March 14th 2014, the New 24 continuity of King Solomon by Pale Horse Comics (PC Comics) ends with a bitter sweet turn of events.
As summarized:
King Solomon Chapter 27, the finale.
"It's all come down to this... Killer Wail has been destroying colonies throughout the universe. Using the power of Prince Usol whose omnibeam can cut through anything. Once Solomon and Acacius finally come to terms with just how powerful this enemy of theirs has become, they must make the ultimate sacrifice."
The final page(*):
*The page shown here is the rough, non-inked final page created by DAF. Solomon got to do some very cool stuff, like using Acacius's sword to finish off Final Wail to exact his revenge on the beast after he lost his friend. Fun Fact: Because he was between projects during the final issues of King Solomon, DAF continuously misspelled Acacius's name as "Acacious" in the draft pages and designs.
Concept art for Solomon and his companions(*):
*Solomon and Acacius's origins deviated heavily from their original lore, and according to Cosby, that was by design; "[I] think that when you really break it down, Solomon being a gargoyle doesn't hurt anything. But Acacius being an actual angel inside the armor was something I wanted to avoid. I wanted him to do some crazy stuff, like being able to make segments of himself fly ahead and have the rest of his body join those pieces." Usol wasn't as important in this storyline at first, but according to DAF, he insisted that they try something new; "Usol is a fan favorite. You know when something that people love gets very little screentime and it sort of ruins the vibe? Yeah we wanted to avoid that. Prince Usol was the answer. I'm sure there's going to be someone out there or many someones that are mad that we gave him a tail, but, oh well." BoroBoro (Bobo) was apparently a last minute addition to the comic's second half. Cosby was cited as saying; "I wanted a clown harpy in the comic. It's not crazier than a giant blue gargoyle and a walking set of knight's armor."
Concept art for two of the villains from the series(*):
*Killer Wail was upgraded heavily to fit into an endgame villain role. Apparently this stirred up a large debate, constant arguments about his power levels and presence not communicating final villain well enough. The results speak for themselves, much like how the Stunned Studios team took the Blot in their Across the Crabverse films and turned him into a multiversal threat. Many were shocked when not only was Usol given a bigger role, but he was given family members in the storyline. His father, Emperor Mausol, was initially loved by the fans, eventually thanks to his cruelty, became a despised part of the New 24 storyline.
In an interview about the New 24 universe coming to a close:
Robert Cosby said, "I- Look I know these characters are beloved. I know the fans absolutely [beep]ing hated that we made Solomon a gargoyle. But I think that by the time we hit issue 6, we had them in the palm of our hand. And we treated them well. Honestly some of the best writing I've ever done. I will sorely miss doing this character."
Dennis Adrian Foster (DAF) said, "Miss them? One hundred percent, yes. This was so much fun to re-invent me and Robert's creation. There's something to be said about PC comic's New 24 initiative having a profound effect on the comics industry. Some of the best stories are being told with older characters. Either you keep writing the same old thing, or you innovate and change the game."
RJ said, "I'm honored that Cosby and DAF let me in on this universe, I loved doing the inks and colors. This is some of DAF's most impressive character design work I've ever seen. And hey, to any of the fans that are upset about the ending? Keep being loud, maybe PC will revive this series. Anything is possible. Never back down. Rise Above. Still the best since 1973."
