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"This week on Sinica, Kaiser chats with the Los Angeles–based film producer Peter Shiao about his vision of bringing wuxia 武侠 — a genre that tells stories of chivalrous martial artists with supernatural abilities — to global audiences through comics, graphic novels, and films. The son of renowned martial arts novelist Shiao Yi (蕭逸 Xiāo Yì), who passed away in 2018, Peter wants to create a wuxia storyverse that will be to Chinese martial arts literature what the Marvel Comics Universe has been to the superhero genre." 8:34: Bringing wuxia to mainstream audiences 12:27: Wuxia as a contribution to global pop culture 18:11: Chronicles of the Immortal Swordsmen  28:30: Regional differences in wuxia writing and appeal

Immortal Studios and NextShark are proud to announce a newly established partnership to unveil a rich wuxia, or martial arts fantasy, universe of stories that have long been iconic to Asian and Asian American cultures. This partnership will help amplify the Immortal Storyverse to a diverse Asian and Asian American community. NextShark connected with Immortal in the summer of 2020 as they launched their first title, “The Adept”, to kick off the interconnected wuxia universe which was funded on Kickstarter in under three hours. The long term partnership now has its sights set on making an array of Immortal content available on the NextShark platform, including exclusive engagements for NextShark readers. NextShark founder and CEO, Benny Luo, says, “As an Asian American who grew up in this country, it was rare to see heroes who looked like me. We are extremely excited to bring these incredible cultural stories to our diverse community and push Asian representation further than it has ever gone before.” Immortal Studios CEO, Peter Shiao, says, “We are very excited to partner with NextShark to bring empowering and authentic Wuxia stories to its vibrant community. The time has come for Asians to take our seat in mainstream global entertainment, and the Immortal storyverse is the perfect vehicle to authentically and powerfully achieve that overdue presence, not just with one character or story, but many. Stay tuned to a lot more updates just around the corner!” Read entire article at NextShark

We are making it possible for our family, friends, and community to become shareholders of Immortal Studios through a partnership with Wefunder. If you care about what we are doing, love wuxia like we do, and want to be part of awaken the hero in everyone, we are inviting you to become a foundering shareholder in Immortal Studios by participating in our first ever crowd equity campaign. Visit our Wefunder page

Immortals, wait no more! HOT OFF THE PRESS. We have just released the digital copy of The Adept Issue No. 1! The way we have been embraced by Kickstarter – from fans to creators, as well as our broader friends and family – has defined for us what a community can be. From all of us at Immortal, thank you. Missed our Kickstarter? Download The Adept #1 Digital Edition

On September 1 and September 8, 2020, we hosted for our extended group of creators and artists working on the Immortal Storyverse a special presentation on visual storytelling from our creative advisor, former Marvel Entertainment Editor-in-Chief and creator Carl Potts.

Thank you for your Support! Our Kickstarter campaign for THE ADEPT #1 was funded in less than 3 hours! The Adept — Immortal Studios Kickstarter Campaign Video

Check out an amazing interview with Peter Shiao, Founder of Immortal Studios by Rylend Grant at Mainframe Comic Con 2020. Peter shares the mission of Immortal Studios to awaken the hero in each of us, the history and future of Wuxia, the Immortal Storyverse of interconnected inspirational heros to inspire, the company's exciting 1st comic book, The Adept, which was a Kickstarter success, and what's in the pipeline.

"The Adept is a stunning and heartfelt ode to kung fu lore. Starring Amy, a young Chinese-American who runs away from an abusive home, it promises Shaolin mythology, classic comic book action, and a modern setting with real-world themes. On a Kickstarter for The Adept, a 14-page preview chapter gives us a look at the superhuman powers of martial arts that Amy obtains after training with a mysterious master in her dreams. The title is the first project from Immortal Studios, and the beginning of an interconnected content universe built around wuxia, the genre of kung fu heroics that inspired films like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Artist Yishan Li breathes life into characters and writing by Tasha Huo and Charles Stickney, in an original story from Immortal Studios Founder Peter Shiao. From the first peek, The Adept looks very exciting – the preview chapter manages to squeeze in evil conspiracies, sisterhood, and plenty of not-for-kids kung fu ass-kicking. One thing that stands out about The Adept is the attention to detail when it comes to Chinese martial arts. Not surprising, as the production enlists the help of Gene Ching, 32nd generation layman disciple of the Shaolin Temple, and the publisher behind the niche (but fondly remembered) Kung Fu Tai Chi magazine. Generic physical combat is swapped out for authentic Shaolin techniques, giving the comic the feel of a kung fu movie, and honestly putting the Iron Fist to shame." Read entire article at RadII

The following is an interview with Peter Shiao regarding the launch of Immortal Studios' Kickstarter campaign for the new comic, The Adept. In this interview, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief Barbra Dillon chats with Shiao about the inspiration behind the new series, the creative process in working with the cast and crew to bring the project to life, what readers can anticipate from Immortal Studios' slate of projects, and more! Barbra Dillon, Fanbase Press Editor-in-Chief: You recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for Immortal Studios’ first comic book series, The Adept.  For those who may be unfamiliar, what can you tell us about the premise of this story? Peter Shiao: The story of The Adept is centered around the life of Amy, a young woman who has seen more than her fair share of challenges and troubles. Those challenges are first exacerbated – and later transcended -- by the appearance of a Shaolin monk in her dreams who trains her in the ancient ways of transformative Kung Fu. So, this is a modern retelling of a classic “Wuxia” martial fantasy story with some surprising elements. BD: What is the mission of Immortal Studios, and what do you feel defines an Immortal Studios title? PS: The mission of Immortal is to awaken the inner hero in everyone we have the opportunity to touch. And in order to do that, we must first have worthwhile and awesome stories. Because we have chosen to that within a specific genre we love, we hope ultimately to be defined as the place that rebirthed one of the world’s oldest, storied genres onto the world stage with a powerful and personal call to action. BD: You have an incredibly talented team working on The Adept.  What can you share with us about your shared creative process in bringing the story to life, and what (or who) were some of the influences for the story and for Immortal Studios overall? PS: Thank you for referencing the collaboration that is so much of the spirit of this project. Having never worked on a comic book before, we cannot lay claim to any kind secret sauce. But we did start in an intentional way to surround a very basic story that I came up with the best and brightest minds who each brought something very specific and powerful. The co-writers added a lot of the flesh to the basic structure, gave it specificity, vibe, and emotionality, and because we wanted to tell an authentic story, we brought in a Shaolin master and action blocker to work out the actual sequences, and it all got gelled together by our artist under the coordination of a great production and campaign team who made sure all the parts sang together. So many influences and individuals contributed in an orchestra like fashion to the ultimate product. In terms of a larger influence, we as a Wuxia studio, are working in a storied cultural, literary, and cinematic tradition about martial heroes. In the case of The Adept, we dove into that tradition along with Shaolin Kung Fu – literally the place that started Chinese Kung Fu – so it was extra meaningful. And because this is a genre that has been slowly watered down from Wuxia to martial arts, to “Chop Sockey,” we do have a bit of a chip on our shoulders on going back to the roots of everything while staying current at the same time. BD: What are some of the fun backer rewards that are available to those who contribute to your campaign? PS: Personally, I love the big stretch goal reward when we hit $35,000, where all of our backers will have the opportunity to access a dialogue with a real Shaolin master. There are a lot of cool stuff associated with our Lady Gaga like Diva in the story, Sasha True, that I am looking forward to getting too. The Shaolin collectible cards are quite cool, too. BD: At Fanbase Press this year, our #StoriesMatter initiative endeavors to highlight the impact that stories can have on audiences of various mediums.  How do you feel that The Adept’s story will connect with and impact readers, and why do you feel that this story was important for you to bring to life? PS: First, I wish to applaud you for what you are doing – because stories do matter a great deal, maybe a lot more than we even realize. Because of our mission, our choices in having a Chinese American woman as the lead during a time when Asian Americans are under attack, a character who has been hurt by life but found a way to be empowered, and ultimately transformed, a story about accessing our inner heroes, during this very unique moment, are all intentional. It is our prayer for the world right now – and for ourselves. If Amy can do it, we all can – and it is all there for the taking if we want to – to be heroic in our lives. Read entire article at Fanbase

"A new entertainment studio that focuses on authentic martial arts culture has unveiled their first comic book series: “The Adept”. “The Adept” is an original story from entrepreneur, producer and activist Peter Shiao, written by Tasha Huo and Charlie Stickney with art done by Yishan Li. The series, which has seen an exciting reception on their crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter, has a 42-page first issue that follows the quest of Amy, a Chinese American who escapes an abusive home to master an ancient and rare martial art, preparing for the day when she returns home to face an unspeakable evil. Read entire article at NextShark

Interview with Peter Shiao Founder and Chief Executive Officer, leading Immortal Studios in creating a new Wuxia (martial-hero-fantasy) story universe first through comics with the goal of awakening the hero in everyone. Peter has a decades long career leading innovative entertainment and media ventures between the East and West, and has been active in empowering underserved communities.