AI Media Company Chronicle Studios Enters Webcomic Space by Partnering With Illustrator Teo Skaffa on Upcoming Young Adult Webtoon Series “Graveheart Keep”

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 19, 2026--

Chronicle Studios, the agentic AI media company that automates social channel growth for brands and creators, is entering the webcomic arena by partnering with illustrator Teo Skaffa ( Fright Nights, The Goonies: The Illustrated Storybook ) on his upcoming young adult Webtoon series Graveheart Keep. The announcement was made today by Aaron Sisto, Co-Founder and CEO of Chronicle Studios.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260219938236/en/

Marking Chronicle Studios’ first Webtoon channel partner and set in a creepy-cute gothic horror castle, Graveheart Keep follows the half-human half-vampire princess, Lara, who teams up with an amnesiac Bone Boy to save the Vampire King from a grief-fueled sickness after the Queen is mysteriously murdered on castle grounds. To save him, Lara and the Bone Boy must brave the horrors of Graveheart Keep. But deep within its shadows, they uncover a conspiracy threatening to tear the human and monster realms apart. Graveheart Keep is written and illustrated by Skaffa, who will announce the series’ Spring launch date through his Instagram page @teoskaffa.

Chronicle Studios’ AI-driven social content intelligence platform will oversee all social strategy, content optimization, global audience discovery and monetization for Graveheart Keep across YouTube, Instagram and TikTok. Its cross-platform, multimodal AI agents automate the full content lifecycle on social, including viewer acquisition, distribution, growth and monetization across social platforms, to deliver high-value audiences and channel growth for top global creators and brands.

“Teo is a uniquely special talent who is generating intense interest and fandom throughout the webcomic community. We are excited to team up with him to launch his first Webtoon series,” said Sisto. “As Chronicle continues to successfully optimize a diverse array of content from our YouTube channel partners, we’re ready to expand into other popular platforms like Webtoon, and Graveheart Keep is the perfect project to kick off this next chapter of our strategic growth.”

Skaffa added, “I've wanted to make a comic for as long as I can remember. But it's a pretty big undertaking and the circumstances never seemed to be completely right, until now. It's immensely humbling that Chronicle Studios is giving me the opportunity to finally turn one of my ideas into a fully illustrated story, especially since they give me complete creative freedom; something that doesn't usually come easily (or at all) going through the traditional publishing route. They have been nothing but great to work with and I'm looking forward to see what our collaboration will bring in the future.”

In addition to webcomics, Chronicle Studios identifies and partners with content creators, studios and brands throughout the creative community worldwide, spanning animation, live action comedy and drama, lifestyle, video games, music and video podcasts, to name a few. The company’s content partners include, among others, Academy Award-nominated animation production company The Hive Studio on the YouTube animated series “The Vampair” and “The Normal MFer,” animator Gabe Hordos on his animated YouTube series “The Old Knight.”

To date, Chronicle Studios has raised $11.6 million in seed funding from Patron and Point72 Ventures, with participation from Z Ventures, Sands Capital and other prominent investors.

ABOUT TEO SKAFFA

Teo Skaffa is from a small place in The Netherlands you’ve probably never heard of. He now lives in an even smaller place (you definitely haven’t heard of) in the Italian countryside. Besides making art, he makes music using synthesizers and outdated technology and plays the Banjo.

He likes drawing creepy-cute atmospheric scenes and characters, and is very grateful that he’s able to make a living by drawing, especially since he’s not particularly good at anything else.

ABOUT CHRONICLE STUDIOS

Chronicle Studios is an AI-driven media company that automates social media audience growth for content creators, brands and studio partners across animation, gaming, lifestyle, music, video podcasts, webcomics and more. The company’s agentic AI platform autonomously manages the full content lifecycle, including channel strategy, audience discovery, content optimization and cross-platform distribution – driving audience acquisition and unlocking revenue streams. Founded in 2025 with backing from Patron, Point72 Ventures, Z Ventures, Sands Capital and other prominent investors, Chronicle Studios is based in San Francisco, with offices in Los Angeles, New York and London. For more information, please visit https://www.chronicle.studio.

Graveheart Keep, written and illustrated by Teo Skaffa.

A weekslong “snow drought” in Northern California's Sierra Nevada helped set the stage for Tuesday's deadly avalanche, after several feet of new snow fell on an earlier layer that had hardened, making it unstable and easily triggered, experts said.

The new snow did not have time to bond to the earlier layer before the avalanche near Lake Tahoe killed at least eight backcountry skiers, said Craig Clements, a meteorology professor at San Jose State University, who has conducted avalanche research. Six skiers survived and rescuers were still searching for another one who was still missing on Wednesday.

The group was on a three-day backcountry trek in the Sierra Nevada on Tuesday morning when they were trapped by the avalanche as a winter storm pummeled the West Coast.

The dangers generally are highest in the first 24 to 48 hours after a very large snowfall, Clements said, and authorities had issued avalanche warnings.

Here's what to know.

When weather is dry and clear, as it had been in the Sierra Nevada since January, snow crystals change and can become angular or round over time, Clements said.

If heavy new snow falls on the crystals, the layers often can't bond and the new snow forms what is called a storm slab over a weaker layer.

“Because it's on a mountain, it will slide,” when it's triggered by any change in the tension above or below, sometimes naturally but also because of people traversing the area, Clements said.

Authorities have not said what triggered Tuesday's avalanche.

If there had been more consistent snowfall throughout the winter, different layers could have bonded more easily, Clements said. But even when a snow slab forms, the danger often only lasts a couple of days until the new snow stabilizes, he said.

Climate change can lead to weather extremes that include both drought and heavier precipitation, and scientists are studying how it might affect avalanches and where they occur.

Warmer-than-usual temperatures contributed to a snow drought throughout the West. But Clements said this week's avalanche is fairly typical for California's Sierra Nevada and he doesn't believe it can be linked to climate change.

Avalanches are a mechanism of how much snow falls on weak or stable layers, and this one was “a meteorological phenomenon, not a climate phenomenon,” he said.

About 3 feet to 6 feet of snow has fallen since Sunday, when the group started its trip. The area was also hit by subfreezing temperatures and gale force winds. The Sierra Avalanche Center said the threat of more avalanches remained Wednesday and left the snowpack unstable and unpredictable.

Crews found the bodies of eight backcountry skiers near California’s Lake Tahoe and were searching for one more following Tuesday's avalanche, which authorities say was the nation’s deadliest in nearly half a century.

Six from the guided tour were rescued six hours after the avalanche.

Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said Wednesday that investigators would look into the decision to proceed with the trip despite the storm forecast.

The skiers traveled Sunday to remote huts at 7,600 feet (3,415 meters) in Tahoe National Forest, carrying their own food and supplies. At 6:49 that morning, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an avalanche watch for the area, indicating that large slides were likely in the next 24 to 48 hours.

The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Snow covers an off-ramp along interstate 80 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026 near Soda Springs, Calif. (AP Photo/Brooke Hess-Homeier)