Chris ready to kickstart a novel idea (From Keighley News)

Chris ready to kickstart a novel idea

9:00am Tuesday 4th September 2012 in News By Miran Rahman

A graphic novelist who moved to Keighley from North America is working on a book which is partly set in his new home town.

Chris Lackey, of Braithwaite Village, also works as a filmmaker and animator. His first book is called Deadbeats and is due to be released in the autumn by UK publisher SelfMadeHero.

He said: “My next project is called Transreality. It’s a sci-fi story that has a good portion of the book set in Keighley, which has been my home for the last two and a half years.”

Before moving to Keighley Mr Lackey lived in Los Angeles for 16 years, but is originally from the town of Silvis in Illinois.

He is raising money to help finish his latest graphic novel through an online facility called Kickstarter, which enables people to pledge money for their preferred creative projects. People interested in supporting his work can pledge money for Transreality via the website transrealitycomic.com.

He said: “I’m doing a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter to help cover the completion costs and printing, which will be done locally. I’m a big fan of supporting local businesses.

“I ended up in Keighley because my wife is from here. We met when we were both living in Los Angeles, got married and decided it would be good to start a family close to her family. Life here is much slower, really nice, and people are a lot more friendly.”

He said Transreality would explore the question of whether it is our body, mind or experiences that make us human.

His 128-page graphic novel will portray a universe where no-one dies, because the human mind is a digital programme that can be copied, saved and reprogrammed. It will be published next April.