Ah, Madame Hildegarde. Hildy, to her friends. A character I like a lot and have big plans for. She’s actually been around much longer than some chracters, such as Count Cyanide. But she didn’t make her first appearance until near the end of Grimstone’s original run back in 2003. I used her in both of the last storylines, and she now has the distinction of being the first returning character from the old strip (Krulor on the billboard does not count).

Hildy the Witch. I think I based her off of some old Halloween decortation of this cute little redheaded witch girl. Throughout the development of Ribcage’s story, she has been both heroine and villainess. She’s a powerful and mysterious character, and has been my most prominent female character until Mornginstar showed up. She will show up often in the comic, aiding Ribcage and friends on their adventures. She will serve as a surrogate sister to Sara (try saying that three times fast!), an antagonist to Count Cyanide and a love interest for Furface (a kind of “Beauty & the Beast” motif). But only she knows her true intentions. You can bet she too will have a Character Evolution gallery as she has had many, many designs over the years.

Trivia time. Hildy’s cat’s name is Starshadow. I named her after my girlfriend’s online “handle”, who is a big cat lover. I think I named the cat Starshadow before I came up with Sara’s last name of Morningstar.