Chimera is an American comic book

American comic book

An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...

 published by CrossGen Entertainment from March to July 2003

2003 in comics

-January:* January 2: Kid Colt artist Jack Keller dies at age 80.- April :* Action Comics #800: Double-sized anniversary issue, "A Hero's Journey," by Joe Kelly, Pascual Ferry, and Duncan Rouleau...

. It is a mini-series

Limited series

A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....

 that ran for four issues. Chimera is most notable for its artwork. Produced by Brandon Peterson the artwork ia a blending of traditional and computer-enhanced techniques.

Chimera tells the story of Sara Janning who carves away massive chunks of ice as part of a tritium mining operation on the frozen world of Serevan. Serevan lives on the edge of Chimeran space, there she has been trying to hide her genetic makeup from the Chimeran Imperium, an empire of over 200 planets. When a stranger arrives on Serevan, however, Sara is discovered and it seems that not even the distant world of Serevan is far away enough to escape the notice of the Chimeran Imperium.

Storyline Details

When we meet Sara Janning she is an adult living on the planet Serevan. She has been hiding from the Chimerian Imperium ever since the Yamivol incident.

The Yamivol Incident

Sara grew up on an agricultural outpost on Yamivol Prime, a world that remained unaffiliated from the Chimerian Imperium for many years. Yamivol Prime was targeted for habitation by Chimerian forces when Sara was at a young age. Her home was destroyed, her family killed and just as she arrives to find all this her dog is vaporized before her very eyes. The trauma from this event causes Sara to release the power of her Sigil which wipes out all the Chimeran forces on Yamivol Prime. It is unknown whether Sara already had her Sigil at this point or whether it was activated during the Yamivol incident. The latter is most likely.

Serevan

Sara has been living on Serevan for a number of years hiding from the Imperium. There she works, cutting gigantic blocks of out of the ice. Upon returning from a hard days work Sara is approached by a new arrival to the planet, Jason Bryce. After a rather intense conversation the two part ways. It is possible that Jason Byrce was either one of the First

The First (comics)

The First are a group of fictional gods who appear in a self-titled comic as well as other various comic books published by CrossGen. Styled after the Greek gods in many ways, the First represent very powerful, nearly immortal beings, who are each based on a certain emotion.The full powers of The...

 or an aspect of Danik

Danik

Danik is a character in the Crossgen universe. Found in the books The First, Crux, Sigil, Solus, and Negation: War, Danik is a Transitioned Atlantean who has split off from himself Avatars to watch over and mentor several sentient beings throughout our universe and others.-Origins:Danik of...

.

Sara returns home to where a scientist, Isaiah, has been working on a robot, called a Carapoid. Left over by an ancient race called The Progenitors, Sara treats it as a pet of sorts naming it Rover. It is also revealed that Isaiah was the one who provided Sara with a masking device to hide her DNA from the Imperium.

The next day when clocking in for work Sara is again approached by Jason Bryce. When clocking in Bryce’s DNA is picked up by the Chimeran Imperium. This results in a fleet being mobilized by the Chimeran Imperium which heads directly to Serevan.

Unaware of the approaching fleet Sara heads out onto the ice with Jason Bryce as a partner. While searching for Tritium Rover unexpectantly unleashes a laser from its optical. As the laser begins to burn a hole in the ice the ground starts to shake. With the ground giving way trio fall into a dark hole. When they awake they find themselves in front of a buried ship, later revealed to be a ship of The Progenitors.

Short Film

A 6.5-minute Chimera CGI

Computer-generated imagery

Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...

 fan film

Fan film

A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book or a similar source, created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been amateurs, but some of the more notable films have actually been produced by...

created by
the class of April 2003 of the DAVE (Digital Animation and Visual Effects) School was released in 2003. The film is based on the first two issues and is distributed free on the Internet.

External links

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj1i9H5ToZc Official youtube site for the Chimera short film
• DAVE School Takes Comic Trip article about the short film