How It All Began
The Blackstar Universe originally began in 2003 in SURGE #1 (from Ninja Frog Comics/Studio NFC) and over 20 years later has expanded from the adventures of only Surge to an entire cadre of characters from the dark and brooding Erron Stairin to the honorable Kargin El Tomath to the adventurous Tommy Tallfellow of DRAGONDARK, and more!
Follow along as our heroes travel from Earth to Hades to the dark and fantastic realm of Nerin Toth and other amazing places, all held within the Blackstar Universe.
Our story begins with SURGE #1 in which Surge finds himself as the guest on daytime talk show Chatty Cathy, discussing is his past, arriving on the shores of San Diego, California from his home under the Pacific Ocean called Pacifica, to his rogue's gallery of villains such as Painmaker, Gunslinger, Chen Tai, King Konnie, his ex-wife Arctic, and his sidekick goldfish, Goldie Surge.
The talk show is interrupted by a group calling themselves the Super Justice Revengers who want to prove themselves as better heroes than Surge by attacking him on the live set. The group consists of Chihuahua Boy (half man-half dog), Half-Pint (a disabled man with the lower half of his body amputated), Gender Bender (a transgender with super human strength and the ability to vomit with the force of 3,000 PSI), Tiny Tina (a dwarf woman with super strength), and The Faceless Man (a retired vigilante with a giant hole where his face should be.) Surge quickly dispatches of the group only for Cathy to be shot by a Surge stalker in the crowd in which she loses a nipple. Surge apprehends the stalker, but loses an eye in the battle (his powers of enhanced regeneration eventually allow him to grow the eye back.)
In Surge #2, Surge is sent by police chief Black Cheetah, a character based on an African-American fable about the struggle of apartheid for Africans, to apprehend a gangster named Nutsack Jimmy. After the arrest, Surge is gunned down by German speaking gangsters and kidnapped. The razor sharp bone spurs that protrude from his forearms are sawed off and it is is revealed he is being held captive by a group of necromancer neo-Nazis led by a woman named Annabelle who was also working with Black Cheetah the entire time.
The series, GRIMM, INDIANA, takes place in the small town of Grimm, Indiana. It is revealed that Black Cheetah was working undercover to try to apprehend Annabelle, and his failure to do so, as well as Surge's injuries, cause Black Cheetah to be demoted. The human incarnation of the Greek deity, Zeus, is promoted to police chief of Grimm, and the series begins with Surge and Black Cheetah trying to solve a murder mystery, which introduces the characters, Chris Rook, and exotic adult entertainer, Snow Whitney (the human incarnation of the fairy tale, Snow White.)
Throughout the series, Surge, along with Snow Whitney, Black Cheetah, and Chris Rook, attempt to infiltrate Annabelle's zombie neo-Nazi group and the KKK. Black Cheetah and Rook are both killed in the battle with Zeus, revealing himself to be aligned with Grimm, Indiana mayoral candidate and member of the KKK, Pierce Charming, and Annabelle. Zeus and Charming are both killed, and the deity Hades brings Charming back to life as a part of Annabelle's zombie army. The mysterious "Bard", a traveling rock n' roll musician, reveals in the series that Surge may not be the son of the Greek deity, Poseidon, after all, but is instead a creation of an unknown artist who used the magic of a book called the Grimmoire to bring chaos to the world. Annabelle and the last of her zombies escape the authorities. Surge and Snow then travel to the Chicago ComicCon to confront the enigmatic artist to stop him from ruining Surge's life. During the confrontation, an anomaly occurs in the fabric of space and time, transporting Surge and Snow to the world of DRAGONDARK. Grimm, Indiana, was nominated in 2011 by The Duck Webcomics, the world's largest web-comic database, for Best Series of the Year and Best Mystery/Crime/Noir Series of the Year.
The DRAGONDARK novels are an ongoing fantasy series created in 2018 by Craig DeBoard, along with contributions from family and friends, including acclaimed comic book inker, Jose Fuentes, set in the dark post-apocalyptic fantasy world of Nerin Toth, a place overrun by zombies. The series follows characters Kargin El Tomath, Erron, Turk'en, Captain Hellcat, Aldion Stormsky, Tommy Tallfellow, and more as they struggle with sword and sorcery to defeat the evil undead plague by capturing three mysterious orbs that contain the essences of the gods of good, neutrality, and evil. The first novel primarily follows Kargin in his quest for honor and his eventual rise to king. The second novel showcases the rest of the cast when they are kidnapped by the evil pirate, Captain Beerbeard. The cast of Grimm, Indiana, is thrust into the world of Nerin Toth, where Surge and Snow align themselves with Kargin and the other heroes, while Annabelle and her army of zombies align with the evil dark elf, Sabal, and the Greek deity Poseidon. Throughout the series, themes of heroism and romance are commonplace as the heroes embark on an adventure of a lifetime. The original trilogy, DragonDark Archives, also includes a spin-off series called DragonDark Fables, which tells the stories of Nerin Toth's past. The books are available through Amazon.com in hardcover, paperback, and Amazon Kindle. The current production schedule for future DragonDark products includes the third and final installment of the Archive Trilogy, a collected edition of all of the DragonDark Fables series, a DragonDark coloring book entitled DragonDark Mazes, and an upcoming DragonDark RPG (role-playing game) with a Dungeons & Dragons rules system licensed from Wizards of the Coast.
The 12-issue web-comic series, NEW NATION, takes place during the present day, after the heroes of Surge, Grimm, Indiana, and DragonDark have returned to Earth, only to find themselves caught in the apocalyptic end times of the book of Revelation from the Christian Holy Bible. New characters Cale Delivronce, J4, and Old Man Matthew are introduced.
All of the books, both comics and novels, are collectively referred to as the BLACKSTAR UNIVERSE and are available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads, with links to each installment available on the CD Artist Productions blog.