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 What is Samsara?  Samsara is a planned 12 chapter comic book series written by yours truly with art by the fantastic John Henry Esteban and colours by the equally fantastic Mariam Yasser. Set in Arya, a fantasy setting inspired by India in the mid-1600s the story follows Lakshman, the host for the World Serpent, setting out to reconnect with his lost faith in the midst of a holy crusade between four religious factions fighting for dominance.  Our story follows his journey across Arya to find an exiled hermit and learn the cure to his affliction in time to bring peace to the world before the Holy War plunges the mortal and heavenly realms into chaos.  The comic is published by Markosia Enterprises and is currently released digitally on Amazon Kindle/Comixology with plans for physical volumes to be released as further chapters come out. You can find a link to the series here: Samsara So far we have the first chapter out and the second chapter comes out today! Each chapter will release as our team finishes and I’m hoping chapter 3 will come out sometime in December/January.     
AFoolAndHisMoney fucked around with this message at 10:56 on Jul 18, 2023 |
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Oct 19, 2022 07:47
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 20:04 |
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I have some updates, here's a preview of the cover for the upcoming chapter 3! What is Samsara about? Samsara is about a young man’s reconnection with his faith in the midst of a holy crusade between four religious factions fighting for dominance in Arya, a fantasy setting inspired by India during the era of the Mughal Empire. Lakshman is the host for the spirit of the earth and in the aftermath of a religious massacre is heavily scarred and loses his powers. Our story follows his journey across Arya to find an exiled monk and learn the cure to his affliction in time to bring peace to the world before the Holy War plunges the mortal and heavenly realms into chaos. In his journeys he meets many allies of different religions who challenge his beliefs and perceptions of the world and his responsibility to the people who need him. I wanted to explore religion and spirituality and their relevance to our current times through the lens of a fantasy setting and culture not commonly explored in western media inspired by stories I was raised on as a child. I wanted to ask questions about the way institutions and people in power invoke religion for their own political reasons but also explore the role of religion as a force for change in empowering the individual with meaning and purpose and inspiring societal revolution. I drew from a number of socio-political movements of the historical period to recontextualise their legacy in our modern day with a diverse cast from different cultural backgrounds. Here are some of our main characters that have appeared in the first few chapters so far! Our Hero Lakshman  Lakshman, our protagonist, is the current incarnation of the World Serpent. He’s a reclusive scholar who prefers to spend his time secluded in temples and libraries poring over books and reading the holy words. He finds himself inevitably caught up the war when he loses his powers in a massacre and must find a cure in time to end the war. Ashvaji  Ashvaji, a young former Gurkan general in his early thirties is the headstrong leader of the Swaraj rebellion. Serving as a foil to Lakshman he is a man of action, believing that the injustices occurring across Arya can only be righted through revolution. He is a devout believer in the Brahm faith but without any scholarly knowledge. He only knows of the folklore his mother has raised him on rather than higher minded philosophy but he applies it regularly to his everyday life and has a very practical view on faith and religion. Yusuf Nasir  Emperor Alamgir’s right hand man and most valued general, Yusuf is our main viewpoint into the Gurkan empire. He is a melancholic man who has seen too many battles to his liking. Often philosophising on the nature and purpose of his holy war and yet unable to shake off the truth that warfare is second nature to him and something he is very effective at. Yusuf respects the convictions of his enemies and finds himself trapped between his duty to his God and his loyalty to his emperor. Helena Havelock  Helena Havelock is a knight templar of the Order of Saint Victor. She has regular clashes with her general over the role of Albion and the Order in this ongoing war and whether this truly upholds her Lord’s values of protecting the meek and the poor. She is fiercely loyal to those she trusts, taking an early liking to Lakshman and believing the archangel has a plan for the both of them. If you're reading the series so far please drop a comment and let me know what you think. I'm also happy to answer any questions or do my best to discuss any thoughts and ideas you've had about the story so far. Or if you had any interest in the historical period the series is based on or wanted to know about the factions in the story and their inspiration I'm happy to talk about them too!
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Nov 7, 2022 06:23
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Next time on Samsara... What is this dark power awakening in Lakshman? Find out next month in Samsara chapter 3! I believe the next chapter comes out 14th December but as soon as I find a link I'll post it!
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Nov 22, 2022 04:44
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Finally chapter 3 is here at last! You can find it on Amazon at the moment with this link I'm hoping it'll come out soon on DriveThruComics as well for anyone that isn't fond of Amazon/Comixology at the moment. Here are some preview pages from the chapter:      Also I have an instagram now that you guys can follow if you're keen, so far it's mostly been some early concept art and other things but I intend to use it long term to show the process of putting the pages together and how we did the various effects and whatnot. You can find it here As always if there's anything you want to ask about feel free to comment and I'd be more than happy to talk about the writing process or overarching themes and general aspects of the story/process of putting things together.
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Dec 15, 2022 08:22
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It's been a while but we're definitely hard at work. Here's a cover for chapter 4: We spitballed a few different ideas but I wanted a sequence that was mid action and eye catching and lured in readers with wanting to know the context behind the scene. Chapter 4 is the end of our first act! Soon after the 4 chapters will be collected into the first of 3 volumes. We have lots of action and intrigue ahead in this chapter and can't wait for you to see how it unfolds.
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Feb 6, 2023 10:13
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| # ? Apr 28, 2024 20:04 |
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Believe it or not I'm still alive! I've just been working on Samsara and other stuff and have been less active on social media although I've certainly been trying! To begin with chapter 4 came out in March and you can read it with this link Here are some preview pages:      I got my first review from a comic book podcast on the Awesome Comics Podcast that you can listen to here And the awesome Gail Simone even gave me a shoutout on twitter which was pretty cool https://twitter.com/GailSimone/status/1643019098014781441 But onward to chapter 5 which comes out in two days' time! Here's a preview of our cover which I'm really proud of, this chapter is the beginning of our second act and we have many revelations this chapter as we finally reveal the truth of the dark power awakening inside Lakshman and the reality of what this means for the world. It's a very introspective chapter for Lakshman and I wanted a cover that reflected the meditative nature of the themes of this chapter. And here's a link where you can check it out. And here are some preview pages. I hope you enjoy!     
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Jul 18, 2023 10:55
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