We were lucky to catch up with Robbie J. Atkinson recently and have shared our conversation below.

Robbie J. , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Alright – so having the idea is one thing, but going from idea to execution is where countless people drop the ball. Can you talk to us about your journey from idea to execution?

Honestly, everything started off as a dream. I remember waking up some mornings and calling my Dad. I’d describe to him literal dreams that I’d had that played out like episodes of movies. He would always advise me to write it down and reflect on it. After my Dad passed and I’d completed my first psychological horror short (Kalimba 2023), I decided to explore a new form of storytelling. I took portions of those various dreams, combined them with real-life experiences and began to write a story overview. Then, once I’d grasped what the final volume of the first season would encompass, I began to sculpt the very first volume of the first season. I’ve been building up to that final volume ever since 2023!

I had spent a few years hesitating on this manga because it’s so wildly different from anything else that I’ve ever worked on–the world-building took time and detail and the characters’ backstories were more elaborate and complex. However, the inspiration for it flowed freely and within a year, I’ve written fourteen volumes so far. Aside from general overviews and character annotations, I also use character design mood boards to help me grasp the physicality of my characters as well.

Robbie J. , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

The Seventh Kingdom: Fukushuu no Oukoku is a story about a sheltered young woman who sets out on a deadly journey of revenge against a powerful entity that wipes out her village. As she travels and amasses a team, she begins to learn the truth about the attack and comes face-to-face with dark revelations that threaten to shatter her world even more. This series is an epic, sci-fi, adventure that has heavy allegory–for the film theory and philosophy fans out there, there is a lot of symbolism to dive into as it relates to social commentary about class, race and environmental issues.

My name is Robbie J. Atkinson and I’m an award-winning filmmaker, the CEO of RPX Media Production and the Founder of an Atlanta-based nonprofit named FIER (pronounced “fire”.) I decided to take the leap into manga and graphics novels after grappling with a long-standing desire to build out the animation/illustration aspect of my production company. I have an MA in Digital Production, a BA in Film and Video, studied Korean Cinema at Hanyang University and also studied directing/script writing through The Director’s Track of Sundance Collab. I’m a member (and corporate sponsor) of WIFTA [Women in Film & Television Atlanta], Forbes BLK and am also part of the Alliance of Women Directors as well.

What sets me apart from others is my dedication to maintaining an element of surprise in my story-telling, along with one of my greatest assets–my imagination. I’m proud of my company’s ability to expand and pivot between film and graphic novels and am proud of the talented teams that I’ve worked with over the years who have been as dedicated to excellence as I have. I’m also grateful for how much I’ve learned during the five years of balancing both RPX Media Production and FIER.

My hope is that, when people read my manga, The Seventh Kingdom, they don’t just feel like they’re reading a comic that they can unplug from afterwards. I hope that, with all of my creative works, my audience is left deep in thought and reflecting on themselves or the world around them. More importantly, regardless of however dark the themes of my work may be–I hope that everyone who comes across my stories walks away with a sense of hope.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

When I was a child, I was enamored with anime. I’d sneak to my TV late at night and turn it on just to catch Adult Swim’s episodes of Inuyasha and Cow Boy Bebop. Likewise, during the weekends, I’d spend time drawing my own original characters–after having taken inspiration from what I’d seen on TV. I’d proudly show my pictures to my (late) Dad and he’d always compliment them. Yet time-after-time, the one thing he constantly urged me to lean into was originality. His feedback challenged me to embrace the uniqueness of my creativity and to be unafraid to venture into the “unknown”. To be comfortable with characters or stories that were not popular, designs that were not commonly seen, and to be willing to try new endeavors. So today, my goal remains the same: to introduce profound stories in a way that embraces my uniqueness.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Building up a following on social media has been integral for reaching our target audience–anime/manga enthusiasts, cosplayers, gamers, illustrators, young adults etc. Aside from engaging with our audience proactively online, my company has also hosted an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to garner support for the upcoming release of our series so far. We’ve tried to make sure that, as we encourage people to support the series, we also offer a package that will be worth their while. This includes the paperback version of volume one, custom designed packaging, secret tokens granting access to exclusive scavenger hunts, mystery items, stickers, poster prints and more!

In addition, I’m very deliberate about paper advertising and making my manga’s existence known to my local community. As of lately, my friend Cindy Anderson-Kunz [writer/director of the movie Lanier] and I often pair up and go out to popular shopping centers, cafes and hang-out spots to hand out flyers or speak with customers there. It’s been very rewarding seeing the excitement in a complete stranger’s eyes when they look at TAGLINE 9’s illustration work–a talented team founded by the duo Wala and Alitzia.

Another important factor for building our reputation stems from marketing a series who’s themes resonate with our target audience. Although The Seventh Kingdom [also known as T7K or 復讐の王国] is presented as a revenge and redemption story, it also touches on grief, coming-of-age themes, systemic oppression and family dysfunction–all of which are themes that Millenial, Gen Z and Gen Alpha consumers can relate to. So, for me, knowing how to articulate the value of this series and points of intrigue for our audience are essential as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rpxmediaproduction.com/the7thkingdom
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_7th_kingdom/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61554824334246
• Twitter: https://x.com/the_7th_kingdom
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz7T4OPAMtLiYbGHzJtGJSQ
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@the7thkingdom

Image Credits

All images, concepts and concepts are the intellectual property of RPX Media Production ®. Story created by Robbie J. Atkinson and illustrated by TAGLINE 9. All rights reserved.