3.42

:C

146 Comments

  • amadre

    That’s…harsh. Introduce an intrepid youth character, make them interesting, shoot them a few pages later.

    • amadre

      Also I would like to note that my post was at 11:32 am and the page went up at, apparently, 12:00 am. I never knew I was magick.

      • friartuck

        …12am comes 11 and a half hours *before* 11:32 am.

        But yeah, very harsh. I was already starting to like that kid. Hopefully we’ll see more of him.

        • The posting mechanism is all weird anyways, it was 12:30 when I posted despite this thing being in PST. Who knows!

        • amadre

          I have trouble with the concept of time, haha.

    • rixusaku

      i didn’t read ALL the comments…but…maybe the BOSS shot someone!! oooOooOoooOOooOOoo~~
      =0
      …right? XD

  • Poor kid. :c

  • marly

    o…oh nooo… ;n;

  • Bezz

    Well, that sure was fast.
    Off screen bangs messes with my mind. I keep thinking that the person involved will appear later in the story.

    • Karlito

      I’m sure he’s alive, just missing another eye.

      • Emperial

        Thank you for making me laugh and wiping the “D:” expression off my face!

      • Ducello

        Oh please may it be so

      • SladinForever

        Alex needs to add a like button so I can 1-up this amazing comment XD

    • gaboris

      Same feel here man. I sure hope that that’s the case.

    • Thisguy

      I’m still not sure about the dead part, I just thought they were opening the door wider.

  • Mandy

    >:|

  • Wood

    Well it could have been worse.

    I mean, at least soli got paid before that raid took place. If she’d arrived only an hour later thand she did, she’d have found all tha work was for nothing.

  • pfmoi

    ;-;

  • Kodi

    Oh goddamnit.

  • Juan

    You better not be making him come back later eh! I love it if they killed him, loved the character, but it was just meant to happen.

    • Ducello

      I agree wholeheartedly. A great moment whether he made it or not.

  • AUGH noooo. D: But which direction did they go? I have a feeling the tunnel, but you never know!

    Dear god the rhyming.

    • Yep, they’re in the tunnel! Everyone has to go to the tunnelllll;als;kjda

      • Matticus

        Is it a…secret tunnel?

        Secret tunnel! Secret tunnel! Secret secret secret secret tunnulllll!

        • Ellie

          Seeeecret tunneeeeeeel! Seeeecret tunneeeeel! (Avatar the Last Airbender fans, you know what I’m singing! :D )

          • Casey

            YES! :D *sokka facepalm*

  • Maphysto

    GOD DER-SHING STOP KILLING EVERYONE I LIKE

    • Sorry! If it makes a difference, I’ve been emphasizing with all your future selves for the last week!

      • Lunaroki

        I think you mean “empathizing”.

        • I actually meant “chinchillas,” bad typo…

      • Aww. Yeah, there’s nothing worse than the feeling of guilt when you decide to kill off your own creation when you’re a writer…and then find out how much everyone LOVES your doomed creation.

        • People liked him in the sketch version too, so I had some idea : He wasn’t quite as fleshed out though. I like this version better.

          • Which is kind of worse since I had to kill him anyways, haha.

  • Jessa

    I’m sure that’s not the last we’ve seen of the Boss. He looks like too interesting of a character to die before we even knew him.

    I hope anyway. :C

    • John

      I dunno, based on what we’ve seen there is no Popularity Armor in the meek universe. Nor is there plot armor or karma armor.

      • Nor in real life, thankfully, otherwise I’dve been killed off yearrrsss ago

        • Jessa

          (/belated response, after I saw the fate of the Boss)

          Curses! In which case, bravo for having a character that seems so nicely fleshed out even if they are only going to on screen for a few pages. It makes the world seem so much more alive when it’s not just the plot-centric characters who have their own things going on.

  • dj apple house

    the only suggestion I would make is–it would be nice if there was some sort of visual cue to tell us which direction they went, the tunnel with all the others? or toward the gunshot.

    • IRL (ha) it would be obvious because you’d flip the page and there would be another panel. But I already have a note for my round of edits, in my sketches I had a foot in the panel which somehow disappeared in the inks.

      • gaboris

        Too bad that foot went lost, but at least now we have about *big random number* times more tension for tomorrow… I shouldn’t read your updates right before going to sleep cuz I just keep thinking about them. :P

  • It’s one of those awful rare times that seeing an update ruins my day.

    brb staring at Sexy Man on 3.33 to comfort me :c

    On a serious note though, mad props for mad storytelling skills.

    • I went to page 33 to check who you were talking about…

      ;n;

      • :C DON’T JUDGE MY LOVE IT IS PURE AND BEAUTIFUL.

  • Jessa

    Secret tunnel!
    Secret tunnel!
    Through the mountain!
    Secret, secret, secret, secret tunnel! Yeah!

    This song is probably inappropriate here but for some reason it was the first thing that came to mind.

    • Officer 1BDI

      I’m glad I wasn’t the only person whose brain jumped to this song. Makes me feel less terrible. XD

    • Matticus

      That was my thought exactly!

  • Julia

    Hmmm i dont belive you killed him. he seemed to have too much of a backstory to him.

  • Bracket

    I don’t get why everyone thinks “Bang” means “gunshot”. Or maybe I just don’t get this page. The bang was only a few seconds after the first hole in the door, and Boss was still upstairs. Of course, if I’m right, the Boss is still upstairs, and that is an issue. And everyone looks too dang scared and sad for Boss to just be OK, even if no one actually knows what’s happening with Boss. I’m bouncing between optimism and pessimism here. o_o

    • M

      The same “Bang!” sound effect earlier in this chapter meant a gunshot that barely missed Amen…so I guess that’s why we’re all thinking “gunshot” now!

    • gaboris

      Well since any other sound like banging on the door was described as “BAM” and otherwise they wouldn’t have that reaction at the end it’s almost obvious… UNLESS our dear author wants to mess with out minds and uses these as TRICKS!

      BTW better question is why think it’s about shooting someone? They are kids, the guards maybe just shot in the air to scare them.

    • Kels

      For me it’s Soli’s response. She, of all people, would know what a gunshot sounds like.

  • Pi

    Wow, that made me gasp out loud. ):

  • Quinni

    Never trust an off-screen bang!

  • tc-city

    Damn. I was just starting to like him.

  • Marbles

    I’m scared to have favourite characters now. D:

    • You should be!

      • frenchy

        qua?

        • Spoiler: they are all eaten by tigers

          • Marbles

            Even… Dagre? D:> But he was the bestest of ALL!

          • Especially Dagre! Live by the tiger, die by the tiger.

          • Emperial

            “Live by the tiger, die by the tiger.” Dagre t-shirt slogan? I’m just saying. :D

  • tehbeefer

    I don’t know, maybe panel 6 works better without a foot? Adds a smidge of mystery? Although, I don’t know how it’ll flow once everything is in sequence, maybe it’s not an obvious enough omission to merit mystery and instead is just confusing. I guess it’ll depend on the next page (woot!)

    • Yep. No need for suggestions, I do a pretty extensive edit pass at the end when I’m able to do a readthrough. It’s hard to see the minor continuity errors when there are still pending pages, but they’ll be all in my face when the chapter is done, haha… the final/ print version will read a lot smoother throughout.

  • Jeez! I was starting to like the boss! He was awesome! T^T And he shall be missed… But now our intrepid outlaws seem to have a whole bunch of kids on their hands…

    • Kels

      Wonder how much they’ll sell for!

  • Now, I don’t want anyone thinking I’m not dismayed by the Boss’ death, because I am. But this just needs to be said:

    Those little kids. <3 So adorable!

  • Bo Cephas

    JUST LIKE PHE! You have a real knack for character development, but it seems that the effectiveness of your effort in introducing a new face is inversely proportional to the longevity of the character to which it’s attached.

    Seriously, you really are good at that. Every chapter, I’ve fallen on love with a character(s) in a single page or less. Pinter and Angora in ch.1, Phe and the Emporer in ch. 2, Soli and Ali in the current chapter. I’m still not over Phe.

  • Marcutiolives

    What did I say!?
    I trust nothing!

    • lol, I’m sorry XD

      • feline256

        Oh you crafty bastard! x)

  • Tim Kietzman

    When’s the next one!? When’s the next one!? Please don’t take too long!

    • Tonight? Tomorrow morning? Pretty soon!

  • Soli

    Is Soli’s tattoo glow-in-the-dark?

    • Dustin get off my website

      • Actually I was going to ask about the tattoo as well, is it’s super-special-awesome and glows in the dark or is it just the way light’s hitting it?

        • Haha, it’s more for dramatic effect here :B The lighting is a bit more illustrative than I usually do, the concept art my work friends keep showing me is rubbing off XD IRL it probably wouldn’t be as bright.

  • Eleanor

    Did they leave the door open? It looks like the door is open D: Don’t let the Boss die in vain!

  • gaboris

    I have never seen an author description so dens that matched the situation so perfectly… and I’m so sad right now. :(

    When they said “everyone else” did they mean there’s a bunch of kids left behind or was that only for the boss?

    • Yeah, there are other kids upstairs :C

      • gaboris

        Oh my this is too dark… I hope you’ll make up for our mental scars later on. :p

  • There’s a small chance that he might be going out guns-a-blazing.

  • Fleece

    Dramatically, that single shots seems to indicate that this is The Boss getting shot, but I don´t understand how.

    The soldiers shoot right after getting in? They aren´t really “taking” anyone, they are killing on sight? If so, did the Boss finally came downstairs and right into their line of sight at exactly the wrong moment and then they immediately opened fire? But then just one shot from one soldier? Weren´t “everyone else” with him? Or did one of the soldiers just make a random warning shot as they were storming in? Or (wilder theories!) was it the Boss who shot at the soldiers. (Unfortunately, that seems unlikely, otherwise there would be fire from the soldiers following that.) Wait, it isn´t Soli shooting at them, is it??

    Aagh, I wanna see what´s happening! I won´t accept just the ambiguous sound effects as the dramatic shorthand for Death! Not in this comic!
    I was prepared for Boss´s death, but I hoped it would happen onscreen. :( I still hope we will see it on next page. Or is the point that Soli and Alamand are just as lost as I am seeing the soldiers run in and hearing a single shot? Then I would like to at least see as much as they do, see the soldiers run in.

    • Haha, I was going to write a description but I like show better than tell. I’ll post an explanation tomorrow.

      • Fleece

        After Phe, I was so ready for another graphic naturalistic death scene than the lack of it seemed almost a letdown and an anticlimax. Boss was so very awesome and I thought it would have been more “complete” to have his end before our eyes. I like how, er, real death-like real you can make death look. I hope me really wishing to see that doesn´t sound sick or anything. But it is probably just me. Most likely just me. And I get that we have a limited POW here and therefore unfortunately cannot see what Soli cannot see.

        On a positive (epic!) note, if the Boss actually died protecting the kids with his life, holy shit, he really is so very awesome as the previous page indicated.

        • Yeah, well the story is about Soli and Alamand XD If they don’t see it, neither do we! I can understand the frustration though, it’s a real-life kind of “I wish I knew what’s going on” feeling… from a narrative point of view, he is there to show you exactly what kind of people inhabit this world…

          And yeah, maybe you’re sick too, haha XD

          • Fleece

            Yeah, and this is probably again one of those scenes that will be smoother when read all at once, not in a “read a page, speculate, read a page, speculate” circle.

  • jecomdmoy

    Aww, they had raid drills and everything! Somebody took the time to make sure everybody was prepared for an emergency :( The criminal underworld loses one of its few competent bosses, and it doesn’t look as if anyone else is ready to step up and fill the gap in leadership.

    • Yeah, I think this is the end of the Tyros : Tom is second in command and well-meaning, but not very bright.

      • Ailynne

        The way you said that…
        You.. you can’t have killed the boss! D:

  • Girl

    YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSS ITS BACK!!!

  • blue

    And the plot twist on the next page is we find the gunshot was actually from a tiny pistol hidden in Boss’s eye socket, Right? Missing eyes: the pockets of the face

    But seriously… Damn :(

    • lol, no, but this will be my headcanon* from now on

      *headcannon??

      • Lee M

        Yeah, but then wouldn’t the recoil give him concussion?!

        • mike

          Worth it.

        • blue

          HAHA I meant more along the lines that is was hidden there and he took it out to fire it, but having a built in gun eye is SO much more awesome.

  • Sparx

    You inspire me to be able to create a character so well-loved that the untimely death of said character causes such emotion and outrage, despite the character having only brief screen time.

    Stop being so good at writing it’s not fair dammit

    • It’s not my writing, it’s his attractive hair curls >:C So charming!

      • Sparx

        Brilliant
        You’re exactly right
        Nevermind now aspiring to create a character with the perfect hair curls

  • Matt

    who’s bang-bang went bang? Did you kill the soldiers? ZOMG – I had grown so ATTACHED to them!

    Seriously though – thanks so much for the outpouring of storyline!

    • The elbow in panel 3 is a really important character to me ;__;

  • Cheshire

    I just love the glow of Soli’s tattoo in the second to last panel. Amazing work as usual!

  • sweet_gardenia

    You’re not killing enough people Der-shing…KILL MOAR. MOOAARRRR EVERYONE MUST DIEEEEEE MUHAHAHAHAAA *maniacal laughter*

    • Lee M

      Exceo the hot chicks, right?

    • Lee M

      CORRECTION! Except the hot chicks, right?

      • sweet_gardenia

        well duh everyone knows only ugly people die. Beautiful people live forever and fart rainbows.

  • Great Scott

    …How are people getting that he was shot?
    I’m so bad at this game. :c

    • Probably the suspiciously well-timed “BANG” sound effect.

  • Greg

    No fuck this, Boss is obviously still alive. I base this on the fact that he’s me second favorite character behind Angora. And, of course, the fact that he was a brand new interesting character who was invisible killed. That’s prime resurrection material. Right? RIGHT?

  • Cherry B.

    I don’t really like that BANG sound. Seems you love to torture us by keeping stuff like this from us. First Amen, now this! If anyone has to go, make it be Tom. He seems much more expendable and easily forgotten to me… >_>

    Also, is this chapter going to be as long as the others or will it be longer? If it’s the first, this chapter is ending soon. -Puddle of sad-

    Soli looks sexeh in that fifth panel. ♥ <_<

  • kittengrl39

    D:
    ;_;
    Der-shing, you have a bad habit of breaking our hearts.

  • Casey

    The facial expressions in the fifth panel are heart breakingly amazing. Thank you for being awesome. :D

  • StephenM3

    RIP Boss
    3:38 – 3:42

    Though we only knew you for four short pages, we loved your attitude, ideals, and your eyepatch. You’ll be running a children’s crime ring in Heaven, now.

    • CelestialTeez

      Like.

  • Marion

    I like Alamand’s expression on panel 5.

    Is this the same kid who was introduced this issue whilst playing with those ‘cool’ guns? Who pestered Soli for one of her guns when stealing from a solitary pensioner? Who insisted that she shoot bound prisoners?

    O dear, how small one of the cocky persuasion becomes when the boot is on the other foot (Marion snickered in schadenfreude).

    I sekritly hope that the ‘bang’ in question was the Boss issuing a waring shot and heroically jumping out of the window and escaping, but remembering Phe I know that that hope is slim…

  • If I could, I would content myself with looking at the cast page and thinking “at least no one in here will die!”
    …but Phe is on there.
    Sigh. Sorry ta see you go, Boss.

  • Trent

    It’s possible that that “bang” meant he was shooting at police, not that he was shot. Although it was only one shot, which makes it likely he was probably killed.

  • Kevin

    I see this is near the end of this portion of the graphic novel. I think this is an interesting way to end. Though I was hoping more or less that eye patch would be a progressive character. Here is me hoping.

  • Hika

    Does Soli have her gun out to shoot in the first panel, or is that someone else?

    • Yeah, in case they busted through! She is more of a sneaker than a fighter though

      • Shandathe

        Can’t blame her. I try to avoid being shot at as well.

  • Blunderbuss

    NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

    This comic, it … it fills me with love and then keeps breaking my heart. I WISH I KNEW HOW TO QUIT YOU, MEEK COMIC. YOU ARE LIKE A BAD BOYFRIEND. ;_;

    (Just kidding, I love this comic.)

  • soli’s tattoo looks really awesome in the dark!

    • Bootman

      It also appears to be either fluorescent, or glow-in-the-dark.

  • wwax

    What if the Boss killed himself?
    I mean, this is a raid, I don’t think they’re killing everyone in sight. Capturing the Boss of an organization _alive_, with all kinds of info in his head must be so much more useful for the “police” than just shoot him dead without interrogating him… Aaand Boss looked like he was ready to do anything to keep his people safe, so… BANG.

    Well.. I’m not sure this makes sense at all… It made sense in my head and in my mother tongue :)

    ps.: this comic is absolutely awesome… which we all aware of, I think :} Thank you so much for creating this!

  • Jac

    Noo not the kid who steeples all nine of his fingers! ;_;

  • Sven

    BOOOSS D:

  • lang

    another cool character dead?

    Hmgh.

  • Kelly

    Oh my god, I’m SO HAPPY that I decided to check this comic again. IT’S UPDATING!!! :D

  • schazzah

    Damn you Soli, you permanently question my sexuality.

    • Daisy

      Tell me about it, I keep having to remind myself that soli is a girl

  • Rose

    Depressing context aside, that last image of Soli is pretty much the coolest thing ever.

  • Gorgeous transition to this moody, shadowy place. <3 I also totally agree with valking about Soli's tattoo looking amazing in the dark.

  • awol360

    Nothing can kill David Bowie Boss child (does he have a name at this point?)!

    Loving the comic, moar!

  • Cheri

    I love how so many people here are treating ambiguity as a personal insult.

  • sweet_gardenia

    Let us take a moment of silence to mourn Boss. Your sunny disposition and tendency to stare blankly off into space in quiet homicidal plotting at inappropriate moments made us laugh, made us cry. Your vast untapped potential to hold the world ransom for one…million dollars, to conveniently leave the hero and heroine tied up and utterly doomed dangling over a tank of robot crocodiles with lazer eyes or possibly bear-sharks or ninjas or some kinda something, maybe even while stroking some kind of fuzzy cat or chinchilla will never now be known. Would you have had a headcannon installed in your eyesocket? Would you have hideously scarred your face to appear all the more menacing? Would you have even founded some sort of glam rock band and grown your hair out on a mullet and worn glitter and tight spandex pants? We shall never know. Adieu sweet pale prince of illegal contraband. You and your awesome eyepatch have shuffled off this mortal coil too soon and you are smuggling among the angels now, my friend

    *wipes away tear*

    • Metrophor

      GLORIOUS.
      *raises Bic lighter*

    • feline256

      *Starts up track of poignant electric guitar solo*

    • Mag

      T-this is just s-so-so beautiful!!! *sobs*
      *raises 2 bic lighters*

  • Pippin

    Please tell me it was the kid who shot someone instead. *cry*

  • Shjade

    How people got so attached to a zealot teenage leader of some underground group when he only existed for a handful of pages and didn’t do anything of note in that time, I have no idea.

    • Hal

      You, sir, are afraid of commitment. Committing to the ideals of the Boss makes us whole. Working for the Boss is what lets us eat. Following the Boss is what gives us purpose in life. Our lives are incomplete without the Boss. Thus we love, follow and attach ourselves to the Boss. Well, and Montgomery Burns. Ok, so it’s mostly the finger templing.

    • Twigs

      Because he had CHARACTER.

      Also because people love neuroticism.

      Also because he had an eyepatch, which automatically gives him +100 awesome points. If Jane Eyre had worn an eyepatch, she would have been running that orphanage with an iron fist while the adults cowered in the broom cupboards. If Tess of the D’Urbervilles had worn an eyepatch, she would have bitch-slapped Alec back to the 14th century and then ended up captaining a pirate ship and living in a castle full of hot dudes.

      It’s the most important of unsung literary devices.

  • steelbright

    yep, that’s good characterization for you!

    Soli is pretty much the awesomest female character ever. Speaking of sexuality. She’s like the female character i wanted to write in a story but she ended up stereotypical. :( And somehow she’s also like the male character i wrote in another story who’s really cool.

    ALL ROLLED UP INTO ONE. <3

    i really hope this is played with later in the comic. i'd love to see how she goes about falling in love with someone. ( i think this is part of the backstory, isn't it? but that doesn't mean she can't do it again!)

  • Hal

    Awesome comic! Glad to see you back!

  • Fisherman

    MMMMMMMWATCHAAAA SAAAAAAAAAAAY, MMMMTHAT YOU ONLY MEANT WELL, BECAUSE YA DIDN’T MMMMMMMMWATCHA SAAAAAAY, MMMTHAT ITS ALL FOR THE BEST, BECAUSE IT ISN’T MMMMMMWATCHA SAY

  • The lighting in this page is still one of my favorites after all these years! Still one of my favorite webcomics ever. Hope you’re doing well!

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