Due to the overwhelming success of the Black Panther movie and because Marvel recently announced that they have moved up the release of Avengers Infinity War to April 27th (our launch date), we have decided to push back the launch date of our crowdfunding campaign. It is believed that much of Avengers Infinity War takes place in Wakanda and we acknowledge that nothing else will be happening on April 27th. Our new launch date is May 25th, 2018. This means you have more time to sign up early and grab the early bird bonuses. Thanks to all those who have already signed up. Mark the date and spread the word. Are you excited about the Celflux Animated Short?

Greetings Celflux fans.

What a ride this Celflux journey has been. Those who have been with us from the beginning know that it’s a labour of love. The late nights, the sacrifices, all worth it because we are passionate about this little project of ours. It’s hard to believe that it’s been four years since we started working on issue number one. We’ve learned a lot and our little project has grown quite a bit. Today, we are three issues down and also working on an animated short. So we believe the time has come for us to take a leap of faith to the next step of our journey.

As you guys know Celflux is a totally independent project by Dixie Ann and I. For three years it’s been a team of two. Everything you see in the pages of Celflux was put together by just us two. Both of us write the story and I’m responsible for all the visuals. When we decided to work on the animated short it was the same. We both came up with the story and I taught myself how to animate to deliver the visuals. At this point, we needed some help. We needed to bring our characters to life by giving them voices. We were extremely lucky to find an awesome group of voice actors who came on board and lent their voices to our characters. Our team went from two to fifteen. This included a talented musician who also came on board to give the short an original score. We are totally indebted to them all because each person that came on board did so because they saw our vision and fell in love with Celflux. They all lent of their time, talent, energy and equipment to help us make the short a reality. We’ve released our first trailer check it out below:

The Next Step

Ever since day one we’ve have avoided crowdfunding. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, as we said Celflux has been a labour of love. Making money from it has never been our motivation. Those who follow us on social media know that we don’t push sales because it’s not our priority. Anyone who is passionate about what they are creating can identify with this. You just want to create and you find a way to do it. You don’t concentrate on monetizing it. Many might say that’s not a good thing. They might be right, but it’s the reality. Don’t get me wrong money has its place. However, historically, the desire to make money has never been a good motivator for anything. We’ve got enough of that in the world.

Secondly, Crowdfunding is somewhat of a litmus test to determine who are your real supporters. Most projects have a lot of followers, but you are not sure how many of those are loyal fans. Crowdfunding helps give you a clear picture, really quickly, about how much real support you have. Not too long ago I was introduced to the 1% rule of internet culture. It’s the philosophy that states that 90% of the participants of any internet community only view content (they are called lurkers), 9% of the participants actually participate by commenting, liking, sharing etc., and 1% of the participants are actually invested, emotionally and otherwise, in seeing you succeed. I’ve seen quite a few crowdfunding campaigns fail that had large numbers following them. Large following numbers does not necessarily translate to a large amount of support. So we’ve stayed away from crowdfunding because we really did not know if we had enough real support. But I guess the only way to know is to make that leap.

Thirdly, fear of failure. This is basic. No one wants to fail. No one wants to be seen failing. But most can tell you that if you never try, you will never know. Better to try and fail, than to fail to try.

Fourthly, not having a good enough track record. When we started out in 2013 we came out of nowhere. Nobody knew us from Adam. We were just a couple working on a book. Who would support newcomers and strangers? Not many folks would. So we had to take the time and build the awareness of the Celflux brand so to speak. Make people aware of Okira and her team. Let people get to know about the project and the folks behind it. While Celflux is far from being a household name, we believe that Celflux is a lot more known now than when we first started. People can also see that we’re dedicated to this project for the long haul otherwise we would have let it go a long time ago. Folks can see our progress and are aware of the quality of the characters and project as a whole.

So these are the reasons we’ve avoided crowdfunding in the past. Today we are overcoming all those fears and taking Celflux to the next step. We’re talking the Celflux Animated Short to Indiegogo.

Sign up and see the first of three chapters for FREE!

Release Date & Breakdown

The Celflux Animated Short will be one hour long. It will be made up of three twenty minute chapters/episodes. The episode titles are; I. Assault II. Alone III. Awakened.

We will be releasing the first twenty-minute chapter “Assault” on 25.05.18. At the same time, we will be launching our first ever crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Everyone who signs up early will get to see the first chapter for free. You can sign up on our Indiegogo pre-launch page.

Sign up and see the first of three chapters for FREE!

For our crowdfunding campaign, we’ll be offering all three chapters on one DVD or digital download along with lots of other perks. We’ve got comics, posters and more. We’ll be giving more details in the coming weeks. Help us spread the word by sharing the news with your friends. With your help, we’ll be able to make the Celflux project a success. Thanks to all who have supported Celflux thus far and we’re looking forward to great things in the future.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post Celflux Animated Short Coming To Indiegogo appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

One of the first things we wanted to do when we began production on the Celflux Animated Short, was to create a trailer to help spread the word and give our fans a glimpse of what they can expect. We’re happy to let you guys know that today we are releasing our very first trailer for Celflux Reluctant Heroes The Secret Weapon.

It features the amazing voice work of Demetria Bridges, Matthew Curtis, Manuel Benavidez, Chasity Conner, Sarah Brown, Tony Black, Kate Sample, Tracy Pfau, Hector Chavez, William Harmar, Stephen Jared, and George Sharperson. It also features a fantastic original bit of music composed by Gwenaël Mario Grisi. All the artwork, animation, video and sound editing was done in-house by me. It was a lot of hard work and involved many all nighters but I had the encouragement of Dixie Ann and the members of the Celflux film team. So let us know what you think of the trailer. Does it get you excited to see the Celflux Animated Short? Is this something you would watch?

Special thanks to the Trinidad & Tobago Creative Industries Company Limited: http://www.creative.co.tt/

As usual, if you think it’s cool please help spread the word and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to keep up to date with the film’s production and development. Be sure to like and share.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post Celflux Reluctant Heroes The Secret Weapon First Trailer appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

(from Wikipedia)
“Strikeforce: Morituri is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics from 1986 to 1989. The series was created by writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson.

The premise is that aliens have invaded Earth and nearly succeeded in conquering it and stripping it of its resources. A scientist discovers a process which can provide humans with superhuman powers, effectively creating a group of defending superheroes. However, the process would also ensure that the empowered humans would die within a year of being empowered. The series thus focused on the heroism of the main characters in fighting the invaders, while living with the knowledge that their fates were sealed regardless of whether or not they prevailed.

The title comes from the Latin phrase “Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant” (“Hail Caesar, we who are about to die salute you”), a salute that according to popular legend (although not academically agreed) was uttered by Roman gladiators before battle in the arena. The subtitle of the comic was “We who are about to die”.

Gillis and Anderson left the series within two years. The series ended after thirty-one issues, while under the tenure of writer James Hudnall and artist Mark Bagley.

In 2069, an alien race called “the Horde” arrived in Earth’s solar system (it was later revealed that the actual name of the race was the ‘Va-Shaak’). Although they were technologically advanced far beyond humanity at that time, they were extremely savage.

Humankind’s best hope was discovered in 2072, when Dr. Kimmo Tuolema perfected the Morituri Process. This was a two-step process that allowed people with a specific type of genetic structure to have a new metabolism overlaid on top of their original one, granting them enhanced physical attributes. The second phase of the process would allow for unique superhuman powers. However, there were three mitigating factors inherent in the use of the Morituri Process:

The process was compatible with very few persons; the estimate was that fewer than 5% of all humans had a compatible physiology for metahuman conversion through the Morituri Process.
The optimal age for subjects for the Morituri Process was between 18 and 21; older subjects who underwent the process would suffer a significantly reduced lifespan than expected from optimal subjects (measurable in weeks).
The nature of the energy-based metabolism was such that, within one standard year, the human body would reject it. The rejection of the Morituri metabolism by the human body is 100% fatal. In most cases, the subject’s imminent death was indicated by massive upsurges in the subject’s power and ability levels.”

This is the poster I saw that introduced me to Strikeforce Morituri. I was hooked from that day forward.

As in the case of Thundercats I remember seeing a poster in the back of a comic book I was reading. I don’t even remember what book it was, but I remember the poster. To the top read. “The Ultimate Power, The Ultimate Honour, The Ultimate Sacrifice.” It featured six figures obviously in a battle and to the bottom just above the logo read the words. “We who are about to die.” “Wow…. What on earth is this all about?” I thought to myself. Surprisingly I forgot about it until one day I was visiting my comic book store and I saw the cover to issue No.5 and I recognized the logo and the tagline. I told the store owner. I want this, and tell me where I can find the earlier issues.

This was the cover I saw in the comic book store. I remembered the poster I had seen some time before, and I told the comic book store owner “I want this!”

There have been books about teams before that I had read. Books about teams with special abilities that had difficulties. X-men and so on. But Strikeforce Morituri was different. Here were a group of heroes who, because the humanity was under threat, volunteered to undergo a process that they knew was going to kill them. But it was the earth’s only hope, humanity’s only light. This concept blew my mind. The book taught me that victory does not come without great sacrifice, and that in many cases the sacrifice itself is the victory because the sacrifice, though made, does not guarantee the victory. This book taught me that the real hero is not the one with the super powers, but the one who is willing to make that sacrifice. That ultimate, selfless sacrifice. The one who is willing to give up everything for nothing in return. The book showed individuals with super human abilities, but with very human personalities and emotions. Even though everyone knew their death was sure because they underwent the process, I saw heroes cry when they lost a friend and afraid when they thought about their own mortality. I saw heroes in conflict with authority that saw them as expendable. I saw heroes who showed great bravery in the face of insurmountable odds. I saw heroes demonstrate unbelievable grit even though they faced an overwhelming enemy.

Strikeforce Morituri was to me one of the greatest comics ever created. It still remains my favourite book ever, hands down.

I understand that Marvel has plans to make a live action movie in the next couple years. I hope they stick close to the original material, and even if they don’t I am glad that this book was created and I had the opportunity to read it.

So that’s it for our little trip down memory lane and the look at some of the things that inspired me as a young boy. What were your early inspirations? Look back and find what they were, and I guarantee you they will inspire you even today. I enjoyed taking this look back with you.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post My Inspirations: Strikeforce Morituri appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.

“It was a time when magic was more powerful than science, and only those who control the magic, control destiny. They are the Visionaries.”

(from Wikipedia)
“Visionaries: Knights of the Magical Light was originally a range of action figures from Hasbro, released in 1987. This action figure range was promoted by two different media, telling the stories of the characters. The better known of the two was a half hour animated television series made by Sunbow Productions in the same year, but there was also a comic book series issued by Star Comics.

The toyline was not a big success, which led to both the series and the comic being cancelled after a very short run. The comic lasted only 6 issues, and was cancelled halfway through a four-part storyline. The animated series lasted one season of 13 episodes, and was not picked up for a second, possibly because all Sunbow cartoons came to an end after The Transformers season 4 three-parter (“The Rebirth”) and G.I. Joe: The Movie, when Sunbow lost its contract and did not get it renewed.

The story was set on the planet Prysmos, an advanced society where all electronics had failed and the people were forced to rely on the old magics. The Visionaries consist of two groups of knights — the Spectral Knights and the Darkling Lords. They are both called to for a competition by the wizard Merklynn. After surviving traps, dangerous creatures, and each other, the survivors on both sides are rewarded. Everyone of them is given a different animal totem which appears on the front of their armor, which they can turn into. The animals are selected by Merklynn based on their personalities.”

I can still remember how excited I got when I heard the Visionaries intro. Those words spoken by the very dynamic voice of the shows narrator Malachi Throne, over some dramatic operatic type music. The heavy male voice, almost Gregorian Monkish, choir singing the intro. The song was only four lines long. But it was extremely awesome. The animation for the show’s intro was also like nothing I’d ever seen. It was quick, dark, rich colours and mind blowing.

“Visionairies,
Knights of the Magical Light.
Visionairies,
With Magical Powers they fight.

Powers of mind, strength, skill, ‘n’ speed.
Powers to accomplish the greatest of deeds.

Visionairies,
Knights of the Magical Light.”

Here’s the intro.

It was very interesting to know that the cartoon was not the primary object of production. It was actually the action figures. The cartoon and the comic were actually marketing tools created to promote the toys. They both suffered early demises because of the poor sales of the toys. I’m sorry the creators didn’t decide to continue the cartoon, because it was really popular and up to this day is still a classic.

There are some really dedicated fans of the Visionaries who have put together a virtual encyclopaedia of the Visionaries. You can find a lot more information on the show, the comic and the cartoon there. http://www.thevisionaries.net/

Do you remember the Visionaries, and was it one of your early inspirations? Till next time.

Cheers.

Everard J. McBain Jr.

Everard is the Creative Director and CEO of GemGfx. GemGfx is a multidisciplinary design consultancy based in Trinidad and Tobago. He has been involved in the field of Graphic Design for over 14 years. He is also the art director and co-author of the graphic novel Celflux which he created along with his wife Dixie Ann Archer-McBain.

ww.gemgfx.com

The post My Inspirations: Visionaries appeared first on Celflux - Graphic Novel & Animated Series.