Soulblade. The very name itself brings to mind either Soul Caliber for the playstation or the sword that Majik uses in X-Men. But it's related to neither one of these. So what is it and why is it being promoted on Indie Go-Go? Martin R. Oakley the creator, writer, and artist has the answers!
Roughcut Ramblings: Why don't you start by telling us a little about yourself?
Martin R. Oakley: I'm a writer and artist in the comic book field. I'm a born again Christian and sometimes street illusionist. (Using cards and coins mostly, nothing big. Nothing stage worthy on a grand sense of the entertainment area of magic.) I've been working in and around the industry for the past ten years first as an amateur now as a professional. I usually write this blog, but this time have someone else asking the questions and transcribing them for me. And I'm the guy that's doing SoulBlade, or at least trying to raise money to do SoulBlade through Indie Go-Go.
RR: What is SoulBlade and how did it come about as a project?
MRO: SoulBlade started with a dream I had, to be honest. About this sword of power that comes from a realm that is not quite our own. You see I believe that there's the physical world and then a supernatural one. The physical world is populated by us, and the supernatural world is populated by Angels and Demons. Sometimes these worlds overlap, and that's where the SoulBlade comes from. Or does it? There's a rumor going around in the story that it's the Spear of Destiny, or at least the point of the spear was folded into the metal for the SoulBlade itself.
RR: The Spear of Destiny?
MRO: There's a rather old legend that comes from around the time that Christ died on the cross that states the spear that pierced his side has supernatural powers. Comic book companies and creators have used this story in many ways, most notably with the rumor that at the onset of WW II to near the end that Hitler had the Spear in his possession. The Nazi's only fell once the Spear was stolen from them. In my book........well.....that'd be telling now wouldn't it?
RR: So it started as a dream, then what?
MRO: The dream was pretty solid, so I sat down and wrote notes based on it. Then when it came time to write the script, the story began to evolve as stories do. What was finally written as the final script bore little resemblance to my original dream, but had many of the same elements within it. I find writing a very organic process. My subconscious seems to steer things along a lot of the time.
RR: Angels and Demons. A blade of power. What else can we expect from this story?
MRO: Quite a bit actually. Even though 48 pages isn't a lot of space, I was able to put together a very close knit story involving a fallen preacher that does exorcisms, a mysterious stranger that comes onto the scene, and a group of bad guys that are empowered and possessed of demons. From the very first Exorcism to the last pages of battle, the story moves forward laying on layers of plot that I hope the readers will enjoy. The artwork is definitely some of my best to date and I'm not even finished with the entire book yet!
RR: Aren't you afraid that by admitting the book isn't finished that it may cause some people not to donate to it?
MRO: Yes and no. I have a pretty bad track record for half finished projects, but seeing the amount of hits going up day by day on the Indie Go-Go site is really good incentive to keep working. Even as we're doing this interview I'm working on pages, inking and coloring. This will be my first full color book.
RR: And what if you don't raise the entire $3500? Will people still get what perk they pay for?
MRO: Yes. No matter how much is raised, I will be fulfilling the perks rewards for this campaign. They're priced in such a way that I can do this without losing any money myself, but would like to raise as close to the $3500 as possible so that I can do a larger scale print run than I will otherwise.
RR: Anything else you'd like to say?
MRO: Please go check it out. Below is some of the artwork from the perks, the pinup and the full sized poster perk. These are now set in stone as what you will get when donating. As small a donation as $1.00 will get you a digital copy of the book. $5.00 will get you the pinup. $7.00 will get you a limited edition signed and numbered copy of the book, and it only gets cooler from there!
The above image is the Pinup Perk. It will also be signed by Martin R. Oakley
The above is the full sized (24 x 18 inches) Poster Perk.
