[Since jumping into comics crowdfunding in March, I’ve received 12 projects in paper form. Some have arrived digitally, but I’ll wait until the paper copies arrive because I’m that type of luddite. This “Year in Review” will catalog each one…and I promise to be done by New Year’s Eve!]
Bryan Silverbax is nothing if not ambitious. In Tales of Kerra Prime Vol. 1, he creates an entire world complete with backstory, brings together 25 creators and publishes 19 short introductory stories with their help in a trade paperback-sized, 100+ page, full color, glossy book.
Each story serves to introduce the character/setting in this universe. Some are straight-up origin tales, others forego the origin and go straight to a narrative tale a la Mad Max. Genres, art styles and storytelling tools are as vast as the creators themselves. It’s a very full universe! The 19 stories are:
- Proudhorn – 5 pages
- Apex – 5 pages
- Lexxie – 6 pages
- Kur – 5 pages
- Red Hawk – 5 pages
- Narlog – 5 pages
- Vegas – 5 pages
- Papa Bear – 5 pages
- Syte – 5 pages
- Deadlift – 5 pages
- Baku – 5 pages
- Roach – 5 pages
- Black Smith – 5 pages
- Bloody Mari – 6 pages
- Doc Jones – 5 pages
- Frost – 5 pages
- Forecast – 5 pages
- Muerto Noir – 6 pages
- The Bunker – 5 pages
The balance of the book consists of a two-page introduction to this world (a dystopian future where the USA is shattered) title pages for each story, a couple pages of Kerra Prime ads (some may be humor postings) and two pages of real world ads for the different creators’ other works.
I’m intrigued at the shared universe idea and find the omnibus-style explosion of characters, ideas and storylines intriguing. Logistically, it seems like it would be a nightmare to pull off. Story quality is as consistent as one would expect from 20-ish pro/semi-pro/fan creators packaging their work together into one anthology. I loved some, didn’t care for some…and appreciated the effort across the board. Some creators have very solid short stories, a prime example being Alex Ogle’s “Narlog”. Others either don’t have a workable concept or don’t appear to have the skill to pull it off in 5-6 pages. Point being, there’s a wide range of talent on display.
Book quality is top-notch, and design/layout is on the better side. I like the standardized title pages, each with their own character/story logos. The intro to Kerra Prime itself seemed jammed into two pages; I would have tried to add pages there and decompress the typesetting, but that’s me.
So we have 20 new characters in this brave new world delivered in this fire-hose of an anthology. I suppose the big question is, “Where does it all go from here?” It will be interesting to see. So much groundwork has been laid. One character, the shark-like Apex, announces an Apex #1 coming soon. The rest generally suggest the stories end, with or without a question mark.
Soooo….what’s next?
~ Prior Entries ~
Day 2: Branches Entwined & Broken
Day 3: Take the Monkey and RUN! #1
Day 4: Time Before Time – Process Edition
Day 5: Flytrap – A Time Travel Adventure
Have you considered checking out my small press comics and stories?
Phoenix Productions 
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