Kingdom of Fantasy

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V for Villain

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Foresight

Interview

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Kingdom of tales

The Enchanment Agency

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EPUBMarCH 2013BEST FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION

Dear friends,

It’s with great pleasure that I welcome you to the promotional pages of our digital magazine Kingdom of Fantasy, during which our

in house publisher, DieGo Comics Publishing Ltd will be open for publications. We will open with an interview from two authors of

our hilarious weekly comic strip, V for Villain which from since December 2012, brings a touch of fun to our website every Monday

and Thursday.

Our fully digital magazine will bring together a mixture of fun and smart articles with entertaining and speculative short stories, as

well as providing space for talent in themed and multi-styled art. And for first time, in English, we’ll also be showing you some of the

most involving and smart Italian comic books.

This promo will give you a test of what KOF has to offer. Foresight by our English author Abi Kirk will inaugurate KOTales, the

section of the magazine that will host short stories by authors from around the world. Meanwhile, Alessandro A. Anghini will

illustrate how the cover of this promo was created. Indeed, Kingdom of Fantasy will introduce to our readers some of the most varied

artists in the KOArt showroom, by showing a harmonious union between literature and art comic books.

In conclusion of our magazine, we’ll introduce the Italian author Federico Memola with two of his most innovative, smart and

funny comic books the first of which is, The Enchantment Agency where by the end of this promo you will have an understanding

of the friendly and exuberant main characters, Jasmine and Myriam. They will introduce a world that, at first glance, seems to be

the same as ours, but where it’s normal for your neighbour to be an elf, that the neighbourhood cop is in fact an ogre and magic, is

reality. However, The Enchantment Agency will not be the only comic in Kingdom of Fantasy. By next month in our first edition,

you will meet Rourke. The story is based in Dublin, Ireland’s capital; the protagonist of the story is Rouke, and his life is irrevocably

surrounded by magic.

Happy reading!

See you on 03.29.13 with the first issue of Kingdom of Fantasy magazine.

Giuseppe.

Dear friends,

DieGo Comics Publishing is preparing a

great selection of emerging authors epub,

directly to your eBook Reader...

Kingdom of fantasy feb 2013 5Kingdom of fantasy feb 20134

Interview V for Villain Marcella met with the two masterminds behind the adventures of Halfpaw and Vladius Hamerstblood.

Page 8

Kingdom of tales: Foresight Kally has a gift, maybe a curse. Kelly knows the date of death of those she meets

Page 10

Kingdom of ART: COVER Workshop Alex provide a valuable guidance to the making off the caricatural cover of KOF: zoom in on salient details, description of the means used and colors

Page 13

THE ENCHANTMENT AGENCY (COMIC) You are in a World that, at first glance, seems to be the same as ours. it’s normal that your neighbor is an elf, the neighborhood cop an ogre, your friend Creates magic.

Page 17

Table of Contents

February 2013

THE COMIC INSIDE: AN AGENCY VERY PARTICULARTo FolloW You are in a world that, at first glance, seems to be the same as the one to which

you are accustomed. Whether you live in New York, Paris, London, or some little country town,

all the buildings, cars, and people look normal to the reader. Yet, it’s normal that your neighbor is

an elf, the neighborhood cop an ogre, or that your best friend creates magical artifacts in a shop-

ping mall. For you, there is nothing strange about all this because this is the world where you were

born and where you grew up.

EDITORIAL

StaffGiuseppe Pennestri

Péter Holló-Vaskó

Marcella Pennestri

Pia Ferrara

Marco Guadalupi

Abi Kirk

Jose A. Gregorio

Itziar Lizarraga

Cover Artist

Giuseppe Pennestri

DieGo Comics Publishing

Editor-in Chief

Editorial Assistant

Art Director

Editor

Editor

Author/Copy-Editor

Art Creative Director

Graphic Designer

Alessandro A. Anghini

Publisher

Publishing Group

KOArt OPEN SPACE

“Kingdom oF ART” King-

dom of Art will open a space to

all artists, professional and am-

ateur who loves art. KOArt

will be an exhibition space, a

showroom, but also a open

road open to the freedom of ex-

pression for those who want

share their work, their artistic

idea using any technique and

interpretation. We know who

we are and why we do it, “help

yourself” from KOArt, “nur-

ture” the KOArt admiring the

talent, desire and passi.

KoTALES REVIEWNext Issue of KOF

“BLUE CALADIUM” & “CASTING IS BELIEVING”

V for VILLAIN: THE MAD WORLD OF VLADIUSFolloW THEm EVERY mondAY & THURSdAY In the fantasy

kingdom of Gorlond a new character has raised from the ashes .. It is not the Dark

Knight and even Jesus! But the terrible Vladius Hamsterblood, former tyrant of the

region that is now ready to take the fight for the title of Villain!

ABIHello readers of fantasy. My little column, within the Kingdom of Fantasy, addresses all sorts of questions within the fantasy genre, its sub-genres, its relations to books, most preferably, and also films. Within the magazine I shall examine the themes of each edition and procure a suitable question to discuss. Or if you wish for me to discuss a question or issue for you, just drop me a line. I hope you find my column entertaining.

MARCOMarco has worked since 2006 with Fantasy Magazine, an Italian online magazine, of which is currently active editor. Moreover he’s respon-sible of the department for writing and com-munication of the Italian Magazine Lunatica. He’s author of “Dark Rock Chronicles”, a fantasy novel.

PIAGraduated in Communication in 2007, Pia landed Magazine willing to spread the fantasy across the Web 2.0. Enthusiastic of cinema, comics, and fantasy literature, has managed to produce two thesis on semiotics about Harry Potter. She also has written on many online and offline newspaper and is currently working with the digital magazine Speechless and as press of-ficer for Lunatica, fantasy fair in Southern Italy.On alternate days she enjoys creative writing – she has published two short stories, L’urlo di Minerva and Il ponte oltre la pioggia in two dif-ferent anthologies and would like to rule the world through social media.

TERESABorn in 1966 in Taranto (Italy) I draw professional comics since 1993. I am the carachter designer of the comic book series Jonathan Steele and I have worked for the series Legs Weaver, Winx Club, Huntik and, of course, Jonathan Steele. I also work in advertising and publishing for children. I live and work in Milan

ALEXAlessandro, better known as Alex, is a cartoonist and illustrator. He completed the College of Science and graduated in Screenwriting at the International School of Comics in Turin and continued to attend workshops on comics and digital coloring.

Marcella Pennestri

MarcellaMarcella was born in Italy in Reggio Calabria. At an early age she had such passion for drawing; it has been described as a “sacred fire of art.” Unto which it is a passion that cannot be tamed, especially when a girl decides that as an adult, she wants to draw.

Marcella attended an Art and Architecture school, but her desire for free Art, with no patterns or impositions, showed that she’d rather prefer the Academy of Arts than the Faculty of Architecture.

She painted and studied the most important artistic techniques: incision, sculpture, foundry, followed by studies in Visual Arts and Performing Arts with an interest in photography. Ending that chapter in her life, Marcella has now embarked on a new adventure with Diego Publishing Comics, where a new chapter of reality within fantasy, art and pure literature, truly exists.

CLAUDIA SGIMy name is Claudia and I was born in 1982 in Rieti, a small Ital-ian medieval town. It is situated under the Apennines range that is enclosed by beautiful forests and an evergreen landscape.Since I was a child I’ve had a great passion for arts and drawing and I started by expressing myself onto paper.

I attended the Classics School in my home town and have been especially interested in ancient literatures on Greek and Roman mythology. Also I’ve had particular interest the history of Italian art. After high school, I graduated in Architecture at the Roma TRE University. From October 2006, I attended the Scuola Inter-nazionale di Comics in Rome, a professional school for illustra-tors.

KOTALESKOTales is a mysterious yet magical little corner within the Kingdom of Fantasy magazine that is dedicated to short-stories of the fantasy genre. The fantasy genre has expanded rapidly over the past few decades and with it, sub-genres have popped up like magical heliotrope coloured dragons. So if there is any story that is fantastical, be it classical or modern and that uses magic or the supernatural, you will find it here!

If you wish to submit your own fantasy short story, please follow the submission guidelines on the Kingdom of Fantasy website. Happy reading! For advertising information

[email protected]

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jokes and references which would be better

understood by the “nerd” of the fantasy genre.

Our goal with V for Villain is to steal a smile

from our readers.

Alex:I agree with Marco’s answer! ^_^

3) We want to know your opinionabout the

growing “phenomenon” of digital reading

through E-readers and iPads etc. What do

you think of them, if you consider these

useful means of distribution in relation to

your own work?

Marco: I believe in the phenomenon

otherwise I would not have embarked on this

project and I would not be editor and

contributor to ManFont Comics, which is an

Italian digital publisher.

I am also a classic nostalgic for print but I am

indeed attracted by digital. I think the tablet

is the best tool that can be used for a book

and a comic book. Tablets are the future, a

future still far away, but we must also think

about the newest generations that are

growing who are surrounded by these

technologies. For them this will be the norm,

we, the print lover, will be “alternative.”

It is as for digital music and CD, they will

cohabit for many years!

The advantage of the digital is to avoid the

cost of printing, which offers the opportunity

to introduce a product that would not

otherwise have the opportunity to reach a

wider public. Consequently, one has to

reconsider the whole approach of the comic

itself. When printing a comic book it can be

adapted to the average size of a magazine

page, a tablet, however, has a specific size and

it would make the comic pages too large and

would force the user to zoom in and lose

readability and fluidity.

In short, it is a medium that should be

studied carefully for it has great potential!

Alex: The digital format allows us to carry

around and store large amounts of data and

to experience types of reading that one

couldn’t consider before. From this point of

view it can do much to increase the number

and variety of readers as well as helping to

discover new reading for comic books and

books.

Personally I find reading on a tablet easier

and more useful to experience manuals,

comics and novels in their original language.

Digital and print are two means that must

co-exist, and I think they will for a long time,

helping each other to spread their contents.


Alessandro

Alessi Anghini

Marco

Ventura

So without wasting time, let’s begin with

Marco and Alessandro’s artistic world where

creative writing, sign and colour come

together to give us irony and fun week after

week.

1) How did your co-operation and the

consequent choice of joining your talents

together create V for Villain?

Marco: V For Villain originated from a

bigger cycle of comics “The Gorlond

Chronicles” which started with “Dragqueen

vs Principescort” a self-produced comic. The

idea behind The Chronicles was to create a

hilarious fantasy comic with many characters

that we will meet in other grandiose stories.

It was the idea that underlies the series

Marvel, for example.

A third collection of strips, starring the

‘funny goblins,’ has already been drawn and

will soon be published in Italy.

I met Alessandro at the International

School of Comics in Turin, where I started to

appreciate his drawing style which definitely

lends to the kind of stories I want to tell. We

then decided to combine our skills to try to

break into the world of comics.

Alex: Marco and I have got to know each

other by following the screenwriting course

at The International School of Comics in

Turin. Having both a similar sense of

humour, we have found it easy to work

together. My drawing style lent itself to

follow his dynamic scripts, so ... here we are!

“V for Villain” is part of a fantasy cycle

which provides different stories. Each

adventure is independent from this point of

view, but all of them take place in the same

narrative universe, so in the end it will

become a full epic comic. In “Dragqueen vs.

Principescort” we focused on the human

world, then in “Prot the Goblin” we

introduced the world of goblins. For “V for

Villain” we are interested in “evil”.

2) How should our readers approach V for

Villain? Do you feel it necessary to categorise

the story with an age limit or are the strips for

a more generic audience?

Marco: This work in particular is

primarily for fans of the fantasy genre. I never

thought that my story should be for a specific

age, I like to think at them as “universal” and

try to address the audience without

surrendering details. Of course, there are some

KOF presents

‘V for Villain’

Alessandro, better known as Alex, is a cartoonist and

illustrator. He completed the College of Science and

graduated in Screenwriting at the International

School of Comics in Turin and continued to attend

workshops on comics and digital coloring.

Marco “Daeron” is a funny hominid born in Turin

in 1986. After a useful degree in the History of

Cinema, he then joined the International School of

Comics in Turin where he studied Screenplay

Training Course and Creative Writing.

September 13, 1986

Turin, Italy.

marcodaeronventura.wordpress.com

20 October 1981

Turin, Italy

www.filodichina.blogspot.co.uk


Sitting at home waiting for a phone call from her

boyfriend, Kally sat by her window, glass of red

wine in hand staring at the people outside of her

Manhattan apartment. As each person walked by,

either on their way to work, for lunch or shopping,

Kally noticed one very important, yet morbid, thing

about every individual person on the planet. She knew

the date of their deaths. It wasn’t something she was

proud of, it wasn’t something she openly told to

people, but she did, at least, try to warn people just

before they were doomed to oblivion.

It all started when Kally turned thirteen. She began

seeing the dates above the heads of old people, and

saw them frequently when she visited her grandpa in

the hospital. She saw the date of his death but didn’t

fully understand it until that day came and blamed

herself for his passing.

If only she had realised; maybe the she could have

stopped it.

Now twenty-nine, she has kept this secret from her

family and friends. After all, who would believe her?

Lifting her up right hand she checked her watch and

sighed. ‘Crap.’ She felt let down again by her new

boyfriend, Mike. He was thirty-two and was destined

to die at a ripe old age of eighty-four. Kally felt a little

shallow when she dumped men because of their short

lifespan; after all she was on the lookout for the one

and wanted a long life with him. Kally’s excuse for

dumping men was the classic, “It’s not you it’s me”

when ultimately it was them and their very short lives.

Thinking about this, Kally suppressed a shudder and

downed the rest of her wine. Wearing her boyfriends

work shirts and thick socks, she tiptoed through the

cold apartment and placed the wine glass in the

dishwasher. Just then, the phone rang. Smiling, she

reached out and grabbed the phone.

‘Hello.’

‘Hello is this Miss Kally Buckley?’

Kally frowed, the tone of the woman on the other side

sounded formal.

‘Yes it is. Who is this?’

‘This is New York Presbyterian.’ Kally’s heart stopped.

She immediately thought of all of her family and

friends. Surely she didn’t miss a date of someone’s

death? ‘Your boyfriend Mike Matthews was brought

in half an hour ago after a serious collision with a car...’

Kally suddenly turned deaf as the woman continued

to talk about the accident and what had happened.

Dropping the phone on the � oor, she grabbed the

nearest clothes she could � nd and � ed the apartment.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Kally was told to wait in

the waiting room. She paced around the small bare

room checking with the nurses for updates every ten

minutes, but there were none. Taking up the time, she

drank disgusting vending machine co� ee, threw up at

the fact he might die, and sat down and tried to pray

that everything would be alright, but whatever she did,

Kally was at a loss on why this had happened.

She refused point blank to believe that he would die so

soon. She knew when he would die. She saw the

numbers, she saw the exact date. She had never once

come across anyone whose numbers changed.

‘Miss Buckley?’

Kally jumped at the announcement and stared at a

nurse who waved at her. Leaping up, she raced to the

desk. ‘What is it? Is he Ok?’

She gave her a vague smile and guided her away from

the waiting room and down a long bleach-smelling

corridor. ‘He is in intensive care,’ she told her softly,

‘but you can go and see him.’

‘Tell me what is wrong with him?’ she asked, tears

threatening to fall. ‘He has broken his right leg and

arm and sufered internal injuries, however the doctors

discovered a bleed on the brain and that is very

dangerous. They are doing all they can for him.’

Kally had heard something similar before her grandpa

died, but still she refused to believe that the numbers

would change.

The nurse led Kally into an intensive care unit and

guided her to Mike’s bed. Kally tried desperately to

keep from crying, but seeing the wires, tubes and the

pump to keep him breathing, she could not help but

burst into tears.

‘I’ll give you a few minutes,’ the nurse said squeezing

her hand gently before turning to leave.

Kally looked above Mike’s head and gasped in shock as

she saw the numbers change. They � icked from three

di� erent dates. One date was Mike’s original death

date, � fty years in the future; another was in ten years

and another in three days.

FORESIGHTby abi KiRK

Kingdom of fantasy • feb 20131

Her eyes swept around the room at the other occupants.

They each had one date.

Moving to his side she leant over and kissed his bruised

face gently, being careful of the tubes. ‘I’m so sorry. This

shouldn’t have happened. You are not meant to die yet.

You have another � fty years. I don’t know why I see

three days. I love you so much.’ Reaching out she

grabbed hold of his hand. ‘I’m going to � gure this out.

This gift or curse, I will � gure this out, I promise you.’

Kally stayed with him until the nurse came back to ask

her to leave.

When Kally got home she was angry at everything and

anything. Grabbing the nearest breakable thing, a lamp

from her parents, she smashed it against the wall, and

felt somewhat better. Then going to the cupboard found

a serving plate from her mother, she threw it to the � oor

and felt even better. But before she reached for some-

thing else that reminded her of her mother and father,

Kally had to � rst confess to her parents what was going

on.

Stepping over the smashed lamp and serving dish, Kally

went back out and headed to Brooklyn to talk to her

parents.

‘Kally?’ her father asked, peering through the peephole.

Opening the door Kally stormed in. ‘What are you doing

here?’

‘Where’s mom?’ she asked, throwing her coat onto the

coat-rack and throwing her car keys into the key pot by

the door.

She’s in the dining room, what’s going on?’

Kally sni� ed and wiped her angry tears. Turning to her

father she said dangerously, ‘I need a family meeting.

Now!’

Shu� ing into the dining room, Kally’s parents, who

seemed quite surprised to see her, sat on the ratty old

plaid sofa and waited for what she had come to say.

Kally never really got along with her parents. She had

civil conversations with them at birthdays and holidays

and though they presented themselves to her friends as a

nice couple, Kally knew better.

‘Mike is in the hospital,’ she said in a monotone way. ‘He

was involved in a car crash earlier today.’

Her parents still loved Kally, which she knew, but they

didn’t butt into her social life. They knew of Mike of

course from Thanks Giving, but they hadn’t thought of

him as their son-in-law.

‘I’m sorry to hear that Kally,’ her mother Grace said.

‘What have the doctors said?’

‘He has a bleed on the brain. He’s in intensive care.

They’ll do the best they can,’ she told them; reeling o�

the information she so desperately didn’t want to

believe.

‘Is there anything we can do?’ her father Patrick asked,

looking genuinely concerned.

‘There’s nothing you can do, but I want to tell you

something.’ Balling her hands into � sts she took a deep

steadying breath. She had never told anyone about her

secret and in reality, she never thought that she would

reveal her secret, but now it seems if she wanted to get

her questions answered, she would have to tell them.

‘Mike is not meant to die yet.’

Her parents looked at one another. ‘Oh hunny we hope

he won’t die either. He has a long life ahead of him.’

Kally shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to place

herself far away from what was happening. ‘No, you

don’t get it. I know he’s not meant to die yet, because I

know when he’s going to die.’ She opened her eyes and

stared at her parents. ‘I know when people, when

everyone are going to die. I see their death dates above

their head. I’ve had this sight since I was thirteen. It

scares the hell out of me. I haven’t told anyone, apart

from you. Please help me!’

‘You have the foresight of death,’ her mother said calmly.

‘Your grandmother, my mother, had the same thing

when she turned thirteen.’

‘Grandma? But she died-’

‘Before you were born,’ she � nished. ‘She saw the time

your grandpa was going to die and couldn’t bear it.’

Kally paced back and forth in front of her parents, trying

to understand the information, but it was di� cult to

concentrate. She was no-where near to saving Mike. ‘So

where did it come from,’ she blurted out, feeling a pang

of guilt as she was wasting time. ‘How do I stop it?’

Grace shook her head. ‘I don’t understand,’ she said

gently.

Unable to control herself anymore, Kally burst into tears.

‘I’m killing Mike because I know when he’s going to die.

I’m so negative to know the date he’s going to die. It’s all

my fault!’

Grace suddenly then stood up and went to hug her

daughter and Kally bawled more. ‘It is not your fault,

don’t ever think that. You have a gift Kally, it may not

seem like it now, but it is a gift.’

Trying to sti� e her gasps, she nodded and smoothly

pulled away from her mother.

‘Kally, all you can do now is to go back to the hospital

and be with Mike.’ Patrick told her, standing and going

into the kitchen, giving her a wide birth. He neglected to

look into Kally’s eyes as he now knew she could see

when he and his wife was going to die, and it upset him

more than either of them knew.

Grace went with her daughter to the front door and

looked sadly into her eyes. ‘I wish I could tell you more,

but my mother never said anything else to me. You can’t

turn it o� and you can’t change people’s destinies. You

just have to let nature run its course.’

Kally sighed heavily and looked away from her mother.

‘It wasn’t nature,’ she spat, ‘it was a damn car.’

‘There is a reason for everything, dear.’ Reaching out she

rubbed her arm a� ectionately, but Kally shrugged her

o� . ‘You’ll � gure out why you have the gift. My mother

didn’t, but I know you will.

Shaking her head at the pointless visit to her parents,

Kally grabbed her coat and keys, opened the door and

left. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs she

heard her mother say, ‘How is my life?’

Kelly shed two tears, refusing to look and tell her. She

noticed her parent’s dates of their deaths as soon as she

saw them and tried so hard to ignore them. There was so

much death in her life; she wished that she could see the

birth of babies in pregnant mothers. ‘You have a long

life,’ she told her, then vanished into the night, heading

back to the hospital.

With the monotonous beeping sound of the life-support

machine, Kally held Mike’s hand and watched the dates

Kingdom of fantasy • feb 20132

KINGDOM OF TALES


change above his head and tensed up every time. It was in the early hours of the

morning when a nurse came in and woke her up.

‘Please can I stay with him?’ she yawned, rubbing her eyes. The nurse nodded

and suggested she get some co� ee, ‘The next six hours are crucial.’ Kally’s eyes

� icked to above his head, a small smile pulled on her lips.

‘He’ll survive the next six hours,’ she told the nurse con� dently.

The nurse looked sad. ‘After six hours, if he doesn’t wake up, he may slip into a

coma, there may not be a chance that he’ll come out of it.’

Kally suddenly understood why the dates changed. It wasn’t up to her to decide

whether Mike would have to stay on life support, it would be up to his parents,

who were out of town. The nurse tapped her on the shoulder and motioned for

her to leave and get some food and co� ee. Doing so, Kally got an espresso, two

candy bars and sat in an old cold empty waiting room and cried herself to sleep.

Waking her up, sometime later, a twenty-something lady came past in a light blue

dress. She went to the vending machine and got something to eat. Sighing, she sat

opposite Kally and gave her an apologetic look.

‘It’s never easy being in a hospital is it?’ she began. Kally wasn’t really in the

mood to talk but she nodded. ‘It always feels so cold and oppressive and you

sympathise with everyone. All the sad faces,’ she sighed unhappily and opened

her candy bar. After an uncomfortable silence the girl spoke again. ‘May I ask,

who is your loved one?’

Kally who had been staring at a broken tile on the � oor � nally looked up at the

auburn haired girl. Her face seemed sincere so she replied. ‘He’s my boyfriend.

He had an accident, he has a bleed on the brain.’ she explained and pointed

down the hall.

‘Ah, the young guy who was brought in today?’

Kally nodded.

Then the girl did the strangest thing and smiled at her. ‘Not to worry. He will

pull through and have a very long life.’

Kally snorted, she knew better. ‘I wish it was true but-’

The girl then stood up abruptly. ‘No, you don’t understand. He will have a very

long life. He will pull through. I know these things, trust me.’ As the girl began to

leave, she turned around and said, ‘There is more to humans than we give them

credit for. They can do very remarkable things, even if things cannot be ex-

plained.’

‘How would you know?’ Kally asked disdainfully. ‘What may seem like remark-

able things to others may be a curse to those who have a gift.’

The girl walked on. ‘Gifts are there for a reason. We each have one since we were

born. Sometimes they are nice and other’s they aren’t, but we have to use them.’

Kally turned in her seat to see the girl peering into the intensive care unit. Angry,

she got up and went to her. ‘And what would you do if you do see the date of

when people died?’

Slowly turning to face Kally, she said softly, ‘What if you could see the circum-

stance in which people died?’ Turning away from her, she looked directly at

Mike. ‘Your boyfriend is going to die peacefully in a nursing home. I don’t

know what year, I don’t know how old he’ll be but that is what I feel.’

‘You feel?’ Kally sco� ed. ‘Well then perhaps I can tell you what I see.’ She

looked up and saw the numbers hover over the girl’s head. ‘I know when you

are going to die. I don’t know how, I don’t know where and I don’t know what

with, but I know the exact date. And with him,’ she pointed to Mike, ‘I see two

dates now. One is in a few days and the other is many decades from now.’

‘You see dates?’ she gasped. ‘You mean you can actually see when people die?’

Kally nodded. ‘Yes. It’s not as fun as you would think.’

‘Then you belong with us,’ the girl said.

‘Us?’

She nodded. ‘There is someone else like us, he can hear how people die and

the weird thing is, he’s deaf.’

Kally took a step back. ‘Are you serious? You’re not lying to me are you?’

She smiled widely and shook her head. ‘My name is Penny Albright and if you

wanted to know-’

‘Know I don’t. Do you?’ she asked, looking up at the date above her. Penny

shook her head. ‘No, I don’t.’

‘I’m Kally Buckley. Can I ask then, why are you here?’

She smiled. ‘I’m here to give peace to those who need it. I only know that

people are going to die in a hospital when I am within close proximity to them,

so I talk to the family and try and help them through the grieving process. I’m

a volunteer counsellor.’

Listening to Penny talk, Kally was feeling a lot better. There was a question

that she burned to ask but before she did, Penny gasped and pointed to Mike.

‘See, he’s waking up!’

Snapping her head around, Kally saw that Mike’s eyes had � uttered open.

‘NURSE!’ she called and ran over to him. ‘Mike, can you hear me?’ Tears

leaked from her eyes. ‘It’s Kally. You were in an accident but you’re alright.’

He closed his eyes in understanding and began to cough.

Two nurses suddenly ran in and a doctor was called. Kally stood back as they

took the breathing tubes away from him as he was able to breathe on his own.

All the while, Kally’s eyes were � xated on the numbers above his head. They

had changed again, but she smiled as she saw he was going to live to a ripe old

age of ninety-three, instead of eighty-four.

Kally had tried to ask the nurses whether she could speak to a Penny Albright,

but none of them could help her, in fact they had never heard of the name. But

on the last day that Mike was discharged from the hospital, Kally had sworn

she saw Penny talking to an old couple outside a ward she had passed and

made it her mission to � nd out who Penny was and this friend who could hear

how people die. Kally wasn’t the only one with a gift revolving around death

and she was going to � nd out where it came from.

Kingdom of fantasy • feb 2013 3ABI [email protected]

KINGDOM OF TALES

In an age where witches are frowned upon, the or-phan Alma lives alone in a little cottage on the edge of Dartmoor. One day she meets two women. Tak-ing them into her home, strange and mysterious happenings surround them. Satan’s Hell Hounds are on the loose. Alma’s soul is in danger. What will be her fate?By Abi Kirk

DON’T MISS 2 NEW STORIES IN OUR NEXT ISSUE OF KINGDOM OF FANTASY.

CASTING IS

BELIEVING

Kissed by the sun and bathed in the moon-light the caladium is beautiful, but to the Eloen Witches of Sabeynia it is deadly. The witches are bound by blood to protect the Three Moons of the Nerinx. Betrayed and on the verge of death, Queen Heleama dispatches the Knight, Darcassian, and the witch apprentice, Nyssa, to find the black unicorn before the moons fade and darkness roams Nafelahar once more.By Nila N. Brown

BLUE

CALADIUM


I begin my work with a graphical approach to my ideas. First I start off with early sketches. They are the basics that show how I would like to develop the composition.

The elements of the composition are a combination of the four main characters that we can find in KOF magazine. Some figures classically relate to the fantasy world. The final idea is then de-scribed with four characters that emerge and are evoked by an an-cient magical book.

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Once I’ve established and refined the details I re-trace the drawing with a mechanical pencil black 0.7 B.Compared to the initial sketch I’ve intentionally changed the gestures of the characters to accentuate the hilarious atmosphere that I wanted to convey. Halfpaw is caught by Myriam (the curly haired lady), while Rourke (the man) is distracted by both ladies.

I have rectified the errors of the settings, for example, I realized that I had Rourke initially designed as high as Mel Gibson...

I wanted to include a "tribute" to the great Italian cartoonist Jacovitti with salami and fish bones that come out of the magical book, once struck by the energy discharges. Then I added a dwarf who is trying to escape from the pages of the book, but gets caught with the beard.

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Its then time to grab the pencils: I use a sheet of A3 plain paper from 200g/m2 and start with the realization of the settings of the characters with a pencil cyan photosensitive, so that once I’ve scanned the artwork, gray-scale is not detected by the scanner.

I don’t just sketch the settings. I then begin to draw the figures in more detail.

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COVER ARTWORKSHOP

At this point, after the approval in this case by the Art Director of the magazine, I stepped to the inking of the artwork. This step is a masterpiece, even today, despite the advent of many image manipulation programs such as Photoshop and photo-editing, but in this case I have not made use of computer graphics I used the "old" method

- I would add that without this step, it is almost impossible to get the image "visible" and "expendable" because the use of a pencil is not fat (which would not be suitable for drawing comics) makes clear the job.

At first I thought of making Rourke’s jacket all black and bring out the inner folds turning the stretch of Indian ink with a colour. Therefore it’s possible to see X in his jacket, which mark the areas of colour, backgrounds jargon, that I had to colour. Later, however, I decided to colour it a dark colour and leave the image lighter.

by Alessi Anghini

Kingdom of fantasy feb 2013 Kingdom of fantasy feb 201316 17

The shadows lie on a layer above the mode "multiply" with a standard brush-tipped hardness and opacity to 100% or the tracks where I have to cover large extensions.

I create a layer "shadow" for each level of the bases colour. For the type of stroke that I have, and personal taste, I prefer to use the sharp shadows rather than fade exaggerated.

Then the intensity was added and the temperature of the shadow depending on the underlying colour by adjusting the panel "Hue / Saturation

The first step towards the colour requires scanning the artwork, I past it to Photoshop (CS5), gray-scale, by acting on the levels straightedge the black point and white in order to obtain the line-art beautifully black and the bottom totally white, this because it eliminates the residual executed dirty pencil, what is left I remove with the tool “rubber”.

Then I remove the outline from the bottom of the slope - I do it by using an action pre-recorded and automated in

the actions of PS. That way I get the black line-art on a transparent layer as if it was a shiny, without a white background.

This can then be used to turn the stretch of black and colour where you need it, also when printing saves me from having to create a level of “support” the black, as this will always be beautiful and intense placed in “normal” mode on all colour levels. Imposed on the working mode in CMYK, and start to create levels to colour: usually one

white, one with the colours of the background and one with that of the main figures, depending on the depth planes illustration see if it further separate the figures and backgrounds in sub-menus (grouped into folders for ease of cleaning and display): in this case I put the magical figures (the dragon, the unicorn, the dwarf and orc) on a different level, and I created a layer each for the book, for the table and for the “energy flow”.

Using traditional instrumentsA brush "Winsor & Newton" series 7 # 0 and Black Indian ink always "W & N", this has a nice deep black, but it is very dense.

For details I recently started using a stylus type ‘marupen,’ or use of graduated tip markers 0.1 and 0.2

Here to you the inked artwork. Now I can start to colour!

COVER ARTWORKSHOP

COLOR

Expert

Touch

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The various fields of colour are filled with the tool "filled" with a base color, where I bounded and closed by the black portions of the machine or with the brush where instead are "open" or very small.

Selecting the "lock" on the transparency level of the "BLACK Indian ink" turn the stretch of black in a colour to suit the flow of energy (and I carry the top SX a convenient sample of the colour used if you need to touch up).

I now come to the study of shadows with light sources: using a single colour that is darker, less saturated and colder than the base (usually a blue-gray). Are not precise in drafting a shadow brush, this step I just need to have a constant display on the light source.

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I would add a "lights" level where I place the blows of direct light, in the same way as I have done for the shadows, this time blending mode different levels: "screen", "overlay", "soft-hard light "depending on the intensity I want to achieve and the type of light source that I want to suggest.

Act on the percentage of transparency of the layer to further adjust the light intensity.

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Selecting the shadows I insert another level where I add a gradient with the gradient in the same area, always in multiplies. I do the same for the lights.

At this point I rise on the elements of magic flows by activating the "Layer Style" - "Outer Glow" to create a light effect. All adjustments I make empirically, trying different settings until I got the desired result. Then I add textures to enliven the background: actually the textures are created at the moment by a custom brush "dirty" low opacity, using multiple layers blending mode to varying degrees "multiply" and "overlay" with complementary shades of colours.

I make the texture of the paper and the cover of the old book by using instead the normal brush tip to 4-6% in thickness and opacity to 20%, creating various graphic signs by hand.

Now I add a layer of light spread over the scene in "soft light", it is applied with a gradient that starts from a DX, a level where I put the magical light of the flow of energy, always in the way that I use for light ("overlay "," hard-soft light "or" screen "as appropriate): here I create points of light with variable edge brush and low opacity.A subsidiary with a general overview for the final touches and adjustments of hue to pull the plans and where I need it. “I’m done”.

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“THE SECTION” COMICS

ROURKE

THE

ENCHANTMENT

AGENCYOnly found in the Kingdom of Fantasy magazine, Rourke blends the lines of normal and magical. Gifted with the ability to steal people’s curses, Rourke battles through his daily life, trying to protect his family from a secret war and invisible witches.

Elf is killed, but who committed the crime? Can Jasmine and Myriam solve the case? Find out by reading, Enchantment Agency.


Interview with

Federico Memola

Article

The Return of the Fairy TalesKOTales

Blue Caladium & Casting is BelievingKOArt

Illustrators Claudia SGI & Agustin GarrigaComics

Rourke & Enchantment Agency

Interview with

Scott LynchArticle

A Game of Thrones | Season 3

KOTales

Wizard always cheat & Psicothic love

KOArt

Umberto Giampa’, Alessi Anghini & Riccardo Lo Giudice

Comics

Rourke & Enchantment Agency

1st

ISSUE

2nD

ISSUE

COMING SOON

Kingdom of fantasy first issue released 03.29.13

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$3.99

translator: Synthesis International Milan, Italy

Kingdom of Fantasy

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Transcript of Kingdom of Fantasy