How will you feel when the time to let go of your characters comes?

[mappypaint]

I'm currently 25% into my story and yet i'm already thinking of the time where I reach the end of the story and I have to let go of my characters. I never thought about reusing my characters and giving them a starring role on another comic, it doesn't seem right to me (unlike in movies where an actor can star and have another role in different movies). You reached the last page of your comic and your characters got the happy (or tragic) ending they were destined to do...
I would be really sad to let the cast of U-Speed go. I think i'm already attached to them more than all the characters i've done in the past. I think it got to a point that they felt too real to me, like they exist in this world. It's like they are my closest friends and I know everything about them. I know letting them go when the time comes will open up opportunities for new characters, but for now it's still early to tell. So what about you guys? How will you feel when the time comes? Will you reuse them and give them roles on other comics? Or retire them and make new ones?

[AnnaLandin]

I think I'm going to be a bit sad, but also ultimately relieved.

Grassblades is going to be a very long story, and finishing it is going to be a huge relief - I'll have been working on it for years at that point. That's a big time-investment, and moving it off the to-do list is going to feel amazing.

... I also predict I'm going to have a rather massive case of post-project blues. Whenever I finish something big and free up the spare time I've been devoting to it, I get this wave of sadness and inability to do much of anything for at least a couple of days. It's like my brain needs the time to readjust to the fact that this thing I've been giving it my all for is now no longer there, you know?

But once Grassblades is done, it's done. There will be no sequels or reuse of characters in other comics. I might draw some illustrations of them or a comic strip or two every now and then, but definitely no big stories.

[jennula]

I've already ended three longer comic projects and left the cast behind. Some I think back on nostalgically, some are just "good riddance" XD When I work with a project I'm always like "how will I ever make a cast this awesome again? D:", but I usually come around and create something even better eventually (and as @AnnaLandin said, I think you'll be more content with letting your characters go if you've worked with them for a very long time - it's always fun to create new things!) =) I think it's a good thing to move on, you never know what kind of awesome characters and ideas hide inside your brain in a few years. I mean, you get more experience and ideas with every year, so maybe you want to create something that resonates better with your views and such in a few years..? =)

[J.Z.Castillo]

My main comic has no end in sight, I have about 10 major arcs with smaller arcs inside them ready to go, but I haven't reached a point where I'm ready to end BioHazard. Because of that I haven't thought about saying good-bye to characters. However, I can't wait to start killing characters off... I just like to torture my OCs lol. I guess I'll be sad, a bit, but also relieved, it would feel like retiring them and they get to spend eternity on an island in the Maldives enjoying after-life. I don't think I'll ever reuse them, since death is a totality (well... not really, but it's really difficult to come back to life) so I'll bring them back maybe in flashbacks and what not, but never to star again.

[heterodont]

My story is already half-way through, I'm already starting on another story (buffers up to 17 pages), not to mention I do want to try to write a sequel for my first story if I can figure out how to connect the trainwreck that is the character interactions. However, I dont see myself using any of the characters involved in any of these stories outside of their stories, I build their universes so they have a role to play within it, so it'd seem kinda strange to pull them out of their already established worlds.

I'm not gonna stop drawing them though. I like them too much and I've put farrrr too much work into them to simply drop them just because their comic is done.

[mariusthered]

swipe city is based around family's and they grow so unless i get to the point where i am unable to physically draw the comic it will not end, my teen girls will grow and have kids as will some of my other cast members. I kill people off all the time others might go away and come back.
but to answer to your question; the truth is swipe city filled a huge void in my personal life and without it i would be very sad to see it go , in some ways the girls ( Cassie, Jane, Zoe and Roz) are like the kids I never had so i kind of need to see this through and help them grow (that may sound a bit silly to some)

[UzukiCheverie]

Considering Time Gate is set to be a life project at this point, I will let my characters go when they let me go.

In all seriousness though, Time Gate is very long so the day that the story is complete will be a saddening one. Though I am looking forward to getting all the work done, it's more for the sake of seeing how my readers interact and experience with the story, more so than finishing the story itself. Aside from that, there are some characters I will have to say goodbye to before the story is even over . . . but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Either way, Time Gate has been a part of my life for years now, and it will continue to be a part of my life for years to come. The cast of Time Gate is pretty much my fictional family at this point, and even after it's completed, I'm never truly going to forget them or let them disappear just like that.

[KSlinger]

I don't know how I'll handle it at the time but right now I'm at peace with the ending I have in mind for the project and I think that'll make it a lot easier when the time comes to process the 'loss'.

I think it's normal to experience some kind of emotional hangover after being invested in something for so long, so I anticipate some kind of grief but not a crippling amount. I'm more looking forward to the pride of having something of that scale completed and under my belt so things might balance it out. Who knows!

[WakaXO]

I won't have to seriously consider this for a long time, as I have at least 10 chapters in mind for my comic and had planned on making this a longer comics altogether. But when the time comes I think I will be relieved, of course I will miss my babies but I have other stories in mind and other projects I want to work on. I am planning on leaving my ending somewhat open, so if I ever did want to go back and add more I could, but realistically I probably would not.

[MissMagicGirl]

I will miss my characters terribly. Luckily I have just gotten started with my comic and plans for it to be real long. So that good. I hope that when the time comes to end it ( https://tapastic.com/episode/373496 ) I will have a new project that will excite me to get into and that it will make me miss my character less ^^;

[Mharz]

I won't happen for a long while cus I still have like 8 volumes to finish. Ironically though, The Angel with Black Wings should have been the one in the backburner and this character on my profile pic should've been my main series. Then as I do The Angel's story, they become the foundation of my brand and what can I say, I love these angels of mine.

Of course, if it ends then it ends. I'll probably draw them in a couple of illustrations after I finish the webcomic. Maybe a spin-off where Silver as the main cast this time. But basically my plan is when I finish The Angel's I'll go to Avi's story if my lifetime allows me to.

[Chopythes]

I'm about 45% done with the comic, I think I'll be relieved to be honest.
I don't know, the characters are pretty young so if I want to make more, I'll be able to do so while they're getting old or something.

I've been thinking about this topic for a while, because they're kind of a part of me. They've been with me for more than 3 years now and even tho I have a certain distance to them, I might be sad to let them go. I honestly don't know how to deal with it, haha!

[phoenixrenaissance]

Oh, I hardly want to think of it. Though, I guess I sort of failed to let go already since I've already started an AU comic where all of my past and future characters can make an appearance.

In any case, Life Less Ordinary probably won't be done for a few years yet with the plans that I have for it and I'm in the midst quashing any future chapters for Devour beyond the three I have planned. It's hard to tell yourself it'll complicate the story when you really just don't want to leave the characters behind.

I've got plans for other stories, I can't stick with these guys forever.

[niinasalmelin]

I am scared of this moment, althought I'm almost 1/3 in and there's still years of time to prepare myself. Even if I started the comic only last year, the project has been with me for years, all the way from teen years, and those characters have grown with me. It'll be bittersweet that's for sure.

I have plenty of other comics lined up after it, so at least there's that

[joannekwan]

Well, I already have a set ending in mind for all my stories, so I know I'll have to say bye to my characters eventually. Besides, I like leaving my characters in a new phase in their lives. I've had my time with them and now they're set out to pasture. I suppose I'll be a little disoriented not having to draw them every week, but I'm constantly creating new characters and stories so there will always be new people and situations to work with. I've already got a few queued to work on after DH and HH are done.

[TheKawaiiGarden]

I think I'm going to be a bit sad, but also ultimately relieved.

Grassblades is going to be a very long story, and finishing it is going to be a huge relief - I'll have been working on it for years at that point. That's a big time-investment, and moving it off the to-do list is going to feel amazing.

I pretty much agree with AnnaLandin, I'm not that far in with my comic Legends of Kayal (Only 6 pages in) but I've been working on it for quite some time and its going to be a long adventure so its going to take a long time to finish but when its finally over I'm probably going to feel really empty, like its something that has been with me for a long time and now its over.

[alaingrey]

I feel like characters are a means to an end. I don't have 'children' characters that I've had since my teens, so I'm pretty detached. They serve the purpose of creating a story, and nothing more. Plus, they're easy enough to abandon after a project because I'm at a new time in my own life, and probably have other ideas ready. I always have thousands of stories and characters I want to write about, so its not a big deal for me to move on to new ones.

[VermillionWorks]

Hopefully satisifed. =P

[sarrowsmith10]

Goblins of Razard has 6 issues printed, with issue 7 in the works. Terri has 9 issues planned I think, depending on how the last arc falls. Honestly we are so excited to be finishing the series and be able to send a finished work to publishers. We want to get all the issues put in a tradeback and that would be just icing on the cake.

I'm working with the writer of Lockhart, and that story is just beginning. So, I don't think I have time to mourn. I'm pumped to take on new projects and keep working to make something of myself.

[jordanthelass]

This is a tough one to answer for me because I just started drawing/writing "Whose World" recently (around Christmas of last year). So far, I've grown very fond of the characters I've created; although, they seemed to evolve and develop on their own with each strip.

On the other hand, I wrote a novel a few years ago and still haven't gotten over the fact that the story ended. I mean, I knew I'd have to end the story eventually--and I've been going back and forth about writing a sequel to it (but honestly, it doesn't need one.).

I think it all depends on how invested you are in the characters. Some are easier to let go than others--but you'll always leave a part of yourself behind when the time comes.

For now .. I don't plan on letting go of my current characters any time soon. I kind of want to grow old with them.