Talk about today's comic here!

[Robert McSantos]

I don't think Sam has it in him to abandon empathy altogether. It's so against the very core of his nature. Once the committee calls a vote on something really nasty, his natural personality will start to reassert itself. Of course, he could probably do a lot more good sabotaging the committee's agenda from within than he ever did as the head of NMS.

I kinda hope this will eventually lead to a Civil War type story arc called "Sam or Fuzzy". Who's side are you on?

[Necropaxx]

Come on. Best book ending ever or best book ending ever? I'm so excited for "Ruined."

[Agrajag]

Yeah I'm incredibly excited for it. Evil badass Sam is awesome.

[Kelso]

Well, since Fuzzy and Aaron are still free to go home, I guess they can explain things to Nic and Dev.

"We'll get you a new surface identity!"

Maybe Sam will finally get a last name this time.

[pie]

My money's on Lars Diefenhauser.

[Necropaxx]

So, a comic version of the One-Word Story? That sounds like it was a ton of fun.

Also, comic is completely ridiculous. (Jeph totally hijacked the story-line, the nogoodnik.)

[Joopac_Badur]

I hate to *ahem ... ruin everything right as this volume starts, but I believe the text in panel 6 should say "its own ruination" not "it's own ruination."

That said, I am excited about Ruins Everything. For one, I'm intrigued about how Mr. Logan is going to be changing the status-quo this time (now he hides Sam and Fuzzy in plain sight [Sam and Fuzzy have been Hazel and Brain the whole time!])

Secondly, this whole "Hazel Saga" has definitely been building and building, and I'm stoked for this promised pay off. This comic has always delivered with some killer moments that have given me chills at times (the ending to "Empire" and this part of "Showdown" come to mind especially), so I can't wait to see what's going to go down in Volume 8.

[Agrajag]

I am super excited. I am also pumped about the new site redesign (for anyone who missed it on twitter: teaser!)

[Necropaxx]

I'm excited!

[Kelso]

Your web design has come a long way Mr. Logan. A long way indeed.

[Joopac_Badur]

Ooooh ... shiny new layout is definitely shiny and new. I'm digging it a lot!

Also, due to Sam and Fuzzy now going their separate ways (for now) we can presume that Sam is going to have some new companions tag along with him. But will it be a new character or will Mr. Logan take this opportunity to bring back a past character that we haven't seen in awhile.

If we go with the former, it would be plenty easy for a new character to be introduced. We've already seen the (presumed) leader of the Erasers, and with Sam being condemned to the Underground, it would be no challenge for a new and interesting character to be created.

However, if Sam is going to be paling around with an old friend, then this would be the perfect time to reintroduce Gertrude. 1) We haven't seen her since she left on her quest to go wherever. It'd make perfect sense for Sam to bump into her in the Underground. 2) The fact that Sam is going to have to take up the duties of the Ninja Emperor on the Council (where everyone thinks he's a do-gooder) would be a perfect clash with the heir to the throne (who the Council would actually admire).

[Necropaxx]

I've been re-reading the books (Cover designs are so good) and I love how Sam moves the overarching Hazel plot an inch at a time. Knowing what I know now about her, it's so much fun to see all the little "tells" Sam put in there. Give yourself a pat on the back, Sam, what you've done is amazing.

[Joopac_Badur]

Okay, so either this dude is a complete dolt or he's got something up his sleeve that's going to explode tomorrow, because not only did Sin warn the council about Hazel stealing codes, he specifically stated that it was the cat who does it and then makes you forget it even happened. WHY IS THIS FOOL NOT WATCHING THE CAT!?!

[Robert McSantos]

That's what I've been thinking the entire time too. It has to be a trap, because there's no way anyone could be that stupid, even if he is a vampire.

Maybe he did prepare a trap, but now he's feigning incompetence and allowing her to get away with the numbers because, in the five minutes they've known each other, he's fallen in love with her.

[Joopac_Badur]

Okay ... so apparently not a trap. Then again, the only reason he hired Hazel was to see if Sin was right about her trying to steal the Pit codes. With him already half-taking Sin seriously, I guess it's not too far of a stretch to think he'd let his guard down about Brain. Plus, he said he had his guards on standby, so he could have been super arrogant about the whole thing.

Intriguing about Brain apparently losing control of the memory swipe thing.

I have been really (delightfully) surprised by how creepy these sequences have turned out.

Seriously, as simple as his design is, Brain's mind control sequences are pretty horrifying for an otherwise cheerfully surreal comic. That juxtaposing is probably a big part of the terror, too.