Apocalypse Mom

Introduction





Apocalypse Mom is an ongoing story of the near future, viewed from its basement.
This graphic novel is being published in the order we write and draw it, which means the very latest chapter appears at the top of the blog. If you would like to read the story from the beginning, please click one of the links for Prologue, and from there look for a link that says "Newer Post" at the bottom of each page.

Table of Contents

Part One
1... Prologue
2... Chapter 1 - What's that noise?
3... Chapter 2 - Seasons of Change in LA
4... Chapter 3 - Beta Waves

Part Two
5... Chapter 4 - Message and Meaning
6... Chapter 5 - Another Rude Awakening


About the author and artist

Chapter 5 - Another Rude Awakening

This Chapter is available as a podcast.  You may stream it with the player here, or download and save it for use in your MP3 player. Transcript appears after the jump.



Download (high bandwidth): 192 kbps 52 Megabytes

Download (low bandwidth):  96 kbps 26 Megabytes

Chapter 5 - Another Rude Awakening

Story by:  Thomas Daulton and Justin
Art by:  Justin and Thomas Daulton
Music by:  Evan Brau

By Friday night, radioactive dreams had translated into full-blown anxiety during the waking day.  It became harder and harder for Art to rest and enjoy his sick leave while he obsessed about the City collapsing all around him. ... 

Trackback and Welcome!

A hearty hello to anyone who followed me here from "The Extra-Environmentalist"!  Extra-Environmentalists, meet Apocalypse Mom, and vice versa.  For the benefit of our few readers who have been here all along, this is Thomas Daulton wrting again.  I've made a lot of progress on a new episode, can't exactly promise but there will be another ep up soon.

Another podcast I like, called "The Extra-Environmentalist", accepts voicemail Letters to the Editor via Skype. I left them a long voicemail with my favorite fiction sources, and of course I tootled my own horn by plugging this site.

My voicemail starts at the 2:15:00 mark in this episode:
http://www.extraenvironmentalist.com/episode-39-debunking-economics/
(Yes, these guys publish very long podcasts)

Just to reciprocate, I highly recommend the "Extra-Environmentalist" podcast -- in fact, I volunteered to create T-shirts with their logo for their fans!  The "Extra-Environmentalist" makes a really good compliment to Art Chupke's story, so I have added them to our favorite links on the sidebar.

The two guys who run the "Extra-Environmentalist" podcast have a great, casual, relaxed interview style which nevertheless asks hard questions -- and they select fascinating authors to interview, people who I really believe have firm perspectives on the decline and fall of our civilization. Another letter correspondent described their podcast as "All the Doom without the Gloom," and that really sums it up. The times are changin', but it doesn't necessarily have to be a tragedy. Check out the "Extra-Environmentalist" whenever you're not reading Apocalypse Mom!

And Now a Word from our Sponsor

Thanks for sticking with us, and for following the unfolding story of Art Chupke. This is Thomas Daulton writing, as your author. There's been a bit of a hiatus for a few reasons, but a big one is that Justin (co-author and artist) has a lot on his plate. You wouldn't even believe what's on his plate, literally and figuratively. We've written ahead a few chapters, by the way, and we have a sketchy, changeable outline for the entire story arc.. so don't worry, the Apocalypse Mom comic is not going away. And above all, this is not a plea for money or something cheesy like that -- "Click the Donations button or your favorite comic gets a shiv to the gut!" Nope, Art's story is a labor of love (although we're certainly not above making a buck off of it)... I'm getting distracted.

Instead, I'm writing this because I've received many compliments on Justin's artwork, so if you enjoy Justin's artwork, then you ought to know about one of his side projects. It's artwork-heavy, and it even involves some crafts. And it also revolves around the Apocalypse, so what better place to show it off than here?

Justin's latest project is called "Open Source Chess":

[We recommend you view this vid in Full-Screen mode so you can see his artwork and read the text.]

Justin and his brother wrote and produced the video, designed the game, and wrote the rules. (Although that last point is trivial because the rules are completely customizable. Get with the DIY millennium, folks.) Apocalypse Mom is a collaboration -- but if you want to get an idea of the quirky ideas Justin brings to the table, you'll understand them if you check out his site. Plus there's a full range of options for participation, from the "Bootleg Special" on up to a hand-crafted full set. Head on over there... and order a gift set for that creepy biotech tycoon who plays chess with you by vidphone from his penthouse in the Tyrell building.