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PAkT T: A NANUAI CF HEAVENIY INVENTICN5
5ECkET ENGINE5

Jen, Mikki, Dazen & Khan


SECRET ENGINES
Part 1: A Manual of Heavenly Inventions


DON BOSCO
writer
FAYE STACEY
artist


There is an ancient teaching that can provide the people with great wealth
and create a glorious society for all. But an evil sect is determined to
prevent this from happening. They want to use the inventions of Emperor Yu
only for their own power and profit. Four teenagers are forced to confront
this dark conspiracy. Can they master the Secret Engines and defeat this evil
power? Can they save the people they love?


Copyright Super Cool Books 2014
www.SuperCoolBooks.com
studio@SuperCoolBooks.com


This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, locations and events are either
the product of the author's imagination, or, if real, are used fictitiously.

Made in Singapore
PAkT T: A NANUAI CF
HEAVENIY INVENTICN5
|1'5 1RL m|-AU1UmN |L51|vAL|
5cROOL |5 OU1 LAkLY AN
LvLkYONL |5 LXc|1L
Youc mom packed bec
|aq and |eft foc c|aoo. Aftec tbat
tbe pecoon wbo |coke ln muot
bave found a way to dloa||e
youc we|cam|
| oet up
a we|cam
to keep an eye
on bec. |t'o
otl|| cunnlnq.
Ranq on,
cemem|ec wben
we took ln tbat
otcay doq |aot
montb?
we obou|d ca||
campuo oecuclty.
| wao on
my way to plck
up tbe cbeeoecake.
| paooed youc
fcont dooc and
lt wao open.
bAcK A1 5RLN UN|vLk5|1Y,
wRLkL 1RLY L|vL w|1R
1RL|k PAkLN15
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wbat on
eactb lo qolnq
on?
1bey wece
bavlnq |uncb bece
wben | |eft.
ma? Pa?
bU1-
Rey|
| [uot
bope my
mum'o okay.
on't woccy. Let'o qo
|ack to ouc p|ace, ma and
Pa wl|| be|p uo ooct
tblo out.
bU1 1R|NO5 ON'1 LOOK
OOO RLkL L|1RLk
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1RLY RUkkY 1O 1RL O1RLk 5|L
O| 1RL c|1Y
5OmL1R|NO |LLL5
Aw|ULLY wkONO
Oc you'|| nevec
oee youc pacento
aqaln.
come |ack, you
woctb|eoo |lu|e cato|
kun| |'||
qet Jen|
Ow| Let
me qo|-
Kldo| Yeo,
fouc of you|
Re wao keeplnq
oometblnq fcom uo,
| cou|d oenoe lt.
| don't
tcuot blm.
we bave no one
e|oe to tucn to. may|e
we obou|d qlve blm
tbe |ook.
5RL A11AcK5|
5o be wcote tblo |ook,
tbe manua| of Reaven|y
|nventlono.
Re wanted to obace
blo know|edqe wltb
tbe peop|e.
1bcouqb dl|lqence and bacd
wock, be dlocoveced bow to
cceate a|| oocto of wondcouo
macblneo.
Re wao an empecoc
duclnq tbe Xla dynaoty.
1be ocboo| wao
otacted |y Yu
tbe Oceat.
Youc pacento ace pact
of an anclent ooclety
known ao 1he 5chool
wirh no name.
1beoe otocleo
qo |ack fouc
tbouoand yeaco.
1o be|p youc pacento,
you need to know wbat
you'ce up aqalnot. keadlnq
|eado to tbe tcutb, and
tcutb qlveo you powec.
1bey ca|| tblo
tbe 5badow Ll|cacy.
wbat lo tblo
p|ace, Lady Zbanq?
LLP UNLk 1RL kL51AUkAN1
A5 1RLY kLA 1RLY LO5L
ALL 5LN5L O| 1|mL
t
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wbat-
|'|| tcy to
otop blm|
| know tbat
oound. 1ake tbe
|ook and cun.
You dld qet
pecmloolon to uoe
tblo p|ace, dldn't
you?
may|e lt'o
tbe |l|caclan.
5bb| You
beac tbat?
can any of
tblo |e tcue?
cceepy| | beacd ma oay
tbeoe wocdo oo many
tlmeo, |ut | nevec cea|loed
wbat obe meant.
Leacn to tblnk
wltb youc beact,
not youc |caln.
5top tblo
monkey cbauec|
5be bao tcou||e
cbecklnq bec
own emal|.
azen'o clqbt.
my motbec'o a
blotocy pcofeoooc.
1bey'ce ocdlnacy
peop|e, tbey bave
no lnteceot ln
macblneo.
You muot |e mlotaken, ouc
pacento teacb cbemlotcy at
5ben Unlvecolty.
t
o
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t
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t
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Oent|emen|
On tbe contcacy.
L|dec Ruanq oent
me to qet tbe |ook.
Leave tbe kldo
a|one. You bave no
ceaoon to bacm tbem.
maotec |el? |'m
oucpcloed you'ce otl||
maklnq tcou||e at
youc aqe|
Oceetlnqo Lady Zbanq.
wby dldn't you te|| me
a|out tblo new |ook
c|u| of youco.
5|N|51Lk v|5|1Ok5| 1RL|k LLALk
1AP5 R|5 cANL |mPA1|LN1LY
w|1ROU1 |Uk1RLk wAkN|NO -
A
A
A
A
A
A
R
R
R
|
we can't otop, Jen.
|'|| be|p you.
on't |eave
me|
we'ce a|moot
tbece.
Ruccy|
| can band|e tbem.
|lnd tbe |ack dooc.
AN AmbU5R|
5ULNLY
Rub?
Let bec qo|
ALL 5LLm5 LO51
wbat
now?
but-
|t'o tbe on|y
way you can oave
tbem fcom
L|dec Ruanq.
but lt eacned
tbem oome enemleo.
Youc pacento owoce
nevec to ceot untl| tblo
oeccet know|edqe lo made
known to tbe peop|e.
LAY ZRANO
5AvL5 1RLm|
|N 1RA1 mOmLN1 1RL|k
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LN O| PAk1 1.
1O bL cON1|NUL
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wOkK|NO LA1L |N1O 1RL
N|OR1, 5LAkcR|NO 1RL
OL 51Ok|L5 |Ok A
|L|cKLk O| ROPL
Ouc pacento
ace countlnq
on uo|
Yeo. Lady Zbanq oayo
lt'o a|| bece, tbe qceat
oecceto of Lmpecoc Yu'o
beaven|y enqlneo.
5o we cead
evecytblnq and
take noteo?
b|1 bY b|1 1RLY LLAkN1
ALL AbOU1 1RL mAkvLLLOU5
mL1RO5 1RA1 cOUL
bk|NO AbOU1 A NLw AOL
O| PkO5PLk|1Y|
SKETCH BOOK
SECRET ENGINES is the first collaboration between Don Bosco (Singapore)
and Faye Stacey (UK). Here are some excerpts from their pre-production
work. All sketches and designs by Faye, based on the original story concept
by Don.


Wouldn't you like to make up thrilling stories about these characters?
Clockwise from top: Lady Zhang, Dazen, Jen, Mikki and Khan. The main
characters are a fun loving bunch, but when there's trouble they're not
afraid to jump in and help their loved ones.




Stern, pompous and greedy: that's definitely the look of evil. Clockwise from
top: Master Fei, Stanley Song, and the suit worn by the alchemist Elder
Huang's soldiers. We wanted to establish that they belong to a powerful
secret society that goes back for centuries, and these costume designs really
helped to convey this.



Planning the pages! Here's a selection from our first round of thumbnails.
From these loose sketches we could tell if the panels would unfold nicely.
Top left: Lady Zhang reveals the truth about their parents and reminds them
that knowledge is power. Bottom right: The confrontation inside the Shadow
Library. Fact: Don wanted a full fight scene that stretched over three or
more pages, but then decided to save this for another issue.


The cover was the last page to be completed. Faye had a few interesting
ideas for this, and we ended up using elements from the top right and lower
left versions. By this time we both knew the characters really well, and we
had already spent so much time setting up the SECRET ENGINES story
world, so we were able to do this last bit quite quickly.
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT


Welcome to Faye's cosy work area.

How artist Faye Stacey put together the magical world of SECRET
ENGINES


ABOUT ME
Hello! My name is Faye and I'm a freelance artist based in the North
of England. I studied illustration at Norwich University of the Arts;
I've always loved comics and always dedicated a lot of time to
reading and studying them, getting involved in local groups and
founding my University Comic Society while I was there.


WHAT MAKES A GOOD COMIC BOOK
Anything that the audience feels a connection to or leaves them
desperate to find out what happens next. A good sense of pacing
and well developed characters are vital, and while amazing artwork
can really enhance the experience of the reader, some of my
favourite comics haven't had the best drawing in the world.

DESCRIBE SECRET ENGINES
A gripping mystery rooted in history and adventure. It sounded fun,
with a well thought out storyline. When I studied the characters I
was excited to see opportunities for some really interesting
character designs.

HOW I WORK
I spend a good deal of time studying the script, seeing how much
text I'll need to fit in and trying to pinpoint what the key event of
that page is. I then create very small and rough thumbnail images
of each page, trying to design the page around the event that I
have identified as the main one. I go on to measure out and sketch
a full scale version of the pages on paper. I then use these as a
guide for creating the final artwork, whether I'm inking over the top
or scanning in and drawing directly into the computer.

TOOLS I USE
I have these amazing Palomino Blackwing pencils they can be a
little expensive, but they're great to draw with. I measure
everything out with a good metal ruler, as the plastic ones don't
often give you a very good line. After sketching out all the figures
and buildings, I then scan it in and paint it digitally with a graphics
tablet. I use a couple of programs to create artwork all of the
painting is done on a neat little bit of software called Easy Paint Tool
Sai, and for finishing textures, straight lines and whatnot I use
Photoshop.

BIGGEST CHALLENGE
Books. I drew so many books for this comic it wasn't particularly
difficult, it was just a little arduous. But I really wanted to give the
library the large and impressive scope it deserved, and I'm really
glad I did, because it has really lifted those pages. I just went a
little crazy from the sheer number of them!

VISIT ME
http://www.fayestacey-illustration.co.uk
http://pondicherry-baby.tumblr.com
fayestacey@hotmail.com

WRITER SPOTLIGHT


Don's story ideas are so fantastic, they sometimes explode out of his head.


Hear about it from writer Don Bosco, the wonderful wizard of
words.


ABOUT ME
Greetings! I'm Don and I live in Singapore. I started this publishing
studio Super Cool Books in 2011 with the Time Talisman series,
about three kids who find a magical talisman that sends them 150
years back in time. Since then we've done a lot of other fantasy and
science fiction stories, and also launched our own iPad app. Do
check it out, we'll be including some SECRET ENGINES stories in it.


HOW I BECAME A WRITER
When I was really young, maybe ten or eleven years old, I used to
copy the panels in my favourite comic books and try to create my
own stories. Later, just before I entered university, I wrote about
local bands for some magazines, and that was my first proper
writing experience. Eventually I would work on books, websites, TV
shows, comics, etc. Even though I've been writing for a little over
20 years, I'm still always learning new stuff along the way.

HOW SECRET ENGINES STARTED
I was at a friend's office and he had this intriguing illustration, it
showed a bunch of kids gathered around something bright and
magical. He didn't really know what the illustration was for, it
belonged to some other people who used to work there. I thought
the drawing looked really cool, and I started to wonder about the
characters. Over time the ideas just grew on their own, and
eventually this became SECRET ENGINES. I wanted to develop a
series of stories set in this world, and not necessarily all in the same
format. Perhaps a novel, some short stories, an interactive book, a
video clip, etc. Also, a friend of mine is interested in developing this
into a short animation, I'm curious to see how that might turn out.

CHOOSING AN ARTIST
I was looking for someone who could read the script just once and
right away have all sort of interesting images come to life inside
their head. Also, someone who has had enough training and
experience to finish a whole work of sequential story art. Some
artists are great at doing character designs or pinups, but find it
hard to sustain a story over a few pages. I was really glad that Faye
agreed to work on this. Thanks, Faye! :)

DEALING WITH WRITER'S BLOCK
I convince myself to write just one sentence, anything at all. After
that one sentence, I'll convince myself to write just another one.
And then one more. Usually at this point the ideas will come rushing
in, and the words will flow naturally. If not, I'll give up and go play
my guitar instead.

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING WRITERS
Find out what you really love, and then become good at writing
about that. I love mystery and adventure and reading and
friendship, and no surprise, that's pretty much what SECRET
ENGINES is about!

VISIT ME
http://www.supercoolbooks.com
studio@supercoolbooks.com



COMING SOON!




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