Beyond the Western Deep

End Chapter 3? END CHAPTER 3?!

This is actually a pretty momentous occasion, not just in terms of plot development in Beyond the Western Deep, but for us–the creators. And of course for you, the readers. You see, 926 (!!!) days ago when we first kicked off Chapter 3, a lot was different. I was living in Connecticut, and just five days prior, I’d become unemployed.

My contract with DeNA West as the lead writer for the mobile MMO game Blood Brothers 2 was suddenly and abruptly ended–it was so sudden, actually, that I learned about the shutdown not from my producer at DeNA West, but from an EA Mobile recruiter who was calling to try and poach me upon learning of my employer’s demise. It would be about two very stressful months later that I’d begin the interview process at ArenaNet, and in early January of 2017, I’d be flying out to the Pacific Northwest–a place I’d wanted to be my entire life–to begin working at my first major AAA studio.

This was me going in for my day-long on-site interview at ArenaNet’s HQ in early December. We were five pages into Chapter 3 at the time. I interviewed all day, hopped on a plane back to Connecticut early the next morning, and when I was driving home that evening, got a phone call from the recruiter: they offered me the job. I remember immediately calling my parents and telling them: “Well, looks like I’m moving to Washington!”

Beyond the Western Deep has, in a lot of ways, served as a kind of measuring stick for me–personal life events have occurred hand-in-hand with new pages, and some things that have happened to me (like getting the job offer at ArenaNet and moving across the country two years ago) I tie very closely with whatever page we released alongside it.

But Chapter 3 wasn’t just a time of change for me. It was a time of change for the comic itself, and how we handle its future from a business standpoint. As a lot of you know, the publishing and merchandising rights for Beyond the Western Deep used to be in the hands of another company. But after a few years of that, we decided that the best way to tell our story, the best way to release new books and merchandise and content, was to have full control of the Western Deep. Unfortunately, the kinds of publishing contracts people normally sign don’t let creators retake control of their creations very easily.

This was when Varuna came on board to the Western Deep team, helping us secure publisher independence and setting us up for a year of transformation and change for Beyond the Western Deep.

The day before the payment posted and we officially gained our independence, I went to the Norman Rockwell Museum to check out their exhibit on D&D/Spiderwick Chronicles/Magic: The Gathering illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi. While I was internally panicking over whether the payment would go through or there would be some contractual hiccup, it was comforting to see another creator’s journey so clearly laid out–from hand-made D&D cards cut from construction paper and colored in markers to a producer on a Hollywood film adaption of his own material, it helped.

And then the next day, the payment went through. A few days later, I announced our break from traditional comic publishers alongside a hiatus story (wrapping up the Meridian Trail, a short story I’d originally written years prior as a tone piece for the world of Western Deep, rewritten with many additional years of prose experience to call upon).

Once Varuna joined us, we decided to get cracking on creating an official entity–a company that would protect the Western Deep IP. That company, Western Deep, LLC, now counts myself, Rachel, and Var as its founding members. Our first big project: the Volume 1 Kickstarter campaign, which was a resounding success (pulling in almost $7,000 more than we’d asked for). That success was due in large part to the efforts of all of you, our readers and fans, helping to support us and spread the word.

So what’s next?

Well, I’ve been hinting a story with Jerome Jacinto–that’ll be starting up very soon. This upcoming week will be something of a hiatus post, but I’ll drop a few more hints about the new story in preparation for the title page and name drop, which will happen the week after.

It’s been the better part of a thousand days since we started Chapter 3, and I wanted to take this moment to thank you all for your support, your love and kindness, and for being the best kinds of readers and fans imaginable. Lemme drop this image again, because seriously: we mean it:

For guest art this week, a piece from Cinivius! Check it out!

That ermehn doesn’t look like they’re having a very great time, but they’ve got a dagger pocketed–just waiting for the right opportunity to strike! And that canid is sporting some really cool armor there, in addition to a mean-looking sword. I imagine this conflict will be getting out of hand veeeeery shortly, either way.

Thank you so much Cinivius! Fantastic work!

And remember, if you want to submit any guest art of your own to share with the Western Deep community via these comic posts, you can email it to us at this email address: hello@westerndeep.net

See you next week!

OH! And of course, before I forget:

Please don’t forget to vote for BEYOND THE WESTERN DEEP in this year’s Ringo Awards category for Best Webcomic! You can do so here: http://bit.ly/ringos2019!