Afterlife Arcs to Come?

[Froklsnt]

So I have been rereading my print versions of the comic since the Kickstarter drive, and a couple of Rich's comment caught my eye. In particular, in the NCftPB notes on Round 3, he states he "was soon to introduce Miko as an antagonist who would be around on and off for the rest of the OotS storyline."

I would interpret that as saying we haven't seen the last of Miko yet (oh joy). Additionally, we know that both Belkar and V will be dying before the story is through. And there is the Chekov's Gun that is the Dark One's standing Asgardian-esque army of Goblin souls.

Alignment-based plane issues aside, does this all add up to there being some significant arcs of the story yet to come set in the afterlife?

[Porthos]

So I have been rereading my print versions of the comic since the Kickstarter drive, and a couple of Rich's comment caught my eye. In particular, in the NCftPB notes on Round 3, he states he "was soon to introduce Miko as an antagonist who would be around on and off for the rest of the OotS storyline."

I would interpret that as saying we haven't seen the last of Miko yet (oh joy).

Alternatively he changed his mind on that and went in a different direction. After all the "and off" has been nearly 400 strips now. :smallwink:


Additionally, we know that <snip> V will be dying before the story is through

We do? I am unaware of that being a certainty.

[Froklsnt]

Alternatively he changed his mind on that and went in a different direction. After all the "and off" has been nearly 400 strips now. :smallwink:

Fair point, it is years ago he wrote that at this point. I would assert that Giant always states that he has the major structures of the story, such as reoccuring adversaries, mapped out and those are subject to very little revising on a high level. But he certainly could have changed his mind.



We do? I am unaware of that being a certainty.

I have always interpreted the interchange in #633 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0633.html) to mean the IFCC doesn't get V's soul until (s)he dies. And I believe it is safe to say that we will get to see what the IFCC does with V's soul. So my statement is based on that assumption, if there is solid knowledge otherwise I am all ears.

[Porthos]

I have always interpreted the interchange in #633 (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0633.html) to mean the IFCC doesn't get V's soul until (s)he dies. And I believe it is safe to say that we will get to see what the IFCC does with V's soul. So my statement is based on that assumption, if there is solid knowledge otherwise I am all ears.

Not solid knowledge, no. :smallsmile: But as the very first person on the board to bring this up*, allow me to point out that nowhere do the IFCC say that they get to rent V's soul only after he dies. It is very possible, and I would say likely, that the IFCC is going to take control of V at some point when he is still alive.

In fact, the IFCC is awfully quiet and conveniently changes the subject whenever V makes statements about that possiblity.

Just food for thought. :smallwink:

* And I feel awfully smug about being the first to start a forum theory, BTW. Even if it was one that many other people came up with independently. :smalltongue:

[Froklsnt]

I can understand that pride Porthos, and I concede that you are correct. Terms of when the IFCC can claim their debt were suggest but absolutely not confirmed. It perhaps could be at any time.

But to get back on topic. Even if the only fully-vested OotSer up there is Belkar, I still think that we have some significant action pending in the afterlife. That Goblin army is just waiting for their spot in the plot, and Belkar has the best odds of anyone to land in the same plane as that force.

[FujinAkari]

I would interpret that as saying we haven't seen the last of Miko yet (oh joy).

We haven't, she is in the O-chul story he's writing.

She won't be coming back into the main storyline though... and if she somehow did, it wouldn't be as an antagonist. So her role in the OOTS mainplot is effectively over.

I should mention that Miko's story arc was written before she was ever introduced so, no, he didn't change his mind.

[ti'esar]

I can understand that pride Porthos, and I concede that you are correct. Terms of when the IFCC can claim their debt were suggest but absolutely not confirmed. It perhaps could be at any time.

But to get back on topic. Even if the only fully-vested OotSer up there is Belkar, I still think that we have some significant action pending in the afterlife. That Goblin army is just waiting for their spot in the plot, and Belkar has the best odds of anyone to land in the same plane as that force.

Honestly, I don't think that the Dark One's army of souls is any kind of Chekhov's gun - it struck me as more of a statement about goblin culture and the Dark One (even in the afterlife, they're still at war with the other races) then it did as something we could see again. But I guess it's not impossible that it could be.

I do think there's a decent chance of seeing another afterlife arc, though it would have to be treated considerably different from Roy's. This points to Belkar as the best possibility - he's the opposite of the alignment spectrum, and unlike Roy he won't be getting better - but in a way it would undermine killing him off permanently, and I don't think Rich wants that. So we'll see.

[Jaros]

Honestly, I don't think that the Dark One's army of souls is any kind of Chekhov's gun - it struck me as more of a statement about goblin culture and the Dark One (even in the afterlife, they're still at war with the other races) then it did as something we could see again. But I guess it's not impossible that it could be.

Yeah I always thought this too.

[Xapi]

Fair point, it is years ago he wrote that at this point. I would assert that Giant always states that he has the major structures of the story, such as reoccuring adversaries, mapped out and those are subject to very little revising on a high level. But he certainly could have changed his mind.


He could have also been lying. Not much sense to write down "was soon to introduce Miko as an antagonist who would be around on and off until her death at the end of the Azure City story arc."