Dread & Alive
Encyclopedia
Dread & Alive is a Jamaican-inspired Multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 series spanning comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...

s, Novels and Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

 written by Nicholas Da Silva, translated by Ryan Fraser and published by ZOOLOOK, LLC. It follows Drew McIntosh before, during and after being empowered by a sacred amulet created by the ancient maroons
Maroon (people)
Maroons were runaway slaves in the West Indies, Central America, South America, and North America, who formed independent settlements together...

 of Jamaica.

Publication history

The Dread & Alive series was conceptualized by its creator, Nicholas Da silva who is a Brazilian born writer and artist who due to mixed heritage considers himself 'Out of many one person" like the Jamaican Moto "Out of many one people". It is the first superhero comic book with a Jamaican as the protagonist thus making it culturally relevant and boldly revolutionary in its undertaking. It's also noted as the first comic with a reggae soundtrack.

Release

The first issue of the Dread & Alive comic book series was released on February 6, 2010, on the birthday of international reggae icon Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...

. The series is also one of the first of its kind to undertake charity 30% of all digital sales, and 10% of all print sales from Issue #1 will go toward non profit group HELP Jamaica!

The series will also see release on a compact disk featuring reggae acts such as Third World, Sahra Indio, Sly & Robbie, Shaggy (musician)
Shaggy (musician)
Orville Richard Burrell , better known by his stage name Shaggy, is a Jamaican-American reggae singer and rapper. He is perhaps best known for his 1995 single "Boombastic" and 2000 single "It Wasn't Me"...

 and Freddy Locks.

Music

The first Compilation CD 'Dread & Alive: The Lost Tapes Vol.1' saw release on September 14, 2010. Since release it has met with high praise, being described as "History in the making"
, “a very STRONG compilation… one of the better lineups of the year.” and “new territory in the collusion of art and Jamaican music”. The Cd is designed to be heard either alongside Da Silva’s comic book, or, as a special, standalone musical event.

Dread & Alive the Lost Tapes vol.2 was released on October 19, 2010

Publicity and Promotions

In order to promote the series Nicholas has teamed with Reggae Festival Guide to give away an 8GB iPod Touch to one of the members of the facebook group.

For 'Dread & Alive: The Lost Tapes vol.1' a series of interviews were done with World of Black Heroes to coincide with the launch.

Characters

  • Drew Mcintosh - the roaring lion and the hero of our story. He has Dreadlocks
    Dreadlocks
    Dreadlocks, also called locks, a ras, dreads, "rasta" or Jata , are matted coils of hair. Dreadlocks are usually intentionally formed; because of the variety of different hair textures, various methods are used to encourage the formation of locks such as backcombing...

     like a member of the Rastafari movement
    Rastafari movement
    The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...

     though his beliefs are from the Jamaican Maroons
    Jamaican Maroons
    The 'Jamaican Maroons are descended from slaves who escaped from slavery and established free communities in the mountainous interior of Jamaica during the long era of slavery in the island. African slaves imported during the Spanish period may have provided the first runaways, apparently mixing...

    .
  • Cudjoe - Drew's mentor and the leader of the Maroons of Jamaica.
  • Shadowcatcher - The evil protagonist obeah
    Obeah
    Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...

    man of the series.
  • Maria Mcintosh - Mother of our hero and his only surviving parent
  • Brandy Savage - Love interest of the protagonist
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