Posted in: Comics | Tagged: a sparrow's roar, boom, boom studios, c.r. chua, Paolo Chikiamco

Game of Thrones for Kids? C.R. Chua's A Sparrow's Roar Set for October at BOOM!

Published Thu, 14 Mar 2019 18:04:39 -0500

C.R. Chua, cartoonist with credits on titles such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Regular Show, is teaming up with co-writer Paolo Chikiamco for a new graphic novel about a young knight navigating "the poisonous intrigue of court" to gather allies to stop an "oncoming horde" of mysterious enemies. A Sparrow's Roar will be published by BOOM! Studios, on their all-ages KaBOOM! imprint, if you are to believe the logo on the cover graphic below, or the BOOM! Box imprint, if you are to believe the press release. Hopefully they'll sort it all out by October, when the book is set to hit stores.

Check out the press release:

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 14, 2019) – BOOM! Studios today announced A SPARROW'S ROAR, a brand new original graphic novel from cartoonist C.R. Chua and co-writer Paolo Chikiamco about a young knight who must assume the identity of her sister in order to save her kingdom, which will debut in stores October 2019.

Elena of Esterpike is the revered commander of the most famed warriors in all the land— the legendary Lions of Esterpike. But when disaster strikes, it is her sister Per, a mere knight-in-training, who must gather allies in the face of an enemy even the Lions could not defeat. Together with the help of Elena's second-in-command Amelia, Per takes on the role of her perfect older sister as she travels to the capital city to rally the troops and convince the generals of their neighboring city-states to provide aid against the oncoming horde. But she'll have to stay on her toes as the poisonous intrigue of the court tears away at her secret identity and makes it that much harder to build the forces necessary to fend off the coming invasion.

C.R. Chua is an artist and illustrator who is interested in themes of identity, self-realizations and friendship. She has worked for BOOM! Studios as a colorist and artist on titles such as Adventure Time, Steven Universe, and Regular Show. She also illustrated the story Humanity in the Philippine National Book Award-nominated comic anthology, Mythspace.

Paolo Chikiamco is a Filipino writer of prose, comics, and interactive fiction. His prose has been published in anthologies such as The Sea is Ours and the Best of Philippine Speculative Fiction, and his interactive wrestling novel Slammed! was released by Choice of Games. He has also served as a judge on multiple occasions for the Graphic Literature category of the National Book Awards in the Philippines.

And a quote from Chua:

I'm excited to finally share A SPARROW'S ROAR with the world. At its core, it's a story about brothers and sisters, about filling the spaces they leave behind, and about the power of a stubbornly awkward cog to wreck the most meticulously designed of machines. I also love drawing ladies in armor very, very much.

And one from Chikiamco:

The women in my life have always been what society would dub as 'strong'—but they were always simply women to me, and strength just an innate characteristic. Tina and I wanted to tell a story with a cast of women warriors, in a setting where they'd be notable for their skill rather than their sex. With A SPARROW'S ROAR, we hope we can immerse readers in such a world… and then make them fear for its survival, of course.

Look for A Sparrow's Roar in stores in October.