Assembling a Skeleton: The Creative Process behind my Comic Anthology Submission

The comic in question is named Lifeeater, a horror / dark fantasy story I took 10 months to create. I submitted it to The Grimoire Comic Collection, a collaborative anthology of other various fantasy comics created by a group of artists that I partnered with. Our stories vary wildly in mood and seriousness but all of them are expertly drawn and written.

Long before I started writing drafts for Lifeeater, I had already created its titular co-protagonist, Lifeeater Gloom, for use as a playable character in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign. Armed with a sizable amount of written lore, it isn't a stretch of the imagination to say that all of the later comic is designed to streamline her dark story to a new audience, primarily to horrify.

I created Thaddeus Finch entirely for the comic, yet he is equal in importance to the intent of the story as the Lifeeater. He was designed to look and act like a novice, but stout-hearted adventurer. His journey is meant to illicit impending doom from the reader as it brings him closer and closer to Gloom.

A departure from my usual, line-dependant style, the artwork of Lifeeater was a deliberate challenge to simultaneously improve upon my digital draftsmanship and strengthen my skill with using harsh values. I capture the haunting mood that lurks beneath the white, snowy landscapes and floods the black, isolated cave.

I took inspiration for Lifeeater from Hidetaka Miyazaki's Souls video game series, that captures harrowing storytelling through minimal hints in each setting. I want readers to dwell on each decision made to discover for themselves the greater, more off-putting implications of the story.

Lifeeater is a transforming story, in that the expectations for what will end up happening next as the story progresses is constantly evolving. It's anthology, The Grimoire Comic Collection, makes its digital debut at Toronto Comic Arts Festival (or TCAF) starting May 3rd. 

You can find out more about the book here: https://www.instagram.com/grimoirecomics/

Hope you guys enjoy!