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<p>With the successful launch of the second issue of his comic anthology
series ‘I-Land Chronicles’ in July, publisher Kevin Jackson hopes to jumpstart
the Jamaican comic book industry, much like how Stan Lee did with the Marvel
brand in the 60s.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/DSC_0020-1024x685.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1410" /><figcaption>  A young reader enjoying 'After Dark' by Stephen McLeod in issue one of 'I-Land Chronicles'. (Photos: Contributed)</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Having been a part of many international award-winning animation projects, Jackson turned to his first love - comics - in 2016. He set up ‘I-Land Chronicles’ as an experiment financed by his pocket and that of two other business partners.</p>
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<p>“I’m very proud of I-Land Chronicles. We went from concept to production
in three months, launching test issues at the Kingston Book Festival in 2016.
Two months later we were on sale,” said Jackson, who helped to set legislation
as the head of the influential Jamaica Animation Nation Network (JANN).</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“We don’t have a comic book culture or industry." </p><cite>- Publisher Kevin Jackson</cite></blockquote>
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<p>The first issue hit the shelves of Bookophilia on May 10, 2016. The aim of the book was to provide a place where local comic book content creators could show off their talent or experiment without affecting their core products. All creators retain the copyright to their material, and they also receive royalties based on sales.</p>
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<p>“We don’t have a comic book culture or industry. Creating a monthly
book with a single creative team would be a problem. Using the anthology format
like Manga allows us to not be dependent on a single artist,” Jackson explained.
</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/DSC_0159.jpg-New-1024x686.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1411" /><figcaption>Kevin Jackson (centre), the publishers of 'I-Land Chronicles', poses with part of the creative team behind 'Duppy Conqueror', Davia Morris (left), and Inker Akein Bantin. </figcaption></figure>
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<p>Whereas North American comics tend to favour a single story and
production team on a monthly basis, Japanese comics like Shōnen Jump fill their
pages with multiple stories from different artists providing a wider variety to
readers weekly. For Jackson, this option solved several problems.</p>
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<p>To this, issue one featured four Jamaica comic book artists and their
tales – ‘Maroonblack’ by Henry Grandison, ‘Children of Insurrection’ by Stephen
Roper, ‘Knock Knock &amp; Track Star’ by Patrick Allen and ‘After Dark’ by
Stephen McLeod. Each artist is given five pages for their stories.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>“It’s not just about the money for me. It’s about legitimizing the industry as a whole."</p><cite>- Publisher Kevin Jackson</cite></blockquote>
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<p>And based on the knowledge he gained in production and marketing for ‘I-Land
Chronicles’, Jackson was to help other creators. </p>
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<p>“We also discovered that while there is an abundance of talent, there’s
a lack of information and standardisation of comic book production. There’s
also an unfortunate lack of business acumen in the creative community,” Jackson
said.</p>
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<ul class="wp-block-gallery columns-2 is-cropped"><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/DSC_0172.jpg-new-1024x686.jpg" alt="" data-id="1412" data-link="https://buzz-caribbean.com/?attachment_id=1412" class="wp-image-1412" /><figcaption>Issue one of 'I-Land Chronicles'.</figcaption></figure></li><li class="blocks-gallery-item"><figure><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/08/DSC_0176.jpg-new-1024x686.jpg" alt="" data-id="1413" data-link="https://buzz-caribbean.com/?attachment_id=1413" class="wp-image-1413" /><figcaption>Kevin Jackson has high hopes for the second issue of 'I-Land Chronicles'.</figcaption></figure></li></ul>
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<p>“We want to do more than just publish creator content in ‘I-Land
Chronicles’. We have the expertise to help those creators make their own comic
books, market them and get them on to store shelves,” he said.</p>
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<p>So far, creators haven’t taken him up on the offer, but he hopes that
as ‘I-Land Chronicles’ grows, more persons will step forward.</p>
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<p>“It’s not just about the money for me. It’s about legitimizing the
industry as a whole. The more comics on the shelves, the more visible we
become, whether they are published by us or not.” </p>
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