Series Outline - Updated August 13th by Ian X.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE: The character, concepts, etc. described and references below are copyright Ian C. Struckhoff. They may not be reproduced or used in any way without permission. If permission is given you may create artworks based on these descriptions, but it may not be used for commercial purposes without express agreement, and copyright of the characters and concepts remain wholly property of the author.
Give it to me in 100 Words or Less
Anne's Story is the first chapter of a larger story. It is a coming of age tale that starts with the protagonist's death. A teenager gains power over life and death, in a world where it turns out that the real stakes are bigger things-- and smaller ones.
The overarcing story is about a war against the undead, fought by secretive beings-- Deathlings-- who are similar to their immortal enemies. There is another war, within their ranks, over whether the innocent lives are an acceptable cost. The core concepts are death, purpose, growth -- and the lack thereof.
Bonfire. Fishnets.
What is a Deathling?
"Nobody knows where we came from-- But we know, deep in our chests, that we're made to kill the undead. All of them. They just-- Mmm.. There's life, and there's death, both totally natural-- and as hard to avoid as taxes, or the one slippery spot on a clean floor. Like two sides of a coin. It's cheating to set it on its side." -Ani (Issue 0. She does ramble.)
Deathlings are immortal and powerful undead hunters. They aren't people exactly, but rather constructs, stitches together from the bodies, and sometimes the personalities, of the dead. They aren't exactly undead, but the difference is a pretty fine one-- something that frustrates them.
Every Deathling has incredible power over life and death. They are virtually immortal, and some of them can kill with a thought. Death is incredibly important to us all, and their power over it is astonishing. Yet in many ways, they are limited. They have little power over anything besides death. They often lack creativity, or nuanced thinking. For things like that, they need normal people.
Their powers are focused through, and symbolized by, a series of common-looking "craft objects". They often carry and use special silvery-white ones, and many Deathlings would have many of each type they use. (Ani and Anne both mostly focus on Scissors and Thread, for instance, and both will be seen to differing degrees with silver-white scissors and needles or spools.) The most common are used for abilities to do with death and undeath in very direct ways-- Crown is for controlling the will of the undead. Scythe kills or hurts without hesitation. Scissors can sever souls. Needle and Thread can mend and heal. The others, more rare, come down to life and death eventually-- Lenses show you things. Keys open doors to other places. Matches and Torches make fire. Clocks and Hourglasses can influence the flow of time. In all, there are almost two dozen powers reflected.
Every Deathling also has a Cloak. This is their defense-- in the form of armor, an almost-creature to guard them, and most often invisibility or stealth to hide them from their enemies.
What's the big story behind this?
All worlds exist, and most of them have undead somewhere. There are Deathlings everywhere, but not very many of them. In most worlds, nobody has heard of the Deathlings.
The war they fight is long, patient, and calculated. It is concerned only with eventually destroying all undead everywhere. There is very little care for lives lost because of delay, or indeed caught in the crossfire. At the core of Deathling society is a Cathedral to their cause, an impossible bureaucracy.
A small group see it another way, and are fighting to change the path of their stubborn, unfeeling people. They are led by Ani, an unassuming and strangely expressive individual. A few zealots on the other side are just as proactively pushing in the other direction.
We're left with a broad cast of characters to draw from, a rich world, and a varied but contained internal logic.
So What's the Story Here?
Anne's Story (working title) is all about grounding these fantastic concepts in the real world, and most importantly, with characters who are real people. Not just because only one of them has any powers, but in how they think and act.
In our world, what we think of as the "real world", nobody has ever heard of these things. It's not even clear if there are really ghosts, and vampires, and fairies, in our world. Maybe they are just stories.
To find out the rest, you will have to read the series.
About the Author, Briefly
Writer Ian X. (Ian Struckhoff) is a reasonably well-known alternative fine art nude photographer. His artworks can be found at http://ian-x.com/ or http://ian-x.deviantart.com/ He was also once one of the founding editors of early Gothic web-zine "Raising Cain: The Twenty-First Century Goth", but that was a very long time ago.
A long-time fan of comics and graphic novels, he is now working on his first original series, based on a series of stories that he has been working on for the last decade in a variety of media.
He can be found here:
Email - ian@ian-x.com
Twitter - @ian_x
Web - http://ian-x.com/
AOL IM - IanXPhoto
Yahoo IM - IanXPhoto
F.A.Q.
Why do the two main characters have such similar names?
That would be telling. Let the story play out, and you might see. Don't assume they are the same person, but there is obviously a connection.
Will there be pretty girls like in your photos?
Yes. I've actually done a number of photo series over the years based on the world and characters of this story. As a result, some characters now have a look that definitely fits in with my photography. You may recognize some of the characters, but they will mostly appear as minor characters, especially in this first mini-series. It's probably also obvious that I have an unhealthy interest in the idea of strange girls, and they are likely to show up in my writing as well.
Who is on your art team so far?
I am holding off on making an annoucement until we have more work to show people. The interior line artists are a team used to working together, based in Europe, and have both been published in that market for years. Our cover artist has been published in comics and elsewhere. (We are still looking for an interior colorist and letterer.)
NOTE: This page is intended for the general public. If you are an Artist interested in working on this project, a comics pro willing to give constructive feedback on written materials, or a Publisher interested in this series, I have additional documents geared towards you. Please email ian@ian-x.comfor more information.
