The first attempt at writing a graphic novel can be a challenge for anyone. Even if you are the creator and executive producer of NBC’s Emerald City and Siberia. But that is what writer Matthew Arnold took on along with talented artist Riccardo Burchielli in their new book Eden. Which was released through ComiXology Originals on March 29th. Here is the synopsis as provided by ComiXology:
Two convicts, senator Anna Croft, and her sheriff husband, Ben, are sentenced to twenty-five years to life in a newly constructed cryogenic penal facility for a crime they claim they didn’t commit. Due to a malfunction, however, Anna, Ben and a few others are accidentally released. Once free, the escapees discover that they’ve been frozen for thousands of years, and are the only survivors in a catastrophic future, where prehistoric creatures walk the Earth once more. Given a second chance, the fugitives are forced to create a new society and must decide whether or not to release the rest of the imprisoned criminals in order to survive. Under Anna’s leadership, can these ‘bad seeds’ actually seed a new and better world, or are they doomed to repeat the mistakes of humanity’s checkered history?
The book explores the justice system and how the court of public opinion can have a deleterious effect on how justice is served. While at the same time, combining a classic battle for survival in a new and hostile future with some unforeseen twists and turns. We are privileged to share this exclusive look at the cast of Matthew Arnold’s and Riccardo Burchielli’s Eden as described by the author. Courtesy of the ComiXology Originals and the creators.
MEET THE CAST OF EDEN
Written by Matthew Arnold
Art by Riccardo Burchielli
Senator Anna Croft
For a convicted felon, Senator Anna Croft is surprisingly poised and composed. She’s a tough, witty, fiercely intelligent woman, and we can sense that she was a potent Senator in her old life. Breaking out of prison brings with it a certain thrill of freedom, but it also means a challenge for survival in the new world she finds herself in.
Remember Robert Redford in The Last Castle? If you haven’t seen it, do. That’s Anna, treading through the sea of lost souls, offering them self-respect, pride, and a way to make themselves into better men and women. All the while, gathering her allies and gaining power, not through force, but through the quiet confidence of a strong unwavering moral code and decisive level-headed plans. The new world of Eden provides her with a platform to affect the world change she could never manage in the political realm.
What we will discover, is that Anna’s drive for freedom, is infectious — William Wallace/Braveheart infectious. Unlike the other cons, there is something about her that believes she “deserves” freedom, that their escape was “fated” and is their chance to put the past behind them and start again new — with a clean slate.
Sheriff Ben Cross
Anna’s husband, Sheriff Ben Croft is a decorated law enforcement officer, forced into retirement when the accusations about the death of their son surfaced. His reputation destroyed, Ben fights hard to prove his innocence, until he lands in prison, right along the very criminals he’s put away. As the story unfolds, he’s going to find what he’s been missing: a chance to prove himself again, to deliver justice once more. And he won’t be as forgiving as Anna about these convicts he now finds himself among. In short, he’s an unusually driven guy with a compulsive need to right wrongs…a guy used to having the power to condemn. The problem with having all that power though, is that it’s hard to stay pure. And Ben will struggle with just this issue.
Mary Kay Alabaster
Then there’s the sweet little old lady, Mrs. Mary Kay Alabaster. You’d help her across the street if you met her and probably be treated to a nice cup of hot tea for your efforts. But there’s a toughness and self-reliance about her that you can’t miss. I modeled Mary Kay on my great aunt Docia, who I found once up on her roof, fixing her own shingles: she was 81 at the time. As kids, we had to be careful going to her house without announcing ourselves, because she carried a .357 magnum and usually answered the door with it. A tough old spinster, who knew how to handle herself. Mary Kay Alabaster is cut from the same cloth.
Ivan Khandari
The muscled-bound and tattooed Ivan Khandari is a quiet, but purposeful, force to be reckoned with. We expect — by the look of this cold brute — that he’s a gangster or hit man. But we are shocked to learn that he was actually convicted of treason. This scary monster of a man is actually a geeky computer hacker, defying our expectations. Our very own unlikely Julian Assange.
Rodrigo Chang
And rounding out the cast is Rodrigo Chang, a wispy and lovably garrulous guy (think a Hispanic Steve Buscemi). Unlike the others, he seems completely at ease in this seemingly terrifying environment, but perhaps that’s just his character — he’s the kind of guy who makes himself feel at home in almost any situation. He claims that he was innocent of the crime that got him incarcerated, just an innocent bystander, sitting in a car outside, who somehow got blamed for a bank robbery. We don’t buy that and neither do the others, and we begin to suspect that behind his affable facade, Rodrigo is hiding deep secrets.
Eden can be found on ComiXology Originals with the print version available July 12th from Dark Horse Books.
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Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 50 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove head first over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 18 year old boy with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
