I Rebranded My Body Horror Graphic Novella for Kickstarter Launch on Sunday
It's okay to admit previously completed work can be improved and to then make that improvement.
About a decade past, I had 4 comics projects in active production. Ambitious, considering writing comics was (allegedly) at the hobby level for me at the time. I was still finding my way in terms of scripting and, in particular, writing dialogue. Vicious Circus, my killer clown revenge fantasy with my forever partner Amanda Rachels, was a high point at the time. I was feeling it, as it comes from a deep place in me, and I took a more planned approach to the long-form storytelling on The Absentee, a sci-fi horror adventure with local artist and friend Rando Dixon. The latter title was the first where I hypothesized (not set in stone) character arcs for the primary cast over the length of the 6-issue series. That simple exercise permanently changed my approach to scripting, going forward.
Shortly thereafter, I decided to put these newfound habits and skills to use by crafting a one-shot graphic novella after another local artist approached me about a collaboration. So, I spent a couple of months writing what, to me and at that time, was the most technically involved and meaningful script I’d ever completed. It was the story of the last rhinoceros on Earth and the various mercenary groups out to poach her, save her or magically duplicate her. And, in retrospect, I lazily titled this script Nosejob, in relation to the rhino’s horn, the object of hunters’ desire that results in the endangered animal’s death. But Nosejob is a fairly opaque title that doesn’t convey the necessary story insights or gravitas necessary to appeal to potential readers. This issue of the title vexed me for years.
Then, the artist who approached me flaked and ghosted me, but I was still happy to have completed this script, as I held it in high regard and as a step up in my writing game. It lived a lonely life on my hard drive for about 7 years before my friend and frequent Vicious Circus Halloween collaborator, Oscar Pinto, asked about working on a new project together between spooky seasons. I pitched Nosejob to him, and he jumped on it, providing art and colors for the 60-page story over the next couple of years, released in two split volumes. This is a gorgeous book, y’all. I’m remarkably proud of it, and it deserves to be seen.
Now, more than a year after we Kickstarted the second issue to complete the story, it’s time to put it all in one killer volume, but not just as the same old Nosejob. For literally years, a kept a running list of alternative titles in the Notes app on my phone. I ultimately used none of them. While updating the lettering last year, two critical scenes reminded me that the titular nosejob is an act of shameful, unspeakable violence and should remain in the title but with an equally simple descriptor of said violence that was committed…with a chainsaw. Thus, an epiphany, and Chainsaw Nosejob sprang into existence, and here we are.
Oscar crafted a brand new cover for Chainsaw Nosejob (see above), and I’m launching this collected edition (available in softcover, deluxe hardcover, and PDF editions) this coming Sunday at 6:00 p.m. Central.
This graphic novel is pure body horror wrapped in science fiction, a high-tension comic about a race for genetic nightmares between three factions – high-tech rhino poachers, government secret agents, and a wily witch doctor. Think John Carpenter’s The Thing, but if the people being transformed into monstrosities all deserved it by the very nature of the behaviors that led them to that point.
I hope you’ll join me in making publication of the final form of this incredible graphic novella a reality.
Thanks for making comics with me!
Kevin
Following the campaign!! Thanks for the preview and this look behind your process, titles can be hard. :)