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Men in Black,
Sin City, The Mask, Road To Perdition and From Hell have more in common
than their box-office successes. They were all black and white illustrated
graphic novels first before tapped for their Hollywood potential. Stepping
into the world of illustrated graphic novels in 2001, Murphy’s unique
stories and character-driven prose has received straight A’s across the
board by many of the industry’s top reviewers, magazines and periodicals.
His most recent series, “Fade From Blue” has been nominated “certified
cool” eight separate times from the largest comic distributor in the world
(an accolade only given to 30-40 books out of thousands every month) and
earned Murphy an Eisner nomination in 2003 in the category of “Talent
Deserving of Wider Recognition” (one of the comic book industries most
prestigious honors.) You can see more samples of his illustrated work
HERE.
In 2004, as reported by Variety magazine, Two Over Ten (Murphy’s first
illustrated graphic novel) was optioned for movie/television use by
Platinum Studios, the
founders of the Men in Black franchise and executive producers of
Showtime’s Jeremiah TV series. You can view the original Variety announcement
at this link.
 
“She
was a tiny frame of purity, disguising her intentions with barefoot
innocence and tear-moist cheeks. She was there that evening to kill
Brenden Wynne’s son. And he welcomed her right in.”
Two Over Ten is a dark, science-fiction thriller with a plot that finally
gives an explanation behind every one of mankind’s greatest unexplained
mysteries. We spend our lives searching for miracles, never realizing that
each of us is a miracle in itself. Long before your parents decide you
look like a Marie or how much they’ve always wanted a Jack, your soul
already comes with its’ own name. A hint… of who you truly are… and what
you were truly meant to be.
It is your 'given'.
Within each given sleeps a distinct talent, an ability that you were never
meant to use... or ever know about. But Casey knows your dirty little
secret. Within the folds of restless slumber, Casey O' Beirne unknowingly
was the one chosen by Fate to strip away the keys to the gifts we all hide
inside ourselves. She’s part of a timeless cosmic cycle that has existed
since the beginning of mankind…but it’s also a cycle that falls apart
around itself from time to time.
Casey believed she was just another ordinary seventeen-year-old from Cavan,
Ireland… until the night she woke up across the ocean, standing over the
crib of a tiny innocent child. A child known to the Gods only by his
given: the Release. When a single child’s touch releases the keys she’s
taken through the years and returns them back to their rightful owners,
it’s a race against time to get them all back before it’s too late. And
put a stop to the innocent child responsible for a world that’s no longer
right.
Much like the worlds that exist in the Matrix Trilogy or Men in Black, Two
Over Ten is a new look on a world you “think” you know. Where ordinary
individuals live their lives blind to what’s really going on around them…
until Fate upsets the natural order of things to expose the truth. It's a
world that exists because you're already living in it. Have you been given
back what's rightfully yours? If so, then expect to meet Casey soon.
…just don't expect to remember.
“I’m not my
father. I don’t make mistakes… and he has four to answer to.”
Fade From Blue is the story about four half-sisters who forge a family out
of necessity after each of their mothers die from mysterious
circumstances… and their polygamist father disappears without a trace.
Known for its’ humor and exceptionally realistic dialogue, this
“dramatic-comedy” is a 256-page illustrated series that focuses on just
ONE life-changing week for the sisters as they finally learn the truth
nine years later about what happened to their parents. The series starts
when the eldest sister (Marit) gets a lead on finding her mother’s killer.
Suddenly, the nuclear family these runaways have created for themselves is
at risk of unraveling once more.
Fade From Blue is a gender-neutral series written entirely like a TV show
and has been described by the industry’s top publication—Wizard
magazine—as a book that “runs the gamut of heart-wrenching drama to
gut-busting humor” with characters so real, “you’ll swear Murphy stepped
into your world and pulled your friends onto the pages of his stories.”
There’s Iya, the former model, mother figure who’s all heart under her
“believable busom” (her words, not ours) … and a lot smarter than society
will ever give her credit for. And then there’s Marit, the brooding oldest
sister who has spent nine years desperately searching for the truth about
what happened to their families… at the expense of her own happiness.
Lightening things up with her sarcasm is Christa, the freelance magazine
writer who pens cheesy chick lit by night, sleeps like a vampire by day
and rips men apart verbally whenever they’re stupid enough to leave
themselves open to attack. Then finally, there’s the youngest sister
Elisa, the dreamer who only sees the positive, even in the negative. She’s
the glue that holds them all together with her rosy look at life and
always-anxious personality.
But even she hides her own share of little secrets…
The list of accolades for Fade From Blue—Murphy’s final illustrated
graphic novel—is extensive both within the industry and outside of it.
Just a few of the credits include: getting straight A’s with every
separate issue in CBG’s Reading Room; mentions in NewType, Wizard and
Maxim Magazine’s “Best Of” issue; earning Murphy an Eisner nomination for
his work in 2003; getting “certified cool” 8 times and being called the
next evolution of “Strangers in Paradise” (Harper Collins’ latest
acquisition) by Diamond Comics Distribution (the largest comic distributor
in the world.).
One of the first dramas to show the REAL side of what relationship writers
truly look like—instead of some Sex in the City fantasy—it’s also the
FIRST illustrated graphic novel about a relationship writer WRITTEN by a
relationship writer. Originally published in comic form and two trade
paperbacks (Fade Trade Volumes 1 + 2), the 10-issue series will be
republished in its’ entirety within the upcoming year.
“Don’t blame
the Almighty. Blame us.”
“Welcome to God, kid. You’re it.”
What do you do when God turns his back on you? Simple. You step in and
take his job!
Dorian was just your typical, run-of-the-mill, conniving materialistic
idiot. We’ve all met a Dorian… a dredge of society that we pray get theirs
someday. But have you ever wondered what happens to them when karma
catches up with them eventually? Well, they take a road trip out to the
middle of nowhere, that’s what.
When karma finally catches up with Dorian—courtesy of a pink slip and a
'Dear John' letter—he ditches his shattered life in New York before it can
crumble any further… only to find himself standing in front of a
stationary store in the middle of nowhere. Now, this hundred-time loser's
being offered the job of a lifetime: to become part of a group of other
miscreants who run the entire behind-the-scenes show for God... who, as it
turns out, gave up on mankind years ago.
Far From Saints—the quirky, comedic tale of a pathetic loser who finds out
Heaven is nothing more than the backroom of a copy shop in New Mexico—is a
one-shot story that’s one-part Twilight Zone, two parts theology and three
parts hilarious.
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