Dread & Alive

CHRONICLE: February 6, 2010

On February 6, 2020, Nicholas Da Silva aka ZOOLOOK celebrated the 10th anniversary of the release of his Dread & Alive series in comic book format. Dread & Alive is a Jamaican-inspired multimedia series spanning comic books, novels and music. Created and written by ZOOLOOK, the Dread & Alive series follows its Jamaican protagonist, Drew McIntosh before, during and after being empowered by a sacred amulet created by the ancient Jamaican Maroons.

Release Date: February 6, 2010
Publisher: ZOOLOOK
Language: English
ISBN-10: 096562286X
ISBN-13: 978-0965622868
Copyright: © 2010 ZOOLOOK
Total Lpages: 32
Package Dimensions: 10.25 x 6.25 x 0.2 inches
Format: Comic Book
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

ZOOLOOK is a modern-day Renaissance Man. A man of many talents, he is an author, artist, publisher, musician, web developer, and producer. The award-winning mixed-media artist considers himself ‘the Dreamer’. He’s always dreaming up new ideas to explore whether it’s a new comic book series, a website experiment, a music publication (IRIE) or a song that fuses multiple genres. ZOOLOOK loves to create something different, something people haven’t seen or heard of before. He doesn’t find pleasure in doing something that has already been done. For ZOOLOOK, inspiration comes to him in many forms. Music is probably the most important influence on his work.

In creating Dread & Alive, ZOOLOOK tapped into his love for music while creating the series. He wanted his fans to experience Dread & Alive the way he envisioned it. ZOOLOOK strongly believed that adding music to the series helped the reader get inside his head to truly feel the vibe of his storytelling.

To understand the making of Dread & Alive as a comic book series is to go back to ZOOLOOK’s childhood. As a voracious reader growing up in Brasil and the U.S., Nicholas Da Silva was disappointed in the lack of positive multicultural heroes and fictional characters in American literature. Coming from a diverse background, he made a promise to change that by meshing cultural facts with fiction.

“I chose to write Dread & Alive because of my interest in Jamaica’s history, culture, music, and its people. When I first began researching the history of Jamaica, I came across the Maroons of Accompong.

I was surprised to read about their existence and their fight for freedom. The more I learned about the Maroons, the more my imagination began to take on a life of its own.

Once I added reggae music to the mix,
Drew McIntosh and the legend of Dread & Alive was born.”

NICHOLAS DA SILVA, ZOOLOOK

In creating his stories, a personal relationship seems to exist between ZOOLOOK and his characters. In Dread & Alive, Drew McIntosh and ZOOLOOK are definitely alike. They both lost their fathers during a time when they were crossing into adulthood. They share similar travel experiences during their childhood. Most importantly, the hero and the writer follow in their father’s footsteps to preserve their history; to seek the truth and to always fight the good fight.

Dread & Alive: Nine Night™

In October 2018, ZOOLOOK announced the next story arc of Dread & Alive entitled ‘Nine Night’. Created as a 12 chapter series, the story takes place before issue #1 of the series. To accompany the series, ZOOLOOK began work on the music side of the series. He released the first track entitled ‘TROD’ on January 6, 2019. On Halloween 2019, he completed the TV pilot script for ‘Nine Night’. The script includes scenes from Dread & Alive: Issue #0 and Dread & Alive: Duppy Conqueror. ZOOLOOK is currently working on a soundtrack series he calls a reggae opera (rock opera).

As ZOOLOOK continues his work on the ‘Nine Night’ series, he will introduce new characters to the series as well as characters who have already appeared in the Dread & Alive series. For example, the investigative reporter, Casey Forrester, and Gryphon the Hunter, who both appear in issue #1 of Dread & Alive, will actually make their first appearance in Dread & Alive: Nine Night.

NICO & ROXANNE

For this month’s edition of IRIE, ZOOLOOK introduces ‘Nico’ and ‘Roxanne’, the proprietors of ‘ComiXstand’, the underground comic book shop frequented by Drew McIntosh. Nico & Roxanne will become heroes in their own right during Dread & Alive: Nine Night!

Did You Know…

Dread & Alive: Nine Night takes place in ‘the City’ (San Francisco), in the upper Haight-Ashbury which happens to be ZOOLOOK’s old stomping ground back during his skater days. The storyline for Nine Night also begins on Halloween 2016. If you didn’t know, now you know!

Release Date: January 6, 2019
Label: ZOOLOOK / Dread & Alive Series
Copyright: 2019 ZOOLOOK
Total Length: 4:01
Total Tracks: 1
Format: Single
Genre: Dub Reggae

Crowdfund Dread & Alive

Fans can now join ZOOLOOK by supporting the Dread & Alive: Nine Night™ project with a crowdfunding contribution through the official website at the url below:

LINK | Crowdfund Dread & Alive: Nine Night

Every contribution receives a perk. ZOOLOOK has included a special set of crowdfunding packages where fans can become part of the storyline, either as an extra or an actual character. There’s even a crowdfund package for product placement in the story.

Dread & Alive: Nine Night™ is scheduled to release on Halloween, October 31, 2020. To stay up to date on the latest developments and key events regarding the Dread & Alive series, fans and newcomers to the series can sign up for the DREAD ALERT at the URL below:

LINK | Subscribe to the DREAD ALERT™

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Official Website:

DreadandAlive.com

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