First published: July, 1989. First posted online: July 07, 2005.

As it turns out, this is probably the most conclusive ending to a story arc we would get published until the climax of ‘Hard Fun’, years later.

Oh, we had more arcs. And there’s nothing wrong with multiple, simultaneous arcs. It’s just that so many months roll by, and you have to come up with strips that delight everyone, and then you get to a place where you want to branch off into a new direction, and… you just want the current storyline to stop. And this can get mighty abrupt when you’re reading them faster than one per month.

If you’re new to Yamara, you’ll see what we mean.

This also establishes a recurring theme that our heroes can never really rescue themselves.

Some NPC, or extenuating circumstances, always has to step in and save their hamhocks. This is why they start collecting the “villains” they encounter, and have them join their party. Their opponents have put more points into their degrees of competency.

Perhaps because her arc was concluded so decisively, we never much thought of Natasha ever again.