Sara & Kleeyo
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Comic 109 - The End
Author Notes:
I first off want to thank all my readers. Everyone who took a little time out of their day to visit my humble little comic. If it weren't for the comments and feedback I received, I never would have had the motivation to keep it going as long as it did. This post also marks the comic's second year anniversary. 1 year ago I said the comic wasn't likely to last another year, but I managed to pull it off.
I never thought I would actually finish it. Now don't think for a second that I didn't go through a major guilt trip in my decision to conclude the comic. Right now I'm getting about 700+ weekday daily visitors and 900-1200 daily on the weekends, plus 44 CF subscriptions. To put it quite simply- its a comic that's being read. What more could an author/artist ever ask for? By concluding it I am essentially throwing all that away.
I think someone earlier suggest that I try professional writing. Ironically, I am a published author. Just not a successful one, heh. I had a sci-fantasy novel published back in 2004, but it didn't sell very well and is currently out of print. (needless to say I was never contacted on the prospect for a sequel lol) Wile writing that novel, I worked on it off an on for abuot 4 years. It was almost 600 pages and about 250k words. Typing "the end" at the end of such a long, dedicated effort was almost as rewarding as holding the first printed copy in my hands. Typing "The end" at the end of this comic filled me with that same sense of accomplishment. I worked on this comic almost everyday for the past 2 years. Now I can say I have a completed webcomic under my belt.
However, no matter how well S&K did, I realize that it will never truly be "my" comic. WoW was a premade template and I just threw in my characters and jokes/storylines.
I recognize that the comic was only successful BECAUSE it was a WoW comic. Had I tried to make an original comic with this level of quality, it would have failed almost immediately. I've seen so many other comics out there with 10x better art and story simply sink. It's called "riding the franchise" which is frowned upon in the webcomic community. Because of that, I can't hold S&K with as much pride as I would like to have.
I really want to do an original comic. I really, REALLY want to do one. However I still have way too much to learn in terms of art (namely consistency and background art). I will be eventually be setting up a devient art account to post stuff while I practice. My new job keeps me on the road about 26+ days a month, so any art updates would probably be done in monthly bulks.
Could S&K ever return as a regularly updated comic? Doubtful, but keep in mind that I may still post stuff here from time to time. This is just the end of it being a regularly updated comic. I suppose if I ever came back to the game I would have the motivation to continue, but I would need a social reason to ever come back. No one left I know IRL that still plays and none of my old guild mates are around anymore. The social aspect of the game was what kept me hooked for so long. Without it, WoW gets boring considerably faster. S&K ID help me get a small handful of real-ID invites. One really nice player even went out of his way to help me grind off the last of the achievements needed for my volcanic drake and ICC mounts (you know who you are). Twice I tried to come back during Cata and both times were kind of miserable experiences. I'm nopt going to rant about WoW, since there is nothing I can say here that I didn't already say in previous posts, but I WILL sum it up to this: Making everything crossrealm and such low Xfer cooldowns makes it a lot harder to get to know people, and thus a lot harder to make in-game friends. If only they came out with real-ID a few years sooner...
So whats next? My new job will leave me with little to no freetime for the next 2 month, so don't expect any updates from me during that time. However my next priority will be getting my next book published. This time I will probably shoot for digital publishing since there is a larger market for that right now (kindle, nook, ect). It will be a two book series. The first will be called "Serine Blue: Ghost Baby" (althoguh title not finalized. I might swap names as I am yet unsure which I want to be the series name and individual book name). Keep an eye out for it!. If I do start an original new comic, it won't be until after the first book it out, since likely it would be a spinoff story from the book.
Whatever happens, I'll be sure to post an update about it here.
Again, thanks everyone. And I hope to see you all again in the future.
Exit question: I know this comic didn't have a rich variety of reoccurring characters like many of the other WoW comics, but was there any particular character you considered your favorite? Or was there a favorite strip?
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Comments:
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Really love the way Talia looks as she is much older now too! The whole time travel story sort of confused me...but I think all of them do that to readers.
While it is a WoW comic, at least you made your own story within the world, I'll definitely remember these characters and their adventures, so even though its not fully your story, at least you made a possible impact on readers and characters that can be remembered with their own actions and personalities.
I'm sorta rambling on, not really sure what else to say but a simple.
WELL DONE! This was certainly a fuck comic to read and experience! Hope the upcoming holidays treat you well!
So in the end I thank you for the good story and I thank you for giving it a good ending. Cheers!
Dunno. Never watched that anime. If so, its coincidental.
P.S. Have you thought of compiling S&K and selling it? Food for thought I guess. Thanks again!
...and please answer E-mails. :)
To answer your question: I felt that only the main characters were really explored in great depth; we didn't really get to know Jyosette very well and I was hopefull of seeing more development in her. If I have to be completely honest we didn't really get to know Talia all that well either much beyond her being a cute kid with an over-active imagination who wanted very much to please her mother but often didn't know the right way to go about it. Therefore I guess Kleeyo herself is my favorite character; she had a personality I could get behind.
I really lament that we weren't able to get to know your other characters better.
Hmm, I've received 2 emails from readers since the conclusion of the comic and replied to both, so if you haven't received a reply, then I must not have gotten it. Be sure to have "Sara and Kleeyo" or similar in the subject to I can browse the spam folder if it went there. Sorry for any inconveniences.
The sentiment in the last comic is wonderful, rich, and deep. It strikes a chord in me, and I adore it so. I hope that you'll at least let us have some updates here now and again (like a DA account name so's I can follow you there) about your doings.
Take care, sir, and thanks again for the ride.
Secondly, thanks for creating it in the first place! It's been a great ride and I wish you luck in the future!
By the way, given I don't know the look of Cata and MoP set, is Talia's equipement something from those extansion or your made it up yourself?
Be certain that I'll come back from time to time to see if you uploaded something.
Just out of curiosity, what was the title of that book you wrote?
Thanks for reading, Adamantine! And thanks again for helping me out with those great guest comics!
Now, favorite character... ...Am i allowed to say all of them? :P
Oh well im saying it anyway.
The ending itself was perfect. We got the serious, heartwarming reunion we were all hoping for AND the return of the goofy Sara we all loved. Poor woman just can't stop getting nuked by Tauren... I'll miss the comic, but I really feel like the story is over and that makes it easier to accept. There's no way I'm letting this page off my bookmarks, or letting myself miss any more of your writing.
I do wish to disagree with you on one point: this comic did not succeed "because it was a WoW" comic. It may have been what drew people here, but not what kept them reading. That was your own story, your own character development, and your sense of whimsy and fun that kept it going strong for 2 years. You have every right to feel proud of this achievement. I know I will be eagerly awaiting your next endeavor.
Sucess in your new job, peace.
So, thanks for the great comic and good luck with the book (or whatever you are going to do)!
P.S. I laughed at the 6th and 7th panel (But you are...And you have...lol ;D)
iv enjoyed reading it all this time and you need to find away to let us all know when your going start putting stuff back out there (hoping in 2 months time)
i also want to thank you for helping me get started on my comic, if you missed it before here the link.
http://Gratz.thecomicseries.com/
i hope all is well with your new job and and your publishing.
Looking forward to seeing you there, and more of your continued work with your art. This was excellent.
Clef, about this line: "However, no matter how well S&K did, I realize that it will never truly be "my" comic. WoW was a premade template and I just threw in my characters and jokes/storylines."
Clef, you're being much too hard on yourself. Sure WoW set the background and the lore for your comic, but that's no different to creating a story fitting into any other genre. Whether it's sci-fi, detective noir, spy thriller, soap, horror, sitcom, whatever you name it, the characters and the storylines are *your* creation. WoW may be the backdrop, but you put your cast on the stage and gave them their lines. WoW didn't create the hyperactive, incouregable Sara or the short-fused but kind-hearted and resolute Kleeyo or the adorable and endearing Talia. You alone gave them their personalities.
You certainly have the talents to make a webcomic work; the art skils and the writing skills. All you have to do is reach out to the correct audience and market yourself. It's true that I found your comic by branching out from WoW Eh (which has ceased), but that's how it works - get your comic mentioned just once or twice in the right place and people will follow you to it and they will *keep reading*.
I'm going to miss this comic so much
Especially since this will probably be my first and last comment.
It is good to have a webcomic actually end and have an ending instead of the author just running out of steam and ending at a random point, respect for that one Clef!
Please keep us informed of other projects you end up doing, your brand of humour is fun and I am sure I am not alone when I say I wanna see more of Clef even if it is not WoW related!
You can be rightly proud of this series, very well done :)
One thing though, I would really like to see a single pic of sara and Kleeyo reunited (and to see how kleeyo looks in 15 years)
Exit answer: Apart from Sara and Kleeyo, I think Jyo had her great moments, particularly in the Deathwing incident
Well Done! Only potential other thing, as with others, now I want to see what the house and Kleeyo look like, but no matter. *Squints and maybe those last 3 tiny bubbles in panel 19.
One of two finished webcomics I can now say were done to completion. The other being the works of one Sarah Ellerton 'The Phoenix Requiem' being the best of these.
Great job on the ending though I really am sorry to see it go.
Anyway great stuff man.
Sara born -> attacked by Horde -> grows up, joins Argent Crusade, works with Kleeyo -> goes back in time -> spends years protecting young Kleeyo -> comes to the coliseum to explain everything -> spends 15 years maintaining coliseum -> end of comic
I'm happy to hear you will let us know when you publish your book and when you create a deviantART account.
I'm looking forward to it and I wish you the best of luck on all things you endeavor towards as an artist and writer.
thank you so much for the comic.
best wishes from Norway =)
So.. great work and thanks..
the whole grand shceme of Deathwing is properly one of the best plotlines i have ever seen, TO grope a milion women simultaneously:D:D
all in all, be proud, be very proud Clef because you are a true genius! and we are all looking foward to seeing what you come up with next. AN YES publishing a book containing the collected adventures of S&K is a GREAT idea:D
cheers from denmark and thanks for the good times, and murder attemps ( choked by laughter):D
Riding a franchise or not, I've read in the past many WoW comics, most than one time I've seen WoW comics that never really ended, just stoped in the mid, another times for some I just lost interest, so ending a great story as your was, and with so many people reading and interested it's a feat to be proud man!
And I'm sure I talk for all your readers when I say that every one of us would keep reading anything from you that we had a chance!
Worth the whole reading. *hugs*
Godspeed in your future endeavors. Should you ever get the itch to revisit the world of S&K, consider just making it a 3 or 4 panel comic like out of a newspaper for a simple quick joke.
Having said that, I've been reading S&K since your guest strip on WoWEH?, and it has been a real thrill from beginning to end, and definitely one I'll reread in its entirety someday. Look forward to your future DArt stuff, a possible S&K published book, and maybe even your older literature.
That one panel where the speech bubbles get smaller and smaller, I can't read anything past the "Mother warned me" one. Could someone tell me what they say? Thanks.
I am going to miss this comic. It was truly one of the best, and the only one to ever come to completion. It was a fun ride of emotions from happy to sad, from laughter to tears. I will check back from time to time and definitly read your new book(s). Anyone who can compile a comic like this can certanly write a book just as amazing.
So until I read your amazing works again, Fus Roh Dah!, May Elune light your path, May the force be with you (/handwave - these are not the droids you are looking for.), Bazinga!, Have a Happy ChristmaHanaKwanaYuleka! (if forgot a nerdy quote in there, sorry lol)
For the exit question, I suppose that Sara would probably be my favorite character, but she wouldn't be nearly as entertaining without Kleeyo by her side.
That is why I am a little disappointed to not have Kleeyo in the ending of "Sara and Kleeyo". While it is a nice bittersweet ending, I'm still crossing my fingers for an epilogue with the two of them.
Take care friend!
~Coffin
Still wish I could learn how to use pen tablets like you...-_-
Any updates about future work will be posted here.
About the "riding the franchise" thing - yes, I understand how fantasy authors may look down on people who don't create their own world, and certainly it would be easier to create a poor story based on someone else's world, but I don't think it's any easier to make a GOOD story. Possibly it's even harder, as you're constrained by someone else's plans... And I think the comments here show your work is definitely in the good category :-) Thanks for a beautiful story. I wish my Alliance toon (Night Elf) could be friends with my Tauren toon, even more so after reading your comic.
the one thing that would make it more awesome would be seeing what Kleeyo looks like old.
When I saw the title being "The End" I honestly shed a tear. But when it came to the 2nd last panel... I got quite teary, even still 21 days later :(
Hope to see more of your work in the future, and best of luck to you and all your future ventures. :)