Chapter 1, Page 38

*mic drop* see what I did there

Whew. I can’t believe I actually finished this chapter. It’s probably the hardest chunk of anything I’ve ever drawn in my life.

My fav modern band’s excellent new song is coincidentally a great summary of this chapter so I’m sharing that here too (it even has the comic’s title in the lyrics! hehe)

ALSO MI got a lovely review on io9! I am still smiling :D The first review is always super special.

BUT WAIT there’s more. Thursday is the first day of the rest of my life the return of The Meek. If you are not familiar with it, The Meek is my precious firstborn comics child. There is an archive of 3+ chapters, the wiki is back to life, and I have a lot of other stuff to share soon. There will be an update soon as well, but you can check out the archive and the awesome new site by clicking the cool box to the right. You can also reach the comic in the future by clicking on Angora’s flower icon on the sidebar.

From now until the end of June, I will be updating MI once a week, and TM once a week (at least. I like to push myself to the brink of death on a regular basis so maybe there will be some 3x updates in there somewhere). In July I will be done with my current giant chunk of freelance, and will transition to trying to make a living on my own work, maybe?? This will involve a Patreon, which means I have to make a video probably (noo) but I’ll worry about that if I make it to July without being hit by a bus. Hopefully you have seen enough of my work by now to know if you think it’s worth a few bucks a month to support my making it in the future :] If not, you have another month or so to mull it over.

Today’s bonus art is just a look back to the very start. Some really heavy shit is coming up, starting next week. Can’t wait to share it.

Thank you to Lowell, forever, for making my site amazing. Also thanks to Duke for handling the RU site and translating all my horrible crazy shit.

And as usual, thank you all VERY much for reading.

77 Comments

  • DoggySpew

    Instead of a clifhanger, you end this chapter with a clifcrumble.
    Looking forward to The Meek’s re-re-re-restart.

  • Pearle

    OH BOY oh boy oh boy, I have been waiting for the return of The Meek for ages! Mare Internum has been amazing, but it hasn’t scratched the same itch. Thanks for bringing it back!

  • Maria S.

    Poor Bex is left to explain this to Goto now. Hoo boy.

    • DukeBG

      But… Bex has fallen too ._.

      • JepMZ

        Oh my god… I didn’t realize….

    • Ben

      Bex doesn’t have to explain anything. It will all be recorded.

  • charles81

    MEEK! WOOT!

    But yeah, took a second to realise what had happened there.

    I think I like it. I mean, seeing what happened I think it’s really cool to just do it and then skip without drawing huge attention to it and having her pull a whole “AHHHH” sequence of realisation. But I guess my only concern is if someone reading through the story quickly and simply in a single setting might not spot it.

    Guess we won’t know if thats a real problem until we next meet them and look out for newer readers commenting that they hadn’t spotted her fall back in this page.

    • charles81

      Part of me still wants to see an extra image or wallpaper at some point of Mike just surfing his giant rock down there like a badass. XD

      • Ceceoh

        Singing “Benson Arizona” as he goes. Which I’m sure will make Bex feel better as she makes her own slide.

        • Full marks for the “Dark Star” reference!

    • shingworks

      Yeah, I thought about it… I suppose I’ll find out what readers see sooner or later. In print it may or may not be more obvious, if it’s at a larger size? Either way, it’s the Internet, so easy to tweak if I need to :]

      • Cheri

        I think that it was more subtle. There is a moment where Bex and the reader take a collective sigh of relief, and then, just like Bex, we’re like “oh shit wait noooo”

    • MiniMoose

      For the sake of a contrasting opinion, I LOVED that it took me a minute to realize Bex didn’t make it. I went from “oh no, there goes Mike” to “OH WAIT OH NOOO IT TOOK THEM BOTH.” Very effective. And horrifying.

      • shingworks

        Thanks, I wanted it to be understated (vs a zoom of her falling, screaming, into a void or something). Hopefully not ~too~ understated, but I think it’s okay.

  • Javi

    No kid, man, I’m seriously trembling about “The Meek” comeback.

    However “Mare Internum” looks equally great. I started to read it just a few days ago, but I see so much awesomeness potential right there.

  • Lew

    Review! The Meek! Chapter completed! Mushed hand in the bonus hand!
    Confetti!!

  • Xan
  • Jojo

    OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Lennier

    That is a big hole.

    There’s a “ya mum” joke there somewhere. :)

    • Ben

      That’s what SHE said (FX BADUM-TISH!)

  • You don’t get to leave this party so easiliy Bex!

  • [the end]

    .

    .

    .

    .

    …ok, probably not. Hopefully at least ONE of them survived without a suit puncture and the rescue team will be there in time. If they decide sending people to a heavily dangerous area where they could get killed to is worth it.

    Wouldn’t it be hilarous if they found the other NaVi down there and used it to go back up ? I wonder if that thing works on battery/nuclear/something, if it’d still have juice. or wether it could lift a person or 2 too.

  • Josh

    This comic has been extremely satisfying to read even eight from the start, and is already one of my most looked forward to for updates. And then the announcement about The Meek? I am genuinely glad to see so much new work of yours! Thank you thank you thank you!

    • Josh

      Ah hell. “Right” from the start, I meant. Pages 1 – 7 deserve credit too.

  • Arianwen

    And everybody died. The end.

    And: really heavy shit on the way? What is this then, a relaxing pause from all the drama? DAMMIT I JUST WANTED A HAPPY COMIC WITH BUTTERCUPS AND KITTENS

    And: AAAAAAAAAAAAthemeekAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaAAAAAA

    • shingworks

      We honestly haven’t even started yet :U

      • shade

        I’ve maybe commented on a webcomic once or twice. Now I’m shifting into creepy fangirl mode. I think it’s a combo of science and psychology. And awesome art. Really freaking awesome art. And pacing.

        Catching up on the meek now, wish you the best in all continuing endeavors.

  • loor

    SO GLAD that the meek is coming back!!! congrats on such a productive few months.

    also TAME IMPALA waaaat yes they’re the best

  • Evergreen 64

    Wow. What a story to tell her kids now. I was there when he died. Sad.

    • Break

      She fell too.

  • fox-orian

    Whelp.

    It’s like that awkward moment when you say goodbye to a friend you run into on the street and catch up for a few minutes. You say goodbye to part ways only to realize that you’re both still headed in the same direction :|

    • shingworks

      Fuck, I lol’d

    • shingworks

      Also I think we can all agree that that is the worst thing that can happen to a human being. I’d rather fall into a bottomless pit.

      • Karoline H

        I sometimes have serious trouble recognizing faces. (I wonder whether I’m very mildly faceblind)
        That can lead to some awkward situations, as I once started talking to someone, believing they were somebody else. Realized after a couple minutes. It was worse than saying goodbye and walking in the same direction ;)

      • fox-orian

        Mike at least made his mind up on that matter.

  • DukeBG

    It took me a while to realize that “mic” sounds like “Mike”

    • DukeBG

      Why is it an open syllable in “micro” anyway? Darn english, you got me again.

    • shingworks

      haha, better late than never XD

    • Oh !

  • Mal

    Oh cool. For some reason I was under the impression you were going to switch back and forth between the Meek and Mare Internum. Now I don’t have to wait months for that cliff-hanger (cliff-faller?) to resolve.

    • shingworks

      Yeah, that was the original plan… but then I fell in love with making MI :I I have to keep going now haha

  • Well, at least now the comic title is very clear in its import. :)

  • Luda

    The RSS feed is coming up fuzzy. Think it’s my reader or the feed?

    • shingworks

      Hm, fuzzy? Like literally fuzzed out?

    • DukeBG

      RSS works fine for me.

  • Man that’s going to be awkward.

    Love the way you executed this, Der-shing. Amazing.

  • CB

    Just throwing my support in for the subtle approach here. I, too, needed a second look to realize Bex fell in. But I love that. I think clarity is oversold. Which is weird to say. I don’t mean clarity is bad, but too much clarity can feel clinical or cliched. There’s this idea floating around that making the reader work at all is terrible and should be avoided at all costs. I don’t mind doing a little work if the results are worth the effort, and they definitely are here.

    Oh, and yay for Meek! I’ve been a reader since the beginning.

  • Leaftrill

    Ah, I remember when I first found Meek, many years ago. Now I have a great science fiction and a great fantasy comic from one of my favorite artists! :D

    That bonus art tho… Have you ever heard “No Man is an Island” by Tenth Avenue North?

    • shingworks

      No… I am a fan of the source tho; a beautiful essay from John Donne’s Devotions

      • Leaftrill

        Oh, thanks for the link. It is very beautiful.

  • Oly

    At the risk of sounding annoying, ALL THE FEELS

    I like both these characters – each in different ways, which is a sign of good writing for me because they feel real, with positive and negative qualities and things we learn to forgive them instead of just picking which Character Representing Specific Point of View to side with. If I had go down in the depth on Mars, I guess it’s a pretty good company to do it with. :B

    …suddenly realised how many stories I like involve Mars and mental stuff. Ever heard of the show Life on Mars (the UK version)?

  • Toast

    what. wHAT. WHAT. WHAT THE HECKLE BERRY SAUCE IS WRONG WITH YOU. WHAT THE HECK. WHY. WHY DO YOU FEEL THE NEED TO TEAR MY HEART FROM ITS POOR RIBBED CAVITY AND RIP IT APART IN A SHOWER OF BLOOD AND GORE? WHY? I WISH THERE WAS A CAPS LOCK FOR CAPS LOCK SO I COULD FULLY EXPRESS HOW UPSET I AM.

    hey also meek is back yay

  • Ben

    I’ll go against the flow and say that I’m glad I found MI before The Meek, because I’ve just looked at it and can’t make anything of it. Art is good but the story ….. I have no idea. Fan service at Ménage a Trois levels.

    • shingworks

      Well, it’s a different type of story for sure. But please don’t interpret the nudity as fan service… the point of her character is absolutely not to be sexual (she is fifteen anyhow). I have very low interest in making comics for any purpose other than storytelling, and definitely not to titillate. A lot of the spirit was taken from when I was a teenaged girl who wished she could explore a dangerous world without fear, and the expected audience is probably women who also remember that feeling. MI by comparison was written as a way to process some serious shit, so the tone is a lot more mature. Just different generes and demos.

      Anyways, you’re definitely free to like or dislike whatever you want, just wanted to clear up the sexualization thing.

  • Yorp

    *applauds chapter one*

    *hands around the popcorn*

    Keep up the good work!

    *wanders off into the shadows*

    Darn it is dark down here, somebody turn on the lights!

    • Mazer

      Not the lights! You’ll expose us lurkers!

    • Mazer

      BTW, fitting username, given context of comic

  • Ian

    Oh deer.

  • Ceceoh

    Rattle Big Black Bones
    in the Danger zone
    there’s a rumblin’ groan
    down below
    there’s a big dark town
    it’s a place I’ve found
    there’s a world going on
    UNDERGROUND

  • Tadrix

    Am I the only one not seeing any images at the bonus art page? Just description and blue emptiness below. I don’t mind voting some extra times, but it would be nice to get to see it before it gets replaced.

    • shingworks

      I’m sorry about that! A few other people have mentioned not being able to see the images but I have no idea why that happens. However I do post the accumulated images to the album in the MI Facebook at the end of each month, so you can see old ones there (and the ones you’re missing there in the future). If In the meantime, if find out why that blue box happens, I will definitely fix it.

      • Tadrix

        Oh, now I’m able to see it. Nice. Thanks! :)

        Although now I’m not sure, someone fixed it or me being dumb I didn’t previously thought of scrolling lower. Could be either. Given my screen res width 1280 and their vertical banners, the image appears much lower than usually (below that tallest banner to the left). But now I’ll have the benefit of being able to use that teaser image as a wallpaper. :)

        • DukeBG

          Yeah, TWC site has a terrible layout and sometimes the wide image gets pushed below it’s usual place

      • Tadrix

        Which is a good idea, by the way. If You wanted, You could do some cool wallpapers for vote-arts of both comics. :)

  • Glenn-o-matic

    After looking at this page more times than I usually look at a page, what seems to be missing is those involuntary sounds (like screaming or cursing) we would certainly be able to hear over their com systems. -Some ugly reality thing-
    Hmm. Maybe there’s a Mute Button for when you’d prefer to keep your terrified exclamations to yourself?
    For all we know, Mike might have taken this opportunity to express himself like Slim Pickins did in Doctor Strangelove!

    • shingworks

      That was an intentional choice, but as an aside, I never scream when I fall XD I just silently clench my way through roller coasters, rock climbing mistakes, etc, haha.

      • Glenn-o-matic

        A stoic Marstronaut!

  • nightvision
    • shingworks

      :D

      Also HI BUDDY

      • nightvase

        HI. Crazy good ending to a chapter. Btw my comment above had additional text (something about dancing and falling off a cliff), but it got cut out for some reason. Anyway awesome stuff. Saw the review on io9 the other day, brought a tear to my eye. Grats and good luck with future chapters

  • AnnieK

    Make a patreon. Take my money.

  • DanialArin

    Just want to make sure I’m seeing this right:

    On the previous page, she tells him to climb up, and he says he can’t. On this page, she realizes she can’t help him, says, “I’m sorry”, and runs for it as the floor falls away beneath him. But the floor crumbles faster than she can run, and she falls in after him…

    Is that what we’re looking at, or am I misinterpreting something?

    • shingworks

      Yep, that’s exactly right.

      • DanialArin

        Ah. Glad to know I wasn’t hallucinating or missing something important.

  • skellagirl

    So I just now remembered that I DREAMT about The Meek a couple nights ago, in anticipation of its return, I guess. Nothing super ground-breaking, just… imaginary dream pages, I think?? CRAZY.

    I dunno if I’m emotionally ready for The Meek to come back… I’m so excited – just seeing the new site, and the new page made my breath catch a little. I’M SO READY.

    And gosh, I’ve been wondering what shenanigans Mike would get into all by his lonesome now, but I guess Bex is coming with. Hopefully the terrifying fall will mellow everyone out for a while?

    Also if I had any sort of regular income, I’d put my money into your patreon so hard. If/when I hopefully do get regular income here soon, I’d definitely put some in your digital pockets

  • Matthew Saint

    THE MEEK!!!

  • Pixie

    Came back for a reread. With where the story is now, I was like, “What is Bex doing? Obviously he’s dreaming or something.” Never noticed that Bex fell too. I feel like the least observant person in the world right now.

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