UTOPIA takes place in an imaginary elseworld where the Sun’s rays are inimical to life and even the air is poisonous. In the middle of the vast desert wasteland stands a colossal Tower of one hundred and thirteen levels. It is the last bastion of life amidst the desolation. Stories and legends abound of the mysterious ‘Creator’ who built the Tower and brought its inhabitants to life. Each level is a different world in itself; different rules, governors and inhabitants. Countless creatures inhabit the Tower, all ruled by the Empress of the Moon. UTOPIA tells her story, and that of Sevenn, her Imperial Guardian, protector and lover, whilst they escape the looming hand of their destinies.

Author: Nicolás R. Giacondino
Pages: 115, Full Color
Release: November, 2008 – Paperback
Foreword by BILL MAUS
Details
SKU:0-9743232-8-4
Weight:0.25 lbs
Price:$ 19.95

The novel can be acquired through the publisher’s Online Store at www.wildetimes.com You have to create an account within the Store (it’s easy and free!) and alter that, it’s just a matter of ordering. The store works mostly with PayPal and you have to make sure you write down all of your mailing information to get your copy delivered safe and sound.
There is worldwide delivery, so you can buy from anywhere!
For the moment, that’s the only availability for purchasing UTOPIA. Distribution through comic-book stores and bookshops across US is still in development and any news on it would be found at the publisher’s site or Aerion’s Journal here on dA.





Well, I think it’s best to start from the top, so I’ll introduce myself: my name is Nicolás R. Giacondino, also known as *Aerion-the-Faithful here on dA.
I’m an Argentine based freelance illustrator, concept designer and struggling writer (with emphasis on the struggling part!) that has just got his dream realised: I’ve published my first graphic novel in the US.
Ever since I could read, I’ve been attracted to comics, fantasy and Sci-Fi and I started drawing at that young age as well, at first (like we all did, I guess) copying the artwork of the artists I admired and making my own comics in the kitchen; it was fun stuff to have Spider-Man at your fingertips and it still is. I think that’s what decided me to pursue a career in illustrating after I finished High School.
I studied a year in Art School and later left the institution to start working on independent comics, becoming a self-taught artist. I’ve taken many courses and studied a lot, always striving to improve and learn new things. One of such courses was dictated by the great argentine painter and Illustrator Enrique Breccia (Swamp Thing, Lovecraft), from whom I learnt many of the basics I still use to this day.
Slowly, but steadily, I incorporated elements of all the great artists I admired: Bruce Timm, Carlos Meglia, BROM, J. Scott Campbell, Simon Bisley, Breccia himself and many others, thus creating a strange mix that gave birth to my my own style.
My way of approaching comics, always trying to be as cinematic and dynamic as possible with my storytelling and composition, and as enchanting as I could with my modest writing, led me from job to job, until I landed the project of my life: UTOPIA.




So, I’ve been kindly offered to introduce people to UTOPIA, my most important creation to date here on dA. How could I refuse?

UTOPIA is a mix of various genres and interests I’ve had whilst I was growing up and as I became a professional artist. Those inclinations to Sci-Fi, Fantasy, tragedy, theater, Magic, the occult, the Tarot and many other things (life itself, I daresay!) finally merged together to give birth to this story.
What’s UTOPIA about, then? Well, it’s about many things, but it’s mostly about emotions. About feelings that we all share, as people looking for our own way through life and its intricacies. Despite the fantastic setting, in the heart of UTOPIA lie questions that we’ve all asked ourselves and that I hope will take the readers on a journey not only through the strange and haunting Tower, but also through the very halls of their own illusions, hopes and fears. Quite an endeavour, huh?



What awaits you within the pages of the novel are many colorful and intriguing, mysterious, ridiculous, wise and magical characters, but, perhaps the most important of them all are The Empress of the Moon herself and her Imperial Guardian. It will be through their quest for answers that you’ll get to know other characters and some of the many levels contained within the Tower
But, who exactly is the Empress of the Moon? She’s the Supreme Monarch of the last bastion of life in a world that’s been devastated by the very thing that centuries before had sustained it: the Sun. In this remote wastelands, the Sun has become an enemy of life, burning with his bright face everything upon the surface of the lands; except for one thing: a vast, colossal Tower of one hundred and thirteen levels created to support the last remaining hopes of life there could be in such a realm.
The Tower was engineered by a (now long-absent) Emperor, of whom there are many stories but no certainties. Each level has their own legends and beliefs, though one thing is sure: without The Empress, there would be no life within the monolith.
It is her ritualistic dancing every night which holds the key to the survival of her vassals: through her, the rays of the Moon are channelled and redistributed to the building, thus energizing and sustaining it. That is why she’s so important and so heavily burdened. That is why she wants to escape her fate.
However, and as long as she reigns supreme over all the other governors and politicians in the different levels (as many and as varied and strange as the imagination of the Creator), she must be protected; and that’s where Sevenn, her Imperial Guardian, comes into the tapestry that is this story.
His stout soul is heavily marked and driven by his one duty: to protect the Empress. A very important and daunting task, even more so when you’re in love with her Majesty and you can touch her, feel her, night after night, as a sole witness of her greatness.
Sevenn’s heart is, thus, torn in half between his sense of honour and the Code he must uphold before the Masters of the Order of Steel and the inevitable feelings he holds for his Empress.
It is at this point that the story begins to unfold. When news of the Empress and the Guardian’s shortcomings and passions are discovered, Chancellor Opium -the appointed Primer Chancellor of The Forum, a multi-level meeting ground for matters of the state-, uses them as leverage against the rule of her Majesty by condemning Sevenn to stand trial before his Masters and the whole Tower. It is the Guardian’s refusal to fall into the schemes of Opium, which puts in motion the chain of events that will change the Tower’s history forever.
Many other fates will get tangled and intertwined into the destinies of the Empress and the Guardian, including the Brom’s, the Engineer Supreme of the Level of Biotechnology, or the terrible Piper, a herald of Death since times unknown. And all these will be, at the same time, overviewed by the haunting and mystical Magician and the Empress of the Sun, as he deals the Tarot cards that will tie the story together...



Ever since I read the works of J.R.R Tolkien, Alan Moore, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Neil Gaiman, and many others, I’ve been intrigued by archetypes, and the novel is full of them. Because it is in these universal personas that we can all find a bit of ourselves along the way and relate more to the work.
That’s the most important thing I’d like to achieve with UTOPIA: to have the readers feel for the characters.
That’s why, artistically, I used a combination of illustrated texts and comic-book narrative that lends the whole a more ‘legendary’ vibe.
The novel is all done with traditional media, artistic markers to be precise, written and put together by me, which was a titanic task, full of bumps along the way. It’s very difficult for a ‘foreigner’ to get into the market these days and even more so in the US, which is the ‘trying zone’ for any creator. However, I was lucky enough to have met Alex Kaulfuss, my Editor, whom gave me the opportunity to share my work with the work through his independent publishing house, WildeTimes Co.
This lent me the creative freedom to explore many things within the novel as well as develop the story as I saw fit, but also meant that I’d have to invest as much of myself in it as he was. A year’s worth of work I poured into these pages, from planning, to writing, to scheduling... and all peppered with the fact that I’m also living a life outside of my creations, which can sometimes get in the way of them. Thankfully, I could always rely on the great help of my friends whom deserve the credits I’ve given them in the pages of this work.
As it turns out, everything’s worked out well, from beginning to end; though UTOPIA doesn’t have an end, per sé.
This world I’ve created (or rather, discovered), as many worlds created by many authors, keeps on growing in many different ways, throwing some unexpected branches; some VERY unexpected branches. I’ve found that many characters have introduced themselves into my pages, and I’ve had to slowly dust off their stories, as an archaeologist; others have tied themselves to certain levels, or have told me their stories without showing me their faces. And that’s what will keep me working on this creation my whole life, I believe. And others as well, I hope.



I’m already planning the sequel to UTOPIA, focusing on the past of the Tower and some interesting characters you’ll meet on this first journey. I’m also working on other projects, as fulfilling and fun as this one:
N0.1R is a weekly strip, set in a fictional world where every inhabitant is a machine; a robot. Of course, you can tell by the title of the story that the story’s tone is that of the classic hard-boiled, noir, Detective films and tales, with a twist I hope you’ll find interesting. You can check out the updates every Thursday on WildeTimes’s site, in the web comics section.
I’m also working on many fan projects related to the universe of Warhammer 40,000, created by Games-Workshop. I’ve become quite a figure in the community dedicated to wargames, because of my style, which is an odd (but fresh) addition to this intricate and wonderful Dark Millenium. On my dA Gallery you’ll find many of those works, as I upload them.



Finally, I’d like to address dA itself: for a long time I refused to enter this community and open up my own Gallery, because I thought the site was too hectic, too crowded and chaotic for my tastes. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
It’s not chaotic, it’s innovative; it’s not crowded, it’s full of people willing to tell you where you’ve done well and where you can learn next time and improve; it’s not hectic, it’s inspirational, because of the sheer bulk of art that’s poured in it everyday, from the small, amateur artists just starting out to the experienced pros. And that’s the magic of this place. That’s its greatest reward. It keeps us all humble and reunites us, no matter how experienced or amateur, how famous or unknown, and invites us all to share our passion for art. It’s truly the place “where ART meets application”.

Thanks for reading!

Nic.-