WOW Signal: Crowdfund

WOW Signal, the book by myself, SirGryphon is currently in the crowdfunding stage. Its been an on and off again project as I worked on other books for other creators, and I wanted to be able to put more time into it. To do that I have to show that there is a demand for this kind of science fiction.

The project has evolved and originally was just me testing the waters of working completely digitally. The process was fun as it allowed me to play around with not just digital pencils and inks but also starting my hand at digital painting to create more dynamic images that had symbiosis between each layer.

The book WOW Signal, has a group of explorers preparing to undergo a mission that takes a dark turn when Aliens try to dog humanities reach outside their own solar system.

It is an idea that I've been playing with for a long time, and originally was more of a space fantasy then the science fiction tale it is now. Inspired by sources such as The Cosmos (both Tyson's and Sagan's) Star Trek, Homeworld, The Hazards of Space Travel, and System Shock, my book tries to take our current technology and prognosticate what it will be like in 61 years into the future. It imagines a world post WWIII and a star system that is tamed by humanity.

One of the double splash pages introducing the NAMALSADIRAH II. A character of itself.

One of the challenges of scifi that is intergalactic is trying to figure out how a people travel from place to place and navigate space both functionally and efficiently. I tackle this in a unique way-where some scifi's try to have a universal form of transportation I realized that a diverse universe would probably have diverse travel. Each with its own unique challenges, pros and cons. In the first issue we see that humanity for instance uses fusion for their conventional travel and for vast distances employ something called the Trabean drive: A propulsion system that functions more like the Hitchhikers guides improbability drive in that it alters the nature of physical reality than propelling the ship forward. Another craft employs something called the Shadow Drive, a engine that warps the craft into shadow that is cast instantly to where it shadow lies, this drive while faster than anything else has a limited distance and takes time to charge.

These are just some examples of what I am toying around with in my series. To see more please bring this book to life by your support!

SirGryphon is an advocate for space travel and salutes all those who have undertaken the dangerous journey into space to help mankind fully discover the final frontier.

Webcomic Review: Ava's Demon

When I review webcomics I try to see it from every sensory perspective, and I often relate experiences with consuming food. For example a good comic can linger in your mind, just as something flavorful might linger on your palate. I'm giving you a little bit of my insight because as a creator I believe in being open with my process, but I also have a challenging task ahead of me. 

Have you read Michelle Czajkowski's Ava's Demon yet? If you haven't I am now going to try to convince you that if you consider yourself a webcomic reader than you must. The challenge I was talking about previously was that I need to convince you that this work is a webcomic masterpiece, if not a masterpiece in itself! I know those are strong words to just throw around, however, I hope from my other reviews that you understand I don't use them lightly.

I was originally told about Michelle's work from a friend who works at blue sky and might be known for his work called Dollar Store Combines.

Being very busy in illustrating a variety of comics I was hesitant to start reading another since taking time for entertainment can be risky. Either you've wasted time starting something that was a bust, or (and this is the scarier possibility) you may lose time by becoming absorbed in binge reading because you can't get enough.

Ava's Demon ended up being the latter. You are welcomed to this webcomic by an eerie tomb that seems to glow hauntingly red. Opening it you see just one panel of a girl scribbling in a book. Its counter to what many comics or even webcomics do with their formatting. Pages that are landscape or portrait containing anywhere from 3-12 panels on average. Instead Ava's Demon's panel by panel format is more cinematic and is refreshing because it allows you to appreciate the beautifully painted image as a single piece before moving on. Many other comics paneling pushes a reader forward where Ava's asks you to linger. And linger you should, each panel is beautifully digitally painted and rendered, capturing the mood with its intense lighting, and whose cartoonishly styled characters powerfully emote to further draw you in. All this added to Ava being artistically beautiful but at the end of the first chapter is what captured me as an Ava fan! Each chapter concludes with an animation accompanied by music that truly leaves Ava as not just an amazing webcomic, but an excellent multimedia creation!

The first page of this  dynamic sci-fi introduces us to Ava, a girl we quickly find is highly disturbed, and her demon who seems to be a hidden personality that wants to snuff out the young girls life. It seems like a complex thing to convey but this aspect of the story isn't unfurled in the first five issues, or even the first five pages, but within the first five panels. This is typical of Ava's storytelling, as it conveys seamless storytelling that with its magnificent imagery, and as the story progresses we are found in a postwar universe whose conqueror is heralded as a god. Just the information I shared makes the story address issues of a person resolving their inner demons as well as bringing up the concept that our history and our gods tend to be those of our conquerors.

With two books already published and a third on the way, Ava's Demon seems to be on the crux of being the next legendary space opera! You can help her continue to create by donating to her Patreon!

Sir Thomas J. Griffin is a son of Lilith working for Gryphon Knights Comics and is currently exercising his demons by illustrating an anthology called Frankenstein vs. Dracula: Throughout the Ages with 11 other talented people!