I wasn't around for the beginning, so I can't speak for that. And I don't agree with Keets' premise. All I know is that the last page or so has borne a disappointing resemblance to bullying.
Just finished Volume 3. "The Doctor Dances" was my favorite.
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The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them. -Antoine de Saint Exupéry