Transcript

The comic is titled “Senior Year. Part 1: In the Beginning, by Ellie Gerken.”
Panel 1: Ellie is walking to the right through a crowd of people, hunched over with a backpack overflowing with drawing supplies. A caption box reads, “I’m starting my last year of college this fall.”
Panel 2: A close up shot of Ellie, their eyes are wide and their lips are pursed in horrified realization. A small “Fuck” floats next to their face.
A caption reads, “Which is…Unique.”
Panel 3-4: Panel 3 is a wide shot of Freshman Year Ellie with darker straight hair sitting surrounded by boxes and a suitcase on their empty dorm bed. Three arrows point at them saying “sweaty” “Full of Fear” and “Tired.” Panel 4 is a shot of Freshman Ellie on a zoom call introducing themself
saying, “Hi, I’m Ellie, I’m from Seattle sort of.”
The captions reads, “The last three years feel like a blur. Like one day I was a 17 year old baby who just landed in the dorms from halfway across the country and doing my first months of art school online because the world was on fire.”
Panels 5-6: Panel 5 is a shot of Current Day Ellie on the train, holding onto one of the hand loops with their headphones and mask securely on. Panel 6 is a close up profile of Ellie as a man breathes down the back of their neck.
The caption reads, “Now I’m a 20 year old baby taking the blue line at morning rush to get to my last first day, trying not to think about how the world is on fire while a businessman mouth breathes down my neck.”
Panel 7: Freshman Ellie and Current Ellie talking in front of a gray background. Freshman Ellie is in shock looking at Current Ellie saying, “How did you get our hair to do that?!?” Current Ellie, whose hair is notably curlier and fluffier, looks unimpressed and responds, “Good curl cream,
layers and Chicago Humidity. Calm down.”
Caption reads, “I think Freshman me might piss their pants if they saw me now though. A lot has changed.”
Panel 8: Ellie is walking up the stairs out of the train station in the loop.
Caption reads, “Somewhere in the blur I found…”
Panels 9-15 are smaller square panels with wavy borders to indicate they are not happening currently or that their imagery is made up. All of their captions are above the image.
Panel 9: Caption reads “Friends”
Ellie is surrounded by their group of friends and effects text floats above them surrounded by stars. It says, “Wow friendship really is magic”
Panel 10: Caption reads, “A Cat”
A close up shot of a tuxedo cat with one blind eye staring the reader down. A little meow floats above his head.
Panel 11: Caption reads, “My gender”
A shot of Current Ellie Standing but their torso is distorted into wiggly goop. They’re saying, “What am I” and an arrow saying “Maybe still a WIP” points at them.
Panel 12: Caption reads, “What’s wrong with me”
Ellie’s head from the eyes up, the top of their head is flipped open like a lid with a big question mark emerging from it. An arrow points at their head and says “Definitely a WIP.”
Panel 13: Caption reads, “Therapy”
Ellie is sitting in front of their computer saying, “I feel insane” A voice from the computer says, “Define ‘insane.’”
Panel 14: Caption reads, “A disdain for school admin”
Ellie gives a thumbs up with a big smile while saying, “Literally fuck this shit!”

Panel 15: Caption reads, “And a direction.”
There is a sign where two paths split, the path to the left is labeled “Viscom” and the path to the right is labeled “Comics?” Ellie walks down the path to the right and a bunch of little “cool, cool, cool” captions float around their head.
Panel 16: Ellie approaches a drafting table and pulls out the chair, it squeaks. They say, “Mornin’” To the room and a bunch of voices from off page respond, “Mornin.’”
Caption reads, “Even if that direction just involves making a lot of comics and throwing them at people,”
Panel 17: Ellie is drawing at their desk. Caption reads, “It beats doing normal people school and having a normal career path right?”
Panel 18: Ellie’s hand inking some boobs.
Caption reads, “God lets hope so.”