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Ian Gabriel's illustration of characters walking down a 1700s street.

Ian Gabriel (’20) shares his thesis story, ‘Supreme Beings’

‘Supreme Beings’ is a 72 page graphic novel by this emerging talent!

The story:

Alone in his cell, the mad Revolutionary Maximilien Robespierre writes his last testament to the French Revolution that became the Reign of Terror. Written is a warning about the unseen forces that pushes humanity to doom.

Paris, 1791: a younger naïve Maximilien is shown by a friend, Danton, the lynching of two Revolutionaries. Danton, a conspiracy theorist, believes it to be the first step in a grander scheme by King Louis XVI to destroy the Revolution. Skeptic, Maximilien ignores Danton’s pleas to join a direct protest to pressure the King to step down before the violence escalates. Maximilien is convinced ultimately that the Revolution will be won peacefully by reason and virtue until an apparition from his childhood reappears, the Visitor.

What was once thought to be a nightmare from Maximilien’s fever dreams as a child now stands before him in broad daylight. The sight leaving him dumbfounded. The Visitor has returned and once again with it heralds doom, as it alerts Maximilien of the bloody Champs de Mars Massacre.

What follows is a creeping account of a man and a country in Revolution descending into chaos trying to make sense of the horror’s they’ve witnessed, that they could previously never imagine. As Maximilien tries to keep his ideals alive, he loses friends, loved ones, and safety of mind as the Visitor continues their haunt.

The Visitor’s whispers becoming stronger and clearer with each passing day, as Maximilien’s Revolution turns uglier and more dangerous. The Visitor speaks of a plan orchestrated by primordial entities to keep humanity their slaves, as they made the Visitor their slave. Unless something is done, humanity will falter. Offering their aid in exchange for their freedom, the Visitor reveals the secrets of the conspiracy to Maximilien. To finally end the conspiracy’s grip on our reality.

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