About the Author

Apis Teicher is a freelance writer and illustrator with several writing credits to her name. She has lived in five countries, including a four year stint working and teaching in Japan, Canada, the US, Argentina and Colombia.

She has written for the Bloomsbury Review and several papers in Canada and Japan as well as being a staff writer for AFTERWORD. She is also a contributing writer for comixpedia and other e-zines.

Working with a variety of media but favoring CG and markers, her illustrations tend to focus on the fantastic, a nod to her fascination with both old world folklore and myths and latinamerican magical realism. She currently has two webcomics- Blatah! and Nocturnia, which have been online for almost four years and have a worldwide audience. It was this loyal fanfollowing that prompted her to at last release this compilation of her work.

Uneide Art feat. Shadowspires: The Fantasy Art and Illustration Work of Apis Teicher available now!

Book Description

Shadowspires is meant to be a compendium of Apis Teicher’s fantasy work – both illustrations and writings largely dealing with her three ongoing fantasy webcomics Blatah, Nocturnia and Haven: Hathaway. If you are a lover of dark fantasy lore, a roleplayer or fan of the webcomics, or simply someone that is intrigued by fantasy, sidhe and unseelie – this is the artbook for you. As a bonus, there are also several stories that give glimpses of the relationship or background of some of the characters that couldn’t really fully be explored in the webcomics, as well as several more general illustrations of her unique style of fantasy work in the variety of media that she works with.

From the Author

For a while now I’ve been pondering the idea of putting together a companion book of my illustration work. Largely, it covers the art of all three webcomics – Blatah, Nocturnia and Haven: Hathaway, although it also includes some of my random illustrations from other projects. As an extra treat, there are also several stories that give glimpses of the relationship or background of some of the characters that couldn’t really fully be explored in the webcomics. There you’ll find the background of Nocturnia’s Angus and some of his earlier days, when he was young and a lot less jaded; a scene between Liam and Quinn that explains a lot more about their relationship; a sequence between Eggman and Aryck --- and the list goes on!

Excerpted from Shadowspires: The Fantasy Art and Illustration Work of Apis Teicher, by A. Teicher. Copyright © 2005. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

The wyrding song.

Malaziel had heard it called so once, in the odd lilting clucking of the tongues of man. It was natural- Narian had explained at the time- that men should seek to put a name to something they could not understand.

To name was to own. As if the Song could be owned! Still, Malaziel contemplated, mankind had a way of gripping onto things so that they almost could possess them. It was a corruption, slow and deliberate, of the very fabric of the world.

The first time the Song had shifted, he had been perched upon a crevice that overlooked the canyons of Ahn-Maarr. Barely dawn, he'd seemed another rock that stood the onslaught of the winds that rose up, the illusion fading as the rays of sunlight spread slowly to the top of the promontory. They caught on bright red hair, danced over gold-orange feathers and for a moment seemed to make the lovely form catch fire. The wind's breath caught as molten flame licked up to meet invisible caresses of the gale.

Soft curves retreated into the shelter of his wings, eyes intent as they surveyed the canyon floor beyond. A thundering of sound that drummed through him, he settled to a crouch as his arms tensed,supporting him as the taut line of flesh pressed forward/ Silver eyes shone witchfire bright as they continued their search below, and he might have appeared blind to the unwary, pupilless depths unchanging as they scanned the crevices of rock, the wrinkles of the land.

The antlike being crawled over the cavern mouths, fashioned cloth from the creatures they had slain. Something had changed and the very air hung uncertainly, weighed under that knowledge. This was the first echo that rippled from the Song, the moment that there was a stain over the fabric of the Song so lovingly woven by Malaziel and his peers, his mentors and the Firstblood ones.

Man's hand had taken another's life willingly. The sundering had begun.

Blatah takes place in a fantasy setting, and it follows the life of the main character - whom we shall know as Eggman for now - and those who for reasons of their own decide to follow him. Namely, Amanda - thrown from a roof or fallen from the sky: fact is so subjective after all; and Rai, a self-described stylish rebel monk.

Anyhow - see that little blurb? Vote for me in the comicgenesis 99 - You can do this once a day, I believe. Also, check out the comics from Turbocool, the community that I've joined. There are some truly funky ones in there that I heartily recommend.