Still, Still Waiting For That Final Issue

I’ve always loved the Team Fortress comics. While they are batshit insane and to a ton of stupid things that kinda mess with how the rest of Team Fortress 2 works and basically exist in a parallel universe compared to what you see in the games, there’s something about the comics that makes me spend ages sitting down and re-reading them. Even when I was only looking for a particular panel in one comic, I found myself reading through all 6 parts of the 7 part series.

Which reminds me. It’s been over two and a half years since issue 6 came out. Issue 7 is still stuck on Coming Soon. It’s been like that for so long that I periodically forget that the whole comic series in general is a thing. Then I’ll remember that the comics exist, start reading them and then hit a brick wall when I click and get returned to the main comics page on the TF2 website.

Sure, we had absolutely huge gaps between other issues, in a comic that was supposed to come out with a new issue every 2 months. The second issue alone took 3 months instead of 2 months and it only got worse from then on, with four months before issue 3 came out, seven months before issue 4 came out, 10 or so months for issue 5 and the astonishing 17 month gap between issues 5 and 6. It’s like some sort of sick joke.

It’s such a sick joke that I’ve managed to get multiple articles written and published during that time. In fact, the Daily SPUF is only slightly older, with our first article being published on August 18th 2013, while the first issue of the 6/7 part TF2 comic series was published 10 days later on August 28th 2013. In the time it’s taken to make 6 issues and a catch-up comic, we’ve managed to publish over 2400 articles here on the Daily SPUF.

That’s insane.

And what makes it all even crazier is that writers and artists at Valve have left during this time. Some of them even LEFT VALVE AND THEN CAME BACK. It’s been 6 long years, a lot of stuff can happen in that time.

But I’d like something to happen in the comics at least. Some sort of conclusion. Because issue 6 ends with the Team Fortress Classic mercenaries all dead and defeated (apart from TFC Medic because he just doesn’t exist in the TF2 universe at all) and then cuts to the Administrator using the last of the planet’s known Australium to extend her life for 30 more minutes, despite Engineer’s warnings that she could have made it last a few more months. Helen mentions her blood debt or whatever it is she’s hiding, and that’s it, massive cliffhanger.

I suppose it’s a good thing it’s a comic, because the Administrator would be dead by now. Then again, everyone would be dead, considering what actually happens in the comics – Scout, Medic and Sniper all die and come back from the dead, two of them for pretty bullshit reasons (unless it is actually canon that Medic does have regenerating health or something). The Administrator dying though? She’s the one who set all of this up, she’s the one who has been behind it all, her dying could have dire consequences.

Honestly though, I don’t think we’ll ever see issue 7. It’s just not happening. Too much has happened at Valve for anyone there to really care any more. Heck, I’m not even sure if the writers and artists are still around. Team Fortress 2 itself doesn’t really get any updates at all any more, not unless something catastrophic happens, so I doubt anyone will go to the effort to finish up a comic only some people cared about. We’re just going to be left with no end here.

Or I might be wrong and be pleasantly surprised, but after all this time… I kinda doubt it.