Crowdfunding Corner: Epiphany Engine brings together over 70 Black creators and over 40 publishers
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Over 70 Black creators are teaming up with Advent Comics and over 40 comic book and graphic novel publishers for the cosmic crossover project Epiphany Engine, a 192-page graphic novel. The project which launches with a Kickstarter campaign is led by publishing legend Tony Kittrell and acclaimed editor and creator Joseph P. Illidge, who serves as Editorial Director, with editor Marcus H. Roberts and Assistant Editor Brian J. Hawkins. Epiphany Engine will feature an epic multiverse story, assembling iconic Black heroes and villains and original characters in an adventure that spans several chapters. Each chapter will showcase the work of a different creative team, giving Black creators from across the publishing world the opportunity to combine their powers. Readers and fans can back Epiphany Engine on the Kickstarter campaign, which features a variety of exciting reward options.
Superstar scribe Brandon Thomas will be launching the book by writing the first chapter; the book will also feature the work of popular creators such as Rodney Barnes, Chuck Patton, John Jennings, Jamal Igle, Colleen Douglas, and many more. Publishers involved in the project include 4th Wall Productions, Griot Enterprises, Konkret Comics, and Second Sight Publishing, among many others.
Covers for Epiphany Engine are from a superstar group of artists including Chriscross, Keron Grant, Alitha E. Martinez, Jamal Igle, Sean Damien Hill, Canaan White, Marcus Williams, Kris Mosby, Michael Watson, Stanley Weaver, Jr., and Eric Battle.
The afterword will be written by Marcus H. Roberts of Second Sight Publishing, most known for their series of SHOOK! horror anthology graphic novels co-published by Dark Horse and Mississippi Zombie anthology series co-published by Caliber.
Inspired by seminal dimensional crossover stories such as DC’s Crisis on Infinite Earths and the family drama of Fantastic Four, Epiphany Engine follows the McKalis, a family of brilliant scientists who have been scattered across the dangerous multiverse after a fight with the mysterious adversary, Abzylom. The fabric of the multiverse has ruptured, causing universes to bleed into each other and sending most of the Mackali family into scattered destinations, leaving the youngest member Todd McKali without his family in a cosmic and frightening variation on Home Alone. Abzylom wants to collapse the existing multiverse and mold a new universe while destroying the McKalis. In order to save the multiverse and defeat their cosmic foe, the family must find each other and build an army of fighters from across the multiverse of Black superheroes.
The McKali family is led by Prof. Dwayne McKali, an incredibly brilliant explorer and father, but often myopic and overcontrolling, and Dr. Jackie McKali, a world renowned physicist and mother who is the balanced yang to Dwayne’s ying. In order to save the multiverse, the parents team up with their gifted kids, 19-year old Jett McKali, an impulsive tech genius who is unafraid to jump into the fray, and 17-year-old Octavia McKali, a chemist and theorist who keeps the family together and on task. The family is inspired by historical real-life and fictional figures: iconic writer Dwayne McDuffie, legendary comics creator Jackie Ormes, Disney’s “The Famous Jett Jackson”, award-winning science fiction author Octavia Butler, and legendary actor Tony Todd of the seminal horror film “Candyman”.
Dwayne and Jackie’s youngest son, 10-year-old Todd McKali, is a child prodigy who incorporates all of the specialties of his famous family. The family is hunted by the villainous Abzylom. Unhinged, psychopathic and incredibly brilliant, Abzylom has been traversing the multiverse and his body has become infused with the chaotic energies that bind and separate universes.
Along with these original characters, Epiphany Engine will share the stage with legendary Black characters such as Andre Batts & Urban Style Comics’ mystical protector Dreadlocks, Roosevelt Pitt & Amara Entertainment’s Purge character, Jiba Molei Anderson & Griot Enterprises’ African deities superteam The Horsemen, Danny J. Quick ‘s 4th Wall Productions’ MMA ninja Aceblade, Lonzo Starr & Konkret Comics’ cosmic hero Akolyte, Dorphise Jean & Spirits Destiny Studios Haitian heroine Spirit Destiny, Bradley Golden & Second Sight Publishing’s character Victoria Black, Michael Watson’s Freestyle Komics’ powerful Hotshot, Anansi the trickster god of stories, Ray-Anthony Height & Studio Skye-Tiger’s heroic vigilante Midnight Tiger, Quinn McGowan & Legends Press’ highflyer Wildfire and Tony Kittrell/Advent Comics’ powerhouse Titan the Ultra Man. These fan-favorite heroes and heroines are just the tip of the iceberg of the characters that will be appearing within the pages of the Epiphany Engine Graphic Novel.
