The Wombat Has Left The Building

I had vague thoughts of doing some kind of useful wrap post here—maybe talk about how far I’ve come since Digger started, although honestly, I mostly find myself thinking of the difference in the view from my desk, between that tiny little rat-hole apartment in St. Paul, with my back wedged against a dying radiator and a view of the basement through a hole in the floor, to this spacious room half a continent away with the sun streaming through the window.

I am a little sad, but not as crushingly as I expected. Digger has been over in my head for awhile now, and all the various voices had quieted down awhile ago. They’d offer dialog if I poked them, but I was no longer taking dictation in the shower.  So it’s a good time to end.

Last night Kevin and I had cheap sushi and cheesecake and gin, and I didn’t wake up with any deep black gulf of despair in my head screaming “OH GOD, WHAT DO I DO WITH MY LIFE NOW?!” And then a truck pulled up with my mountain of mulch being delivered. And now I figure that probably the best way to celebrate the end of something like Digger is to move dirt around.

And in answer to all the readers who said “But–what happened to THIS character?!” the answer is that they went on and lived their lives as they saw fit, and if they have not since died, they are living there still.

4 thoughts on “The Wombat Has Left The Building

  1. Wolf Lahti says:

    I knew Digger was ending soon, to the sorrow of many.

    But was that really an ending? You set us up for some probably tear-jerking good-byes, and then *thud*.

    “Wait… That was it?”

    Not that I’m unappreciative of the enormous amount of creative energy expended on this huge project, mind you.

  2. Douglas Henke says:

    I thought the ending was just fine.

    Yes, we know the goodbyes happened. Various characters, off-screen, no doubt continued along their respective trajectories. Some of those would absolutely be interesting stories — but they’re not *this* story.

    Ursula, leaving people wanting more does *not* mean you did anything wrong; just the opposite. Bill Watterson got this. Charles Schulz didn’t.

    I think maybe some of the complaints stem from the delivery mechanism. When you’re reading two strips a week, the ending does seem a little abrupt. My expectation is that when I pick it up in book (or archive) form, and read the lot in one sitting, it’ll feel more natural. Structurally, I suspect everything after about 30 Nov 2010 was an epilogue and a gentle winding-down. It’ll be easier to see that approaching the work as a complete whole rather than as a serial.

    Anyway: Wow. And thanks. And “How soon can we get the next printed volume?” (And “What’ll be the bonus material in the last volume?”)

  3. Betsy says:

    I think it wasn’t as much as a surprise for me because I prepared myself for it. That said, I can understand how it would have thrown some readers off, but I’m also not sure how you could have ended it without some kind of just simple good-bye. We know Digger goes home, and the story revolved more around what happened to her leading up to and immediately after she had to kill the god. The entire story took place in that realm, so once we know she’s going home, I’m not sure we need to see anything else. That’s just my personal opinion though. It was a wonderful comic to come to work to on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and I can’t wait to own it.

  4. Katebat says:

    The moving dirt around is a fitting thing to do to celebrate Digger being done… 🙂 I’m sure she’d have some advice.

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