“To be concluded”? Yes, this final story ends with next Tuesday’s comic, number 599. But the final-final strip (an epilogue of sorts) will still be comic 600 on Friday! And while today’s comic is on the shorter side compared to the other parts of this story, comic 599 is quite the behemoth–the second-longest traditional strip in BitF history, in fact, behind only The Captive Princess.

So don’t miss it! Next week is where it all ends, guys! AAAAAH! It’s getting freakishly close.

For that matter, there are a number of items I hereby wish to address whilst I still have the chance:

1) First up, a big apology from me. Some of you may have noticed that I’m not the greatest at checking my messages and e-mail in a timely manner. While I try my best at responding to everyone, there are sometimes waves of messages (like around Terra’s death) that get me overwhelmed and I end up forgetting to respond to everyone. If you’re one of the many kind fans who’ve sent me their thanks and never got a response, I’m sorry! It’s something I’ve always been pretty bad at, but I want everyone to know that I read and appreciate everything you guys are sending out. I get stressed out when I think about the people out there who’re awaiting a response from me that I’ve forgotten, so please keep in mind it’s not because I’m a grump! I just…kinda suck at replying to things.

2) Another thanks to all you readers out there who’re reposting the comic in other appropriate places. That includes the good folks on Reddit (oh, I’m aiming to do an AMA next week, by the way), on NeoGAF (who seem to think I’m clairvoyant because of the Smash Voters: Marth strip), whoever’s been keeping an eye on the BitF TVTropes page, and the fans on GoNintendo! A big ANTI-thanks, though, to the (thankfully few) places that grab the comics and crop out the URL from the bottom! What the heck, guys??

3) A shout-out to some of my favorite sites, just because. While working on art, I’ve greatly enjoyed The Rotoscopers, a trio of friends who love to talk about animation (Disney, Pixar, Dreamworks, etc), and have a terrific podcast. They’re a nice beacon of positivity and earnestness on the internet, and the site and podcast are 100% family-friendly! I’m also a fan of the Negative World gaming forums, which are not as family-friendly but have a great energy to them in discussing Nintendo stuff.

4) To reiterate, there won’t be a Kerfuffle in the Family after this comic ends! I’m pretty sure fooling everyone by making a sequel comic immediately after the old one finishes would not be the greatest move…

5) BitF: The Complete Collection has hit its 160k goal, and the books are getting beefier and beefier!

That’s about all for now, I suppose. Remember, big ending blowout next Tuesday and Friday! Now if you’ll excuse me, I better get on those e-mails…

-By Matthew