The ‘Black Sails’ actor and Emmy-nominated writer present an ambitious 140-page sci-fi epic from new graphic novel publisher The Lab Press, now live on Kickstarter.
Luke Arnold (Black Sails) and Emmy-nominated writer Chris “Doc” Wyatt (Rocket and Groot) have teamed to co-write the all-new graphic novel “Essentials.” The ambitious 140-page sci-fi epic is the debut offering from The Lab Press, a new graphic novel publisher helmed by founder and CEO Nicholas Kalikow.
The original graphic novel features a stunning array of all-star comic artists: DaNi (Sandman The Dreaming); Glenn Fabry (Preacher); Jason Howard (Transformers); Vince Locke (A History of Violence); Brendan McCarthy (Spider-Man: Fever); Andrea Mutti (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo); M.K. Perker (Air); and a cover by legendary artist Bill Sienkiewicz (New Mutants). Essentials features colors by Jordie Bellaire, Brad Simpson, and Wesley Wong, and is lettered by DC Hopkins of AndWorld Design. The book’s design and logo were created by Emma Price (Barnstormers).
“At The Lab Press, we search the world for creators, writers, and artists who are looking for a space to be audacious with their wildest ideas, subversive stories and compelling art,” said Editor-in-Chief Dagen Walker. “We love human moments in unhinged worlds; tales that entertain while illuminating some experiential truth. As our first book to market, ‘Essentials’ will capture readers with its wild sci-fi adventure themes and compelling characters.”
In “Essentials,” mathematician Harris Pax predicted the end of the world but failed to prevent it. Now he’s living alone in a bunker and his niece’s favorite toys have started talking to him. The good news? He’s not the world’s sole survivor. The bad news? The other survivors are trapped in alternate realities — imprisoned in imagined worlds full of zombies, robots, mythical creatures, and chaos. And now Harris Pax and an unlikely ally must travel the country on a quest to restore reality, save humanity, and defeat his new interdimensional nemesis: Snuggles.
“’Essentials’ was born out of impossible questions: what matters most in a well-lived life?” asks co-writer Arnold. “Is joy more valuable than truth? Does mortality give meaning to our existence? At what point do our perceptions become our reality?”
“We’ve managed to assemble a staggeringly talented group of artists to explore these ideas with us, creating a story that traverses a post-apocalyptic reality, multiple subjective projections, an interdimensional collective consciousness, and the kaleidoscopic labyrinth of our own minds,” continued Arnold. We wanted to tell a story that could only be fully realized in this medium, and this incredible team has taken it beyond our wildest dreams.”
An all-star roster of seven artists each illustrate a different alternate reality. Locke unveils a zombie apocalypse. Mutti depicts tragedy in outer space. Perker illustrates a stunning banquet for the gods. Fabry pulls back the curtain on a creepy collector of classical art, while DaNi and Howard play with an ever-changing “untethered” reality.
“We're proud to be working with The Lab Press, a company that has given us total creative freedom and total support. […] The Lab Press is all in. They make it happen,’” said co-writer Wyatt, who has produced eight indie feature films including the cult hit comedy film Napoleon Dynamite and the multi-festival award-winning drama Coyote.
Check out the Kickstarter for “Essentials” now.
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