“I won’t let you down again.”
Well, there we have it.
With a huuuuUUUUUuuuge 15 page update, Chapter 02: Old Friends comes to a close. It’s been a wild ride full of backalley dealings, rooftop chases and the loss of our new friend(?) Tal :(
The whole thing has been a big learning experience for me…I remember writing the script and thinking ‘I have no idea how I’m gonna pull of content like this’ and it’s been a pretty great challenge to tackle :3 I make no secret that Rain is my favorite character in the series, so getting to work on a chapter focused pretty solely on him was a really good time, the secondary characters were a lot of fun and the reveal of our old friend Emory (see what I did there?) was particularly exciting. Tal’s death was something I knew we were leading up to the whole time but in the end it was harder to actually go through with it than I thought…I enjoyed her character and am sad to see her go, but hopefully that’s a sign of her role in the story being successful…
All that being said, this chapter marks the end of what I’d consider the ‘setup’ of the comic, and the following installments are gonna be a looooot of fun as we tackle the real meat of the story. Who ARE Emory and Rain? What’s the deal with those masks? What on Earth was that terrifying thing Tal saw when she linked with Emory? And what the heck is going on with Cael and Reagan?? These questions and more will be answered with the next chapter, and I can’t wait to start it!
Like last time, I encourage you to go back and read the chapter in it’s entirety now that it’s complete. The story really isn’t meant to be digested week to week (part of why I did this last chunk as a single unit, I didn’t want to break up the climax), so now you can get a better flow for the whole story!
As with the last chapter’s completion, I’ve put together a little soundtrack of music which inspired and was instrumental in it’s creation. Interested parties can check it out here:
Additionally, I have a very exciting announcement that I am going to be having a table at this year’s CTNExpo in Burbank, California! this November! I’ll be sharing with the monstrously talented Dana Terrace, which is reason enough to come. Anyone who’s a fan of leveL and in the area should absolutely show up, because I’m going to be signing printed copies of the comic!! I’ll have more announcements about this as we get closer to the November 21st, so keep your eyes peeled at my tumblr and leveL’s tumblr!
This super exciting news comes with the sidenote that as I prepare for that rapidly approaching date, and as we have finished one chapter and need to start another, I’m shifting gears from page drawing and going into pre-production mode!! This phase is always exciting for me cause I get to write and design and do layouts for a bit, but it does mean we have a longer wait until the next chapter gets going.
So, leveL with return with the first pages of it’s new chapter in four weeks, on 10/16/14. Until that time keep your eyes on the leveL tumblr for announcements and little tidbits and teasers for the content to come.
REVISION IN THE TEXT! Due to a crazy unforseen incredible opportunity that dropped into my lap and I’m not allowed to talk about, I’m pushing the launch date one week to 10/23/14! Look forward to your new chapter then!
I hope folks are enjoying the comic so far…I also want to say welcome to all the new readers we’ve received from my little Be Nice To People comic :D It’s awesome to have you all along for the ride, buckle up cause we are in for some crazy times!
And everyone, please don’t feel shy and leave some comments about your thoughts on the comic, that feedback is super important for me to know what’s working and what’s not, plus it just makes the Nate happy! Hang in there guys and I’ll see you in a few weeks!
Nate