my epitaph for david
he had his sights set high
trying to catch his angel in waiting
through thick and thin
through trust and betrayal and forgiveness he always felt undone
but katrina he always thinks of you and him
in fields of heavenly light
and someday soon you will meet again
as long as you draw breath he will always be right beside you closer than he ever was before
and if you ever doubt me you can have my soul to break and I miss you my soulmate
My worst regret was not to live in the same world you in.
You taught a freddie to become a david I always was so I now will send you kisses and hugs from the outside world and I love you and casey and francie so much that I feel lost without you in my everyday life. I want to share so much laughter with you all in our darkest hour.

Hello katchoo I am still playing ketchup but if he didn't want to die he shouldn't have met you. Love always and forever and I never regret meeting you. Now he will be in feilds of gold with you.

David should have died in the plane crash. THAT truly would have been tragic, unexpected, heartbreaking. This we knew was coming, I for one had time to prepare. Having said that, the final black pages were beautiful, elegant, and very effective. I'll miss the series much more than I'll miss David.

In every good story somebody has to die.

Terry

I know that everything has to end but i guess things are really happening. How could you do this to them? I read the issue last night and i was in tears before i even finished it.

I can't wait to see how Katchoo will Cope. What will happen to Tambi Casey Fran and the rest of them without David?

My heart is Broken.
RIP David

Jennifer.

P.s Terry how could you do this?

Wow. Okay, this is what I hope will be the first of three messages to the SIP creators! Anyway, loved this issue. It amazing that even though I knew pretty much that David was gonna die that it still impacted me. I was also intrigued by the reactions of the 3 other characters: Casey, hmmm? What happened to her? She was freaking! Oh, I guess that's pretty normal for her. Katchoo, amazingly impacted by the loss. And Francine, who coincidentally came on the scene only to see David getting rushed to the hospital, was the comforter. Okay, I haven't posted here since about Issue 41 or so. I've just been busy, but I've been enjoying the ride. Looking forward to the last 4 issues, though I will be sad that it's over! (Oh, I didn't especially like the last few black pages of #86...)

I gotta say I loved this issues. . I got to the black pages at the end and I was just SO stunned that I had to turn back to the front and read it over to believe my eyes.

I was very saddened to know that David is gone but I expected that to happen as did everyone else I'm hoping.

Just wanted to say THANK YOU TERRY I love SIP and I will miss it dearly!

Wow. I have never been moved to tears before by a comic book, but here I sit in tears. I just hope that Katchoo is pregnant. Thank you for this Terry. I know the story has to end sometime, but thank you for sculpting one of the most emotionally gut wrenching finales I have ever had the pleasure to read. At least this has meaning. I've been reading SIP for several years now, and feel like I have just lost a close friend. Excuse me, I have something in my eye...

Oh my God! They killed David!
You bastards!

Except everyone knows clinical death can last hours, even days, before... Heh. Right. Major sad.
(You can stop pointing that at me now, Mr. Moore.
Seriously.
What would your psychologist say?
...
no... no, it doesn't say "replica" on the barrel at all.
Loaded, hunh?
Thought so...
Awkward.)

Oh my goodness...

After I read this issue, I just stared at the back cover in black with tears in my eyes. I couldn't stop crying for almost 15 minutes. I haven't cried this much over an issue of SIP since watching Francine drive away from Katchoo on her wedding day.

After putting the comic away, I popped in 'Adagio for Strings' by Samuel Barber and just sat there listening to the soft chords of the music while remembering each panel from this issue. The strings especially fit with the panels where he's at the crossroads and beyond.

David is gone... we knew it was coming. And yet finally reaching that point still puts a pit into my stomach. He was my favorite of the three, though the girls are a very, very close second. At least, he died peacefully with the people he loved around him. Not many in this world can ask for final moments like that.

He will be missed, even as the girls move on from here to a new chapter in their lives. The story wouldn't have been the same without him.

And now there's only 4 issues to go...

David' s death was sudden and totally unexpected, I thought it wouldn' t happen until the last two issues. But that' s what makes issue 86 so heart warming and more real than I could ever imagine. I' ve dealt with unexpected death, I mean I knew it was coming, nut in the end none of us will actually be ready for it. Kudos to you Terry Moore for making me cry from reading a comic book.

Why did your ending not surprise me? You are not going to end this series with a happy ever after, are u?

I really cried! Just read the issue 5 minutes ago and if this issue was charged this way, I can only imagine the next one, the goodbye issue. I think more tears will roll. Maybe that's why Terry is having problems to draw the pages.

The goodbye-dreaming between David and Katchoo was bealtifull. But the "He's gone" was too painfull...

Congratulations Terry, you are truly a master storyteller! You are a gifted person. We can count on our hand the few people able to do that. And I can only imagine how hard was for you to do this issue.

I bow myself at you feet!

I cannot stop crying. This issue was so beautiful, I cannot believe that there are only four left............

Terry,
As I've stated before, I *rarely* write to comic book creators (I think it's been a total of 7 times with 4 of them to you), but I was again, moved to do so.
I believe that as much is conveyed by what isn't said as by what is spoken. You have proven yourself time and again to be a master storyteller, and this issue (86) ranks as one of the best of all time, for the art, the words, and what is and isn't there.
Please keep this site up after SIP so that we may all be kept abreast of your upcoming projects.
With much love and respect,
Bill Kronick

my god its getting so close to the end!! I cried and cried. I hope Kat got pregnant!!

I was blown away,..seriously. The black pages were just, no words for it Terry.

I had to comment here tho to those people who keep drudging up the "glimpse of the future" thing from a couple years ago. Yeah, back when you did the whole flash forward just before we found out Francine was pregnant and did the "end version one" thing and freaked everyone out.

uhm HELLO!!! People, Francine is a daydreamer, she always has been and is just now growing out of it. When are you folks going to realize that any and all "flash-forwards" in the series are/were just Francine being a day dreaming neurotic?? Not that I don't love her, but why else were things so obviously contradicted within following issues? *thwacks a few people on the head with a trade* Wakey-wakey! There was no real future, it was all an elaborate daydream.

Now,..deal with that and get back to mourning the passing of David. *sniffs* Poor Mary Beth...

True, the cover pretty much gives it away, but the ride was in the issue. I got misty when it all came down (I'm a 39-year-old male and not ashamed to admit it) and immediately read the issue again, something I don't normally do with ANY book.

It may have hit me since my girlfriend has a similar problem; she found out 15 months ago that she has a brain tumor which cannot be removed surgically.

we might accept other names along the way but we die as we are born so rest in peace yousaka takahashi your sins are paid in full and we live alwalys love you and miss you in all of our hearts

This issue reminds me of the Buffy fifth season episode, "The Body." By that I mean the sparing use of dialogue and the emphasis on silence to convey the ineffability of the moment when someone you love dies. Speech is superfluous at such a point. Well done, Terry.

You know, I have every issue of SiP. I have the trades. I have the Hardback bound colleted editions and te bust. I love this series. I think Terry has been brilliant in his storytelling throughout and over the years has mastered the art of the emotional punch.

I also knew that this story was coming to an end and that, like all tragedies, the ending would be bittersweet at best. But Terry, the black pages at the end...
That was just mean. You had me when they diagnosed the brain tumor. You kept me through the possible experimental treatment and the attempts to leave a legacy with Katchoo and Casey. I knew David was not long for this world and that it would not be a pretty death. But man, seven (yes, I'm counting the back cover) pages of letting it set in...
Use your talent for good, not just to beat up my heart even more.

I hope your next project is as big a success as SiP or even bigger. But take it easy on a fan.

Humbly yours,
Francis from Pittsburgh

Wow... very moving .. those black pages just hit you. done gone

I could not stop crying.David... why did you have to go. I suppose this gives a way for katchoo and francine to be fully together. I just hope casey wont get in the way. She very much annoys me. Im also wondering if david DID tell casey about the whole darcey issue,OR if casey did workfor darcey at somepoint. Well only time will tell. I am really going to be sad when this issue ends.
Thank you Terry for everything yougave to the world. Sip will be missed....

Tiffany
Manchester,NH

I enjpyed your site.

I remember a story line (back in the 80's) in Fantastic Four which involved the after effects of the team's trip to the Negative Zone. Sue had become pregnant and there was a full expectation of Franklin having a baby sibling.
The "birth" issue was concerned mostly with a Marvel style battle between Mr. Fantastic and Doc Ock....because the Spiderman villian was also a radiation expert. Mr. F. needed him to help with Sue's delivery.

The last page was one panel completely surrounded by black (just like your cover). The voice balloon had one of the other doctor's telling Reed "the baby died upon delivery".

It was one of those hand the mouth gasping moments in comics that has stayed with me almost two decades later. I believe that the solid black pages at the end of 86 will have a similiar impact in the years to come.

this issue blew me away...I cried at the end. but it was beautiful. beautiful work as usual

Dude,

One of the best issues. I feel like I was waiting for this to happen since the plane crashing issue. Not that I'm laughing at the very real pain that others are feeling during David's death, but I was all over myself singing "Ding Dong, the D-Boy's dead" while reading the issue.

I have no idea what's the meaning of Kats 'look' when Casey mentioned Darcy. I will also admit, that I half expected the ambulance to blow up or something on the way to the hospital (remember that dangling thread? speaking of dangling threads, whatever happened with Freddies' Scully-wannabe girlfriend?). I think it was all very well done, Terry. My happiness at David's death is only because I've never liked David, and not that I was not touched at the fact that someone was dying. Looking forward to next issue! That's what will be hard for me: seeing the girls miss David. It's hard to see someone you love leave.

I guess this really means that when you wrote "end to version one" that the twenty years later scenario was going to be erased. After all, I really doubt Francie would forget David's death. The end of the semester is here. Life is hard. But David's dead! Huzzah.

I still don't have my copy yet! You guys are killing me with all this hinting!

I'm a bit surprised I haven't read any comments about the choice of issue for several outings, i.e. Casey, David from the series, Francines unspoken outing to Katchoo. I'm thinking this wasn't coincidence.

Needless to say but I am heartbroken. We knew it was coming but still...

with everyone commenting on the passing of david, i thought i would write about casey's mention of darcy's name. katchoo's reaction made it seem as if she suspected that casey was one of the parker girls, but since they've already had sex (presumably naked), shouldn't she have seen a lily somewhere on her body?

maybe it's on her head and her hair covers it? maybe it's in her mouth on her gums?

i'm not sure how this can have a happy ending now that david is gone, but perhaps that's the point.

if he pulls a bobby ewing from dallas, heads will roll.

No....not like that. Not so suddenly...I wasn't prepared. I was prepared for something else, but not that. I don't know what to say.

As soon as I laid my eyes on the cover, I knew what was going to happen. David was such a wonderful character, a true poet and real man. It's so sad that he finally died.

So, what happens now for our girls? What will they do now?

Geez, this is still so heartbreaking.

I am sorry I cant read this issue yet... so it goes I am having my b-day today and miss my family(all the characters of sip) but I shall close my eyes and kiss my babies (fran and kat)and give myself a really big hug (please take it easy on david it is really hard to feel safe to breathe when you consider all the people you leave behind.... I am thanking you making me realize I am now safe to finally breathe and love always I will miss them all but I know everything comes to an end~terry give them all kisses(even freddie)and I will always love you thank you~jeremy pambrun(I buy roses and look at them always and kiss them as they die truelyterry we will miss your voice in our lives but I am your disciple forever make love love not war and savor every moment

I still can't believe he's gone. This was the most realistic death I've ever seen in the media. I'm still mourning over his passing. People notice and ask about it and I can only say that a deep friend is gone.

Aw man....

Excellent issue. Even though the cover cleary gives it away, Davids death was still rather moving. The only thing that surprised me about the issue was that I was honestly expecting David to at least reach Europe before succumbing to his illness. Can't wait to see how it all comes to a close.

I discovered this book when I was 14...and I can't believe that, as a twenty four year old, I've just read this issue. I am still stunned at what an undeniable part of my life this story is, and how much it hurts that David is now gone.

Wow...Terry, you've made something amazing.

Terry
I thank you. We all have a "David" in our lives. You have shown me what it would be like to actually lose that person.

Very Grateful,
Bambi Baker

I've always held a deep appreciation for a well placed pause in poetry, in art... SIP has had this in hand on so many occasions...The possibility in those black pages holds infinite breath and life.

That said, it was the wink that did me in. What an awesome acknowledgment of a beautiful, complex and mutual friendship. There's so much love in a wink like that. It's easier to bear the parting with such astounding love.

Absolutely breathtaking! I have to say that in a way, it was inevitable, as it was the ONLY way for the love triangle to finally end. It was better to have it end this way, then to actually have him miraculously cured by surgery and have things continue as they are.

I have a question. . .In one issue we see the future. Francine has her daughter and hasn't seen Katchoo in years, and then she asks her how David is. This confuses me seeing how David has died, and Francine was there. Also, Francine says she hadn't seen Katchoo since she got married over 10 years ago, which is also now a lie. Are we to just forget what the future was as just a probable outcome? (And I am not talking aobut the clips of what Francine is imagining the future would be like while she's pregnant with her child that she eventually looses.)

I didn't cry until i hit the pages of black at the end. Then I went back and re-read it, and read it again, before my husband looks at me and says "well hows the new issue?" David died! I wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly, I honestly had myself convinced he might live through the series, nieve huh? As usual the issue was wonderful, no matter what emotional cord it tugs at. Thanks Terry!

Terry,

I ran out and bought this newest issue last night, and I've already read it four times. It truly took my breath away.

The full weight of it's conclusion didn't sink in until this morning, and I needed a hug. The last 4 pages of black are good to give us that sigh and then breather I'm sure we all deperately needed.

The possible implications of Casey's "big mouth" shocked me from the moment she spoke and have temporarilly turned my view or the SiP universe upside down.I suppose I'll just have to wait for the next (and last) 4 issues to see what happens!

Thank you for such an amazing issue!

Thank you Terry. Thank you for writing someone's passing in such a beautiful way. If that's how we all go out, standing at the crossroads, surrounded by beauty, happy with someone we know waiting for us, then death is not the end and only the beginning. Hey a new story arch!! Thanks for the beautiful writing.

What beauty! What grace! I had prepared myself for David's death once I saw the cover art. Or so I thought. To see David's spirit serenely leave while watching the faces and body language of those he leaves behind in "silence" leaves me in tears. I am reminded that this journey is coming to an end and I will be losing "friends." Terry, thanks for introducing me to the people in your head!
audrey fisher-price

All i can say is I CRIED, i was unloading books to my subscription buyers and pick up this book scared to see what was to come. I stopped everything and started to read it, and i didn't get past the first few pages before my eyes watered. By the end of the book i was in tears, choked up and feeling the pain of Katchoo. I've been reading this book for years and this was the one that so far has hurt the most. I know i'll be crying when i read the next issue and then more tears for the end. I'm a 42 year old male who fell in love this book the minute i picked it up. I wish it wasn't ending.

Craig

While IU knew it was coming, I just kept saying maybe he will make it to the next issue, but sadly that was not the case. I read this issue way to fast s it was all image and no words, and that is how this issue should have been, because it makes things seem more real. There are no words that could fill that silence. I will miss David and very soon I will miss all of the SiP gang.
Thank you for everything Terry.

Terry, I really hope you cried making this issue as much as I did reading it. It's just like real life: you know it is coming, but when it happens it's always a shock. I love David Qin.

Wow, I was not expecting this to happen so quickly.... Well Done!!

Wow, I was not expecting this to happen so quickly.... Well Done!!

I feel like I just lost one of my best friends.

I was shocked. I wasn't expecting another issue for a while, but then, there it was. I was almost too scared to read it. I just sat there staring at the cover, the book in my hands. . .I knew it was comming, I knew it would happen, and it still made me cry. David, Katchoo, Francine, all of them, they're part of my life now. No matter where I go, they will be there in my heart. Thank you for such a wonderful story.

As soon as I saw the cover Terry, I knew it. I just paused a moment and took a deep breath before I could start reading...I didn't really like or dislike David in the beginning...years ago...he had a few deep moments occasionally. But I didn't think they were really deep meaningfull moments like these past two or three years. I have seen his emotions become so much more powerful and sometimes even overwhelming. Even the three panels of Tambi, they were great too. It still amazes me Terry, just like in the first issue I ever picked up, how much feeling you are able to pass along to us. I loved the first panel of the "crossroads" scene too, that was great. I'm glad the focus wasn't on his pain.

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