Herod The Great Gets His Own Comic Book!

BACKGROUND

I’m a screenwriter for TV and film, living with my wife and Pomeranians in Calgary, Alberta.

My former life was as a senior geologist for several oil & gas exploration companies, but the recent decline in oil prices have forced many like myself to seek out different career paths. Easy when you’re in your 20’s or 30’s — much trickier when you’re in your 50’s!

Fortunately, my father was a literary man. A poet and writer. He encouraged us to think way outside the box from before we went to Kindergarten! Making the transition to creative writing of scripts was not overly difficult.

THE PROJECT

The material you see below is all new. I took the fascinating story of Herod the Great and injected it with a measured dose of what we affectionately refer to as “1st Century BCE Steampunk.” All the characters and chronology of actual events are as they are found in the histories of Josephus. Airships, mono-wheels, and non-indigenous creatures have been added to spice up the visuals. The result is a unique vision of perhaps the most dramatic and bloody century in the history of the Mediterranean region.

Why Herod? Wasn’t he the mad king that attempted to kill the infant Jesus, according to the Gospel of Matthew?! Well, … maybe. That violent incident doesn’t appear in the much more detailed account of Josephus. The architectural and cultural accomplishments of Herod far outweigh any harm that has been attributed to him by later biblical editors. But he still had a dark side, … a REALLY DARK SIDE. One that would later compel him to execute his beloved wife Mariamne, and two of their sons – the heirs to Herod’s throne. He also would murder his uncle. And brother-in-law. The list goes on and on.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/collom/herod-the-great-comic

GETTING INTO HEROD’S HEAD

What would cause someone to kill so many people within his own family? What caused Herod to become so angry and paranoid in his later years?! Read the comic, and begin to find out how Herod went down the path of insatiable power and eventual insanity!

The epic story begins in Rome in March of 44 BCE, just after the assassination of Julius Caesar — perhaps the watershed moment in all of European history. Certainly it had an influence of young Herod, and launched his career as a client king to the early Roman Empire. Whether he was prepared or not! The comic will graphically show the volatile world of the Near East and Judea, at a time when poverty, floggings, and even crucifixion (worse) were daily threats. All the main characters are part of the story: Caesar, Marc Antony, Agrippa, the Parthians, and even Cleopatra of Egypt. She will almost be the downfall of Herod before he even really gets started as the cruel autocrat we all know!

CONTEXT

Issue #1 of Herod the Great is an adaptation of the teaser & Act I of the pilot episode for a TV historical drama series based on Herod’s life. Loglines for the first three episodes are provided below; full scripts and synopses are posted on my page at WWW.INKTIP. COM

Thank you for visiting, fellow bored pandas!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/collom/herod-the-great-comic

• EPISODE #1 – PILOT

IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR, ROME IS ON THE BRINK OF VIOLENT REVOLUTION. IN THIS CHAOTIC WORLD, HEROD AND HIS FAMILY FIND THEMSELVES ENTANGLED IN THE INTRIGUES OF THE FACTIONS VYING FOR POLITICAL POWER. CAESAR’S SUDDEN DEATH CASTS THE FATE OF HEROD’S FAMILY AND JUDEA INTO DOUBT. THE APPEARANCE OF A MYSTERIOUS MAN CHANGES EVERYTHING, AND SETS THEM ON A COURSE LEADING TO UNKNOWN CIRCUMSTANCE AND CERTAIN DANGER.

• EPISODE #2

MARC ANTONY INTENDS TO USE JULIUS CAESAR’S FUNERAL AS A VENUE FOR DEMONIZING THE CONSPIRATORS IN A VERY PUBLIC WAY. THINGS DON’T GO ACCORDING TO PLAN, AND A RIOT ENSUES. ANTIPATER AND FAMILY MUST FLEE ROME. WHILE HEROD BEGINS TO RECOUNT HIS TALE TO NICOLAUS, ARSINOË AND THE GREEK SAILORS GET INTO TROUBLE AT RHODES. IN GAZA, HER SISTER CLEOPATRA CONFRONTS HEROD’S MOTHER CYPROS; HER EGYPTIAN SHIP DEPARTS FOR ROME, JUST BEFORE ANTIPATER ARRIVES.

• EPISODE #3

ANTIPATER’S FAMILY SAILS FROM ROME TO JUDEA; ONBOARD, NICOLAUS RECORDS HEROD’S ACCOUNT OF HIS FATEFUL MEETING WITH CLEOPATRA. NEAR CYPRUS, ARSINOË IS CAPTURED BY PIRATES. THE SAILORS ARE KILLED & SHE HAS TO REVEAL HER ROYAL IDENTITY, BECOMING A HOSTAGE FOR RANSOM. CLEOPATRA AND ARSINOË ARE SOON RE-UNITED, AFTER A BLOODY BATTLE WITH THE PIRATES. MARC ANTONY HAS SET SAIL FOR TARSUS, INTENDING TO HAVE CLEOPATRA TESTIFY ON CAESAR’S ASSASSINATION.

More info: kickstarter.com