Perennial
An apocalyptic psychological comic, exploring themes of power vs. helplessness, acceptance vs. control, and ambiguity vs. clarity.
KAI sees the world ending in an explosion of corpse-eating trees as an irresistible opportunity to lighten the burden of guilt she suffers when her pseudo sibling dies. She sets out with her classmates on a journey to stop the world double-ending as her home city attempts to destroy the deity-like trees, resulting in the contamination of nearby water sources and an unlivable wasteland. On her journey, KAI ping-pongs between extremes: debilitating inhibition and adrenaline fueled power trips.
COVER SPREAD
Experimenting with animation
Perennial was originally imagined with serial animation in mind. Here is some visual development and experimentations with workflow.
Tar creatures are the seedlings of vengeance. They build themselves out of tar and leaf litter on the ground near KAI when she indulges in rage.
Early Visual development
The first round of visual experiments based on 6 key story beats. Listed in order - ARRIVAL: our introduction to KAI and her classmates ESPERANZA, JOHN, and X, just before the Trees arrive. BOXING MATCH: a fever dream KAI experiences while camping out in an abandoned building in the only dry land around “The Patches” a small desert rife with gambling and fighting rings. DOWN: KAI and her classmates plunge into the unknown, leaving to a neighboring city to gain allies against their own local government. ROACHES: a moment of quiet with the scavenger animal. JOHN: a quiet moment with John. UP: in the aftermath of disaster, KAI learns acceptance through the allegory of the trees.
The blue collar outskirts of the city and its darker corners are some of the first to rebuild after The Arrival.
The Alley brewery is one of the finer establishments to crawl out of the apocalypse.
fish
The superhero sequel to Perennial. KAI’s alter ego is swept into the bizarre culture of a small fishing village, taking on their strange customs and the moniker “Fish”. Meanwhile, Elder Fish, father of the swamp below, enlists Fish to search for his missing children. Caught between pulling her weight for the village, or exploring the murky disappearances underneath- Fish struggles to choose between loyalty and morality. Will she help Elder Fish find his missing children, or will she help the village eat?
KAI’s Initiation into the village.
The first image of Fish, before Perennial was written. I still think this is one of the most compelling images of the story.
Misc. projects
Additional work and experimentation.
