I'm extremely unhappy that the Foglios decided to stop publishing the floppy version of GG just in time to make people like me, who've been buying since the beginning, have to re-buy three issues as a trade if they want to read the fourth. Would it have killed them to put that issue out and THEN strat with the trades? It's a crappy way to do business, a big screw you to the people who have been buying the comic, and it's looking like it'll result in me dropping the title.

Wow. That's some intense anger there. Kaja and Phil have been very open to suggestions from people on how best to present the final issue from the collection, and I know they offered an "Ashcan" version for folks who subscribed. Have you contacted them to ask about the possibility of getting that final issue some other way?

And then, of course, that issue is already up for free on-line if all you care about is reading it.

I have the same opinion of the Last Issue Snafu, though it doesn't come from anger. I got the serial form because I enjoy it. Each issue reminds me that I want the next one. The last issue reminds me that I want the "missing" one, which I can't get. Since I don't have the missing one, I am not reminded that I should want the next collection. And so I won't get it.

(And even if I should happen to stumble over the next collection at a later date, the fact I don't have the issue leading up to it makes it less likely I will want to pick it up anyway. The ability to read it on-line to "fill in the blanks" helps, but if it enough, why not simply read everything on line, never buying anything? The gap is a lose/lose proposition for the Foglios, even if it means not losing anymore money on a serial print run.)

Was it really so unfeasable to put out one final issue of the comic? Were there no suggestions other than, "Tell the people who already bought 11-13 to throw them away and re-buy them as a trade"? I'm sorry if the comic wasn't doing as well as they like, but charging me $20 for issue 14 or telling me to go online and read it is a crappy way to resolve the issue.

Wow again. Yes, it was that difficult to put out the last issue. They were in danger of losing everything at the point when they decided to make the change. They had been losing a significant amount of money on each individual issue which the collections barely made up for. It was not a deliberate "screw you" to the fans, it was a difficult choice between no more Girl Genius and changing the format.

You're entitled to your opinion, but I actually know Kaja and Phil, and I know how hard it was for them to make the switch over. The last thing in the world that pair would do is screw over their fans intentionally.

And you didn't answer my question, Dave. Did you ever write to them politely and asked about getting the final issue some other way?

No, I didn't, because I don't know them and I don't really want to know them. I really don't think buying a comic should have to involve contacting the creator personally. I'm sorry for their financial troubles and I wish them the best, but in the end, the easiest thing for me to do is to just stop buying the comic.

Very well. If you hate the comic that much that you aren't even willing to read it for free, then that's your choice. But I don't think indy creators should have to go bankrupt to satisfy a handful of fans.

Could they have put out a final issue? Perhaps, but it would've taken over a year and lost them still more of their audience. They would've had to work on other projects the entire time. They chose to work on the project they loved instead. They made the choice to not produce a moneyhole of a paper issue as a loss leader, and put it on the web for free as a loss leader... which saved them a lot of money and by all indications grew their audience significantly.

If you aren't satisfied, then don't buy the collections or read the comic, but don't claim they were trying "screw" their audience when they weren't. As you said, you don't know them. You would rather they starved to death to get that last issue out just to satisfy your sense of completism. How very fanboyish of you.