Any pitch that opens with the line “A haunted toilet” is going to be good. “Spooky Sleepover” is a full-colour 72-page all-ages comic collection being Kickstarted by Dave Scheidt and Jess Smiley. It features three original stories written by Dave and illustrated by Jess: “The Terror of the Toilet”, “The Horribly Haunted Bike” and (yes, you guessed it) “Dinner and a Werewolf”. I’m a huge fan of Dave’s writing, and Jess’s art combines infectious energy with timeless, storybook colours. They’re collaborating on Spooky Sleepover because, as Dave puts it, “we like monsters, we like funny comics, we like writing stupid jokes.” Those are three of the best reasons to make a thing!
Jess and Dave are looking for $5,000 to have the books printed and in your hands before Halloween, and I know these guys are more than capable of pulling it off. Each has a lot of experience making books (Dave wrote Monster Dudes and Minimum Wage Mummy and Jess is the creator of Upside Down: A Vampire Tale and Rumpus on the Run). The backer rewards are super-focussed on getting the book to you, but some of the higher tiers include custom comics made just for you by the guys, and there’s a mysterious $50 “Trick-or-treat” pledge that will be announced on Thursday the 7th. If you want to get yourself a copy, you know what to do!