It’s getting closer. The day that Slow Feet Comics’ anthology Horror Not Hate approaches, lurching forward in all its gory glory. Over 200 pages long, the book collects stories and art inspired by the day. Better yet, all proceeds after printing and fulfillment costs will be split evenly between CHIRLA and Lambda Legal. Comics creators are banding together to try and stem the tide of their own creeping frustration. We choose horror not hate.
Among those creators is me. My story “Ladies’ Night at the Saddle Rack” has been rendered by the great Rafael Navarro, with color artistry by Vladimir Popov. I’m excited to be part of this, and to do what I say at the end of every video: use my powers for good. Also, though I have preview art here, I honestly don’t know which panels are drawn by whom except for the panel by Raf and the cover by heavy metal artist Chad J. Keith. So please forgive me, and if you ARE one of the artists, please let me know.
From Slow Feet Comics’ press release:
“I was waking up and reading the news, and it would make me physically sick every morning,” says horror writer J.M. Brandt, organizer for Horror Not Hate. He went on to say, “My wife told me that the only way to fight it would be to get off my ass and do something. She was right, and one day after I’d had too much to bear, I announced I’d be putting together a project on my Instagram. I’m not the protesting type, so I felt my energy would be better put to use putting my knowledge and connections into something people would want to buy… and then sending that money to charity.”
The stories are written by a mix of established pro talent from major and indie comic labels, underground comic creators, and promising newcomers. Horror Not Hate features stories written by Stoker and Shirley Jackson award winner Tim Waggoner (in just his 2nd comic story ever), David M. Booher (Ghostbusters, Canto), Joshua Pruett (The Last Kids on Earth), Riley Silverman (Doctor Who), Rich Douek (Batman: The Brave and the Bold), Jonathan Hedrick (Recount), Joe Corallo, Frankee White, Joshua Rubin, Jeffrey Schiller, Lan Pitts, Ben Kahn, Holly Interlandi, Levi Cory, Travis B. Hill, Jonathan Chance, Zach Chapman, Moni Barrette, Louis Southard, Cameron Zavala, Ricardo Acevedo, Derek McCaw, Otie Marcus, Lynsey Hutschinson, Syril Pecson, and J.M. Brandt (Swamp Dogs, Swallower of Shades). The stories are all horror based around the themes of fascism, hate, transphobia, homophobia, xenophobia, racism, and toxic patriotism.
Art for the stories was provided by Francesca Fantini (Stake), Caleb Ady (In Bloom), Rafael Navarro (Bela Lugosi’s Tales from the Grave), Pat Higgins, Zak Kinsella, Kraig Rasmussen, Gerald Von Stoddard, Jade Lowder, Kurt Belcher, Vassilis Gogtzilas, Alan Quirk, Jacob Ian DeCoursey, Kev Tijerna, Dan MacLeod, Peter Arends, Daisy Church, Jay Kennedy, Jody James Brenton, Hope Dicanio, Russell Frechette, Alex Zief, Austin Baechle, Vladimir Popov, Damian Felitte, and more.
Setting this book apart from other horror anthologies is the fact that it is as much an art book as it is a comic collection. Coming from fine art, comics, underground comics, the low brow and outsider communities, and the world of heavy metal, the art gallery in the book features the talents of Skinner, Corinne Halbert, Stephanie Inagaki, David Gough, Stuart Holroyd, Evil Jay, Pyromallis, Brett Herman, Hans Rickheit, D.J. Bryant, Sammy Ruiz, Justin Weingartner, Filip Ivanović, Nathaniel Barter, Arjuna Susini, Claudia Balboni, Tom Neely, Sam Payne, David Le compte, Christopher Butler, Patrick Buermeyer, J. Christopher Schmidt, and more to be announced.
The pre-launch page for the campaign can be found at bit.ly/HorrorNotHate, and will allow anyone who signs up to be notified on the campaign’s start later this year. For more frequent updates and sneak previews of the book’s interiors, people can follow Slow Feet Comics on Instagram at @slowfeetcomics or J.M. at @j.m.brandt. J.M. will also be posting updates on Blue Sky at bit.ly/BSkyBrandt and on his newsletter at bit.ly/JMBrandtSubstack.
