Tales From When I Had A Face

A modern fairy-tale about death, loss, and finding redemption in the strangest places.

“I once had a face. I can still picture it, if I try. But that surface always felt alien, a blank canvas that anything could be projected upon. Except the eyes. Something haunted those slate mirrors, a terrible purpose that waited patiently to reveal itself. We are all just costumes that death wears for a season.”

On Ayta’s seventh birthday, there came a knock on the door, and her namesake stood before her. Gran Ayta. Once a thing of myth, descended from legends. Now she seemed just a stooped old woman, but appearances can be deceiving.
Ayta’s lonely childhood was soon transformed by Gran’s fantastic stories of flight from one world to the next. From distant Siberia to the Second World of Alterran, from there to the very Land of the Dead she had come, or so she claimed. And she had returned with secrets taken from that underworld, to teach her granddaughter.
Seven years later, her Gran would be dead. Ayta had to come to terms with the legacy she had passed on to her, bearing these myths in a world which has no need for what it sees as childish things. A childish world that she knew was soon to end.
Just when she thought she had finally left those tales in the past, she met Nyssa. A character straight out of Gran’s stories who was unknowingly bound by the same fate she was. Like all star-crossed lovers, their fate was written from the moment they crossed paths.

Read Prologue Sample

Our Kickstarter was phenomenally successful, funded in 24 hours, over 250% by the end. We produced 120 limited edition hardcover copies.

The remaining copies of the limited edition hardcover will only be available at future Conventions and events (TBA). They are otherwise only available direct from the author. ($60+shipping)

Stay tuned for information about a full international release. We are currently investigating softcover full-color and hardcover black and white options.

A Story About the Ends of Worlds, and the Beginning of Meaning

A haunting, color-illustrated novel over seven years in the making, Tales From When I Had A Face takes visual inspiration from the collections of fairy tales familiar to many readers: full page images juxtapose the text, complemented by smaller inline art. Brief sequential passages reminiscent of a graphic novel add impact and immersion. In total it contains over 100 illustrations.

Tales is intended to speak to anyone who has felt trapped between the multiple, often conflicting worlds, of past, present, and future.

Credits

Written by James Curcio

Editor Brian Johnson

Layout Artist Joshua Fontany

Art Director James Curcio

Chapter Heading Line Art Chris Disalvatore

Reference Models Genna Bee, Joan Pope

Part 1 The Summer Tree & 2: The Fall Tree

Primary Art in collaboration with P. Emerson Williams

Part 3: The Winter Tree

Primary Art in collaboration with Andu Abril

Comic Sequence in collaboration with Chris Disalvatore

Part 4: The Spring Tree

Primary Art in collaboration with Andu Abril

3D Art and Reference Alexey Andreev

Trailer Video:

Editing Iain Conliffe

Music Production James Curcio, Johan Ess

Voice-Overs K DeJesus, Judith Curcio, Equanimous Rex

“In The Flesh” music provided by HoodooEngine