I think the arc is wrapping up

[XxXU2XxX]

I checked back on previous arcs and at this point (# of strip) in arc 3 and 4, the Order was leaving Azure City and V was going to fight Xykon respectively.

So unless Rich is planning on making this arc longer than usual for no apparent reason, I think the fight for Girard's gate will be handled in the next arc/book. Thoughts?

[sparkyinbozo]

Rich has often commented that arcs run longer than expected, but it's definitely fair to say that we've seen a lot of recent progress.

[TheSummoner]

Eh, Rich can make the arcs any length he wants. Still (and this is without actually bothering to check the number of strips), I would guess that you're right. It's been quite a while since the end of the last book... If I had to guess, I'd put money on the next book covering Tarquin and the Empire of Blood and the one after being about Girard's Gate and the 3+ side deathmatch for it.

[Dr.Epic]

So unless Rich is planning on making this arc longer than usual for no apparent reason, I think the fight for Girard's gate will be handled in the next arc/book. Thoughts?

Yeah, what kind of writer has stories/arcs of different lengths to convey a narrative in the manner they best see fit even if it's longer than previous installments? That's ABSURD!

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Nah, we've got at least 30 more strips to this arc, or at least this book. Rich averages 180ish strips per book (except Dungeons Crawlin' Fools, at 120ish strips).

Of course Rich can go higher or lower as he sees fit, but a LOT can happen in 30 strips of this webcomic!

[Sunken Valley]

NCFPB was 180 strips
WAXP's was 184 strips
DSTP was 188 strips.
Therefore this is 192 strips.

Therefore this will likely end at 864 (or around that).

Fourty strips. Some of these will probably be double or triple page. Because I don't see a lot of room for the OOTS to meet the draketooths, get the reveal, V to escape the salad dimension, The LG to get defeated again, Xykon showing up, the gate being destroyed and the resistance subplot being resolved.

[Ninja Dragon]

Maybe the end of this arc covers Tarquin and the Linear Guild, and the next arc covers Xykon.

Maybe by the end of this arc Xykon defeats the OOTS, maybe he even kills some of them, and in the next arc they have to take the gate back.

There are so many possibilities...

[Xapi]

I believe this arc will cover the OotS meeting the Draketeeth, enlisting their aid // warning them about the danger to the gate, and facing the LG+Tarquin for control of the gate (surprisingly because they were preparing for an attack from Xykon).

Next arc will be a showdown with X.

[NerfTW]

Forty strips seems like plenty of time to deal with Girard's gate. Why would we assume an entire battle with Xykon and everyone? I can totally see Girard ending up destroying his own gate as a failsafe and sending the Order off to Kraagor's gate, intending to hold off or confuse Xykon. We know Xykon is going to be within 1000 feet of this gate next, but that doesn't mean the gate has to still be working.

[Morgan Wick]

The Empire of Blood sequence did seem like it probably went much longer than Rich intended, but it did contribute to the plot. We're close enough to the battle for the Gate, and little enough has happened in this book, especially considering the breather last book was, that it would be a bit of a cop-out for Rich to pull a cliffhanger on us before the battle.

I could see V being rescued from the Salad Dimension off-panel, and the OOTS meeting whoever's manning the Gate and having their meeting interrupted by Xykon in one or two strips.

On the other hand, Rich usually includes a twenty-strip cooldown period at the end of each book... but last book's was only ten unless you somehow include Darth-V running off to confront Xykon.

[Gift Jeraff]

NCFPB was 180 strips
WAXP's was 184 strips
DSTP was 188 strips.
Therefore this is 192 strips.

Technically, WaXP was 183 strips (#302-484, inclusive). Or am I screwing up my math?

Anyway, bear in mind that DStP had less multi-page strips than WaXP. By subtracting the amount of print-only pages from the total # of pages according to the GiantitP shop, I got
WaXP: 241.5 online pages
DStP: 226 online pages

and volume 5 is currently at (I think) 173.5 pages.

[KyrtFurey]

Eh, Rich can make the arcs any length he wants. Still (and this is without actually bothering to check the number of strips), I would guess that you're right. It's been quite a while since the end of the last book...

Did nobody else look at #823 and think "Page 1"

[Ancalagon]

Did nobody else look at #823 and think "Page 1"

I think it's more "Page 1 of a new chapter".

[Amarsir]

Did nobody else look at #823 and think "Page 1"

I agree, 822/823 seems like a really good split. But there is something to be said about appropriate # of strips per book, and it may just have been a good transition. I suppose what would determine that is whether there ends up being a better break point in the next 50ish strips. Only Rich knows for sure.

[Alias]

Rich has taken rather lengthy announced breaks at the end of the last two books. I see no reason this won't continue.

[Jaros]

Rich has taken rather lengthy announced breaks at the end of the last two books. I see no reason this won't continue.

Not only that but had a rather definitive end page too. And before that they both had 'it's the end of the arc' jokes. Basically, I think we'll know when it's the end of the book.

EDIT:

We're close enough to the battle for the Gate, and little enough has happened in this book, especially considering the breather last book was

Whaaa? You considered Don't Split the Party a breather?

[Morgan Wick]

Whaaa? You considered Don't Split the Party a breather?

Rich seemed to, if you read his commentary for that book. Certainly it's nowhere near what came immediately before, and it's something of a diversion from the hunt for the gates.