Independence Day Special – Chapter 8, Act 2, Strip 116

Well, as stated before, I really couldn’t get this part of the chapter to line up properly with July 4th… on the other hand, it was kind of hard to ignore the holiday completely given what has been going on in the strip, and the fact that it fell on an update day. Plus the connection to “Independence Day” as a B-movie title, particularly resonant to this chapter.

But how to work the holiday in – when Gregory, bearer of the spirit of 1776, is so deceased right now, even if only recently? True, being deceased is nothing entirely new for Gregory, who was technically only alive for the first two of the many, many panels he’s been in since his debut. But rising from the dead as a shambling, brain-eating revenant isn’t really something that’s easy to integrate into a patriotic celebration, either.

So I needed to find some sort of higher-class afterlife for him…and I think adding him to Mount Rushmore did the trick. I mean he really fits in well with the group:
– revolutionary war leader, like Washington
– badass, like Teddy Roosevelt
– shot in the head, like Lincoln
– no idea what Jefferson is doing up there, but I’m sure Gregory could match him in any number of capacities

And it even works with the idea that the faces on Mount Rushmore represent the nation’s birth, growth, development and preservation – since Gregory could then be added to represent the nation’s abortive re-birth. Uh. ._. I guess for reasons of honesty and completeness.

Of course that leaves the question why either Canapan or Japanada, let alone both, would have the same four faces on their Mount Rushmotto. ._. Ah well, just toss it on the heap with all of the other intractable geographical issues in this chapter. >_>

Happy July 4th!

More on Thursday.