Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, Craig Frank, Dystopica, kickstarter, Morgan Adam Miller

Dystopica – An Anthology For The Interesting And Strange

Published Sun, 22 Sep 2013 11:00:40 -0500

Morgan Adam Miller writes for Bleeding Cool:

My name is Morgan Adam Miller, and I have written and illustrated about fifteen graphic novels. But you have never read them. You haven't even heard of them. That is because, although they have all been cool stories that I am proud of, I live in Oklahoma- where there are very few interested readers, and even fewer publishers. Other publishers have never even so much as hinted at interest in my ideas (now, I will admit that my works tend to embrace the "indie spirit," scaring off most publishers anyway).

I have always enjoyed many different art forms- writing, drawing, music, and more. Not only that, but I taught myself how to do each one. I never took any art or music classes. I believe it is because of this that I have developed my own unique, personal style and approach to each art form. One of my favorite quotes comes from the late Jim Henson- "Many of the things I've done in my life have basically been self-taught… I'm sure that this was a good thing, because I learned as I tackled each problem. I think if you study—if you learn too much of what others have done—you may tend to take the same direction as everybody else."

It is also because of this approach to my arts that I have always just done them for "fun."

My books have included several different topics: superheroes, government conspiracies, adventures, horror, happy people, sad people, strange people… but in total, I have only had approximately 20 readers, many of which are friends and family. It has always just been a "dream" to actually get my stories into the hands of interested readers. Until Kickstarter.

Even after backing nearly 50 projects on Kickstarter, I still never thought that I could actually start my own graphic novel project. I mean, that's just a dream, right? Until one day, I received a personal message from Craig Frank (creator of the successful Kickstarter project, JFK Secret Ops), in which Frank came off as a real person. Not only that, but he even told me to go for it. For whatever reason, I finally realized that it was possible to get my stories out there and to find my audience.

I decided that I would start my own Kickstarter project for the graphic novel that I am currently working on, Dystopica. In a nutshell, Dystopica is an anthology of short stories- each of which takes place in a dystopian setting (see what I did there?).

The idea of overwhelming defeat contrasted with a constant glimmer of hope is portrayed throughout the stories and the art style of the book. While each story is entertaining in their own right, I also set out to make each one thought-provoking, which is what really sets Dystopica apart from other graphic novels and comics.

I never explain the characters. I never explain the settings. I simply drop the readers into the stories, without arming them with a single line of dialogue explaining what is going on. From there, I let the readers' own imagination and life experience provide their interpretations of what is happening through the narrative and art.

In Dystopica, readers can expect to find people wearing strange masks, giant overlord robots, a homicidal hermit, a mysterious monster, and a double-amputee albino, just to give a taste of what to expect.

Not only is Dystopica an interesting and strange graphic novel, but I have also written and recorded a Dystopica soundtrack, which features over 45 minutes of ambient, instrumental (along with some vocals) music that compliments the book nicely. Think Explosions in the Sky + …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead + Angels and Airwaves + Godspeed You! Black Emperor. The tracks tend to range from approximately 6-12 minutes long, and are written in a "symphony" structure with segments and movements (as opposed to verses and choruses). Samples of the soundtrack can be listened to on my Kickstarter page.

By this point, I think you can see why publishers arent' showing any interest. By no means is this a typical graphic novel for mainstream audiences.

I write, draw, and play music for fun. The stories I write, the art I draw, and the music I play is all what I enjoy. I'm not trying to appeal to publishers, and I am certainly not willing to change the way I do things to make some money.

In fact, I'm not even trying to make money. If I reach my goal, then GREAT! I get to share my book with the world. If not, everything will be fine. I will continue on with the book and get it finished because it is just plain fun to work on.

I believe that Dystopica represents everything that is so awesome about the indie comic scene, as well as the Kickstarter revolution. It is very different from most graphic novels in all aspects- from the storytelling, to the art, to the whole soundtrack experience.

Currently, my Kickstarter project has only achieved a little over ¼ of the target goal, and that is largely due to some very generous pledges from some great backers. If it is going to get funded, it is definitely going to need a boost.

Like I said, it's no big deal if Dystopica does not meet its goal. I will continue to work on it for the mere pleasure of it, as I always have. But I believe that there is an audience out there for it, which it is struggling to find right now. And I can't wait until it finds that audience.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!