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Our Final Halloween – Comic Kickstarter

Post on: October 16, 2018

Our Final Halloween – Comic Kickstarter

Five kids wake up in an abandoned house.

They don’t know why they’re there, how they got there,

or whose blood they’re covered in…

Covered in blood, disorientated, and with no short-term memory, these five kids will need to work together to solve the mysteries of this hellish house, or this will be their final Halloween.

Co-created by Mike Garley (Adventure Time, The Kill Screen, Samurai Slasher), and Michael Lee-Graham (Shortlist Magazine, Hero Complex Gallery, Dead Roots), Our Final Halloween is a thirty-four-page horror one-shot full of monsters, mystery, blood and surprises. Our Final Halloween tells the story of a diverse group of characters who need to band together to fight an ancient evil, in this John Carpenter/HP Lovecraft inspired 80s horror romp.

Our Final Halloween is the latest offering from Mike Garley, the man behind The Kill Screen and Samurai Slasher. If you’ve read either, or both, of those titles then you should have a fairly good idea of what is to come. 80’s-inspired, gore splattered chills with an awesome soundtrack. This time out things are a little different as this kickstarter is purely digital. This allows all backers to get the comic at the same time, on October 31st, to make the most of the season of all things spooky!

Review

I absolutely loved this story. It rips along at such a pace that when it ended I was a little taken aback. Rollercoaster is perhaps an over-used metaphor for something like this, but I really feel it’s valid. There are a couple of break-neck turns, and the ending totally threw me for a loop! And that’s even with being a fan of the horror genre and knowing how these things usually play out. I think that stands as a solid testament to how involving the story is.

Lee-Graham’s art is detailed and kinetic. I love the way he plays with shadows in the hidden corners of the house our protagonists are trapped in. It plays up the sense of fear of being trapped in a place that should be familiar and safe. Home rendered hostile. But there’s still enough room for your imagination to get a little carried away. Leaving you wondering what’s lurking in the corners once you’ve put the comic down.

A chat with the creators

After reading I had some questions for Mike and Michael, and they kindly answered. MLG = Michael Lee-Graham and MG is Mike Garley

FN: Who approached whom for the collaboration and did one of you have the initial idea, or did you come up with it jointly? 

MLG: Mike G approached me about the project after having a really successful collaboration with each other on a shorter project before for an anthology. I had recently started to prioritise doing comic work more and I think it had really shown in my latest efforts with Mike. We started loosely talking about the project and found that we were both feeding off each other’s excitement for it so it was a no brainer to get to work on it together. 
 
MG: Yeah, we’d wanted to work together on something longer for a while, but when I had the initial idea for what would turn into Our Final Halloween, MLG just seemed like the obvious choice. In terms of style and storytelling his art is really frenetic and suited the story perfectly, and the more we discussed it the more we realised that our influences and what we wanted to bring to a project would compliment each other.
 

FN: In the press release for Our Final Halloween you list John Carpenter and HP Lovecraft as influences,. How deeply did you draw on those for this comic? 

MLG: Visually, in terms of how to work with multiple people in frame in a closed off environment, Carpenters’ films like Prince of Darkness and The Thing are a big help. I probably draw more inspiration from film for my comic work than I do other comics weirdly! Lovecraft is always a useful resource to think of when it comes to thinking about monster designs of course. I’ve always been interested in the visuals I’ve seen online from his work but I recently got his works on audiobook and I was pleasantly surprised at how little his creatures and monsters are described. That was a big influence on me in terms of how much detail went into creating some of the creatures in this book. I was more interested in clarity of movement from them instead of clarity of design. I think it’s more fun for the reader in that sense, because they can bring a little something to it themselves. 
 
MG: For me, I just think stylistic in terms of subject matter and tone people can make comparisons. They were definitely influences in that respect, but we set out to tell our own story, in a way that people can easily identify it as something that I’ve written, and MLG has illustrated. It was important to us that  – although we have no issue with comparisons – it didn’t feel like it WAS a Carpenter or Lovecraft story, because we wanted to do something that exists in its own right.
 

FN: And since you brought him up, what’s your favourite John Carpenter movie?  

MLG: The Thing. It’s also in my top 5 films of all time. 
 
MG: The same! Although strangely, I normally prefer films to have a bit more comedy in them then The thing does, and a lot of his other films have got this really nice comedic edge to them that really helps make them feel unique. But The Thing just has this really tight and complete story. 
 

FN: The comic draws on many familiar Halloween/horror tropes, several of which are mentioned in Shawn’s essay at the end of the Director’s Cut (abandoned house, protagonists with amnesia, etc…). Was there anything you wanted to include that didn’t quite make the cut? 

MLG: I’d have personally loved to have had a peek at the other side of the portal in this one but I think things like that are best left up to peoples imaginations, or sequels. 
 
MG: There are loads of ideas that didn’t fit this story that I’d love to explore in the future, but I was conscious of this not being a tick box exercise of horror clichés. 
 

FN: You’ve commissioned soundtracks for several of your recent works. What prompted the decision to do it for Our Final Halloween? 

 
MLG: The comic is set in the 80’s so any excuse to get some original Synth tracks made is always nice!
 
MG: I mean, have you heard Ian Alex-Mac’s music? Honestly, any excuse to get him to score something! The man’s incredible. And it’s prefect for this story. I really hope people will give it a listen while they read the comic, because it’s so evocative.

Kickstarter

The kickstarter is already live, with 3 pledge levels available and it is super affordable. I’ve already backed it at the highest level, a bargainous £7. This includes a bunch of extra material, including guest artist pin ups, a horror essay and a 6 track soundtrack. I also had a sneak preview of the “Director’s Cut” version of the comic, and it is well worth the £7! The last couple of kickstarters I’ve backed from Mike have come with soundtracks, and they have been fantastic. Really helping to achieve a sense of period and immersion in the world of the comic.

All images used with permission from Mike Garley.

Tags: KickstarterMicheal Lee-GrahamMike GarleySmall Press Comics

About author(s)

Clare Hemsworth

Hey, I'm Clare, aka Ciara or C. My current fandoms are RWBY and The Last Kingdom along with a bunch of other stuff I tend to let build up and then binge! I'm a keen, albeit amateur, cosplayer and love attending cons in various cosplays. I'm also the resident comic book girl around these parts, especially small press comics, so if you've got an indie book you want reviewed, I'm your gal! When I'm not doing the fangirl thing I am a keen long-distance hiker, having completed Te Araroa in New Zealand and The Pacific Crest Trail on the West Coast of the US.

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