Posted in: Comics | Tagged: , , , , , ,


High-Fantasy Comic Springs To Life On Kickstarter

Savannah Houston-McIntyre writes for Bleeding Cool:

 

photo 1

 

Amya Chronicles is created by writers Savannah Houston-McIntyre, Andrew Hewitt, and illustrator Rebecca Gunter-Ryan. It tells the story of Faye, a mute spell-touched who lives a sheltered life as the youngest daughter to a great lord. She is burdened with dark dreams of an apocalypse, and it isn't long until her tranquil life changes when a fateful encounter with a young stranger sends her on a spiraling journey of self-discovery.

 

Amya Chronicles is often credited as being a refreshing change to the mainstream media currently offered in the comic industry. It is a story starring a non-verbal woman, who gathers an assorted cast of friends to set course on a journey that will test their limitations and morality.  As the writer of the story, I am often asked why I decided to lead with a disabled character, and the answer is a deeply personal one

 

When I was young I was diagnosed with a central auditory processing disorder. Though I could hear, my brain could not decipher what I was hearing. I did not learn to speak, or even speak properly, for many years. Even when I did learn, communication was still very awkward through my youth. Even to this day I rely heavily on lip-reading.

 

Much like Faye I went through a good portion of my life in silence. Likewise, I turned to reading and writing as a way to escape from the world, and as a communication tool.

 

photo 2It is very important to me, that as individuals, we evaluate the media we intake,  in order to create stories that fill voids in the representation of humanity. For myself, my goal was to bring forward a fresh representation of female characters, as well as disabled characters.

 

While Faye is non-verbal, her hearing is fine – and she does not have the same disorder that I was born with. There will be other explanations in regards to her lack of voice as the story continues. We really wanted the portrayal of the disability to be honest; so Faye's thoughts are never communicated through thought balloons or narration. We leave it up to the readers to interpret how she is feeling, based on how she interacts with the world around her, and how it in turn interacts with her.

 

We have spent the last nine years writing Amya Chronicles, making sure our cast was both deeply human and real; flawed and heroic- but by no means heroes. We are truly in love with the story we are telling, and hope you will be to.

 

We are currently running a Kickstarter for the first volume of Amya, which will include the last five years of our production work. We would be eternally grateful if you would have a look. If you decide to make a pledge of $30+ over the next two days, please send us a message letting us know you came from Bleeding Cool and you will receive a limited edition printed deck of collectable art cards!

 

The Kickstarter runs until August 26th, and the forecast-ed publish date is October 12th, 2014.

 

To learn more about the series, readers can view the project's Kickstarter page here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1530128474/amya-volume-one


Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!

Dan WicklineAbout Dan Wickline

Has quietly been working at Bleeding Cool for over three years. He has written comics for Image, Top Cow, Shadowline, Avatar, IDW, Dynamite, Moonstone, Humanoids and Zenescope. He is the author of the Lucius Fogg series of novels and a published photographer.
website
Comments will load 20 seconds after page. Click here to load them now.