-Written by Kevin de Vlaming

Have you ever put down a comic book that you just finished reading, and been so inspired by the world you were looking into that you wished you could experience it firsthand yourself?

Richard Grzela, a Calgarian comic book writer/artist and entrepreneur, has attempted to tap into that desire with his company 14uComics (pronounced “one for you” comics).

14uComics offers a unique service that allows comic books published under its brand to be easily converted to use in role-playing games.

“The idea,” says Grzela, “is to supply enough additional materials – such as maps and detailed character information – that someone could read through a comic, and then integrate it into any role-playing game that’s currently out there. ”

While some companies (such as Palladium Books) have worked comic books into their RPG’s as supplementary material, 14uComics is unique in that it starts with the comic books, then builds the game afterwards.

“When a writer presents us with an idea for 14uComics,” says Grzela, “we approach it very much like a comic book. Then after we understand what the main characters are going to be like and what the stories are going to be about, we look at specific individual details, like ‘If the character was wielding a certain weapon or had a superpower, how would that translate to a role-playing game?’ We start building on those ideas, and make it so that a given character could be integrated into any type of RPG.”

The concept is pretty nifty, and I admit, I haven’t heard anything like it before myself. Grzela credits the idea to found a company like 14uComics to his background reading ample amounts of fantasy fiction and sci-fi novels.

“I found a lot of writers were putting out material that had some inconsistencies, in terms of how an established character would react to a certain situation. Even though a lot of the novels out there were really great, I would often visualize the main character doing something other than what was presented by the author, which potentially might have made the book a lot more interesting.”

Sound logic. That the whole process requires zero investment on the part of the comic creator is a further bonus, to any would-be creative comic talent out there with an interest in seeing your characters worked into RPG format.

Speaking of comic creators, Grzela wears two hats here – in addition to being the central figure behind 14uComics, he has also written and illustrated a number of comic books for release through the company.

The stuff he has published under 14uComics all revolves around a world that Grzela created under the title “Dual Convergence“.

“Dual Convergence is a brand unto itself,” he says, “It’s based in a world that fuses sci-fi, magic, and technology, so that from the D.C. books, you can literally write a story based on any kind of theme or genre that you prefer. Then from there, you could integrate that into a more global gaming system.”

The D.C. lineup consists of the original ‘Dual Convergence’ title, ‘Bonemancer,’ (a title that was rolled out last year) and the latest Grzela project, ‘The Tarnished Legion’.

While Grzela’s ambitiously unique projects have met mostly positive reception, he says that promoting a company like 14uComics can have its up downs.

“It’s an ongoing battle, I guess is the best way to say it,” Grzela reflects, “Some areas of the country will love it, and in some areas it’s so unique that they don’t know if it’s something that they want in terms of being a comic or a game, or what-have-you.”

From here, Grzela is currently in talks with agents and several other businesses about possibly obtaining licensing from an actual role-playing game company, and potentially even working on a script for theatre based on some of the 14uComics’ properties.