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SF/espionage and adventure... Genjiro Nakadai thinks he's found the perfect job, when he volunteers for the Special Forces, an elite division of the Greater Union Army of Exedra. The recruiter's promise of adventure and high pay sours, when Genjiro finds out what the job really is. By then, it's too late to back out. As he falls deeper into intrigue and danger, the likelihood of getting his own life back dwindles. ShadowFall is currently on hiatus.

(NOTE: This comic is not for children; it contains graphic violence, strong language and occasional nudity.)

New readers:
Read from the First comic, or use the archive page for summaries of each issue and direct calendar links.

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This page contains links to all the pages in each issue of ShadowFall, plus all the special and guest comics. I've included a short summary of what happens in each issue, for those of you who may have lost your place while reading (and in the course of me moving the site to a new host!). I've also included some comments on each issue, regarding the quality of art (which steadily improved, throughout the series) and the pacing of the action. I've done this, because I felt my earlier work was not as good as it could have been, as I was still trying to learn how to adapt my prose writing to fit the comics format, and also I was still trying to tweak my drawing style. I hope these comments will help you, as a new reader, to know what to expect in each issue.

At the bottom of the comments/summary links, you'll find calendar links, in case you can recall the date of the last comic you read, but not the issue it was in. All the links to the ShadowFall storyline on this page go to the fast PHP directory. But both archives still exist and will be updated concurrently, so if you've bookmarked a page in the full-version archive, not to worry. It will still be there. This new archive is only for those who don't want to read the rants or have all the extra graphic links. To return to the full-version pages, click on the ShadowFall banner at the top of the pages.

If you find a link that doesn't work, please let me know, so I can fix it, ASAP. My email address is: kaisatake at gmail dot com, or you can get me at ksatake@kyokipress.com.

Please allow a few moments for the page to load, as there are a lot of very large tables on it.

--Kaichi

The ShadowFall Archive

Series One: "Into the Abyss"

Summary: Genjiro and Ilyana at Colonel Alex Davidov's apartment, on Erosia. They are interrupted by Erosian agents, and Gen and Ili flee to the roof. Gen is wounded; Ili calls for help.

My comments: I was using a 5H pencil (a very hard lead, which produces clean, light lines), when I drew most of this issue, so a lot of the lines are lost in the scanning. I didn't quite have a handle on the looks of my characters, yet, either, so their faces change, slightly, from panel to panel. The pacing in this one is fairly fast, though, after a slow intro.

Summary: Genjiro and Ilyana are attacked by an Erosian gunship. The Dart, flown by Max, arrives and blasts the gunship, then picks up Gen and Ili. They are pursued by fighters as they attempt to escape back to the Exedran space carrier, Akagi.

My comments: I like this issue better than issue one, because I had begun to put more into the backgrounds and special effects, and I also got to use plenty of the medical research I had done for this book. I was getting closer to how I wanted the characters to look, as well. The pacing in this one is pretty fast, throughout.

Summary: Max begins his relentless pursuit of Ilyana, while Genjiro is in the operating room. Ili reports in to General Fuchida, the head of the Greater Union Army's intelligence branch. She then has a flashback to her youth, involving Alex Davidov.

My comments: This issue also uses a lot of my medical research, and was fairly difficult to draw. I think my drawings, in several places, could have been a lot better. My personal life was not too hot, while I was working on this book, and I think it shows. The pacing is good, but not fast.

Summary: Genjiro is in recovery, and has a dream, which reveals what happened to him directly before he became an agent. Ilyana is allowed to see him, but he's unconscious. She is shown to temporary quarters, and then has her sleep interrupted by the irrepressible Max.

My comments: This issue has lots of exposition and characterization, so it moves much more slowly than the previous three. I was also experimenting, a little, with some different drawing techniques, so one of the pictures of Ilyana in the shower almost comes off as manga-ish. I quickly abandoned that, though, as I felt the look didn't fit me or my storytelling style. Page six of this issue is where I began using ink for the black hair, instead of doing it in heavily-shaded pencil. (Five guest comics appear on my birthday week, starting 24 September, between the last page of Issue 4 and the first page of Issue 5. I've not listed them in this dropdown. To see them, use the Special Comics dropdown, below, and choose one from the first five comics listed under "Guests." Clicking on those, though, will take you out of the FAST! directory.)

Summary: Akagi speeds back to Exedra, and its shuttle takes our characters to Fort Rios, in Palacia. Max has a confrontation with his crew chief, Diana. Ilyana confronts Gen, when he wakes up in the base hospital, and scolds him. He meets Colonel Chi Nguyen, with unpleasant results. Nguyen complains to Fuchida about yet another "brat" recruit.

My comments: Even though the action pace of this issue is slow, I like it, a lot, because I get to show a lot of the characters' hearts. The plot is advanced, slowly, bit by bit, and comes off just as I had written it, in the novel. My artwork is much better in this issue, than it was even in the previous one. There are also nine full-color pages at the beginning of issue five, to accentuate the space special effects, but I grew tired of the color, pretty fast.

Summary: Genjiro gets a visit from his fellow cadet, Nikki LeFevre, who has brought him a surprise. General Fuchida pays a visit to Ilyana's quarters, and his visit leaves her feeling melancholy. Max is still bugging her, but she refuses his calls. He and his friends are in a local tavern, which he ends up leaving, in a huff. Nguyen meets Ili in the gym, and they discuss the recruits and upcoming mission. Fuchida visits Gen in the hospital, and drops the final bomb on him.

My comments: This issue also has a fairly slow pace, due to the amount of exposition and character development required to set things up for the next series. I'm mostly happy with the art, here, though, as I can see where I've improved a great deal. (Five guest comics appear between the last page of Issue 6, and the beginning of Series Two, Issue 1. I've not listed them in this dropdown. The guest comics section is being re-vamped.)

Series Two: "The Secret of Nin"

The story moves to the Exedran mining colonies on Ardo, now occupied by Erosian troops. Major Sinyakov's group takes a potassium mine, and "isolates" the workers, who are suspected of being resistance fighters. Back on Erosia, Emperor Josef II berates General Zinaida Litvak, the commander of Army Intelligence.

My comments: This issue moves the story along a deeper path, and shows off what I consider to be my best artwork, to date. I've gone back to using only pencils for the pages, and I'm very happy with the results! I'm doing more with backgrounds and interesting angles than ever before, and I can see a definite improvement in my known trouble spots (though perspective still needs work!!).

In this issue, we return to the Rios base, in Palacia, on Exedra, and begin the training of the new recruits.

The Specials and Guest Comics section is under re-construction. I'll replace it, later. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause!