If anyone has read or seen The Last Picture Show, this is both a musing on that and an unusual take on an iconic American figure.

Struggled to fit it into the character limit because I wanted to really get into the skin of the dusty small town…but it is what it is.

I think above all else I like the fact that you populate this town with a full citizenry but I still am overwhelmed by it’s isolation.

Well done as always

What a great line: "the town has a premium on dust … "
I think struggling to fit the character limit was a boon to you on this story, because it feels tight and distilled, from the “radio serials” setting a sort of time frame for the story to the preacher’s message.
Very well done.

Thank ye. The main thing that got the chop was an attempt to make the superhero elements less subtle, even though my initial idea was to write the most subtle superhero story I could. In fact, it’s really a story about the absence of heroes. And the possibility that they aren’t real.

I had to point out the remaining references to a couple of people who didn’t actually realise what it was about so I think I failed in that aspect. But it still seems to work as a weird smalltown sketch.

Man. This is really good. Spider, you and Jester are quickly becoming two of my favorites on Ficly.

From small-town apple pie to snipers in the bell tower.

You’re a terrible, terrible person in the absolute best way possible.

Very full of color for so few characters.