Artwork

These are samples of artwork which has been produced for this book already. The artists on these pages (who are listed with each page) were gracious enough to produce some pages, though they have not been able to commit to the book as a whole.

These pages can offer some insight into the storytelling used, but should not be considered the only ways to approach the material stylistically. If you're an artist interested in the material, I'm always open to interpretations. That being said, I do have a visual stlye in mind:

• Realistic. The story would not work well in the world of manga or the cartoonish.
• Gritty. This is a dark story with dark elements.
• Surreal. The story is steeped in Norse mythology, and the visuals should be able to reflect that.
• Atypical. By that I mean things don't need to be fully rendered or photorealistic. While I want people and places to be recognizable, they can certainly be stylized. This is not a superhero book, and I'm not looking for a superhero look. I would like this to really stand out from the pack.

Page 1 Grant Newton

Page 2 Grant Newton

Page 1 Adam Geen

Page 2 Adam Geen

Page 3 Adam Geen

Page 4 Adam Geen

Page 5 Adam Geen

Character Designs

Gage

Gage borders on seven feet tall, a body packed with taught muscle, raw sex appeal, and the blood of gods. His hair is long, gracing his shoulders with blonde, dirty locks that twist and tangle forming a few tight dreds floating among the mess of wavy strands. His face is weathered but soft, as you might imagine the face of a god; uniquely beautiful and childlike, but beaten from years of immortality and warmongering. He has a tiny scar running just a few inches along the crest of his chin. His most impressive feature is certainly his eyes. They're like the sky that mingles between sea and storm, bouncing from misty grey to flashes of electric blue. His eyes are keen and they are perceptive. Except in a fit of rage, his eyes are the only thing that betrays his emotions--his face maintains the eerie calm of someone whose seen his share of storms.

Nobyashi

Nobyashi is a forgettable man because he wants to be. There is nothing particularly memorable about him. He has sharp, Egyptian features and his skin is a deep bronze. He keeps his hair shaved close to his head in tight black rings. Despite his seemingly mundane appearance, he is actually very handsome. His smile, a bright array of white ponies in a line, holds a charming, almost seductive quality that could wile a freeze pop from a four year old. He stands businesslike and straight, topping out at about 5'10 in his thin, wiry frame. His attire is of the highest quality always. Silk suits with a hankerchief embroidered in gold blooming from his breast pocket. Gold rings resting easily on long fingers. Shoes dark and polished to look like tiny galaxies. He is a man of power and he carries that with him, but still even after you've just met him he's like a whisper in the back of your mind.

Rig

Rig looks as though he should have died ages ago. His hair clings to his scalp in grey wisps, hanging limp to his shoulders like gravity were pulling them especially hard. He rarely is without his hat, which he wears as a warriors helm though it's actually one of those plaid, faux-fur numbers with the ridiculous earflaps. His eyes, set deep underneath bushy grey eyebrows, echo crazy and fall into deep colourless recesses. Dirt has caked itself under his eyes and in the cracks in his cheeks; he looks constantly disheveled. His mouth is a wry slice of thin lips surrounded by stubble that never seems to mature into a beard. Behind the thin lips his crooked teeth crowd his mouth and each tooth is a dry yellow as though they were once gilded in gold which has since worn down. He has a frame stocky and small, smaller still from years of standing with his broad shoulders hunched over. He seems invasive and uncomfortable in his skin, and he smells of age and insanity. His clothes mirror Gage's outland furs, though Rig's are patched together from dumpster rags and stolen coats (his coat is dirty and lined with salt and pepper fur; he wears it like it were a king's robe).

All character designs drawn by Grant Newton and character descriptions written by me.

Copyright 2009.

Welcome to the World of the Winter King

Teaser:

The old gods are dead. Their mysteries have long been explained away by man’s ambition to dominate his surroundings, and their namesakes have been sold into slavery as corporate symbols and witty slogans. Corporations run everything, from the government to the military to every aspect of the media and the most prominent corporation is one Odin Enterprises. When Odin Enterprises places a massive billboard in the hills of the outland, Gage, an isolated sheperd who still subscribes to the old Norse beliefs, is forced to make his way to the city to confront the one who defiled his land, and more importantly the one who has defiled the name of Odin. But Gage's origins, his connection to the ancient mythos that he so firmly believes in, and his massive, yet-untapped potential, brand him a major threat to the corporate world...

copyright 2009