RUNNERS Update & Plan
It has now been a little over a year since I officially finished RUNNERS Volume 3 and posted the last page here on September 30, 2025. Since then, it has been a very crazy year, but in a good way. BUSY…but good. But with the good comes the bad (or maybe “less than ideal”), which I will get to shortly.
Since finishing the actual pages to Volume 3 last fall, I got the graphic novel collection together, ran the Kickstarter in late 2025, and fulfilled all orders in early 2026. All while also preparing to move abroad. We downsized almost everything we owned, packed up the rest, sold the house, and moved to Portugal in June 2026!
It was a lot of work to get to the point of moving, but we’ve so happy we did. So far, things have been great and we are enjoying our new lives here, although overcoming the language barrier will definitely be a lot of work. The hope was that our new life here could revolve around spending more time enjoying life and less time working. Which leads me to the “less than ideal” news…
In the interest of embracing this new lifestyle, I don’t think I have it in me to spend the amount of time it would realistically take to complete another SEVEN graphic novels, which was what I had originally mapped out. Given my current age and the time it takes to complete one book, it’s probably not even a realistic goal at this point. Basically, I figured there are two options to continuing the work in its current form, neither of them great:
- I work on the series and actually complete it. Yay!! Great!! I’m sure I would be ecstatic about having the completed work out there, but this would probably take close to 20 years, probably more. And at this point, I don’t think I want to continue working non-stop for that amount of time.
- I continue to work on the series with the goal of completing it. But somewhere down the line, life gets in the way or health deteriorates. And now, I’ve done all that work for 10+ years only to STILL fall short, and even worse, leave everyone hanging without an ending. That would be the worst case scenario and worst of both worlds.
Instead, I’ve decided on a plan that I think is the best for me and truly invested readers. I have always said I had a LOT of story planned for the series, and I am still very proud of the plans I had. And I would love to still get the story out there, or at least what the major beats of the story would have been.
I plan to post the remainder of the series in outline/summary form on runnersuniverse.com. I’m not entirely sure what form this will take. It will most likely just be written notes on events, character turns, and significant beats. But I might illustrate some rough panels that would benefit from visuals.
Sadly, it will not be the full graphic novel format that we all would prefer, so the true storytelling feel will be absent, and that is a major bummer for me. On the plus side, I will be able to share the bigger story and make sure ALL of it is revealed. What’s up with Sky and her powers, what was Dhama Tylo’s plan with the clones, what’s up with Bocce’s arm, why was Grissom acting so shady, how does Hiura’s crew fit into the story, not to mention all the planned sequences of the mob war and subsequent escalation to galactic war. It’s a lot of story, and I’m at least happy to get it all out there, even if it’s not in pure comic form.
I’m sure many of you have been along for the comic ride and will not have any interest in reading story notes. That is totally fair, but for those who are invested in the series and would like to know what all the plans were, I think it will be a fun read just to see how everything fits together.
To be honest, it has always been a bit disappointing that RUNNERS never reached a large enough audience to really break out. I think it deserved a larger audience and I think a lot of people would’ve really loved it. I genuinely think if it had all been told as planned, for many people, it could’ve been one of their favorite series ever. But it is a bit hard to justify the time and effort it takes when viewed with the lens of life/work balance.
I do still love working on the series though, and I am extremely happy with the exuberant fans that I do have. I am extremely proud of the work to date (and especially the planned work to come), and part of me would have enjoyed continuing to work on it. But I also like life and free time, and as I get older, I feel maybe enjoying life is more important than killing yourself trying to achieve something great. So that’s where I’m at.
Anyway, I will be working on this “abridged story note” version of RUNNERS soon, getting all my thoughts in order. And when it’s ready, I’ll be posting the story here on runnersuniverse.com. I hope to see you then!
I know I’ve tried promoting it on my site, being my favorite webcomic. Sad to not see it finished properly, but that’s how life goes sometime. No complaints, no regrets. Do what you have to for your sanity.
Thanks so much to anyone who helped get the word out! I know the audience was relatively small but I also know many were very passionate about it, which warms the cockles of my heart.
Have you considered working with others? (To help lessen the load.) I’m sure there are other talented people who might be willing to help color, draw, etc…
As someone who has been following since it was black and white – I think I’ll avoid the notes cause I don’t want spoilers and keep hoping there’s more of this amazing comic to come.
Regardless: Sean, you are a fantastic artist, but you’re an amazing writer, too. Absolutely engaging world-building you’ve done here. You should be proud, regardless of how many books the series finishes with. (Even if it had just been the single B&W copy of Bad Goods!)
I’ve definitely considered it. But I still think the amount of time and energy it would take to see through to completion would be a bit too much for me at this point, given our current place in life. On the plus side, once the ENTIRE story is out, maybe someone out there with deep pockets and clout will see the potential and help get it into some other medium. I will happily act as consultant on said project. 🙂
And thanks so much for the nice comments. When I first started out, I just wanted to be a penciler for Marvel or DC. But on a lark, I decided to write my own story and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed that part of the creation process. I was very happy with the storytelling and ecstatic that others felt the same way.
I am sad to hear the comic side is ending, but in my opinion, we (the readers) have been given three full storylines and will eventually have all of our remaining questions answered. It has been a fun ride! (And if I ever win the lottery, I will be reaching out to ask if you would possibly reconsider 😀
Yes, I am also very happy with the 3 books I did finish. And I’m still very excited to at least reveal what all the remaining plot points are. I’m hoping it will give a lot of closure and still be an entertaining read. And if you do win the lottery, please feel free to contact me. It might not bring me back to doing all the books, but I’m sure I could use the money for other stuff. Ha ha.
Hi Sean,
Just seeing if my comment gets trhough.
It works!
Been following you for years on Webtoon and followed you off, sad to hear that the series is coming to a close, but very happy to hear we won’t be left on a cliffhanger! I very much look forward to whatever you end up posting, whenever you end up posting it. Glad to hear the move went well, and best wishes for retirement (of sorts)!
Thanks so much for the nice comments and thanks for following along on Webtoon! I felt like I started strong over there while posting my back catalog, but the series lost its momentum (and readers) with the slower pace of posting the newest book. But it was definitely a great crowd, for those who stuck with it.
I’m still doing random freelance, which fills my schedule in short spurts, but I am planning to get back to organizing my work for RUNNERS in the next month and will hopefully start posting again in Jan 2027.