In the weary times of blaring news and unrest, watching an event unfold with a happy ending is necessary. Today’s hero is Richard Davis.
Richard's story starts in the capricious town of Wilmington, North Carolina, where the arts were blossoming.
Filled with a concept of build it and watch it grow, he opened The Browncoat Theatre, named for his love of Firefly series. That guerrilla theater established for new writers, actors, set designers, and producers to cultivate their talents. His trust gave way for many in that town who are still thriving in their field.
Every superhero’s path cross with an antagonist and true to the genre; Richard and his wife, Amber, were confronted with a considerable one. At their young age, they had to battle an incurable disease that would typically attack older people, that was invading his wife. Feeling helpless and focusing from minute to minute to find ways to fight this villain was draining. Witnessing the most crucial person, your wife slip away takes all the strength you can muster to be there for them. Richard, who filled those around him with energy and encouragement, had nothing left to give. He slowly became a stranger to the theatre just making sure the lights were on, and fridges were full. Our heroes retreated to Knoxville TN, where there was a family network and University Hospital system for them to get a footing on solid ground.
The next chapter. Amber's journey to normality has been earnest and seeing progress. That motivated the couple to construct a new beginning, and that was the dream of owning a comic bookstore. That dream is Nirvana Comics. Doing what comes naturally, Richard evolved the comic bookstore to a place for family, friends, and community. During the time of Covid19, when most stores closed for two months, he took that time to give Nirvana Comic book store a remodel. In place of laying off his staff, they kept their hours, and then some to provide Nirvana with Comics a makeover.
During the time since leaving Wilmington, Richard had written his first comic book, Cult of Dracula, based on the folklore of Dracula mixed with the cult of the Manson Family. He describes the comic as moody and gritty. He stated, “that as a child, two things terrified me: Count Dracula and Charles Manson, and with Cult of Dracula, he follows Stephen King's advice to 'write what scares you' by bringing these two nightmares together.” With the world shutting down for months, printers stopping the presses and publishers saying that they will not be looking to sign anyone in the near future, Richard was planning the next move for Cult of Dracula.
At this time I able to read his story thus far. It resembled a screenplay with the depth and detail of each scene, emotion, and character intonation. It is a fresh voice, a new genre, and I found captivating writing. Evolving his community opened suggestions for self-publishing, however, costly and the printers could not give a date when they would be reopening. The next thought was to share the idea globally, through Kickstarter and when funded, there would be months before it would have to go to print. During this process, the words matched with the image with artist, Henry Martinez. Henry and Richard both have a cinematic scope towards their work. They both agreed that communication was essential. Henry truly understood the characters and motivation, thus capturing the detailed expressions and the mood of each panel. They formed a dynamic duo at the eleventh hour.
The happy ending moment when fate and Second Sight publishing collide by chance.
Second Sight Publishing announces that it has secured the rights to publish Cult of Dracula! This unique reimagining of Bram Stoker's classic tale of terror adapted from the award-winning stage play by creator Rich David and that "Cult of Dracula is the perfect vehicle to launch our Second Sight Presents line of horror comics.
Second Sight describes Cult of Dracula, beginning with the grounded sensibilities of a true-crime detective story. Special Agent Malcolm Bram is investigating a tragic event dubbed by the media as the "Cult of Dracula Mass Suicides." Bram's investigation serves as a framing device to keep readers grounded as they tumble down the rabbit hole to discover that this weird little cult is much older and much darker than anyone could imagine.
Bram is an original character, a nod to Dracula author Bram Stoker. The remaining cast is re-imaginings from the original novel. Abraham Van Helsing, as an example, is a defrocked Eastern Orthodox priest turned college professor. Together with grad students Mina Murray and Jonathan Harker, he forms a documentary crew working on a film about Robert Renfield, the cult's enigmatic guru and leader.
Predictions for the future Richard Davis, 100 % percent badass.
"You only have your thoughts and dreams ahead of you. You are someone. You mean something." - Bruce Wayne, Batman.
Cult of Dracula will be release 7/29/2020 to your local comic store.
Cult of Dracula is available now for pre-order through corner-box.com.
Writer/Creator: Rich Davis
Art: Henry Martinez (Ghost Rider/Spirits of Vengeance/Blaze)
Colors:Trevor Richardson (Fangoria)
Letters: Ed Dukeshire Covers:Carla Cohen (The Boys: Dear Becky) Gyula Nemeth (Criminal Macabre), Sanford Greene (Bitter Root), and Georges Jeanty (Buffy/Firefly/X-Men).
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