The Crystal Fractal Universe unnecessarily simplified.

In 1596, Natanael de Velazquez gathers members of his secret order to attempt a Crossing.  the goal of the Crossing was to seal off a portal to another world and stop the looming threat of invasion.  It failed...

Instead, Natanael's companions - including friends and family - were scattered through time, space and dimension...

...and the very threat they were trying to stop was made real as the Crystal Fractal - the physical embodiment of the connections to all realms - was shattered into a 1000 shards - each now capable of opening portals anywhere in space, time and dimension.

And such is the premise of the Crystal Fractal universe.

I recently supported two indiegogo campaigns involving Toronto-based Crystal Fractal Comics, neither of which reached its goal.

I'll be honest, but not give examples; I have seen campaigns that were clearly headed for failure for a variety of reasons. I did not expect CFC to be among them.  They had regular updates, a wide range of perks and a solid number of supporters on Twitter and Facebook.

So I don't get it.  But as a result of being a supporter, what I did get was what I ultimately wanted; the whole line of books published thus far. In fact, CFC was more generous than they needed to be, sending several additional goodies which I appreciated greatly.

When initially looking into the FCF, I wasn't sure about the reading order, but once you're aware of the above it's actually quite simple.  Here's what you need to know:

• The description at the top is laid out in the zero issue.  It's not absolutely necessary to obtain it, but it is very beneficial.
• The two "The Crossing" books are collections of short stories explaining why, of 45 or so invitees to the event, only 15 made it.
• Dr. Twilight #1 and Entropy #1 take place in present times and tell us what some of the characters are currently up to.

As long as you're aware of the "hub" event that is the Crossing, the rest of the books are quite easy to follow.  You can even read The Crossing #2 before #1 because it makes reference to different characters.  Basically, I was making it complicated for myself.

Now being that the Zero Issue is so helpful, CFC makes the most significant portion of it available for free on their website.  Click on the image below to read the seven-page story that sets the universe in motion.

The Crystal Fractal books can be ordered online from their blog, however I think I would suggest writing to a member of the team prior to ordering.  The shopping cart function automatically adds $3 per book for shipping so an order for the whole line (including Redorik) would tack on another $15.  You're looking at about $40 for five books, which is probably a little steep for people looking to take a chance on a largely unknown product.  Maybe write in and see if the shipping costs are accurate.

CRYSTAL FRACTAL COMICS LOOKS TO FANS TO COMPLETE COMIC TITLE

The following is a recent press release from Crystal Fractal Comics.  They are putting an awful lot of effort in this Redorik campaign, to which I've contributed, so don't be surprised to see more information up about them added here in the coming days.  Click on the logo below to reach their website.

Crystal Fractal Comics has begun a crowdfunding effort in hopes of completing its Redorik comic book series as a 96-page graphic novel.

“With several of the smaller distributors that used to support indie books shutting down over the last few years, crowdfunding has become one of the few mechanisms to get a project funded and completed,” said Derrek Lennox, Publisher and Founder of Crystal Fractal Comics.

Crowdfunding is a means through which fans of any creative property can contribute funds to creators towards the completion of creative projects. Crystal Fractal Comics has taken a step in this direction, turning to Indiegogo in hopes of completing Redorik, a story about a young man named Justin Henderson who begins to develop strange, mystical powers.

A star member of his high school’s swim team, Justin begins to have strange nightmares narrated by a dark voice, a voice he begins to hear when he’s awake. Living in a greyed world, Justin is destined to face greater challenges with each step he takes as his assumed role as a superhero forces him to chart the course of his own morality, torn between his ethics and the dark voices deep inside him.

“Think of Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Punisher, etc. They justify their reasoning and actions, perhaps under the guise of being a hero. We’ll be seeing first hand, this aspect through Justin becoming what he thinks is a superhero,” said Redorik writer Howard Wong, who’s best known for his work on Image Comics’ After the Cape series. “Deep down there is a lot happening behind the mask, but they use all of it to be the hero….But what Justin thinks is himself convincing him that he’s doing the right thing, is anything but. If you can’t trust yourself, who can you trust?”

Crystal Fractal Comics is a Toronto-based comic book publishing company specializing in original comic book stories set within a mystical universe. The company has published several titles, including its Legends… series of First Nations stories.

For more information, media requests:

Derrek Lennox, Founder/Publisher
Crystal Fractal Comics
416-802-2526
dslennox@crystalfractals.com                                            

Andrew Ardizzi, Senior Editor
Crystal Fractal Comics
647-990-2959
aardizzi@crystalfractals.com

Brother, can you spare $10?

Is it possible to be addicted to Indiegogo / Kickstarter campaigns?  I have spent a boatload of money in the past couple of weeks on items I won't get to enjoy for weeks and in some cases, months.

Among the perks offered by the various campaigns that have caught my attention are a couple of inexpensive ones I want to share for different reasons.

The first involves the Family Dynamic again.  If you're not familiar with them, they've been talked about here before (seek out the tag at right).  They are included in the True Patriot book, a project that was ultimately successful and which is among the treats that I look forward to enjoying early next year.

Two of the gentlemen involved with that project, J. Torres and Jack Briglio, now have a Huricane Sandy disaster relief campaign going (note the "verified non-profit" tag on the page).  Among the perks is a set of the three Family Dynamic issues released by DC Comics a couple of years back.  The books will be signed by the creators (Torres and artist Tim Levins).

Three signed comics about a Canadian super-family for $10 going to charity?  Yeah, deal.

The other perk should come as no surprise; it involves the Redorik Trade Edition box currently showing on the right side of the site.

I became interested in Redorik because, based on his profile, the character appeared to be Canadian.  Regardless of whether he is or not, his publisher most definitely is.  Crystal Fractal Comics is based out of Toronto.

CFC appears to have a very rich fantasy world mapped out.  In order to complete Redorik's story, they are offering a print version of any of their books, signed and numbered, for $10. The store page of their blog will give you the best idea of the type of stories that CFC has begun to tell.

$10 is a rather painless way to support "local" talent so I would encourage comic fans to participate in this campaign. I hope that it takes off and enables Crystal Fractal to further expand what appears to be a very interesting line of books.

August solicitations updates

I started building the Solicitations page a little over a month ago, knowing full well that some books would not come out in the month in which they were first expected to be.  No problem; they just get moved to the following month.

Having done my little clean-up, there are a few details to which I'd like to draw attention:


John Michael Helmer from Red Leaf Comics was kind enough to send me a digital version of All Canadian Comics #1, a book I've been looking forward to quite a bit.  It isn't completely necessary in order to follow the story, but the background of the American Guard's visit to Canada (and meeting with the Canadian Guard) is actually detailed in Surprising Theater #5 from sister publisher Surprising Comics.  ST5 also includes a brief appearance by the modern Leaf, which scratches my completist itch.

While Northern Adventure Quarterly may appear in the August solicitations, that is actually a reference to the print version hitting stores.  The book has been available in digital format for a couple of weeks already and can still be purchased using that method.  See the bottom right of their home page.

I've listed Axiom-Man #3 as an upcoming comic book but the character has been around for a few years already in novel form the first of which is, well, Axiom-Man.  I would classify it as an "all ages" read, which is not another way of saying "for kids"; it can be enjoyed by adults as well.  But those adults would have no concerns about handing it off to the young 'uns.  Click on the link earlier in the paragraph for a synopsis.  The comic books are a retelling of that novel's story in that format.

And finally, while at first glance it didn't appear to feature Canadian characters, I've added a link at right to Crystal Fractal Comics out of Toronto.  Then looking further, I noticed that they listed one modern-day character named Redorik as being "affiliated" with Laurier High School.  Sounds Canadian enough, but art in the preview shows him walking towards a school with a name that begins with "Spring" (Springfield?), so who really knows?

Their pdf comic retelling of The Sleeping Giant, however, is undeniably Canadian and I would direct you to their Facebook page to have a look (they are providing it free of charge).