S O U RC E B O O K

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S oulfire C re ated By
Michael Turner
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Wr it ten By:
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HANNIBAL TABU
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A B
Direct Edition AspenStore.com
by -Michael Turner St. Patrick's Day Exclusive
& Peter Steigerwald Limited Edition of 217
by -Michael Turner
& Peter Steigerwald

Editors: Andrea Shea, Vince Hernandez, Frank Mastromauro Design and Production: Mark Roslan
FOR ASPEN: Founder: MICHAEL TURNER Co-Owner: PETER STEIGERWALD Co-Owner/President: FRANK MASTROMAURO
VICE President/Editor in Chief: VINCE HERNANDEZ Vice President/Design and Production: MARK ROSLAN
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MICHAEL TURNER’S SOULFIRE™ SOURCEBOOK ISSUE 1

MARCH 2015. DIGITAL COPY. Published by Aspen MLT, Inc., Office of Publication: 5701 W. Slauson Ave., STE 120, Culver City, CA 90230. The Aspen MLT, Inc. logo® is a registered trademark of Aspen MLT, Inc.
Michael Turner’s Soulfire™ and its logo, are the trademarks of Aspen MLT, Inc. The entire contents of this book, all artwork, characters and their likenesses are ©2015 Aspen MLT, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any similarities between names,
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Welcome to the world of…

MICHAEL TURNER'S
SOULFIRE
2003 marked the beginning of something truly magical: the
birth of Aspen Comics. Industry superstar Michael Turnerr
founded his own publishing company on the principle of
celebrating all the amazing and wondrous aspects of
life. With Soulfire, Turner’s second created comic book
series, and the first to launch with the now-iconic
Aspen logo, he sought to embody that ideal, weaving
together a story of magic, technology, and – above
all – hope. A Soulfire Preview issue was originally
released within the pages of Wizard Magazine as
part of a voting contest for Aspen fans to decide
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Michael Turner’s next published property, followed by
a nine-page prelude story entitled Soulfire: Beginnings,
that sold out its debut weekend. Soulfire quickly went onn
to become one of the top-selling independent comic books
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of the year and has thrived ever since.

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Much like its Fathom predecessor, Soulfire: Sourcebook is your definitive guide to the expan-
sive, imaginative, and ever-evolving world that Michael Turner envisioned. Spanning from an
Earth that doesn’t look too different from the world we live in today to the magical realm of
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the Everlands, let this volume be your reference for all things Soulfire. Allow your imagination
to soar…

CONTENTS
02 Malikai
06 Sonia
08 PJ
10 Grace
16 Benoist
19 Pili
20 Rainier
23 Onyx
24 Abel
25 Technology
26 The Five Masters
27 Magic
MALI KAI
Personal History: Malikai grew up an orphan in San Francisco
alongside his best friends, potential paramour Sonia and protector PJ.
The three were together at a holographic arcade when the Sethoru
mercenary Onyx kidnapped him. The stress of the situation caused
Mal’s first magical manifestation: he blasted Onyx’s face with a burst
of energy that surprised them both. Mal fell dozens of stories to the
ground but survived, unharmed.

The Rahtumi princess Grace showed up, riding a flying motorcy-

cle and demanding that Mal come with her. He reluctantly agreed, but
before they could get very far, Onyx attacked Grace and pulled her off
the bike, leaving Mal alone in mid-air. A crash ensued, but again Mal
miraculously survived.

PJ and Sonia showed up and helped Mal get away, but Grace
managed to track him down. She expressed the danger and urgency of
the situation, and Mal decided to accompany her to Hawai'i – so long
as his friends could come too. Seeking inconspicuous transportation
out of San Francisco, Malikai and his friends dropped in on the nearby
Battle Pit, where combatants in high tech armored suits tested them-
selves against other scientific weaponry. An engineer there named Be-
noist, agreed to help them get to Hawai'i in his hydrofoil yacht.
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On the way to the island, a set of drones attacked the boat on the
orders of their creator Abel, a rival of Benoist’s who had been contract-
ed by the Naitali defense contractor Rainier to kill Malikai. The drones
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attached themselves to Mal and detonated, knocking him overboard.

Malikai Benoist dove in after the boy and pulled him back aboard the ship.
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Occupation: Samusara Though at first Mal was unresponsive and seemingly dead, his powers
Identity: Malikai is a citizen of the Northwest Con- soon kicked in and he awoke, coughing but essentially unharmed.
ference of America with no criminal record, whose
Mal and his friends arrived at the northern coast of the big is-
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identity is not known to the general public

land of Hawai'i after nightfall, where the First Master of Samu Sariah’s
Height: 5’6”
daughter, Pili greeted them. She instructed Mal to leave the others
Weight: 150 pounds
behind and ascend a lengthy set of stairs into the foothills. There he
Hair: Blond
met Kamea Unuhi’Uhani, the First Master. Kamea showed him fiery vi-
Eyes: Blue
sions while explaining the reincarnative nature of the soul and Mal’s
Known Relatives: None
responsibilities as the Samusara. The next morning, Mal was deter-
Aliases/Nicknames: Mal, the Samusara, Bringer of mined to follow this new path but feared endangering Sonia and PJ. He
the Light told his friends they could stay in Hawai'i as he continued on, but they
Skills/Abilities: Malikai, or Mal, has innate magical protested and pledged to follow him.
abilities, among the strongest of any known magic
user. He can spontaneously create ethereal wings and Their arrival at their next destination, Tokyo, wasn’t as hospita-
generate magical energies from his hands. He can ble. The second master Ren Watasu brusquely stated that he would
also expel magical energy in an omnidirectional burst. not train “another failure.” But when Mal demonstrated p powerful
Mal trained in martial arts and magical manipulation magical abilities in defense of PJ, Ren decided to give him
and is a capable hand-to-hand combatant. He also a day to “show me that you are worthy of my atten- tten-
has superhuman durability. In times of desperation, tion.”
Mal can release the malevolent elements of his soul,
which manifest as a cloud of demon-like monsters That night, Mal couldn’t sleep and got into
with hugely magnified levels of his own magical a fight with Sonia over the nature of magic and
strength. His perception can see magical manifesta- its effect on his life. Angered by “the pep talk
tions not visible to normal humans. As Samusara, and the guilt trip,” Mal stormed away. Outside
he may have more powers yet undiscovered, such as he found Ren on the roof, contemplating the
city. Ren admitted his previous failures at
telepathy and telekinesis evidenced in other magic
training potential Samusaras and questioned
users.
whether or not Mal had the intestinal fortitude
Place of Birth: Unknown
to succeed. They challenged each other to move
Marital Status: Single
on from their pasts and set out on a course to o
work together.
 Mal spent weeks in lengthy sessions with Ren, learning mar-
tial arts and how to control his magic. After Mal’s first training ses-
sion where he managed to stay awake and eat dinner, Rainier’s
mechadragon suddenly smashed its head through Ren’s skyscraper
and captured Mal in its mouth, then flew away.

Mal watched helplessly as Japanese soldiers piloting giant

attack robots assaulted his mechadragon captor. Grace defended
the beast from the military, unwilling to let Mal be hurt. The dragon’s
wings were damaged and it crashed along the coast. Mal’s powers
again emerged in the form of a huge omnidirectional blast shattering
the mechadragon’s mouth and dropping Mal forty feet to the ground.
The mechadragon unleashed a huge torrent of fire, immolating Mal
and the surrounding beach before limping away into the sky.

Fearing the worst, Mal’s friends came down to the site, griev-
ing, when Mal himself emerged – once again essentially unharmed.

Benoist flew Mal and the rest to Macchu Pichu in Peru, where
they planned to enter the magical realm of the Everlands. On the
way, Mal saw a huge statue turn into a real dragon, which he easily
fought off and dispatched with his magic. But after the encounter,
Rathumi-like wings emerged painfully from Mal’s back. Grace coun-
seled him through the transformation, helping him along through the
portal leading to the Everlands.

Grace led Mal to the city of Anantia where he met the next two
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Masters of Samu Sariah: Sethoru king Arlin and Rahtumi queen Faye.
The two of them, plus Grace, led a frustrated Mal to the Test of the
Dagger, which required walking through a room full of clinging shad-
ows that tore at his clothes but couldn’t hold him back. Mal retrieved
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the dagger and, annoyed with all the hoops he’d been required to
jump through, went to find his friends.
Mal, PJ, and Sonia went to stay with Benoist in Sydney, Australia.
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While out on a walk one night, Sonia and Mal saw a man roughing up
Mal discovered them drinking in a tavern, and unleashed his
his girlfriend. Mal stepped in to stop it and the man ran off. The woman,
frustration on the group, making Sonia cry as he accused them of
Jayden, revealed her growing magical wings, which inspired Mal to
celebrating while he suffered. Mal followed Sonia outside and apolo-
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help her and made Sonia jealous.

gized, revealing his fear and his feelings for her. They shared a roman-
tic kiss that was interrupted by a surprise appearance of the repaired
Mal offered Jayden a room at Benoist’s, which created more
mechadragon. Suddenly, Onyx teleported in and snatched Mal away.
tension in his new romantic relationship with Sonia. These challenges
continued as Mal taught Jayden how to fly and they seemed to bond.
Onyx brought Mal before Rainier, who was leading a techno-
When confronted, Mal angrily reminded Sonia how challenging his
logical siege on the Everlands. Mal tried to fight them off with magical
magical transformation had been and told her that he wanted to help
blasts from his hands, to little effect. Rainier grabbed Mal and forcefully
anyone else going through the same thing.
ripped the wings from his back, sending the boy plummeting down-
wards into the arms of Grace. She revealed that she was the fifth mas-
After Mal had to help Jayden escape the police because she’d
ter and plunged the dagger he had retrieved from his earlier test deep
attacked an officer, the argument between the Samusara and Sonia
into his chest.
continued. Jayden accused Sonia of not knowing what it was like for
people “like us,” leading Sonia to storm off again.
Mal rose again, this time reborn with ethereal wings and
glowing eyes, wielding the dagger. With newly awak-
Mal was meditating late that night and Jayden, unable to sleep,
mag
ened magical senses, Mal “saw” magic making its
came to find him. He gave her some rudimentary lessons in controlling
return but
b still chastised Grace for keeping her
her power and encouraged her to continue developing without fear.
role aand plans secret.
She kissed him, and Sonia saw from the doorway. Sonia was ready to
leave the next morning, claiming that Jayden was duplicitous and she
Mal and Grace took to the skies to
wouldn’t stand for it. But Mal admitted the kiss had been a mistake and
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battle Rainier and Onyx. Together they
an accident, so Sonia agreed to stay.
ssuccessfully felled the mechadragon, and
MMal unleashed an unprecedented surge of
That night, Grace arrived at the apartment and asked for Mal’s
mmagic to overwhelm Rainier. But before
help in rescuing captured dragons from Rainier’s clutches. The group
h
he could be captured, Onyx appeared and
traveled to Los Angeles, where Grace recruited the help of Pili and a
te
teleported Rainier away. Mal came to terms
retired Rahtumi warrior named Dex, who’d chosen exile after a tumultu-
with Grace in the aftermath of the battle, but
ous breakup with Faye. The combined company headed to San Fran-
asked her to be more forthcoming with infor-
cisco through a series of abandoned tunnels. When they emerged,
mation in the future. She agreed.
they found Rainier’s troops brutalizing civilians and leapt to rescue the
innocent.
MALIKAI
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Mal fought it until the mysterious creature fled.

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The team was winning until reinforcements arrived for Rainier’s

men – seven-foot tall techno-magic hybrids called Nightstalkers remi- A band of magical women warriors appeared in the town, led by
niscent of Rainier’s virtually extinct race, the Naitali. As they attempted one named Miya, determined to kill him. Miya’s appearance gave Mal
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a retreat, Jayden put Sonia in mortal danger and Mal had to swoop in to flashes of the life of a previous Samusara as he hid in a cave to evade
save her. Mal berated Jayden for her behavior, and she left in a huff. his pursuers. More multi-armed monsters appeared out of the shadows
and Mal had to escape the cave, but Miya was waiting for him when
That night, Mal woke up to discover that Grace had left on a solo he emerged. Mal was shocked to see his hands had grown gray and
mission with Dex without telling anyone. Mal asked Sonia to stay close necrotic after his encounters with the monsters.
to Benoist and pledged to protect her before leaving to follow Grace.
Mal returned to the Everlands to ask for help, but had to hide
Mal found Grace face-to-face with the previously friendly dragon when Miya appeared in the magical realm shortly thereafter. Everyone
Marigold, now corrupted by Rainier’s machinery. Grace asked him to who saw her fell to their knees, calling her the Saoteria – or “savior”
save the dragon hatchling Rainier had in his skyscraper while she dealt – as she had killed the malevolent first Samusara named Khaaz thou-
with Marigold. Mal found both the hatchling and also Jayden, trapped in sands of years prior.
a cage. When he tried to rescue her, Jayden betrayed Mal and blasted
him as a team of Nightstalkers closed in for the kill. Rainier attempted Miya claimed that the monsters appearing around the world were
to use the captured serial killer Cole to leech Mal of his powers, but the manifestations of the darkness in Malikai’s soul and insisted that the
Samusara unleashed a huge burst of magic that disabled the Night- only way to save them all was to kill him. Hiding in secret, Mal asked
stalkers and blew the top off of Rainier’s skyscraper. if Miya could be right and Grace – one of his staunchest advocates –
admitted she didn’t know.
Cole and Jayden went after Mal together and tried to drain his
power, but he overloaded each in turn, completely disintegrating Cole An army of Sethoru attacked Anantia, amplified by long-forgotten
in the process. Mal destroyed an entire wave of Nightstalkers by him- shadow magic. Mal felt responsible for returning magic to the formerly
self, then ruthlessly attacked and killed Marigold. Horrified with his own unified races and leapt into the battle, only to be attacked by Miya.
actions, he fled the area to contemplate his life. Onyx, now leader of the Sethoru army, created an enormous dragon
out of shadow magic. The only way Mal could see to defeat it was to
Mal turned up in St. Petersburg, Russia, still wandering. Mug- unleash the darkness in his own soul, which made a faceless monster
gers tried to take his jacket and he forcefully knocked them aside. Mal as large as the shadow dragon. His plan worked, but he was unable to
ended up at a bar in a mining town called Amaliji, missing Sonia and control his creation as it turned on Anantia.
lamenting his lack of control. A young bartender named Paula took him
in after he closed out the bar and showed him the borithium mines. Mal Mal dove into the heart of the monster and fought the ghosts of
started bussing tables at Paula’s bar. After a normal shift, Paula saw every previous Samusara within. Focusing all of his energy on his love
a huge, dusky monster with dozens of arms attacking people in alleys. for his friends, he was able to create the most powerful blast of magi-
cal energy yet, shattering the monster. When it was gone, there was Sonia pulled Mal away in the middle of Henric’s explanations, re-
no sign of Mal. Later, Grace discovered Mal in the dimension of chaos, minding him that though he brought magic back, he was not the whole
trapped in a stone wall and depicted as being tortured by demons. of magic himself. He wondered if being Samusara meant acting as a
With the help of the other masters, Grace managed to pull Mal back beacon for others and a frustrated Sonia stormed off.
into reality.
The next day, Mal and Sonia visited a museum. Mal found himself
Mal took some time to relax with his friends in Hawai'i. Pili, who captivated by a particular painting of a ship lost at sea, dwelling on the
had assumed her father’s role as the first master of Samu Sariah on sailors: “Clinging to that fleeting sense of hope because it’s all they
the island, had a vision that demonic forces had infected Grace when had left. Just waiting for a sign.” Sonia took the hint and together they
she’d saved Mal from the chaos realm. Mal, Pili, and the others em- returned to the Gabriel’s Voice temple. But before Mal could speak to
barked on a mission to track down Grace. anyone when he arrived, an “angel” named Michael came down to the
group bearing four feathered wings.
When they finally found Grace in New Pompeii, Italy, she was
calling herself “Oris” and sat atop a throne of corpses. Grace animated Mal questioned Michael’s claim to be magical, and Sonia chided
the corpses and used them to attack her friends. Mal got within range Mal for what she perceived as jealousy. Protesters amassed outside,
of Grace and confronted her, but she set the entire building aflame in calling the Gabriel’s Voice crowd “gypsies” and demanding that they
retaliation. A dragon of flames emerged as the fires grew to encom- leave. Michael pulled his sword out and initiated a fight with the crowd.
pass the building. Mal flew out to grab protesters and protect them from harm. When
policemen arrived on the scene and tried to arrest Sonia, Mal stepped
As the city burned, Mal attacked Grace at the center of the drag- in to stop them while Michael continued to swing his sword at the
on. He tried to draw her away from the civilians and his friends, but police. Mal tried to calm the crowd by splashing them with water, then
Benoist was grievously wounded in the fight and Mal was just barely turned the hose on Michael. When he got closer, Mal realized that the
able to save him. They managed to escape and left “Oris” to destroy angelic wings were cybernetic enhancements and revealed the fraud.
the city. Distraught, Henric tried to strike at Michael but Mal pulled him back.
Henric retreated into the temple and revealed that he was dying of
Mal returned to Anantia and urged Faye to permit a mixture of cancer. Mal kept his powers secret, claiming his wings were also cy-
magic and technology in order to save the dying Benoist, and she re- bernetic enhancements much like Michael’s, and left, frustrated with
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luctantly agreed. The “cure” ran wild at first – Benoist almost hurt peo- hurting people even when he wanted to help.
ple with his out-of-control tech – but a blast from Mal returned him to
a catatonic state. Later Mal confided in Sonia, who reminded him that Grace later found a sullen Mal and comforted him. Mal noted
magic could do harm as well as good. Luckily, Benoist emerged from that Grace’s romantic involvement with newcomer Vanyss was making
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his coma with newfound abilities that encouraged Mal to seek more her happy, and accepted that he too could be happy, just not on that
bridges between magic and science. particular day.
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Mal and his friends procured hybrid equipment that used magic Mal and his friends were cheering PJ on in the Pandemonium 7
as a fuel for technology, then returned to confront Grace and her four finals when Benoist exposed ruthless engineer Abel’s revenge plot.
elemental dragons in New York City. Mal tried to reach out to Grace Abel unleashed a ten-headed mechadragon from the ground. Mal leapt
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during the fight, but the spirit of Oris transformed her body into a huge into the air to attack the mechadragon alongside Grace and together
winged demon. they were able to eventually destroy it. When the battle was won, Mal
and his friends boarded Benoist’s plane and left the madness in Paris
Mal was unable to stop the dragons’ attack and switched to a behind.
tactic that had worked previously: overloading Oris with a huge volume
of magical energy. Mal pulled power from each of the masters and
magic users nearby and fed it into Oris, causing a huge detonation that
left behind a massive crater and Grace’s lifeless body.

They brought Grace back to Anantia. Her soul was trapped in the
chaos realm, though her body was physically fine. Mal swore to return
to the chaos realm and save her as she had once saved him. While
most of the masters held off the stony chaos demons, Mal entered the
realm and pulled Grace’s soul loose amidst a raging fight between the
gods of chaos and order.

Mal, Sonia, and Grace returned to San Francisco to support PJ’s

newfound career as a mecha fighter. But, Mal noticed Grace’s regular
absences and sought her out. Grace felt a massive weight of guilt for
her actions while Oris had possessed her, and Mal promised to help
her heal.

When PJ and Benoist were invited to Paris for the international

mecha fighting competition Pandemonium 7, Mal, Sonia, and Grace
were eager to join. The trio were excited to explore the Parisian night
as soon as they arrived, but soon came upon a temple run by a group
called Gabriel’s Voice, which claimed to seek the “light of magic.” Mal
was intrigued by the elderly cleric Henric and wanted to investigate.