The Ends is a Bad Idea coming from regular cartoonist David Lapham. But in addition to the art, Lapham is joined by his wife Maria for a suspenseful drama. Taking place in mid-80s North Carolina, a generational divide between people props up. On one side is the rise of Neo-Nazi skinheads and the other being disgruntled WWII veterans. Caught in the middle are a couple trying to get out of their family’s crossfire. But what really connects them is the sense of trauma and disillusionment between everyone.
The Ends Of Nostalgia
It goes without saying that the 1980s is considered to be the best decade in American pop culture. But for all of the movies, fashion trends, arcades, and music, there was the disillusioning reality amid the innocence. In some parts of the States, there was a moral panic. But aside from Satanic Panic, there was a growing movement of groups like racist skinheads. For war heroes seeing youngsters brandishing swastikas, it’s like the war never ended. But are things really black and white?
Mutualistically Directionless
The protagonist, Jennifer End comes from a dysfunctional household. Her father is a drunkard on disability who has abused her mother into submission. For a while her only escape was with her brother’s skinhead posse. According to Jen, they’re all on different parts of the racist spectrum. Even when Jen found love outside of her house’s preferences; she still struggles to get out of their influences. Like when she slips out Hitler’s rise to power to Angelo’s family, unaware that’s the common excuse white power groups use to justify their hate. Besides she doesn’t have a steady job and has to take care of her family like her now crippled grandfather.
Tragically, that same man is more than likely the origin of the End family’s misery. He like a few other characters is a WWII veteran, with his son keeping Himmler’s pistol as a trophy. But Jen’s grandfather along with the other vets are troubled people, ready to die after losing purpose. Like one Silver Star earner who after living through a suicidal run married his ex-girlfriend’s sister out of spite. Or Jen’s grandfather who seems to have badly affected his son who likely became an abusive drunk out of neglect. This in turn filled Jen’s brother with enough hate to join the skinheads just to have some kind of power. But in the end, they’re all just hurting people because they lack direction.
What’s It All Mean?
The Ends is a seat gluing experience in suburban tragedy ready to erupt in a brawl. On the surface it’s the young and disenfranchised taking their anger out on others vs. the old looking to relive past glory because they’re stuck in it. But really it’s about who’s caught in the crossfire because they’re unable to escape.
Yet there is hope for people who don’t let their anger and disillusionment get the better of them. This is probably best scene in Angelo’s grandfather Angel. Despite being a war hero and taking action against the skinheads, it’s never out of passion or duty. He’s the first to tell the Silver Star Colonel to focus on his loved ones over fighting a bunch of punks. That’s despite how Angel was nearly killed by teenaged Nazis. Because there’s no glory in all of the violence.
The simple artwork with expressive designs and lines come with an uneasy atmosphere. Sometimes panels blank out to focus on a moment like when Jen speaks with concerns. Or the bold outline of her father and his shape towering over her taller but lanky brother. It shows how dominating Jen’s father is and how much he shaped her brother’s personality. Meanwhile Jen’s mother with her softer lines feels like she’s just part of the background. Unlike the bolder doorway where Jen enters from. It’s good foreshadowing for how much power Jen has in her family and the burden she has to shoulder.
The Ends Aren’t Far Off
The Ends isn’t just a heartbreaking look at a celebrated decade but how history rhymes. For all of the Us vs. Them social discourses, there are real people who are stuck in the cracks. In this case at the very least, it’s how generational trauma can lead people astray. A fact that people today still have to deal with in trying to break it. But this series goes into why that’s not an easy thing to do. For this reason, this series gets 9/10.
Thanks for coming to the end and as always remember to look between the panels.