As promised after two and a half years…I think? I’ve come back to finish what I started, finally! I won’t repeat myself with the boring stuff and my own personal demons and drama that kept me away from drawing Alpha Luna for so long. If you want, you can read all of it in the previous post! 🙂
All I can say now is that… whoa, the world is COMPLETELY different from when I started. Now A.I. is everywhere, and honestly, I was a downer regarding my own work. “Who is gonna care anymore for my own stuff now that anybody can create their own with a few paragraphs?!” I had a cynical mind for a while. And I’ve been testing A.I. myself for funsies, I did this cool animation.
But the comic you see here, I’m still doing it the same way I’ve done it for ages. It’s roughly 16 to 20 hours of work to get one page done. This one in particular gave me headaches since it involved a crowd of people getting into the frame and characters we love and care for….and I hope you still care too, even after all this time.
Anyway, I’ve been testing to stream more, you may catch me doing so when it comes to AL pages at my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/@AlphaLuna
And that’s about it… the idea is to keep posting at least 1 page every month. I know it’s a slow pace. But I’m also still working on side stuff (Other Comics) , real life work and even studying, believe it or not. So yeah…a lot.
I don’t know what to even write here, at all. First, if you’re reading this…wow, you’re still around? THANK YOU. Most likely, you’re a recent/new reader, which is fantastic. LOVE to all of you, long-time readers, anyone who happened to have spent some time reading this small story among so many other better comics about a young girl who happened to be a werewolf.
Alpha Luna did appear back in January 2005, I did spent some time the previous year (2004) getting the first few pages ready for the new year so I could start the comic project of my dreams with a clean slate. Things went better than expected, and in 2010 I got some attention here in my country, Chile, where I published the first Book. Thing scalated and by 2014 I was in full swing, tip-toeing my steps into the professional world, preparing what would be the second book that would get published the next year, 2015.
It’s been 10 years since, and no third book or finished status of the comic happened, and this website, had page 49 (from chapter 5) since August 2022 as the last page posted, well that’s until today when I’ve uploaded the patreon’s pages: 50 & 51.
But why, after left for so long? Much of it had to do with a few reasons.
First, I couldn’t manage a “professional” workload on my own. Back in 2015, I was exhausted with the publication of my book, so it was a given that it would take me at least two years to get the next book somewhat ready, but at the same time, I wasn’t hired or had any deadline; it was all in my own hands. Sadly, contrary to other countries with big comic markets, I wasn’t hired or anything. So I still had to pay my bills, and I was taking strides to really live on my own.
And to accomplish this, my focus shifted somewhat into commission works, Patreon came to be, including a second avenue for more mature works. And this second avenue proved to be my main income, while Alpha Luna, for a long time, proved the contrary, with fewer and fewer people being interested in it.
I can certainly take the blame too. I went through many hiatuses that would last from months to a year or so, which killed the interest and the returning fans. But even then, I started to mature as a storyteller and started to become more apathetic and critical of my own work, and the love that I had for the story, and where I wanted to take it…it didn’t appeal to me anymore. It felt more eager to scratch everything and start all over again.
But I loved these characters. I loved the interactions that I had with fans, and the people I met thanks to AL. I loved that era when I poured my soul and love for it; I loved that I believed in my dreams. And if I could focus and write something really good, give this comic a great send-off, it would be worth everything. But then, shit happened.
COVID happened. I was ok, but my family needed help. All came together in a rush, and I had to leave the place I had for my own, and I decided I needed a fresh start, a more settled life for a better future. I made sacrifices for what I believed was the greater good, as cheesy as you may think that sounds, that was the truth for me.
But I had to try, I really tried in 2022 to be the year I would go the distance, when finally I would close the cycle and work on Alpha Luna and finish what I started, maybe not with the full series I dreamed when I started all of this, but with a cute open end. I posted a few Youtube updates and gave it all what I could, releasing the works I had done with great artists who did my AL Chronicles comics. But…. by the end of 2022 it all came crashing down due my own mental health, real life work and my father’s Alzheimer’s disease.
But I would be lying if I had to blame it all on external factors. Many of my decisions came back to me with a punch because of my lack of motivation and focus. Little by little I started to believe no one cared about AL anymore, it had been way too long, and it was a foolish endeavor to even try anymore. I kept taking a few commissions here and there, but just thinking about AL made me feel a little sick, because of embarrassment, because of failure, and because of all the love I once had for the story now it was a mess of emotions that felt more negative than rewarding.
“The comic was never good” , “The story was shit” , “Who cares anymore?”, “Why would you waste so much time on it?” “Why?” “Because you love these characters?” “Maybe the story wasn’t good, but its themes….identity, self realization, self-discovery, friendship, trust…there were good things, right?”
“I guess….”
Then, one day….maybe 2023 or so, I started to write, what would be ending like….and I kept going back to a single idea, and themes. And it all came into one feeling, happiness. It doesn’t matter who is reading, if it’s worth or not, it matters what I want to say at the end.
Lyrics, song have that special power, to give meaning to feelings through melodies. And after writing the paragraphs, ideas for a possible final chapter, I decided to look up for a song that would give me the feeling I had and to express with words and fitting ideas a possible “Ending song”. And a mong many I found this…
It’s melaconlic and it’s a bit sappy you say? Fuck it, I love it. Sometimes you find the inspiration in the most unlikely places. (Malukah is great btw, check her channel!)
In due time I hope this rambling makes a little bit of sense. But what I can say, is that I have goal in mind, right now at this very moment. It will be a long year, and although it’s March, for me the year had just official beging to me. I’ll start working on AL again, very soon, I don’t know how much it will take, hopefully less than a year? I don’t know. The promise is that I’ll keep going, now and finally with a goal in mind.
I think that’s all I needed in life after all, and just like the song I just needed to follow the moon, a guiding light, a goal, a shining beacon, something to look forward and believe in. Until then, take care.
This time we finally get to check on Collie as David awakes from his apparent death!
I was feeling a little rusty at the beginning but I things came naturally to me after a few hours. That said I wouldn’t be working on shadings if these were the first pages of a new chapter, but since we are reaching the end I did put the extra effort and hours to make it look good 😛
Anyway, I hope you like it! Next page will come around mid September. Until then!
In the meantime Page 51 has already been posted at my Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/alphaluna as usual if you see a new page here it means the patreon usually also is one page ahead.
And so the ensuing conflict comes to an end with a spiraling wind that fades as Teo’s last words are heard by Luna. All of this to an oblivious Fang who is trying to comprehend what just happened.
This page marks the point where I left the comic abandoned back in 2018 with the sketch of this page half-way done. While the previous page (48) was a new addition as initially Teo didn’t make an appearance and this was the real page 48 back then.
But yeah, things change, I’m always double-checking the script with new ideas that fit into the narrative as we get closer to the end of the chapter which should end around October. After that there will be a new “chapter” , but right now is a bit early to say anything else.
In any case thanks for reading so far! Page 50 has already been posted at my Patreon : https://www.patreon.com/alphaluna as usual if you see a new page here it means the patreon usually also is one page ahead.
Oh yeah! Alphaluna.net is NO LONGER , the New URL is https://alphalunacomic.net/ as you can see on top! Please update your bookmarks!
Here we can see “Teo” as he used to look when he was a child, just before he’d be used as a vessel of the Black-cat Demon known as Azar.
For a second there I almost skip this page altogether as I sketched it but I thought it was a little to late to show or bring some light to how is that Azar came to be. Sadly, but in the end I DID decided to ink it and well here it is. This kid became but a soul trapped inside his own body as Azar possessed his body for over 5 years waiting to find a werewolf to “play” with.
But oh well, I would’ve liked to explain much more but I hope you get the gits.
And with this page we start walking again toward the future. Next month there will be 2 pages this time, the first coming by the the end of the second week and the other one before the end of the August. Besides that I’m still working on commissions and updating my patreon as usual as well as writing the story and a few other things.
So keep up with me, Luna and I are back to howl again with you.
It’s been a few years huh? Well, let me explain-“What does this mean? How are you still alive? How is that possible? Is the comic returning? Is this real life?”
Well, it’s complicated…
Yes, the comic is returning for the foreseeable months. Meaning Chapter 5 will be done in about 2 months from now…probably. After that, I’m planning to add another chapter that will work as an “Epilogue” to the whole series.
All of that means a total of 5 or so months of work from now up to December. All the While I’ll be posting Two Alpha Luna Chronicles which are being translated for my Patreon where I also post in advance the AL Comic Pages ahead of the website with better resolution.
But yeah, it’s been quite the rough years for so many, including myself who had to take care of RL issues, work, and family. Priorities took my life on a path that couldn’t bring myself back to draw again and mentally I felt exhausted for a long time.
But here we are still kicking and howling! Why? Because as I said before this will be a proper send-off for the series. But then, what? Well… after December I’ll probably be working to publish the last book in my country Chile.
But the good news is that I don’t want to say goodbye to Alpha Luna and be done with it, just like that. I have something special that I’ve been trying to work around the characters for a while now. What it is? Well, I’m sorry to nag you with Patreon again but that is the place where I’ll be sharing the news about this other AL project down the line.
But again, we have a few months to celebrate no? To hang around and especially to talk about Alpha Luna whenever you want or can. I’ve recently been starting to use my Instagram account which I hope work as a better place to receive feedback: https://www.instagram.com/alphaluna/
And well Twitter also will have more life from now on at: https://twitter.com/alphalunanet which will share anything related, pics and news 🙂
But along the way I’ll show you what I’m preparing for the future of Alpha Luna, I’m thinking I’ll probably make a video or something where this interaction becomes more “alive” and real for you guys, for that there is my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlphaLuna
In any case, I hope you enjoy the Return of Alpha Luna as I work on bringing at least two new pages every month.
It’s been a few years huh? Well, let me explain-“What does this mean? How are you still alive? How is that possible? Is the comic returning? Is this real life?”
Well, it’s complicated…
Yes, the comic is returning for the foreseeable months. Meaning Chapter 5 will be done in about 2 months from now…probably. After that, I’m planning to add another chapter that will work as an “Epilogue” to the whole series.
All of that means a total of 5 or so months of work from now up to December. All the While I’ll be posting Two Alpha Luna Chronicles which are being translated for my Patreon where I also post in advance the AL Comic Pages ahead of the website with better resolution.
But yeah, it’s been quite the rough years for so many, including myself who had to take care of RL issues, work, and family. Priorities took my life on a path that couldn’t bring myself back to draw again and mentally I felt exhausted for a long time.
But here we are still kicking and howling! Why? Because as I said before this will be a proper send-off for the series. But then, what? Well… after December I’ll probably be working to publish the last book in my country Chile.
But the good news is that I don’t want to say goodbye to Alpha Luna and be done with it, just like that. I have something special that I’ve been trying to work around the characters for a while now. What it is? Well, I’m sorry to nag you with Patreon again but that is the place where I’ll be sharing the news about this other AL project down the line.
But again, we have a few months to celebrate no? To hang around and especially to talk about Alpha Luna whenever you want or can. I’ve recently been starting to use my Instagram account which I hope work as a better place to receive feedback: https://www.instagram.com/alphaluna/
And well Twitter also will have more life from now on at: https://twitter.com/alphalunanet which will share anything related, pics and news 🙂
But along the way I’ll show you what I’m preparing for the future of Alpha Luna, I’m thinking I’ll probably make a video or something where this interaction becomes more “alive” and real for you guys, for that there is my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlphaLuna
In any case, I hope you enjoy the Return of Alpha Luna as I work on bringing at least two new pages every month.
It’s been a few years huh? Well, let me explain-“What does this mean? How are you still alive? How is that possible? Is the comic returning? Is this real life?”
Well, it’s complicated…
Yes, the comic is returning for the foreseeable months. Meaning Chapter 5 will be done in about 2 months from now…probably. After that, I’m planning to add another chapter that will work as an “Epilogue” to the whole series.
All of that means a total of 5 or so months of work from now up to December. All the While I’ll be posting Two Alpha Luna Chronicles which are being translated for my Patreon where I also post in advance the AL Comic Pages ahead of the website with better resolution.
But yeah, it’s been quite the rough years for so many, including myself who had to take care of RL issues, work, and family. Priorities took my life on a path that couldn’t bring myself back to draw again and mentally I felt exhausted for a long time.
But here we are still kicking and howling! Why? Because as I said before this will be a proper send-off for the series. But then, what? Well… after December I’ll probably be working to publish the last book in my country Chile.
But the good news is that I don’t want to say goodbye to Alpha Luna and be done with it, just like that. I have something special that I’ve been trying to work around the characters for a while now. What it is? Well, I’m sorry to nag you with Patreon again but that is the place where I’ll be sharing the news about this other AL project down the line.
But again, we have a few months to celebrate no? To hang around and especially to talk about Alpha Luna whenever you want or can. I’ve recently been starting to use my Instagram account which I hope work as a better place to receive feedback: https://www.instagram.com/alphaluna/
And well Twitter also will have more life from now on at: https://twitter.com/alphalunanet which will share anything related, pics and news 🙂
But along the way I’ll show you what I’m preparing for the future of Alpha Luna, I’m thinking I’ll probably make a video or something where this interaction becomes more “alive” and real for you guys, for that there is my YT channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AlphaLuna
In any case, I hope you enjoy the Return of Alpha Luna as I work on bringing at least two new pages every month.
The First Cover I ever did back in 2004 when I was soon to start the Web-Comic
Back at the end of 2014 I started a dream, that I could create a comic that could reach people in love with werewolves as much as I loved them, as amazing creatures that could be more than horror icons but fierce heroes too. The story of a girl named Luna in a story of self discovery. It’s been almost 15 years and after many and a few road bumps and hiatuses along the way I’m still working on it as much as I can.
But the time has come to look forward to her farewell. But before you send flying your table out of the window, let me tell you Alpha Luna is not ending today but soon, as we reach chapter’s 5 ending. Which means, about two months of drawing works from today. Time which will add at least 8 pages or more depending on the layouts I’m working atm. That means pages will be posted more regularly from now on and the Alpha Luna Chronicles being posted at my Patreon will still happen, in fact they may last longer than Alpha Luna main story line.
So then, Why is Alpha Luna ending? Well to start, it’s been a long time. Through the years It was always an uphill road as I never took AL to another level of production, it was and it always been a solo endeavor and many times through the years I took time out as I grew up as an artist and as a creator. But I couldn’t focus or learning other things as each AL page took me about 12 hours of continuos work to make. I did many sacrifices of my life time for it, but my art and narrative was never as good and neither consistent to reach an audience big enough to go to another level. It drained me over time and the hiatuses repeated itself over and over digging a bigger hole scaring old readers away and making my goals just a wishful thinking.
The good side of these hiatuses is that I managed to recover energies and gain inspiration for what was to come, write down the script, get new ideas and get excited for the future but at the same time my slow pace drained the patience of most readers away, and I can’t keep doing that.
And that passion I had at the beginning is not with me anymore, I feel like Bilbo after the ring has passed to Frodo, and I can’t keep forcing to draw what is not there. I loved the characters, I loved that they connected with so many readers like you who loved Luna, Collie and Fang. I loved the response and I loved the community that we created over time.
But this is an anticipated farewell. I took this month out to think all these things, to rewrite a bit of the last pages of AL which won’t and can’t bring a closed ending to the story. A few things will inevitably just end up hanging, like a series that was cancelled before another season.
But at least some sense of closing will be there, a sense of achievement I hope to convey through the last pages where Luna will be happy for who she is now and what may lie in the horizon on a full moon.
But remember I’m NOT leaving right now, I have at least 2 months of Alpha Luna works still to do. I’ll be publishing in my country (Chile) the 3rd and last book (next June) that will “end” the series and that means a new cover work to make.
So I hope you still stay around for the months to come. The new AL Chronicles comics at the store and Patreon are amazing and I can’t be more happy of what the artists have made. I’m uploading 4 new pages of those each month to Patreon.
My work with AL will end, but I’ll keep drawing for my own from time to time and taking commissions here and there. But this a chapter in my life that was due to happen sooner or later and I think I can be glad that at least I’m doing it in my own terms.
Thanks to all of you who loved my work and followed me through the years. Thanks to you who did those amazing art-gift you send, even if I didn’t reply all your emails, thanks from the bottom of my hearth, you made my life a bit happier.
All of this has has been an incredible journey for me and while I feel a sense of sorrow due this announcement I also feel grateful for the experience I gained working on it. I won’t say good bye just yet, the last howl is on the horizon but for now I look forward to it with a content spirit.
