From the Artist:
I wanted to say one last thank you to everyone for reading and sharing this comic with us–it has been a long journey and this is, officially, the end. I know that the ending is pretty open ended, but I hope that at least it makes people want to play more Exalted! This comic was born from an Abyssal campaign that began over 10 years ago, and even if the characters involved were pretty much entirely awful people, I’ve still got a big soft spot for them in my heart.
If you’re interested in sticking around for future projects, they likely aren’t going to be Exalted related, but we aren’t going to be strangers. Kyle will be posting a blog next week to finish up his own thoughts on the comic, and if anyone wants to leave comments here, I’ll do my best to do a mini Q&A about any lingering questions you might still have! Chorus of the Neverborn will remain up as a comic archive as well.
For those of you interested in following our other work:
You can check out Kyle’s book on Amazon if you’re interested in reading more of his writing.
You can also follow me and my other writer, Colin Stricklin, on the Handbook of Heroes webcomic, or on Patreon, where we’ll soon be posting attendance at upcoming conventions and sharing ridiculous tabletop RPG stories. I also have a new graphic novel currently in development, and I’ll be sharing more about it on Patreon later this year.
Thank you again for all your support and feedback! I am grateful to each and every one of you for your dedication to this project over the years, and while I am excited for new opportunities in the future, I am sad to see this one end.
-Laurel
From the Writer:
Everyone, pretend I’m addressing you from the back of a cybernetic tyrant lizard while you read this. This is an order…
Ok, got that pictures in your mind now? Then let’s get to the sappy stuff.
When me and Laurel started this project so many years ago I had no idea we would have been able to keep it going as long as we have. I sometimes can have trouble finishing things, especially when they last so damn long!
I almost didn’t write anything to close this off, but, by the Unconquered Sun, I had something to say. This was a story I wanted to tell. I could have told so many happier stories. There are so many silly fantastic stories I have in my head, but this is the first one I’ve been able to tell using sequential art. I love it.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that I like drama and stories about love. I think telling this story helped me get there. It’s grown up with me in a big way. I’ve never been part of a creative endeavor that has lasted this long. I’m not 100% sure what type of comic I want to write next. The only thing I’m currently sure of is there will be lots of pretty outfits. Also, probably murder… and goths. I’m still workshopping it.
I want to thank Emily, Sarah, and Raevyn for letting me and Laurel puppet your characters in this comic, I hope that you feel we stayed true to them throughout.
I want to thank all our readers for checking in each week. I am humbled that our fan-comic has entertained you over the past years and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your time! That was super rad of you.
Lastly, but not least, I want to thank Laurel for bringing this crazy story to life. You are an incredible artist and I hope that we will work on something together soon. I couldn’t have done Chorus without you… if I tried, it would have been a stick people comic and I probably would have burned out on it around 2015.
I will leave y’all with this thaumaturgical blessing.
Initiative rolls begin the haze,
Powerbow drawn back to the notch,
Under Luna’s watchful gaze,
May your dice roll true and never botch!
Ok, now imagine I ride off into the horizon on the tyrant lizard…
-Kyle
Congrats again on completing the comic!
TY!!!! TY so much for this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
you guy made Handbook of Heroes??? i will continue to follow you guys!!!!!
Oh gods this end, im crying. The end of the Abyssal game was one of such sadness for me (not just the content but the finality of it). Our latest campaign has been such an amazing experience.
Plus at some point i guess you guys might want me to continue the WoD campaign with them….
@Hariman – Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
@giodan – Thank you for reading it! And yes, I draw Handbook of Heroes as well, though in a very different style, obviously! I keep pestering my writer for Handbook to do more Exalted jokes. 😀
@Raevyn – I’d almost want a re-start on the WoD campaign, mostly because I’ve forgotten where we left off T_T But these characters mean a lot to our group and I hope Kyle and I did them justice!
This may be the best fourth-wall break I’ve ever seen, it certainly is built right into the setting fluff. Congratulations, and good luck in your other work. 🙂
@anonymous coward Thank you! I’ve always liked that the books kind of give suggestions for GMs but don’t necessarily point towards any one ‘right solution’ for storyline points, and I liked doing something similar here to echo that.
If I haven’t said it before, this was a lovely comic. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed it, in fact probably more than I actually enjoyed *playing* Exalted, haha.
If you do get Colin to do more Exalted references, I hope you convince him to do something with Death of Obsidian Butterflies. For some reason that particular bit has always been what I think first about when I think of Exalted. Something about the name and the imagery of it always appealed to me as both awesome and goofy at the same time.
Congratulations again. So that people over there are the abyssals in their solar version? Lance looks even more goth than when he was a abyssal. If the people below are the players that means that the girl in the right is a certain artist with lots of talent? 🙂
Also glad to see normal-male wizard 😉
@Ramsus Thank you! I will see what I can do about getting Death of Obsidian Butterflies reference in Handbook, it’s one of the best in my book, as well!
@Shattenturm Thank you! 😀 The girl on the right is indeed me, along with the rest of our party and Kyle as our GM. Lance is the guy in the back, though, the man to the Contessa’s left is Silken Master, who was a Solar in the first game and therefore gets switched to be an Abyssal for the swap.
@Laurel Thanks The game must have been really good to make this comic and dedicate to it so many years. I really enjoyed this comic, good luck on your work and see you in The Handbook 🙂
Wanders in 4 months after it ended.
Reads 450+ pages of comic looks sad that it is not gonna continue happy you will be doing more and sadly.
Doubly so because this reminds me of other Exalted webcomics that are ended
@DiploRaptor I do promise that there are more cool stories coming from us! Hopefully they will at least have a little of that flair that makes Exalted so fascinating.
I expect so that was certainly a trip I am excited for what is next.
I just read the whole comic over the course of this weekend. I enjoyed it.