It’s rare for a webcomic to end on it’s own terms. Sure, a the cynic in me will outright admit that a webcomic dies every day, as the field is inundated with hobbyists, it’s more than natural to assume that the hobby just doesn’t pan out for some people.

However, there are true endings to some webcomics. Where the author, perhaps due to obligation, or an anal-retentive drive to complete sets out to effectively close the book. More than is fair to these orphaned stories, the endings are ham-fisted, nothing resolved. Even worse, some are left to die with no continuation whatsoever. It always inspires me to see a creator close the tome. A good example is fellow Scienteer Kevin Hayman’s Kota’s World. One of the first webcomics I ever read that actually had an extended storyline with an actual ending. Plot threads resolved, character arcs complete, and to top it off a beautiful coda to end the series on. That’s not to say that the writer doesn’t deserve the privilege to dip into the book and add a couple new chapters now and then.

Lancaster: The Ghost Detective ended on it’s own terms. Properly ended. Poinko (Phil to his buddies dammit) actually set to finish the story he started telling on October 6th 2004. While the Lancaster universe is more or less closing it’s book on the tales written and drawn by Phil, and the occasional conspiratorial-notions of Shon Howell and myself (in a much lesser capactiy, mind you), the universe is very vibrant and alive, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see more arrive from it in the future. If not by Phil’s mind, by the minds of the fans, to which I vehemently lump myself into. But the story is done. The end has been reached, anything else is just some extra chapters that have yet to be uncovered. Lancaster’s crisis resolved, and new potential stories and relationships are formed and that’s the best way to leave a story off. It shows the strength of the creator as fans and readers have gotten to know the universe well enough that the idea of stories beyond what were told lie out there.

This isn’t the end of Phil’s career in comics, far from, he’s an amazing friend who is dripping creativity and talent with every page he puts down. His upcoming projects will surely be amazing. However in a sense, they just can’t compete with Lancaster. My reason for this perspective?

Lancaster is whole; a completed effort that showcases the evolution of someone devoted to the craft. While his future projects will build upon this amazing effort and evolution in his skills, they’ll lack the certain completion Lancaster has achieved.

That is until they receive a proper ending too.

Be sure to check out the eventual new home to the comic. Also, please consider digging the story, it’s not life-changing news, but it’s a rather nice thing to read about.

Tags: Ending, lancaster, milestone, New Website, Poinko, The Scienteers

This entry was posted on Friday, June 13th, 2008 at 12:00 am and is filed under Mainpage Comic, Promotional. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.