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Whew. When Marc and I set to out to tackle this, our longest chapter BY FAR (more than twice the length of the previous record holder, Chapter 12), I don’t think either of us realized how daunting it would really be. We’ve really gone some places with this one, haven’t we? And back again.
I’m curious what you all think of this episode of course, but in a lot of ways I’m even more curious what you think of this chapter as a whole.
“Chapter 24 – The Guthrie” was different in more ways than just length. After enjoying reading the story of the SuperFogeys in a collected graphic novel (available on Amazon, of course) so very much, I really thought about this chapter differently in terms of pacing. Most scenes happen in groups of 3 or 6 episodes to mimic the page-by-page structure of the eventual collection, and I let moments and scenes linger and breathe a bit, taking into account the feel of the chapter as a whole, and sometimes at the sacrifice of the episode-by-episode release schedule.
In other words: everyone who reads this chapter in the collected edition (print, eventually, but digital much sooner) will read this chapter as it’s intended and designed.
The other thing Chapter 24 did was bring to a close a great many of the plots we’ve been working with for years, most notably with the Earth-Avalon crew, whose presence in the story has now been removed entirely. We also lost a number of longtime characters to the fiery throes of death, mostly notably Star Maiden. I’m particularly sad to see her go as she’s an absolute joy to write, and this chapter featured some of my favorite stuff from her ever.
Jerry stayed away from the story for a full 100 episodes. By the time he returned, I’d already seen several comments from you guys asking where he was. And return he did with a big splash. Arguably, episodes 901 – 922 could have been their own chapter, a sort-of epilogue to this chapter, but I decided to include it as part of our mega chapter because, really, the entire point of this chapter was episodes 901-922. This whole story, really–from Chapter 1 onward–has been leading to this moment when Jerry would become the most powerful character in the SuperFogeys world, and the best way to demonstrate that was to have him come in at the last minute and clear the chessboard in a way no one else has been able to. That’s Chapter 24. All that fighting and with a snap of fingers Jerry just ends it. Like it’s nothing.
And there’s a lot to say about Jerry. A lot that goes into who he is that I think is better left to discussion and not to author decree. I’ll only say this: the end of this chapter is the most explicit I’ve ever gotten about who Jerry really is and what drives him.
All of which begs the question:
What happens next?
NEXT: CHAPTER 25 – RETURN TO VALHALLA
As if it wasn’t already perfectly obvious, the Fogeys are back in Valhalla. Jerry is back in charge, and all is as it once was. There are two chapters left in this saga, and how could it not round up back on the beginning of the story? In fact, there’s going to be some fun nods to Chapter 1 right at the top of Chapter 25. In a lot of ways, Chapter 25 is going to FEEL like Chapter 1. Not that we’re going back to gag-a-day (I’d argue we only ever did three episodes that were gag-a-day–the first three), but that we’re going back the original status quo and premise of this series–old superheroes and villains in a retirement home called Valhalla.
Doesn’t get much more simple than that, does it?
The next chapter will be anything but. If you’ve been put off by the increased levels of action in this chapter, you’re gonna love the next one. We’re back to a small cast, but the drama will be just as big. Because things have changed a lot over the course of this story–characters have changed, dramatically–and as much as Jerry wants everything to go back to what it was, that’s not really how things work, is it? There’s a new friction to the Valhalla dynamic, and that friction is going to catapult us right into the endgame.
Because, in the end, you always knew it was going to come down to Jerry, didn’t you?
Oh, and heck yeah we’re going to address the Soviet Sam thing. Jerry may want Spy Gal to forget about him, but the heck if I will.
WE MESSED UP
In looking back through this chapter as a whole, Marc and I realized we skipped one, minor-but-important-in-terms-of-pacing episode. That episode will be created and appear in the collected edition, but not online. Something to look forward to.
HIATUS
Ah, that dreaded word. “Hiatus.” Sadly, yes, Marc and I must retreat once again to get this next chapter started for you. Most of it has already been written, honestly, off and over over the past couple of years. There’s big moments ahead, and I’ve taken my time to get them right. Marc, on the other hand, has a sweet gig right now coloring Lucas Turnbloom’s next graphic novel (see Marc’s stellar work on the first one right here), and once he’s done with that we’ll see how quick we can jump on Chapter 25. I’m hopeful you won’t be waiting a year or more like we have sometimes done in the past. But great art does take time.
Chapter 25 IS coming. Stick with us.
WHAT I’M DOING IN THE MEANTIME
Believe it or not, SuperFogeys is not my full-time gig. (I know, you’re shocked!) Slowly but surely over the years I’ve been building up a career in the film industry as a writer and director. A film I’ve been working on for a number of years is finally going to begin shooting this January, and I could not be more excited. We even announced our first cast member last week!
If you’d like to see more, including as short spec film, a 10-minute animatic (imagine an animated comic book) of a sequence from the third act of the film, and some test footage we shot earlier this year, you can do so over at angel.com/theshift. I think if you like the complicated plotting and confident characterizations of SuperFogeys, you just might like The Shift.
SUPPORT SUPERFOGEYS ON PATREON. HELP IT COME BACK FASTER.
SuperFogeys has always been free to read, and, thanks to hiatuses, we’ve definitely lost some fans over the years. But still, we keep plugging along. And still, many of you stick with us. We are grateful.
One of the big reasons we do have such long hiatuses is that feeding our families has to come first. Schedules must open up sufficiently to work on it, which means paying gigs come first. Imagine a world in which we made enough money from SuperFogeys to not have to take hiatuses! In which paying gigs were unnecessary. Maybe that can never happen, but I can tell you that were more people to support the comic, we’d be able to crank it out faster. It’s just that simple.
And those of you who already support? Man, we sure are grateful.
Get SuperFogeys faster. If you can, support the comic on Patreon.
That’s all for now, folks. See you again (hopefully) soon with Chapter 25 – Return to Valhalla!
Trapped in Heaven with a childish God.
Spy Gal looks obedient. Now while I admire Captain Spectacular’s willingness to still try and save Jerry, and can but endorse it, Jerry also needs to puckin’ FAY for what he did to her.
Brock and Marc: take the hiatus you need. We’ll be here. (Well, I’ll be here. I can’t very well speak for my sibling readers.) I’ll be on the lookout for The Shift. Congratulations to the both of you for pursuing creativity! And for taking this story to where it has gone so far.
It’s been beautiful, and I expect you to deliver more beauty when you are ready to. For now, rest easy, work on paying gigs, have fun with your families.
Thanks, jd. You help keep us going with your insightful commentary. Jerry’s demonstration of power has got Spy Gal feeling defeated in all kinds of ways. Really, what’s the recourse here but to obey? Jerry can do anything, and incurring his wrath results in punishment, clearly.
This is the question of the next chapter: what can be done about Jerry? What SHOULD be done? We’re gonna take a little break, but we can’t bring the next part of the story to you.
And an interesting question it will be, indeed.
Just so I know, did you mean to write “we can’t *not* bring the next part of the story”? Or more likely come to think of it, “we can’t wait to bring…”?
(Also, I guess your impatience about this exceeds mine, but enjoy the shooting first. I wish you a lot of success, artistic and commercial, with it! And more generally, all the best to you, Marc, your and Marc’s loved ones, naturally!)
Great closure for such an epic chapter. You and Marc always rise to the top. Love the last dialog between Doc and Cap. Doc (as many of us readers) already labels Jerry as a villain with a child’s agenda, but Cap, the closest to Jerry, still sees redemption. I think these views will be a central point to be visited in the remaining of the history and I will be waiting to see it. Take a good break and lots of luck with your shooting
Thanks, Champy-kun! You’re not wrong about Doc and Cap’s opposing views being central to the next chapter. I think we’re going to an unexpected place with it, but we shall see what you think when we get there. Until then!
For the longest time, I couldn’t even get here because of the network issues. Maybe it was just stuck in my cache and wouldn’t clear. But I guess an update to Chrome fixed it or something, because WOW, what a CHAPTER!
I REALLY do not predict what happens in this comic. Couldn’t have predicted that for all the worlds!
Oh Goody! Another Hiatus.From September 22, 2006, to September 8, 2022. Only 16 years for 24 chapters. That’s 1 1/2 chapters/year. I wonder if it took that long to write War and Peace? Oh well. I guess it’s just another game of Hurry Up and Wait. Nothing new about that. I hope you’re at least making some decent coin.
Looks like no more BJ’s for Jerry, unless Spy Gal learns to OBEY! I hope he’ll at least let her eat more than soup. And why bother with salvation? They don’t even know how he acquired his powers, let alone how they can defeat him. Apparently he has acquired some magical ability or mental power to create things by simply thinking about them. His uniform changed as he walked through the door into Valhalla. Obviously, he can create energy fields of some kind. How the Hell are they going to take down someone with that much power? Even Thrice Evil seems to have acquiesced to his abilities. Jerry is definitely an enigma, but so far, his course of action doesn’t make a lot of sense. He must have become someone of note in the other dimension to which he retreated. The question is, for good, or evil? And why reward the very people he wanted to get away from, with a “gift”? You sure as Hell left a lot of loose ends.
I can understand your anger. After all the money you gave Brock and Marc to complete this story within our lifetimes…
(Oh and for what it’s worth, War and Peace was written in six years, give or take. By a full-time professional writer.)
Not anger. Simple Disappointment.
Wow, Joe. Exactly what part of MY mortgage, utilities, car insurance, taxes, medical bills, and food to feed a family of four do YOU pay that makes you so entitled to my time and energy to finish drawing a comic strip for your personal enjoyment? Out of respect for Brock, I will refrain from telling you what I really think of your comment. Kindly get bent.
Likewise, I’m sure.
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So, seems like this ended to become 1 year long hiatus (anniversary is soon)
Here, just checking for the anniversary hiatus :0
Same! I hope everything is going well for the both of you!
And so this has become more than 1 year hiatus
Any news yet when will hiatus end?
Hey, you’re back! I’ve been checking the old link every so often, but never got more than an error message. But now I see the site again! That’s great!
Marc and Brock, I hope you’re all right, and that the past two years and a small half have been kind to you.