Ahead of San Diego Comic-Con, Dynamite has announced a new publishing partnership with Immortal Studios, to bring the Los Angeles-based publisher’s shared universe of Wuxia martial arts-fantasy comic books to the broader marketplace. Through the Kickstarter crowdfunding platform, the Los Angeles-based publisher Immortal Studios has to date successfully funded three comic book series as part of a larger shared universe. Now Dynamite is set to bring these action packed titles to the direct market comic stores, digital vendors, bookstores, and beyond in multiple formats, with more releases and titles to come.
Immortal Studios’ Storyverse is spearheaded by the company’s Founder and CEO Peter Shiao, who is collaborating with a team of comic book storytellers to bring a modern sensibility to the Wuxia genre that has influenced contemporary pop culture, including Marvel’s Shang-Chi, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Matrix, and Star Wars, as well as countless anime and manga like Naruto. Wuxia, pronounced “woo-sha,” is a long running genre born from China that depicts the adventures and trials of martial arts heroes, often but not always in historical settings and with fantasy elements. The Immortal Studios’ Storyverse is inspired by the storytelling of one of the foremost authors in the Wuxia genre, Peter Shiao’s father Shiao Yi, whose novels have been adapted into film and television more than thirty times, including films by the Shaw Brothers and Golden Harvest.
Immortal Studios’ titles include:
- The Adept by writers Tasha Huo, Charlie Stickney, Alison Norrington, and Peter Shiao, artist Yishan Li, and letterer Deron Bennett. The Adept tells the deep and personal story of a young woman on a journey to master an ancient martial art that was thought to be long lost. Filled with action, transformation, and mystery, the key theme is about homecoming and redemption. Two action-packed chapters have been produced to date, featuring kidnapped pop stars, arcade brawls, and more.
- Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsman by writer Peter Shiao, artists Pop Mhan and Jheremy Raapack, colorist Rex Lokus, and letterer Deron Bennett. In this series, protagonist Phil Du escapes his struggles through parkour and online gaming. But when he’s suddenly pulled into an ancient order of supernatural warriors amidst a civil war and cataclysm, he will have to step up to his destiny.
- Fa Sheng: Origins is created by Peter Shiao, written by Rylend Grant, illustrated by Dexter Wee, colored by Omi Remalante Jr., and lettered by Deron Bennett. The tale chronicles the humble beginnings of a great Shaolin Master. The series is written by Rylend Grant, a screenwriter, author, and Ringo Award-winning comic book creator who is also an ordained Soto Zen Buddhist monk.The series is recommended for fans of films based on the story of Ip Man, including the eponymous series and The Grandmaster.
- Assassin G by writer Jen Troy and artist He Tao, featuring coloring by Hi-Fi Design and lettering by AndWorld Design. This summer Immortal Studios will launch a Kickstarter campaign for this new series, from the CW’s Supergirl TV series writer Jen Troy, about the deadly saga of vengeance between warring factions in the martial underworld in the early 1980s. The novel that inspired Assassin G by Wuxia master Shiao Yi, 甘 19 妹 (Gan the 19th Sister), is known as one of the preeminent IPs in the Chinese speaking world which has been adapted for television four times, and this new series will mark the story’s first comic book and English language adaptation. The Assassin G Kickstarter pre-launch page for the campaign is now live.
Immortal Studios feature a range of variant covers from the likes of Gene Ha, Jim Cheung, Ming Doyle, Gian Gulang, Joyce Chin, and more. Other talents and staff behind the curtains include former longtime DC Comics editor Brian Cunningham and team members with experience at Disney, Warner Bros., Sony, 20th Century Fox, and more.
More details to come!
Source: Graphic Policy
