Free On Bleeding Cool For President's Day: Fissure #1 By Tim Daniel And Patricio Delpeche From Vault

THIS IS NOT PROTEST – THIS IS PERSONAL

Curse, Burning Fields, Enormous, Atoll, the stories I choose to tell are always personal. Connecting to the material's themes and characters is the most important aspect of creation—at least, for me.

Fissure is no different.

And in conjunction with Presidents Day,  I want to share Issue #1 with you here, today, for FREE.

Here's why—

I was working on the story back in 2014-2015. I knew Fissure's plot, but I had no clue what it was about. Then I visited Mexico City for La Mole Comic Con. On the way to the hotel, one of the first questions posed to me was how I felt about our president's (then Republican candidate's) insistence to build a wall between the U.S. and Mexico.

I had not been in the country for more than two hours.

After four full days surrounded by La Mole's organizers and thousands of Con attendees, who were brimming with supportive passion, quick to offer their kindness, and freely sharing of their goodwill, my conviction was crystalized.

A massive, divisive wall should not be how the world perceives America. And yet, even then, nationalistic fervor and snarling campaign rhetoric were changing perceptions of our nation. As the self-proclaimed leaders of the Free World, we cannot afford to become a country of separatists. Especially when the human struggle is not about preserving borders, but this singular planet, together.

My response?

Fissure—an alternate reality wherein the wall is finished. A future so close it's terrifying. A story published at a time when "alternative facts" are espoused as truths, and the wall is still something of fiction.

Reading this far, you will likely agree with me when I say, I am better at telling a story than telling you about a story. So let me leave you in more capable hands. Dusty Good of Comic Crusaders said:

The Fissure represents our own bias. It's the lack of understanding between humans because of our evaluations of one another based on skin color, sex, religion, etc. It's the great divide that has caused more chaos than any good it will ever bring about. It's about the personal separations we feel without loved ones and each other. The Fissure is as much inside the reader as it is in the story. We all fall victim to the void where we lose ourselves to the past, to fear of the unknown. It's here in this first installment from Vault that a parable of modern America takes shape. 5/5 Stars.

If none of that works for you, I hope you will enjoy what we think is a damned cool sci-fi horror tale. Maybe you'll enjoy it enough to grab a print copy at your favorite local comic shop, or order issue #2. It's in stores everywhere now, and without all those incredible retailers none of this would be possible.

Tim Daniel