“Greetings from McCobb, Texas, Home of the Macabre Valley” — Exclusive Artwork Reveal from Horror Comic Book MACABRE VALLEY, Now Available on Kickstarter

Just in time for the Halloween season, horror fans will be able to sink their teeth into a brand-new horror comic book miniseries, Macabre Valley. Inspired by writer Zack Quaintance’s "real-life experiences reporting on the U.S.-Mexico Border and classic monster horror," the comic book features art by Anna Readman, colors by Brad Simpson, letters from Becca Carey, and designs from Jared K. Fletcher. The project is now available on Kickstarter and we have all the details, along with preview pages, and an exclusive look at a postcard that's being offered as a part of the campaign and that appears in the comic book.

From the Press Release: This Halloween season, comic book fans will have a new reason to howl with excitement. Esteemed comics journalist and writer Zack Quaintance (Death of Comics Bookcase), who is a part of 2025 Eisner Award-winning Comics Beat team, and rising star artist Anna Readman (2000AD), who just won the United Kingdom’s prestigious Observer/Faber graphic short story prize, are teaming up for the Texan werewolf grindhouse comic book miniseries, Macabre Valley. Joining Quaintance and Readman on the title are seasoned comics colorist Brad Simpson (Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man), Eisner-nominated letterer Becca Carey (Exquisite Corpses), and celebrated designer Jared K. Fletcher (Paper Girls). 

A Kickstarter campaign for the horror miniseries—which was initially previewed in last year’s crowdfunding smash-hit, Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1—will launch in mid-September [...] Not only will the 30-page issue #1 be available to back, but for those looking for an extra bite, additional exciting tiers of rewards will include a variant cover by artist John J. Pearson (In Bloom, Mindset), an exclusive collectible Macabre Valley postcard, prints by Tony McMillen (Attaboy) and Raul Allen (Dune, Secret Weapons), a comics journalism 101 Zoom class taught by Quaintance, and more. Fans will also be able to get their paws on a limited and numbered black-and-white artist edition, where readers can see all of Readman’s gritty, detailed inks in their full terrifying glory. The campaign is slated to be fulfilled by Halloween so that readers will have the perfect scary story to read on All Hallows Eve to get into the spooky spirit.

Set in Texas, Macabre Valley is not just about the carnage delivered by a clerically-collared lycanthrope on the loose, but also about the death of the local news itself. In the comic, a young reporter gets a job covering the night cops beat at a newspaper in South Texas. When a Border Patrol agent is gruesomely murdered, our hero must untangle a violent mystery with a beloved local priest and a werewolf at its dark center.

"Right after college, I spent five years as a newspaper reporter in South Texas, a wild place filled with news and legends,” said Quaintance. “I was in way over my head. It didn't go well, and it's always felt like a bit of a horror story to me—so now we’re taking my real life experiences and crafting a fantastical, monster-filled version of events. Fortunately, some of the most talented folks in comics have joined me on this project. By doing the comic through Kickstarter, we'll be able to do the book our own way, with all the twists, gore, and gritty terror this story demands. It's going to get bloody, y'all!"

"I’ve always loved the stoic romantic notions of Americana and the Southern Gothic,” said Readman. “From the melancholy notes of Townes Van Zandt to the pensive prose of Cormac McCarthy, the weird world of the Southwest has always been alluring to me. So when Zack sent me the script to Macabre Valley it was an immediate yes. Plus, drawing tattered cowboys is always fun!"

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Macabre Valley #1 is now live on Kickstarter. You can check out our preview art below, and head over to Kickstarter for details on all of the campaign offerings.