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Column:
Devolution the Column
Third Entry
By Matt Yocum
Published: 2007-04-18
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I’ve been in the military close to fourteen years now, and in
that time I’ve moved nine times. In that time, I have yet to
live anywhere over two years. My most recent move, an overseas move,
is the first time out of those nine moves that I’ve returned to
somewhere I was stationed in the past. I can say with absolute
certainty that for me, the moves never get easier.
Each move I go through the same emotional cycle. First comes the
initial excitement at a new place, people, and job. Following this is
a quick, sharp emotional drop-off as I realize I’m starting all over,
not knowing anyone, not understanding the job, and constantly getting
lost. And finally, over a long period of time, I recover as I build a
new life, new friends, a new understanding of the job I’ve been
assigned.
Devolution begins with Rick and Kristy Noble having recently
moved from New Mexico to Tennessee. Having lived in both states, I
can tell you no two places in America are more different. The
wide-open, desert landscape in New Mexico is worlds apart from the
closed-in, deeply green forest surroundings in Tennessee. In New
Mexico you watch out for cactus and rattlesnakes in the brush; in
Tennessee you look out for poison ivy and deer crossing the streets at
night.
Rick and Kristy find themselves at the beginning of
Devolution already tired from a long journey and a new move.
That’s only one of the reasons why in the opening scene of the comic
Kristy is so tired. Moving is never easy. There’s always something
broken to fix (in this case the security system), always more to put
away (you see boxes laying scattered throughout the house).
The two find themselves dealing with several of the major emotional
stressors in life, which makes it that much more difficult when
they’re confronted with what is revealed at the end of the third
installment. They don’t have a lot of emotional reserves to call
upon as they’re about to face the most difficult trial of their
lives.
Rick and Kristy thought they’d dealt with the worst life could
throw at them. Now they’ll face the worst death can throw at them.
It won’t be pretty.
To read more on how Devolution is put together, go to www.MattYocumComics.com where you’ll find a
weekly column on the making of the comic.
Thanks for reading, and feel free to comment at DevoltuionComic@gmail.com.
—CCdC—
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