Peter Shiao is on a mission.
The son of a renowned writer of wuxia, a genre focused on fantastical Chinese martial arts, his fondest childhood memories involve losing himself in the journeys of mystical martial heroes through reading novels. He attributes his discoveries of freedom and self-empowerment to them, and founded Immortal Studios just last year, an original content studio centered around wuxia. Its aim? “To awaken the hero (xia) in everyone.”
The company just launched its latest Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming comic book, the second installment in the Immortal Storyverse. Entitled Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen, it tells the story of Phil Du and his heroic awakening into an ancient order of supernatural warriors who are charged with protecting the world, but face a devastating, new civil war.
It’s adapted from the classic wuxia novel Immortal Hero, authored by Shiao Yi, Peter’s father. His son’s team swaps the ancient mystical mountains for today’s urban jungles. The supernatural weapons, mysticism and enlightenment of the Immortals are met with the prowess of tomorrow’s technologies wielded by those who have not “earned” them, coming together in a world described as “the Ancient Future.”
“Heroes come in so many different colors, genders, sizes and shapes,” Shiao recently told RADII’s In Conversation series (watch above). “Everybody is unique, beautiful and powerful — and if only they believed that and acted accordingly, the world will be a better place.”
Cover image courtesy Immortal Studios
