Does Rich have "estate planning" for OotS?

[caltino]

I've had some thoughts about planning for very unfortunate situations for various reasons, which also made me have this thought about OotS:

Does Rich have any plans about the fate of the strip should something unspeakable happen to him?

I know it's an awful thought, and I am kind of embarrassed to even speak it out loud, but I did wonder what would happen to the comic and the characters. I know there wouldn't be any strips but Rich has said he has a pretty good idea about the overall story and I wonder if we would get to learn any of that.

I know it's a selfish thought to have should something like that happen, but I've been following the comic for so many years that I cannot remember when I started. I do feel an attachment to the characters and their story. I would feel extra sad if the characters would vanish with no resolution as well.

Is there a safe box to be opened with story lines to be shared with the fans, should something happen?

Should I not have written this post at all?

[SowZ]

I've had some thoughts about planning for very unfortunate situations for various reasons, which also made me have this thought about OotS:

Does Rich have any plans about the fate of the strip should something unspeakable happen to him?

I know it's an awful thought, and I am kind of embarrassed to even speak it out loud, but I did wonder what would happen to the comic and the characters. I know there wouldn't be any strips but Rich has said he has a pretty good idea about the overall story and I wonder if we would get to learn any of that.

I know it's a selfish thought to have should something like that happen, but I've been following the comic for so many years that I cannot remember when I started. I do feel an attachment to the characters and their story. I would feel extra sad if the characters would vanish with no resolution as well.

Is there a safe box to be opened with story lines to be shared with the fans, should something happen?

Should I not have written this post at all?

It's a question most authors find fairly offensive, yeah. Even authors of book series that might take a decade to finish and aren't spring chickens, like GRRM, typically dislike the question. And Rich is young enough that statistically it shouldn't be a problem. While I doubt you meant anything nasty, in my opinion, it isn't an appropriate thing to say to a writer.

[littlebum2002]

Think about it this way. The odds that Rich is gonna see your post and think "I never thought about what would happen if I die, that's a great idea" is close to zero.

Either he does have a plan, in which your post isn't offensive, just useless.

Or he doesn't, in which your post is offensive, and still useless.

In other words, either you're offending someone, or you're of no use to us at all. I think we've answered the question of whether or not the red Dragon can eat you. :smalltongue:


Anyway, I'm 75% sure I remember Rich saying that his wife knows what the plot is as well, so if my memory is correct,that probably answers most of your question.

[snowblizz]

. authors of book series that might take a decade to finish

Robert Jordan of course did specifically this, but those were I guess very special circumstances.

[Onyavar]

[...]I know it's a selfish thought to have should something like that happen, but I've been following the comic for so many years that I cannot remember when I started. I do feel an attachment to the characters and their story. I would feel extra sad if the characters would vanish with no resolution as well. [...]
I think there are possible precautions and hope Rich did take them. Of course, nobody can finish+tell the story like the Giant can, but worse things could happen. You know - what if YOU up and die?

No, take me serious, this is one of my biggest worries: That I might die before Rich finishes his story. I CANNOT die before I know how this story finishes. There are a few other ongoing series, but OotS is definitely on top of the list.

[littlebum2002]

Thanks for giving me something to worry about, too.

[aspi]

I'm actually not convinced that the question is insulting. Above all else, it shows just how much of an impact stories have on us. The OP is acknowledging that The Giant has created something bigger than himself and that's about the nicest compliment I can imagine as a creator. That said, yes the question is a bit selfish but how would you approach it? I think that there's plenty of examples where this went wrong because the author didn't want to think about it (and honestly I don't think it would be high on my list of priorities either).

I'm not sure if it's even possible to give real closure within a work of art if the artist dies. It can of course be finished in some way but I don't think it would ever be the same as if the original artist had finished it himself. I've recently read the Dark Tower novels (which as some might know, were written over several decades) and Stephen King raises a similar argument in his comment where he explains that he's often been contacted by people who were dying and wanted to know the end - and he couldn't tell them because he didn't know himself. While there are ideas for an end to a story, that's not the same as that end being acually created. A story isn't over until the last words are written and sadly, some stories apparently just aren't supposed to be finished the way they were started.

[Bulldog Psion]

Have come close to cashing out twice due to totally unforeseen, accidental circumstances, I also worry more about dying before seeing various things I'd like to see (including, but not limited to, the end of OotS) than about the death of the author, actor, or whoever.

"Is my flesh brass? Is my strength the strength of stones?"

[truemane]

I can't, and won't, try to speak for Mr. Burlew, but some people do find this sort of thing very offensive. George R.R. Martin, for example. I think the source of the offense is that idea that a person's death is defined primarily as an inconvenience.

"Rich better not die, because comics."

If someone at my work told me they'd be said if I died because I'm the best at Excel spreadsheets, I'm not really sure I'd feel really happy about that. And my feelings wouldn't change even if making Excel spreadsheets was my true life's passion.

Almost no one likes to be defined by the things we do for other people. Most of us want to be valued for who we are as people. Remembered for the things we did in life? Certainly. Defined by them? Less so.

Robert Jordan's circumstances were, in fact, quite specific. He was in the process of writing what he swore would be the 12th and final volume of the series that had become his life's work, when he found out he was terminally ill. That was when he and his wife went about passing the torch. He didn't do it, as a healthy man, so that, on the off-chance that if he died, some fantasy nerds wouldn't be left with a bad case of narrative interruptus.

[caltino]

Just to be clear, I never thought this was an offensive or an insulting question.

I am not saying I don't care about Rich, or that I care more about the story than him. I am only saying I have come to care about what he has created and shared. If someone interprets my question as "I don't care what happens to Rich, I only care to hear the rest of the story" or something similar, then it is a misinterpretation.

I did however think that worrying about the story may be petty when the circumstances involve things happening to a real person. That doesn't exclude any concern for the author- I hope he and everyone else has a long, fulfilling life, but just talking about something else seems selfish, because I am thinking how I will miss something that I liked and cared about.

This is a concern that was many years in building. I can't think of anything else that I have followed for years and felt a connection to such as OotS, but I am sure others can think of similar things. I have watched the characters develop in many ways and, you know, I felt sad about Durkon. I hope to see him have a happy ending- go home, rest smiling again.

I don't think this is offensive, but it sure may be foolish to worry about what happens to imaginary things.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: This thread is closed for review.

[Roland St. Jude]

Sheriff: This thread is going to stay closed. Only Rich can answer the underlying question, so this thread has nowhere to go but around in circles about the propriety of the question. While I know that describes three quarters of the threads in this section of the forum, this one's a bit different, in that it's not about the comic but about the person.

I would advise avoiding questions about Rich's personal, private life (and, by extension) death. While they don't necessarily violate the Forum Rules, they also don't produce much other than argument about whether that's appropriate to ask and a red-text thread lock.