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The Cleansing, Or How I Was In The Right Place At The Right Time

Published Sun, 16 Oct 2016 09:00:50 -0500

Last updated Mon, 17 Oct 2016 14:51:13 -0500

Julius Freeman writes,

Like what you see?

So did I when I first laid eyes on it.

The idea which sprouted the project I'm trying to sell to you today came to me when I drove past Disneyland one very early morning, it was still night out and foggy. Seeing the happiest place on earth barren and immobile gave me the creeps. I'd become accustomed to seeing the park always moving, filled with cheers and laughter, fireworks, and bright lights, but that particular moment was something else, something ghastly, something wicked. The idea then came to me; what if the happiest place on earth wasn't such a happy place underneath the glimmer and sparkles of the magic? Don't worry readers this story is not about Disneyland. The Disneyland thought was merely the seed which germinated into The Cleansing.

As I developed the story, it became apparent to me that this book needed a certain type of artist, one who had a great eye for detail, specifically someone who drew like Jean "Moebius" Giraud. At the time, I was really into Moebius, well, European comic art in general, and convinced myself that this story would fit nicely with that detailed European style I adore.

"In short, I'm looking for someone who can draw like Moebius," I wrote in the end of the ad I posted online. It was bold of me to demand such a thing, but, at the time, I had the budget to pay for that kind of detailed work, so I had no problem asking for it. Quality over quantity as the cliché goes. I received responses from some very talented artists in their own right, but nowhere close to what I had envisioned. Fewer and fewer responses came with every passing week, and I almost gave up the project entirely in the end of the fourth week, ready to move on to the next project. Wouldn't you know it? I received an email that very same day from Andre Araujo. Count my lucky stars right? Come to find out he's just as big a Moebius fan as I am, and the moment I saw his work, I knew the planets had aligned.

Anyway, we soon crossed our t's and dotted our I's and went right to work. After I described to him how I imagined this world would look on paper, he gave me these works of beauty:

It was as if he was able to enter my mind and see what I saw. It was surreal to say the least. We completed the book within months and, afterwards, off he went to pursue his deserved success with Marvel and, most recently, Man Plus (which I highly recommend you check out). He was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to help me pick out a colorist for the book, Catherine Toennisson (which I highly recommend you hire if you need a colorist). I'll let her samples speak for themselves:

When the coloring process was complete, I lettered the book myself. And now I'm here with the final product ready to share it with whoever is willing to read it. So, what's the Cleansing about? I was going to write a brief description, but I feel that the first three pages of the book do a nice job setting up the rest of the 46 page, one shot:

Don't fret you only have to wait until Wednesday, October 19^th to download the book from Comixology to read the rest.

As a newbie indie creator, all we have is word of mouth to help us raise awareness for our work. Please help spread the word and a HUGE, grateful thank you to Mr. Rich Johnston's Bleeding Cool site for giving me the opportunity to use his platform to spread the word.

You can find me on Twitter @LDragen for more info. You can also find Andre Araujo @erdna11 and Catherine Tonnisson @PaintedDeerCT. Thank you for your support and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Peace,

Julius

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