Broken Frontier

The winds of change are blowing through the world of Soulfire, and magic reigns supreme once more in Soulfire: New World Order #1. J.T. Krul tells you all about it in our latest Inside Look.

The solicitation for the issue reads:

Magic flourishes once again. Unbelievable power courses through the lands, and a ""New World Order"" is at hand. The next exciting chapter of the Soulfire mythos starts here as a host of new characters, and a few familiar ones, chart a course through the dark and undiscovered futuristic landscape of the planet. Heather and Cruz, two strangers trying to make sense of their newfound abilities, descend upon the San Francisco area in search for answers. There, they are met by Pili, an emerging new age cult, and the menacing threat of a power hungry foe! As if that wasn't enough, a serial killer is on the loose, and his thirst for death can only be quenched by those in possession of magic.

With the premiere of Soulfire: New World Order, I thought I'd take the time to dig a little deeper into the issue itself.  This project has been a long time coming and I'm extremely excited to see it coming out, now.  Special thanks to Francisco Herrera and Leonardo Olea for their stunning work.  And, none of these books would ever see the light of day without the hard work of Team Aspen - Frank Mastromauro, Peter Steigerwald, Vince Hernandez, Mark Roslan, and Josh Reed.  Actually, I owe them each ten bucks so this is my payback instead of actual cash.  Eat it, suckers!

Okay, let's get to it…  

PAGES 1-4: THE OPENING SCENE

To me, this is one of my favorite opening scenes to a story I've written, and it was the first scene that came to mind as we starting developing this project.  From a concept point-of-view, I always explain Soulfire as being something between Blade Runner and Lord of the Rings.  It's a world of technology where magic is coming back. But, that doesn't mean that we are moving toward some utopian nirvana.  As with everything, the return of magic brings complications because magic doesn't equal good.  It just equals power. 

Here, we get to juxtapose the imagery of the Woman's night flight…very graceful and majestic, with the brutality of her death as Cole cuts her down immediately.  There's an almost Wild Kingdom primal theme going on here.  The woman is like the gazelle prancing in the fields of gold on the open terrain, right before the cheetah pounces on its prey.  And, I love that final image of the woman's dead body, black and charred, completely devoid of anything resembling magic…or life for that matter.

Not to mention that the pages are an incredible introduction to the work of Francisco Herrera and Leonardo Olea. Strong, vibrant imagery that jumps off the page and you can feel the anguish and mortality on page four as she dies. 

PAGE 5: HEATHER

Another important aspect of this story for me was the nature of the main characters themselves.  In volume one of Soulfire, we are following Malikai's epic quest to fulfill his destiny and bring magic back to the world.  That's a pretty big endeavor.  He's definitely on The Hero's Quest in the most obvious manner.  Mal is the Luke Skywalker, the Harry Potter, of his story. 

For New World Order, Heather is nothing like that.  Sure, we'll learn that she has magical powers, but so do other people.  Her tale is not one of destiny.  She's just an ordinary girl, trying to make sense of her life and her surroundings.  It's more of a personal journey for these characters.  They aren't looking to fight crime, save the world, and stop evil...or even asked to.  They just want to stay out of the way, but are pulled into the fray due to the circumstances beyond their control. 

PAGE 7 & 8: GABRIEL'S VOICE

Gabriel's Voice is the name for the cult that sprouts up in San Francisco in light of the recent strange sightings.  This movement actually hits close to what is really happening as you could use magic itself as a kind of spirituality.  The more connected you are with yourself and your past…your true past, the more connected you might be to the magic.  The magic is almost a physical manifestation of spiritual power - in a way.

It's no coincidence that the story takes place in San Francisco as this dawning of a new age mirrors the one that tried to occur back in the 1960's.  The people were lost in the clutter of modern life and needed to get back to themselves.  That's what the people of Gabriel's Voice think the angels are trying to tell them - to move away from the trapping of society and find the truth inside.  It's all a variation of Peace, Love, and Understanding.  All great goals, but very hard to reach in such a world.

PAGE 9 & 10: PILI

Pili is one of the most interesting characters for me in the Soulfire universe due to her unique perspective, simultaneously representing the past and the present.  In one regard, she is an older, kindred spirit, blessed with a certain amount of clairvoyance - an ability (or duty) that has been passed down through her family.  Her father, the Great Kamea, helped Malikai begin to unlock the mysteries of his quest, before Kamea was slaughtered by Rainier's assassin, Onyx.  Because of those abilities, Pili is a bit detached from those around her.  But, at the same time, she is really just a young woman, no older than the people who might look to her for guidance. 

In the grand scheme of things, Pili is actually being more forthright with her knowledge.  She may speak a bit cryptically to Cruz here, but she is clearly trying to help steer him along.  With the current state of the world, she fears standing by and doing nothing might lead to utter ruin.  It's that youthful part of her that doesn't fully trust or adhere to the cycle of the world.  She wants to let things run their course - allow events to unfold as they will - and she knows that she should, but she doesn't know if she can.

PAGE 15: COLE

Cole is just a total free spirit.  As we talked about his character, I kept thinking of Tyler Durden in Fight Club.  Cole is a lot more sarcastic, snarky, and downright sinister, but they both have that disregard for social norms.  They live outside the rules and regulations that keep us all in check. 

Obviously though, Cole is much more of a sociopath.  As in the opening scene, Cole serves as an almost counterpoint to what people think of in terms of magic.  The cult members are talking about life and peace and the return of angels, and what they find instead is just a vicious shark, looking to feed off other people's energy.   

PAGE 22

I think this page showcases Leonardo's colors more than any other page in the book. Let's just start with the rich textures and glow in the sky and the shimmer of the water below.  Plus, you have the dull metallic brown and gray of the Dealbreaker ship as well as the translucent glow of the monitors that the bounty hunters are looking at.  This page just pops off the page. 

BONUS COMMENTARY ON BACK-UP STORY

PAGE 1: OF RESURGENCE

Had to say something about our special back-up feature in New World Order.  It's just a sneak peak at the creative team for Soulfire: Volume Two, Marcus To and Beth Sotelo.  I love the natural glow the opening page carries.  You can just feel that this is another world as Grace wakes up to a brand new day. 

And thanks to Mark Roslan and Peter Steigerwald for that title page - the bold orange and yellow lines serve almost as an intro panel of the sun rising before we join Grace in her bedroom.  Not only does the art reflect what is to come in Volume Two, but the story itself directly flows into the story for the next volume of Soulfire. 

I hope you'll be back for more! Michael Turner created an incredible universe with Soulfire, and we've just scratched the surface on what it has to offer.