Hello, backers! I hope this message finds you looking forward to a fun Halloween and wonderful holiday season.

For those of you who missed last month's update, I've concluded based on the funds raised that I can afford to expand Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron from 48 to 56 pages. The extra 8 pages will enable us to "flesh out" some key scenes and let us decompress the story.

I'm also delighted to share new black & whites that Mel Joy San Juan have produced for Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II.

This scene is part of the extended fight with Exodus. Things aren't going well for our heroes, as Aurora's nerves are shattered by her injuries, Stronghold is losing ground to a magnetic controller, and Stiletto is being choked out by a shapeshifting villain.

In this scene, Dr Quantum stops by 12Sigma's lab to see what he's working on. Unfortunately, what he's working on is beating Dr Padrino in Starcraft II. Or is he? With the world's smartest man, you can't be sure...

That's all for now -- look for another update soon!

Hello, backers! I hope this message finds you well. I'm delighted to share some great news. As you know, we had hoped to make $30,000 to increase it to 64-pages, but we only hit $25,000. After careful review, I've concluded I can afford to expand Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron from 48 to 56 pages. The extra 8 pages will enable us to "flesh out" some key scenes and let us decompress the story.

I'm also delighted to share new art work that Mel Joy San Juan has been producing for Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II.

In this scene, 12 Sigma is meeting with the popular podcaster Bo Rogain, who is suspiciously similar to Joe Rogan except for one difference. As with every good podcast, they delve into conspiracy theories...

But perhaps they delve a little TOO deeply, because 12 Sigma soon gets a visit from the Squadron.

It takes all of the persuasive assets of the Squadron to convince 12 Sigma to ally with them.

Everything is on track and proceeding well! Thank you all again for supporting this project.

I had hoped to send out an update yesterday but unfortunately Tropical Storm Debbie had other plans.  We lost internet access for a harrowing 36 hours and I'm only just now caught up on everything I missed.

Thank you everyone for your support of Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron Volume II. We're delighted to have raised over $26,000. More to come soon!

There's only 24 hours left to back Ascendant: Star-Spangled Squadron II. With one day left, we've hit our first stretch goal ($25,000).

The open question is whether we'll hit the $30,000 stretch goal with a last minute surge of backers. There's at least 200 people following the campaign who haven't pledged yet. If you're still on the fence, I hope you'll dive in and back the project so we can expand it to 64 pages.

To the challenge, heroes must ascend!

Once you've backed the project, be sure to check out the exclusive backer reveal of 12Sigma's interview with Bo Rogain, the world's most popular podcaster with hair.  Then vote in the poll to tell us why you decided to back!