Greetings Tricksters,

Today marks a sad day for me, as this is the final episode of the Megalo Life series. I know that this may come as something of a shock to many of you, especially as I have made no elusions to the conclusion to the series in my commentaries for the previous episodes. I do apologize as it was never my intention to lead anyone on, and frankly, it could be said that the suddenness of the end for the series is not without surprise all around.

When Megalo Life began all those months ago, it was originally just for laughs; a little something extra for all the community members of Trickster Online Revolution to enjoy. The idea was to make something new, something original, to offer some extra exclusive content the likes of which would be hard to find anywhere else. I think we succeeded in that regard, and I can honestly say that Megalo Life has served its purpose in providing that little something extra for Trickster Online Revolution, and it has been a great deal of fun for me.

However, and unfortunately, nothing in life can stay the same forever, and life itself is a dynamic process of change, creation, destruction and alteration. And even this little weekly webcomic is not outside of these natural forces. Things begin, they run their course and ultimately, and some times sooner than expected, they must end. It seems that Megalo Life has finally completed its own cycle, and just as it had a beginning, and a middle, it too, will now have an end. This is not to say that I did not have every intention of continuing the series and happily hammering away on Goliath for weeks, and months to come to continue the series, but that is currently not going to be possible.

As this is the end of the series, and quite likely, the final time that I will be able to address this loving and incredibly supportive community directly through my works for Megalo Life and these attached commentaries, I would like to take a few lines to say thank you. Firstly, thank you for the opportunity to bring my little stories to you week after week. Thank you for continuing to come back every Friday to see what the next episode and installment had in store. Thank you for all of the great and tremendously supportive comments each week. Thank you for calling it honestly in the comments when you loved the episode and even when you hated it or thought that for this reason or that reason that it was not the best it could be. The honesty in the comments served as a very useful critique, and the immediate feedback, I feel, greatly helped me to better my craft and certainly inspired me to work harder and to become better with every new episode of the series. And most of all, thank you for letting me, April, Wednesday, Salem, the GMs, staff and all of the wonderfully-weird inhabitants of Caballa Island attempt to entertain you and bring a smile to your face week after week.

As I write this now, I can't help but think back to the beginning episodes and how much the series has changed over the 30+ installments that have been published here. From the beginning when I was first working on hard copy boards in a more traditional comicbook making way, to refining my skills and understanding of Photoshop and eventually learning to use a wacom for the series. The series has really changed, and I think that many if not all of the changes have ultimately been for the best. Over the course of the series, we've seen old faces leave and bid their goodbyes (GM Eni), taken a behind the scenes look at the residents and chief personalities of the island itself (Don Giuvanni, Love Hunter Robin, and Eclipse to name a few), sometimes we took a gander at things from a noobie player's perspective (Jinxee), shed light on some of the trials and tribulations of our beloved GMs and staff and how they spend their idle time or how they cope with some of the less apparent day-to-day activities, seen some of the wackier characters and their hijinks that keep the island running behind the scenes (Dr. Reincloff, Detective Inspector Valencia and others), and lastly, you've allowed me to share important bits of my own life with you, how Wednesday came into mine and April's life and of course, the news of the first human addition to our growing family, our son, Salem Ezra Grey. It truly has been a profound and winding road. One where, if you had asked me at the beginning to predict the way things would have turned out and where this strange path would have lead through all the episodes, I could never have foreseen.

This, Megalo Life, in its entirety has been a dream come true. I have felt incredibly blessed, and astoundingly lucky to be able to bring these episodes to you week after week. I also feel very grateful to all of you for your indulgence of my whims, as story teller, artist, and human being. It used to be that I had a difficult time coming up with a short and distinct answer for people who asked me what I did, was I an artist, and illustrator, a writer, a painter, animal, mineral, or vegetable? In the end, and through the course of my work here, I have been able to come up with that elusive answer, as I am very proud to simply say, that I am a story teller ^__^ <3.

Writing this final commentary for the final episode in the Megalo Life series is not an easy thing. As I consider the fact that I will no longer be able to address everyone in such a direct format in the future, and I will not be making new episodes in the series, I am deeply saddened. Megalo Life has become a deeply important part of my everyday life, and that is in no small part due to all of you who take the time from your busy schedules, and important real life matters to scroll through my digital scribblings. I know that I will miss all of you most of all.

As I get to tell our fuzzy little girl in this final installment of Megalo Life today, no matter what new adventures await the Gilgrim family, we will be setting forth together and meeting them head on. What I didn't say in the episode, is that our family is better suited to any adventure that lays ahead of us because of the time we've been able to spend with you. Once again, thank you all, thank you wonderful Tricksters, thank you proud residents of Caballa Island, and thank you for letting us into your lives, week after week through this Megalo Life.

We love you all, and we will miss you,

With love,

--Aleister D D Gilgrim

As I tend to close these commentaries with whatever song, or band I've been listening to during the process of making the week's episode, I will close out this final installment of the Megalo Life with one of both mine and April's favorite bands, and certainly my favorite song from them. If you get the chance, and you are not already familiar with them, please check them out, and know that as I listen to this song from now on, I will be thinking of all of you.

VNV Nation - Beloved