Joseph D. Carriker Jr. is a game developer at Green Ronin Publishing, primarily known for his involvement in works such as the RPG books A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying, Blue Rose: the AGE RPG of Romantic Fantasy, Fantasy Age, and Critical Role: Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting. Along with his background in game creation, Carriker is also the writer behind SACRED BAND, a young adult novel following a team of LBGTQ+ superheroes.
In SACRED BAND, The golden age of heroes is decades past. The government could not condone vigilantism and now meta-humans are just citizens, albeit citizens with incredible talent, who are assisted in achieving normal lives (including finding good fits for their talents employment-wise) by a federal agency.
Rusty may have been a kid during that glorious age but he remembers his idol, Sentinel, saving lives and righting wrongs — until he was outed in an incredible scandal that forced him into isolation. When a gay friend of Rusty living in the Czech Republic goes missing, Rusty is forced to acknowledge that while the world’s governments claim that super teams are outdated and replaced by legal law enforcement, there are simply some places where the law doesn’t protect everyone — so he manages to find and recruit Sentinel to help him find his friend.
But the disappearance of the friend is merely one move in a terrible plot against queer youth. A team of supers may be old-fashioned, but this may be a battle requiring some incredible reinforcements.
In the interview below, Carriker dives deeper into this world, expanding on the importance of LGBTQ+ representation in his novel.
