History of Haven

Legend says that Haven may have been started by a group of people seeking to escape the witch trials of the Northeast, and they were looking for a place to practice their beliefs in peace. Others have said that Haven was a cult society from Britain that passed over the Atlantic in secret.

No matter what, the documentation of Haven's storied past has always been clear. The British refused to enter the city during the Revolutionary War, some say out of fear even if the official reason is "lack of strategic importance". Incorporated into the rest of the new country in 1783, the city's government rarely reached out to outsiders in the ensuing 80 years. It is said that Abraham Lincoln made a stop in the city and spoke during the 1860 election, drawing huge crowds of enthusiastic supporters, causing him to openly wonder why people feared the city so.

The true nature of the city showed itself as the industrial revolution took hold, as stories of unfathomable work conditions in the city's factories and control by criminal elements began to trickle into the papers of the east coast, forcing then President Grant to station a garrison of troops there in 1876, and deposing the cities entire ruling council. Details of the event are sketchy at best, but it is known that a lengthy battle ensued across the industrial district, and the city's original core, Old Town, was laid to waste. Several attempts were made in later years to rebuild the area, but each ended in various degrees of failure.

The city again came into National spotlight during the Great Depression of 1929-1939, as pictures of the Shantytowns in the city's south side exemplified the worst of the suffering. The criminal element, having increased it's presence in the preceding years, succeeded in having a series of Mayors elected during this time, exacting control over the populace until the start of World War II, when President Roosevelt again dispatched troops to the city to secure it's manufacturing base and port for the war effort. The factories were redistributed to military contractors. Who would remain in power from then on.

The social upheaval of the late 1960's/easrly 1970's bypassed the city, as its citizens had long suffered and were generally apathetic to upheaval (again). The surge of Nationalism in the 1980's swept the city up, and major efforts were made to rebuild the deteriorated areas and increase the city's profile nationally, leading to a new International Airport Complex, and several new Docks that greatly increased commerce traffic through the city.

This renewed interest also spurred the interest of organized crime, which in the 1990's began to push once again for more power within city government. Facing much stronger and organized adversaries in Corporate America and State and National Government, violence increased progressively.  

Today, the city remains in a vital battle for it's very soul, and none of the factions seem too concerned with the outcome's impact on the city's citizens.

An Alternate History of Haven

In 1994, Having just started a new launch of the literary magazine Anthology, Bob Nelson and J.A. Giunta decided to write a series of super hero stories in a fictional city. called Haven.  They were soon joined by Nicholas Ozment and Sharon Skinner, who each contributed stories of their own to expand the universe and progress the plot. In all, between 1994-1997, 11 stories were published, including one that was accepted from a writer outside the core group.

In 2008, researching a new story subscription service, Bob was reminded that Haven would be perfect for the project as part of Brick Cave Media, his newly formed microglomerate business. Anthology, Inc. was contacted and an agreement struck that allowed Brick cave Media to begin and launch the Haven subscription service on April 1st, 2009. Additionally, all of the original writers of the series gleefully agreed to return, and rewrite their original stories, write new ones and review submissions for future issues.