No uhhhh... if anything, it enhanced the direction I was already taking things. XD

Rest assured, Charles was not the only one who became studious in the clues pointing to how the Metalocalypse would go down. I too, did my fair share of listening to the Galaktikon II soundtrack and re-watching relevant episodes (and all of them in general) as I came up with Dethkomic's prophecy plot that, I was pretty sure, would end up tying into the finale. Brendon certainly did give us a lot of hints over the years, and although I admit I got a few things wrong (or they got changed due to production limitations when it came to AotD) -- none of it was really very far off. The puzzle pieces were pretty much right there in front of us, and I personally, didn't feel there were a lot of surprises in the movie when it came to what's been speculated on.

That said, there's a lot more open space in the deep-lore since we got a feature instead of a multi-episode season (definitely not a complaint - I love filling in my own blanks). So I'll have fun messing with a lot of those open ends, too.

One nice thing about Baen-Shee and indeed, the whole point of them being in this story in the first place, is that I get to work with cast members who are a lot more on-the-ball than Dethklok when it comes to this otherworldly shit. In the final updates, my intention was for readers to get behind the eyes of each of my girls as they come to the realization of what their place in the Metalocalypse truly is. I hope it does nicely to cast off feelings that the third installment of Dethkomic is somehow not going to line-up with the movie, because it absolutely will. :)

Well gang... Here we are. The end of an era!

Okay, so, maybe not that. But certainly the end of a dethkomic. For now, hehe.

I want you guys to know something. I want those of you who have only been with the fandom for a little while to know someone.

That's me... a younger me... in front of my artist alley table at NYCC in 2013. The Klokateer on the left is my friend, Holkie.

Her real name was Holly, and she was a New York native who braved the ridiculous train and subway systems that day (It was Saturday, so things were nuts) just to come out and meet a random person she met through the Metalocalypse fandom. I was surprised and delighted to see her for the first time, live and in person. I gave her some of my werewolf comics, we talked MTL, and generally had a good time. Unfortunately, that was both the first and last time we'd ever see one another in the flesh.

Holkie died in late 2020, just a few months before the Metalocalypse movie was announced. It's a shame she isn't still here to see the show conclude. But I'm willing to go on record and say without her, and her dedication and genuine hard work as a fan, we might not be getting a movie otherwise. She ran the original Dethklok Minute on Livejournal and continued that work here on Tumblr for a time. It kept us fans up-to-date and looking forward to more Dethklok in a time when news about the show was hard to come by, and interest threatened to wane in-between seasons(that's just how it is when you're a fan of an animated series). I know wherever she is, if there's any justice to be had in this life and whatever happens after, she's somewhere biding her time before the premiere with my other friend (and yours) Jon Schnepp. And in the great hereafter, the two of them will have front-row seats in a theatre with a kickass surround sound system. And there'll be a 3D IMAX option. And Dorito dispensers. And candy snake tits. Whatever they are.

I thought a lot about Hokie when I wrapped this comic. I got emotional more than a little when I was writing the eulogy given by her own Klokateer OC, Janet. You might guess that Janet's speech had as much to do with Cherry as it did Holkie, and you'd be right about that. But more so, I wanted it to be a statement to all of us.

When you have a fandom like ours -- a bunch of people who believe in a little cartoon show about heavy metal idiot-gods that hasn't had the ability/huge budget of other shows to churn out official content on a regular basis... and in spite of that -- in spite of apparent cancellation, even -- it still manages to come up with a great storyline, memorable characters, and captures the imaginations of talented masses like yourselves who have managed to make some of the most compelling fan-content on the internet for over a decade, now... It defies probability. And in our case, it defies being cancelled without a resolution.

I think that's something quite special. And it's worth celebrating.

Today is Halloween here in the USA. In our fandom, it's also the last day of Kloktober 2022. To me, this has always been a special time of year -- and I sometimes feel, even more than January 1st, it's a time of celebration for what has come to pass. It's a time of reflection and looking back. It's a time of looking forward to what will be. I can think of no better time to say thank you to each and every one of you dethkomic readers out there, for making this a kickass year. Thank you all -- my MTL friends from the internet, casuals who lurk in our fandom, people who are or who have worked on the show, and everyone in general, for keeping the faith. Thanks for keeping the torch burning.

Holkie, wherever you are, we hope we're doing you proud. This comic has been dedicated to you. And I really miss you. We all do.

Here's to the end. Here's to what's to come. Here's to you all.

As I sit here eating gummy bears for breakfast (like ya' do) it occurs to me that we're mere weeks away from the end of our little story arc. Hard to believe, but the chapter I'm working on currently will be the penultimate one. And I do want to apologize to you guys for taking significantly longer than expected to get that update to you. Life's been kinda wild, lately (new contract extended some of the work I've been doing, sick husband, subsequently sick kid... you get the idea) but I'm hoping we can wrap this one up by next weekend! After that, we'll have one more update.

...And that'll be it.

But writing this story and having you guys along for the ride has been such a joy this past year, that I'm just unable to leave the story at the point where it'll end. After all, I wrote so many fics all those years ago, and we haven't even touched on:

The fifth member of Baen-Shee, Eden Nightwish

Baen-Shee's role in the prophecy

Some big-bads lurking in the shadows who have mal intentions for our heroes and heroines

The full extent of Nita's powers and whether or not she'll ever be able to get a handle on them

That ridiculously complex Caj/Skwis/Charles backstory

The Tribunal's growing concern over all of the above

And for the love of GOD, Toki actually having a critical role in all of it

...Plus lest we forget: Todd Nirvana (Nita's dad and the best character on the show) and his borderline-inappropriate obsession with Nathan

I'd say there's still a lot of ground to cover, and since we also seem to have quite a ways to go before we get the movie/finale of the actual show, I'm up for keeping the hype-train running and penning new (well... technically old) stories for you all.

My update schedule might not be as regular, and fair warning: I might take a big break in between this and the next stuff in the series, but hey... I'm sure I'll still do the regular posting of questions you guys send me and incidental art and stuff. Please keep that coming as you come up with things. I think I might start reblogging fanart you guys have done of the girls and scenes and all that, too. Because you all just blow me away with that stuff and I love tumbling it around.

So there you have it, if you hadn't guessed already... The end is officially not the end.

Well first of all, welcome to MTL! I hope you have been enjoying our small but awesome community! So glad to have you along for the ride that is Dethkomic!

As for the other stories I wrote, you'll be happy to know that you're right at the very beginning! Let's look at the chart:

So, "the chart" is actually the index of my old fanfics, and the highlighted areas are the parts that Dethkomic re-writes. Next week being our very last update of this first story arc, you can guess that means we're going to have a funeral.

But don't despair! As I said in this post from last week, I'll be doing more comics, and I think "Dethkomic II" (working title, hehe) will be a total reimagining of the majority of what's left in the index, above. I basically have all-new ideas for the story in general from this point on, but I will be borrowing heavily from major points of each of the remaining five stories. I'll also be doing little one-shots here and there for things that I can't cram into the main storyline. Dethkomic-Drabbles!

And did I mention, confusingly, that I actually intended to have the "real" ending of my fics be the original Dethkomic: The Dethklok Doujinshi, which never got finished? I assume by the time I get there this time, though, the show will have wrapped with the movie come and gone, so I can decide how/if I want to pursue rehashing that "cursed" piece of fan-media (probably, lol).

And lest we forget the AU front: the girls wind up in a different universe (in the future? On some unspecified plane? Does time even exist?!!?) in my RPG game, "Harmonic Odyssey." But Harmonic is more of a crossover sort of deal, and it's not necessary that you read Dethkomic to play it, or play it to read Dethkomic, hehe. (end of shameless plug!)

Man I want Abigail to be in Dethkomic so bad it's unreal. But, at the time this story is taking place with regards to canon, we're two seasons too early and I don't have anything written that requires a flash-forward.

However.

You'll see at the end there is room for me to continue a lot of threads I've started. I've actually already come close to having the backbones of a story treatment which would continue into the seasons we've seen since the Baen-Shee story was penned (which was also before season 2 wrapped) as well as span the major events of my old AU, here. In fact, of the original fanfics I wrote, all 6 of them were mostly completed before season 3 began. I think I was literally writing the last chapters of the last book when we hit the mid-season break, in fact. So a lot has happened canonically that I think would be awesome to explore.

Things I'm considering:

The Dethkomic sequel happens, canonically, after the movie: This is the biggest "what if" on the table, possibly. I am looking at a possible break after Chapter 4 which might take us to the time after the movie has premiered, so that'd certainly allow for a good amount of breathing room, but I have a feeling if I do want to continue these stories, I'm going to want to do so sooner than that and hey... who the hell knows what'll happen during the finale? Still, Abigail would likely make an appearance.

The Dethkomic sequel happens sometime after Season 3 and before Doomstar: My favorite option for including Abigail and a whole butt-ton of lore that we've learned. Especially if I wrote it as happening after Charles' big reveal about the Church of the Black Klok and all that. Especially-especially because in writing my fics all those years ago, we only knew that *something* was going on with ol' CFO's interactions with some supernatural craziness, and no details. With a few of those blanks filled in, I'd have a lot of fun merging old stories and speculation with what's come about since.

Or, you know... it could also just be a huge pain in the ass. Still, this is probably my favorite idea of the three.

And finally... The Dethkomic sequel(s) happen(s) as a series of flashbacks: Post-Doomstar, maybe post-movie, but Abigail is getting caught up on things that happened before she was involved with the band. This idea came as a means of tying my follow-up fics together into a sort of clip-show, and I'd likely do them as one-shots, and each one not nearly as long as Dethkomic. Appealing for how "complete" I could make something, but feels kinda cheap at the same time. An idea I'm not disregarding, but my least favorite so far.

But yeah, in all three aspects, we're looking at including Abigail and a lot of other characters we've met from Season 3, onward. Up until a few months ago, I wasn't even sure I'd go into sequel territory (beyond Harmonic Odyssey, that is), but the series has maintained its popularity to a point where people are starting to ask about things that I can't explain in 80 pages or so... and I'm motivated and would really like to explore them.

Also, I realize this was probably way more than you cared to know, OP, but, hey! There ya go :)