Next Monday, the comic enters the last chapter of the second story arc. This is bittersweet to me: there will be a third story arc to the comic, and all of the characters will still be there. But there will be another minor time skip, so while I’ll still be working with the same characters, they’ll also be different characters. For example, the version of Hope who’s in Part I is very different than the version who’s in Part II, and the Part III version will be a different version than the one who’s in Part II, and so on.
That’s cool. Really. We change, we grow, we become different versions of ourselves. It’s how things work. But I like who the characters are now!
Ah, well. Those characters will always be there, waiting in Part II, walking around in a state of general confusion as they try to figure out their place in the world. And I’m sure I’ll like the characters in Part III once I get to know them a little better.
So, let’s talk details while avoiding spoilers.
1) There will be another time skip. Everything will be set roughly 15 years in the “future” from Part II, which takes place in the spring of 2013.
2) I’m doing the writing, but I might not do the art. I don’t like missing updates, but I’m getting busier than I can manage. I’d like to hire an artist for the third part of the comic so there are updates at least twice a week or more. I know change is bad, but there are artists out there who can make the story shine in a way I never could, and on a regular update schedule. (I’m not taking any portfolio submissions at this time, thank you!)
3) There will be a two-week break between Parts II and III. I usually take a week between chapters to make sure the script for the next section of the story is solid. When Part II ends, I’m taking two weeks.
4) There will still be books. There are three more Rachel Peng books and two more Hope Blackwell books in the schedule. These will not be affected by the comic’s shift from Part 2 to Part 3. In fact, the next Hope Blackwell book comes out this week! It’s the story of what happened after Thomas Paine showed up in Mare’s kitchen and told her about the Afterlife. There are chupacabras.
5) News updates will happen here, in the Notes section of the comic, and on Patreon, Twitter, and Facebook. There are several ways to stay informed about the comic and other related projects. There’s this writing blog, which is updated infrequently but is a permanent archive for news. The comic’s Notes section rotates out every three updates, which is inconvenient for archives, but all news posted there will always be fresh. Patreon Supporters almost always have some advanced warning about both news and comics updates, and I use Patreon to ask for direct feedback. I don’t update the Facebook page myself, but the woman who does is very quick to post both comic updates and news. And since November of 2016, I’ve been basically howling into the Void over at Twitter, but you will have to follow me to ask me questions as I got sick of trolls and changed my settings.
6) Yes, I’m still working on the Kickstarter. This will be done. I’m very tired and overworked, and seriously over-committed myself. But this will be done.
7) You can support the comic and other projects on Patreon, by buying the books, or by telling your friends, family, coworkers, and friendly dogs about these weird things I do. The books are my primary source of income, and Patreon is the reason there will be a third part to the comic.
Please leave any additional questions or comments here, and I’ll respond to them as quickly as I can.
K.B. SPANGLER 
Is there a pre-order link for the book that I can use? Looking very much forward to the next chapter, the next arc, the next everything. (I may be addicted to your novels in particular; I’ve bought Digital Divide for everyone in my close social circle, and for some people, the entire series. My mom loves Rachel in particular and so does my mother-in-law!)
Not yet! There are still some tweaks needed to make sure it’s in good shape for publication. I’ll post here when the links are up, and thanks for spreading the books around!
Thanks for filling us in. My wife and I look firward happily to new books!
Great news! Thank you for all you do. I’m looking forward to the further books because I’m losing track of the world portrayed in the comics – sometime soon I’m going to have to go back to the beginning and start over! The books help put things into perspective, plus I love Rachel (not so much Hope since I can’t find the necessary empathy with her, though I’ll still buy every book that comes out). Good luck for the future.
Hah. I literally did reread the whole thing that last week 🙂
Took me 2 days.
Well done! I’m scheduling time to start over the next few weeks – twin toddlers and work mean that it will take me more than two days! 😀
I didn’t intend to be anonymous. The comment above was mine.
Yay! More K.B. Spangler creative output!
I have a fresh new credit card (expiry date reached, new one arrived last Friday) waiting to be deflowered by purchases of your stuff 😀
I am a bit conflicted about your massive output/overcommitment: One the one hand I am thrilled by any and all output you produce (aGahF, the Rachel Novels, Deep Witches, and even the horrible puns!), seeing you work on so many projects inspires me with joy, and makes me eager for what’s coming.
On the other hand, I worry about/for you; Please don’t burn yourself out!
You bring joy to my life, and I would hate for that joy to be at the expense of your health!
Jules – I wish I’d said that! I completely agree with your sentiments. Stay healthy, KB – my world would be less rich without you.
I am very glad to see it continuing. Yeah for Hope, I have taken you at your word about books or Panteon, so looking forward to it. However, I must admit I liked the uncolored line comics. but then, the art is comis strips is never as important as “WHAT’S NEXT?” Go ahead and write, , or just get a colorist or whatever.
So glad to have another Hope book coming out! Greek Key was the first of the books that I bought (I have since bought the rest as well), and I was disappointed that there was only the one Hope Blackwell novel.