Welcome to Talisman: Awakenings

In late December of 2017, I wrote a short film called Talisman. It wasn't something I hadn't done before. I'd written a bunch of short and even feature length scripts over the span of a several years, but for some reason, this one felt different to me. I immediately started having conversation with one of my best friends about the new script. It didn't take long before John agreed to read it.

It didn't take much longer than that for John to say that he really liked Talisman and to make some suggestions. Five months later, on my drive home from work, I made a decision: I was going to produce this short film. THAT was something new. Something I had dabbled with but hadn't actually done on anything near a successful level. I was 43-years old at the time, but decided that I was going to take a chance on this story.

Filming Talisman was hard work. It was also exhilarating and we decided to turn the short film into a web series. Before we did that, though, we discussed turning it into a comic/graphic novel series. At the time, it didn't work out for a number of reasons. Even though it didn't happen at that time, the idea always stuck with me. It was also an easy sell to John who had grown up as a comic reader/collector.

Somewhere on the long and winding road of promoting Talisman - The Series, I crossed paths with another series creator named Brian Badgette. He was from Ohio and as fate would have it, we shared a screening block at a festival as he screened his series called Lucidity. A couple days later at the event's awards gala, we also shared a table. We were strangers bonded only by the desire to create and share our projects. As luck would have it, Talisman was awarded Outstanding Science Fiction and Best Director for a Sci Fi. Brian's series won Outstanding Fantasy and Best Animation.

Later, Brian and I were summoned back to the stage and both Talisman and Lucidity were awarded distribution deals. It was a surreal moment as the world was emerging from the COVID 19 pandemic. That festival, the NJ Webfest, was the first in person event I had attended to represent the series. Brian and I had a celebratory drink after the ceremony ended, struck up a friendship and over the years in between, we supported each other and kept in touch.

While I continued on with other projects, the idea of a Talisman graphic novel continued to intrigue me. I spent 2021 and 2022 working on another series, then followed that up with a couple of short films that released in 2024. And then it felt like the timing was right to return to the Talisman universe. It FELT that way, but the universe had other plans. While John and I, and even others, worked toward crafting a worthy follow up to Talisman, a series of issues and circumstances continually thwarted our plans. Finally, after much lamenting, it was decided that we'd shelve the idea of a Talisman live action sequel.

And that's when the idea of turning the series into a graphic novel series started to really take shape. I reached out to Brian because his work was amazing and because we were friendly. I didn't reach out expecting Brian to actually do the work. I only hoped that maybe he had a contact who'd be willing to work with us. Instead, Brian jumped at the chance. And the rest is sort of history.

Rather than continue Talisman from where we left off, we decided to go back in time to begin this adventure 50+ years in the past. We also decided to start somewhat fresh with a new cast of characters and a fresh set of challenges.

Talisman: Awakenings will introduce you to Cairo Johnson, an 11-year old with a knack for trouble. I've always thought it would be fun to see what would happen if the talisman was found by a kid. Children have less fear than adults. And they have that sense of wonder. All of the fun without the sense, in some cases, to be careful. When a kid gets a new toy, they play hard. So what would it be like if a kid played hard with an object that could give him all of the power in the universe? Talisman: Awakenings will answer that question.

I hope you enjoy the story half as much as we have enjoyed creating it. Brian's artistry continues to amaze me, and I'm excited to work with him as we tell this story. Time will tell where this story will take us, but we hope you'll come along for the ride with us. Thank you for being here! Talisman: Awakenings is coming soon!