New PostDistrict Files: The Graphic Novel Foundation of the StoneGate Cinematic Universe

Every universe needs an entry point. For the StoneGate Cinematic Universe (SGCU), that doorway is District Files — a graphic novel series that builds the world one district, one character, one decision at a time.

Before the film. Before the animation. Before the larger slate of projects, there’s the page.

What Is District Files?

District Files is the foundational graphic novel series of the StoneGate Cinematic Universe — a layered world built district by district, character by character. Each issue focuses on a specific corner of StoneGate City or the surrounding world, revealing the people who move in the shadows, the systems they’re up against, and the choices that change everything.

You don’t have to know anything about Becoming Hank Luciano or the wider SGCU to start here. District Files is designed as the on-ramp: grounded, visual, and story-driven. If this is your first time hearing about the universe, this is where you start.

Issue #1: BHL — BleakStone Point

The journey begins in BleakStone Point, a district defined by silence, scars, and survival.

Issue #1 follows Sincere Cross — before the name Hank Luciano, before the legend. We’re with him in the earlier stretch of his life, inside the pressure that shapes his discipline and the lines he refuses to cross even while moving through a criminal world.

BleakStone Point ends at the moment everything breaks:
a failed heist, a betrayal that cuts deeper than any enemy, and three shots that force Sincere to disappear from StoneGate City.

No rise yet. Just the fracture that makes the transformation possible.

Visually, the issue leans into a grounded, cinematic style: street corners at night, quiet apartments that feel like safe houses, and a city that always seems to be watching. It’s built to read like frames pulled from a film we haven’t seen yet.

Issue #2: BHL — Isla Veridia

Issue #2 moves the story far from StoneGate City.

Becoming Hank Luciano: District Files — Isla Veridia picks up years later in a remote, high-stakes environment where escape doesn’t equal peace. This overseas setting becomes both a sanctuary and a pressure cooker — a place where past decisions follow Sincere Cross and where Nyla Vex steps deeper into her own lane.

Without spoiling the plot, Isla Veridia shows what it costs to live off the grid, rebuild under the radar, and plan for a return that may never come. It’s a shift in scenery, but the tone stays the same: crime, tech, strategy, and survival.

A Series Built to Expand

District Files isn’t a two-issue experiment. It’s a series.

Future issues will continue to move through different districts, time jumps, and perspectives inside the StoneGate Cinematic Universe. Some will stay close to Hank Luciano’s path. Others will follow key players, rival factions, or people caught between both.

The goal: every issue adds a new layer of story that still feels complete on its own.

What This Series Unlocks

Launching District Files first does more than tell a story — it builds infrastructure around the universe:

• Opportunities for visual talent
  Illustrators, character artists, and cover designers will have room to leave their mark on the world of StoneGate City and its surrounding districts.
• Stylized cameos and collaboration
  There’s space to collaborate with emerging artists, musicians, and creatives whose likeness, style, or energy can be woven into the universe as fictionalized versions of themselves.
• An early, invested community
  Readers who start with District Files become the first wave — the people who see the universe grow from page one and help shape where it goes next.
• Fuel for GateFund and future campaigns
  District Files provides a clear roadmap for how GateFund — SGCU’s internal creative capital arm — can support production, printing, and, eventually, animation and film development through crowdfunding and aligned partners.
• A bridge to film and animation
  The graphic novels help define tone, pacing, and visual language before we move into full 3D animated production and, later, live-action.

This is the part of the universe built one panel at a time, before the cameras, rigs, and render farms come online.

How It Connects to Becoming Hank Luciano: StoneGate City

Becoming Hank Luciano: StoneGate City is the flagship crime-tech thriller of the SGCU — the project that follows Hank’s return to a city that thinks he’s dead.

District Files lays down the history.

By the time audiences meet Hank Luciano on screen, the graphic novels will have already shown who he was as Sincere Cross, what broke him, where he disappeared to, and why coming back is more than revenge — it’s unfinished business.

Where We’re Headed

Right now, District Files is in active development: outlining, scripting, and visual direction are being refined while production plans, funding strategy, and partnerships are mapped through GateFund.

The rollout is simple:

1. District Files — Issue #1: BleakStone Point

2. District Files — Issue #2: Isla Veridia

3. Additional issues expanding the world, leading directly into the Becoming Hank Luciano: StoneGate City film roadmap.

If you want to follow the process — from early pages to campaign planning and beyond — you can dive deeper through our SGCU Substack, where we document the build in real time.

In Collaboration with ThinkwithAD: PULSE

This article was developed in collaboration with ThinkwithAD — a strategy and creative journal that tracks the process of turning long-term vision into real, working ventures.

For more behind-the-scenes breakdowns on how this universe is being built, visit Www.ThinkwithAD.com or subscribe to ThinkwithAD: PULSE on Substack.

Disclaimers:

All characters, locations, organizations, and events within the StoneGate Cinematic Universe are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons (living or dead) or actual events is coincidental or used with permission.

Any references to future crowdfunding, funding structures, or partnerships are preliminary and subject to change. Nothing on this page constitutes financial, legal, or investment advice, or an offer to sell or solicit any security or financial product. Always do your own due diligence and consult with qualified professionals before making investment decisions.