Parts XXXIX and XL
Thus, Act Three, and with it, the story of Robot, has come to an end.
Act Three moved into production April 25, 2012 and progressed, steadily, until May 4, 2012. My original plan was to finish writing and roughing the comic by May 21st - a year after I began, but school work got the better of me and it had to put back on hold until July. July 10th, I began to write and draw again, eventually finishing on July 20th. Upon the completion of the rough story pages, I moved back into clean up, finishing that process August 30, 2012.
The conclusion of Robot leaves Apple and Edward in a weird spot. Previous AAaD comics dealt with the trials and tribulations of romance, however, this is the first time I've played with the concept of mortality in any serious fashion. (Apple died and awful lot in the beginning but those deaths were always handled the same way as Kenny's in South Park - as a punchline.) Now that Edward has basically killed an entire city's worth of people, I'm left with only two options for moving forward. Option One is to just ignore it altogether and move onto another story with the characters having learned nothing from this experience. It would be in keeping with the general flow of AAaD so far, but then, why bother having the dramatic build up throughout the last half of Robot? If I were to ignore the outcome and consequences of the story, why didn't I just wrap this up with a hearty dose of deus ex machina around Part XX? It certainly would have allowed me to move on from this story sooner.
No. Everything about Robot was intentional (it's the major reason why it took so long to complete). It's ending sets up the circumstances for the stories to come. Therefore, I have no choice but to address the consequences and fallout of Edward's actions in the coming comics (aka Option Two). I can say, with certainty, that the next comics to come will be a return to weekly one-off's. They will act as an epilogue to Robot, however, they will not be grouped together as a story.
They will, however, lead us directly into Story #4.
Just a few notes to wrap up Robot:
- The loss of color in Edward's hair represents the fact that he is no longer under the influence of Zordon's psychosis. (However, it is important to note that he retains control of the Dragonzord.)
- Robot is dead. I don't want to cheapen his sacrifice by bringing him back to life.
- The gray shadows that slowly creep into Part XL serve two purposes. First, it helps convey just how dark the woods are at night in the area Robot called home. Second, and most importantly, they gradually shift the visual tone of the page so that it is more in keeping with the emotional tone of the story. Since Robot ends on a fairly somber note, I wanted Part XL to visually reflect that.
