Underworld Engine

Retired fantasy adventure webcomic

Three young thieves are forced to flee the isolated city they call home. After escaping on the famed steam train, the Underworld Engine, they find themselves tumbling into a very bloody predicament.

Genres: Fantasy Adventure / Mild Horror / LGBT+

Age Rating: 16+

Warnings: blood and violence, sometimes butts.

Copyright - feardeer
Underworld Engine

It's time I acknowledge that I have far too many reasons not to continue Underworld Engine than my meager motivators can combat.


Reason 1:

UE started off on the wrong foot to begin with.

Underdeveloped in so many senses: worldbuilding, outline, character designs, etc. I was too excited to start making comics again, that I dove into the deep end with my eyes closed. As a result, I was always frantically patching plotholes while trying to keep up with my update schedule.

Reason 2:

I recently read some writing advice I'd never had the good fortune to hear before. I'll paraphrase:

The stories that you enjoy reading are not necessarily the stories that you will enjoy writing.

This really struck a chord with me.

I was so used to hearing "write the stories you want read/see in the world" that it honestly never occurred to me that what I like to consume is not going to be perfectly aligned with what I like to create.

So, while there are many stories similar to UE that I adore, I did not particularly enjoy the creation process.

What do I actually enjoy creating, you might ask? I've been leaning more heavily into grotesque speculative fiction and horror--cosmic horror, body horror, and surreal horror in particular--and explorations and celebrations of queer romance and identity.

Reason 3:

I love webcomics. I love the communities surrounding them.

But I've been feeling like the traditional webcomic format is not for me, so I'm going to be exploring other options for sharing my comics.

Reason 4:

Personal troubles and deteriorating mental health have served to cause or compound constant burnout throughout UE's production.

I'm not going into detail here, but we all have our own hills to climb, and sometimes you have to discard some of your baggage if you want to make it over the next crest. Unfortunate as it is, UE has been weighing me down, so I have to let it go.


So, that's that, I suppose. Apologies to anyone disappointed by this announcement.

I want to reassure ya'll that I am absolutely NOT going to stop making comics. I have so many plans. It's only traditional webcomics that I've realized do not suit me (at least for now.)

For the time being, I'm planning to continue updating Extramundane as soon as my schedule permits.