And that, as they say, is that.
Well.
Huh.
I have been doing this for so long that I find myself somewhat at a loss for words. For the last six months or so, I have been very focused on finally finishing Digger’s unexpectedly epic journey (some of you undoubtedly remember those first five pages, and my constant refrain that I was just doodling and not to get attached!) but I didn’t actually spend much time thinking about what to say once I did.
I guess the only thing to say is “Thank you!” So many readers have given me so much encouragement and support and time over the years that I won’t even try to name them all. I’d say it has been a labor of love, but that’s both a cliche and doesn’t really cover the obsession and stubbornness and the desire to prove that I really COULD finish a giant project, damnit, and the vague fear that if I just stopped in mid-comic, I would be hunted by an angry mob, which all factors. Also, love.
The final print volume of Digger should be available from Sofawolf Press later this year. I’ll put up a post here, and of course the comic will remain up as long as the hosts are willing to host it.
Possibly I’ll have something clever to say in a few days, in which case I’ll put up a post or something, but right now, about all I got is…dude. 759 pages. How ’bout that?
Amazing story. I thoroughly enjoyed every page of Digger and wish the lovable wombat the best!
Great job Ursula, continue on with your great work ^_^
Wow. I wasn’t expecting the end to be RIGHT HERE, but this was a good way to do it. Thank you for the story Ursula!
*FLAIL*
It’s the dreaded two words.
Incredible job. Thanks!!!
*sob*
For the next few weeks, every Tuesday and Thursday, I will get this sudden feeling as if I were missing something. Something amazingly awesome. :’)
But this was as great a place to end as one could reasonably hope for, so all that’s left is… Thanks for such a great, memorable work!
Well thank you for continuing the journey and giving us all something amazing to enjoy. You story was amazing and I am always saddened when a good story ends. I shall miss Digger.
No, no, thank you for telling us such a wonderful tale. I look forward to many re-readings in the years to come, and it’s beautiful to see a project like this come to a proper end, rather than shambling onwards zombielike or cut down in its prime.
Thank you, thank you. 🙂
Those first pages were a lifetime ago! Thank you for continuing on and telling this story. I enjoyed every page. <3
“The End”?!?! But… but…
Oh, well. Ursula wins all arguments, it’s her work.
I look forward to buying 2 of volume 6 when it comes out — one for me, one for the package of all 6 volumes I intend as the 12th birthday present to the daughter of my best friend. (I’ve previously gotten her complete sets of Jeff Smith’s “Bone” and Mark Crilley’s “Akiko”, pretty good girl-positive books, I think.)
And tears still well up when I think of Ed’s simple telling of his tragic story. Thank you so much for this journey, Ms. Vernon.
At least there’s still the Girl Genius webcomic; I’m not sure the story’s even half-told after 10 years.
Is being hole, large and large, in her week. Is missing reason for bounding out of bed on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Is seeing hag for happy potion. *Gak* is tasting TERRIBLE. Is asking Owl Caller instead…
Is being in withdrawal. Much sadness is like endings, yes. Is Art.
Thank you Ursula for this magnificent tale! It has been a constant inspiration to me through 8 years of high school and college. It’s been amazing. Thank you for sticking with it, and sharing this tale with the internet/world. <3
Holy crap. Digger ends just a couple hours after Phoenix Requiem ends. What a day.
Huzzah the telling of a tale well told. *bows respectfully, Renaissance style*
Thank you for making this.
A wonderfully told story! Thank you for sticking it out and bringing it to a conclusion! Thank you! Just doesn’t seem like a good enough thing to say after being taken on such a great journey but it is all I can think of. 🙂
Well that was quicker than I hoped. :<
Still, wonderful to see it from start to finish <3
GAH!
You’re going to need a wrap-up post on your blog! What happens to Shadowchild? Murai? Jhalm? How long does it take Digger to get home? What does she do when she gets there? How does her family react!
Please, for the love of my autographed copy of Weinerbreath which has a sketch of Digger waving and “yay wombats!” as a dedication, fill us in on what happens!
Dude. =) Thank you.
Well, you got a “no!” out of me when I read the page. But, then again, if Digger is shielded from the eyes of the gods, then she should be shielded from her ultimate god, her creator.
I’ve loved the comic and thank you for all of this.
I eagerly look forward to whatever you tackle next.
“Hmph. Wombats,” indeed.
Well, I feel I must add to my list of Reasons I Want to Be Ursula When I Grow Up: you’ve done an excellent job of telling the story until you get to the end, and then stopping. I admire that in a storyteller.
Thank you for a epic tale with laughter, sorrow and excitement.
Thank you and I wish you luck with whatever comes next. 😀
*passes ’round the box of kleenex*
Ah.. wombats.
Good job, ursula. Very well done. Thnk you. Thank you very much.
o god i really am crying i will miss this comic so many of my fav comics have all ended abut this was the hardest to see go i have been fallowing u for a long time and its sad to see it go.
I’m pretty sure there’s only one thing for us readers to do now… go back to the beginning and read it over again.
…Wow. Bravo, good woman.
The End???
There’s so much left unfinished! The journey home could be an entire ‘nother comic!
Ahh well. Good stories never have proper endings. I imagine you’d want to take a break after however many YEARS it’s been, anyhow. Thanks so much for creating the whole thing! It’s been one helluva ride.
Thank you so much for all your labours over this wonderful tale, Ursula.
And, um, can we have a sequel soon please?
Wow.
….congratulations.
………thanks. You have made a true work of art.
Must know the fate of Shadow-lescent/teen!!!
No, thank YOU.
Thanks for the fantastic story Ursula.
PS. If any future thoughts include an outline of what happens to the major characters after the story I’d be very grateful 🙂
Congratulations, Ursula! Beautiful last page, too.
You’ll need to do something to deal with the sudden void in your daily life now. I guess it comes as no surprise to you, seeing how many creative projects you’ve finished, but I personally always find it quite a shock to the system. Read a good book and have a cup of tea or something to celebrate. You’ve earned it.
Congratulations, Ursula, you pulled this off. 🙂
Now I am hoping for “Tales of Digger” or something like it… you know… you cannot resist it for long. 😉
Thanks for putting in all the effort over the years! Digger has become the FIRST thing we look at in the morning and BCM is a regular household guest whenever we want to “discuss what to do with someone troublesome”. She also pops round to help finish any left-over liver… anyway, thanks again for the entertainment for the past year or so.
So, instead of hitting the Vote button, we should hit the Donate button to show our appreciation.
Thank you for the lovely story! It was sad in places, but great!
If this were a movie, I’d be one of those idiots pointlessly applauding even though no one I’m applauding for can hear it. But this is better than a movie, because I can tell you how much I loved every page. Thanks for all the work, Ursula, and I can’t wait to see what you do next.
Well, that was sudden. Not too unexpected, as we were “after the end” as the I Ching puts it, and just waiting for things to wind down to a conclusion. We know that Digger is getting a ride home at least, though whether her residence will still belong to her is another matter.
Brilliant story, especially since so much of it was written on the fly. Beautiful passages of dialogue too. Now all you’ve got to do is battle the mounting urge to write a sequel.
Anyway, congratulations, Ursula, on an epic ended!
Of course, tank you as well. For everything. As many others, I may have not commented much, but I enjoyed every page as it came out. So great job, and my best wishes for your career. =)
Huh. Digger finished on my birthday.
As presents go, that’s a rather odd – if memorable – thing to end up with…
Congratulations on such a successful story, Ursula. Would you at all consider arranging a mailer or the like to notify us when the preorders are ready? We’re planning to buy the whole darn set!
What, that’s it?
You didn’t give me the time to prepare mentally! I thought there would at least have been several more comics to wrap up all the unanswered questions, and show a little of what happens in the journey.
And especially Ed’s funeral, or so to speak. I wanted to see if Grim Eyes would be sad at all!
You’re very welcome. Thank you for a wonderful journey.
Thanks and a BIGGG hug to you. The ending is as simple and direct as a pickaxe against a tunnel facing. 😀
Thank you very much for drawing us this wonderful story.
*sob* No more Digger? What will I do with my Tuesdays and Thursdays now?
Thank you for sharing the tale of Digger and Ed with the rest of the world.
Thank you Ms Verson for a very entertaining and beautifullly woven tale, for filling my dreams with wombats and very wombat proverbs that I can never use in everyday conversation.
A beautiful ending to a beautiful story. It’s been a wonderful ride, every inch of the way, and I thank you for bringing me–for bringing all of us–along with you.
I can only hope that there is a next project, and that it comes soon, because I’d love to head out on another trip with you and that incredible storytelling skill of yours.
Bravo.
Once in a great while, literary history gets made and we get a chance to be there and watch it unfold. I can’t help but compare this to those following Arthur Conan Doyle in the Strand or watching Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone. We’ve watched you grow as a writer and an artist, Ms. Vernon. And even though this story is over, yours is still very much alive.
Thank you for sharing it with us, Ms. Vernon, and making it so wonderful just to be the audience.
so I guess we wait a few months, then we’ll see the goodbyes with the hyenas, crossing the bridge and saying hello to Surka, and Shadowlescent, and the big arrival home? Say, maybe only 600 pages this time?
To be completely honest? I’m slightly disappointed this epic ends right here, like that.
But the rest, the long and amazing travel from the very first page to the last one, is the really important part. Not the conclusion. And I am happy to have been able to see the story unfold.
(Y’know, a bit like Lost. It is not the ending that truly matters. It’s the journey to the end.)
Thank you very much for sharing Digger’s (and Ed’s, and Ganesha’s statue, and Jhalm’s, and Grim Eyes, and Shadolescent, and…) tale with us.
This _IS_ the end of the Story. As storytellers of old would say to all the little children listening (“But what about Surka! and Shadow?!” “Does she really get her burrow back when she’s home?”), and this is really the only thing to say:
“Ah, but That Is Another Story.”
Maybe it will be yours to tell. Maybe you’ll feel like it. But it cannot be forced. And what little we know of your muse should tell us that it wouldn’t be told now.
We did get a fair amount of closure: we know Murai found a Destiny, we know BCM is aware of Ed’s end, we know Shadow is not gone for good, and we know Digger found a way home. What Happens After is, well, not as exciting*.
Time for a new Story…
*Though it’s not to say it can’t be fun or good – the whole premise of the wonderful comic book Castle Waiting is exactly that – What Happens After (after Sleeping Beauty left her castle with all the briars, and her ladies in waiting, and the whole countryside, to go gallivanting with an unknown Prince). The artist found a wonderful new hook/central character for this as a series after the initial story.
i want to say something clever about your epic, and about how it’s touched me, and how I was hooked since I started reading, about when Digger and Ed descended into the tunnel. However, there are forty-eight other people, most wittier than I, who’ve covered most of what I could say. So, I’ll simply say…
Hmph.
Webcomic artists.
(ps thank you)