Back in 2007 the comicbook artist known as Jeff decided that he didn’t want to till the fields of someone else’s vineyard. He wanted to do his own thing, work on his craft, and create a wholly original story that was his, and that he didn’t have to settle for a piece of because he was under contract to some corporation. So he did just that. He took a year of his life and he crafted a beautiful, massive, 224 page magnum opus that became the graphic novel One Live Beast. He then self-published the book and brought the finished book to Diamond (the primary distributor for comicbooks in the U.S.) and then began marketing it himself.
“I wanted to create a book that would be fun to read, yet thought provoking at the same time.” Writing and drawing this book has been a labor of love for me.” Jeff told us, and from the look of the book, he definitely enjoys his work. The story is about a young man named Chris living in a not-too-distant future where the city in which he lives is walled off from the surrounding countryside and is ruled by a dictatorial government that keeps electronic surveillance over its citizens and runs the city as a police state.
Chris Addams’ story is one that many readers can probably relate to, he is part of a generation that has a growing a sense of restlessness and dissatisfaction with the state of the world around them. As an individual, Chris has a thirst for knowledge and comprehension. He doesn’t want to simply exist. After inadvertently stumbling into the middle of a large government conspiracy, Chris is compelled to act, and in doing so discovers that his entire world has been thrown into chaos. Now he must act quickly, not only so that he can learn the answers he so desperately craves, but in order to save the lives of his closest friends. Once he puzzles out the answers to his deepest questions, he then learns that he himself must play a large role in the greater conspiracy that surrounds and engulfs him.
In this future world, the most valuable commodity that can be obtained is information. And Chris is a young man who is on a desperate search to discover the truth about his past, but what he finds is as surprising as his future. As readers wind their way through this compelling tale, they can’t help but to get caught up in Chris’s story and wonder if indeed he is "chosen one" that was prophesized in the ancient texts.
One Live Beastis intended as a trilogy and according to Jeff he has been working hard on finishing book 2 of One Live Beast. Along the way, he is also working on some side projects for other companies such as Asylum Press and Atlas Unleashed. In the meantime One Live Beast Book 2 is in post-production, and will hobefully be out in 2011.
Jeff’s Home page arzynart.com
One Live Beast on Amazon ($17.95)
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