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EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2

Comic Books

EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2

In ‘A. Guardian’, Vol. 1 & 2, Aylwawrd will soon find that the fate of the realm is a heavy weight to bear, indeed.

Press Release

A. Guardian is a new character-driven fantasy available on Kickstarter that highlights five main players from across the kingdoms and their struggles for power, love, belonging, and survival. Courtesy of the Kickstarter campaign, AIPT has an exclusive look at the fantastical, mysterious, and hard-hearted world.

The epic dark fantasy graphic novel is by writer Eastin DeVerna (Samurai Grandpa, Through the Shadow of Titans) and artist Kay Baird. The two volumes include chapters 1-6.

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DeVerna has this to say about the exclusive pages: “A. Guardian is a sweeping epic tale, with a lot of lore and heavy moments — so we wanted to make sure we’d have some of those quiet and peaceful moments, too. While Aylward is a stoic, ancient guardian of few words — there’s a lot more to him than his duty would let on. Part of the original idea for the book and character came in looking at those stereotypical guardians in games and stories who exist entirely before a tomb or a cave, solely living to protect a treasure or secret, acting as an obstacle for the hero to overcome — and I got to thinking, is there anything more to them? Do they have a life outside of guarding the entrance — do they have feelings, wants, desires, hobbies? How many annoying adventurers do they have to deal with on a daily basis who come poking around looking to take the treasure for themselves?”

EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2 EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2 EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2

DeVerna continued, “This scene depicts Aylward on his “off” time — he’s not far away from the tomb, but he’s built himself a little garden and well . . . gardens need tending. Gardening is a big part of my life — has been since I was a kid with my father and grandfather — and Kay has a great love for and knowledge of plants and animals, so we combined that and she really drove home Aylward’s affinity with the natural world around him — having different plants, depending on the season and weather, growing on his stone arm and chest, and having him visited by different wild animals throughout the seasons as well. Aylward has to deal with a lot in this story, so we wanted to give him a little moment of peace before . . . it all hits the fan.”

So what’s A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2 about?

Aylward is the ancient and mysterious guardian of the Tomb of Livia. When the Northern, Middle, and Southern kingdoms of the Great Sphere plunge into a three-pronged war once again, events are set in motion that will trigger the beginning of the end times, and Aylwawrd will soon find that the fate of the realm is a heavy weight to bear, indeed.

Check out the covers below for A. Guardian below.

EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2 EXCLUSIVE Kickstarter First Look: A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2

For more on this Kickstarter, check out the official press release below.

JUNE 21, 2022, (SEATTLE, WA) — Announcing A. Guardian, Vol. 1 & 2, now live on Kickstarter! Set in a breathtakingly beautiful, brutal world, this epic dark fantasy graphic novel, co-created by writer Eastin DeVerna (Samurai Grandpa, Through the Shadow of Titans) and artist Kay Baird, the two volumes includes chapters 1-6, this character driven fantasy, highlighting five main players from across the kingdoms and their struggles for power, love, belonging, and survival in a fantastical, mysterious, and hard-hearted world.

Aylward is the ancient and mysterious guardian of the Tomb of Livia. When the Northern, Middle, and Southern kingdoms of the Great Sphere plunge into a three-pronged war once again, events are set in motion that will trigger the beginning of the end times, and Aylwawrd will soon find that the fate of the realm is a heavy weight to bear, indeed.

“I’ve wanted to write fantasy ever since I was in the fourth grade, and creating A. Guardian with Kay is literally seeing that dream come true—but the thing is, it’s more fun than I ever imagined it would be!” said Eastin DeVerna. “Bringing this world and all of the players in it to life with Kay is a true collaborative process. We’d bounce around story ideas, character choices and motivations, character designs, everything, and continually push ourselves to make this the best story we can for our readers and ourselves (at the expense of our poor characters). A. Guardian, on many levels, is a personal story for me, bringing my fears of the present and pains of the past onto the page, sharing them with our characters. But at the end of it all, it’s really about making choices – knowing that no matter what situation we might find ourselves in, it’s never too late to better yourself or ask for help, and if your choice was the wrong one – learn from it, grow, and keep moving – and I hope that might resonate with anyone who reads it.

“The creative process for A. Guardian has been a wonderful combination of both Eastin’s and my favorite things about dark fantasy,” said Kay Baird. “We poured a lot of ourselves into the world as we designed it, both visually and narratively, and I hope that’s something people can feel when they read it. The characters in the Great Sphere really have to struggle with figuring out who they want to be and what their place is in an unforgiving world, I think a lot of us can relate to that. However, I hope that their perseverance and unrelenting fight for a better future is what stays with everyone who reads our story.”

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