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21st Oct 2017, 10:57 PM
Joe England
I know it can be easy to lose track of this fabulous cast of characters, so here are your footnotes. Zandra's ensuring that Jack, Wally, Tomie, Sam, and Crystal will be safe among the vampires. The policewoman is confused by Rebecca's apparent disappearance since the unveiled sunlight has rendered the vampires invisible. Black Betty laughs off her concerns as usual and carries her further into the thick of things. And Rebecca's friends Jerry and Daryl are just happy that this little war seem to be resolved and Zandra's back in charge, while Bors the elder vampire quietly reacts to the death of his progeny, Bloo, because even the oldest vampires have a heart (which is why it's always a weak spot).
Oh, and I should mention... the comic may be entering a temporary hiatus soon while I ready the final pages. I'll tell you more next week. Man, it's still weird to think that we're finally, finally nearing the end of the story as we know it! It's hard even to mention it. Makes it seem so real, y'know?
Well, let's not be too bittersweet, though it's hard to avoid that emotion in October. Everyone enjoying the season so far? I hope so. It's sure my favorite time of the year!
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COMMENTS FROM THE AUDIENCE
22nd Oct 2017, 12:05 AM
George
Love the stripes on the sun.
I don't think I knew/remembered that Bors was Bloo's sire. Time for another reread.
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22nd Oct 2017, 12:08 AM
Kaunisenkeli
I still can't believe this is approaching the end, but all things do. Poor Bors, but it seemed to be what Bloo wanted to some degree.
As for the season, it's my favorite too. It hasn't been as rainy this year, which is making me sad but I'll cheer up with a pumpkin chai from the place around here that actually uses pumpkin (especially as I likely won't be in this area next autumn).
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22nd Oct 2017, 1:54 AM
Kwyjor
"Final" pages? Oh no no no. It's supposed to be "we're not quite done yet" indefinitely, surely? What about, y'know, Krull the Magnificent?
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28th Oct 2017, 10:38 PM
Fafnir13
I probably shouldn't share this here, but my top-secret made-up sources tell me Zebra Girl is being ended so Joe will finally have time to work on his magnum opus, aka Krull.
Zebra Girl was always going to be a side project to practice his drawing skills until they were up to the challenge. Just took a few years longer then anticipated.
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22nd Oct 2017, 2:44 AM
Lyn
A good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A good story does not try to keep going after it's over. There may be another good story that begins after the first one ends, but...
I've been with Zebra Girl for a very, very long time. I can't say it's ever really felt like it was dragging on. Though there were parts in the oomphalos that I'm horribly mangling the spelling of, where I was wondering if it was just filler. Of course, the story then showed that it was very much critical development for Zandra, which made it all the better.
And now, the story feels like it's coming to an end. The story of the Zebra Girl is finally coming to a close. It feels good. This chapter has shown how much everything has grown and changed, while the people are still themselves, and I rather like it.
Should you decide to tell another story after this one concludes, I will eagerly follow you for as many more years as it takes to reach the end of that one, too.
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22nd Oct 2017, 6:06 PM
Guest
I kind of hate that view of stories. You get plenty of serialised stories that have cycles of such. Like superheroes! Batman has an endless cycle of monster-of-the-week situations that all start and resolve. There is no attempt there to have a single concise story, the perpetuation of the narrative is a constant consideration.
There is nothing wrong with having multiple cycles running in parallel. Oh, certainly, it is difficult to do well. The various factors all need to be somewhat familiar, and maintaining the relevance of all these stories concurrently can be difficult, but it is also necessary, a story with only a single narrative is a very hollow thing. Just think of it, just the single plot with no subplots. No romance, no personal achievements or epiphanies, no bringing the civilians to safety nor consideration for dependants of either side... Just pure focus solely on the main plot with absolutely no exploration of anything else. A good story(thus a "short story" can be safely disqualified, as none of them are good, precisely because they are completely devoid of any complexity) is a constant stream of ends, beginnings, and middles, all happening concurrently, many of which start before the narrative...
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22nd Oct 2017, 6:07 PM
Guest
---
Then there are numerous processes that have no beginning or end, at least within the confines of a narrative. Let's go back to the Batman example. You could look at that as a series of concise stories, but it really isn't true. Villains get established and reoccur, they have an ongoing story that persists beyond the cycles and really never ends, unless the villain dies *permanently. But that really isn't it at all. In many ways, Batman is a story about someone trying to change their world. Batman as a story doesn't end until Gotham City is a place where the people feel safe, and that will never *happen. Now certainly, Batman may not be the greatest of literary masterpieces, but it has far too much acceptance to simply be dismissed.
Ultimately, the ideal of a concise story is good when one knows its limits. For many stories, it is the best known path. I have no doubt that Zebra Girl as the story of Zandra changing and finding her place in the world will be a good one. I also believe that Zebra Girl as a story of Zandra's ongoing(and perpetual) life could also be a good one. I don't doubt that the author made the correct choice, they are doing the best story that they can, and that means taking it in the direction that they are best able to. I fully support the end of Zebra Girl, as sad as it is to see, but I am compelled to refute that narrative dogma can dictate the only valid path.
The Lord of the Rings was the story of the destruction of The One Ring. It started when Sauron lost it, except then it just sat and idled, so that truly wasn't it. It started when The Ring was made, as that was when its destruction became inevitable, as all things are destroyed eventually, but truly its forging was set as soon as it was planned... But The Ring WAS Sauron, so the two are one and the tale begins when Sauron was first conceived. But, then again, the tale properly started when Bilbo uncovered The Ring and returned it to civilisation, or was it when Gollum uncovered The Ring and returned it to the living? The Lord of the Rings started with Frodo receiving The Ring, more or less, but there truly was no clear start to the story. A good story is too complex for concise beginnings or endings. The beginning will be a vague mess of conflicting circumstances. A concise beginning is a sign of a weak author who can't handle the flood of ongoing processes that any real or hefty story would begin amidst. A good ending is not defined by its finality, but by what it evokes, be that satisfaction or horror or... and this can be found in an endless meandering story with no overarching plot.
MOST good stories have a defining beginning and end with a compelling process by which to go from the one to the other, but there are alternatives.
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22nd Oct 2017, 10:25 PM
Kwyjor
I'll admit that Axe Cop and Dr. McNinja (to cite two recent examples) went as far as they could go.
But this? Personally, this doesn't feel like an ending at all – more like just another turning of the cycle, with no sense of finality. I just can't see a satisfying landing developing from here – not quickly. I guess we'll just have to take what we get.
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22nd Oct 2017, 3:55 AM
Nestor
I think this is the first time Sandra's killed anyone. It doesn't get more "in self defense" than this, but still it's gotta feel bad.
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22nd Oct 2017, 6:00 AM
PoignardAzur
"I guess that's all, folks"
Ahah! That's funny! Because he's a cartoon rabbit and... agh, never mind.
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26th Oct 2017, 7:36 PM
Christopher
Noticed that too. Only thing missing was the music.
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29th Oct 2017, 10:14 AM
euphewl
Good ol' Joe, had to get one rascally rabbit saying "That's all folks" before the end of Zebra girl...
I keep forgetting it's the end.
... I'm not crying. YOU'RE crying.
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22nd Oct 2017, 6:16 AM
McG
"nearing the end of the story as we know it"
"As we know it"?
So you're saying there's a chance...?
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22nd Oct 2017, 8:54 AM
Siansaar
Thanks for explaining about the vampire invisibility thing. I'd have missed that.
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22nd Oct 2017, 10:28 AM
CrankyCat
In honor of Bloo's departure large cleavage will henceforth be shown by Sandra! Correction, it'll be Becky.
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22nd Oct 2017, 3:34 PM
Voidbane
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to build up, a time to break down
A time to dance, a time to mourn
A time to cast away stones, a time to gather stones together
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time of love, a time of hate
A time of war, a time of peace
A time you may embrace, a time to refrain from embracing
To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to gain, a time to lose
A time to rend, a time to sew
A time for love, a time for hate
A time for peace, I swear it's not too late
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22nd Oct 2017, 6:49 PM
Guest
Ready-ing the final pages? Are we in a single digit countdown?
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22nd Oct 2017, 9:04 PM
Sayman
All good things end. But I've been following this comic for many years and will feel it's absence when it's gone.
So I'm feeling Bors...
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22nd Oct 2017, 9:16 PM
Destrustor
Poor Bors. I wish he could've had a happier resolution to this.
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23rd Oct 2017, 1:49 AM
Lorien Inksong
Zandra really has grown up to be a fine queen of monsterkind, hasn't she?
I really appreciated both the optimism of the panels where the two vamps are talking about how in the end everybody won, and the quiet grief of Bors's panel.
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23rd Oct 2017, 4:31 PM
William Adams
Waiting for Sandra to turn into a person again, perhaps to learn to control the change.
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23rd Oct 2017, 4:31 PM
William Adams
Waiting for Sandra to turn into a person again, perhaps to learn to control the change.
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24th Oct 2017, 1:23 AM
HoneyThistle
Oh fuck you, Trucker Vamp. You created a vampire who literally COULD NOT come down from an EVER-PRESENT HIGH. Violent Euthanasia is the only way that could have ended.
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24th Oct 2017, 3:50 PM
J
Don't be so hard on Bors. I doubt he would have known that she wouldn't be able to come down after her transformation.
As a Dad myself, I get Bors. Bloo was Bors child (at least in his mind) and losing a child must be about the worst thing in the world. The fact that she was so messed up and that he was responsible for that makes it even more painful for him.
On a side note (at the risk of over-analyzing the character) I've wondered whether it was actually true that she wasn't able to come down. Sure, throughout the story she acted and dressed a bit eccentrically; but she was also able to "think pretty good through the fog" and at times showed amazing clarity and awareness. I wonder if her high was more psychosomatic... a way of denying that this was her existence now ("I'm high... this isn't real... it's all a dream.")
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25th Oct 2017, 12:37 AM
Felix Domestica
Black Betty "mustn't be late" ... Oh my paws and whiskers, we _have_ been down the rabbit hole and back again, haven't we.
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25th Oct 2017, 12:37 AM
Felix Domestica
Black Betty "mustn't be late" ... Oh my paws and whiskers, we _have_ been down the rabbit hole and back again, haven't we.
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25th Oct 2017, 2:04 AM
Guest
Just when you end it, return to that throne from the first page. "Oh, it's you. If you're here on the day this ends, I'm glad you could be here for this..."
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26th Oct 2017, 12:18 AM
darkalter2000
As this comic is ending are you going to make some kind of digital version we can download? I would love to buy a highrez version of the entirety of the comic.
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26th Oct 2017, 12:58 PM
Joe England
Well, PDF versions of each currently printed volume can be ordered in the Shop!
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26th Oct 2017, 7:25 AM
Erin
When Zebra Girl is done, you'll continue with another project I assume? I've been following you for years and I'd hate for it to end!
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28th Oct 2017, 3:13 PM
A Different Mike
Bittersweet indeed.
Upside: It looks like I WILL live to see the end of the story.
(Wondering if Bloo's torn cheeks in the three previous pages relate to Chalk's appearance, or if that's just a stylistic coincidence.)
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28th Oct 2017, 3:16 PM
A Different Mike
Bittersweet indeed.
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
Upside: It looks like I WILL live to see the end of the story.
(Wondering if Bloo's torn cheeks in the three previous pages relate to Chalk's appearance, or if that's just a stylistic coincidence.)
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28th Oct 2017, 4:13 PM
Aaron Beal
Did we ever figure out what the deal with Mr. Smiles was? That character who was a silhouette except for his smile? I don't recall any resolution or explanation for why he was tormenting/taunting Sandra, and it feels like a loose thread?
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28th Oct 2017, 4:42 PM
Aaron Beal
Ah! I found the guy I was thinking of. "Mr. Chalk" from page 584. What was his deal with "I'm not the bad guy today" shtick? I expected him to show up again later, but I can't recall what happened with him.
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COMMENTS FROM THE AUTHOR