A D M I R A L

An account of the final hours of Thomas Andrews, Jr., the Shipbuilder.

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Another Update! Wow!

Today is the Two Year Anniversary of the launch of 'Admiral'!

It's incredible to think of how much work I've put in to this story and how much it speaks to so many of you, even if big boats or the Titanic aren't really in your wheelhouse of interests.

It means so much to me that you're here and that you enjoy 'Admiral' and I can never thank you enough for helping me make 'Admiral' what it is.

Thank you so, so much!

With that said I am pulling 'Admiral' out of it's unofficial July hiatus and placing it into an official hiatus while I work on building back my buffer and while I also work on other (paid) comics. I've had a few takers already but if you'd like do some guest art that I can upload here and on Tapas during this hiatus feel free to DM me on my various social media accounts!

Thank you all again so so much!

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Website: MattHTaylor.com

Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tumblr: admiral-the-comic.tumblr.com

You can support me here! patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 048! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

Thomas and Alexander Carlisle concede to Bruce Ismay and Lord Pirrie and their wish to keep as much space open on the boat deck as possible -- for passenger comfort and luxury. You have to understand that at the time, the Board of Trade's lifeboat regulations required that all ships over 10,000 tons must hold 16 lifeboats. Titanic, therefore, exceded the required number coming in with 20 boats including the cutters and the Englehardt Collapsibles.

So confident where the chairmen of Harland & Wolff and White Star in the design of the Olympic class liners, with their water-tight bulkheads, and superior craftsmanship, that they viewed the lifeboats good PR. They would never need lifeboats on an unsinkable ship.

Thank you so much for reading! 

You can support me here!

patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 047! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

Thomas once again finds himself in a memory from two years previous - during a conversation between himself, then acting Master Shipbuilder at Harland & Wolff, Alexander Carlisle, Chairman of Harland & Wolff, Lord William Pirrie, and owner of the White Star Line, J. Bruce Ismay -- at odds over the amount of lifeboats that he and Carlisle recommend (a minimum of 32) whereas, both Pirrie and Ismay wished to capitalize on the deck space by sticking with the 16 regulation lifeboats - regulations based on ships of a gross tonnage of 10,000 tons created in 1894. Titanic with her 16 lifeboats and the 4 collapsible boats exceeded the Board of Trade's minimum. So convinced they were that Titanic was so perfectly designed that the lifeboats themselves would barely, if ever, be used. Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here: patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 046! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

I am very pleased with how this one turned out!

The page itself is meant to show the fleeting moments of passengers of all caliber during the lowering of the lifeboats, and the urgency of these moments.

Panel two depicts Senior Wireless Officer Jack Phillips. The morse represented in the block is the following: "CQD DE MGY" CQD (Distress code meaning 'Come Quick Disaster') DE (Marconi code for 'This Is') MGY (Titanic's Marconi Callsign)

the rest of the Marconi block says: " We are putting the women off in the boats "

The remaining trail of Marconi is a string of alternating "SOS" and "CQD"

Of special note the central panel of the elderly couple is representative of Ida and Isidor Straus, then owners of the Macy's department store. Their story is notable in that when crew were attempting to get both Ida and Isidor into a lifeboat, Isidor refused, stating that he would not take a seat in a lifeboat before the other men, resigning himself to his fate aboard the sinking vessel. It is then, per several accounts, that Ida stated, " We have lived together for many years. Where you go, I go."

Isidor's body was recovered from the water but Ida's was, if recovered, never identified.

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here: patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 045! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

"But if there were any one who had not by now realized that the ship was in danger, all doubt on this point was to be set at rest in a dramatic manner. Suddenly a rush of light from the forward deck, a hissing roar that made us all turn from watching the boats, and a rocket leapt upwards to where the stars blinked and twinkled above us. Up it went, higher and higher, with a sea of faces upturned to watch it, and then an explosion that seemed to split the silent night in two, and a shower of stars sank slowly down and went out one by one. And with a gasping sigh one word escaped the lips of the crowd: "Rockets!" Anybody knows what rockets at sea mean. And presently another, and then a third. It is no use denying the dramatic intensity of the scene: separate it if you can from all the terrible events that followed, and picture the calmness of the night, the sudden light on the decks crowded with people in different stages of dress and undress, the background of huge funnels and tapering masts revealed by the soaring rocket, whose flash illumined at the same time the faces and minds of the obedient crowd, the one with mere physical light, the other with a sudden revelation of what its message was. Every one knew without being told that we were calling for help from any one who was near enough to see." - Lawrence Beasley, "The Loss of the S. S. Titanic: Its Story and Its Lessons" (1912)

Lawrence Beasley was a Titanic Survivor who relayed his account of the sinking in the book from which the above excerpt was pulled. It can be found in its entirety here: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/6675/6675-h/6675-h.htm

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 044! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

Thomas watches as more boats are lowered and sees Margaret Brown - known the world over as the Unsinkable Molly Brown - as she is being lowered away from the bat deck aboard lifeboat #6.

Margaret Brown was extremely helpful during the sinking of the Titanic, helping other passengers into the boats and eventually leading to her protesting against Quartermaster Robert Hitchens when he feared the boat getting swamped by passengers in the water.

Regardless of the events Margaret Brown remains a true hero in the legend of the Titanic and is remembered as a woman possessed of great virtue and bravery.

I hope that this page shows only the realization on her part of the seriousness of the sinking.  

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 043! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

Thomas confronts First Officer William McMaster Murdoch on the forward starboard boatdeck just aft of the Bridge. Evidently the threat of Titanic's foundering still had yet to leave an impression on crew and passenger alike.

The central lifeboat image on this page is adapted from a real picture of collapisble lifeboat D as it was being rescued by the RMS Carpathia!

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 042! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

This page was a ton of fun to make (if a little time consuming) but I think it works really well!

While, Lifeboat wasn't the first lifeboat to be launched from Titanic (it was the fourth) it was the Lifeboat launched, over an hour after the iceberg struck, with the least amount of passenger and crew on board.

In total Lifeboat #1, with capacity for 65 full-grown men, was launched with  only 12 people on board - including Sir Cosmo and Lucy Christiana, Lady Duff-Gordon.

At the time of the inquiries, accusations were leveled at the Duff-Gordons stating that they had bribed the sailors on their lifeboat to not return to the site of the sinking to pick up more passengers, but per the final report by the inquiry it was found that neither Sir Cosmo, or his Wife had coerced or bribed the crew members to not attempt a rescue through the promise of money or services.

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 041! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

This page was very important to me. The dialogue is adapted from the Titanic inquiries and from Shan F. Bullock's "Thomas Andrews Shipbuilder" (1912) of the actual interaction Stewardess Annie Robinson had with Thomas during the evacuation efforts. I wanted to show that Thomas had the capacity for compassion while also being frustrated that the crew and passengers were largely not taking the disaster seriously.

Annie Robinson survived the sinking but leapt off of the deck of the SS Devonian in 1914 after anxiety overwhelmed her while the ship passed through dense fog. She feared another disaster like the Titanic. Her body was never recovered

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 040! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic A change - look at that! A double page spread!

And here’s Page 2 of 2 of this spread, the full version of which can be found here: https://i.imgur.com/pMzoB4L.jpg

I think, and barring anything crazy when I get to the remaining pages of this little comic, with this double page spread we have officially reached the half-way mark for 'Admiral'.

If not dead center, we're now past the midway mark by approximately 1 page.

As you have seen for the past few weeks this is a dialogue-less spread that is meant to show the range of emotions that Thomas must have been going through on that fateful night. I wanted you to see his fear, his sorrow, his calm demeanor, his urgency. This sequence all takes place in a manner of minutes as Thomas rushes up and down the decks, as the Titanic sinks beneath his feet.

What lies beyond this series of moments is only further heartache and fear. But I felt that the audience needed reminding that the ship is sinking. Here you see that water is already flooding the squash court on F Deck and the swimming pool.

It's starting to creep into the Turkish Bath.

There's not much time. . . . Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 039! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic A change - look at that! A double page spread!

This is Page 1 of 2 of this spread, the full version of which can be found here: https://i.imgur.com/pMzoB4L.jpg

I think, and barring anything crazy when I get to the remaining pages of this little comic, with this double page spread we have officially reached the half-way mark for 'Admiral'.

If not dead center, we're now past the midway mark by approximately 1 page.

As you have seen for the past few weeks this is a dialogue-less spread that is meant to show the range of emotions that Thomas must have been going through on that fateful night. I wanted you to see his fear, his sorrow, his calm demeanor, his urgency. This sequence all takes place in a manner of minutes as Thomas rushes up and down the decks, as the Titanic sinks beneath his feet.

What lies beyond this series of moments is only further heartache and fear. But I felt that the audience needed reminding that the ship is sinking. Here you see that water is already flooding the squash court on F Deck and the swimming pool.

It's starting to creep into the Turkish Bath.

There's not much time. . . . Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 038! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

Thomas begins his attempts at clearing cabins of passengers in hopes of getting them to the boat deck.

He encounters John Hugo Ross, of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, returning home from vacation with a terrible case of dysentery, he was unconcerned with the apparently sinking Titanic.

His body was never recovered and it is thought he drowned in his cabin, A-10.

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 037! ⚓ Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic Thomas steels himself for the difficult task ahead of him - saving as many of the passenger of the doomed Titanic has become his top priority. He shares a silent moment with Madeleine Astor, newly wed to Colonel JJ Astor who leads the pair off to the Titanic's First Class Gymnasium. What could Thomas even say? The third panel shot of the Grand Staircase is actually from the Aft Grand Staircase, and the image was referenced from a screenshot taken in the most recent demo of Titanic: Honor & Glory! The Devs at Vintage Digital Revival, LLC. / Four Funnels Entertainment Co. -- especially Thomas Lynskey -- have been gracious enough to allow me to utilize their work on the game as reference material for 'Admiral'! It is proving to be a hugely valuable asset!You should definitely check out their work and their free demos! Thank you so much for reading! You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 036! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic The Titanic looms over the memory of Thomas Andrews, like a leviathan in wait. Back in the present of 1912, Thomas and Roderick Chisholm bid one another farewell, with an empty promise to see each other when they reach New York.

The bodies of all the men that made up the Guarantee Group were never recovered.

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 035! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic

The Guarantee Group lads reassure Thomas in his decision to bring them along with him for the Titanic's maiden voyage. Not, of course, that he doubted them.

It's interesting to note, that Thomas Andrews, Managing Director and head of the Dafting department for Harland and Wolff in Belfast, deeply cared both for his company and the people who worked for him - more so at least than some modern corporations.

From Shan F. Bullock's own work, Thomas Andrews Shipbuilder (1912) - and indeed from Thomas' wife herself: "“One evening,” writes Mrs. Andrews, “my husband and I were in the vicinity of Queen’s Island, and noticing a long file of men going home from work, he turned to me and said, ‘There go my pals, Nellie.’ I can never forget the tone in his voice as he said that, it was as though the men were as dear to him as his own brothers. Afterwards, on a similar occasion, I reminded him of the words, and he said, ‘Yes, and they are real pals too.’”"

It feels like no exaggeration to suggest that Thomas was a lovely person.

Thank you so much for reading!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 034! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Admiral-Comic Thomas explains to the Guarantee Group how difficult the task ahead will be -- and how much he expects out of them for Titanic's maiden voyage.

Thank you so much for sticking around!

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor

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Admiral Page 033! ⚓

Website: MattHTaylor.com Twitter: @MattHTaylor Tumblr: admiral-the-comic.tumblr.com

Thomas recalls the day he announced a group of handpicked Harland & Wolff employees who were to be onboard Titanic for her Maiden Voyage -- the Guarantee Group. These folks were selected to make sure things went smoothly aboard the ship during her first Atlantic run.

The group shot itself in the last panel was interesting as only a handful of photographs exist of the Guarantee Group and I took a lot of liberties with how they looked and dressed. You can probably guess why very few photos of these 8 men exist. You'll also note that the Guarantee Group is missing its 9th Member (excluding Thomas) -- a Mr. Joey Thompson. He actually sailed with the Titanic from her berth at Belfast and disembarked in Southampton before her launch on April 10, 1912. I didn't include Joey because he wasn't there during the sinking.  Welcome Back!  Thank you so much for reading 'Admiral' and for your patience while the comic was on Hiatus. Things have been pretty hairy for the last few months but everything is on track and ‘Admiral will be updating regularly starting today! Thank you SO SO much for sticking around - I know its been tough waiting, but I can’t wait to show you the rest of this story! 

You can support me here! https://patreon.com/MattHTaylor Or: https://ko-fi.com/matthtaylor