Empath #5 is out in stores from BlackBox Comics, finishing off my third series with the incredible indie comics publisher.
I’ve had a really great run with BlackBox that isn’t over. But as this final issue of my latest series with them comes out, I can’t help but reflect on the amount of storytelling that I’ve done with this particular publisher. My first series with them was DEVIL’S DOMINION (the main character, Devlynn St. Paul, of that series is actually on the variant cover for EMPATH #5 just above, making a surprise appearance and crossover in that issue and the first crossover of a character in the publisher’s universe of stories!), which is about a young woman who’s possessed with a demon but uses her demonic powers for good. Subsequently, I was then brought on to write DOCTOR WILDER, a five issue series about an animal crisis management group set in the near future that staves off animal cruelty and poaching in a world that is almost extinct of all it’s ‘original’ animals and is ladened with clones.
Like I said, it’s been a good run. I’ve definitely gotten the chance to flesh out concepts and characters and build universes, and each of these series deal with some aspect of the human condition (See Newsletter #52 for more about the human condition and writing). And with each series, I’ve been able to blend genres and allow one to kind of be the lead. For DEVIL’S DOMINION, it was horror meshed with urban fantasy, DOCTOR WILDER was sci-fi with some urban fantasy and adventure, and for EMPATH it was superhero and urban fantasy — I guess the common thread in those is urban fantasy! But EMPATH was different to write for me than the other two because the main character was a superhero… Well, I use that term loosely, I don’t necessarily view Jace as a superhero but believe that the character and the story does fit into that genre.
You know, I don’t write a lot of superhero stuff. It’s not because I don’t like superhero stories, because I do, but it’s just not where my passion lies. I like human stories, I like writing about what drives us as conscious beings and the choices that we make that creates cause and effect and consequences for us. So, for EMPATH, after the publisher and I talked about the initial concept and how this character was going to have the power to feel people emotions, I knew that I wanted to tell this superhero story is a very specific way, that it couldn’t just be a “Marvel” or “DC” kind of story or character. Jace Emery had to be real, grounded, he had to feel like he could be anyone — you or me or any person on the street. And just as importantly, his “power” had to be something that felt intimate and personal, that it was a part of him rather than something external that made him. And so, EMPATH, the grounded superhero/vigilante story began…
EMPATH is about a superhero driven by his emotions, as his power but also as a part of his pain. Jace has trauma. And from the beginning in Issue #1 readers are brought into his life and his world to see the pain on him as he tries to deal with it for others. The irony is the neglect of his own emotions, which I feel is something that we do often as individuals. It’s easier to see it in others and to try to fix it for others than it is ourselves. That is Jace’s story.
If you haven’t checked out EMPATH or any of the other BlackBox Comics that I’ve written — OR any of the great indie comics pub’s catalogue, please do use the link below and grab yourself some pretty cool comics.
Now for some Trauma Talk! There’s a lot going on behind the scenes with my comic productions studio, BlaX Trauma. Right now, we are at the very end of a short Kickstarter campaign for my soap opera web comic series with Marco Perugini, SEPARATE BUT EQUAL. And when I say the “very end,” I mean the very end — there’s literally only 4 hours left to become a backer and to grab a copy of the first time ever in print web comic series. So, please consider becoming a backer and get the 10 episode collected addition, which will also have the scripts for the webcomic as part of the backmatter.
Become a Backer of SEPARATE BUT EQUAL Here!
Here’s what the series is about: A husband and wife divorce and are forced to continue living together because they cannot afford to sell their condo. Crystal tries to move on with her life, career, and a new romance, but her former husband, Damascus, isn't ready to let go. The two are still together, but really they're not, and both are finding it hard to be separate but equal.
As this campaign comes to an end, we are revving up to release more projects. On deck is the re-release of my slasher comic series with Marcio Loerzer, THE LUNATIC, THE LOVER, & THE POET #1, which will relaunch on the BlaX Trauma Productions Kickstarter account, my psychological thriller/slasher with Richard Kemp, DON’T EVER BLINK #1, which will be a remastered version and also launch on the BlaX Trauma Productions Kickstarter account, and another horror title that has a publisher attached to it and will be announced in the next few weeks (stay tuned for that!) Like I said, things are revving up…
I hope that all of this excites you all as much as it does me and all the amazing creators and collaborators that I get to work with. We are all looking forward to putting all this content out and more, and more than anything, I understand that it is this community that partners with me and all of my creative teams and production team to make it all happen. So… Thank you! I hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter and will check back in with me and the crew on the next one.
Talk soon —
Brian