The Wellington Division - The End


The final scene of the Wellington Division is now up.

It's bittersweet to post this last sequence. I've come to really enjoy posting the Wellington Division week by week. It's been such an interactive, interesting way to tell a story. Thank you to everyone who has been reading along. And thank you to everyone who has taken the time to comment or let me know their thoughts about the characters in an e-mail.

So long Tearse, Jase, Elsie and Tyler.


Comments

Becky Lancaster said…
Beautiful! What a wonderful story! I hope that there is another in the works.
Shannon Crissey said…
Aww, yay! I would have never seen that ending coming, but it's perfect!
Ahtna said…
It almost feels like a prologue now. Ah, well, the best stories always leave you wondering what happens after the tale ends.

Thank you very much for telling this fantastic tale! I hope we will see much more of your art. Also, I really liked the fact that there are sketches. They have such a nice feeling to them.
ehyang said…
Thank you so much for sharing your work with us! It has been one of the things I look forward to the most this week. It has been fantastic.
Toria said…
Thank you for sharing your story. It was lovely and looked beautiful. I too enjoyed that they were sketches.

I was pleasantly surprised by the identity of The One. The ending has left me a little misty eyed :')

I've never been into comics or graphic novels, (I'm more a kids picture book kinda gal) but your story really drew me in, eliciting grins, actual audible gasps at times, and now tears. I enjoyed it much more than I expected I could enjoy any graphic novel, and looked forward to each new sequence every week, even when it was sad. But I am so relieved that the ending was happy/hopeful :)
scylla's revenge said…
Great ending :) not the way I thought it would end, but it was still very good! But I still have some questions:
Will Elsie and Tyler ever come back? (sequel please??)
How did Tearse avoid the flames Viperal shot at him at the end? Was that his own powers, or did Kyte help him out?
And how old are Tyler, Elsie, and Kyte? I've been trying to figure it out and I'm still not sure. I was also so sure there would be a love interest for Elsie somewhere in there, but oh well.
Sad to see your story over, but it was a lot of fun to read! Thanks for everything! :)
eswar said…
This became my to-do thing every monday. I have a mixed feeling now that its complete. Thank you so so much for the comic. Also, is it a hollywood thing never to have a conclusive ending ? :)
Charles Eubanks said…
I can't believe it's over! I've been following WD since the beginning, and my weeks just aren't going to be the same without it. It's been a great year+. Thank you so much for sharing it with us all!

I know you consider this novel to be unfinished, but for me, the uncolored pages didn't diminish the experience one bit. Your pencil drawings have an energy and expressiveness that's incredibly rare and amazing to look at. I love your painted works too, but your line art is what caught my eye when I first discovered your blog. I hope you'll continue to post both styles!

Like the rest of your readers, I'm very much looking forward to your next story. In the meantime, I'm going to go back and read WD (and all the reader comments) again from the beginning!
Lisa said…
Thank you so much for posting this week by week, as a sort of gift to readers. It's been a joy to read, especially in sketch form -- so loose and emotive. :) Thank you, again, for posting, and I look forward to anything you do in the future.
Zé said…
Thank you so much for sharing this story with us! Although i´m a little disappointed with the end, it was a really nice jouney, and can´t wait for the next story
Kirsty said…
/oh no its over :(
I really liked the relationship between Elsie and Tearse. Please make a sequel! There's enough scope!
..It was the thing to look forward to mondays!!
Sarah: Congrats on this story! It's a huge achievement to be able to have created something like this! The story was fantastic, and I really enjoyed reading every week.

Thanks for posting your unfinished work, too.. It really was great to see your sketches and how you start.. not to mention falling in love with these characters!
GaryG said…
Thank you so much, your graphic novel sequences made my weeks.
Jg said…
This was one of the best series I read online this year. Bravo and absolutely terrific work, Sarah!
sarah said…
Craig - Thank you! Yeah, I'm realizing that publishing comics online is a little addictive. It's so encouraging and motivating to have the feedback. :)

Becky - Thank you so much, and there are too many! I have a bunch of stories milling around in my head, I need to settle on one and commit to it. :)

Shannon - Thank you. I hoped the ending would be a little unexpected. I know I set it up to just be one huge battle, but I wanted it to be more than that. :)

Ahtna - Thank you, Ahtna. I too like stories that end with a sense that the world and the characters keep moving forward, have new adventures, etc. I also wanted Tearse's redemption to be something he'd have to commit to in a long-term way.

Thank you also about the sketches. I think near the end there, I ended up spending more time on the drawings. You can tell, probably, as you read through the story, where I was rushing and where I just got lost in the story myself and kind of forgot that these were supposed to be messy roughs. :)
sarah said…
ehyang - Thank so much. It's really cool to know people looked forward to these posts. :)

Toria - I'm glad that the identity of the one came as a surprise. It was a definitely a challenge... making it believable in retrospect that it was that character all along, but not giving it away too early in the story. I'm also glad that you saw the ending as happy/hopeful.

I never really was a graphic novel person either, although I've become more interested in them in the recent past. I think for me it just made sense to attempt one, I love to draw and I love write. I had no idea how long it would take, though!

scylla's revenge - I like to think Elsie and Tyler would have a good reason to come back someday. It's just too sad to think that they all never see each other again.

No plans for a sequel at the moment, but I've love to eventually write one. I'd love to know what happens on that ship with Tearse and Jase. I can't imagine that they are the best of friends yet.

And yes, it was Kyte who saved Tearse. I think after healing himself, which couldn't have been easy, he was waiting for an opportunity to safely attack Viperal. It was risky to step in and save Tearse, but Kyte's a good guy, and couldn't watch Tearse die after sacrificing himself in an attempt to give Elsie time to escape.

I'd say Tyler is nine, Elsie is thirteen/fourteen and Kyte is fourteen. I think Kyte would have been a love interest for Elsie had she not been stuck on the island for the whole story, which is hinted at a little in the end. And I'm sure Elsie wished Tearse was her age, before she realized he was lying to her.

...And my kids are now up from their naps! I'll keep responding to everyone later tonight. :)
Cian C. said…
I really enjoyed this story from start to finish. Congrats on getting to the end!
Steve Kahlich said…
Thank you Sarah,

what a wonderful story - beautifully written and exquisitely drawn. I hope that you will finish it someday and publish, it is a story I would like to share with my toddlers when they are older. I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed your talent and artwork. Best of luck with your current projects, I'll check in from time to time to see what's new!
RadeoFlier said…
Awesome! Loved the ending!
Khazm said…
Thank you for this awesome story! The ending did come as quite a surprise - not that I expected a happy end, but rather that some of the most important stuff got wrapped up so fast. But then again, that's exactly what happens in reality & I have hated other authors before because they simply couldn't get passed 'saying goodbye' to their characters. Short pain is better I guess.

I will very much miss reading the new pages every week. So don't hold back making a new comic I'd say...
Katherine said…
I came upon your novel on the recommendation of a friend and I've been blown away by the quality of both the drawings and the storyline. I found it easy to immerse myself in the characters' world; everyone felt so real. Thank you so much for sharing this with us. I hope you have the opportunity to publish in book form some day: I'm a great fan of graphic novels and I'm sure that this one would be a huge success. Good luck!
J.T. Pennington said…
Sarah, it was so inspiring to see your story unfold; I found your website about a month ago and read up unto the part where Jase was leading the army up the hill for the battle; I was so excited to see the last few sequences unfold on a weekly basis.

I love your created world - the social hierarchy of the Mants & Sprites, the faith based culture with the Priest Elites, and a realm of interesting characters to capture your heart. I wondered if the characters related to people in your own life that were given new names but had similar character traits?

I have made several sketchbooks from my travels to Italy and from architecture school in college, but never written anything like a graphic novel story; in fact, my favorite part of reading The Wellington Division was it was written with sketches, instead of final linked work. Sketching shows so much more emotion and flavor from the artist.

If you do ever publish it, I want to buy an autographed copy from you!
Jazd said…
I loved reading this story!! I stumbled on it a while back and I just couldn't get enough. The ending was a total surprise! I really hope you continue it.
carolyn said…
I loved your story, it gave me something to look forward to every week! Your art style is unique and interesting, and your story well rounded. You should paint out the pages now!(even though that would be quite the task) and sell them! I would definately buy one, im a huge fan c:
Digidove said…
I came across one of your short stories with Stumbleupon, and liked it so much I started working my way through the rest of them! You are a wonderful story teller, and an inspiration to me as an aspiring artist. Your art style is so expressive - all the characters have so much life and personality.

I agree with Ahtna that it somewhat feels like a prologue, although for me it feels more like "Act 1". The ending is strong enough to stand as is, but if you did create a sequel in which the major conflict with Viperal is resolved in some way I would love to read it :)
julesmargolis said…
After taking a few month break from WD I finally found time to remember to read the last few scenes. I just wanted to say that I loved the story and while I loved the roughs I would love to one day own a completed hard copy that I could buy from a book store. I would pay for it. It was quite a ride and I'll be sure to stop in on the blog from time to time. Thanks again from Australia.
Jules
Ilze said…
Beautiful story and beautiful artwork! :D
Wolfette said…
Wow. Totally devoured that apart! I love it! I hope you find the time to write a sequel, as I'd like to see "Vipey" defeated once and for all. Looking at that last panel, I see Jase and Tearse almost as brothers. Weird, I know.
PottsAntiques said…
I just found the Wellington Division last week. I real a lot of graphic novels online, and yours is definitely among the very best, both in terms of art and storyline. Thanks so much for posting it, and I will check back often for more of whatever product you're putting out.
Wow! I've been reading WD all day and can I say I loved it! Thanks so much for sharing your work! because its amazing! You have such a talent for character designs and expressing emotion through simple sketches. I Loved every minute!
Anonymous said…
I found Wellington Saga via StumbleUpon. I verry much enjoyed the artwork and story. Thank you for posting.
Tim said…
Just finished reading the novel and it was wonderful. I am hook whatever you do count me along for the ride!