shogum of the dead (baixa)

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SHOGUM OF THE DEAD:TWILIGHT OF THE SAMURAI

© 2013 Daniel Leal Werneck

All rights reserved. The reproduction of the contests of this book is forbidden, in part or in its entirety, by any means of communication,

electronic or printed, that already exists or that might be invented in the future, without a written authorization of the author, printed in 3 copies, with rubber stamps, and an officially recognized signature, witnessed by three random persons.

It is forbidden to scan, photograph, or even talk about this book on the internet. Actually, I think

you shouldn’t even look at this book, because simply by staring at it you are already very close to a horrible copyright violation that could cost

you your life.

This book does NOT comply to any ortographical rules of any language or country.

Every human being is free to write his or her ideas in any way they see fit, without having to

worry with the consequences.

Edited by: Crânio Quadrinhos / DLW

Printed by CreateSpace.

No legal deposit. No library card information.

1st English edition: May 2014 (TCAF)

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Daniel L. Werneck

Belo Horizonte • Brasil

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Vol. 1 - The Book of Fire

Twilight of the Samurai

for my fam

ily!

ando also

to Gabriel Bá,

Fábio Moon &

Murilo Martins

for the night that started everything.

There are several Feudal Japans. One is a land of valiant and honorable warriors, fighting bravely, but always maintaining a strict ethical code. Another is a gloomy

place, painted in dark shades of gray, where cynical warriors could be corrupted

with a handful of rice. There is also the feudal Japan printed with zipatones over

newspaper, where babies seek revenge next to their parents, the dead walk in

underground tunnels, and tattooed women avenge their families from yakuza and

sending policemen to the cemetery.

Kurosawa’s legendary film “Rashomon“ clearly shows how difficult it is to know exactly what happened in the past. It is

only natural that there are many different interpretations of the same historical period,

in the same country. Each person who decides to tell a story set in this universe

will be merely showing their personal view through the work. Therefore, it is no

surprise that there are so many books, comics and movies portraying these characters and

environments They are immortal within the affective memory of many readers

fans. Just like pirates and cowboys, the samurai also entered the universal collective

unconscious, and have been translated, adapted and interpreted in many different

ways, in different media over decades.

The goal of my Shogum of the Dead project is to bring fresh new visions of this universe,

maintaining the same elements that we are used to see in this kind of story, but

also bringing a new unconditioned view

on the topic, seeking new relationships between these fictional elements.

This book was also my first attempt at writing a complex story full of characters

and with different environments coexisting and interacting in complicated plots with various narrative elements. Giving life to

these characters was a huge challenge that I faced with passion and sincerity, drawing

furiously in my scarce free time, inking over many sleepless weekends. I hope the pages of this book will allow each reader

to find their own view over the subject.

I hope you enjoy it.

Daniel L. Werneck

Belo Horizottnte, May 2013

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SHOGUM OF THE DEAD: TWILIGHT OF THE SAMURAI (being a melodrama in sixteen parts)

FIRST PARTWhere Tachikawa Makes A Deal With The ShadowsChap. 1 - The Winter of our DiscontemptChap. 5 - The Ides of MarchChap. 9 - Midsummer NightmareChap. 13 - To Sleep... Perchance To Dream?

SECOND PARTOnde Shima Abandona O Caminho Do GuerreiroChap. 2 - I’d Want The Wind To Blow Until It Waked The DeadChap. 6 - Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of YouChap. 10 - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance RunnerChap. 14 - Out, Out, Brief Candle

THIRD PARTWhere A Soul Is Lost In Order To Find One’s FamilyChap. 3 - Where Even Warriors CryChap. 7 - The Sins Of The Father Are To Be Laid Upon The Children.Chap. 11 - Cowards Die Many Times Before Their DeathsChap. 15 - The Slings And Arrows Of Outrageous Fortune

FOURTH PARTWhere A Cup Of Teas Learns To Empty ItselfChap. 4 - Leaving HomeChap. 8 - Much Ado About NothingChap. 12 - You’re Gonna Kill That GirlChap. 16 - The Garden of Serenity

“Nothing in the cryof cicadas suggests they are about to die.”

Bashö

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Life is crazy, you know. One day you’re depressed because you

can’t decide what to do, next thing you know you are launching a

crowdfunding campaign. But you never did this before, so how the

hell are you going to pull it off? Suddenly, only two and a half days

into the campaign, boom! -- you got all the money you asked for. And

it keeps coming. In the blink of an eye, 2 months later you have 562

friends and strangers waiting for your book. Oh yeah, hey, I need to

make a book now. Better start writing that scrip, testing some paper

and pens... and suddenly it’s been 6 months and the deadline is

approaching and you really don’t know how this is going to end. You

spend 22 hours, without sleep, inking 16 pages. You bring your pages

to Porto Alegre and Rosario and New York, drawing in airports,

inking at cafeterias and tiny hotel desks. Motherfucker, you already

visited three different countries and your stupid book isn’t done yet??

What is wrong with you??? And off you go, smearing sumi brushes on

page after page of Winsor & Newton Bristol Board. Remember how

all your life you dreamed of using this paper but you never could afford

it? Well, now your dream came true, and then you realize there are

only things that can happen to a dream when it becomes real: either it

dies, or it becomes a nightmare. And you carry on, sharpening pencils,

counting pages, trying to keep track of every little character design and

name, so you don’t fuck up. There are 136 pages to that story, so it’s

very very easy to fuck up. You never did this before, you stupid zine-

head! How the hell are you supposed to finish this book on time and

still keep the storyline barely coherent? You think you’re the Alan Moore

of zines? Wake up, nimrod, and back to work. Forget about your PhD

degree, forget about raising your children. That shit was easy compared

to making comics. Can you stand the heat? Are you prepared for this

level of physical, mental and emotional stress? You’re lucky enough you

have so many friends, pal. You’re lucky to have a family that supports

your excentricities. No, sorry, you could only be considered an excentric

if you were rich. But you’re not, you’re just a weirdo. 562 supporters

waiting for your book and all you can think of is what kind of ink you

should use on each type of paper. Nobody gives a shit, son. Nobody.

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DomoArigatôThis book was only made possible thanks to the support of 562 backers who went far beyond the call of duty to finance our project. But money isn’t everything: besides paying for the printing of the original edition, these backers worked as creative partners, making choices that helped shaped the entire fictional universe of Shogum of the Dead. Their moral support was also essential in order to finish the book on time. To these crowdfunding heroes this book is dedicated.

Thiis book was composed with various fonts, but mainyl Baskerville and Ventura Edding. Printed

by CreateSpace for Daniel Leal Werneck in April 2014, specially for TCAF release.