An EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK at one of the most exciting projects of 2022…
Hey, if you dig Darren McGavin’s Kolchak: The Night Stalker — and who doesn’t? — then boy are you in for a treat this year. Moonstone Books has corralled a coterie of top-notch creators for the crowdfunded Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel.
Dig this official description of the Kickstarter project — as well as an EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at four pages of lettered art (farther below):
Jerry Ordway
In 2022, Moonstone Books will celebrate this pop culture milestone with a Kickstarter campaign for Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary Graphic Novel, edited by James Aquilone (Classic Monsters Unleashed). This all-new, 100+ page, full-color graphic novel will feature 10 startling stories chronicling the life of monster-hunting reporter Carl Kolchak. The stories are written by such master storytellers as David Avallone (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), James Chambers (Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Forgotten Lore of Edgar Allan Poe), Nancy Collins (Swamp Thing), Peter David (The Incredible Hulk), Kim Newman (Anno Dracula), Jonathan Maberry (V-Wars), Richard Christian Matheson (Scars and Other Distinguishing Marks), Tim Waggoner (Temple of the Dragonslayer), and Aquilone, and illustrated by such amazing artists as Jonathan Marks Barravecchia (Scarlet Witch), Marco Finnegan (Lizard in a Zoot Suit), Warwick Johnson-Cadwell (Mr. Higgins Comes Home), Paul McCaffrey (Anno Dracula), Clara Meath (Midnight Vista), Julius Ohta (Iron Man), Tom Rogers (Herald: Lovecraft & Tesla), J.K. Woodward (Star Trek), and Colton Worley (The Shadow).
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The OGN also features covers by Jerry Ordway, Worley and Woodward; an introduction by Richard Christian Matheson, the bestselling writer and son of The Night Stalker and The Night Strangler writer Richard Matheson; plus the usual bonuses and fancy extras, including a Kolchak statue diorama and a special, 40-page standalone comic.
The project is already funded, which is great news, but it’s stretch-goal time, so click here for more info and to order your own copy.
In the meantime, dig this EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at four lettered pages — two from Peter David and J.K. Woodward’s The Enemy Within and two from James Aquilone and Colton Worley’s Satanic Panic ’88, which will be in the standalone comic:
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But, wait there’s more! Here’s an EXCLUSIVE FIRST LOOK at artist John Jennings’ Kolchak print, which will be available as an add-on:
So, again, click here to check out the whole shebang. It’s one of the grooviest Kickstarters I’ve seen in a while.
I mean, just check out Woodward’s variant cover, based on Dick Giordano’s cover for 1986’s Detective Comics #566:
How could I NOT love this?
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January 20, 2022
The biggest trouble with the Kolchak comics is they don’t seem to have the rights to use the amazing supporting cast in the stories. Kolchak’s interactions with Monique, Miss Emily, Ron Updyke and especially Tony Vincenzo are what made the original series so great. Carl on his own just isn’t enough. The writers also seem to forget that each week the characters that Carl would run into would also be unique and drive the humor of the show. According to David Chase, that was mostly Darren McGavin’s doing who wanted humor to offset the horror. I’ve found the vast majority of Moonstone’s output featuring Kolchak to be pretty mundane without much humor at all.
Wish I could get excited for this, but I expect more of the same.
January 20, 2022
I’m the editor of the Kolchak 50 graphic novel. I’ve enjoyed many of Moonstone’s Kolchak books, but I can assure you this isn’t the same as the older books. One, this is a one-off that’s outside of the Moonstone continuity with stories set in the ’70s and other decades throughout Kolchak’s life. Two, there will be plenty of humor, because that’s the heart and soul of the original series, and in my other works I often combine horror and humor. Three, look at our writers lineup… Kim Newman, Rodney Barnes, Peter David, Gabriel Hardman, Nancy Collins, Jonathan Maberry, David Avallone… Kolchak is in good hands.
January 25, 2022
Such as wally cox,al louis, or John Carradine. All from the 2nd movie no less.