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One of the finest horror comic websites on the interweb, Split Lip, has announced it will no longer be producing new stories! Writer, Sam Costello, who has been creating horror comic strips for the last 6 years, has called time on his wondeful website www.splitlipcomic.com.
As a final huzzah, Split Lip has begun serializing its last story and will cease publication after that story completes. The new story, called Last Caress, features art by Douglas Draper, Jr. A new page from the 24-page story will be posted every Tuesday and Thursday until it concludes in July. The story can be read in its entirety before that by purchasing the final Split Lip book, Last Caress and Other Stories via the Split Lip website.
Costello states on his blog:
While I’m very happy to share this story with you, the bigger news–and the less happy news–is that this is the final Split Lip story. After nearly 6 years, 37 stories, and 550+ of horror comics, Split Lip is ending.
I made this decision in 2011. A number of factors led me to it–the desire to do something else, financial losses, the sense that anthologies aren’t the preferred format of many readers–but ultimately it’s a decision I’m happy with.
I’m very proud of the body of work displayed on this website. Since my first Split Lip script, I think I’ve grown hugely as a writer and specifically a comics writer, and I feel that the Split Lip stories represent a strong library of modern horror comics. I started Split Lip with the hope of doing something new in horror comics, to create stories that cast aside the traditional horror archetypes in favor of a more modern, more literary sensibility. Whether I succeeded can only be determined by readers.
Regardless of that success, though, I feel honored to have had the opportunity to work with so many great artists, without whom my visions would never have been realized. A sincere thank you to each of them.
Thanks, too, to all the readers who faithfully followed the comic from its earliest days, to the fans who came by to say hi to me at conventions and who bought our books, and to everyone who helped spread the word. Making indie comics can be lonely, and often discouraging, and the response that I got from all of you that helped make it easier to overcome the tough times.
The full Split Lip archive will continue to remain free on the website here www.splitlipcomic.com and the books collecting the entire Split Lip series will be available in print.
Telltale Games today released an all-new trailer focusing in on the story of ‘A New Day,’ the first episode of The Walking Dead games series based on Robert Kirkman’s Eisner Award-winning comic book series.
Players will be able to experience the first episode of the summer-long adventure horror series, which arrived today* for download on PlayStation®Network, PC and Mac, and will release very soon on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for Xbox 360.
Episode one, ‘A New Day’ and the following four episodes deliver an experience tailored by the decisions that each player makes, leading to multiple paths through the story. Players take on the role of Lee Everett, a man convicted of murder, now given newfound freedom and a chance at redemption in a world devastated by the undead. Intense life or death situations will force the player to explore the darker sides of human nature, and they will meet familiar characters and visit locations from the world created by Robert Kirkman, foreshadowing the story of Deputy Sheriff Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead comics. The first episode will sell for 400 Microsoft® Points on the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, $4.99 on PlayStation Network and on PC and Mac as a season pass covering all five episodes for $24.99 from the Telltale Online Store and other digital distribution outlets.
Telltale would like to remind fans that they can purchase the game for PC or Mac via their Telltale Online Store and via Valve’s Steam service, as well as other digital distribution services.
Telltale plans to release The Walking Dead for Apple’s iOS platform later this summer.
The Walking Dead is rated ‘M’ (Mature) for Blood and Gore, Intense Violence and Strong Language by the ESRB.
The internet is full of wonderful websites and nuggets of happiness that will lift your spirits and sooth your worries. There’s also a darker side to the net filled with freakish art and gruesome tales. It’s here that you’ll find most of the sites recommended by The Theatre of Terror. One such site contain the artwork of Mia Mäkilä, a Swedish artist who describes her work as horror pop surrealism or dark lowbrow.
Mia’s influences include:
…film directors such as David Lynch, Ingmar Bergman, Alfred Hitchcock, Roy Andersson, Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton and artists like Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel, Francisco Goya, Jean-Michel Basquiat and the masters of Disney Studio’s in the 1930’s-40’s.
Check out this disturbing gallery below.
If you want to lose a few more crumbs of sanity then take a trip over to www.miamakila.com/.
Tim Daniel and Mehdi Cheggour’s upcoming Image Comics/Shadowline one-shot Enormous looks like the sort of GN we could really get our teeth in to. It’s an apocalyptic tale concerning the rise of of huge creatures, dubbed ‘The Enormous’, all hell-bent on wiping out humanity, following an man-made ecological event gone wrong.
You are the bottom of the food chain. A fading point of light in the course of evolutionary history. A dying species. You are human. You are a child – and Ellen Grace is coming to collect you. The ‘Enormous’ have ravaged the planet. In their wake of destruction, mankind has fallen. The race to stave off extinction has begun.
This 64 page one-shot is described as being suitable for fans of:
Genre-based survivalist fiction like The Passage, The Terror, On The Beach, Alas Babylon, The Walking Dead, World War Z, The Mist, Monsters, Troll Hunter, Cloverfield, The Host, Giant Monsters, Kaiju, Godzilla, THEM!, The Blob, Universal Monsters, Hammer Films, Ray Harryhausen and more!
It’s clear from this list that writer, Tim Daniel, has a certain fondness for monsters and the apocalypse, so we know what to expect from Enormous, yet we can see that he is also treading new ground.
Check out this preview gallery below:
What really stands out about this project is their lovely looking website which has been slowly expanding in content over the last year. The Enormous team have been enlisting the help of artist to create teasers and pin-ups, running art competitions on forums and posting little bits of info on their website since April 2011. This new approach to slowly and organically growing interest in their project has helped to accrue a fan base prior to the launch.
This approach is a fantastic idea and should definitely be a part of every comic creators marketing scheme. If you’re putting together a comic you need a website as a point of interest for potential fans or distributors. Why not make it a great site? It can only help to increase excitement in your project and foster a connection with your audience.
Enourmous will be available July 2012. In the mean time take a trip to their feature-filled Enormous website for more on this exciting new comic.
Following the success of their debut event in October-November 2011, the UK’s festival of horror in the performing arts will be returning this Halloween for three weeks of macabre entertainment.
The Etcetera Theatre, Camden will play host to this year’s Festival, which welcomes a broad range of horror theatre, comedy, magic and performance art, from psychological spine-chillers to all-out splatter, improvised ghost stories to grotesque stand-up and séance magic to body horror, and almost anything else imaginable. The purpose is to foster new talent as well as nurturing the already burgeoning live horror scene within the UK.
Applications are now open for this year’s festival, and they’re happy to accept submissions from performers or companies regardless of whether they have explored the horror genre before. If you like a bit of performing arts then they’re looking for exciting and committed groups looking to push the boundaries of live entertainment.
Rachel Deering, an Ohio-based comic creator is looking for funding to complete her Lesbian Werewolf horror story Anathema. 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. The first Anathema Kickstarter project was an overwhelming success with the funding raised paying the artist and print costs of the first issue.
Rachel says,
Now that Anathema has found a publishing home with ComixTribe, I hope to raise the funds necessary to complete the remaining 5 issues in the series! I’m asking for $20,000 to cover the cost of paying my amazing artist and colorist. All money goes to them, less Amazon and Kickstarter fees, and I don’t keep a dime for myself…UNLESS!!
Anything I raise above and beyond the goal amount will go toward getting me out to conventions this year. This will help me to be able to promote and sell Anathema to a wider audience. I love interacting with comic fans, signing merchandise, and being able to network with other comic professionals! The convention experience is a MUST for all creators in the comics industry if they hope to establish themselves.
Deering was also an editor on Womanthology, a highly successful Kickstarter funded comic which featured the work of over 140 comic lovin’ ladies. So dig deep in to your cowl’s pockets and give a little (or a lot) to this worthy comic cause. There are plenty of rewards for those who pledge, including full copies of the completed series, special artwork, or your own likeness drawn as one of the comic characters. Visit the Anathema Kickstarter Campaign now, there’s only 2 weeks left for Rachel to reach her target!
Some clever dicky has re-worked this selection of classic movie posters in to zombie flicks. Movies which have been infected with the virus include Bleak is the Future, Indiana Bones, Toy Gory, Cadavatar (geddit!) and the beautifully titled Zombie Apocalypse Now.
It’s not like we’ve ever needed an extra reason to look at men’s mag Playboy but this month issue features an origin story of fan’s favourite Michonne written and drawn by series creator Robert Kirkman and art regular Charlie Adlard.
Do you want to join the Scream team? We're looking for enthusiastic people to contribute articles on horror or comics here on The Theatre of Terror. Contact me for more info.
One of the finest horror comic websites on the interweb, Split Lip, has announced it will no longer be producing new stories! Writer, Sam Costello, who has been creating horror comic strips for the last 6 years, has called time on his wondeful website www.splitlipcomic.com.
Telltale Games today released an all-new trailer focusing in on the story of ‘A New Day,’ the first episode of The Walking Dead games series based on Robert Kirkman’s Eisner Award-winning comic book series.
Following the success of their debut event in October-November 2011, the UK’s festival of horror in the performing arts will be returning this Halloween for three weeks of macabre entertainment.
