Twenty-two years ago, I started building a world. Not on paper at first—in a video game where I met people who would become friends, collaborators, and eventually, characters in the story that’s consumed half my life.

The faces you see above aren’t just character designs. They’re people I’ve known. Fought alongside. Laughed with at 2 AM during impossible raids. Some are based on real friends from my gaming days. Some are composites of personalities I’ve encountered across archaeology digs, investigations, and late-night conversations about what it means to be a hero when the world keeps breaking your heart.

Wynd. Elegant, powerful, carrying power that could reshape the world itself.

General Freedom. The charismatic leader who’s seen too much to stay naive and refuses to bend to anyone’s will.

Gunny. Because sometimes the best heroes are the ones who’ve already been through hell and came out the other side with their sense of humor intact.

Mister Mental. An recovering addict that can’t control what he is and can’t unsee what he’s seen.

Wish Girl. Kenyana Thompson, the smartest and most stylish person in any room. She’s already 3 moves ahead of you.

Scarlet. Survivor of horrors I won’t spoil here, finding her way back to something like wholeness and grace.

Take. The enigmatic half-demon who is running from something relentless.

Frank King. Yeah, that’s me. Archaeologist turned investigator turned accidental superhero, because apparently my life wasn’t complicated enough already.

Loxy Brown. The woman who sees through every defense you can put up and still cares anyway.

OX. The minotaur who shouldn’t exist but does, because mythology doesn’t care about your plans.

Each of these characters has their own story. Their own past. Their own reasons for fighting. For surviving. For choosing hope when despair would be so much easier.

This isn’t a traditional superhero story where good guys punch bad guys and everything works out fine. This is a story about broken people finding family in each other. About the unworthy discovering they’re worth loving. About trauma that doesn’t just disappear because you put on a cape. But only 2 of these heroes wear capes.

It’s beautiful. It’s horrible. And it’s slightly hopeful—which is about as honest as I know how to be.

The Legendary: The Book Volume 1 launches March 1st on Amazon, with the Kickstarter campaign following on March 8th. These ten faces are just the beginning.

Welcome to the team.