Characters

Locations

The Sign of the Cross, Behind the Scenes 

As the opening chapter of KoL, I wanted this story to dive deep into an already going story. I admit this was not the original prologue for KoL. The following story "Celebration of Hope" (to be published on the 5th of December) was the initital introduction to this fantasy setting. After reading "Celebration" though I couldn't help but feel that it was too introductory and didn't meddle with a huge event. It's true you can't have a climactic scene before you start building a plot. Thus "The Sign of the Cross" was written afterwards as a story with a more vital incident, the discovery that the calm life of Lucifer's Theocracy is not so calm as they Inquisition thought...

The title itself is an indirect tribute to Umberto Eco's amazing work "The Name of the Rose". How is "The Sign of the Cross" linked to "The Name of the Rose" you say? I will leave that one unanswered though I bet my age group can figure it right away...

The name "Berengarius" and the appearance of the character with that alias is another tribute to "The Name of the Rose" and particularly the movie version. The "moon-faced" Berengarius was one of the monks who read the forbidden book of Aristotle.

As I want the pacing to be quick with not many clarifications or captions (I believe the art should do most of the talking and not the lettering) I felt there were details that weren't stretched enough. For this reason the Lore section of the KoL site is a brother to the comic pages. It is intended to be read after the comic pages and fill in or clairfy the gaps that the comics left implied.

So as an advice, whenever you read a story in the flipping book, if you wish to explore it deeper, make sure to check out the links in the story's artcicle.

I hope you enjoy this combination!

Characters

Locations

Celebration of Hope, Behind the Scenes 

Facing a blank page can be inviting on one hand... intimidating on the other. That is how KoL began. "Celebration of Hope" was the first story I wrote for this setting. I can't even remember the first draft titles. But the point was to write an introductory story in 8 comic pages, where we see Jerusalem with the pillar of light, the arena event, the Test and the Star's appearance. And believe it or not I actually managed it in 8 pages...

Then I asked myself. Why am I being so strict? Is the pilot comic impressive? And the answer was no!

So here we have, after many many revisions, the original pilot of KoL in 16 pages.

What do you think? Does it work better following "The Sign of the Cross" story? Personally I think it needed to come after a deeper plot Pilot like the new Prelude and then start answering the introductory questions it aims to bring out.

Lastly if you haven't already, do check out the updated Characters section. As each story will be introducing new material so will there be new entries to the Lore Section of KoL.

Characters

Locations

Star of Bethlehem, Behind the Scenes 

Finally the introductions and niceties are through so we can move on to the main story: The Messiah has arrived and Lucifer's Church is pretty annoyed...

Yet the "Behind the Scenes" topics are about my secret winks. But I'd like to let you do the talking now.

Can you guess the new tribute reference I am making through the pages of this story? Let me help, it is on page 5!

If you find it, you get a free 2012 subscription!

Characters

Locations

A Woman Scorned, Behind the Scenes 

As the first issue concludes we take a deeper look at what is going on in the backstage. This story consists of two parts, the first showing the leaders of this bizarre world, while the second part begins a plot that will be concluded in issue 2 Dawn of a New Age and expanded in the spin off volume Sagas: Salome. The perceptive readers will recognize the latter name being referred to in the Prelude's Sign of the Cross story.

Characters

Locations

The Three Magi, Behind the Scenes 

In this article I would like to praise the contributions of the artists to the whole beauty of the comic. While I like to write in full script as to have complete control of the pages and scenes, I welcome the pleasant surprises of the inspired artists.

In particular in this story, in the first page's last panel, we see the hoof of Caiaphas' horse stepping on some orchids. The perceptive reader will recognize these as the exotic flowers from the "Star of Bethlehem" story, that served as Joseph's ticket to Lord John's estate.

A big thanks to the amazing illustrator Xi Chen, AKA PX of Robekka Studios who came up with this brilliant direction detail that adds cohesion to the two chapters! It is the small details that reveal the enthusiasm in the creative process, one I am deeply grateful of from all the involved artists!

Characters

Locations

Holy Wounds, Behind the Scenes 

As the first 4 page story "Holy Wounds" follows a compact and dense story telling mode, one I am very fond of. As the plot has unfolded a few layers of mystery, we take a glimpse at the busy background. This story serves as the glue among the previous chapters and characters that seemed unlinked. Let's take a look at the cast.

In the crucifixion of the late Lord John we see Salome with her brother Herod and his son Archelaus. Master Kish is standing opposite to them both literally and metaphorically as an old friend of Lord John. Among the observers we see Adelia with her friends from the prelude story.

Next during John's Lord Inquisitor coronation we see Caiaphas himself performing the ceremony with High Priest Antipater present. Among the guests we see Adelia's troupe again.

Maryam's fans might be a bit disappointed to see her so “overdressed” in her marriage to Lord Inquisitor John. Hang in there fellas, her best is yet to come!!

Finally Namira’s appearance serves as the explanation of how the news of John’s baby reached the vengeful Salome.

Characters

Locations

Massacre of the Innocents, Behind the Scenes 

With this story we see how the 4 pages work, with 2 such stories per week. It is a short and sweet storytelling mode that doesn't tire the reader nor keep him waiting forever for the sequel.

In "Massacre" we have two vital characters appearing.

The first is Lilith, probably of the most important Deimos Comics characters. You'll see why next month!

The second one is the handsome dude from KoL's site intro page. What you didn't recognize him in any massacre pages? Well, he is the reason the "Celebration of Hope" rape scene wasn't just a meaningless sex filler...

Characters

Locations

Caspar

Sodom

Berakhiah

Melchior

Balthazar

One Thousand Days in Sodom, Behind the Scenes 

This is probably the most important story so far. It spills out the beans.

The lettering does the least talking here, so the perceptive reader will get a TON of info if he studies the geography panels. They show where the story takes place and what is going on on the rest of world.

Bear in mind there is extensive research behind these two "map" panels and everything has a reason for being the way it is. And yes you saw correctly, the entire equator is continental and the upper and lower hemispheres flooded!

Characters

Locations

Sodom

Maryam

Berakhiah

Divine Inspiration, Behind the Scenes 

The original plan for KoL was for it to be a mature rated comic, with a spin off series called "Apocrypha". This story was originally intended for that spin off. Ultimately this would prove too restricting, as Apocrypha would need to have a certain theme in EVERY chapter. Some chapters would work, some wouldn't.

So this story is the teen rated version of a cancelled mature series.

Characters

Locations

Mourning, Behind the Scenes 

This story starts with Herod in his deathbed suffering from a horrid plague. His youngest son Antipas is by his side. It is only mentioned how Salome was the one responsible for this curse, but we don’t see how it actually happened. This will be revealed in the first volume of the Sagas series, Salome.

Also if you think Herod’s final lesson was a sick idea you are quite right. But I must admit it wasn’t mine… but the original Herod’s instead!

Characters

Locations

Godfried

Bolvert

David

Caiaphas

Antonius

Master Kish

David & Goliath, Behind the Scenes 

This story begins one of my favorite chapters in KoL, the story of David. Though the character has "guest appeared" before, "David & Goliath" is the actual beginning of his epic.

My love for martial arts has strongly influenced KoL's story writing. In this story specifically I am making a tribute to the protocol of traditional japanese martial arts rather than actual techniques themselves. One of this protocol's elements that fascinates me is the kindness and mutual respect of the bow between two practicioners. When David decides to submit himself to the Inquisition's life, he bows before Master Kish and asks him to teach him. This is a direct reference to the japanese phrase "onegaisimasu" that means "please teach me, spar with me" and is politely exchanged between two trainees before sparring. Master Kish returns the kindness in the traditional japanese way, where both master and student bow before each other for the mutually educational practice that will follow.

Finally I'd like to welcome the phenomenal House of Imagi comics team, in their first Deimos story. We will be seeing more of their amazing work in the stories to come!

Characters

Locations

Berakhiah

Maryam

Immortal Threat, Behind the Scenes 

Happy Valentine’s Day friends!

Remember, avoid poor Berakhiah’s example and don’t get into any negative thoughts on this special day! The consequences can only be detrimental… (spoiler I know but hey, the message is worth it!)

Characters

Locations

Dorian

Balthazar

Jonathan

Caspar

Isis

Dorian, Behind the Scenes 

This was the first "Kingdom of Light" story that was illustrated, back when I was researching the market for artists to realize the images in my mind. I consider it an immense fortune that I found Robekka Studios and their blessed artist P.X.

I must admit the Dorian trilogy (Dorian, Vindication, Holy Communion) at that time was not my favorite story arc within KoL. Therefore I used it for artist experimentation. And boy was I in for a surprise! I immediately fell in love with P.X's art and the new story arc. And of course by now you recognize his style from the previous chapters.

Concerning the story itself, I wanted a situation to show how the Aeonian thing works. It is a tribute to one of my favorite modern mythologies, White Wolf's classic, Vampire the Masquerade.

Also I wanted to show how sick Caspar is (like his looks are not enough for you to get it) just in case someone still thought the three magi are nice guys...

And finally I am making two more tributes to writers I greatly appreciate. The first is quite obvious. The second one can be guessed. His looks inspired the character Yael, Sodom's vilest pit's owner!

Characters

Locations

Dorian

Balthazar

Jonathan

Caspar

Isis

Dorian, Behind the Scenes 

My concern with this story was to avoid making it TOO shocking. In the original draft of both "Dorian" and "Vindication" there was an extra character called Ganymedes. The name was a reference to his sexual orientation. However he turned out to be TOO "flamboyant" and "feminine", so I replaced him in the cell with the maid's corpse from the previous story. I hope the result is neither homophobic nor gay, but tasteful.

Characters

Locations

 Balthazar

 Isis

 Dorian

 Jonathan

Holy Communion, Behind the Scenes 

This is by far the most blasphemous story that made it to publishing. Yes, that means that there is even worse material that didn't make it. The most provoking of the lot was the story "Immaculate Conception", the prologue of the Apocrypha spin off. But unlike "Holy Communion" that story was simply impossible to adapt to a teen rated version.

In "Holy Communion" I wanted to give some major info about the lore, but also ridicule the severity of the revelation. So if you look past the comical insanity of the situation and pay attention to Balthazar's talk, you will unlock a major piece of the puzzle (and no I am not referring to the timeframe of the setting).

Characters

Locations

 David

 Saul

 Kish

 Berakhiah

Hidden Truths, Behind the Scenes 

This has been my favorite story all along. It was a chance to show a full action sequence and put all my favorite things from martial arts: techniques, theory... and precious insights.

So I wanted this story to look perfect! This gives me a chance to show to you a bit of the backstage process when choosing an artist.

Before discovering the brilliant Verry from House of Imagi, two more artists had submitted test pages for Hidden Truths. Here are these samples and a look at the backstage process of artist selection.

I already had imagined KoL's look in my mind, and the styles of these samples were not what envisioned for this story.

And finally this was Verry's submition that totally amazed me by it's awesome dynamism!

The astoute reader will notice that Verry's take on David is the attire of Berakhiah. Verry at that time wasn't familiar with the series and wanted to show his capabilities. His take was very inspired and I decided that we had to use that attire look on another character. Hence Berakhiah's suit.

And here is again the final result after many many many rounds of revisions...

Aside Verry's beautiful style, I feel compelled to commend him on his professionalism and dedication. Drawing the martial arts techniques correctly took great patience and endless revisions, which he was eager to do to get a perfect result!

On the theory of martial arts I want to explain what would otherwise pass unnoticed. In the final page David and Saul face off on a mental level, shifting in turns through various battle stances. These stances are called "kamae" in japanese, and are the five stances of the Gogyo Setsu. Each stance represents a basic element (fire, water, wood, metal, earth) and thus they follow a circular order of one having the advantage over the other.

So in the following strip, while they had both begun from Chudan (water), David lowers his sword thus changing to Gedan (earth) and then Saul correctly adjusts to Hasso (wood).

They correctly follow the cycle, from Hasso (wood) to Waki (metal), to Jodan (fire), until they reach Chudan (water) again, from where the cycle started.

This is a personal tribute to Iaido, an art I deeply appreciate.

As for the precious insights... I will let the following story elaborate on that, where Kish and David will have a personal master-student discussion.

Characters

Locations

 David

 Melchior

 Kish

 Caiaphas

Anointment, Behind the Scenes 

When conceiving the Avatar’s Watchtower I wanted its architecture to be eloquent on all the questions that tantalize the reader. So right from scratch when making the very first sketches I had decided that my design should clearly answer the following questions:

When does this story take place? The high tech design, the unidentified craftsmanship of its exterior and the quite impossible structure strongly state that, aside what the rest of the setting claims, this is definitely not a medieval world!

Isn’t Lucifer evil? The Watchtower of Lucifer’s Avatar is not a cheesy Transylvanian tower of simple evil, yet an elegant and very modern building that rises above everything else mundane. Yet its leaning-back angle is like it glances arrogantly over its dominion, hinting the view of the Theocracy towards the rest of the not so fortunate world. The beautiful Japanese inspired garden on the roof also reveals that the owner has a taste for peace and calmness, but also very selfishly requires a haven away from the ugliness of the remaining world.

Symbolism is a fluent tool, and like Master Kish reveals to David, it is always much more rewarding to read between the lines to discover and comprehend a secret truth than been given that message loud and clear.

 3d model and renders by John Boulmetis

Characters

Locations

Isis

Jonathan

Joseph

Dorian

Balthazar

Dark & Light, Behind the Scenes 

It was time for the cast to merge in tighter formations. What was until now a theater of mavericks is coming together to form clear sides.

With this issue the timeline has reached the point where the major events will take place. This and the following two stories are the pauses before the fireworks. It is during such pauses where the characters may unfold their quirks and traits that we may get to know them better.

So rest with them, gather your strength... for hell is about to break loose in Lucifer's Kingdom (big surprise ha??)

Characters

Locations

Isis

Jonathan

Joseph

Dorian

Balthazar

Armor of the Gods, Behind the Scenes 

Storytelling and event broadcasting are obviously two entirely different things. When making up the Armor of the Gods story, my first images were of Jonathan walking into a dungeon with “phat loot” awaiting at its end. Yet it turned out that the story was narrated from an entirely different angle, only hinting the original concept.

It would be a shame to reduce an epic dungeon crawl into 4 pages, though admittedly it would be a challenge! Instead I chose to have another pause to explore the characters. Dorian’s book reading fascination, Joseph’s combo of bad humor and cooking, Balthazar’s snide offenses against Joseph and a bit of lore unveiling were much more preferable to a simple action dungeon crawl. And it’s all the more intriguing when wondering just what the hell happened on that adventure…

And a wink to all metalheads, the story’s name is a tribute to a song from my very first metal album, the unsurpassed epic wonder from Manowar, The Triumph of Steel.

Characters

Locations

David

Godfried

Wasteland of Nod, Behind the Scenes 

Finally the moment I had been waiting for!! KoL gets really really exciting now... David is my kind of hero, out with a vengeance and the good guys are about to get their arses handed to them... YAY!

This was the final pause before hell-on-earth! And as a pause it allowed for more character exploration. I hope you all felt sorry for poor old Godfried...

And last but not least, this was a chance to explain even further how the masses consider the odd state of Pentapolis' illuminating pattern. It should be clear to all readers for when these guys reach Sodom next week!!

See you there ;)

Characters

Locations

David

Maryam

Godfried

Hunter or Prey, Behind the Scenes 

"Cold hearted bastard!"

I want to start with the story's last line... it is so ironic to the main event of this chapter.

While the mission is the arrest of Maryam, this story's point is to show the not so absolute character of David. I hope you appreciate the reference to all the previous appearances of David, as this one concludes the circle of his character with a twist!

Also the dagger definitely constitutes an icon. It is a powerful KoL symbol and I am very happy with the unique and intricate design of it. And Godfried's "ride towards the sunset" is a very promising scene for future possibilities...

Characters

Locations

Isis

Joseph

Jonathan

Lilith

Dorian

Balthazar

Berakhiah

Griotgard

Old Debts, Behind the Scenes 

In this chapter I wanted to have fun with the characters in the first half, and in the second to finally start giving some real clues about what the hell is going on in KoL.

So in the beginning we see Isis and her party mutilating some really unlucky aeonian messengers. I wanted to make all the good guys look combat worthy and give a taste for the messy things to come. So Isis annihilates the aeonians with her Holy Essense, Dorian shows his superior, even for aeonian standards, strength (he tasted the Messiah's blood remember?), Jonathan is the warrior of the group kicking ass with his "1337" gear, Balthazar the occultist with the destructive spell power and Joseph... well he doesn't do much in this fight but we have seen him destroy Caiaphas. His actual role in this story, and the most vital one, is to finally position for the reader the timeline of KoL!!

In the second half in the dream of Barabbas we finally get a side answer from Lilith as to why we have all the coincidenses with all the biblical names and roles!

This is hands down the most important chapter so far story telling wise.

Characters

Locations

Isis

Joseph

Jonathan

David

Dorian

Balthazar

Griotgard

Deliverance, Behind the Scenes 

"Tonight there's gonna be a jailbreak..."

And so the good guys finally get a chance to meet the not so good protagonist guy. I remember this was the toughest story to arrange in the 8 pages format. I originally intended for an extra sequence of Isis having a premonition of what lies ahead if she joins the team that goes to save her mother, instead of staying behind with Jonathan. She knowingly decides to move forward with a sweet sadness... In the end I removed it as it would not have enough space to be presented in all its emotional glory. Aside that it would spoil the narration at that point, and so I decided to allow for just one small very discrete panel to hint that which I don't wish to now spoil...

Characters

Locations

Isis

Joseph

Jonathan

David

Dorian

Balthazar

Maryam

Barabbas

High Priest Antipater

Golgotha, Behind the Scenes 

I admit, this is what gets me going! This story delivers on so many levels. Character interaction, endless combat, technical maneuvers that reflect emotions (yes the way Caiaphas takes out David is called shiho-nage and it means he does not wish to harm him), lore, mutilations... (did you notice Balthazar has had his eyes removed?)

All I can say is bon apetit... and I hope I succeeded with this story in giving you the major question that I intended to!

Characters

Locations

Isis

Joseph

Jonathan

David

Dorian

Balthazar

Maryam

Barabbas

Antipas

Melchior

Lilith

Exodus, Behind the Scenes 

What the previous story only implied, this one shouts! And the huge secret is none other than the nature of Caiaphas, Lucifer's Avatar...

The second major detail of Exodus is the reference to the mysterious Heart of Diabole. If it sounds familiar it means that you are following the Theoktonia series too.

And I have to say that it took a lot of organizing to write both series so as to present the crossover elements simultaenously!

Characters

Locations

Isis

Joseph

Jonathan

David

Dorian

Balthazar

Maryam

Barabbas

Recollections, Behind the Scenes 

Whenever I publish a story I am thinking of all the reasons I enjoy it. It may get old but I will recount them once more concerning "Recollections".

Aside the wink references that I so much love to include, this story offers the perfect chance for a dialogue between Isis and David. I had been wanting to fit this somewhere and this situation just presented itself. It sheds some light on the views of the Inquisition concerning the world and their role.

To those who might be offended by the depiction of Jesus and his behavior in this story's scenario, let me say that the myth of the Wandering Jew is not my inspiration and is much older to Deimos Comics, or any comics for that matter.

And unfortunately neither the brilliant scene of Balthazar's flashback is mine...

Characters

Locations

David

Joseph

Jonathan

Dorian

Balthazar

Lilith

Change of Hearts, Behind the Scenes 

Linear storytelling as you have probably found out is not what I consider the most inspired way to tell a tale. It might be the most comprehendable way but it's also not the most exciting one. So we hear this story from the narrations of Dorian and David. This allows us to have two big shocks that hit us in the beginning and the middle.

We finally learn the motives of Balthazar and Lilith. To this point most of the huge questions a reader could have are in a way satisfied with answers.

This is the point where I consider the basics finally covered.

The following story is the last of KoL's first season, where a major cliffhanger will leave the reader gasping for the sequel.

Characters

Locations

Beelzebub

Lucifer

Mammon

Marduk

Ahriman

Balthazar

Sansenoy

Lilith

Semangelof

Tomb of the Ancient, Behind the Scenes 

If "Change of Hearts" covered the basics of the plot, "Tomb of the Ancients" finally pulls the curtain for good! The entire case with the world and how it got there is literally clarified. Congrats to all those who had guessed some of these revelations!

With this story the Prologue of "Kingdom of Light" is concluded. Thank you all for following the weekly schedule and sharing your thoughts and impressions, that was definitely the most fun part for me!