Short Summary

My name is Michael Oden, and I want to thank you for your interest in Elysian Fields. Right off the bat, I want to establish what it is we are hoping to create here. This Zero Issue will serve as an EXCLUSIVE COLLECTOR'S ITEM for its supporters, as this project is being used to move the overall series forward. This edition of this book that will be released for this campaign will have a very nice, CARD STOCK COVER WITH FOIL STAMP, AND WILL INCLUDE 30+ PAGES OF STORY AND ARTWORK. This project is something that's been going around my head since High School, and it's something very special to me. Born out of a love for mythology, the idea of a deathmatch style tournament between legendary heroes of old was always something that I wanted, no, needed to bring to life. 

After years of this idea circling around I finally made a script for a first issue, and I found a fantastic artist in Marcelo Oliveira Costa (portfolio included at the bottom of the summary) who is really kicking ass in bringing this vision to life, and with the Main Line in the state that it's in and the ongoing quarantine from Covid 19, I figured it would be best if we went the crowdfunding route. Anyways, without further ado, I present Elysian Fields:

Achilles fought with a fiery rage for glory during his short life when he arrived in the underworld and reunited with his beloved comrade Patroclus, he thought he could finally spend eternity enjoying the things he missed out on in life. This was not the case, after a momentary reunion the Best of the Greeks was ferried away to an amphitheater where he was to fight alongside other heroes of his world: Herakles and Theseus, for the God Hades to regain his dominion over the underworld. With the world’s pantheons expanding, and past pantheons crumbling, Hades is willing to grant Achilles his greatest desire.

Marcelo’s Portfolio: https://marcoliverpenciler.wixsite.com/portifolio

Page 1: Pencils/inks/ Colors

Page 2: Pencils/Inks/ Colors

Page 3: Pencils/ Inks/ Colors

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What We Need & What You Get

Break it down for folks in more detail:

• The goal here is to publish this Zero issue to do a few things: 1. gauge public interest, 2. deliver a quality product for our consumer, 3. Raise enough to not only fund this book but to put money aside to invest in the future of this series and our new Independent Brand: 9 Realms Publishing. I have Reset the flex goal to 7,000 to make sure we hit it, but I do think we can still hit that 10,000 and as a result provide a majority of the funds for the next book as well!
• There will be 4 perk tiers to start off: 1. Single issue: $10, 2. Double Trouble: $20, 3. Single Issue Deluxe: $15, 4. Double Trouble Deluxe: $25. Deluxe editions will include signatures from me! However, as publicity grows, and we gain traction, more tiers may become available.

The Impact

The impact of this campaign is simple. It has become very difficult for people with both passion and talent to get involved in this industry. I remember growing up where both companies were readily accessible for fans to pitch ideas and concepts in monthly writing contests, and submissions. However, with COVID 19 crippling the mainline after years of lackluster sales, the time for independent, crowdfunding creators is now. We can revolutionize this market together, and with the success of this book will come the rise of my own publishing company: 9 Realms Publishing. While it is a very pretentious and overused quote, Gandhi once said: "Be the Change you want to see in the world." This is the change I want for the industry, quality content written by people who care, so I am going to be it. 

Risks & Challenges

Obviously, the biggest risk and challenge here is failure. This is our first time trying to make a comic, with that, comes the hurdle of anonymity. I don't have a name, my artist has a portfolio and some fantastic art, but is not an industry legend that has made waves. So how are we going to combat this, the answer is aggressive marketing and, well, you.

• With connections, I have made through networking online for the past 4 years and as an Industry News writer, I have several connections on multiple social media platforms for nerd pages. 
• The plan will be to reach out to my various contacts, comic stores, and hell even people I haven't talked to that have massive youtube and social media followings, and promote this campaign as much as possible! And then there is what I am relying on you for because it's so much more than just money. 

Other Ways You Can Help

While contributing is awesome and I super appreciate it if you do, but there is a much bigger way you can help. A way that goes so far beyond the monetary support. Share this campaign around, the more the merrier and the faster we can get this book to you the consumer. With this campaign's success will come more of these stories, and we want more than anything for you to experience them! So please if you could:

• Share this link on any and all social media platforms, send it to your friends that you think will be interested. This is our greatest weapon in combatting our struggle of anonymity.
• If you are a part of a media outlet or run a Youtube channel, or know anyone that does either, please reach out to me on here and I'll be happy to do interviews!