Author: Alex Heberling

hiveworks:

umbrarising:

We at Hiveworks are proud to announce our latest collaborative comic, premiering early 2015!

What is Umbra Rising?

Umbra Rising is a comic about an isolated city in the middle of a dangerous world filled with monsters. During the day, the city is perfectly safe. At night, however, the populace locks themselves inside as the city streets fill with monsters. The only ones who can combat these creatures are very special girls with the power to transform into…

*MAGICAL GIRLS.*

While the girls go out and fight to protect the city, the town treats them as heroes and idols. Shops are filled with Magical Girl celebrity merchandise, and many girls lead wealthy lives as practical pop stars. But the danger they face is real, and not everyone appreciates the way the town views its saviors.

But obviously, magical girl comics are all about the characters! While the town is filled with various teams of girls, here’s the gals we’ll be following:

Tessa is Alchemical Aether. She’s the leader of the Alchemical Elements team, and probably the most powerful. She draws directly from the ambient magical power of their world to pull off attacks made of pure energy. But does being the most powerful necessarily make her a good leader?

Sally is Alchemical Fire. Appropriate to her element, she’s extremely fickle and passionate. She seems to always be angry about something or other, but everyone knows it’s because she’s the most sensitive of the group.

Undine is Alchemical Water. She’s the most level headed of the group, and usually does her best to keep everyone working together smoothly. She hates rocking the boat, though, and often lacks the assertiveness to help as much as she wants.

Sylvia is Alchemical Air. She’s the oldest of the group, and tries to seem the most mature. She takes full advantage of her Idol status, and has quit school to work as a fashion model.

Gwen is Alchemical Earth. Gwen never says more than she has to, but she tends to leave an impression when she speaks. Though sometimes she seems to be in her own mental space entirely.

Of course, these are just a few of the comic’s characters! They’ll be joined by other magical girls, investigators, reporters, and all kinds of other people that both help them and put them at odds.

So who’s making this?

Lead Artist: Oskar, artist of Olympus Overdrive.

Head Writer: Mary Cagle, aka Cube Watermelon. Creator of Kiwi Blitz and Let’s Speak English

Editors: Jojo, head of Hiveworks, and Isabelle, co-creator of Namesake.

Produced and Published by Hiveworks.

We’ve still got a while before the premiere, so we’ll be updating here with various concept sketches and art! Please follow us here and at Umbrarising.com, because it’s going to be quite a ride!

Excited that we can finally announce it. 

NEAT