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“ My sister would kill me if she saw you up there! Please be careful Emily! “

Emily could hear the worry in Aunt Yellowcloud’s voice. But, she was a great climber and in no real danger. The rocky outcrop had plenty of finger and toe holds for her eleven year old hands to grip. She didn’t even spare her fretting Aunt a glance. Her attention completely on the ochre and orange vista rolling out before her.

“ It’s so pretty Mary! I think I can see where we parked from up here! OH, there are little climbers on the cliffs!! “

“ Come on down Little Bird. The tour bus could be leaving at any moment. We are holding up the group. “

She winced at the nickname. It was Aunt Yellowcloud’s idea to give Emily her Great Grandmother’s name as her middle name. A tribute to and reminder of her Native American heritage. Some of her classmates made fun of it. So, when asked what the “B” stood for in her name she’d lie. She would say it stood for “Bernice,” “Bernadette” or just “Bob.”

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Jessica R. Murphy took another long drag on the cigarette. She had happened upon this shady niche in the museum garden and decided to take advantage of it. Even though smoking might not be prohibited here, she still kept a wary eye out for the museum staff. Last thing she needed was some snob hassling her over the “filthy” habit. She had dealt with enough pretentious bullshit today.

But, this wasn’t so bad. Leaning against a fountain inside the small shady nook, she had a good view of the garden’s length. The sun streamed through the overarching trees. Soft yellow light dappled the grounds and marble statues. This she could appreciate. Better than the last two hours of paint splatters, color squares, and portraits of dead guys. She had no idea why Emily got such a kick out of it.

Murph had reluctantly agreed to join Emily and James on this outing. She knew being around the two lovebirds would make her feel like a third wheel. However, it was better than sitting around the apartment moping. If only that prick James wasn’t around she ruefully thought. Then they might actually be able to have some fun. As fond as she was of her childhood friend, she really did not care for Emily’s friends. And, no matter how many “subtle” hints Murph dropped, Emily kept trying to incorporate her into her clique.

“ I think she’s out here. She was near the garden exit last time I saw her. “

“ Emily, maybe we should leave Jessica alone for a while. We’ve been virtually dragging her through the gallery. She clearly is not enjoying it. Come on, we’ll text her when we are ready to go. “

“ The whole point of bringing her with us today is to keep her mind off of Dean. I don’t want to give Murph enough time to crawl off into a corner to mope. “

“ Sigh, why do you even bother with her? You two have nothing in common. “

“ Don’t be an ass James. “

Murph dropped the cigarette and ruthlessly ground it out. She’ll show that jerk. She is about to be very interested in colored circles, shoelaces, and bent clothes hangers.

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“No, I feel really horrible about it.”

Crystal’s animated gestures and high pitched voice contrasted heavily with the mellow atmosphere of the coffee shop. Normally this would have made Emily more than a little self conscious. Briefly reminding her of why she never hung out with Crystal in public. However, that thought found no purchase in her current melancholy mood. Crystal exaggeratedly slumped over the narrow table between the two. She continued speaking.

“I mean, who is left of the old gang? Mary is off to California. Sue ran off with that dude to Florida. I think she’ll come running back when she figures out the guy is a flake. Dave left for M.I.T. Even Kevin left town shortly after Graduation. OH, and James, he just left. Did you guys break up? Have you even heard from him?”

Emily looked away. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about. James had promised her they’d stay together. That they of all people could make a long distance relationship work. But, Emily deep down knew that those words were superficial at best. He’d left her behind like everybody else. Leaving her to rot in this hick town. She glanced back at Crystal. She was staring intently at Emily. Emily quickly focused back on the bar where Murph was peddling cappuccinos. She tried to change the subject.

“Naw, he is busy with moving. How about you? When are you leaving for Boston?”

The sandy haired, lanky girl’s eyes started to grow misty. This is exactly why Emily had brought Crystal along tonight. Her dour spirits needed soothing and Crystal always put on a good show of sympathy. The girl would cry over a mushed house fly. A faint tear started down along Crystal’s aquiline nose.

“I’m sorry.“

Those words were very satisfying to Emily’s ears. But, a twinge of guilt quickly followed this selfish pleasure. She would have to do something nice for Crystal before she left town. Emily let out a sigh and leaned into her left hand. With a wistful smile she mused. 

“Don’t be. I’ll get out of this dump yet. Who knows where I’ll be next year.”

A quick word about the A3 patreon and supporting the comic.

First, a sneak peek from the coming chapter.

Now, for the relevant topic. A special thanks to you who support or have supported Astray3 in the past. It means a lot and keeps the work grinding ever onward. I have been contemplating ways of rewarding contributors without gating off any pertinent story content. Which is tricky given the myriad of ways readers can make donations. The principle way to contribute is via the comic’s Patreon page. ( https://www.patreon.com/astray3 ) Which is great, Patreon has a variety of tools to help manage bonus content. Buuuuttt…given some recent events, readers may have some misgivings about the service. So, it’s understandable if potential patrons are hesitant to use it. Another way to contribute is via the paypal button that appears with comic posts. You can make a one time or recurring contribution using that service. Just look for this button… [wpedon id=”123″ align=”center”] Sadly, I haven’t really investigated this option and have no clue how to deliver exclusive content with it. It is an easy way to contribute if you already have a paypal account though. With that in mind, there are going to be a few changes to the Patreon coming up. The comic and the new Tangent side series of works will be free for public view. Nothing is going to change with the primary story content. However, Patreon patrons will start getting exclusive updates of background/developmental material. Weekly sneak peeks, like the above image, along with supplementary work like character designs with some creator insight thrown in.  The Patreon only charges for comic updates. Which makes now a fantastic introduction period! Astray3 won’t be posting comics till March. Meaning that you can enjoy the bonus content for free until the comic starts posting again in March. ( I’ll make an announcement about the official return date beforehand. ) I’m still trying to think of a way to reward non-patreon contributors. Please comment below if you have an idea. And that is all for now. Thanks everybody, -Eldon  

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“ And there she goes. “

Xaun kicked the air like an anxious child. Her eyes still focussed on where the prismatic swirl had winked out of existence. With a mischievous smirk she spoke obliquely to her companion.

“ What shall we do with ourselves now, Cyrus? “

The seemingly older man instinctively knew the real turmoil boiling under Xaun’s carefree demeanor. The real fear she was obviously trying to hide. After all, Cyrus was fighting down the same rising anxiety.

“ Let’s not dwell on that. Why don’t we make the most of the time we have left? “

She made an exaggerated show of mock relief. Cyrus might not be able to assuage Xaun’s dread, but he could distract her for awhile. Maybe long enough that they wouldn’t notice it when it happened.

“ No, how about we make the least of it. I can never process the time difference between here and there. It’d be a shame to get involved with anything we can’t finish.“

Xaun languidly turned to regard him. Her lavender eyes searching his face. Was she looking for

a sign of his own despair? Cyrus met her attitude in kind. Casually leaning on the record shop’s sign, he presented a wry smile.

“ Well then, I understand this area was underwater about 65 million years ago. Should be a beach around here somewhere. “

Hey, Happy New Year…and a bit of reflection.

Greetings you wonderful Astray3 readers. Just wanted to take a moment to reflect on 2017 and address a few issues. 2017 was a mixed bag for yours truly. It was a year filled with triumph, horrible coincidences, rattled nerves, and family tragedies. Truthfully, I picked a terrible time to relaunch this life consuming monster. But, I do not regret it. I’m proud of what I’ve created so far and believe Astray3 is a story worth telling. Sure, It’s not always perfect. And yes, I still kick myself for falling short of the intended vision. Yet, that is all part of the process. The only important thing is to keep pressing onwards and upwards. Cause you can’t reach the summit if you don’t start climbing. ( I need to find a different metaphor. Now, I’m thinking of frozen corpses on the slopes of comic mountain. ) So, with several months of updates behind us, let’s reflect a bit on the previous year. 2017 for Astray3 has largely been about laying the foundation for our protagonist. I always felt this was something missing in the old A3. Emily’s dissatisfaction was largely baseless. Her pathos during the story seemed shallow and mawkish. That’s why I feebly tried to do a rewrite during the last run. Alas, that was impossible while trying to keep the comic moving forward at the same time. One of the reasons for the reboot. I do suspect that this is not what old fans were looking for in the comic’s return. A whole bunch of mundane drama. Well, I’m happy to announce that Astray3 will be returning to form in 2018. 2018 is going to be wild. A year full of new faces and old friends ( with some slightly newer faces. ) Plus, we are going to answer some questions that were left hanging in the previous iteration. Yes, Astray3 is back bigger and better than ever. ( And I’ll finally be able to draw fun stuff again. ) Now, for some more practical issues. First, I’m going to try to expand my services on Patreon and be more interactive with the audience. Astray3 is a monster of a project. Keeping up with page production alone consumes the majority of my free time. That doesn’t leave much room for creating supplementary material nor community outreach. But, I also understand that  those are the things that keep readers engaged. ( Maybe even toss some shekels my way. ) To that end, I’ll be posting a few polls/surveys to feel out the audience. Also, feel free to comment on this topic if anything immediately comes to mind. Second, there will be a break coming up. The current run will end about mid-January. After that, there will be a one to two month break while I rebuild the buffer. Patreon patrons will not be charged during this break. The comic should be back in full force no later than March 1st. ( Sooner than that if I can help it. ) It is my goal to reach at least page 100 by the end of 2018.  So, don’t expect too many breaks during the year. And that wraps up this update. Thanks to all of you for reading this humble webcomic. I hope 2018 will be a banner year for Astray3. All the best, Eldon Cowgur

Inktober 2017 first week retrospective.

The first week of inktober 2017 is in the can and it’s been illuminating. ( You can see the entire week’s run on the Astray3 Facebook Page. )  It really has forced me to re-evaluate how I approach finished art. But plainly, I feel it has been for the best. The week started out rough admittedly. I clearly hadn’t touched the ole brushes, nibs and inks in awhile. Luckily, I seem to be getting back up to speed pretty quick. You can expect a shift in the way the new comic looks after the first two month run. ( That is when the current buffer runs out. ) Now, to start working on a new system for coloring…. Oh, long time readers may notice that the above image is roughly based on the old Astray3 Upper Fuungahi run. Also, it may just be a glimpse of things to come….

Welcome to the new astray3!

And here we are, the beginning of a brand new Astray3. The comic will be updating on Monday and Thursday for the first two months. Will probably change to once a week after that. Also, if you would like to help Astray3 grow, check out the Patreon page. https://www.patreon.com/astray3 Also, I’m participating in #inktober2017. Check out the Facebook page and my twitter feed for daily updates. 

7 days and counting!!

Yes, in one short week Astray3 will return! It’s been a long time, but the wait is almost over. Beginning on Oct. 2nd a new version of Astray3 will begin to unfurl. This project has been in the works for a long, long time and it’s a relief to finally be able to share it with you. If you haven’t been following the facebook page, I encourage you to go over there for details on the return.  ( https://www.facebook.com/A3comic/?ref=bookmarks  ) There are also some other goodies there for you to follow. Of course you can follow the comic here. But, if you would like to see Astray3 on other services let me know in the comments. Thanks for keeping the faith. See you soon!

Looking for the old comic?

Hello, internet ghosts and aged fans looking for some spark of hope. Good news, Astray3 is returning!!! The long night will soon be over. But, as you can tell I’m a little rusty at the internets. Not joking, this will be a rough rehabilitation process. In the meantime, check out the new Astray3 Facebook page for updates. You can also read the old comic at a mirror site setup by fan Nestor. http://komikksu.com/astray3mirror/www.a3classic.com/index.html That is it for right now. Thanks for stopping by. -Eldon