He spent every night foraging for supplies throughout the ruins of his home town.
This was one of his rare excursions in daylight. The dangers were many...
The last surviving 'east river’ overpass had been destroyed and rebuilt five or six times..
It was always guarded by gate keepers and riflemen.
Passing through the valley usually required a strategic smokescreen or some other kind of major distraction.
or just lots of luck.
his life was part huntergatherer...
...part wild animal.
every day he went out in search of food... ...hoping to not become food.
They’re mine! They’re mine!
Ratboys fighting over scraps.
They’re mine!
“nature does not recognize good and evil... only balance and imbalance.”
potatoes... they killed each other for some potatoes. survival of the fittest.
YIKES!
Junk yard dog!
“here, try it. it’s good...”
forgot about that one... there’s no place like home.
sniffy, where are you?
squeak!
hello, sniffy.
Yes, i see you there.
c’mon sniffy, have a bite.
that’s right, sniffy.
eat up, you little bastard.
before the war i could just hang out behind a restaurant...
and eat like it was thanksgiving every day.
the best deal in town.
thanksgiving is next month... nobody likes a skinny main course.
and it was a very fine town... back in the day.
the east side boys
Hey, look. there’s that brainiac kid. the one who thinks he’s so smart.
And he’s got that hoverboard with him. what’s his name?
winston. i think it’s winston.
PATENT PENDING
WHEN THIS BOY GENIUS DREAMS, HE DREAMS BIG.
up to no good as usual...
hey, winston. we wanna talk to you
yeah, just for a second.
where did you get that hover board. can we see it?
hey, come back!!
it’s actually a maglev antigrav platform.
it’s powered by a wafer thin ceramic superconductor which reacts with the earth’s natural magnetic field.
i find the electromagnetic threshold of superconductors to be a very interesting field of research.
there he is!
let’s see that hover board.
we just wanna look at it.
come and get it... stop!
let’s see that hoverboard!
we’ll give it right back!
come and get it...
come and get it...
just let us see it.
now you’re making us mad.
yeah, you’re gonna regret this. there he is!
OK, we asked you nice. let’s see that hoverboard come and get it...
this is on you now.
i thought you were supposed to be smart.
that’s a blind alley.
there’s no way out.
you’re just making it worse. yeah, now hand it over.
why don’t you come and get it?
you’re really asking for it. yeah, you little twerp.
you think you’re pretty damn smart, don’t you?
well now you can’t escape either, boy genius.
time to look up, fellas... now hand it over before we have to...
COMES BUSTER!
who’s buster? your fairy god mother? no, it’s his emotional support animal.
what’s that? do you hear that? what is it??
W H O O O O S H H
Like i said, boys...
look up... way up!
He’s an autonomous humanoid armored vehicle...
...my patent is pending.
don’t be alarmed, my friends. unless i tell him otherwise. meet buster! any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. what the... are there any questions?
He’s actually quite harmless.
jesus
snork
just let them go.. ok, buster, that’s enough.. please no
now go straight home, boys.
ok, not bad.
your superhero landing could use a little work.
but pretty good overall.
he’s crazy!! run.
now let’s get you home.
snork
i have some work to do when we get back.
let’s go in as quiet as possible.
almost home.
alright, buster. pretty soon.
You’re gonna love these improvements.
snork
snork
“...to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee.” - Herman Melville, MOBY DICK
Mathews grandmother would read to him every night before bed.
She read Fairy tales, Aesop’s fables, bible stories and Classical literature.
But his interest in reading would be Interrupted for many years.
CHAPTER FOUR
what a good woman.
you’re one lucky boy, Matt Talbot... too bad you’re going to be such a disappointment to her.
she read to young matthew wonderous tales of high adventure,...
... and epic stories of tremendous heroism , both real and imagined.
oh, my...
matthew, look.
one quiet afternoon, a visitor appeared... a messenger without voice. a herald of things to come.
so beautiful.
then, one night, he saw something extraordinary...
...so astonishing that the memory of it never left him.
this old lady is going to be a problem.
MEPHISTO
Mephistopheles is a demon featured in German folklore. He originally appeared in literature as an apparition in the Faust legend and has since become a stock character appearing in other works of art and popular culture.
