It was over a decade ago that the world got its first look at Concrete, Paul Chadwick's man of stone; a melding of tried and true science fiction and superhero themes filtered through a very unique human perspective. After racking up an impressive collection of accolades, walking away with nearly every major industry award, and winning the hearts of a legion of fans, Chadwick turned his back on a promising career as a motion picture storyboard artist and art director (Paul's input can be seen in Strange Brew, Pee Wee's Big Adventure, The Philadelphia Experiment, and The Big Easy, among others) and settled down to make Concrete his life's work.

For the past five years Paul has authored Concrete's adventures from his rustic studio on an island in Puget Sound. Nestled in an isolated cove right on the water and backed by many acres of forest and meadows, Paul's home and lifestyle reflect the same love of, and concern for, nature that are expressed in his work. Being fortunate enough to live in such an idyllic setting and being able to make a living from work that he loves might seem like a case of Paul getting to have his cake and eat it, too. But, as he himself would tell you, a steady diet of anything can give one a hunger for change.

And change he did. In March, Paul unveils a new series as unlike Concrete as one could imagine. As the tag line for The World Below says, "Six adventurers descend to a vast underground world to bring back technology worth a fortune!" What it doesn't tell you, or prepare you for, is the onslaught of bizarre creatures, alien constructs, and strange situations that Chadwick's adventurers encounter. In Concrete, the title character was a lone fantastic character learning to cope with the real world. In The World Below, the six humans are the only "normal" characters in a setting that is by turns beautiful, disturbing, and violent.

Along with inker Ron Randall (Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire -- Evolution, and The Ark in recent issues of Dark Horse Presents), Chadwick brings to life a world in which gigantic creatures battle to the death, with the victor using the body parts of its prey to build its own offspring; swarms of flying robots dive bomb the human interlopers; tunnel-burrowing worms the size of Buicks honeycomb solid rock; and lonely, misshapen watchers observe human beings from which they have been fantastically evolved.

While in content The World Below is filled with the same kind of compelling, thought-provoking observations that are the hallmark of Concrete, in style it harkens back to "the good ol' days" of comics: fast-paced action, heroes in danger, and stories that are complete in one issue.

Twelve years ago in March, Concrete #1 arrived in comics shops and the medium got a little better, a little (some would say a lot) richer. Watch for history to repeat itself in just a few months.

Little Known Facts About Paul Chadwick:

  • Paul turned down director Tim Burton's request to storyboard Batman in order to work on Concrete: Fragile Creature.
  • Paul met Dark Horse founders Mike Richardson and Randy Stradley (as well as fellow creators Mark Verheiden, Chris Warner, Frank Miller, Ron Harris, and Mark Badger) through his contributions to the "amateur press association" fanzine Apa-5.
  • Paul's great-great grandfather was President John Tyler (of "Tippee Canoe and Tyler, Too" fame).
  • The sinkhole entrance to the "world below" is thirty miles due east of Paul's home.