Nathan Never Gigante #14 (2011) pages 222-223: A walk with Carolyn

Some time later, Nathan and Carolyn meet again for a contemplative stroll through the neighborhoods which are repopulating after the restoration of their water supply:

“The dam’s explosion remained a mystery. The most imaginative hypotheses were made, but no one ever got close to the truth.”

“I think my father had planned this as Bryan's fate for a long time.”

“I think so too. Bryan returned to your father's laboratory down at the Spring to equip himself with that battery that was, in reality, a very powerful charge of energy. Then, he used it to cause the unstoppable growth of Flesya, destroying the dam.”

“If I had known what Bryan was going to do, I would have tried to stop him.”

“Do you really think so? I mean... in light of what happened, it doesn't seem to have gone so badly, after all...”

“That's not what I meant. I always found it absurd that my father almost wanted to replace my brother with that robot child, but I felt sorry once he was gone. Strangely, today I miss him. I'm alone now. I realize now that Bryan represented what was left of my family.”

“You have all the time you need to build your future, Carolyn. To create a family of your own.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Of course. Are you kidding? You're so young. But you didn't invite me here today just to talk about bad memories, I hope...”

“Not really. I wanted to invite you to lunch at the little cafe that just reopened in town, to thank you again for what you've done for me. In fact, coming here in these special days when people are returning home with so much hope for the future, makes me feel better.”

“This is the right attitude... the attitude that this place deserves. It's being reborn too.”

The characters' attire and casual poses signify peace and relaxation. I've never seen Nathan Never in a hoodie before. And Carolyn is wearing a sweater. I wonder what time of year this is in Death Valley that it's not blistering hot. Global cooling? Or maybe just Italian creators not realizing how hot the hottest place on Earth really is.

Look carefully under Carolyn's word balloons in the first and second-to-last panels, and you can see the ghost of previous lettering, perhaps placeholders used for spacing during the layout phase. The stores all have signs in English: Furniture, Bank, Hardware, etc.