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Second Quest


A Graphic Novel

by David Hellman and Tevis Thompson

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Second Quest


A Graphic Novel

by David Hellman and Tevis Thompson

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Second Quest is the first graphic novel from the artist-writer team of David Hellman and Tevis Thompson.  Their collaboration was made possible by 1,594 backers who funded their Kickstarter campaign in late 2012.

David is best known as the visual artist of the acclaimed indie videogame Braid and co-creator of the "cult classic" web comic A Lesson Is Learned But The Damage Is Irreversible.  He's been publishing comics for a decade, but Second Quest is his first long-form work.  

Tevis is an independent writer and critic.  He's best known for incisive, iconoclastic essays such as "Saving Zelda" and "On Videogame Reviews".

Read more about us and the project.


“A frightening, Zelda-inspired fable”
- Evan Narcisse, Kotaku

“Questions the foundations of gaming culture”
- Carolyn Petit, KQED

“Both a brilliant graphic novel and one of the smartest pieces of media criticism I've read in a long time”
- Julie Muncy, VICE

“If you’re a gamer, get this book. If you’re a comics person, get this book. If you’re into the darker side of religion and folklore, get this book. If you’re into feminism, gender politics, and the deconstruction of gendered tropes, then by all means, get this book.”
- Kathryn Hemmann, Contemporary Japanese Literature

 

Hardcover edition

 
 

• 102 story pages
• Full color
• Appealing book-shaped object
• Place on shelf with your favorite quests

Digital e-Book

 
 

• Download and begin reading right away
• PDF format, 171.9 MB
• Backlit screens produce vivid colors
• Enjoy on your tablet, Mac, or PC

 
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Characters and Story


Characters and Story


Azalea

Dreamer, Explorer, Ruiner

Cale

Ventriloquist, Worrywart, Preserver

The Abbess

Steward, Mentor, Mourner

 

As the story opens, Azalea is leading her friend Cale to a forbidden place underground.  She has recently been having "visions" when she touches certain objects there, and she wants to see if he can see them too.  What they find together, though, threatens their entire island home. A home hanging in the sky for generations, a last refuge from the world of chaos below.

 
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World Map


World Map


This reinterpretation of Second Quest's world depicts all the locations in the story as platforms suspended in a void, eliding everything in between. From one stage to the next, the connecting paths trace Azalea's movements through the narrative. It was partly inspired by videogames whose presentation suggests a grand, cohesive world but which actually restrict the player to narrow rooms and catwalks.