Los Angeles, CA – Noir Caesar Entertainment an indie creative company that supports and nourishes art from marginalized communities across various media, announces a collaboration with Osamu Tezuka Productions to develop an updated graphic novel of Tezuka's classic manga – ALABASTER – and the launch of a Kickstarter campaign for its publication.
ALABASTER will be written by the award-winning Bitter Root writer/co-creator Chuck Brown with artwork by renowned illustrator, Anna Weiszczyk (Godkiller, Home).
About ALABASTER
Reimagined for a new generation of readers as a contemporary graphic novel from Noir Caesar, ALABASTER reinterprets Ralph Ellison's novel “The Invisible Man,” and follows a former successful Black athlete, James Block, who is framed by his girlfriend and wrongfully imprisoned. While inside, James befriends a disgraced scientist that gives him the solution to his problems—a laser gun that either turns its subject invisible or kills them upon usage. After serving his prison sentence and locating the device, James disfigures himself in a failed experiment that turns him partially translucent, like alabaster. Angry, vengeful, and with a new identity, Alabaster wreaks havoc on bigots and hypocrites alike.
The Kickstarter campaign launch page for ALABASTER may be found at:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/noircaesar/alabaster-the-graphic-novel
Johnny O'Bryant, founder of Noir Caesar says, “We've always admired and respected the great Osamu Tezuka and his work. When we discovered Alabaster we were convinced could add a new dimension to Tezuka's original concept and bring this classic tale to a new generation of readers. We're grateful to Tezuka Productions for selecting Noir Caesar as they share a commitment to finding new ways to fulfill Tezuka-sensei's vision to combine Japanese influenced manga and anime with Western-style storytelling.”
Yoshimi Suzuki, Head of International Partnerships of Tezuka Productions Co. remarks, “If Osamu Tezuka were alive and met Johnny O'Bryant today, he would have shown great interest in working with a team of and young multi-talented artists from diversified cultural backgrounds that have a deep love toward Japanese anime and manga. I can't help but expect great synergy generated between Alabaster and the unique cultural backgrounds Noir Caesar and their creative team bring. I hope Noir Caesar fully displays their creativity in this project.”
The Creators
Chuck Brown – Writer
Chuck Brown is a multiple Eisner and Ringo award-winning, independent writer, and co-creator of works for Marvel, Rotten, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. Based in South Carolina, making content for over 18 years, Brown has also written comics for Zenescope Entertainment, 12-Gauge Comics, and Line Webtoon. His book Bitter Root, that he co-created and wrote has won multiple Eisner awards and is being adapted into a major motion picture by Ryan Coogler, Regina King and Legendary Entertainment. Official website: https://www.flawedcomic.com/
Anna Weiszczyk – Artist
Anna Weiszczyk is an award-winning comic book artist based in Kraków, Poland. Her works appear in Alterna Comics, Image, Archaia, Black Mask Studios, Strange Circus as well as other anthologies. Official website: Website: https://annawieszczyk.portfoliobox.net
About Noir Caesar:
Noir Caesar Entertainment is a growing indie creative company that supports and nourishes art from marginalized communities in various media, including animation, film, tv and comics. The brand is one of the fastest growing entertainment and publishing companies in the US, driven by diverse and brilliant creative talents spanning top notch 2D animation partner studios and exceptional writers, artists, illustrators, producers, and division heads, on top of a committed crew of sales and client management professionals. Noir Caesar's buzzing Film and TV division which is spearheaded by Founder Johnny O'Bryant and Producer Arsalan Asli also have multiple projects set up in active development at major studios and networks based on Noir Caesar IP and other studio assignments of major intellectual property. More information at https://www.noircaesar.com.
