Heartstopper Series Conclusion Announced

The immensely popular teen romance webcomic Heartstopper, created by Alice Oseman, has had four collected volumes released so far.

Last year, in April 2022, Oseman announced that the comic would be on hiatus for her mental health. In an honest message to her readers, she said,

“I am mentally unwell. I have been suffering from burnout and intense stress for many years, and it has reached the point where I feel exhausted and depressed every day. I haven’t had any new ideas, any desire to create new stories, or much passion for anything I’m doing, for a long time…. above all I am deeply afraid of ruining the end of Heartstopper, because I’m creating it while feeling so miserable all of the time.

“I want to be able to enjoy creating Heartstopper. I want to feel able to celebrate my achievements, and feel happy and excited by the art I’m putting out into the world. I want to have the mental energy to give Heartstopper the best ending it could possibly have.”

Now, that ending has been announced. Volume 5 will be published on November 9, 2023, in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. The US version, published by Graphix, will be released on December 12, 2023. Originally, that was intended to be the final volume of the series, but in an Instagram video, Oseman said,

“When I started working on Volume 5, I was struggling with where the story was going but I finally figured it out—I was trying to fit too much into one volume! I realised that I needed to properly explore how Nick and Charlie’s relationship progresses and give all the characters their moment to really shine.”

No release date for volume 6 has been announced. No one will complain, though, about more of the popular series. Season 2 of the Netflix TV show is due out sometime this year, with a third season also planned.

Filed under: Graphic Novels, News, Web Comics