So welcome everyone to the new Unseen Shadows website. From here I hope to keep you all up to date on all the news spinning out of the Unseen Shadows universe of which the Fallen Heroes novel and it’s upcoming follow-up, Forgotten Warriors, is a part.  As well as news on the novels there will be updates on some of the other spin-off titles in the works. The site is still being worked on so look out for changes on a daily basis.

This will also be your one shop site for picking up Comics, Books,CD’s and more from the Unseen Shadows Universe.

As this is the first time I’m really pushing the Unseen Shadows Universe I thought I would do a small post to explain the idea behind it all.

So What is Unseen Shadows?

Originally Fallen Heroes was called Unseen Shadows but the more I worked on the story the more I felt that the title was a little too overarching to fit one book. I knew I was going to tell this one huge adventure spread over three books and so Unseen Shadows became the overall theme for that story.

Now with the ongoing work to expand the world and characters I’ve created via the mediums of comics, audio and live action  it made sense to bring the term ‘Unseen Shadows’ more to the forefront. I know a lot of people, myself included sometimes, still refer to everything involved with the project as Fallen Heroes but in truth everything being worked on is part of the Unseen Shadows universe. It was one of the reasons I decided to launch this new website to try to reinforce that message.

The really exciting thing for me is how the spin-off work has affected me as I work on the second book in the trilogy, Forgotten Warriors. I found myself subconsciously referencing events in the spin-off scripts as if they were canon and then the thought occurred to me ‘Why don’t I just make them canon’.  So now every member of the creative team knows that their material is 100% a part of the Unseen Shadows universe and not just a nice little side story with no impact on the events surrounding it. The spin-offs expand and enhance the characters lives and relationships within the novels. Although the books and the spin offs can be read and enjoyed independently of each other you will get more insights into the characters by experiencing all the stories across the Unseen Shadows universe. At least that is the plan we are all working towards. You want to know more about the how the Reverend was trained to become the man we see in Fallen Heroes then you Cy Dethan’s The Reverend: Wrath of God comic.  If you’ve ever wondered how did a decorated solider like Clancy become a mercenary then Dan Thompson’s Clancy Wallencheck: Band of Butchers is for you. Desperate to learn about the inner working of the Icarus Foundation?  Alan White’s Tales of the Fallen: Empire of Blood audio drama is the place to begin your education.

So What’s first?

Well first up we will releasing four(maybe five)  one-shot comics, based on characters introduced in the Fallen Heroes novel,  in a digital only format and then to collect them as a anthology entitled ‘Tales of the Fallen’, which will be printed for launch later in 2011. Of we have the second issue of the comic adaptation which is being worked on as I type this.

I think if you a follower of the independant UK comic scene you will recongise some of the names already involved. They are all people I have a lot of respect for and am very happy to have them be part of what we are trying to do. Someone suggested to me after seeing the list of those involved that this team was ‘The Expendables of Indie Comics’ which bought a smile to my face as well as the team. A far as I know the team have no plans to overthrow any Latin American dictators any time soon.

So far involved in the comic side of things we have

Richmond Clements

Cy Dethan

Vicky Stonebrigde

Pete Rogers

Conor Boyle

Rob Carey

Dan Thompson

Martin Conaghan

Steve Penfold

Nic Wilkinson 

Roy Huteson Stewart

Paul McLaren

As time goes on I’ll be introducing you to some of the other teams involved in expanding the Unseen Shadows universe.

Why branch out into all these different mediums?

“I’ll wait for the audio version”

It was that phrase I heard years ago when someone was interested in buying the novel but only as an audio book that lodged the idea in the back of my head. It was one of reasons I sought out David Ault to do an audio version of Fallen Heroes. I was always drawn to the concept that whatever was your medium of choice there was a means by which you could experience the story I was trying to tell.

 To be honest a large share of how this came about should go to Nic Wilkinson, who always had this grand scheme of spin offs and expanding the Unseen Shadows universe for probably about two years now (I’m sure in a past list she was an evil genius). Being able to bounce ideas off her and getting her input has been invaluable in making this all work. She also knocked my head together with C Dethan’s who I been skirting around the idea of asking do a spin off comic for some time. There was never a plan to do more than one spin-off comic but Cy coming aboard to do the Reverend spin-off comic really opened the door and suddenly I found myself being emailed by loads of creative folk wanted to know how they could get involved. It also showed me that the only boundaries to what I’m trying to achieve are those I impose on myself. Doing this new website is a way to help me  embrace the idea that anything is possible.

I’m very lucky to be working with so many talented and great people. I’ve already learnt a hell of a lot from them and I hope this trend continues.

So be brave and take a step into the Unseen Shadows and I’ll see you on the other side.

Barry Nugent, author of Unseen Shadows: Fallen Heroes