Apocalyptic Anime Fantasy TCG/Comics — Jake Masters And Drawsmile Talk ‘Demon Rush’

Welcome to the table,

I recently had a chance to sit down with Jake Masters and Drawsmile to talk about the graphic novel series that fuses apocalyptic fantasy, anime-inspired visuals, and emotionally charged storytelling into a wild saga that lands somewhere between a story of religious warfare and card game chaos while remaining something wholly unique at the same time.

Demon Rush follows two best friends torn apart and trained by opposing forces in a sacred and brutal landscape of mythic relics, angelic lore, and a unique spiritual energy system known as Imperium.

You can find the interview below, and as a note, it has been edited in a few places for clarity.

Anton: I’m super excited to have the talented team of Jake Masters and Drawsmile at the table with me today. Before we dig deep into Demon Rush, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?

Jake: I grew up with a huge passion for comics and manga, making my own during school instead of paying attention in class. After 10 years of corporate jobs that I suffered through, I eventually quit and pursued my passion, growing a YouTube channel to over 3 million subscribers, and devoting my resources to bringing my beloved series, Demon Rush, to life.

Drawsmile: Hi Anton, Pedro here. I’m a guy who loves drawing and enjoys creation. I’ve been drawing since I was a little kid with a radiant imagination, old enough to hold a pencil. I also worked as an art, manga, and drawing teacher for a couple of years back in the day, a decade ago, at a small academy in my hometown in Venezuela.

Anton: Now, I was just texting back and forth with my buddy Gabe Valentine about Demon Rush when I saw it come up in my Instagram feed. The stunning visuals, coupled with the unique world-building, immediately hooked me. What were the earliest seeds of this story? When did it start taking form?

Jake: Raised Catholic, I’ve always been fascinated by the war between angels and demons and the mystical aspect of its effects on humanity. Games like Diablo, anime like Berserk Golden Age, and movies such as The Ninth Gate were all hugely inspirational to me in forming the seeds of Demon Rush. I designed a world rich in the lore of the archangels while bringing elements of ancient magic in as well. I wasn’t going for 100% biblical accuracy-I wanted to bring in many of the familiar stories and tie them into a more suitable and fun design for the general public. Most notably, the designs for the giant archangels are incredibly unique!

Drawsmile: Thanks. Honestly, in my case, when Mastar contacted me on social media to give me the chance to work on Demon Rush, I was working, making commissions for people at that time, so I thought it could be an experimental way to develop my career. I never made a real manga/graphic novel before, at least not from a professional level, and wanted to know what it was like to create one. I wanted to see what I could accomplish artistically and also the story was about some topics that I was very interested in.

Anton: There are biblical themes with the presence of the archangel Michael and the mention of Lucifer, but there also seems to be a lot of nods to classic anime and manga like Berserk, Claymore, and Vampire Hunter D. Were there stories that helped you along your world-building journey, both visually and narratively?

Jake: Well, you just named 3 of my favorite anime! While I may have been inspired by the dark undertones of these 3 stories, Demon Rush doesn’t share many commonalities with them. The story that it shares the most with is the Bible – Lucifer being sealed in Hell, attempting to escape, using humanity as his pawns for doing so, while the Angels interact with humans, strengthening them for the war between good vs evil.

Drawsmile: Apart from Dragon Ball Z, Berserk, and others, I’ve been a huge One Punch-Man manga fan since even before the anime came out, so I have a lot of those shonen/ seinen styles in myself at drawing after studying them for years.

Anton: The core of the story seems to be a conflict between two friends who have been forced to fight on opposite sides of a cosmic war. Can you give us a bit of an overview of the general story of Demon Rush?

Jake: The core element of Demon Rush that differentiates it from other similar stories is the dual main protagonist system. There are 2 main characters, one holy and one evil, and as their stories intertwine, it’s up to the reader to pick a team they prefer. Each character has their trials, struggles, and victories, and the reader gets to make a choice which they sympathize with more. Surprisingly, most people like evil better!

After millennia of imprisonment, Lucifer has been scheming to escape Hell by any means he can, devising a plan to capture the Archangel Michael and siphon his celestial energy to open gates to Earth. Furthermore, Lucifer is looking to build the ultimate human warrior – one that can house his spirit and find the 9 pages of the Grand Comendium, the book of creation, which would allow him to rewrite reality in his image. Soren, his master Az, and the remaining angels are all attempting to stop him.

Anton: Now, you are not just building a comic here. There is a trading card element that seems like a major part of the IP. What kind of gameplay can we expect from this facet of Franchise?

Jake: The Demon Rush TCG is similar to Magic: The Gathering and Yu-Gi-Oh!, and Hearthstone. If you’ve played any of those games before, Demon Rush is a quick learn. I didn’t attempt to rewrite the wheel and create a complex new system. You rally soldiers, play spells, and protect your champion, trying to get your opponent’s health to zero and win the game. There are rare foils in the booster packs, boss soldiers like angels and demon lords that decimate your opponent, and an imperium system that prevents players from taking too long on their turn. Demon Rush TCG is constant action, balanced, and highly customizable.

A: Will there be factions in the card game? If so, how many will be playable?

J: Yes! There are 3 factions – Holy, Evil, and Neutral. There will never be any more, so the trick is keeping all 3 balanced, which I am proud to say they are. We spent an unimaginable amount of time testing and making changes so that it’s the most balanced game out there, with minimal variation, so player skill shines through.

Anton: With the card game seemingly having way more opportunity to spoil key plot points earlier on than the story itself how do you balance key items, locations, and players across both aspects of the IP?

Jake: To me, that’s part of the fun. One of the main reasons I created the TCG is to be able to tell more of the story. Characters and items are shared in both the graphic novel and the card game, including easter eggs, upcoming battles, and more. This allows me to expand the Demon Rush universe and allow fans to have a tangible piece of it in their hands, one in which they can make decks around their favorite characters from the show. The card game doesn’t spoil much; instead, it gives you pieces of the story to look forward to.

Anton: The art is striking with a very anime-inspired throughline. What was your collaborative process like between writer and illustrator?

Jake: I start with writing the manuscript, then showing it to an editor and making revisions. When ready, I give it to Drawsmile to read, and he begins sketching 6 pages at a time, which I approve or make changes to. Sometimes I have specific ideas about how a particular scene should look, so I sketch those out and give them to Drawsmile. However, he has an incredible ability to see my vision simply from reading the script, and I don’t have to make revisions very often.

Drawsmile: I draw the same that is on the script, and I don’t tend to go too far out from the story’s guidelines unless there are some cuts to be modified by Mastar. Sometimes I get cool graphic ideas to add. Most times I manage the script like a living movie scene or anime shot in my head.

Anton: Did story beats ever change based on visual direction?

Jake: Actually, yes! You’ll notice that between chapters 1-2, there are three different timelines. Initially, the story was supposed to center around 25-year-old Soren and Rush, with their teenage years as a simple flashback. However, based on the fandom’s feedback, they all desperately wanted to see the characters’ origin stories and move forward from there.

Essentially, the vast majority of the story so far has been a flashback, and I’m looking forward to the time skip so that we can see a powerful Soren and Rush fighting in the present day.

Drawsmile: The action is always a main tool within writing and showing stories like this, so it’s not very common that the general mainline changes based on visuals, except for details; however, the general script structure and the story almost always remain without big changes. You can notice most manga in the shonen/seinen genre change or develop their art before the story’s essence.

Anton: Without any spoilers, what is a favorite moment of yours that we can keep a look out for?

Jake: For me, it’s Soren and Rush’s first battle. We see what they are capable of in Chapter 1, but the rest of the story so far is explaining how they got there. They started without any powers, but through training and trials, they reconnect as a playful sparring session turns into an all-out brawl in which they push each other to their limits.

Drawsmile: The Archangel Michael’s Arrival in the city is the first I can think of. It was a challenge to draw an impactful scene such as this, so I wanted to present it in a quadruple-double page just for the character’s main shot. Also, I drew a double-page sequence very cinematic, leading up to Michael’s reveal.

Anton: Before we wrap up, where can our readers go to keep up with your work?

Jake: The YouTube channel or the website. This is a link tree with everything you need to explore Demon Rush at this link.

Drawsmile: Thanks again to you and all readers for getting a chance on Demon Rush, I’m pretty sure you will love it! You can find me on Twitter/X as: @drawsmile2093

Anton: Thank you so much for your time, and I can’t wait to check out more!