Over the last six months, I’ve been writing and developing a comic book called THEIA. I first read about waterbears and other extremophiles as a kid, and being a fervent comic book enthusiast, I immediately began daydreaming about applying that incredibly biological phenomenon of cryptobiosis to human beings!
After 15 years that adolescent daydream is finally developing in to a comic. For the last decade I’ve made my living as an editorial fashion photographer, which involved a lot of travel from LA to NYC, while living in Minneapolis, MN. I never really forgot about THEIA, but between my career and having my son full time, the time to draw didn’t exist.
I should mention that in the late 90’s I had a brief foray in to the comic book industry. I was a young wide eyed illustrator and that was my dream job. As I began making connections with talented pencilers, inkers and writers at conventions […which believe me, was a much smaller, smellier ordeal than SDCC or C2E2 these days], I was sobering up to the fact that this was not my dream job. Almost no money. Insultingly long hours, and tales of artists being paid in comic books. In hindsight, not surprised that I began photographing beautiful women.
Smash cut to today. My son has started kindergarten. I’ve got to be there every day to get him on and off of the bus, so I can’t be flying from coast to coast. With that, came the unavoidable need to change careers, and what better pursuit than my first love of dark, geeky, science-centric comic books!
Kickstarter and other crowd funding platforms did get me thinking about focusing on comic book creation, and with the advent of Patreon and the timing of my son starting school, I was all in. For the last six months, I’ve been diligently working and updating my Patreon campaign with the development of THEIA, but after seeing the reach and support for creators here on Steemit, I’m contemplating bringing my nerdy sci-fi comic here for all future issues and art.
In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a synopsis of THEIA.
The story of a brilliantly gifted bio-engineer Hale Busirus, evolving human cells with the transposable elements of a waterbear. Ensuring our race the ability to survive the inevitable depletion of natural resources and climate change. Upon discovering the backroom deal that his life’s work was to be sold to the US government in an effort to weaponize soldiers in the military, he destroys all documentation and records of the THEIA project and arrives in France, granted diplomatic immunity, with the only two remaining inoculations. He blows the whistle via Twitter […or maybe Steemit now, since the artwork isn’t finished] and it becomes a very publicized, messy international affair.
All the artwork for THEIA is being done exclusively on my 12.9" iPad Pro using Apple Pencil and Procreate. If you'd like to visit the existing Patreon, it's live at www.theiacomic.com or www.patreon.com/kommienezuspadt.
More work, both illustration and photography at @Kommienezuspadt on Instagram.
Thanks for taking the time to read my nerd shit :)