Neuropsychosis takes place in my home town of Lancaster California, and the adjoining town of Palmdale and the non incorporated community of Quartz Hill, an area known as the Antelope Valley (A.V.). It's a group of aerospace towns about 60 miles north of Los Angeles to which it also serves as a bedroom community. Many of the places in my comic actually exist or have existed in the past, some have pseudonyms others are portrayed in their accurate glory. But to keep things interesting, I've made the A.V. of Neuropsychosis a hybrid of the A.V. Now and of the past. Kind of a greatest hits version in order to make a more interesting town for the setting of my comic.
Today I talk about the primary setting of the now legendary "Attack of the Killer Cheeps" the Antelope Valley Mall. The AV mall opened in September of 1990, to much fanfare, and after it's first decade kind of started to go into a decline (loss of diversity of shops etc). By the mid Naughties it was Back on an upswing.
I did my Photo Safari of the mall in late 2001 which you probably guessed was not the best choice in times to be going around taking pictures of public buildings, And I used the Photos as reference a year later in "Killer Cheeps" As far as accuracy goes, I got the mall pretty much right, though I did use a fictitious Business Cutie Pie, as the teen store Aphy was tormenting Melissa with. As well fictitious fronts for the food court (which to me is ironic since I had them name drop Subway in the book). I got most of the geography right, the two Jewelry Stores, the (then) software etc. and the tobacconist. the food court and mall have proper proximity as well. But I messed up with Cutie Pie, it was supposed to be in the place that Wet Seal takes in real life By drawing one of the Jewelers in the background of the scene, I accidentally placed it where See's Candy is. Oh well, it was a fictitious business anyway.
Soon after I finished "Killer Cheeps" in 2003 the mall underwent a major refurbishment and many of the locations have changed. The theater which was the story reason why the gals went to the mall moved out about two years later, to be replaced by a Claim Jumpers and the soon to open Yard house restaurants. The food court is no longer the back wall of the concourse as it was extended to more shops, and a Dillard's department store. The food Court also lost it's topiary (which I'm sure your all "topiary... oh that's what those crosshatched blobs where supposed to be") and now has a playground in the center of the seating. And the fountains have all been taken out, except one that is in an area not featured in the comic. The changes, will be reflected in future comics that use the mall as a setting.
Of course I've always been wary of having "Teen Girls at the mall stories" but while writing "Killer Cheeps" I couldn't figure out a better place that would serve as a good stage for it. And while I'm still trying to not write "teen girls at the mall stories" There will come a time again I'm sure that the Mall will be a convenient location. Also the AV mall was the first full on environments I ever drew for Neuropsychosis and that was almost ten years ago, so I'm really eager to see what I can do with it now.
*photos will be added later please bear with me*
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