By TechGOnzo

Question: How do you keep the fantasy genre fresh without removing the things that make it fun?

If you were long-time animator Scott Christian Sava, you’d add a computer to the mix and gain the adoration of a whole new group of fans while still attracting the attention of veteran creators like Marv Wolfman and the late great Mike Wieringo.

That, and you name one of your characters Paddington Rumblebottom.

Sava’s book, The Dreamland Chronicles, breaths new life into the fantasy genre and plans to open up his stories to the traditional comic fan in his first Dreamland Chronicles series from IDW, which hit shelves last week.

The all-ages story focuses on Alexander Carter, who visits a fantastic, timeless realm called “Dreamland” whenever he falls asleep and his fraternal twin Daniel who records everything from his brothers memory when he awakes. After rediscovery of a necklace that takes him to a magical world of his childhood dreams, the danger, adventure, and romance begin anew.

“There’s love, adventure, far away places”¦but, what makes the story sort of unique is that you have this fantasy world [in place] and then [Alexander] wakes up and he, his brother and a med student are trying to figure out what’s going on,” Sava says.

“They’re tackling it using every possibility and you’re actually trying to rationalize this fantasy world.”

But most importantly, Sava says he wanted to do a story that was just fun — something that is often lost in ongoing comics with more complex storylines.

All the regular elements of a fantasy story are there, too: fairies, Ogres, sword fighting, an evil tyrant, and, of course, a princess.

The art is non-traditional, meaning it comes entirely from computer-generated graphics instead of being drawn, inked, and colored. Despite some exceptional talents in both drawing and painting, Sava says he actually prefers the storytelling process this way.

“It’s like making a movie. I write a script, then storyboard it. Meanwhile I have character designers creating all the characters in the chapter. Once that’s finished and I approve the design, they then go to modelers, renderers who add bones, then face sculpting”¦” Sava says.

After the designs are complete, Sava loads them onto his computer and proceeds to place characters into scenes, posing them accordingly. He can even manipulate the facial expressions to match the dialog in each panel.

Remember in the old days when you’d create an entire story using action figures from your childhood? It’s like that only in comic form and really entertaining.

Those lucky enough to be at Comic-Con this week can stop by Sava’s Blue Dream Studios booth or meet Sava himself over at the IDW booth. And for the majority who are not fortunate enough to attend, you can check out http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com for more stories about Alex, Daniel, Paddington Rumblebottom, and the rest of the gang.