Heck, Dear Readers. We're getting so close to the end of this. Seven years of my life spent on this little project. In that time I've gone from freshly graduated twenty-something to married mother of an increasingly busy kid. I've gone from miserably employed to self-employed. I've gone from someone who occasionally had to sell her possessions to keep on top of rent to someone who can say "You'll have to talk to my agent about that". What a journey, guys.
As we conclude, if you would like to stay on top of my various projects, you can sign up for my mailing list here!
Cant believe its been that long but totally makes sense thinking on it. My son was about 1st grade when i first stumbled on this AMAZING comic. He is now in 7th grade (i measure time by my child idk if it a mom thing or easier for me to realize the passage by comparing then and now). Its been a great journey and Im happy to finally see these two get to this point but so sad it is coming to an end!
I just keep going back to when Argus opens his eyes and keep reading and re-reading these last few pages. They are so beautiful! So well done! [And I'm still fan girl-ing over how wonderful Beauty and Argus together are! AAAAAAHHHHHH! Love them!]
And here, near the end, we have the wind, and a bird's feather (a swan's feather? or one of the little song birds that have their voices back?) and a rose. Very poetic. I can tell that this will be a very satisfying ending! I had my doubts at certain moments. Ms. Megan, you definitely kept us on our toes! But this is worth it, so, so worth it! This is now my favorite telling of the Beauty and Beast tale (even more than Beauty and Rose Daughter!) And this is my most favorite ending (and it's not even all the way ended yet!).
Ms. Megan, you have my full respect and admiration! Not only for being a master story-teller through line and ink, but also for persevering through the years to keep on keeping on! Thank you for never giving up on the story! We loyal fans and subjects really do appreciate! Thank you!
i picked this comic up immediately after starting my second high school in 2013. it's since seen me through three houses, the rest of high school, a three-year BA and the first semester of a BN. i was 15 when i started reading; i'm 21 now. it's such a wonderful thing you've created here, and it's going to be a tad bittersweet (...... and strange?) when it does eventually come to an end
Congrats to you ms.megan! Thank you for sharing this awesome story! This was the second web comic I had ever read and when I saw the enormous amount of detail and the characters I fell in love with it. I still can't believe its almost over!
How cute. I can't wait to see their life together. Will any of their family believe them? Does it matter? I think he will assimilate very well into their lives.
I started reading this last year so I didn't have to wait as long as everyone else. Still, it has been a lovely read to check on every Tues and Fri. :)
As this lovely comic comes to an end, I get excited more and more. Answers will be given in regards to questions we have. The ones that spring to mind for me are the fate of LADY and a possible epilogue for Argus and Beauty, the former especially for long time fans. Maybe even a possible glimpse into the first woman Argus loved, though that seems unlikely. Who knows!? I just can't wait to see it all through! I'll definitely be rereading this comic until I get get the money to afford it in physical volumes.
And a big thanks to MsMegan for giving this to us.
Sorry hehe silly comment.
Everything else I could comment on has been covered perfectly. From the rose and feather symbolism to the possible contents of the next pages.
It's interesting that both this version of the story and the 2017 Disney remake (which I know MsMegan doesn't particularly like) have Beauty/Belle say "Let's go home" at a significant point... but with completely different meanings. In the Disney remake, she says it at the end of her sad visit with the Beast to her parents' abandoned old house, and the Beast is surprised and happy to realize that by "home" she means his castle. But here she means "her" home, in the village with her family, which will be Argus’s new home too. This sums up an interesting difference between the character arcs of Beauty and Argus and those of Disney’s Belle and Beast. For such a sweet, colorful, family-friendly movie, Disney’s version does have a bit of a misanthropic edge – Belle’s home village is a place of boring, narrow-minded bigots who become a bloodthirsty mob toward people (or creatures) who are too different. The 2017 version also shatters Belle’s rosy dreams of the world beyond the village when she learns the gruesome fate of her mother; at least that was how I interpreted that scene and her “Let’s go home” line. In all Disney incarnations, Belle and the Beast/prince are two misfits who find their ultimate happiness in withdrawing from the larger world, in favor of a life in the castle with the select few people (each other, the servants and Belle’s father) who love them as they are. But that particular outcome would be all wrong for Beauty and Argus. They’ve been misfits too, but escaping from the world into the castle was where they both started (each in their different ways) at the beginning of their arcs – that was the unhealthy stance they’ve both needed to outgrow. Beauty’s coming-of-age arc has given her new strength and self-esteem self-esteem and let her build healthier, more communicative bonds with her family as well as with Argus, and as for Argus… I just love that in this version, it isn’t just Beauty’s love that breaks the spell, but Argus’s own self-acceptance and desire to live a human life to the fullest again. These two need to leave the castle and its isolation behind. They’re ready to embrace the full experience of human life in this world, and whatever future challenges there might be, they’ll brave them together. I love the Disney version and always will, but to tell the truth, Beauty and Argus’s arcs are even more inspiring and encouraging for me than their Disney counterparts’. This is truly one of the best BatB retellings I’ve ever found.
I've been mostly a lurker while reading this but I've been around since Act One. I've always loved BatB as a story, and this version is one of my favorites (if not THE fave). It's been a wonderful journey and I'm so happy I was able to ride along with you for it. Looking forward to seeing your future projects!
Honestly, this page is already a pretty satisfying ending, since it's already all but certain that her family will welcome them back with open arms. If you chose to end it here, I'd be fine with that.
That being said, since your comment makes it clear this isn't the final page, I'm quite looking forward to seeing them come home!
I found this comic when there were 500 pages which i read in ONE emotional night. Since then i've agonized over this every week. Congratulations! You've brought an amazing story to life and i love it so much!
I’m so close to crying. I really have loved this and I’ve loved looking forward to every single page. I started reading this late so I had quite a bit of pages to read and I really got hooked. You are so talented and this is such a lovely take on the classic story
I love, LOVE how settling down in a country cabin is the happy ending for them. In so many other versions, the prince has to go back to ruling at court, with Beauty tagging along (even though she hasn't been trained in how to be a princess or ever showed an interest in being one). This way, they can both continue to pursue the things they love and not have to worry about the pressures/toxicity at court that so crushed Argus in the first place. This is so much better for both of them!
As we conclude, if you would like to stay on top of my various projects, you can sign up for my mailing list here!