05 – Beware the Asylum

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Beware the Asylum represents my attempt to write a “silent” graphic novella, with all the entire story and setting conveyed through illustration (there are a few occasional “sound effects” and some diagetic language, for example on signs). It has been illustrated by Rafael Suzarte. There are also captioned versions of this comic available in 28 languages. You can find them and a great deal of other material via the site index.

Part I | Part II | Part III

100 – Cover

Teenage lovers Karen and Bobby stroll in the moonlight outside the Euphoric State Lunatic Asylum.

101

Teenage sweethearts Bobby and Karen arrive at night at the abandoned Euphoric State Lunatic Asylum

102

The Euphoric State Lunatic Asylum, in all its abandoned, moonlit glory.

103

No Trespassing signs are meaningless to teenagers on an assignation.

104

How many miserable souls must have passed through this entrance hall!

105

These old breezeways must have been impressive in earlier days.

106

Bobby has romantic intentions in mind, but Karen hears something...

107

Karen is sucked up into a pneumatic tube, while Bobby is captured by a mechanical man.

108

Karen is transported through the tubes, then seized by a robot.

109

Karen's dress is torn off by robot hands.

110

Her remaining clothes, and even her little gold cross, are taken away from Karen.

111

Stripped naked (though we do not see her as such), Karen is forcibly robot-washed.

112

Is the robot washing a source or agony, or pleasure, to Karen?

113

Having been washed, Karen is now dried.

114

Having been dried, Karen is tumbled back into the pneumatic tubes.

115

Bobby finds himself dragged by robot into the laboratory of the sinister Dr. Vragov.

116

Poor Karen is now a shivering, naked tube girl, protecting what little modesty she has left as best she can.

117

A touch that is not, and then a blinding white flash of radiation.

118

Poor Karen's flesh has been turned to green jelly, but at least she still has her bones.

119

Oops. Now Karen is just girl-shaped green goo without any bones.

120

Now Karen is just a green gooey puddle, swiftly sucked back up in the pneumatics, much to Bobby's dismay.

121

Enraged Bobby resolves to put an end to Dr. Vragov and his mad science.

122

Everything your cute girlfriend was, her memories, her personality, her form, are now contained in this test-tube of liquid.

123

I could either attempt to reconstitute your girlfriend, or I could just pour her down the sink. Which do you think would be better?

124

Possibly blackmailed by Dr. Vragov, Bobby sets off to do crimes.

200 — Promo

Deep-blue promo page for Beware the Asylum, Part II, showing hapless Bobby and his mad-science nemisis Dr. Vragov.

201

Bobby sets off for an armed robbery of an herbal medicine store in a Chinatown somewhere.

202

Bobby confronts the herbalist and his wife, along with two innocent customers.

203

Bobby presents a written demand for a certain rare Chinese herb, which he backs up with a shotgun blastBobby presents a written demand for a certain rare Chinese herb, which he backs up with a shotgun blast

204

All in the herbalist's shop are terrified. The herbalist surrenders a red box to Bobby.

205

Bobby makes a break for it. Meanwhile the Herbalist caalls up Lam and Chow, two Chinatown enforcers to set things right.

206

Bobby thinks he's getting away, until Chow opens fire on him with a pistol.

207

Chow's bullets smack into the back of Bobby's Chevelle, barely missing Bobby.

208

On a narrow Chinatown street, Bobby and a sanitation truck swerve at the last minute to avoid hitting one another.

209

The motorcycle driven by Law plows headfirst into the garbage truck. Bobby turns to look in shock.

210

Bobby crashes his Chevelle into an urban newsstand.

211

Scattered numbers of Time and Playboy put the scene in September 1975. Bobby pulls himself to his feet and runs into the subway hoping to escape approaching police.

212

As the cops persue him, Bobby vaults over the turnstyles into the subway.

213

Bobby staggers down the subway platform as a train approaches and the cops are in distant pursuit.

214

Bobby just makes it onto a departing train between closing doors, leaving purusing cops behind.

215

Exhausted, Bobby sits on the train, checking carefully to make sure he is still in possession of the precious red box.

216

A cast of curious and sinister characters aboard the subway look back at Bobby.

217

Bobby hitches a ride back to the Euphoric State Asylum for the Insane with a Luigi's Heating and Cooling employee.

218

Bobby confronts Dr. Vragov in an exchange -- the red box for the reconstitution of his girlfriend Karen, currently imprisoned in liquid form.

219

Dr. Vragov double-crosses Bobby, dropping him through a trapdoor in the asylum floor thus disposing of him.

220

Dr. Vragov refines the box contents into a red liquid, which is then piped into a radio-controlled B-29 bomber model.

221

Vragov pilots his B-29 radio-controlled drone over all-American Pleasant Valley High School.

222

Dr. Vragov's RC aircraft sprays a mysterious red mist over Pleasant Valley High.

223

In the middle of a boring high school class, hot glasses girl Brenda suddenly detects something...alluring.

224

In physical education class, Nancy is suddently distracted by something. Watch out for that ball, Nancy!

225

Walking down the hall with her cheerleader friends, Pamela is so struck by something that she suddenly drops her schoolbooks.

226

In the cafeteria. something is powerful enough to distract Pamela from school lunch.

Promo — 300

301

Brenda rides her bicycle alone at dusk out to the scary asylum.

302

Billy and Nancy ride in Billy's van out to the asylum. Billy thinks that fun times are coming.

303

Pamela and Mike arrive at the asylum on a motorcycle, while Sandra and Charlie take Charlie's 1972 Dodge Charger.

304

Billy gets death-rayed and Nancy sucked away in one of the asylum's seclusions corridors.

305

Mike is grabbed by Zheleznor the giant robot while Pamela fights not to be sucked up into the bowels of the asylum.

306

Pamela wonders at the cleanness of the washing chamber, not noticing that Mike is being throttled by a mechanical tentacle.

307

Sandra tries to help Charlie, but is caught and stripped by the mechanical grabbers.

308

Desperate Brenda runs from Zheleznor the robot.

309

Having gone through a doorway too narrow for Zhelezor, Brenda has saved herself...for a few seconds.

310

You are on stage, Brenda, and you big moment has come.

311

The grabbers go to work stripping the girls.

312

Nancy, Pamela, and Sandra all being forcibly washed.

313

Brenda held as if crucified, and forcibly washed.

314

Pamela sucked through the tube network.

315

Poor Brenda, Nancy, Pamela, and Sandra, all reduced to so much green goo.

316

A community meeting. Parents are angry about their disappearing children, and the police have no answers.

317

Dr. Vragov processes the green goo into something like cold cream.

318

A handsome motorcycle cop spots Billy's van outside the asylum and realizes something is very wrong.

319

Scramble the SWAT team!

320

A SWAT team member finds the only trace remaining in the asylum of the missing girls.

321

In a posh London gentlemen's club, Dr. Vragov strikes a deal with some shadowy businessmen.

322

In her elegant shower, a rich middle-aged lady reaches for some mysterious unguent labelled "Jeunesse."

323

Our rich lady lathers up with "Jeunesse" and is swiftly coveed in a large mass of bubbles.

324

Our rich lady steps out of the shower among a few remaining bubbles, now youthful, beautiful, and radiant.

325

Dr. Vragov is served coffee by his butler at his gorgeous Tuscan villa.

326

Dr. Vragov's villa enjoys a glorious panoramic view of Florence.

327

Down in his basement laboratory, Dr. Vragov goes to work one more time on a tube of green fluid.

328

From a little flask into a big tube...

329

Something womanly is taking shape in Dr. Vragov's tube.

330

From Dr. Vragov's tube emerges...a catgirl version of Karen...Kitty-Karen.

331

Dr. Vragov bells his new-born catgirl and gives her some milk to drink.

332

Catgirl fanservice!

333

Dr. Vragov relaxes in his villa with his purring catgirl. A happy ending, if only for Dr. Vragov!

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