Even the darkest secrets leave a trail. A graphic novel about a train that vanished, and the three people who followed it into hell to bring it back.
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"A train left the station on schedule, and arrived nowhere. Every passenger, gone. Every rail, intact. Somebody has to ride it back."Opening line, Chapter One
When a passenger train disappears without a trace, the official report calls it an accident. Black doesn't believe in accidents, not when the wreckage points somewhere the rescue crews refuse to dig.
What starts as a missing-persons case turns into something else entirely: a tear between this world and the next, and a fight to drag a train, and everyone still on it, back through it.
The Missing Train is a full-color, 70-page graphic novel: noir investigation on one page, full supernatural war on the next.
Fully inked, lettered, and colored. These plates ship exactly as shown in every physical and digital tier.
Before color goes down, every page passes through pencils and ink. Shown here on their own, two at a time.
Every backer chooses which cover ships with their copy: the storm before the tear opens, or the fire after it does.
Every tier ships the finished book. Higher tiers ride further into the file.
One physical copy, plus a look behind the ink.
Everything in the archive, both ways in.
Jwala, in his own words.
As a kid, I used to travel to my hometown by train every summer. During one of those trips, I bought a comic book, and it hit me really hard. I was completely blown away by the artwork and the storytelling. That was the moment the seed was planted. I've been in the comic industry for years now, and this idea of a missing train had been cooking in my mind for a long time. When I finally brought it up to Mr. Jeffery, he encouraged me to bring it to life.
I'm based in Mumbai, India. While local comic culture wasn't very big growing up, I was heavily influenced by everything from DC and Marvel to indie comics. That exposure was more than enough to keep the pull towards storytelling strong. Living in Mumbai constantly shapes how I view visual worlds, and those early comic influences gave me the foundation to build my own.
The initial idea grew from a single image I visualized, one that you'll actually see in the final pages of the book. From there, I started building and exploring a narrative around that central image, and the story just kept growing. At first, I planned to focus strictly on the protagonist, but as the plot progressed, the supporting characters naturally took on a life of their own and earned their space in the narrative.
The story definitely has a strong connection to Indian mythology, but you don't need any special background knowledge to enjoy it. If you've heard of Lord Shiva, that's more than enough. Everything else unfolds naturally as you read.
Sheena is easily the character I connect with most as a creator. There is an addictive energy to writing someone who refuses to play by the rules. While Detective Black provides the grounded, analytical anchor every good mystery needs, Sheena brings the unpredictable spark that makes a story truly volatile. As a creator, characters like Sheena are a dream because they keep you on your toes. You can outline a scene down to the last detail, and Sheena will suddenly do something completely unexpected that throws the entire narrative into chaos and elevates the thrill.
I always start with the storyboard. That's the most important step because it's where you decide the focus, camera angles, and overall story flow. Next comes the detailed drawing and rendering. I love this part. Finally, the coloring and lettering bring everything together at the very end.
Backers are getting an exclusive, mature thriller packed with striking, grounded artwork you won't find anywhere else. Plus, you'll get rare access to my raw creative process, including behind-the-scenes sketches, early concepts, and uncut development materials.
This campaign is the birthplace of a new hero. Detective Black will take his sharp investigative mind into dark, uncharted territory, delving into multiple realms to do battle against a cruel world of demons.