I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the GODFELL: The Complete Series by Chris Sebela & Ben Hennessy Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the giveaway!
About The Book:
Title: GODFELL: The Complete Series
Authors: Chris Sebela & Ben Hennessy (Illustrator)
Pub. Date: March 19, 2024
Publisher: Vault Comics
Formats: Paperback, eBook
Pages: 192
XENA Warrior Princess meets The Lord of the Rings in GODFELL: The Complete Series, where the sudden appearance of a dead god who falls to Earth sets off a chain reaction of events for control of the world in this woman warrior-led, high fantasy adventure. God is dead. Who’s next? One sunny day in the land of Kerethim, God falls dead from the sky. The impact sends out shockwaves that draw in royal families at war, shadowy creatures of the dark, and armies of the dispossessed, all coming to lay claim to parts of God's body. Into this power struggle wanders Zanzi Vuiline, a soldier and berserker trying to get home from a years-long war. Forced to fight her way through the strange landscapes in and on God's corpse, from the soles of its feet through the top of its head, Zanzi will acquire a mysterious traveling companion on her own pilgrimage. GODFELL: The Complete Series tells the story of a fierce warrior woman tired of war and her traveling companion with her own reasons for war weariness – and revenge. These two forces of nature are on a journey to find their way back home – and to themselves. Written by Eisner Award-nominated author Chris Sebela and illustrations by rising star artist Ben Hennessy.
For fans of: Xena: Warrior Princess, Monstress (Liu/Takeda), Red Sonja, Barbaric (Moreci/Gooden), Queen of Swords (Moreci/Howell/Gooden), Briar, Step By Bloody Step, The Witcher, Rat Queens, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, Die, Coda, Seven to Eternity, Isola, and Elf Quest.
“Godfell is a big, savage blast of legendary warrior fiction. It has a brilliant premise, striking artwork and fascinating protagonists.” – Eoin Colfer (New York Times bestselling author of: Artemis Fowl, The Supernaturalist, The Wish List, The Fowl Twins, Highfire, Illegal, W.A.R.P., Ironman: The Gauntlet, Doctor Who: A Big Hand for the Doctor, and more! )
“Godfell is that rare idea that makes me upset I didn’t hatch it myself: an axe-swinging yet soulful journey into the mysteries of the physical realm — and beyond.” — Daniel Kraus (New York Times bestselling author of: The Shape of Water, Whalefall, The Teddies Saga, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch, Trollhunters, THE AUTUMNAL (Vault Comics), THE CEMETERIANS (Vault Comics), and more!)
"Godfell is completely sweeping me away with its Odysseus-like journey home through beautiful landscapes, with a rich lore and compelling characters. It holds mysteries I can't wait to see resolved but I'll enjoy the path as patiently as I can. A brilliant work by the creators!" - Nora Twomey (award-winning animator, director, screenwriter, producer and voice actress. Known for: Wolfwalkers, My Father’s Dragon, The Breadwinner, The Secret of Kells)
“Fantasy doesn't get more epic than this! The mother of all quests begins here!” -Cavan Scott (New York Times bestselling author and screenwriter: Star Wars: The High Republic, Shadow Service, Doctor Who, Sherlock Holmes, 2000 A.D.)
"Godfell ushers in an exciting new fantasy comic that is electrifying and dynamic with a magnetic woman warrior on a mysterious journey. Sebela takes well-worn genre beats and makes it his own. Wonderfully illustrated and eloquently written, Godfell is a godsend. 10/10– Lotusland Comics
“… recommend picking this up if you’re a fan of fantasy adventures in weird worlds such as The Last Airbender.” – Sequential Planet
AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST AND LOVELY HUMAN, BEN HENNESSY
COMIC BOOK YETI: What movies/television/books/video games inspired GODFELL?
BEN HENNESSY: A lot of all of the above would be my answer. I sourced out some material for specific reasons but for the most part I have just consumed so much horror, sci-fi and fantasy over the years it’s become part of my mental reference library by osmosis.
As our book is set inside the body of a giant corpse, that was something that I had to set out and find some reference for as what the inside of a body looks like isn’t something that I’m entirely familiar with. I always try to reference from life first and foremost, so I looked up a lot of surgeries and anatomy references for artists. Having done that and pretty much figured out the route I was going to go with the different environments in our book, I looked at games like Gears of War and God of War. They were great reference as they have parts of the game located inside a giant beast of some kind. Scott Wills work on Samurai Jack was a really great source for reference too. That show is so well stylized, and the color palettes are so different to what you might assume the inside of a beast looks like, so I made sure that Vittorio & Tríona also had these references at hand. That way we were all on the same page regarding the direction GODFELL was to go in and so we could really explore what kind of setting the heart could be in comparison to the brain or the intestines.
I don’t think anyone does monsters better than Del Toro these days, his work on Hellboy was a big reference point for me. Chris pointed out that Clive Barkers The Nightbreed would be a great film to check out for some of our characters as well. He was not wrong that film was great reference for the Nihli.
One thing that GODFELL fans keep asking me about is if the animals of AVATAR THE LAST AIRBENDER were the inspiration for the chimeras that populate the world of Kerethim. But our chimeras were actually a kind of “Eureka” moment when I was trying to come up with a steed for Zanzi. Now I know chimeras are commonplace in fantasy, but I Love that show and being compared to it in anyway can really only be a good thing.
CBY: GODFELL’s protagonists, Zanzi and Neth, are such strong, complex, and amazing warrior women, each with their own unique abilities (and personality). Which women in history or in fiction (books, tv, etc.) were the inspirations for them?
BH: One of the biggest influences for Zanzi was Sydelle Noel, her performance in GLOW specifically. She managed to juggle the tough, scowling, ever the professional leader while also having those private moments of self-doubt. She was a reliable source of inspiration for Zanzi right from the start. If we ever managed to cross media and have GODFELL become a film, TV series or game, Sydelle would be the actress that I would love to take on the role of Zanzi.
Neth took a bit more figuring out. Chris described Neth as a “living ghost” so I immediately saw her as someone quiet, someone who could blend in with shadows and she would almost nervously hide behind her hair. As her character developed, I remembered Brian Cranston saying that Walter White wore glasses because he couldn’t see the world clearly. That kind of literal representation of Walter White not being able to see the world for what it really was struck a chord with me and I used it in Neth’s design. Since Neth had grown more confident and didn’t want to hide any more, she ties up her hair to get it out of the way. So unlike Zanzi there wasn’t a single point of reference, there were many. My references ranged from Walter White to characters like Gabrielle from Xena and Vin from the Mistborn series were characters that I probably referenced the most for her.
CBY: What do you love about the relationship/bond Zanzi and Neth share?
BH: I like that they start off needing each other simply just to survive. Then they secretly use one another for their own purposes, but by the end they are surviving for each other. I’m really happy with how we paced their relationship as so often now I feel like shows, books and films show us “the sad part” and assume we’ll be sad for the characters instead of making a reader/audience genuinely and naturally empathise with the characters.
It didn’t hurt that I got to draw their version of a fast ball special too! When you fast ball special your friends for life. Ha!
CBY: What is the “heart” of GODFELL? Why does that resonate with readers, in your opinion?
BH: So, this was a question that was asked of Chris and me very early on. While Chris and I had different answers on this, it was put to us that GODFELL is actually about death. This kind of stopped me in my tracks when I heard it initially, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s right.
There is so much death in Godfell, not just the lives of people, but also the death of ideologies. The people of Kerethim now look at life and death differently. They now have actual proof that a God exists, but was that God judging them worthy or not worthy of a place in heaven? Some believe it so and pilgrimage their way through the body of the fallen deity looking for further enlightenment, they live a good life. Others think, well I wasn’t so good, but instead of changing their life, they indulge and lose themselves in more primal urges. Some think now that God is dead, who is there to give them a reason to do good, now they have what they truly wanted, the opportunity to do bad.
Our characters all seem to be dealing with death in some way, they run the gamut all the way from denial, to anger, and the lucky few get to acceptance and That’s when things get very interesting.
About Chris Sebela:
Christopher Sebela is a four-time Eisner-nominated writer who has co-created over twenty comics titles such as GODFELL and TEST (Vault Comics), Blink, .Self, Crowded, Shanghai Red, Dirtbag Rapture, Heartthrob, We(l)come Back and others. He also writes journalism, prose fiction and assembles zines about a variety of subjects — including having once lived in a clown-themed motel for 30 days. He lives in Portland, Oregon with the best dog in the world and is currently dreaming of one day living on a boat. He is based in Portland, OR.
About Ben Hennessy:
Ben Hennessy is an Irish-based illustrator and podcaster. He has primarily worked as a storyboard artist in the animation industry and he has worked on shows for RTE jr, Cbeebies, Nickelodeon, PBS and Adult Swim. He co-hosts THE ODDS POD, a podcast where he discusses all things apocalyptic with guests from the film and comic book industries. His comic book titles include The ODDS and the fantasy epic GODFELL.Ben works and lives at home with his family in Wexford, the sunny southeast of Ireland. When you can't find him there, you can find him online as @Bennessy. He is based in Wexford, Ireland.
Giveaway Details:
2 winners will receive finished copies of GODFELL: The Complete Series, US Only.
Ends April 9th, midnight EST.
Tour Schedule:
Week One:
3/11/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post | |
3/12/2024 | Blog Spotlight/IG Post | |
3/13/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post | |
3/14/2024 | Blog Spotlight/IG Post | |
3/15/2024 | Guest Post | |
3/16/2024 | Guest Post/IG Post |
Week Two:
3/17/2024 | Guest Post | |
3/18/2024 | IG Post/TikTok Post | |
3/19/2024 | Excerpt/IG Post | |
3/20/2024 | Excerpt/IG Post | |
3/21/2024 | Review | |
3/22/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
3/23/2024 | IG Review |
Week Three:
3/24/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
3/25/2024 | IG Review | |
3/26/2024 | IG Review | |
3/27/2024 | IG Review/TikTok Post | |
3/28/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
3/29/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
3/30/2024 | IG Review/TikTok Post |
Week Four:
3/31/2024 | Review | |
4/1/2024 | Review/IG Post | |
4/2/2024 | IG Review/TikTok Post | |
4/3/2024 | IG Review | |
4/4/2024 | IG Review | |
4/5/2024 | IG Review |