Visions Update - Volume II Release Set & Teaser Art

First, apologies for the long silence here on the old blog. I've been mega-busy with a ton of things the last month or so, but things are once more evening out, so I should be getting back to some regular postings.

On another delay front, I have good news! Yes, the second volume of Visions was supposed to be out by the end of September and missed that date. However, we are putting the final touches on and it should be out by the end of the week, or the first of next week at the latest! Volume II takes it up a notch as we have new contributors, including award winning comic scribe A. David Lewis and new Wizards of the Coast author Nathan Meyer, as well as stories from all the same people who made Volume I so universally acclaimed.

We'll announce as soon as it's official, but thought I would start posting some teaser art for the second volume. Below are covers for the second installment of Books of Creation. In this we have the GodShadow, and the first three angels that comprise the Triumvirate, Lucifer, Michael and Gabriel. I'm also throwing out my cover piece for my short story in this volume, a sci-fi story called "The Stars, The Stars", a piece about humanity's need to explore the cosmos. Enjoy!

Visionary Brings It Home to Baltimore

Each year Visionary celebrates it's origins with our return to the Baltimore Comic-Con, where it all began just a few short years ago! True to form we will be at BCC again this year in force! Check us out at booth #1703, right across from the Image and Dark Horse booths! Our special guests include Michael San Giacomo, Greg Larocque, and John Hebert. Also catch up with a dozen of VCS' creators, buy prints, books and original sketches. Also bring portfolios and projects for on the spot reviews from our editorial team!

Follow us on TWITTER for up to the minute announcements from the convention floor and if in town, join us at Tir Na Nog Tavern on Pratt Street for the Saturday night after-party sponsored by Visionary!

Visionary's New Comic Wednesday Initiative

September & October Releases Debuting on Drive-Thru Comics:

New: Digital Visions returns with issue #3 of the popular anthology! Explore the origins of Hell, a woman with a secret that might destroy her, and a world of the fantastic and...weird! Also Frog Princess #3 is now available! The adventure continues as the quest to save the frogs heats up!

10/07/09: Frog Princess #3
09/30/09: Digital Visions #3 Another Drive-Thru Pick of the Week!
09/23/09: Shon C. Bury's Nox #5 FINAL ISSUE!
09/16/09: Tales of the Starlight Drive-In #2 (of 9)
09/09/09: Phantom Jack #2 (of 7)

Upcoming October Releases:
10/14/09: Phantom Jack #3
10/21/09: Starlight Drive-In #3
10/28/09: OffSpring: Hero Ascendant Special

Visionary is proud to announce the full launch of its digital publishing line-up as we kick off our New Wednesday Comic Initiative. EVERY Wednesday we will be debuting at least one BRAND NEW COMIC on one digital platform or venue. FOUR series running, each with a new issue once a month. As each mini-series wraps, we will debut another series to take its place. Issues will debut on one venue, then shortly after be cross published on multiple venues so that they will be available for download as PDF files, or as mobile comics. We'll even put the first issue of each series out for free on multiple venues so you can try them risk free!

We'll be publishing material previously in print as well as brand new and classic comics. We've got titles from Image, IDW, Atomic Pop Art and more, including award winning books!

Now we need your help! Please check out our listings on our main site and buy the books you like. You can preview titles so you know exactly what you're getting. Digital Comics only work when the fans support them so creators can keep making them! Show your Visionary colors!

Help us spread the word! Post this on your blog, send it in a bulletin to all your friends on any networking site, send a group email to all your contacts! Do anything to help us spread the word and we'll send you a free comic! Send an email to cedwardsellner@aol.com with links or some other evidence of how you helped get word out and let him know which comic you want for free and we'll send a PDF version back to you as a thank you.

President Obama Gets Visionary Treatment

President Barack Obama gets the Visionary Treatment this week in the release of the Bluewater Political Power Comic!

Fully painted by Visionary artist Azim Akberali this series explores the journey of Barack Obama that led him to become President of the United States.

Order it here.

Visions #1 Now Available at Amazon

Buy it at Amazon

San Diego, CA - Visionary Comics Studio and Strider Nolan Publishing are pleased to announce the formal release of Visions #1. A quarterly prose anthology topping out at over 250 pages per issue, Visions is a hybrid child of comics and the classic pulp tales that inspired the very origins of the medium.

Each issue will feature stand alone short stories, novellas and serialized novels of fantasy, horror, adventure, westerns, science fiction and super-heroes. Each issue will also include covers and spot illustrations for each tale done by up and coming as well as top pro artists.

Visions borrows the format and high paced energy of the classic pulp magazines, with a modern sophistication to the writing and art. But what makes this project different from other anthologies is that all the tales of Visions are set in the Visionary Universe, a fictional world developed by Visionary Comics.

"The Visionary Universe is something we've been mentioning since we launched the studio and this year we begin to finally focus on building it and launching it as a multi-media setting." Creative Director C. Edward Sellner explained, "Unlike most 'comic' universes, focused on current time, sometimes one city, the VU has tales from its distant past, far future and everything in between. Each story in Visions is written to stand on its own with beginning, middle and end. Yet for the less casual reader they will quickly find threads, some subtle, some not, that will begin to weave together the various tales into a rich tapestry that is the Visionary Universe."

Stories include works from award winning writers like Dianne K. Salerni, comic professionals like Bryan Baugh, as well as art from Eagle nominated artists like Azim Akberali. Pulp expert and writer Ron Fortier calls it a "diverse collection of fantastic tales...in a truly gorgeous package. Pulp fans rejoice. This is the mag we've all been waiting for!" Now, the wait is over!

Visions is now available world wide through Amazon and other fine book distributors online. Copies went on sale at the New York Comic-Con and Wizard World Philly, with more available at San Diego Comic-Con Interntional and Chicago Comic-Con. A Signing Tour with creator C. Edward Sellner will also be announced later this summer. Finally, announcements concerning availability with various distributors will be coming by the end of the year.

Monarch of Manhattan

Story and Colors: C. Edward Sellner
Layouts: Jose Aviles
Finishes and inks: John Hebert

Shakalla was to rule the greatest empire of his world and time, stretching further than Rome at its greatest height, a land of culture, prosperity and power. His legacy was stolen from him when he was framed for the murder of his own father by the wizard Daemonn Thorne. Exiled, he grew to manhood and launched a rebellion that fought its way right to the private chambers of Thorne. But the wizard stepped through a mystical mirror and disappeared. Not to be denied, Shakalla leapt after him and ended up... in modern day Manhattan, New York.

Now, a stranger in a strange land, Shakalla is determined to find his mortal enemy and reclaim his crown...if he can ever get home.

Update June 2009
Originally slated to be published by Kandora, the series was shelved when Kandora went under. As it turns out though Jose Aviles did detailed layouts on almost three issues of material. With comics pro John Hebert now on board the 32 page debut special is on the fast track to completion. More news as we have it as submissions will start before the end of summer, in the meantime enjoy the previews of Jose Aviles' layouts!

Legend of Fire-Mane

Story & Painted Color: C. Edward Sellner
Pencils: Revin Denisya A Putra

During the first great age of man, also known as the Age of Magic, many races and creatures now believed to be legend and myth were very real indeed. Among them, the ancient and honored Dwarvenkin, the Children of the Stone. Warriors, fierce in fury but unswayable in their honor and loyalty. They built great clans deep in the mountains of the Known Lands. Greatest among these clans was the Draconeye, heirs to the fabled One Clan. Within this clan, greatest among her warriors was the dwarf known as Fire-Mane!

"Legend of Fire-Mane is a fantasy story that explores the concept of war and asks the question of how far will we go to defend ourselves? What compromises will we make?" C. Edward Sellner, creator, writer explains, "I hope its a story that even though it deals with dwarves fighting goblins it asks some tough questions that will make us think in the here and now."

A gripping war tale, bloody and gory as they come, yet exploring the deeper issues of loyalty, friendship, and honor. All the while tackling the issue of when do we sacrifice too much of our ideals and principles in order to provide for our security?

"It's dwarves vs. goblins in all out war," Sellner added, "what more do you need to know?"

The prose novella of the story appears in Visions #1. The comic adaptation is being worked on now. Legend will eventually cover three interrelated stand alone novellas and comic specials. The comics will be 48 pages per issue, full digital painted color.

Update June 2009
The pencils for the submission pages are done, colors next then we will begin shopping the project around. Click the thumbnails below for previews of the penciled pages. Please click through and check them out full size to appreciate the intricate detail work from Revin.

The Knight

Story: C. Edward Sellner
Lineart: Ale Aragon

The Knight is a dark exploration of the human spirit and society, but at its core, it is also a story of redemption and self-discovery. "In truth the Knight is a story that looks at the utmost depravity of human society, but at the same time deals with what it takes to rise above and become something better," creator/writer C. Sellner shared. "After my many years working in crisis intervention and dealing with people often struggling with the most overwhelming odds I knew I would someday tell a story about that struggle. This is it."

Following the story of a street level vigilante who is hailed as a hero following his debut, the series explores the concept of hero in a way that will surprise every reader. The series starts with the identity of the mysterious Knight a secret, and a cast of characters all of whom could be the one behind the mask. "The point is any of the main characters COULD be the Knight, but depending on who it actually is casts a whole new light on the motivation and intentions of the so-called hero." Sellner has gained something of a reputation already for surprise story twists and this series will be filled with them.

The Knight will be penciled and inked by Ale Aragon, fresh off his work on the Image / Shadowline series Overlook. "When Ale joined the studio I knew someday he would draw the Knight! His style just fits the story to perfection!" Look for more preview pages for the submission package to debut soon!

Genesis: Books of Creation

Storyteller: C. Edward Sellner

Every story has a beginning, and this story is the beginning of the Visionary Universe, an epic scale modern re-imagining of Paradise Lost by John Milton! Return to the Most Ancient of Days, the time when God fashioned the realms of Heaven and the Angelic Host. Witness the darkening of the first Angel Lucifer and the horror of the Fall War that ensued! All set on a scale never before done in comics.

BOC has been slotted to be the first ongoing feature in Visions, the new prose anthology VCS is co-publishing with Strider-Nolan. It debuts in issue #1 now on sale! Click the link on the sidebar to purchase a copy from Amazon!

The comic adaptations of the novel will come thereafter!

Update June 2009

Things have been a little slow in moving forward on the comic as I've been swamped by getting Visionary ready for its next step in evolution, BUT things are progressing. I'm really pushing myself as a writer and artist on this series and hope someday it's considered my Magnum Opus!

Thanks for the emails and calls expressing interest. We don't have a publisher lined up yet, as simply put, there isn't enough material to start looking, but we hope to be able to start shopping it soon.

In the meantime, we have had some interest in this series to be developed into a massive, multi-player, online role-playing game by a very established team in the video game industry. Hopefully more will materialize on that as well.

The Adventures of Danny and the Imaginarium

Story: C. Edward Sellner
Art: Luis Valente

In Early Development!

What happens when young Danny Jones is given a magical imaginengine, one that lets him literally enter the worlds of his and other children's imagination? Adventure, that's what! VCS is proud to present its first all-ages romp!

Danny is a young boy whose life is falling apart. His father, a marine, is killed in the war and he and his mother relocate across country to move in with her parents. But once given the Imaginarium, Danny finds worlds of wonder unlocked and his life is changed forever!

"I've always loved working with kids and knew someday I wanted to tell a story that celebrated children, a story aimed squarely at children and one that explored the wonders of their imagination and dreams," Creator / writer C. Edward Sellner explains. "Imaginarium is just that, a limitless realm of adventure bound only by the imagination of every child in the world!"

Fully and beautifully illustrated by international children's artist Luis Valente, Imaginarium will push the boundaries of wonder. Each story arc will be set in a different world of imagination where the rules will totally change each time. Yet all of the stories will have a common thread. "These will be stories parents will want their kids to read, because our catch phrase is that while the adventure may be worlds away, the lessons will be close to home." Sellner, a former pastor and youth and children's leader sees the series as a teaching series as well as a fun read.

"And of course we have the most important element of a successful comic series," Sellner added, "a talking monkey."

Update June 2009
Luis has finished all the character designs and layouts for the initial submission chapter. He has begun working on the finished pages and we will be announcing the submission soon.

Update July 2009
Luis just sent the first page of finished pencils! Check them out!