Boké Expressway Vol, 1: Chasing a Song by Jacob Halton is a 70 page, paperback graphic novel, printed in living full color, about the music that grabs at your heart, soul and all of your visual senses. I’ve already had the great pleasure of reading this fully completed graphic novel, and it is a journey unlike one I’ve ever taken before. I was simply mesmerized by each colorful and well designed page after page. Jacob Halton is local Chicago club hopper who has lived the lifestyle and is now an accomplished graphic designer.
Chasing a Song is basically what the title entails, as main character Mikey, is beginning to go a tad-bit bat-shit-crazy trying to figure out this song that he keeps hearing. Only problem is that no else seems to know what song he’s even talking about. The song begins to take a life of its own when this earworm will simply not get out of his life as it’s now everywhere and in everything he thinks he sees and hears. Checking the clubs and maybe dropping a pill to find the melody once more. To find her once more, what will Mikey do when he does find her, the song.
“It was amazing. The girl’s voice was like an Angel, and the melody just wraps you up when the beat drops out” – Mikey
This is not an average superhero tale, not a seething mystery, not a gritty crime noir. Chasing a Song is what independent creating is all about and that is love and passion. Jacob Halton does a fantastic job of taking his readers into his word with such beautiful design and vibrant colors. Ultimately that is what all good graphic novels do, in that it takes you to visionary places the creator has painstakingly made for you to be lost in. Music blended with art, is where Chasing a Song brings a refreshing new twist into the comic book medium. I really hope this project gets shared by a lot of fellow creators who can also appreciate the mind-numbing visuals you get to ride along with in Chasing a Song. Jacob has a true eye for design, killer panels and has a good sense of fluid storytelling.
The Kickstarter for Chasing a Song is for helping the book get published and distributed only! There will be no long-delayed wait to get your very own hard copy of this beautifully done graphic novel once you’ve helped back it.
Boké Expressway Vol, 1: Chasing a Song – Kickstarter link
PopCultHQ spoke with Jacob Halton about his Chasing a Song graphic novel and here is what he had to say about his breathtaking project.
PopCultHQ: How did Chasing A Song came about in creating?
Jacob Halton: “Creating this book was as much a compulsion for me as the compulsion of the main character to find the song. Comics and storytelling are my obsession, and I couldn’t stop myself from working on this story, even while struggling for years to establish a career in the design industry.”
PopCultHQ: What are your aspirations after Chasing a Song does get funded?
Jacob Halton: “Now that the book is complete, what I’d like most is for this Kickstarter to be a launching point, to get the full, physical book of the first story into the hands of existing fans who’ve enjoyed it since the beginning, and also to get more people interested in this series who will appreciate its unconventional storytelling methods. And, of course, to introduce more new fans to my work, as Boké Expressway is just one of many comic projects I’m putting out into the world.”
Official Synopsis:
Boke Expressway is the first book in the adrenaline fueled, conceptual comic series. This story is for those who love music and know the gnawing obsession that overtakes you when you’re trying to remember a song that’s reached you in a way no other music does.
Chasing a Song is a journey into madness. The main character, Mikey, hears a mysterious song at a club and becomes obsessed with finding it. The song seems to exist nowhere but in his own, drug-ridden mind. The DJs don’t know it, his friends don’t care, and even the song itself begins to taunt him when it takes shape as a modern day siren, beckoning him to follow her.
Will he become lost in insanity forever if he gives in to the chase for the song, or will he find it and return to reality?
Boké Expressway is an unconventional and experimental series. It combines my love of visual storytelling with my background in graphic design into a style that plays with layout, lighting, and color, and pushes that style as further with each page.
“I believe comics are the perfect combination of cinematography and graphic design, and I use the medium to its full potential. The layouts and color harmonies are the lens that you see through into this surreal world. As the story becomes warped, the page design follows suit, to make you feel as disoriented as poor Mikey.
The techniques used to tell this story are inspired by psychological thriller films like Requiem for a Dream, Enter the Void, The Machinist, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and Trainspotting. The night life atmosphere and setting is inspired by films like Millennium Mambo, Human Traffic, and my own crazy nights out at Chicago clubs.
Boké Expressway is published on the web weekly, and you can read all of the current pages here: bokeexpressway.com”
This is a 70 page, paperback graphic novel, printed in full color. All artwork is complete and THE BOOK IS READY FOR PRINT, It just needs your help to fund the printing. Get a copy of the book when you back the campaign. More information on the campaign project and bonus prized for your level of backing.
Chasing a Song: Kickstarter
