Andjelko
Napijalo has a right to have fears. Growing up in Croatia during a civil war
turned his once idyllic childhood into a nightmare filled with boogiemen. He
described the daytime sounds of exploding bombs and gun fire in the streets.
And, not knowing if his neighbors were alive or not.
After
one month, Napijalo was afraid to go to sleep because of his nightmares.
Though
the creative release of drawing a comic strip about a family of rabbits, he
started sleeping again and had no more nightmares. He was 10 years old.
“Someone
heard me and it stopped. I formed this story. Someone is in your dreams
fighting nightmares for you,” Napijalo said. “To me it’s about overcoming fears
a human being has. We all have demons. In order to survive we need a support
system. You can be your own superhero or you can be a superhero to someone
else.”
According
to the Kickstarter campaign page, in “Nightmare Warriors”, readers meet a
“young boy by the name of Gage Hunter whose parents were killed in a car
accident. After his parents’ funeral Gage was approached by a mysterious man
asking him to come to an abandoned lighthouse to learn the real truth about his
parents.
Gage
discovers that he belongs to the line of Nightmare Warriors, people of special
pedigree that can travel into other peoples' dreams thorough their
subconscious. Gage also learns that his parents got trapped in Dreamland, the
place where all dreams occur.
Gage…meets
his Dream Team, the team of nightmare-warrior assistants that live in
Dreamland. The team consists of an intelligent but very attitudinal owl
by the name of Hugo. Hugo is not just intelligent and attitudinal but is also
scared of everything. Koala-San is another member of the Dream Team who
tends to spend his entire time sleeping in his hammock or during very important
missions. Koala-San is a ninja koala bear. The last member of the team is
Doctor Klaus Notagan (pronounced: Not Again) whose inventions often fail,
misfire or both. With the "help" of his Dream Team, Gage ventures
into other kids dreams where he fights evil forces while continuously searching
for clues about his parent’s disappearance.”
Napijalo
wrote two books based on his idea for Dreamland, but he didn’t want to have
those self-published. “I have one chance to show people what I envisioned in my
mind.” In 15 or 20 minutes, readers can see the characters and the world he
created and fall in love with them. “I love it so much. It’s like they are
alive.”
None
of the characters have superpowers and they must work together to defeat the
bad guys in Dreamland.
He
contacted local artists to get price quotes, but in the end found a familiar artist
from Croatia, who Napijalo went to high school with before coming to the United
States. Nenad Cviticanin was the artist Napijalo chose. English is not
Napijalo’s first language so while working with Cviticanin, they communicated
in Serbian because it was easier, he said. Napijalo found Russian Maksim
Strelkov to add color to the art work.
“I’d
never done anything like it before, hiring people. It was more complicated than
I thought or imagined,” Napijalo said.
The
comic book took eight months to perfect from the sketches, the dialogue and the
art work. “It took so long because I was so picky,” he said.
The
40-paged glossy comic book is full of secrets beyond the story. Everything
could have meaning, Napijalo said. “The clock or the time has some meaning. A
lot of love went into creating it.”
For
those who love a puzzle, there will be questions for kids that will require
doing research or learning about some topic. They will also get cool prized for
accomplishing the tasks. “It’s more interactive,” he added. “They might even
need a spy glass.”
While
perfecting the artwork Napijalo and Cviticanin used their shared knowledge to
create art that spoke to them. “He actually experienced the same thing I did
during the war. His heart was in the project as well. He put everything into it
and that matters a lot,” Napijalo said.
The
first comic book story of “Nightmare Warriors” is only the first part of a 10
book series that covers the two books Napijalo initially wrote.
“I
have a huge imagination. If something comes to mind, I have to put it on
paper,” he said. He created a board game called Switch, although it has never
been sold, the dream team plays it in the comic book.
The
comic book has not been printed yet. Napijalo has a Kickstarter campaign going
on for the next week and a half to finish funding the publishing of “Nightmare
Warriors”. Everything is done, including the prizes and incentives for the
campaign. People who give to the campaign will receive items like T-shirts,
puzzles, posters, copies of the comic book and more. This edition will be a
special Kickstarter edition and he plans to print only 500 copies. Any extra
money raised will go directly to the printing of issues two and three.
“The
Kickstarter will pay for printing, cool stuff, fees, shipping and shows demand.
It puts me out there,” Napijalo said. “The idea is to get it to more people.”
He is hoping that a kid will pick up the comic book, read it and love it.
However,
he doesn’t want anything for free. He doesn’t want people to give him money
without getting something for that donation. “I want you to have something,” he
said. “I appreciate it.”
The
book promotes family values, compassion, love and friendship. “It empowers kids
and adults to take control of their fears,” he added.
Napijalo
is a voracious reader, who reads whatever sparks his interest. He came to the
United States in 1999, when he was 20 years old along with his parents.
During
the daytime, Napijalo is a detective for the Portland Police Department. He is
married and lives in Windham.
For
more information or to be a part of the Kickstarter campaign, visit Nightmare
Warriors on Facebook or Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/34629306/nightmare-warriors
