You might be wondering: why the emphasis on the term "exclusive" ? Because Black Cypress Press is releasing a limited variant cover for Issue #2, available only through their direct webstore.
These exclusives have turned Arsinoe 6 from a sleeper hit into a collector’s frenzy. Pre-orders for Issue #2 have already outsold the first issue’s lifetime sales by 300%.
The exclusive edition also features a QR code. When scanned, it leads to an unlisted YouTube video of the writer, known only as "S.A. Hermes," performing a dramatic reading of a deleted scene. In this audio-only track, Arsinoe speaks to the reader directly, breaking the fourth wall: "You who hold this paper. They are watching you look for me. Turn off your device. Burn this page if you see a raven." It is unsettling, effective, and utterly unique.
Thanks to an early exclusive preview provided by Black Cypress Press, we’ve obtained non-spoiler details about the second issue that are already sending shockwaves through fan forums.
In the exclusive epilogue, Arsinoe does not just flee. She commits an act of narrative violence. She finds the "Registry of Names"—a bronze orrery that holds the metaphysical identity of every Ptolemy. Knowing that the Romans are hunting her lineage, she does something horrifying: she scratches her own name out of the registry. She volunteers to be forgotten.
But the twist is breathtaking. When she scratches out "Arsinoe VI," the name starts bleeding through the metal on the other side. The automaton explains: "You cannot erase a star. You can only rename it." The final page of the exclusive shows a modern-day archaeologist in 1922 (implied to be Howard Carter’s assistant) finding a gold coin with Arsinoe’s face—dated 1923 AD. She didn't live in the past. She escaped into the future.