Welcome to SPIRAL OPUS. My name is ROY BURDINE, and this will be a meeting place for myself and you, the audience. For years I have developed stories that interest and move me in such a way that I felt compelled to bring them to life. The only problem is, as I’ve developed each idea, they all started out the same way — me saying to myself “I’m going to draw this comic!” Famous last words. I make a living in animation, which if you know anything about the business, is a 14 hour a day 6 days a week kinda gig. Not much time left for personal artistic pursuit. At a certain point I realized I was going to have to rethink how I was approaching things and factor in the reality of my work life. That led me the understanding that I need to see myself as a writer and not as an artist when it comes to telling my own stories. Then I began to write scripts at odd times of day, whenever a free moment availed (Pro tip: SCRIPTS PRO App on your phone allows you to write anywhere anytime. I highly recommend for like-minded individuals whether you’re writing screenplays, comic scripts, or just plain old prose) and after a while I had a plethora of original material that had been trapped in my head for years on pap - - well, digital paper so to speak. Getting to the point, I’ve teamed up with some amazing artists who’ve brought their unique visual talents to tell my stories and together we’ve created some exciting new comics!
That’s the back story.
I’m kicking off this new venture with a tale near and dear to my little black heart: RESURRECTION HOUSE. Birthed back in my Goth club days, this is the story of four young people whose lives have each ended in tragedy who find themselves resurrected in a mysterious old house by an otherworldly benefactor who offers them a second chance at life without want or need, there’s only one catch - - they are forbidden to interact with their previous lives. Just where does this mysterious house lie? Heaven or Hell? Is this a story of punishment or redemption? Well, you’ll have to be the judge of that.
Black and white artwork on Resurrection House is by Dario Formisani whose beautiful drawing gives this story the sense of dark realism it demands. Look him up at @DarioFormisani on Twitter and darioformisani_art on Insta. Color is by Mariam Yasser - check her out at mariamyasserart on Insta. Lettering by the inimitable Kurt Hathaway www.cartoon-balloons.com and hathawayart44 on Insta.
A word about our schedule before we get to the good stuff. I’m presenting Resurrection House in episodic form. This first episode is a nice long one to set up the story. Starting next week I’ll have TWO new installments a week. Most likely Tuesdays and Thursdays. In the next few months a second series will be joining the rotation — my goal being four installments of two series a week. Plenty of stories to keep you coming back again and again. I’ll also be doing some limited edition print books for conventions and here online, but ultimately I hope this venture will lead us to a legit publisher for the mass market.
Oh, and I’m not asking for any payment for the stories I’m telling here. This is a FREE space.
And now, without further ado - - RESURRECTION HOUSE EPISODE ONE:
