(From the Kickstarter page)
Fa Sheng: Origins is an all-new wuxia comic created by Peter Shiao, written by Rylend Grant and illustrated by artist Dexter Wee, about the humble beginnings of a great Shaolin Master. If you like Shang-Chi, Kung Fu, Warrior, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ip Man, or The Grandmaster, this all-new series is for you.
Fa Sheng is a death-cheating, mind-bending Shaolin Master… but he carved a long bloody road to get there. Fa Sheng’s story begins in the latter days of the 19th century when the propaganda and carnage of China’s Boxer Uprising force him to reevaluate his purpose in life, to dedicate himself to helping those in need. It isn’t easy. Between Fa Sheng and his goal of enlightenment stand ruthless adversaries, backstabbing power grabbers and cowardly charlatans… any of whom would gladly dispose of anyone in their way.
“Having grown up watching martial arts films from The Shaolin Temple to Once Upon A Time in China, the story of Fa Sheng reminded me of those selfless heroes whose acts of kindness and boldness inspire people to be their better selves. To choose what is right. And act out of love and not of hatred. It is my hope that the reader will not only be entertained with Fa Sheng’s journey, but also be inspired in how he is able to overcome the trials and tribulations that he had faced over the course of the story. I believe in these trying times Fa Sheng is one hero that we could look up to.” — Fa Sheng: Origins Artist Dexter Wee
Rylend Grant is a screenwriter, author, and Ringo Award-winning comic book creator who is also an ordained Soto Zen Buddhist monk and the perfect person to tell this story. Fa Sheng: Origins is illustrated by Dexter Wee (Outlaw Territory, The Führer and the Tramp), colored by Omi Remalante, Jr., lettered by AndWorld Design, and edited by Brian Cunningham (Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman). Issue 1 features a main cover by series artists Dexter Wee and Omi Remalante, Jr., as well as variant covers by Mona Finden, Gene Ha, Megan Huang, Don Kramer and Yishan Li.
“You’re not born into enlightenment. It’s earned. It’s fought for, tooth and nail, over time. It is too often a byproduct of tragedy and strife. In FA SHENG: ORIGINS, we watch as our titular martial hero is forced through the meat grinder of the Boxer Uprising, of China’s Warlord Era. He witnesses unspeakable evil and is dealt horrible defeat–but he rises, in the end, from the ashes of the carnage, a changed man, a better man, an enlightened man with a mission, deputized by the powers that be in the fight against all that Dharmically ails us.” — Fa Sheng: Origins writer, Rylend Grant
Variant Covers!
