The Final Farewell(s)!
I think it is quite appropriate to wrap up Pitch Black Day’s backmatter with a pair of blood stained letters, don’t you?
In the first blood soaked correspondence, we FINALLY get a look at a letter referenced in not one, but two previous backmatter installments – Van Helsing’s posthumous “#@$& YOU” to his old comrade in arms, Arthur Holmwood. So furious was he that his one-time friend would have him killed to conceal the truth of their encounter with Dracula, Van Helsing unleashed a DARK secret that he knew would cut Arthur to the bone. I’m sure, however, that he never dreamed it would drive Arthur mad and precipitate a brutal murder, but such is the power of friendship – it can save you in your darkest hour (such as the case of Joe and Doc) or it can utterly destroy you.
And, while the Van Helsing letter pretty well wraps up the final lose ends – both plot-wise and thematically – we just couldn’t resist giving you a glimpse of a certain ravishing red-head’s future beyond the pages of PBD. This final correspondence, I believe, nicely encapsulates everything we’ve grown to love about Abigail; she’s deadly, witty, and sexy as hell. Will we ever see her again in the pages of Deep Dive Daredevils, or will we ever flesh out this tease of the new mission she’s embarked on? Sorry folks, I ain’t tellin’.
Speaking of correspondence, eagle-eyed Daredevilers will notice a new feature at the top of the left sidebar – a brand spankin’ new Deep Dive Daredevils MAILING LIST! As I mentioned last week, BIG THINGS are coming down the pike and when the time comes we want to be able to communicate with you guys/gals directly. So, please PLEASE take a second RIGHT NOW and sign up! I PROMISE that we will never spam your inbox or send you frivolous emails. Rest assured, the mailing list will only be utilized when we need to make contact about worthwhile, substantive events. Thanks!
Welp, be here NEXT WEEK when we unveil the cover to END(S) of the EARTH(S) and a NEW ERA for the Deep Dive Daredevils officially begins!
As always, stop by the Sunday Bonus Lunch for Evin’s warped perspective on all things Daredevils related, but DEAR GOD only look at it out of the corner of your eye for I fear his madness could be contagious.
Anyways, till next week!
-Matt-
How nice that the very last image from PBD is a goodbye kiss from Abby. Especially since the first page shows her acting brash.
@Director SISX: Need-to-know is a fine principle for secret work, but it is difficult to foresee what exactly your operatives need to know. Someone tasked with a surprise and furtive murder really needs to know if the assigned target is actually in the process of provoking the very same thing. That knowledge might deter from making assumptions about apparent obliviousness to lurking dangers.
Tangentially, if you guys could update Bram Stoker, you can do the same with Kipling. Kim should be in his later fifties by now (1937). Abby could team up with him, and the Great Game could tie in. (Fun fact: In about that timeframe, the Cambridge Five were hired by the NKWD to infiltrate the SIS.) And maybe Abby could develop a slight inclinination towards a gentleman with gray hair, dry wit and craggy charme? (OK, gotta stop, this is just wishful thinking, and it’s wrong on so many levels.)
That said, after you really put the Deep Dive into the DDD, I hope that you will send them into shallow waters – literally and figuratively – some day. Wilhelmshaven lies at an estuary, and Peenemuende at an intricate sound. They might have to hide in broad daylight, for a change. Against Stukas, nonetheless.
You can probably sense that I’m thrilled about what comes next.
Well, Timothy, without giving away too much about the Daredevils’ next adventure, I can confirm that it will indeed take place in much more “shallow waters.”
The tone of our next story is much more in line with the first adventure, Secret of the Beaufort Sea…however, with some lingering darkness spilling over in the aftermath of Pitch Black Day.
Can’t wait to see what you make of it!
Am I seeing a connection between Abby dressing as a prostitute, and hunting someone, and the previously mentioned Jack the Ripper?
I’m thinking he is in for quite a surprise, and I would not want to be him when she locates the bastard (Not that I’d want to be him anyway).
Yep, Abby’s after Jack – out to avenge her “mother” Jehan Bumpass.
You’re missing a step though, T.Gatto…I was counting on you to request we actually make a comic about Abigail’s hunt for Jack the Ripper (as you have been asking to see more Jack from the word go). Then, I was going to be all coy about it and say stuff like, “wait and see!” and “You never know!”
I got this odd psychic request to ask you to consider doing a crossover story about Abigail hunting for Jack the Ripper.
Can’t say where It came from…
That would be AWESOME!
I have to say, this is a fantastic ending to this particular chapter. The best part is where the assassin never finishes his or her letter stopping at that final incomplete word as if silenced so fast he never even stood a chance.
When it comes to Abby, “as if” is a dangerous word …
Thanks for the kind words, tkg!
Yeah, cutting off the letter abruptly like that was Evin’s idea, and it is indeed a nice touch. It implies so much with so little.
I liked that little “nice try” and the lipstick signature. Nice to know that Abby is at least one step ahead of SISX. “I don’t foresee any difficul–” no, I don’t suppose you did.
Very nicely put, indeed.