) Next page will be a very dense page of text, explaining how everything gets settled.
3) Divine intervention. Divine providence comes down from on high and solves everything. Or possibly infernal providence, from below.
4) The series ends on a cliffhanger. The various threads may be settled elsewhere, eventually, or they may not.
5) It turns out in the last minute that “Extreme Freaks” is a two-part story, with part two coming at some later date. John already pulled something similar with NEMS. And see how that turned out.
6) John’s been lying to us this whole time, and Steeple’s continuing. Those Patreons who have already read the whole thing are showing remarkable self-control in not giving it away.
7) Conan will solve everything.
8) The next page is Maggie, or Billie, or Tom, or Jason, or SOMEONE waking up. It was all a dream. And by extension, the whole Bobbinsverse/Tackleverse/Shelleyverse/Fishmanverse has been a dream. A wonderful, beautiful dream.
My guess is that next page skips some time.
On Valentine’s Day, I hope everyone has someone who looks at them like Alaric looks at my deeply imperfect body of work. Thank you for all your great comments, A.S.
I think the eagerness of everyone to scratch Brian’s back might be the most disturbing thing yet…
It’s a team-building exercise.
But wouldn’t that also involve paint-balling?
PLOT TWIST: The screams are Brian being torn to shreds by the silver fingernails of his co-workers
I hadn’t noticed Victoria’s regal expression before.
Is she sticking her tongue out?
This “story” is creating more loose ends, and not tying any of them up. Subversive! I don’t like it, but I respect it.
I also don’t understand how this is a surprise, supposedly there have been at least two other full moon’s since the previous story.
If Brian transformed before, there were no surviving witnesses?
It would explain all those “Technicians wanted, must be available immediately to fill unexpected vacancy, preferably single with no children” postings I’m seeing on LinkedIn from Openreach.
Maybe the curse or whatever had a delayed effect?
Perhaps it only comes on with the supermoon rather than just a regular full moon, like his “were-man” episode back at the start.
It gives me hope that someday John will come back to address some of these things. It’s not a loose end, it’s the plot thread for the next story.
Though I admit that the thread I’m really hoping he picks up again after the upcoming Cimmerian adventures is poor Claire, left standing in the rain, waiting for Grote.
Plot threads that got all tangled up, so he just got out the seam ripper. His seam ripper is named Brian.
John has taken a note from The Sopranos – in the final episode, he’s whacking the reader.
Called it! This is why I never go to these things.
And thus ends Brian’s brief fling with Decent Society. I’m not sure how good this will be for him, but glad to see him back to his old feral self again!
see if they ever do that again!
I sure can’t wait to see how John resolves all these multiple cliffhangers tomorow.
Meanwhile, Queen Victoria has seen it all before.
…and is not amused.
So much for my full fibre connection going in tomorrow…
Next page: Penrose is reading the newspaper: “MYSTERIOUS MASSACRE IN CORNISH TOWN: AUTHORITIES BAMBOOZLED” he turns the page. “Thank God, I’m happy that I got out of that madhouse when I did. Now where’s the crossword?”The End!
You win!!!!!
This is the time for the only resident of the bar immune to werewolf damage to come through in the clutch: This is a job for SESH GREMLIN
IS the Sesh Gremlin immune, though? He wasn’t immune to Brian’s not-quite-werewolf form… https://steeple.church/comic/as-barmy-as-the-rest-of-us/
Yes, there’s only one page left, but that page will represent John’s entry into the infinite canvas Webtoons world, and will scroll down and down seemingly forever, allowing an epic descent into Hell by our protagonists as they fight to save Tredregyn.
Very good, Ray, very good.
I think it’s the crisps.
Brian has (with asingle bound) leapt over the bar and is feasting on the crisps and pork scratchings etc, That’s what makes the ripping noises – all of those crinkly bags being torn open.
The screams are from the customers who were dying for a bag of peanuts and who now really;ise there will be none left.
He’s got into the Scampi Flavour Fries!
Oh no. Those poor telecom engineers. Who will take care of the cables now?
Even Tom is scratching!
I find that detail unsettling, for some reason. When has Tom ever done anyone a basic kindness?
Aw bugger.
The good people of Tredegyn huddle in their homes, unable to leave before sunrise. Horrible!
Then again, having to stay home for eight hours awaiting the arrival of a technician is pretty on-brand for a cable company.
Is that one of the witches behind Brian’s right shoulder in the first panel?
Clotilde? No, she has brown hair and glasses.
Thank you.