Chapter 3: Page 69
Hero landing!
Seriously though, landing like that can be bad on the knees. Best leave it to the professionals (and we all know the Sand Spiders probably practiced their hero landings a bunch back in Nessa–just in cast they ever needed to make a proper entrance). Of course, Beck immediately starts hamming things up.
Also, I love the stubbed in lines Rachel used in the thumbnail. WE’RE ESCORT. REAL. NO MURDER!
I know the going’s just getting good (as the going tends to get around these parts!) but we’re going to be sticking a pin in the story for a bit to focus on…
THE KICKSTARTER!
DUN-DUN-DUUUN!
So, I’ve mentioned this in bits and pieces before, but think of this Kickstarter is our big announcement party for Beyond the Western Deep as an independent creator-owned and published property. We want to print our books OUR way, spared no expense (which, in a revelation that should surprise nobody, requires expense).
We’ve partnered with a Kickstarter fulfillment company called Make That Thing that will be helping us line up our printer, vendors for merch, and more. The Kickstarter begins on…
SEPTEMBER 5th!
And it will run 30 days through to the end of the month and the beginning of October. Obviously we’re not quite there yet, but since you’re HERE, it felt like a great opportunity to run our pitch and pledge tiers by you all beforehand.
Next week, you can expect a post about the general tiers of rewards we’re planning on having. The prices won’t likely be finalized yet (that will depend on some vendor quotes we’re still locking down), but we know roughly where we want them to be.
The week AFTER that, we’ll hopefully be sharing the final pitch video and music track with all of you. You’ll get to see it a week before anyone else, and we’d love to get your thoughts on it. We’ll also start laying down some serious groundwork to get folks aware of the upcoming campaign. Which is to say…
WE NEED YOU!
We want to start strong, and that means getting as many people aware of the Kickstarter as possible before it launches. Anything you can do to share the news will go a long way in helping us spread awareness.
It’s going to be an awesome month, and we’re really excited to share some of the cool things you’ll be able to pledge towards in the Kickstarter!
Oh, and speaking of hero landings:
Hahaha X) Thanks, Jerijune, for this. Obviously Rook has his hero landing down pat. Beck, on the other hand…
See you all next week!
Think I’d just start running after seeing both Beck’s teeth and that slightly crazed looking expression on her face.
Also love that sort of Indiana Jones style of entrance and introductory banter especially with Rook’s “yet fudged now” grin on his face.
Love seeing the Sand Spiders again! It’s like running into old friends!
I’m so excited for the Kickstarter that I could start kicking!
Beck is really enthusiastic about this. XD
And I really do hope the kickstarter goes well, even though I can’t contribute anything more than my encouragement
Rachel has really captured the essence of Beck that Jerome so delightfully crafted through her wild expressions and sharp teeth! And Rook is looking delightfully dashing as well! I can’t wait to see how she renders the rest of the Sand Spiders!
Also, yay Kickstarter!
A new and quite spiffy page of “BWD” is always a fine thing to wake up to!
Further comment: Okay, let’s do a little Canid Math. There were four to start with, one was taken out by Crossbow Incompetence, and assumedly a second was laid low by Airborne Pottery. Which would leave two. So when one says, “Kill them,” and the second replies, “I got the polcan,” are we to imply that the first one essentially just gave orders to himself as well? Just food for thought.
Aww, cheer up, Sand Spiders. I’m sure they were impressed by your entrance on the inside.
I’m sure the thumbnail version is from their advertisement. The papers charge by the letter for classifieds, see, and Theo’s a bit of a cheapskate.
I bet that Canid soldier is thinking to himself
“close enough for an Ermehn”
Page turned out great X) The amount of HUZZAH in Beck’s face is too golden
in my my they are fred and george talking and finishing each other sentences.
Just testing to see why I can’t post. Ignore this.
Ignoring in progress…
Error: could not ignore.
I absolutely love your work! It’s amazing! The story is deep, the characters are relatable and the art is gorgeous. I’ve been coming back as often as I can get a chance to read up on the latest installment, and that you’ve tied Song of the Eastern Sands with chapter three adds a whole new layer to the adventure. I also just watched you little promotional video on the hardback books you’ve made for your comic series.
I LOVE the music Nolan Markey made for you. If you ever get the notion to turn this into an actual animated movie someday, you should definitely convince him to write the score. An animated version of this would be a huge YouTube hit, especially with middle schoolers and those who also grew up with the classic tales such as “Redwall”, “Watership Down” and “Secret of NIMH”, and could net you a bundle. It would be even better than the panel-by-panel slideshow that you have on there now.
On a side note, one of the things I enjoy doing is taking a comic or graphic novel that I like and translating it into an actual book form. I currently have two that I’m working on: “Amulet” by Kazu Kibuishi and “Blacksad” by Juan Diaz Canales, Juan Guarnido (both of which I think you would enjoy). I take the pictures and dialogue and translate them into a written format with some small variations to try and fill in places that, in my mind, seem sparsely explained or light on details.
If you happen to get the notion that you’d like an actual book form of your story, I’d be ecstatic to help. Writing is one of my passions. You can contact me through Facebook.
Thank you so much for the kind words, Justin! Setting stuff up and paying it off (like the Sand Spiders showing up in the main story) is one of the most fun elements of writing this story. We’ve obviously given thought to doing something animated, but the cost of carrying out such a venture would be monumental–so for the moment we’re just focusing on spreading awareness of the comic and hopefully the Kickstarter for Volume One will help with that.
As for a prose novel, this story actually started in prose form way back when I was still in college, but it was Rachel’s artwork and visuals that really brought the world to life for me. As I’m sure you’ve seen throughout the backlog, I’ve actually written several short prose stories in the Western Deep universe. I enjoy doing that, and perhaps will do a longer-form one someday. But when it comes to adaptation, I think the particular story we’re telling is a visual one, and removing that element would make it a fundamentally different story.
That said, we’re totally cool with fan-works that take place in the universe! There have been a few fan-fiction stories already posted in the past that we love, so if you really enjoy writing and want to explore the world of the Western Deep, that’s always a welcome avenue!