Reclaim your labor. learn a skill that saves you money. use that to barter outside the system. remove yourself from the system as much as is practical. learn how to make a molotov. Just enjoy the simple things and don't get too caught up in who threw what at whom.
This comic doesn't work with original characters, there is a lot of prior knowledge on the part of the reader that allows the author to get right into the story without all the world building required to care about a new universe and it's characters.