CURSES and Creating something different
As creators we’re always trying to push the envelope, to make something new that’s different and stands out. How does one accomplish this? Well, what I’ve discovered over the decades I’ve spent on this planet, is it’s not about being first with something. It’s about doing something the way YOU thought it should be done.
I’ve always loved the classic black and white comic magazines that hovered outside the comic’s code. Warren’s CREEPY, VAMPIRELLA, and EERIE stood out at the top. They’ve since evolved into SHUDDER and VAMPIRESS CARMILLA, published by Warrant and I love them, too.
Ritchie Blackmore, the famed guitarist of Deep Purple and Rainbow fame, once was asked about how he writes. In so many words, he replied that he often takes something else he’s heard, and makes it in his own image. And so do I. For example, my Splatterfolk world is heavily influenced by the World of Darkness RPG setting, which was in turn inspired by Nancy A. Collins’ Pretender World. I pay homage to them in my prose and by continuing the tradition of Urban and Rural fantasy with my stories.
A couple years ago I met Miguel Amaro at what we in the creative industry call a “Shindy Con” in Conklin, NY. For those in the dark, the term Shindy, or “Shitty Indy,” was born on the indy wrestling scene, and refers to a back yard wrestling promotion. By contrast, a Shindy Con is a pop culture convention that is fundamentally nothing more than half of a vendor room from a larger convention with the 4th Zombie from Episode 6 of a Canceled TV Show and an extra from a 70 year old Sci-Fi movie as your main draws. We became buddies super fast. Our politics lined up, as did your motivations and goals.
I told him and his partner about a story I had written, how proud I was of it. And a couple months later, I ran into him at another event. Miguel presented me with the first piece of fan art I’d ever gotten, a portrait of the Beaver Goddess from the story I’d told him about previously, LEAVING THE BEAVER. As you can see, it’s fucking gorgeous.
So we started talking about potential collaborations. This led to him and I sharing ideas with one another. It culminated in a flash piece we worked on together and sent to Warrant Publishing. As it sat with them for months. We both got frustrated, and knowing we had a planned convention appearance together, I decided to follow Ritchie Blackmore’s advice… and do something MY WAY.
I envisioned a digest, combining aspects of those old black and white zines with prose stories and accompanying inspirational art. I sent Miguel a script I had written for THE CURSE OF KATIE ELDER some years ago. He loved it… and drew it. Then I sent him a script for the opening chapter of the treatment he proposed to me, BLOOD HARVEST, now renamed THE HARROWING. Miguel had some pieces he’d done with his alter-ego, Marv the Minion, so we made Marv the mascot of the digest.
The title came next. I wanted to keep it in line with the aesthetic of those old zines, so a one word title was in order. Since I primarily write folk horror, giving it a folk-horrory name seemed like the right thing to do. And what’s at the heart of many folk horror stories? Curses.
It was a perfect title for this.
So we rushed and rushed and Miguel worked his fingers to the bone to get this done, I worked overtime getting the lettering and printing done in time. And we did, we got it done literally with days to spare.
And now you can enjoy the first volume in the comfort of your home through Godless in digital as a pdf. I have a limited number of the first run of hard copies available for $12.00 plus $3.00 for shipping. We only made 21 of them, so they will be VERY collectible. In August retailers nationwide will be able to obtain copies to sell!
𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗦… 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗖… 𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗜𝗖 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗦!
CURSES: VOLUME 1.
CURSES is a throwback horror digest, and this bad boy is JAM-PACKED with short stories. Prose and illustrated.
You hear that, suckas? Drawings and words. Words and drawings. The ARTS!
It contains…
The first chapters of The Curse of Katie Elder
The first chapters of The Harrowing
Flash art piece Down by the Sea
Flash art piece Transformation
The story Leaving the Beaver!
BEAVER!
Be sure and digest CURSES: VOLUME 1 today! Get it?
𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗪!
Curses (Volume 1) by Thomas R. Clark and Miguel Amaro𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗥. 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗞
Thomas R Clark𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗢𝗣
The Drop: All New ReleasesCurses (Volume 1) by Thomas R. Clark and Miguel Amaro
CURSES – a carnographic digest hosted by Marv the Minion and Madame Nightswan… a call back to the classic black and white horror publications of the past! Featuring short stories in prose and art form, with stories by Thomas R Clark and art by Miguel Amaro. Volume 1 contains the first chapters of THE CURSE OF KATIE ELDER and THE HARROWING, as well as the flash art pieces DOWN BY THE SEA and TRANSFORMATION, and the written story, LEAVING THE BEAVER.
𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗖𝗨𝗥𝗦𝗘𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗪!
Curses (Volume 1) by Thomas R. Clark and Miguel Amaro𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗠𝗔𝗦 𝗥. 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗥𝗞
Thomas R Clark𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗣 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗗𝗥𝗢𝗣
The Drop: All New Releases#godless #godlesshorrrors #horror #horrorbooks #indiehorror #extremehorror #hardcorehorror #horrobookstagram #thomasrclark #miguelamaro
