Dan Henk's Blog, page 2

New Kickstarter Cosmic Horror Campaign

One of the best things that Lovecraft encapsulated was the fear of the unknown.

“I cannot think of the deep sea without shuddering at the nameless things that may at this very moment be crawling and floundering on its slimy bed, worshipping their ancient stone idols and carving their own detestable likenesses on submarine obelisks of water-soaked granite. I dream of a day when they may rise above the billows to drag down in their reeking talons the remnants of puny, war-exhausted mankind—of a day when the land shall sink, and the dark ocean floor shall ascend amidst universal pandemonium.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft

Originally, I drew this for the now-defunct apparel company Black Hope Curse. After the pandemic killed them off, I used it in the re-issue of my novel Down Highways in the Dark…by Demons Driven.

A revised re-issue of which is available on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/yy57t7jz

The limited edition, signed and numbered hardcover of Down Highways in the Dark..by Demons Driven (with a unique handcrafted drawing in each copy) is available in my new Kickstarter campaign.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven

“I cannot think of the deep sea without shuddering at the nameless things that may at this very moment be crawling and floundering on its slimy bed, worshipping their ancient stone idols and carving their own detestable likenesses on submarine obelisks of water-soaked granite. I dream of a day when they may rise above the billows to drag down in their reeking talons the remnants of puny, war-exhausted mankind—of a day when the land shall sink, and the dark ocean floor shall ascend amidst universal pandemonium.”
― H.P. Lovecraft, The Complete Works of H.P. Lovecraft

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Black Static Magazine

Black Static Magazine, a now-defunct horror publication, reached out to me in 2011 for a second cover. The short horror story that I was illustrating, a tale entitled Dermot, involved a creepo that could provide police with supernatural info on serial killers, but needed to be given a young girl in return for the info. Which they always provided.
The editor decided my full illustration gave away too much of the story, so as a cover, they cut the drawing in half.
I drew this in Brush using India ink, and illustrated the color in watercolor.

You can see all my latest drawings on my website https://danhenk.com/

I’m a few days late launching my Kickstarter project due to my computer dying just as I was about to release it. Of Course. Murphy’s law and all that. Now I’ll be releaseing on the 8th! Lots of new goodies added! Signed in for free! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven

Polic feed children to Dermot

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Just released!

The audiobook for my comic horror anthology, The Joke is on Mankind, has just been released! A bevy of great authors contributed short stories, all in the vein of classics like The Twilight Zone and Weird Tales!

Jeff Strand, Christine Morgan, Tommy Clark, Lucas Mangum, and seven more talented writers all bring their horrific visions to light! Cassandra Arnold narrates for 5 hours and 57 minutes,  bringing them all to life in all their spine-tingling glory!
Pick up the audible version here,

https://tinyurl.com/2w8myxnw

Or get the Kindle or paperback (both accompanied by a bevy of illustrations that back that illustrated,  pulp magazine look) here

https://tinyurl.com/mtdwk4vz

If you like the look and feel of this anthology, check out my upcoming Kickstarter

Where I’ll have this anthology and even more of my work, many at heavily discounted prices or available in limited, signed and numbered editions, each of which includes a custom illustration, drawn just for the volume released!

11 of indie horror’s best bring to light the absolute chaos in their worlds.

 

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Horror Special Cover

Horror Special Cover.

A tourist ship sinks in chaos on the Loch Ness, as underwater monsters grap the drowning crew.

Illustrated as a cover for a special all-horror magazine that Skin Deep was planning to release, featuring me, Paul Acker, and Paul Booth, I drew this up and had Blair Smith color it. Only, in typical big industry douche-bag fashion, after they contacted me and implored me to do the illustration, they changed their mind at the last minute. They used a cheap, horrible-looking photoshopped cover. I only found out when they sent me a copy with the new, terrible cover in place!
I used the drawing in ny book of short stories “Down Highways in the Dark…by Demons Driven”. It seemed appropriate for the Loch Ness story!
Years later, I did a podcast, and the interview had a mentally challenged daughter who was a big fan of my work and wanted to go into art. I signed this and mailed it to her with a quote I often add when I sign books, “See you in hell!”
A few days later, I saw one of my interviewers’ podcasts. She was deeply Christian, and needless to say, my episode never appeared. I just feel bad for the daughter, who was super shy and thrilled I was sending her art. Art that I bet her mother immediately seized.
You can see this illustration and many more in the signed and limited hardback available in my Kickstarter campaign that is kicking off in less than a week! The more people who click ‘notify me on launch’, the higher I move in the algorithms on Kickstarter! It’s free, but it would be a great help!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven

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DeadguyLLC Logo

DeadguyLLC Logo.

Back in 2015, the clothing company Black Hope Curse asked me to design a shirt. I sent them this, and it became one of their best sellers. They ended up printing it on a black t-shirt (where they polarized the image), a grey shirt, a baseball tee, and a hoodie!
I did two more designs for them, and then the COVID lockdowns killed the brand!
By 2021, they were no more, but I loved the illustration and used it as the logo for my company, DeadguyLLC.
It now appears in all the books I’ve re-acquired the rights to, including the two signed and numbered hardcovers I have up on Kickstarter!
If you like my art, check it out. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven
Even a $1 pledge gets you an ebook and really helps the Kickstarter algorithm to recognize I even exist!

Everything Deadguyllc related

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Death in the Wilderness

It’s a sad truth, but we all die alone. Whatever your great plans, intricate schemes, and lofty goals, it’s all just the eternal passage of time, less relevant than the much longer lived wilds of nature all around us. Although even that fades. Our sun will turn into a red giant, nuclear flame will scorch the earth, and one more tiny planet, out of billions in the known universe, will cease to exist.
On that uplifting tone, I wanted to capture the absolute nihilism of existence in this illustration for my novel The Black Seas of Infinity.

You can pick up the novel here https://tinyurl.com/ypsa5zdz

I’m running a Kickstarter where the novel is available in a limited, signed and numbered hardcover edition!
You can check that out here https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven

We all eventually die. What does it all mean?

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Eulogy for Monica

Eulogy for Monica

Not to beat a dead horse too much into the ground, but when I get on the topic of Monica, it brings back a flood of memories that are hard to let go.
This is a photo she had taken, I believe, in Colombia, before she met me, but I found it to be the perfect inspiration for a memorial portrait.
She was always my biggest fan; she would brag about me to other artists, and I include this illustration, along with a brief note of thanks, in every book I publish.
I first drew it for the illustration on her memorial concert t-shirt, which featured both “The Unsane” (still one of my favorite bands) and my friend Dyami’s talented metalcore band, “Locked in a Vacancy”.
On a side note, which hopefully doesn’t sound too crass and commercial, the dedication is included in all the books I have in my new Kickstarter campaign (two of which she is on the cover of).
She did a lot of alternative modeling and loved it when people took notice.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/danhenk/down-highways-in-the-darkby-demons-driven

Monica back hgome in Colombia

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Deserved comeuppance!

Deserved comeuppance!

A murdering skinhead gets his spine ripped out by someone he thought he killed.

As a teenage punk rocker (I had the mohawk, the boots, the painted leather jacket, the works), I remember some of our biggest antagonists were nazi skinheads.

They would always show up (in packs, for fear of getting stomoped out) and make everything super uncomfortable for everyone,And always at places there were no SHARPS (skinheads against racial prejudice, many of whom were black or Hispanic.)I got jumped more than once and had my nose broken twice.In my short story “Skinsheads Ruin Everything” in the anthology ‘The Never Dead,’ a skinhead who thinks he’s murdered a kid gets his spine torn out. I remember thinking about how best to portray that scene, and figured a ripped-out spine would be a pretty gruesome death.You can pick up the anthology herehttps://tinyurl.com/y7t4tcy8And I am running a Kickstarter for my new release, you can check it out herehttps://www.kickstarter.com/…/down-highways-in-the…or sign my email to get notified of all my new releases here https://danhenk.com/newsletter/

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My new Kickstarter Campaign

When I first moved to NYC in 1998, I wanted to be a comic artist. Before they folded, Kitchen Sink, Caliber, and Paradox Press all showed interest.
An inker for DC Comics, who also worked as an art teacher at Pratt, loved my work and set me up with an interview with Andrew Helfer.
Given that he was the editor of the recently closed ‘Vertigo’ line, DC Comics’ more mature and darker comic division, I thought that would be a dream come true.
Little did I know DC was almost bankrupt, and it only wanted artists to draw their main superheroes. The interview went very badly when I didn’t want to draw Superman, and they let Andrew go two weeks later.
I was heartbroken, unsure what to do for a while, then remembered those pulp novels of old, like Doc Savage and The Shadow. I loved their illustrations and figured that if I brought them up a notch by substituting full, comic-book-style splash pages, I could bring the story that had been in my head for years to life.
One that the writings of HP Lovecraft and Neal Stephenson had only amplified!
I have a Kickstarter campaign kicking off in a few days. Anyone who wants to check it out, just click the link!

Some of my favorite illustrations in The Black Seas of Infinity and Down Highways in the Dark…by Demons Driven,

The post My new Kickstarter Campaign first appeared on Dan Henk.

Monica continues to contribute and inspire, even after her passing in 2007.

Monica continues to contribute and inspire, even after her passing in 2007.

This is one of my favorite paintings of Monica, and it still hangs on the wall in my studio.

I completed it while she was still alive, and I remember she was thrilled when it was used in the art book “Aphrodesia”.

A few years later, at the Austin World Horror Convention, Eraserhead Press asked if they could use it for the Piers Anthony book “The Sopaths’, that they were publishing.

Apparently, that book is rife with pedophilia implications and is not highly regarded.

The painting deserves more than that; it is the back cover painting on the signed and numbered hardcover of The Black Seas of Infinity in my Kickstarter campaign.

I’ve included the reference photo I based the painting on here, and here is a link to my campaign if you’d like to pick up a copy.

Kickstarter Link

My late wife, Monica Henk, was often my reference for the paintings I used for magazines and novels.

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