Hey everybody, I know this is an unexpectedly sad part of the story. 
This has been especially rough on readers who remember the older version of Galaxion, because the way events unfolded in this new version probably led you to believe that Patty was going to be OK this time around. For whatever it’s worth, this was always the plan. From the beginning of the webcomic launch, I knew, more or less, what was going to happen to Patty.
For those readers who didn’t see or don’t remember the older version, here’s a spoiler: Patty died much earlier, during an encounter similar to the one on the Earth-like planet when the Survey Contact Team first met the Rautani. And yes, there was quite the hue and cry from the readers. Believe it or not, I was taken completely by surprise! I had no idea Patty had become such a favourite character in such a short period of time. (Why did I change her fate? The short answer is, in order to better serve the story.)
Back then, I felt guilty enough that I ended up making these buttons. (It makes more sense if you recall that at the time, South Park was at the height of its popularity.) So if you happen to be feeling a bit annoyed at the author right now, you can post this image somewhere and know that you are not alone!
I still have my button.
Fans are like friends: You think they are cool when they join you for a party, but you know they are true when they stick with you for a funeral.
Speaking of art, thisfuneral is beautiful.
Speaking of storytelling, killing beloved characters, instead of killing redshirts, is what makes the difference. I just saw Kingsman last Friday, where the sudden death of one of the favorite characters was the punch that shook – or stirred – up the whole story.
:’(
What is all that green stuff?
I assume the green stuff is leakage due to the damage to the ship.
So, did the Miesti contact cause the aneurysm? Patti was exposed to the Miesti mind contact, right, or am I mis-remembering? It’s been a while. I recall the Miesti saying “She breaches us!” of one of the characters, but I can’t remember who that was.
Pretty sure the ‘she breaches us’ scene involved entirely characters that were present right there. It was referring to how Aria was able to perceive their conversation. Very straight-forward.
I think Patty’s death was respectfully done. Her upper body out of sight, leaving us with our memory of her last appearance alive which is nice
That said…surely then Zan must be on borrowed time! We can’t lose our intrepid impulsive just-won’t-be-told-tinkerer-in-chief! D:
Wow – unexpected tone shift in an otherwise “safe, go-to” comic… Glad you aren’t writing Peanuts
Considering the late Mr. Schulz’ capacity for depicting cruelty between children, I am sometimes surprised at the lines he chose to not cross.
However, if we want to discuss newspaper strips for which Tara would be a good fit, a revival of For Better or For Worse under her management – subject to Mrs. Johnston’s approval, mind you – might be worth considering.
Aria and Zan were both injected with trenat by the Miesti who stung them after they had been abducted by the Rautani. Patty suffered an allergic reaction that began soon after she swatted and killed a Miesti that was fluttering too close to her. The fact that the other Miesti were later able to locate the Orehu’s sanctuary was because Patty had been (unknowingly?) stung by that first Miesti even as she had killed it. Or maybe she had swatted it because it had stung her?
It was Aria who breached the Miesti by being able to perceive their waves.
Which means that one Miesti is dead, killed by accident by a human, and one human is dead, killed by accident by a Miesti. Will those tragedies lead to the start of peace negotiations between the two sentient races or to an escalation of hostilities…?
Oh! Thank goodness! I was afraid that Aria was somehow still under Miesti influence, and had been halluncinating and used as an unwitting executioner for the ‘murder’.
Whew. Aneurysm is such a huge relief!
Had enough stimulants, Aria? Or maybe not, since Darv is stand behind the couch in panel 3. Did NOT expect this though, well done.
A “Ruptured Cerebral Aneurysm”? I thought a Cerebral Aneurysm was a ruptured vein in the brain. Are you saying her entire head went pop?
Huh. I thought I researched the right words, but if this a redundancy, thank you for pointing it out, Jason! I’ll make the correction for the (eventual) print edition.
My computer’s dictionary says an aneurysm is “an excessive localized enlargement of an artery caused by a weakening of the artery wall”. These have an unfortunate tendency to rupture, so in common usage there seems to be some tendency to include the rupturing with the swelling, but they don’t always do so, thankfully.
Tara, you researched right: An aneurysm is a bulging of a blood vessel (typically an artery, not a vein). And that bulging can rupture. If this happens in the brain, the most likely outcome is death.
Sad to lose Patty but very well told.
As one of those aforementioned older readers of the Previous Edition, I can attest that this does, indeed, serve the story better. The impact is harder, but also the death not quite as senseless (due to not as immediate), and the stakes now higher. I half-wonder if the sudden departure/rupture with the Miesti control aura due to the jump is what caused the aneurysm, while Zan and Aria had the trenat to help stabilise things…
Aww… I has a sad now :’(
Well, at least we all got to ask her our most burning questions about hat fashion back during the Indiegogo campaing :3
Welcome to life, people live and people die. It’s space, even more unforgiving that the sea. Comics that try to be realistic will deal with one or more members meeting with accident or death. Not all universes will have “autodocs” or other convenient “deus ex machina” devices to save us from being sad.
OMG THEY KILLED PATTY!
Aaaawwww. Such a nice person I had hoped her prognosis was better this time around.
Tara, you said that you planned this since the beginning of the webcomic. So, much beloved reporter Lisa Colagrossi died of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm the same week you published Patty’s sad end. http://abcnews.go.com/Health/lisa-colagrossi-30000-die-yearly-brain-aneurysm-rupture/story?id=29840313 Timely much. Poor Patty. Poor Lisa.
I’ve been here sine the near beginning of this webcomic. And it is sad for me to see her go, the ship just won’t be the same without her and her hats, it was Patty that was with the hats right? ;P
Anyways I can only hope for closure and something good comes from this, like a cure to the aliens’ bite. I wonder if her ghost will show up at any point to save someone. That’s how ghosts tend to work with ships.
Wow. I may be three years late to the scene (or, I dunno, twenty-three years!), but that death hits hard. Very well handled. Very sad but sadness is essential of most memorable stories…
Also, I CAN BUY THE 1990s COMICS!? Must. Have.
… there, order placed.