ENTER KOVADRAH
For 1,000 years, Kovadrah has endured endless night.
For a thousand years, Kovadrah has endured endless night, broken only once every 70 years when the Mourning Tower awakens and a champion’s sacrifice returns the dawn. Ilyas Kalivar is one of six chosen to make the brutal ascent, expected to reach the summit and give his life for the world. But when a buried secret threatens his place among the champions, Ilyas must decide whether redemption is worth the tower’s price—or whether breaking the cycle of sacrifice will doom the world he loves.
Beyond the Printed Page
The Kovadrin Chronicles: The Mourning Tower is an epic fantasy graphic novel series with morally complex, high-stake themes in the vein of Dune, The Way of Kings, and Will Eisner’s The Spirit. The story blends mythic fantasy, theological tension, and a visually driven magic system centered on starlight and sacred glyphs.
The ten-volume manuscript for The Mourning Tower has been completed, along with the illustrations for volume one. The focus of our campaign is the publication and production of volume one. Complete at 120 pages, volume one will be produced in three formats: a 6x9 paperback, an 8x12 paperback gallery edition, and a 6x9 hardbound collector’s edition with stained black edges.
Advancing beyond the printed page, volume one also includes an augmented reality component. When readers hover over key spreads, the illustrations will animate, play music from our original score, and reveal hidden secrets that will unravel as the series progresses.
Kovadrah extends far beyond the page. From limited-edition art prints and sculpted figures to objects drawn directly from its characters, kingdoms, and mythology, each artifact has been created to make the world feel a little more real—and give readers a piece of it to carry beyond the story.
A Tangible World
Dealt From Another World
In collaboration with Theory11, the world of Kovadrah has been reimagined as a stunning, fully custom deck of playing cards featuring its champions, characters, and six kingdoms. Designed as both a functional deck and a collectible artifact from the world itself, the deck will be available through Theory11 in September.
THE MOURNING TOWER LAUNCHES ON KICKSTARTER SEPTEMBER 15
The Mourning Tower: Volume I comes to Kickstarter on September 15, inviting readers to help bring the first chapter of the Kovadrin Chronicles into the world. The campaign will fund the production of a premium physical edition of the graphic novel while giving backers access to an expanded collection of artwork, artifacts, and limited-edition pieces created for the world of Kovadrah.
Rewards range from the graphic novel itself to collectible playing cards, fine-art prints, original music, and a limited-edition sculpted statue of Ilyas Kalivar. Every pledge helps us continue building Kovadrah on our own terms—without compromising the scale, craftsmanship, or creative vision behind it.
MEET THE CANTRELL BROTHERS
KEVIN CANTRELL
World Builder | Illustrator
Kevin is an award-winning illustrator, designer, and the original creator of Kovadrah, a world he first imagined more than 25 years ago. An ACD Young Gun and TDC Ascender, his work has spanned Disney, Warner Brothers, Penguin Books, Nike, Dragonsteel, and Theory11, and his illustration, lettering, and design define the visual language of The Mourning Tower.
TYSON CANTRELL
World Builder | Writer
Tyson is the writer and narrative architect of The Mourning Tower. A Creative Director who spent ten years in New York City building his career in design and storytelling, he has spent the last decade writing fiction and developing worlds of his own. Tyson has completed writing all ten volumes of The Mourning Tower and remains hard at work fleshing out more stories in Kovadrah.
Press Information
-
The Kovadrin Chronicles: The Mourning Tower, Volume 1
-
The Cantrell Brothers
-
Tyson Cantrell
-
Kevin Cantrell
-
Dark Fantasy / Epic Fantasy
-
Full-Color Graphic Novel with AR component
-
September 15, 2026
-
Utah, USA.
-
cantrellbrothers@kovadrin.com