The Watcher

Page 1 of The Watcher contains three panels drawn in grainy black and white. A child stares at a lava lamp. It reads, "When I was a kid I had a lava lamp. Lava lamps take time to heat up. The first changes are slow."
Page 2 contains three panels of lava lamp goo being observed by the outline of an eye that looks like a star. It reads, "While I waited, I imagined I was a god, large and ancient. Each change in the lamp too eons like the shift of techtonic plates."
Page 3 contains four panels of a small, walled kingdom discovered in the goo. It reads, "I imagined the rise and fall of tiny empires filled with tiny people living infinitesimal lives. Whole species dominated and went extinct all too fast to see."
Page 4 contains two small panels inside of one large panel. It shows lava lamp goo moving around. It reads, "All the while, I was waiting for the land to turn soft and dance."

  • Title: The Watcher by Theo Hall

    Page 1, Panel 1: Drawn in grainy black and white, a title card reads "The Watcher." The font looks like lava lamp goo. A lava lamp stands in front of a mirror reflecting the top half of a child's face. Caption reads, "When I was a kid I had a lava lamp."

    Page 1, Panel 2: Caption reads, "Lava lamps take time to heat up." There's a medium close-up of the child's face, seen through the transparent lava lamp. It looks as if the child's head is floating in the lamp. A blob of goo rests at the bottom of the lamp.

    Page 1, Panel 3: Caption reads, "The first changes are slow." There's an extreme close-up of the child's face seen through the lamp. The blob of goo grows and rises.

    Page 2, Panel 1: Caption reads, "While I waited, I imagined I was a god, large and ancient." The lava lamp goo takes central focus. It is bright white against a black background. At the top of the panel, the child's eye has become a white outline against the black background, resembling a star in the night sky.

    Page 2, Panel 2: Caption reads, "Each change in the lamp took eons." The lava lamp goo rises up the panel.

    Page 2, Panel 3: Caption reads, "Like the shift of techtonic plates." The lava lamp goo continues to rise up the panel.

    Page 3, Panel 1: Caption reads, "I imagined the rise and fall of tiny empires." A close-up of the lava lamp goo reveals a walled kingdom.

    Page 3, Panel 2: Caption reads, "Filled with tiny people living infinitesimal lives." A medium close-up of the lava lamp goo reveals more details of the walled kingdom, such as rising towers, houses, and a forest.

    Page 3, Panel 3: Caption reads, "Whole species dominated and went extinct." An extreme close-up of the walled kingdom reveals war. Mushroom clouds dot the kingdom.

    Page 3, Panel 4: Caption reads, "All too fast to see." An extreme close-up of the walled kingdom reveals the ruins of a tower.

    Page 4, Panel 1: This is one large page that contains white blobs of lava lamp goo against a black background. Two smaller panels float in the middle of the large page. The caption reads, "All the while, I was waiting for the land to turn soft and dance." End.

    End of transcript.

This is a photo of artist Theo Hall. They are wearing glasses and a dark polo shirt.

Theo Hall is a multidisciplinary artist and designer from the Midwest living in Nashville, TN. Their comics have appeared in Swing and as a part of the 2021-2022 OZArts Nashville ArtWire fellowship. They also share art, writing, and occasional comics on Substack under the name @thattheohall.