Chandra Free is the writer and illustrator of The God Machine graphic novel series and co-founder/co-creator of spooky comics imprint, Machina Corpse.

Born and bred into captivity of Orlando, Florida, Chandra (pronounced CHAN–drah, like Jackie CHAN) can now be found in her present-day home, in the land of Connecticut. It is here that she concocts her uniquely abstract and elongated art and comics. Intensely interested in the incorporation of psychology into her art, she focuses on the unconscious and human aspects of her characters. In addition to The God Machine, she has worked as a digital painter on the comic series Sullengrey by Ape Entertainment, a colorist on the comic series Mice Templar by Image, and as an illustrator on John Carpenter's Tales For a Halloween Night Vol 5 by Storm King Comics and Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock by Archaia. She also provided digital paintings for the illustrated prose novel, Conspiracy of the Planet of the Apes, illustrated numerous album covers, provided illustrations to Miss FD's music video, "Krampus Song," and illustrated an ad for SYFY Channel's campaign, "It's a fan thing." She has adapted and illustrated T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land & The Boy Who Learned What Shivering Meant for the comics publication, The Graphic Canon. She has also done commercial storyboards for 321 Launch, cinematic storyboards for the movie, The Monkey King, and character designs for an animated pilot for Project Meatball. One of her latest projects, she worked on maps and art assets for Magnetic Press/Lion Forge's Carbon Grey role-playing game. Chandra was also the art director of the guerrilla studio BLAM! Ventures. She continues to work for BLAM! Ventures on various upcoming projects, such as Critical Millennium, and character designs for two upcoming NDA projects.

She's an avid Venture Brothers fan, MST3K junkie, retro video gamer, collector of arty-indy comics, infrequent participant of the "goth" scene, non-binary queer, and life adventurer!

The God Machine - Volume 1 by Chandra Free

Volume 1 re:VISION of The God Machine series sets the stage for an ongoing epic!

Guy Salvatore is stricken with sadness and guilt. His world no longer makes sense. His girlfriend has died and he's seeing monsters. Are they manifestations of grief or something more? A strange man in a graveyard tells Guy that his girlfriend is indeed alive, floating in and out of the "Dream Worlds" and that only Guy can save her! However, the Gods stand in his way of happiness. Could this be the uniting of young lovers, or the end of everything else?

Welcome to The God Machine, a dark comedy that delves into one boy's struggles with depression and the supernatural. Populated with crazy Gods, terrible monsters, and offbeat goth friends, let us take you on a trip, around the world and back…

:::For mature readers. Strong sexual content, nudity, and language:::

•The first graphic novel in the series (more comics coming soon!)

180 pages of comic pages (5 chapters), character art, and forewords by comics legend, Jill Thompson, and Venture Brother's co-creator, Doc Hammer!

•Lettered by Taylor Esposito. Logo by Phil Balsman.

•Additional scenes/content and updated script from the 2010 edition.

CURATOR'S NOTE

Chandra Free is an artist with a marvelously well-developed art style. It was this style that first drew me to her creations in general, and her comic in particular. What I found when I plunged into the story of The God Machine was a deep, occasionally surreal exploration of a world that draws in the reader with each new panel. Every bit deserving of the Kickstarter-funded upgrade it got in recent years. – Joseph R. Lallo

 

REVIEWS

  • "Chandra Free's God Machine is a trip through layers of emotion, equal parts dark fairy tale and truth about the human condition. With only hints of influence from her peers, Chandra's art is a complete balance of in-your-face darkness and expressive joy."

    – Michael Avon Oeming- Powers co-creator
  • "All my favorite stories are ones that, no matter how fantastical or bizarre, feel like real places that exist somewhere, just maybe on a different plane of existence. Free does just that with The God Machine: This story features likable, distinctive and organic characters that effortlessly exist in a world of macabre fantasy and multiverse, with a smattering of goth subculture and clever humor. It's all delivered through incredibly skilled graphic artistry that is undeniable."

    – Dusty “Goth Dad” Gannon of Vision Video
  • "With its lush colors and beautifully rendered line work, Chandra Free will drawn you into the book from the first page."

    – Forrest C. Helvie, Newsarama and Popverse