"There's
no turning back!"
“The books look great. They're worth buying
for the great shots of females alone!”
Stan Lee
Wham! Move over Spiderman!
Lincoln-16 is Here!
by Derek Cassoff,
The
West Island Chronicle
Wednesday, April 2nd, 1997
Next month, Isherwood's first independent release, Lincoln-16, is set to hit the presses in advance of its June release. Working alongside a
large comic book distributor, Isherwood hopes to sell about 20,000 copies across North America.
"The biggest problem for any independent artist is getting noticed," Isherwood said in an interview last weekend.
"On the one hand, this book will stand out on its own and not just as one of 75 titles produced by a large publisher. But at the same time, I'll be
relying on the retailers and the fans for response. Historically, though, word-of-mouth has always been one of the best ways to advertise comics." The 32-page book, hand-painted in Isherwood's Montreal studio, will take readers on a futuristic journey to
Krailia, a utopian society that has
become the envy of the world in the year 2095.
Lincoln-16, the book's main character, is an average guy who accidentally stumbles upon a gruesome discovery that rips his life to pieces and
risks toppling the presidents regime. By the end of the first plot, Lincoln-16 finds himself on the run from a bevy of evil characters.
An American who grew up in (Montreal's) West Island, Isherwood is the quintessential success story—a self-taught artist and illustrator who found himself working for comic book giant Marvel, creator of many of the world's most recognizable superheroes.
For more than 12 years, Isherwood was sketching for many of the company's most successful titles, including Spiderman, G.I. Joe and the X-Men. The idea for Lincoln-16 had been germinating in Isherwood's mind for more than six years when he finally sat down at his
drawing board this past January.
He has drawn many of his characters, including the evil General
Whitebomb,
from poetry his wife, poet Sonja Skarstedt, has written. Isherwood says his upcoming work will likely be among the best he has ever produced since he is no longer confined to the dictums of a large
publisher. For starters, Lincoln-16 marks the first time he is able to sketch pages before figuring out the evolution of the plot; at Marvel he was
always given a completed text. "In general, comics have gone to a simpler, more basic look, to the point where you can no longer tell one illustrator's work from another," he
said. "The main thing for me with this book is to provide readers with a more illustrated type of story.
"At first, people told me I should print my first book in black-and-white in order to save costs, but I don't want to sell myself short," he said. "The
product that I put on the store shelves has to be comparable to what the mainstream companies are doing in terms of look and content."
Isherwood has already planned two sequels to the premiere
edition. "This is the first time that I can put something on store shelves that is truly my own work," he said.
|
Question most asked
at comics conventions:
"Who is Lincoln-16?"
"Rarely do I see a comic book featuring quality like this
for less than three bucks. Mind blowing full-color art
and story on top quality glossy magazine paper.
And no ads!
What more could a fanboy want?
Sign me up for a subscription!"
Robb Zazkoff,
California
The year is 2095.
KRAILIA, located
on a former major portion of the U.S.A.,
is the most enviable country on earth. Its citizens have been given everything
they could ever desire. Lincoln-16, an average Krailian, has been
getting bored and decides to do a little detective work. One day, checking out a
sewer pipe with his buddy Colin-7, he discovers something so gruesome, it rips his idyllic life to pieces.
Techno-genius
Amp-2, Krailia’s second-in-command,
is the ZyBer chip inventor. Trouble is,
his genius is being wasted as he is
required to spend his days dreaming up deadly games
for Krailia's maniacal
leader, David “Genghis” Krail. All hell breaks loose when his latest
challenge takes Krail much farther than either of them ever dreamed. Enter
General Whitebomb and
gorgeous visionary Oscilla Seer!
But how did
Krail, a former
small- town lawyer rumored to be over 127
years old,
garner so much power in the
first place?
What about those
pre-Krailians
who refused to join his perfect empire, those
who are forced to spend their
lives in the jungle squalor of Sub Krailia?
What will Krail’s blissful citizens do
when they realize their beloved
leader
has total access to their every fantasy?
Dystopia looms.
There’s no looking
back.
Artist:
Geof Isherwood
Script
Geof Isherwood
Sonja Skarstedt
Managing Editor:
C.B. McCool
Letterer/Assistant Colorist:
Ann Tolson
Issue One: The
Doomsday Arcade
Lincoln-16, a product of KrailLabs Harvest Core, is a handsome, easy-going 28-year-old Tunnel Maintenance employee. His co-worker, Colin-7, one of the Original
Krailians, treats Lincoln as if he were his own son. Although he doesn't yet realize it, Lincoln-16 is not a typical
Krailian. Will he choose to ignore a gruesome discovery whose existence will threaten Krailia's future? Or will he give in to emotional surges he refuses to let interfere with his typical,
Krailian, all-consuming pursuit of pleasure?
Issue
Two: The State of Extreme
Weary
Colin-7 is back home, desperately hoping that Dreena, his ZyBer-generated
love goddess, can eradicate the memory of what he has just
witnessed, quell his horrific guilt and fear. Meanwhile, fearless
assassin Arbutus is put on assignment. Lincoln-16 endures the
first real battle of his existence, makes a break from Krailia,
his mind simultaneously making contact with Oscilla Seer's
world.
Third issue in production:
a 64 page graphic novel.
LINCOLN-16TM
[First two issues
available @ $2.95US]
Linc-Mail
"I just finished reading the first issue and still can't get over the mind-blowing art. And the colors! Way to go! But I do have one question I'm sure I share with many other readers. Why did you decide to call the hero Lincoln-16?"
Jason
Korcoran,
Los Angeles, CA
~~~
Geof's Reply:
"Thanks Jason, for that high-voltage encouragement! When I first visualized the future society, I saw Krail as the ultimate power-monger, who would provide every member of his "kingdom" with a name and a number based on the specific genetic batches from which they were conceived. Theoretically, no one citizen would feel more important than the next. Social rivalries—representing potential threats to Krail's carefully orchestrated world—would be eradicated. Creating a level social playing field is Krail's grandest experiment. But Krailia isn't the only country on earth. Many future conflicts lie in store as other territories vie to infiltrate Kralia and glean the secrets behind its idealistic veneer."
~~~
"Gustave Doré and Dante have no edge on the vision of hell."
D.G. Jones
North
Hatley, Quebec
~~~
"Isherwood gone solo! I've been a fan of yours for years, especially Conan, Namor and Doc Strange. Although I'm disappointed not to see your name currently linked with Marvel, I knew Lincoln-16 would live up to my hottest expectations. But why the future setting? Why not do what so many other
post-Marvelites have done, and spin off your own character from one of the existing 'big names'?"
Julie Macklen
Boston, MA
Geof's reply:
Why-cheat-your-imagination? —is the simplest reply I can think of. There are only a limited number of plots to work with—encapsulated in everything from the Bible and Ulysses right up to the latest soaps and sit-coms. This handful of basic plot-lines, however, is no different than the artist's standard color palette. Only seven basic colors—but oh, the infinite possibilities when a single human mind takes hold of that handful of tones and starts to play! Otherwise, I've always been a proponent of that old adage, be-true-to-yourself. Don't be afraid of any challenge, of taking whatever talent you have and pushing it to the max."
~~~
"Kirby lives!"
Edwin Vickery,
Vancouver, BC
|
Lincoln-16 © 1997 & 2008, Geof Isherwood |
