What do you get when you add a gruff, hard-on-his-luck mercenary with a rag-tag group of losers and you pit them against an evil Necromancer in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? Assuming the world hasn’t ended yet, you get “Life the Necropolis: The Red Wizard & The Armies of the Night.”
“The Red Wizard & the Armies of the Night” is the name of a recently released comic book written and illustrated by local Kamloops artist and manager of High Octane Comics, Nick Klie.
“The Red Wizard” is a direct sequel to “Life the Necropolis,” Klie’s 2023 self-published debut comic book. The first in the series, “Life,” was so popular that it sold out within two months, an occurrence Klie didn’t expect.
“I didn’t print enough,” Klie said. “I was scared to print even 100 copies, but I had to print a few hundred to make it work financially. I was terrified I was going to have a box of these in my garage for the rest of my life. And then it sold out.”
This time, he’s not taking any chances.
“The print run is my secret for now,” Klie told the Omega. “But the print run on the second issue is much larger than the first.”
Unfortunately for those of us who missed the opportunity to purchase the first comic book, Klie informed the Omega that a second printing was not planned at this time, citing his works as “a moment in time.”
“If you were there [to get the first one], you were there. Otherwise, don’t worry, and let’s just keep moving forward,” Klie said.
“The first comic sees a lonely farmer in an atomic desert have his trusted animal companion stolen by a gang of mutant raiders. [The farmer] hires a hard luck wandering mercenary named Life to get it back,” Klie told the Omega, offering a brief recap of the original story. “The second comic has Life tag along with a gang of losers as they battle an evil necromancer and his deranged cultists to try to retrieve a powerful and mysterious artifact! Pretty straightforward stuff.”
In celebration of the sequel, Klie will be signing copies of “Life the Necropolis: The Red Wizard & the Armies of the Night” at High Octane on Saturday, May 4, for Free Comic Book Day.
For more information on Life the Necropolis: The Red Wizard & the Armies of the Night” visit http://www.lifethen.com/ today.
Thank you for interviewing our local comic book creator Nick Klie, this amazing individual has proven himself that he can create great comic art and great storytelling. Kamloops is the place to be, all this great talent here in the heart of the interior. Thank you