As a vast island nation, The Bahamas definitely deserves more stories. The gorgeous geography and enchanting folklore alone is more than enough for a true, aquamarine blue oddysey. It just makes sense, right? Well, look no further. Staniel ‘Stan’ Russell and Nik Barnes has it covered in their new comic, ‘Zephyr’.
Zephyr centers 18-year-old Bahamian Reya Solaris who spots an oddly tall owl during an environmental assessment of Andros. Curious, she gives chase. The creature leads her to The Guardian, a blue hole known to claim those too curious to venture its waters. Just above it, Reya believes she’s cornered it in a nearby tree. It flies. The chickcharney speaks. She’s shocked. She falls. She plummets into the hands of a spurred fallen demi-god long eager for revenge.
“I would say it [Zephyr] is a drama. … There’s action and a little bit of comedy too,” Stan said.
Zephyr, though named after a light breeze, moves at whirlwind speeds as the action unloads like a cannon.
Upon resurfacing, Reya unknowingly awakens an uncontrollable power—the ability to command storms. Gods and humans vie to claim her, friends disappear, allies play insidious games, and rabid enemies provoke and rage while Reya tries to make sense of it all.
As for the character designs, Stan noted, “It’s a cross between fantasy and street fashion.” The characters range from stylish to stylishly zany – somewhat reminiscent of Gachiakuta, Naruto, and One Punch Man.
They are also multiple nods to various parts of Bahamian culture ranging from architecture to dialect and folklore.
“The environment was top priority,” Stan said. He added, “ … I also wanted to add in a fantasy element.”
Nik continued, “We as Bahamians have interesting lore to draw from. For instance, the story of The Guardian came from one of the stories my aunt would always tell me about where people who fall in are either not found or come back changed.”
Though The Bahamas serves as the backdrop, the comic’s appeal reaches far as Zephyr taps on a bit of 2000s anime nostalgia while providing a unique perspective.
“When we think anime, we assume the characters must be white or Asian. No they don’t. We don’t have enough characters, whether black or Caribbean. We need to create more of our own,” Stan stated.
“We know about Japan because of its cultural push through anime and manga. In a similar way, we want people to know about The Bahamas through us drawing and telling our own stories.”
Another interesting tidbit is that Zephyr is also part of an intertwining odyssey. The world of vying gods long spans across Stan’s previous work, ‘Kayos Gaiden’ and Zephyr’s upcoming companion comic ‘House of Tiger’.
Intrigued? Just know there’s definitely more Kayos to be had.
Dive into the Kayos, follow Stan and Nik on Instagram at Kayos Worldwide for more. Get your copy of Zephyr Volume 1 on Amazon and Nassau’s very own Manga Corps, today!
