Happy New Year everyone. The podcast is back on the schedule and I’m getting ready for an incredible year in front of me. I’ll talk about it in the business section of the column, but for now, we’re going to cover an incredible Kickstarter, I had the opportunity to talk to Barbara Kaalberg on the podcast and she’s still kicking all kinds of butt in the industry. She’s created a wonderful book and I’m going to talk about it.
The Book
Divinity #1
Created, Inked, and Story by Barbara Kaalberg
Written by R.A. Jones
Illustrated by Alex Sarabia
Colors: Steve Mattson
Letters: Mike W. Belcher
Editor: Wes Locher
Publisher: Silverline Comics
Divinity is about a girl with the gift of healing and every one coming after her for it. It’s a simple concept with a lot of depth and Kaalberg gets right into it starting the whole story with something ominous, describing the small town that the story begins with the idea of big hearts being a lie. Then the story introduces you to Divinity, who heals a dog with her power.
The scene shifts to 48 hours earlier at a funeral. You see Divinity with a soldier, her half-brother Zach, who is having a heck of a time letting the fact that his parents are dead go. He feels like something is off, and starts to investigate. Unusual dead ends keep happening, from everything from the vehicle being destroyed to any evidence of it happening.
After dealing with some hired thugs, Zach heads home convinced something is wrong.
We come back to the present day, and Zach sees Divinity heal the dog, and puts some pieces together. Divinity as it turns out can heal the sick and wounded with her power. Divinity tells her origin story and what happened to her. Somehow nearly drowning had triggered this power, and she had used it to help people, including her mom and others. Word has started to spread and Zach realizes that they have to leave, and fast.
There’s a meat and potatoes quality to the story I like in this issue. It gets right to the point and reminds me very much of the comics I used to read in the 90s in terms of pacing and story. Kaalberg and Jones have a solid script with some genuine emotion in some places, and there are some subtle but interesting character moments especially when Zach finds out about Divinity’s powers. I dug those little moments.
There are a couple of little things I am interested in. For starters, the narrator. I’m curious if the narrator is being misleading considering the bright and cheery nature of Divinity herself. There are mysteries, just a touch of action and some little bits of character.
The art of Sarabia and Mattson adds to this feeling of an old-school comic. Considering Kaalberg’s origins, it does take me back to something I’d read from Malibu Comics. The colors and illustrations feel very much a throwback, but also well done. The book feels bright and adds to the storytelling being presented.
This is a solid start to a cool series. The concept is simple and filled with a lot of potential and I can see some really interesting possibilities. Right, this minute Divinity #3 is available on Kickstarter right now. Click the link and purchase it if this is your kind of thing. This is a good comic. Check it out.
The Business
Happy New Year everyone. I’ve been busy putting together the video series I’m working on. I’ve been writing, producing, and directing it. It’s been an interesting challenge filming and creating something in this format. I’ve enjoyed the journey and the first episode finally has the finishing touches. I’ll be making some cool announcements on that soon.
My podcast is the big news. I’ve crossed the 900th episode. As I see 1000 on the horizon, I have been thinking about the future of the podcast. I’ll be evolving the show sometime at 1000 or just beyond. I have some big ambitions I talk about on the blog.
The keywords on my journey this year are adventure and connection. I still have big dreams, now I’m seeking people big enough to share them. It’s going to be a wild 2023 for me, and that’s not even including the writing. I got big goals there this year too.
I do hope you guys have an excellent year in front of you. Don’t wait for what you want, go for it with all your heart, soul, and mind. See you guys next time.
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