Category: Crowdsourced Projects

Kickstarter & Indiegogo werewolf projects that rely on contributions from fans like you.

Werewolf Wednesday Digest – April 2012, Part 2

Hey, what do you know, it’s Werewolf Wednesday again! Put on your special bib and suck the marrow out of these bloody tidbits.

A week or two ago, I was asked to provide a Twitter signal boost for a search being undertaken to identify this handsome devil. A number of people came to our collective rescue and identified the creature as a were-hyena (or werewolf) created by Spectral Motion for an ultimately deleted scene from Blade: Trinity. Not content to leave it there, reader Nyetwerke sent in this video of Spectral staff building the suit. Fascinating stuff!

Hugh Sterbakov, Emmy-nominated and Annie Award-winning writer of Robot Chicken, has released his debut novel City Under The Moon. He was kind enough to provide me with a review copy, which I’ll be diving into during my train commutes starting next week. The opening page was enough to hook me – have a look at the sample and see for yourself. If you dig it, you can get it at a $4 discount on Amazon.

My cause of the month is coming along nicely! The Anathema Kickstarter is $6k-and-change away from its $20k goal, with a week and a half to go. I’ve pledged more money to it than I’ve spent on Werewolf News in the last year; if you haven’t pledged anything, I want you to feel bad about yourself for five seconds and then please, go chip in five or ten bucks. Remember, if the fundraising goal isn’t met, you don’t get charged.

Subterranean Press has just published a very bestial 5,600-word short story by Locus-nominated author and charming geek-dandy Hal Duncan. The title of the story is Sic Him, Hellhound! Kill! Kill! I made that link open in a new window so you can go read the story when you’re done here. Read it. It’s filthy in all the right ways.

My Werewolf Wednesday cohort David Fuller is in search of the best tune to wolf out to. Today he looks at 11 werewolf-related songs spanning a variety of genres (including a selection by yours truly), and asks you to vote for your favourite (or suggest your own). Have a listen!

Here’s some follow-up! As mentioned in the previous Werewolf Wednesday, Simon Sanchez wrote in to tell me about his comic Nazi Werewolves from Outer Space, but he neglected to provide a link. He’s now provided a link to the comic’s Facebook page, which contains purchase information and some delightfully campy samples.

And that concludes this Werewolf Wednesday! Thanks for reading!

Apr. 18th 2012

Werewolf Wednesday Digest – April 2012, Part 1

Lately I’ve been seeing the #WerewolfWednesday hashtag pop up on Twitter. I don’t know who started it, but I like it, and I feel bad that I rarely have anything special to post on that particular day. Now, at the suggestion of @DavidJonFuller, I’m going to try Doing A Thing (and David is, too). Every Wednesday I’m going to post a digest of all the werewolfy goings-on that I’ve heard about during the previous six days but didn’t get a chance to post about (or that didn’t warrant a post of its own, for whatever reason). So, here we go!

David Fuller has an excellent interview with Rachel Deering, writer / creator of that Anathema comic I’ve been crowing about lately. I’m always interested in hearing what creative werewolf fans have to say, especially those that can actually deliver on their creative vision. Rachel’s one of those.

Here are two nice lookin’ shirts on RedBubble, designed by HeartJack: Sons of Lycanthropy and Memorial Werewolf Hunt. Love the designs, although I can’t condone the second one.

I’ve only watched the first five minutes of RED MOON, a very silly but highly agreeable little film by Sirocco Research Labs. When I get a minute I’ll watch the rest for sure – I’m compelled by four words: Soviet werewolf submarine captain.

Want some more compelling words? Nazi Werewolves from Outer Space. This sounds like a Rob Zombie concept album, but it’s actually a graphic novel by Simon Sanchez and Dean Juliette. That’s literally all I know about it – Simon emailed me about it, but the email just said “‘Check out my new comic. It’s called “Nazi Werewolves from Outer Space.’ I have a fan page for it on Facebook.” No links or anything. So, maybe it’s good? If you read it, let me know.

Hannah Kate, proprietor of the She-Wolf blog and organizer of the upcoming Manchester Monster Conference, has just posted a delicious essay comparing the portrayal of werewolves and teenage girls in tween-targeted fiction. Monster High vs. Sweet Valley High was an excellent (if ultimately dispiriting) lunchtime read, especially if you’re familiar with either of the franchises.

Lastly, Werewolf News has a Pinterest account, which I hope will replace the now-defunct Fuzzy Camera. If you thought Pinterest was the domain of picky brides-to-be, amateur home decorators and fashionistas… you’d probably be right. But I aim to get some monstrous werewolf stuff in there! All up ins, to paraphrase Jerry Holkins.

And that concludes the first Werewolf News Werewolf Wednesday!

Apr. 4th 2012

Anathema – Help Keep the Epic Lesbian Werewolf Horror Comic Alive!

If you read my Twitter-review of Anathema last week, you won’t be surprised that I am flippin’ stoked about this: the writer/creator of Anathema has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to get the remaining five issues created.

If you didn’t read that review, or if you are very forgetful, you can get acquainted with Anathema via this 5-page preview of issue 1. Or, avail yourself of this tidy summary from the new Kickstarter page:

Anathema is a six issue limited series horror comic that tells the story of Mercy Barlowe, a tormented young woman with a dark side. She must fight through treacherous lands and unspeakable horrors to reclaim her lover’s soul, which has been stolen by members of a sinister cult, bent on resurrecting a terrible and ancient evil.

In issue #1, we saw Mercy’s world torn asunder, and watched as she accepted the curse of the wolf. Can Mercy learn to harness her horrible new powers and stop the raven cult before they succeed in their vile plan? Mercy needs your help to see her journey through!

The campaign runs until April 30th, with a goal of $20,000. As I’m writing this, over $4,000 has been pledged so far. The money will pay for illustrator Chris Mooneyham and colourist Fares Maese to finish what they started: creating the visuals to accompany Rachel Deering‘s story. Given that the first issue’s goal was $6,000, we’re getting a pretty wicked discount on the remaining five. Your thrifty mom would totally approve (just don’t tell her it’s a horror comic about a lesbian werewolf avenging the murder and soul-theft of her lover – some moms get weird about that).

In addition to the comics themselves, there are some excellent pledge rewards, including a copy of the now-unavailable issue 1, original artwork pen & ink from issue 1, pinup art from Chris Mooneyham, and a general sense of satisfaction. I was too slow / poor to get the pledge item I really wanted ($500 for the 2-page spread of Mercy’s first transformation), but you can bet your ass I’ll be ponying up a solid contribution a little later this week.

Now, since I really believe this project needs to happen, I’m going to try a two-pronged approach for the “ask” portion of this post. If you are a nice and gentle person, read item 1 below. If you are a snarky comic snob, read item 2.

  1. Werewolf friends, I implore you: help get this awesome comic series completed. I’ve chatted a bit with Rachel and she’s every bit as excited and committed to this project as Jeff Davis was about the Teen Wolf show (and look how that turned out). Alas, Rachel doesn’t have an MTV-style budget, so please consider pledging a few bucks. I will love you forever.
  2. Only Kickstarter contributors and a lucky few reviewers got copies of Anathema’s 1st issue. When positive reviews started popping up, Twitter and the blog-o-sphere began to roil with the mewling cries of comics fans who missed the boat the first time around. If your voice was among that warbling cacophony, here’s a second chance to climb aboard. Stop scratching that neckbeard and get your credit card out!

In conclusion, Rachel Deering makes a good comic and you should help her out. Thank you and good day.

Apr. 3rd 2012

Live-Tweeted Quasi-Review of “Anathema”, the Lesbian Werewolf Horror Darling of Kickstarter

In July 2011 I posted about one of the first Kickstarter projects I ever contributed to: Anathema. The goal was to fund the illustration, colouring and printing of issue #1 of a werewolf comic that writer Rachel Deering called “a return to classic horror in comics”. Now, seven months after that post, and five months after the project surpassed its Kickstarter goal, the first issue of Anathema is circulating among Kickstarter contributors. I got my claws on a PDF and sat down to read it yesterday, during a break at work.

I’m going to leave the formal analysis of Anathema to people who actually know how to review comics – I’m just a werewolf fan with a blog. Instead, because I’m a silly git, I decided to live-tweet my reading, making (spoiler-free) comments on every page of the book. I’ve reproduced those tweets in chronological orders, and I’m going to let this stand as my formal review of the book.

Time to read @racheldeering‘s Anathema! Even the intro on the inside of the front cover gave me chills.

I’m gonna live-tweet this reading, page by page, omitting spoilers. Page one: okay, dad’s a dick. Lovely colours, though.

Page 2: Authentic emotional response to characters I just met. Great panel layout. Dad’s going to need some Bactine!

Page 3: First overtly supernatural incident. Intense but not too dramatic. Love the time-shifted narration. That’s flame-resistant hair!

Page 4: Third segment of this page expresses her isolation perfectly. Well done Chris Mooneyham.

Page 5: I want to live in Henrich’s house and visit his manicurist.

Page 6: Jeez, what a drama queen.

Page 7: UGH that TONGUE. Put it away, dude!

Page 8: Great colours and lines. Any of these panels could be posters. Nice work explaining the crows, too.

Page 9: Any of these could be levels in a Zelda game that I would play the fuck out of.

Page 10: Great character design. Brilliant work to tie the plague doctor’s mask concept into the design. The glow around the moon!

Page 11: Come on, Henrich, give up the goods. Also, you look like Christopher Lloyd. This is not a bad thing.

Page 12: Where can I get me some of those?

Page 13: Come on, at least freshen the linen. Nice transition out of the scene.

Page 14: I probably shouldn’t be reading this at work.

Page 15: When Anathema gets made into a movie (as it inevitably must), this’ll make a great little nasty sequence.

Page 16: Part of me is disappointed that there’s no “It’s dangerous to go alone! Take this.” moment.

Page 16 cont’d: I’m impressed with how solid these characters are. Henrich could’ve been a 2-D quest-giver, but he’s richer than that.

Page 17: Holy fuck, lady, where’s your climbing gear!?

PP 18-19: BAD. ASS. A lot of werewolf fanboys (and a few werewolf fangirls) are going to pin this spread over their beds.

Page 20: Immediate thoughts: this would be a great video game, either 1st-person slasher or 2D side-scroller. I like that she mentions pain.

Page 21: PRIMAL. “As I, myself, become the object of fear.” This is exactly what I love about horror and werewolves.

Page 22 / last page: Great setup for the next issue. This isn’t a cliffhanger, this is a gun, loaded and cocked.

So, yeah. Verdict on Anathema, issue 1? Basically, you need to buy this thing as soon as you can, and then we need to fund the other issues.

Go follow @racheldeering and pester her to sell you a copy – she’ll have some pretty soon, I think. DAMN, I’m all riled up!

So, while that wasn’t a proper review, over the course of 25 tweets, I exclaimed over the quality of the writing, the art, the colours, the characters and the layout (and, come to think of it, I meant to mention the lettering too). I also said that Anathema would make a great film or video game, and although I didn’t tweet about it, I pitched a little fit when I got to the last page because it’s over and I need more. The book was a terrific effort by writer/letterer Deering, artist Chris Mooneyham and colourist Fares Maese, and I think Kickstarter contributors (and fans of horror comics in general) are going to love it.

I want to take a second to expand on my comment about page 21: This is exactly what I love about horror and werewolves. The “this” I’m referring to is the vicarious indulgence of a particular blend of righteous fury and macabre glee that I think horror fans (and most people in general) are familiar with, even if they don’t want to admit it. Articulated as a thought, it might go something like “I want to do terrible things to people who deserve it, and suffer no repercussions.” Act so in real life and at best you’d be a sociopathic asshole, but channel that desire into a fictional vessel like Anathema’s grieving anitheroine (or the miserable little brother from The Wrong Night In Texas) and you’ve got werewolf therapy – a wonderful outlet for a very dark but very human urge. This is one of the things I’ve always loved about werewolves, and although not every werewolf story manages it, Anathema delivers.

So. Er. If that sort of thing sounds good to you, or if you just want to read an awesome werewolf comic where a lady fights werewolf-style for the soul of her murdered lover, watch Rachel Deering’s Twitter profile for Anathema issue #1!

Mar. 22nd 2012

Get A Double-Dose of Werewolves in Nix Comics Quarterly #3

The third issue of Nix Comics Quarterly came out on Friday, and I really do think you should check it out, especially if you’re a fan of

  • awesome independent comics
  • comics in which werewolves gleefully kill people
  • things that are Quarterly

This issue is loaded with good stuff, including two werewolf stories that would be right at home in an issue (or an episode) of Tales from the Crypt:

“Terror at the State Fair” by Nix owner / editor / writer Ken Eppstein and artist Bob Ray Starker will make you think very carefully about the consequences of fried Twinkies.

“Mrs. Peterson and the Wolf” is a nasty little gem by writer Rachel Deering (who’s also writing werewolves in Anathema) and artist Glen Ostrander (whose tribute to American Werewolf in London is my desktop right now). I love the werewolf design in this one, and the transformation is well-executed.

You can order the book on-line, and it’s also distributed nationally by Ubiquity Magazines Distribution. Your five bucks goes towards supporting a worthwhile independent comics initiative (for you philanthropists) and it gets you a hell of a lot of quality content. If you want to read the previous two issues for free, they’re available as annotated black & white PDFs. One of the two issues also has a werewolf story in it. I’ll leave it up to you to find it!

Sep. 4th 2011

Help Kickstart Epic Lesbian Werewolf Revenge Quest comic “Anathema”

 Okay, now that I’ve caught your attention with a sensational headline that appeals to your baser instincts, here’s a chance to redeem yourself by exercising your philanthropy and love of werewolves at the same time (philycanthropy?). Anathema is a horror comic project by writer Rachel Deering, artist Alan Quah Chris Mooneyham and colourist Jorge Maese.

The story focuses on a huntress named Mercy Barlowe, who falls in love with the daughter of a local reverend. When the romantic nature of their relationship is discovered, the reverend cries heresy and vows to see both women tried as witches. Mercy escapes, but the reverend’s daughter is sentenced to burn. The agony and torment of the burning lures wicked creatures from the darkness, who attack the village and steal the souls of the dying women. Mercy vows to track the evil beings to the ends of the earth and vanquish them to reclaim her lover’s soul, even if it means taking on dark powers of her own.

What sort of dark powers might Mercy take on, do you think? Hmmmmmmm. What web site are you on right now?

They are looking to raise $6,000 through Kickstarter by Friday September 2nd, which will pay for the first issue’s art and printing costs. That sounds pretty reasonable to me! As with all Kickstarter projects, the more you contribute the more sweet stuff you get in return. You were pretty quick to follow the link here, so you must be totally jazzed to help out, right?

Jul. 19th 2011

Low-Budget Werewolf Western “Man Without a Saddle” Could Use Your Help

Actor / director / screenwriter Ron Ford has a ranch, some horses, horror-filmmaking experience and a hankering to combine the sweet chocolate of the Western film genre with the smooth peanutty goodness of werewolves. Chew on this:

MAN WITHOUT A SADDLE is based on Kipling’s classic story, Mark of the Beast, transferred from colonial India to the American west of 1870. Three ex-Army regulars, Strickland, Fleete and Barton, are hired to convince a Shoshone shaman to move on to the reservation. The shaman, Tanupah, guards a stone petroglyph, sacred to his people. Fleete, in a drunken fit, urinates on the petroglyph and dishonors its spirit. In retaliation, he is cursed by Tanupah, turning him into a raging creature, half man, half wolf.

This project has everything it needs to get off the ground except one crucial ingredient: $3,000 for authentic Western period costumes. To help raise that modest sum, Ford has put together a Kickstarter page with a thorough overview of the project, including a frankly endearing video appeal that contains 1) cowboy hats, 2) werewolf makeup effects by actor / makeup man Mitch Tiner and 3) nearly two minutes of blackness at the end that should probably be removed.

If you want to help out, you can pledge as little as a dollar to be listed in the film’s credits, or $20 to receive a DVD copy of the finished film. If you’re not familiar with Kickstarter, just know that by “backing” the project, you commit to having your pledge amount charged to your credit card on April 18th 2011 only if the total pledges reach the $3,000 goal.

Crowdsourcing stuff like this is one of the many things that make the Internet awesome (maybe So Falls the Shadow should try this approach out), so if you have an extra buck, you could do worse things with it than pledge it to a Werewolf Cowboy Hat fund.

Werewolf Cowboy Hat-tip: ArcLight

Jan. 31st 2011