Following the apocalyptic mayhem of GUNSUITS and BORNHOME and the monster spectacles BROKEN MOON and PROJECT NEMESIS, it’s time for something a little bit quieter at American Gothic Press, and that creepy hush will come from new series MONSTER WORLD.
MONSTER WORLD, which unites Steve Niles—in his second title for American Gothic—and AGP publisher Philip Kim in a joint storytelling venture, falls on the mysterious end of the horror spectrum, following the investigations of one Henry Barrymore into the intracies of a major film studio and what it might be hiding behind the monster makeup.
The concept comes from the mind of Publisher Philip Kim, who asked himself, what if a horror movie makeup guru got his “special effects” from real monsters, and what kind of sorcery would it take to control them? “This has been one of my most exciting achievements, as I was privileged enough to work with a legend as Steve Niles and accomplished artist Piotr Kowalski,” says Kim.
Kowalski is no stranger to noir—he’s been illustrating Joe Casey’s futuristic noir series SEX from Image Comics for several years now, and jumped at the chance to illustrate MONSTER WORLD. “In my career I have drawn many monsters, vampires, and creepy creatures, but MONSTER WORLD gave me the opportunity to gather all of them up in one tale,” he says. “Also, the script is very noir, which promised a joyful adventure, as drawing shady rooms, dark corners, and scary shadows is always a pleasure.”
In addition to haunting covers by Kowalski and colorist Dennis Calero, the four issues of MONSTER WORLD will each ship with a retailer incentive cover of interlocking images from an occult painting by artist Nigel Sade.