Looking to live out her dreams of becoming an actress, timid Piña Axletree takes a tonic and wakes up in a parallel world, leading a drug syndicate. Will she run back to the familiar doldrums of her reality or become a more ruthless version of herself to achieve her dreams?
In the vein of ORPHAN BLACK and FRINGE, Dead Dreams: The Lucid Chronicles #1 is a 32-page sci-fi thriller where parallel worlds exist, dreams are drugs, and doppelgängers dare to change the world. Joining writer Brittany Matter (Off Into The Sunset), artist Dailen Ogden (Wifwulf), variant cover artist Liana Kangas (Star Wars Adventures, Trve Kvlt), letterer Gabriela Downie (Harleen), editor Heather Ayres (Spitting Image), layout artist Hari Conner (Finding Home), designers Sasha E. Head (Decorum), AndWorld Design (Fearscape, Clear), flatter Drew Wills (Wifwulf) and marketing coordinator James B. Emmett (The Deadliest Bouquet).
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Digital PDF
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Cover A
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Cover B by Liana Kangas
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Covers A + B
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Cover A, Enamel Pin + Bookmark
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A Collector's Dream
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Signed Limited Edition Kangas Print
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Retailer Bundle (10 copies at 58% off)
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Tip Jar
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Glow-in-the-dark Rainbow Enamel Pin
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Double-Sided Bookmark
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Editorial Consultation with Brittany Matter
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Signed Commemorative Bookplate
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Parallel universes collide when timid Piña Axletree seeks to live out her dreams. Her guide is the Dead Dreams booth, replete with seemingly innocuous dream tonics that launch her into a more exciting parallel universe. Too busy to notice the power of these tonics, or an undercover detective investigating their origin, are booth vendors Avae, Jolie, and Sable, who all have their own ambitions…
Meanwhile, Piña explores this new world which is ripe with mystery, intrigue, and horrors. Will she run back to the familiar doldrums of her reality, or become a more ruthless version of herself to achieve her dreams?
Brought together by seemingly innocuous dream tonics, these wandering souls are about to embark on an adventure with doppelgängers, a parallel universe, and choices they never dreamed of having to make.
Meet their parallel universe doppelgängers, some of whom are part of The Oneiroi, an elusive syndicate of drug dealers. Their drug of choice: dreams. Membership to such a secretive group demands sacrifice, and each unscrupulous member has paid the price, stopping at nothing to gain more power.
On the surface, Dead Dreams is a story that answers the question: What if a dream launched you into a parallel world where you could live your doppelgänger’s life? Underneath, the story explores how doppelgängers raised in abusive environments make different life-altering choices. As a person who experienced abuse, I wanted to examine the seemingly inescapable cycle of the adage “hurt people hurt people” through these doppelgängers and also how to heal.
Since this story was partly inspired by my experiences with abuse, we’ll be donating 10% of the funds raised to Kathy’s Legacy Foundation, an organization that provides protection for victims of domestic violence and supports surviving children and pets. They’ve been doing great work for the last decade and I believe in their commitment to inspire dreams, restore normalcy, and revive hope.
With your help, we can make this dream become a reality.
WRITER: BRITTANY MATTER is a multi-genre writer and editor living in the Pacific Northwest. She currently contributes to Marvel.com, and her writing explores themes of death and rebirth, the cycle of violence, and overcoming fears. She loves feeding hummingbirds and taking care of her loved ones. (she/her ) Twitter: @brittanymatter
ARTIST: DAILEN OGDEN is a freelance comic artist, writer, and illustrator based in Colorado. Dailen is known for her esoteric art and comics, and spends her free time collecting houseplants and raising a Shepherd puppy. (she/her, they/them) Twitter: @DailenOgden
LETTERER: GABRIELA DOWNIE, daughter of central American refugees, born and raised in the heart of Los Angeles. She has two black cats that appear when summoned and can talk to plants. She has invisible devil horns that hold up her brilliant halo, and what seems like a cintiq pen in her hand is actually the deadliest sword ever crafted. (she/her) Twitter: @HARMZ_sh
EDITOR: HEATHER AYRES Originally from Flagstaff, AZ, Heather Ayres is a writer crafting stories across genres and media including creative non-fiction, novels, and graphic novels. Her work explores themes of intersectional feminism, mortality, equality, and fantasy. Her writing has been seen in publications such as Image+ Magazine and Creative Colloquy. She currently lives in Tacoma, Wa. (she/her) Instagram: @__helloheather
FLATTER: DREW WILLS is a comic book flatter and colorist from New Mexico. When he's not working on comic books, he's either doing visual effects for Marvel movies, editing podcasts, or trying to find the exact right shade of orange. (he/him) Twitter: @WillsandDrew
MARKETING COORDINATOR: JAMES B. EMMETT is a freelance comic book editor based out of Brooklyn, NY. He is the editor of the series Stained, I Am Hexed, and The Deadliest Bouquet. His clients have included Marvel Entertainment, 451 Media, Mezco Toyz, Good Hero, Wayward Raven, and more! (he/him) Twitter: @jamesbemmett
DESIGNER: ANDWORLD DESIGN is the comic-based design and production studio founded by veteran letterer Deron Bennett. Offering a range of services, they serve an extensive list of clients including BOOM!, Z2, Image, Dark Horse, Vault, IDW, Oni Press, AHOY, and DC Comics, and Amazon Publishing. AndWorld’s team of artists have garnered three Harvey nominations, three Eisner nods, and multiple Ringo nominations. Twitter: @andworlddesign
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: LIANA KANGAS is a freelance comic artist, illustrator and writer, with credits such as Star Wars Adventures for IDW, 2000AD, and Z2, as well as original titles such as She Said Destroy (Vault), Seeds of Eden (TKO) and Trve Kvlt. Their work has been featured in award-winning anthologies published by Image Comics and A Wave Blue World. (they/her) Twitter: @lianakangas Website: https://www.lianakangas.com
THE FINE PRINT SQUAD: Award-winning comic artist and illustrator Hari Conner (Finding Home) created the composition and layouts for the first six pages of issue #1 and initial character designs. Graphic designer and artist Sasha E. Head (Decorum) created the logo, the in-world symbols, and the issue’s overall aesthetic. Comics writer Milton Lawson (Thompson Heller: Detective Interstellar) produced the Dead Dreams trailer. The music in the trailer is from audionetwork, “Celestarium 5” by Jody Jenkins. Artist Rio Burton (Deadbeats) will be tackling the portrait commissions for supporters who want to become their evil doppelgänger.
Since this comic is 100% completed, all the creators have been paid, except the commission artist who will get paid once the funds are received. The funds raised will go towards printing and fulfillment (which Zoop will be handling), plus 10% of the total funds raised will be donated to Kathy’s Legacy Foundation.
Dead Dreams: The Lucid Chronicles #1 is completed! That’s right, all the art and lettering, the design, everything is all ready to go. Once funded, and after I receive funds from Zoop, which takes a month, the book will be sent to the printer in early May. The books will then, hopefully, ship in June.
Once physical rewards are shipped, digital rewards will be shared. The “Become Your Evil Doppelgänger” commissions will commence in May, and will be completed in time to ship in June with the physical rewards.
There are risks with every crowdfunded campaign, but the ones I can foresee include the global supply chain disruption and paper shortage issues, which can impact the delivery of physical rewards. These issues are currently causing delays across the entire publishing industry, therefore, getting this book printed and out the door is dependent on the current status of those things. I’m mentally prepared for those possible delays, and I hope you are too!
DISCLAIMER: Please do not create Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) of any art, digital or physical, received through this campaign. Any NFTs made from the art created for this campaign would be a direct violation of the creators’ rights. Any unauthorized use of the art without the creators expressed permission would be a violation of U.S. Copyright laws and prosecutable.
A few short answers to how this works.