And so ends the Song of the Eastern Sands!

It’s hard to believe that we started this chapter almost exactly one year ago (October 24th, 2015). Jerome has been an incredible artistic force on this chapter, and rest assured there will be more we do together in the world of the Western Deep. I’d like to just take a moment and, from the bottom of my heart, thank him for doing such an incredible job on Song of the Eastern Sands. I love how the story turned out, I love how the characters turned out, and I love how you — our incredibly awesome readers — have given us so much leeway to tell this fun side-story.

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So, it’s been a year since the beginning of this chapter, but do you know how long it’s been since we’ve seen JANIK in the comic? Show of hands?

Her last appearance was in the Land’s End Tavern in Chapter 1, waaaaay back on January 27th, 2013 A.D. That’s right, it’s been almost FOUR YEARS since our favorite Tamian politician has graced the pages of the comic, despite showing up periodically in fan works here and there. Well, don’t worry, Janik fans — she becomes an official point-of-view character starting with Chapter 3. Actually, she OPENS Chapter 3! This page actually segues directly into things. Think of it like a match cut between two different art styles.

I promised a little while ago that Chapter 3 would introduce a lot of fun new stuff right out of the gate. Well, consider this page a bit of a teaser :)

To give our friends the Sand Spiders an appropriate sendoff, I wanted to use this incredible piece of artwork that Jerijune did back in early September. I love how it looks, so I figured I would shared it here for everyone to see:

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It’s the Sand Spiders kicking butt in the embassy! I love the composition of the piece, as it really nails the sense of chaos and high adventure within the scene. It’s also a little silly and amped up, relative to Beyond the Western Deep, which captures a lot of the core philosophy behind the whole chapter.

Next week we’ll be posting the Chapter Title artwork for Chapter 3, along with updating the banner and perhaps a few other things! I know our Store is due an update, so that might be coming soon.

HEY READERS, CHECK THIS OUT!

So, New York Comic Con went really well! I’ll have more info next time, but I wanted to mention that I came back from the convention with a few extra copies of Beyond the Western Deep Volume 2!

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Seven copies, specifically, that I’m going to sell to readers on a first-come-first-serve basis through here. If you’re interested in buying a copy (which I will sign and bundle up with a mini-print), send an e-mail to thewesterndeep (at) gmail (dot) com to claim your copy.

I will confirm them in the order received, and then you’ll need to Paypal over the money for the book and shipping. The shipping will be Flat Rate, and ideally continental US only for a total of $15.75. If you want a copy and you’re outside the US, that number will be higher to factor in shipping, but I will let you know the cost beforehand.