Ya'll ever rode on the METRO?

Pfft I suck at sequential art. I'm so sorry that my past few submissions have been totally lazy.

So I might have mentioned at some point that I'm completely obsessed with mass transit. A short while ago, I finished reading a book about the history of my beloved WMATA, otherwise known as the Washington, DC Metro.

As such, I just had to try my hand at personifying it. That's just how I roll. haha.

Some people hate the Metro, others love it, most others simply tolerate it as a necessary evil on their routine morning commute. Millions of people each year ride it, making it the second-busiest rapid transit system in the nation.

Built in the 1970s and designed by Chicagoan Harry Weese, it is known for its distinctive architecture. Most underground stations have high arched vaulted concrete ceilings, minimal lighting, and design motifs consistent with all others throughout the system. Imo, the general effect is rather cathedral-like, beautiful in a stark sort of way.

Compared to some other subway systems, it is very clean (there is a strict no-food/no-drink rule enforced) and easy to navigate (the map is very straightforward, there are only 5 lines and with only a few exceptions, trains always stop at all the stations listed).

With that being said, the Metro is also sort of infamous for its many accidents, incidents, and other mishaps. That's what this comic is about. haha. Trains have a tendency to break down at random inconvenient times, causing huge angry crowds to accumulate quite quickly. They always get overloaded during rush hour, pissing off the operator and forcing everyone to get off. Also, they occasionally catch on fire or crash into each other, causing even more trouble for everyone.

The escalators are ALWAYS BROKEN and take forever to fix. I worked at a place near Dupont Circle station for four months, and they were working on "fixing" the little escalator up from the main platform the entire time.

There are also certain stations the suburban yuppies are terrified of going to after a certain hour. Or just in general. Mostly on the green line. Let's just say the green line is the butt of many jokes. It's not entirely unjustified, though. Poor green line.

But yeah, it's impossible to fully explain the Metro. This song does a pretty good job, though. It's one of those things that just has to be experienced. Preferably during rush hour on a Friday night. Good luck!

Some stuff about Metro:
-The bracelets on his left arm represent the five different lines.
-His color scheme is based on the colors of the trains. [link]
-In a way, he is still sort of stuck in the 70s. He loves disco, for instance.
-He gets incredibly pissed off at people who eat and drink around him. And people who block the doors. And people who stand on the left side of the escalators instead of the right. He will seriously flip his shit.
-He is quite paranoid. He's convinced that there are terrorists everywhere and bombs in every corner.
-As demonstrated by this comic, he tries to be all smooth and cool, but he's incredibly clumsy and quite geeky. haha.
-At the moment, a sixth line (silver) is being built to Dulles Airport, which Virginia is super excited about.

So yeah.

I love the Metro to death, despite its (numerous) faults. haha. It's part of the reason I love Washington, DC so much.