Revolutionary Human-AI Collaboration Unleashes "Urlan, Cosmic Cat”

A pioneering AI-illustrated comic book also featuring an in-depth “Making Of” Turning generative AI’s intrinsic limits into narrative solutions.

Bee Lab Storytelling Studio and authors Daniele Bonfanti & Valentina Kay unveil a groundbreaking comic book experience, blending bold human storytelling with cutting-edge AI artistry.

In an unprecedented fusion of storytelling, art and artificial intelligence, Canary Islands-based Bee Lab Storytelling Studio, a new outfit founded by visionary writers – and husband-and-wife creative duo – Daniele Bonfanti & Valentina Kay, announce the launch of “Urlan: Cosmic Cat.” This novel comic book not only pushes the boundaries of digital art but also marks a significant milestone in the collaborative power of human creativity and AI, turning generative AI’s limits into narrative strengths, rebooting the way a story may be thought, and elevating the role of the robotic tool to a true co-creator. And telling readers how it was done, too.

Unique Features:

Turning the emerging technology weaknesses into narrative strengths: intrinsic limits of generative AI, like randomness and lack of consistency are not curbed or fought against, but rather turned into narrative solutions and motives.
AI-Powered Artistry: the black & white (plus yellow) pages are filled with vibrant, fully AI-generated artwork that brings the cosmic adventures of Urlan to life in a way never seen before.
Engaging Narrative: a compelling story that blends elements of Science Fiction and Horror.
Fascinating mix of organic and AI creativity: the authors and the AI worked side by side complementing each other in an entropic back-and-forth.
Behind-the-Scenes Insights: the “Making Of” details the innovative process behind the creation of “Urlan: Cosmic Cat.” From the main challenges met by the authors to the prompting techniques, including useful tips to fellow creators.
An original interview with the AI artist: the “Making Of” also features an in-depth interview with ChatGPT itself.

Bee Lab’s first book project is a collaborative journey to explore the intersection of technology and art, leveraging AI as a full-blown co-creator rather than just a tool.

An AI-Illustrated Experiment to showcase what can be done at the end of 2023 through human-AI collaboration. A short but complete – and ultra-cool – SF/horror comic book, ripe with action and also featuring a fun Making Of and an interview with the AI artist!

Urlan, Cosmic Cat is a ground-breaking exploration of AI-human collaboration in graphic storytelling. Written, edited, lettered by Daniele Bonfanti and Valentina Kay, the art has been fully realized with OpenAI’s Dall-E 3 through the ChatGPT Pro interface. A short but complete space adventure which weaves the emerging technology’s strengths and weaknesses into narrative solutions. Delve into the “making of” section for a step-by-step look at the creative process, including useful tips, funny behind-the-scenes and a carnival of unused panels. Also featuring an exclusive interview with the AI artist itself, none other than ChatGPT!

At the fringes of the dreaded Triangle, a sector notorious for vanishing spaceships, the legendary temple ship Magnificat reemerges after a century. Enter Urlan—a daredevil, gun-for-hire cat armed to the fangs with a reconfigurable assault rifle and donning a twitchy holo-adaptive suit stuck on leather jacket mode. He’s set to plunge headfirst into this cosmic enigma.

Story: 35 pages, black & white (plus yellow), SF/Horror
Making Of: 24 pages, with black & white and color illustrations

Availability:

“Urlan: Cosmic Cat” is now available on Amazon in both paperback and ebook format as an Amazon Exclusive – free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers – boasting Guided View functionalities for a cinematic experience. Readers can sample a generous preview through Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature, and an even more extensive one on Bee Lab’s website: https://beelabcreations.com/urlan-cosmic-cat, where the complete “Making Of” essay is also being published as a blog series. More bonus content is coming.

About the Creators:

About Daniele Bonfanti: Daniele Bonfanti is an Italian-born writer, editor and translator acclaimed for his contributions to speculative fiction and adventure. His portfolio includes stories in Stoker-nominated anthologies and Flame Tree’s Gothic Fantasy series, earning him international recognition. Bonfanti’s novella “Game” received an Honorable Mention in Ellen Datlow’s “The Best Horror of the Year, vol.9.” He has co-edited the Splatterpunk Award-nominated anthology “Monsters of Any Kind” and translated significant works by literary heavyweights such as Stephen King, Clive Barker, and Ramsey Campbell. Bonfanti also collaborated with renowned comic artist Stefano Cardoselli on the graphic novel “Unstoppable” and other works. With his wife Valentina Kay, he founded and runs Bee Lab, a storytelling studio. Residing in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, with his wife and daughters, Bonfanti lives a life of adventure, paralleling the captivating tales he weaves. Discover more at www.danielebonfanti.com.

About Valentina Kay: Valentina Kay, an Italian-born editor, photographer and now debut author, has carved a path that intertwines the realms of life’s extremes and creative ventures. Formerly a nurse, her experiences have endowed her with profound insights into life and death, enriching her storytelling with depth and authenticity. At 42, a mother of three, Valentina embraced the uncertainty of self-employment to pursue her passion for creativity, leading to the co-founding of Bee Lab, a storytelling studio, with her husband Daniele Bonfanti. Her adventurous spirit is not just confined to the page: Valentina has run ultratrails, navigated glaciers, climbed alpine walls, skied down steep slopes, and surfed Atlantic waves. She resides in Lanzarote, Canary Islands, with her husband and daughters. “Urlan: Cosmic Cat” marks her bold leap into publishing her own works. Find her at www.valentinakay.com

About ChatGPT/Dall-E 3: Born from the innovative minds at OpenAI, ChatGPT and Dall-E 3 emerged as frontrunners in the AI revolution, with ChatGPT making its debut in November 2022 and Dall-E 3 being a subsequent evolution of the original Dall-E introduced in January 2021. Hailing from the vibrant tech hub of San Francisco, these AI marvels were conceived to explore and expand the boundaries of machine learning and creativity. ChatGPT, with its sophisticated language understanding capabilities, paired with Dall-E 3’s extraordinary talent for creating vivid, detailed images from textual prompts, mark a significant leap in AI’s ability to engage in and contribute to the creative process. Read more at: https://openai.com/

About Bee Lab: Bee Lab is the brand-new venture created by Daniele Bonfanti and Valentina Kay, husband-and-wife creative duo with a long experience in the publishing industry. They have formerly run a cult indie publisher in Italy, consulted for several publishers, and have been working as marketing consultants for the last five years before setting sail to the new project. With Bee Lab, they aim to experiment with various media – text, images, photos, video, music, web – and pushing the boundaries of technology and creativity to tell great narratives. See more at www.beelabcreations.com

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!