By: Nicole D'Andria
Kickstart
your week with Amelia Sky #1, the
story of a young girl fighting her way through a world inhabited by Shriekers:
terrifying creatures that have been consuming all the energy of the universe. I
spoke with the writer of the series, Jermaine Boyd.
Amelia Sky #1 is the first issue of a planned three
volume horror science-fiction series. A young girl, Amelia, suffers from
amnesia. She must make her way through an apocalyptic world filled with Shriekers
and, possibly even more sinister, other survivors who think killing each other
is the only way to survive. On her journey, Amelia will learn about herself and
the power she holds within her—a power that may very well save the entire
world!
The
writer of the story is Jermaine M. Boyd, a scriptwriter and comic book lover.
The concept artist is Mike Redman, a freelance illustrator and visual development
artist. The illustrator for the series is Gwynn Tavares, the illustrator and
inker of the graphic novel for the comedy troupe The Aether Brigade. The editor
is M.J. Samm (“Andrew Jackson in Space”).
The
project will be successfully funded if at least $3,500 is pledged by May 9,
2016 at 1:52 PM EDT. Rewards include shoutouts ($2), a digital copy of the
first issue ($5) as well as a physical copy ($10). View the Kickstarter for
Amelia Sky #1 here.
I
interviewed the writer of the series, Jermaine Boyd, about the project.
 |
| Jermaine Boyd |
Me: How does your story differ from other apocalyptic
tales?
Jermaine Boyd: Amelia Sky’s apocalypse
is very grisly, and dives deep into the effects of what the world would look
like after an alien invasion. It’s a very dark and dystopian world now where
not only do survivors have to deal with the Shriekers, but also they have to
deal with other survivors who see the sparsely populated world ripe for the
taking. The part that really differs
from tales you have seen before is that Amelia Sky at heart is a super heroine
tale. The readers will get to see Amelia
grow throughout the series into the world’s first superhuman. The apocalypse is a great place to see an
unlikely heroine come to life.
Me: Amelia is one of several strong female characters
in your story. In fact, most of your characters in the story are women. Why is
this?
Boyd: Yes, I’m very proud of that. When I was a kid I
absolutely loved reading. No matter
where I was I always had a book in my hand.
My favorite stories were stories with female protagonists.
Unfortunately, these stories were hidden gems when I was a child, just like
stories featuring African American heroisms. It really disturbed me because
often than not their plights were far more intriguing than any of their
counterparts.
So, I
decided at a very young age that I would be a writer who would help change the
inequality landscape. It’s so amazing to
see this happening now all over the comic book industry. I hope that I get to join some of the new
emerging artists fighting for change.
 |
| "A...Processor Demon" by page illustrator Gwynn Tavares |
Me: What can you tell us about Amelia and the other
women of the apocalypse?
Boyd: Twelve year old Amelia is bold, strong willed
and highly inquisitive. In the beginning of the story Amelia wakes up alone
with no memory, no personality, only a small shard of her former self. This shard comes in the form of a deep inner
fearlessness she is trying to wrap her head around constantly in the beginning
and throughout the series. As she
traverses this horrifying world looking for her parents and herself, the places
and people she meets both give her a new personality and help her remember who
she was before her world came to an end.
But who
she was isn’t as important as who she turning into. This mysterious fearlessness is not just a
buried emotion. It’s a presence that slowly unfolds to be a character all its
own.
Eleanor
Rigbi is the first character Amelia meets after she wakes up. Eleanor is a sixty year old, highly decorated
veteran Special Ops Marine. Eleanor’s
hard life led her to alcoholism, causing her to become a recluse. Amelia finds Eleanor in her darkest hour
alone with her dog Ace taking shelter within their home. Amelia’s fearlessness awakens Eleanor’s,
giving her hope, and at the end of the world hope is priceless. So, Eleanor is the essence of hope and will
do everything in her power to keep that hope alive.
There are
two other characters pictured in some of the ads for Amelia Sky, Abigail Rigbi,
one of Eleanor’s daughters and Emily Winters, a young girl Amelia meets within
the series. Both characters play central roles to the plot of the first volume.
So I’ll just say that these women and the various other protagonist and
antagonist characters of the series are going to be real. Saying that I mean they won’t be like female
characters from apocalyptic stories of the past. Every female friend or family member from my
past to the present has been extremely strong and able to take on anything that
can imagine. There’s no reason to think
they couldn’t survive on their own at the end of the world.
 |
| Character Concepts by Mike Redman |
Me: Who are some of your favorite female characters
in post-apocalyptic works—comics or otherwise—that inspire you?
Boyd: I love this question and I could write a novel
and never finish the answer. But it is
the main reason why I created this story.
Looking at the past there isn’t a lot of strong female characters in
post-apocalyptic works. Those characters
were always given the short end of the stick.
Those characters were always depicted as weaker, having to survive an
apocalypse because of male characters being stronger than them. It wasn’t until recently that we started to
see strong female characters in post-apocalyptic stories really shine. For me presently, there are two that come to
mine: Furiousa from Mad Max: Fury Road and
Sasha from the amazing The Walking Dead
series.
Me: What can you tell us about Shriekers and the
problems they pose for our protagonist?
Boyd: I had so much fun building the idea of the
Shriekers, which I’m sure every science fiction writer can relate to. I’ve read and watched so many stories on
evolution and alien life that it’s like the only thing that I think about these
days. But the Shriekers can be
symbolized as the essence of what we all fear. Not because they are enormous spider like
creatures from the beginning of the universe but because their grisly, savage
parts of us that evolution toned down.
To exist
at the beginning of the universe requires a lot of energy. Any beings that could have existed would have
needed to do whatever it took to survive.
The Shriekers evolved only through highly aggressive survivalism. Their cravings for power made them galvanize
their world in blood. After years of
eating through their world’s food supply they began eating themselves, bringing
their race to the edge of extinction.
Right before the Shriekers were wiped from evolution they were visited
by another ancient, terrifying race. This mysterious race will be known later
on throughout the series but without giving any major spoilers. The unknown alien race sees an unstoppable
force out of recruiting the Shriekers as an army. So, with that said, the
Shriekers are brutal, mindless tools being used by something more ominous that
are preparing to not just take over this world but the universe.
 |
| Shrieker Concept #2 by Mike Redman |
The
Shrieker army is so massive and their brutal nature is unlike anything we’ve
ever seen. So, in comes our heroine, the
only person on Earth that will eventually match their brutality. The Shriekers are a major threat to Amelia in
the beginning of the series just because she has no idea what she is or how
strong she will become.
Me: The artwork for the series is very different
and breathtaking. How did you meet and decide to work with the concept artist
and illustrator for the series?
Boyd: In the beginning when I decided to take my
stories to the comic medium, I wanted to find someone on the illustrator side
that was like me, who thought like me. I
went to DeviantArt and found so many independent and fresh artists that
inspired me, and boiled it down to two hundred. Out of those I found my first
concept artist Tyler Street. His amazing
dark fantasy vision really gave a sense of what Amelia could be. Unfortunately, scheduling issues made us stop
the process. So, I took Amelia’s vision down a darker, more realistic
path. It led me to another brilliant
concept artist, Mike Redman. Mike’s work
caught my eye in an uncanny way. I would
give him an idea and he knew what I meant like we had known each other forever. He truly helped create what Amelia’s world
will infinitely be.
Mike,
however, is a concept artist. His brilliant aspirations lie in film. The film
world is a beast all its own. I know
what it’s like to be on a film and have a big chuck of your life dedicated to
it. So, Mike’s work within the project
can only be very sparse. Anything that
he does on this project in the future will be utterly amazing, and rare. So
everyone should keep their eyes out for that.
Knowing
this after the first Kickstarter, I wanted to make sure Amelia’s story had
consistency for future issues. It led me
to an inspiring illustrator I had been looking at, Gwynn Tavare. After talking to her and looking at her work,
I felt she had the talent to pay homage to Mike’s work and give Amelia’s story
what was needed. A comic artist’s vision
and spirit for not just issue #1 but every issue in the future. Gwynn’s love for the story and breathtaking
vision for Amelia is what is truly going to give this series its heart.
Me: What is the number one reason why people should
back Amelia Sky #1?
Boyd: People should contribute if they love sci-fi
horrors and absolutely love apocalyptic tales.
These same people I can only hope want to see a different, unique take
on superhero tales and want to see this story bring both worlds together in the
hope of making something new. Ultimate,
you should contribute if you want to see a new generation of women
heroines.
Me: What inspirational words do you have for
aspiring comic book writers?
Boyd: There are so many but the word hope is what I
would tell any aspiring writer to keep by her or his side. I’ve been writing since I was a child. I’ve always known that I would be a
writer. There have been so many routes
that have deterred my path up until now.
But hope has always kept me driven to the same destination, to the same
goal. As long as an aspiring writer can
keep hope by their side, nothing will stop them from becoming the writer they
want to be.
Me: Thank you for your time and the inspiring words
Jermaine!
If you’re
interested in checking out Amelia’s apocalyptic adventures, get on the ground
floor with the Amelia Sky #1 Kickstarter.
Do you
have a Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have the project
featured on "Kickstart the Week?" Let me know in the comments below or
message me on comicmaven.com.
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