The Creative Works of Sean Boyle
Comics
Demongate High (May 2013-Present)
The official Demongate High webcomic chronicles the canon of the DgH universe, from the Tremorworks role-playing game of the same name. The story follows the adventures of students Ewan McRae, a Summoner, and Rosalee Siverly, an ESPer, as they experience life in the supernatural world and do their part to avert worldwide disaster.
DoormaNt (June 2012-May 2013)
Imagine a world where all things are inhabited by kami, the spirits of the Shinto faith, and that humans have the ability to speak to and interact with these spirits. Everyone has this ability, though it usually only pertains to a single kami, the most common of which are those of natural objects or phenonema. As humanity enters the 20th century and turns away from nature to embrace industry and technology, the spirits of the natural world begin to fade from everyday life, leaving more and more people without the ability to speak with them, but leading to increasing abilities to interact with spirits of the industrial world.
The story focuses on the changes in this world, as humanity chooses the ecologically harmful effects of industrial progress over the traditions of natural kami, and one boy in particular, Ashe Locke, who has the rare (and seemingly useless) ability to communicate with the kami of doors. A child of color in the 1890s America of bigotry, he is stuck in a dead-end job as a doorman, with no education, struggling to support his mentally infirm mother. But when an organization of people with particularly powerful kami-communicating ability takes notice of him, his entire life is turned upside down.
Darkbolt (July 1999-March 2012)
Darkbolt, which ran for 628 issues spanning 2,681 pages, is the story of a group of Japanese high school students who become embroiled in a plot to enslave Earth using the sealed-away souls of ancient Demons. Drawing from a variety of influences, including Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z, and Tenchi Muyo, it is a strongly manga-stylized and Japanese culture-based story. While not my first actual attempt at a comic, it was my biggest learning experience. Since it began, my ability as both a writer and artist has evolved and improved greatly. Looking back at my earliest issues makes me shudder, at both the horrid quality of the art and how shamelessly I ripped off other media without even realizing it at the time.
For 13 years, Darkbolt was essentially the focal point of my life. When it finally ended, I felt a combined sense of relief, accomplishment, closure, and sadness. But now I've moved on to new projects; it was time for Darkbolt to end, and I tried my best to bring it to a satisfying conclusion.
My wife and I are gradually updating old issues with color and more legible text, and I may even eventually sell actual books of Darkbolt, but with everything else in my life that is most likely a long way off. ^_^