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A
prelude
to
the saga of COLONY:
Several
hundred years from now, at the outer rim of explored space on a distant
planet known as Erus, there is a place where they say hope no longer
exists.
But...they are wrong.
At the end of the 22nd century, space exploration was at an all-time
high. This boom was partially due to the commerce created by the
discovery of the first of five non-human races in 2204. Until that time,
Man had explored the galaxy for a century without encountering life in any
form other than microbes. As a result, many Earth leaders had become
arrogant, convincing themselves that Man was unique, the single sentient
creation of the Almighty. To some in positions of power, the conquest of
space had become the “will of divine providence”, a manifest destiny
for the only entity with a soul in all creation: Man.
Their monumental arrogance was matched only by their absolute dismay when
contact was first made with the Pyresians.
At first, there was jubilation at having finally made contact with a
sister race and that the long search for intelligent life had finally
proven fruitful.
However, some in power quickly realized that the fundamental core of their
power base rested on the premise that Man was the dominant life form in
God’s universe.
Through
the Pyresians, Earth discovers the existence of the other races that
occupy our galaxy
To allow any alien race to influence Earth culture would quickly erode the
foundation of galactic supremacy that kept certain factions in power.
However,
Earth quickly becomes a depository of all things Pyresian, with it’s
music, art, cuisine and philosophy quickly becoming a “fad” in the
popular culture of the time.
Then, in 2221, the first Pyresian/Human hybrid was born. As a result, the
mingling of racial blood came to be seen as a threat the human gene pool
itself.
The newly-elected Confederate President, Alexander Wayne, had waged a
campaign of fear and racial distrust. Citing several examples of routine
clashes between humans and Pyresians, Wayne creates a climate of fear and
uncertainty to subtly poison the governing counsel on the idea of allowing
the respective races to intermingle without supervision.
Shortly after taking office, Wayne manufactured an incident that turned
popular opinion against the five known alien races, culminating in a
deportation of all aliens from Earth territories. Wayne declared a state
of emergency and seized total military control over the Agency for
Commerce and Exploration of Space. (A.C.E.S.)
In the years that followed, the five, known alien races were declared
inferior and stripped of all individual rights. Those aliens who refused
to knuckle under to the Con-Fed regional governors were declared outlaws.
The
planet Erus was first discovered in the Earth year 2217 by renowned
stellar explorer, Professor Marcus Wallace. Located in a backwater corner
of the universe, the planet had undergone a global upheaval a thousand
years before its initial discovery. That cataclysm, resulting from the
impact of an asteroid, had released a unique element on the planet’s
surface. The discovery of that valuable and mysterious element eventually
led to Alexander Wayne declaring the planet off limits to all.
In
order to keep curiosity seekers and privateers from meddling with his
plans for Erus, President-For-Life Wayne concocted a brilliant scheme to
make the planet undesirable to outsiders. He decreed that Erus was to
become a prison planet, a depository for the living refuse of the
Confederacy. He created a place, so cruel and inhospitable, that no man in
his right mind would ever venture there of his own free will.
Thus—
the hellhole known as Colony was born.
However, the brilliance of President Wayne’s plan was that he had also
conscripted a massive work force as slave labor for mining the
planet. With no chance of parole for the prisoners on Colony, the
planet’s secret would remain safe from the outside world.
Shortly after learning of Wayne’s horrifying plans for his discovered
world, Prof. Wallace disappeared.
It is presumed that he died in hiding somewhere on Erus.
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The
story so far:
Present
Day: Earth year 2232.
Wrongly sentenced to 30 years of hard labor, Scott Landus is sent to—The
COLONY.
The
saga revolves around the main character of Landus, whose station in life
goes from lowly convict to the leader of an entire planet, whose power
will shake the very foundations of the ruling Galactic Confederation.
The story of Colony is about a being’s right to exist…and the quality
of life one chooses…or fights…to live. It is also an unsettling
allegory to the current, extremist political climate and what could happen
if power and racial hatred is left unchecked.
SCOTT
LANDIS
Most
who know Scott Landus think of him as a loser. However, the truth
lies much deeper.
Landus
has a secret that he shares with no one.
Scott suffers from an incurable genetic disease that will eventually take
his life. Every male member of the Landus family has died while still
relatively young. His parents’ legacy, foolish clinging to the hope that
the disease would bypass Scott, becomes a death sentence to Landus.
As a result of this, Scott Landus has become the ultimate pragmatist.
Without a cure and without much of a future to look forward to, Scott
tends to be reckless and pragmatic by nature, forming attachments to
nothing and no one.
The planet Erus’ indigenous race of beings are known as the Taul.
However, under the thumb of Con-Fed rule, they have become little more
than second-class citizens, conscripted as servants to the ruling class on
Colony. Brought into the Colony facility as maintenance workers, Landus
eventually befriends the Taulians and their leader, named Feu.
FEU--
THE TAULIAN LEADER
Meanwhile, President Wayne has
clandestinely ordered the execution of all political prisoners on Erus in
order to dishearten the underground rebel movement on Earth.
In
order to thwart the impending executions of the political prisoners, a
bloody Colony inmate uprising begins.
The Colony uprising continues for several weeks. Chaos envelops the entire
facility as hundreds on both sides are killed. Eventually, the
Confederation army regains control of Colony from the rioters.
During the confusion, with Feu’s help, Landus and a band of human and
alien prisoners succeed in a daring escape from the Colony compound. Among
this band are Pyresian physician and love interest Orina Zon, a Byriani
philosopher named Noblan, a mysterious and dangerous Crall warrior named
Faz, (the only Crall who has ever been captured in ConFed history)
and Colony’s black marketeer, Perry Callisto.
After
weeks of eluding the roving Colony Death Squads, the weary escapees have
all but given up hope of ever finding their freedom.
And
this is where our story will begin.
Soon, the weary band will stumble upon the scientist who first discovered
Erus, Professor Marcus Wallace. Living like a hermit and half-mad from
decades of isolation, the secrets revealed to Scott Landus, through the
Professor’s science journals, will
change the destinies of Colony, the Earth and Scott Landis forever.
2/1/06
All
characters & concepts © 2006 by Bob Layton & David Michelinie.
Please do not reprint without express written permission. |
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Bob
Layton: Man & Iron Man by Clifford Meth
I
probably shouldn’t admit it with kids in the room but I’m finding it
harder and less interesting to write about people I’ve never seen sloppy
drunk or piss all over themselves or fight their way out of a whorehouse.
You can’t tell if a guy’s got sand when all you’ve experienced are
his IMs, blogs, and e-tude. But what the hell—anyone who can still make
art in 2006 can’t be that bad.
Cue music. Enter Bob Layton.
The first time I stumbled onto Bob’s art he was one of the star inkers
at Marvel, though he didn’t know his stature at the time. He’d become
the new guy on The Champions, a comic some editor named after my
gang in Rockaway, NJ (these were the 70s—you didn’t sue; you slashed
their tires). The book didn’t stand a chance of becoming the next Avengers,
FF, or even Defenders because the concept was mother dumb.
Hercules a leader? Ghost Rider a team player? Angel in a fag costume?
There was no chemistry between pre-established characters, but back then
books cost just two thin dimes and there weren’t enough to fill a Sunday
afternoon’s reading session beneath that split oak, so I bought ‘em
all.
Of course, it wasn’t long before “Bubbly” Bob (or whatever adjective
Stan Lee contrived) became one of my fav inkers. Now, good inkers are like
bass players—you tend not to notice them until they bust a string and
another yoyo starts thumping. But great inkers, well, those are
whores of a different color. “Ballsy” Bob (my adjective, but you can
claim it, Stan) went on to become the definitive Iron Man
re-creator. No more cool exec with a heart of steel; those
bottom-of-the-bottle stories were the standout books of their day.
Small world? Not always. I never crossed virtual paths with “Burgeoning
Bob” (that’ll be enough of that, Cliff) until recently and I no longer
recall what the occasion was, but it wasn’t at a bordello or I’d have
Polaroids. Nevertheless, we swapped a few emails and I ended up
commissioning some cover reinterpretations. What’s life without music
and art on the walls?
If I may boast for a moment—and I do so only to set up the comparison
ahead—I must say that I have a world-class comic art collection. I get
to wake up to originals by Kirby, Kubert, and Kane; Adams, Steranko and
Jeffrey Jones; Cockrum, Perez, Colan, Buscema…pages and covers and
sketches and paintings adorning my walls. Fully insured, of course, by
Allstate and Smith & Wesson. I’ve been collecting art longer than I’ve
been collecting people.
When Bob’s package arrived. I held my breath as I opened it. First of
all, someone had forgotten to walk the dog, so the room smelled foul. More
importantly, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. But what I found was
elation. The pieces instantly joined my list of beloved items. See for
yourself.
So I called Bob to thank him, and one thing led to another. After we left
the hook shop, I said, “There’s a few questions I’ve been meaning to
ask…”
CLICK
HERE TO GO TO THE INTERVIEW>>
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PRESS
RELEASE:
Fans
of comics are in for a treat this February 24-26 in Orlando, Florida as
legendary artist and Future Comics founder, Bob Layton, will be attending
MegaCon as a guest of Superverse and Team Zoom Suit. Layton, who is one of
the “Armored Legends” artists who has provided an exclusive variant
cover for the Zoom Suit comic series, will be on hand to sign autographs
and answer fans’ questions.
Team
Zoom Suit will be appearing at the three day convention at the Orange
County Convention Center showcasing the animated film Zoom Suit and
displaying the first issue of the April releasing comic series. Zoom Suit
writer and director, John Taddeo, will be in appearance, along with the
animation team of Jorge Palacios, Nakia Mann, Diana Striker, Mike
Centowski, Booker Thompson, Derrick Dawson and Cameron Kirk. Comic book
artist Billy Dallas Patton will also be appearing and signing autographs.
An exclusive MetalFX Zoom Suit promo card set has been created to
commemorate the event.
“Having
Bob at MegaCon with us is great for the fans, including myself,” said
Taddeo. “His career speaks for itself, but if I had to say one thing, it
would be that his cover to Iron Man #118 back when I was a kid was the
initial inspiration for the Zoom Suit story. It’s that same feeling that
I’m hoping a new generation will get when they read the Zoom Suit comic.”
The
award-winning animated short Zoom Suit, created by John Taddeo, can be
seen online at www.superverse.com
.
The
Zoom Suit comic book will be solicited under Superverse in the February
edition of Previews for items shipping in April 2006 on page 313. It can
be ordered using product code: FEB063259.
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