From Zack Quaintance’s Comics Bookcase publishing venture comes Macabre Valley, werewolf horror with a seasonal relevance. And what makes this series particularly of interest to BF readers is that it features art from 2019 Broken Frontier ‘Six to Watch‘ creator Anna Readman. Check out the art in the preview pages below to remind yourselves of the brilliance of Readman and back the Kickstarter here!
TEXAN WEREWOLF GRINDHOUSE COMIC MACABRE VALLEY BY AWARD-WINNING CREATORS ZACK QUAINTANCE AND ANNA READMAN CURRENTLY FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER
Just in time for Halloween season, fans will soon be able to back the new miniseries inspired by both Quaintance’s real-life experiences reporting on the U.S.-Mexico Border and classic monster horror
This Halloween season, comic book fans have a new reason to howl with excitement. Esteemed comics journalist and writer Zack Quaintance (Death of Comics Bookcase), who is a part of 2025 Eisner Award-winning Comics Beat team, and rising star artist Anna Readman (2000AD), who just won the United Kingdom’s prestigious Observer/Faber graphic short story prize, are teaming up for the Texan werewolf grindhouse comic book miniseries, Macabre Valley. Joining Quaintance and Readman on the title are seasoned comics colorist Brad Simpson (Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man), Eisner-nominated letterer Becca Carey (Exquisite Corpses), and celebrated designer Jared K. Fletcher (Paper Girls).
A Kickstarter campaign for the horror miniseries—which was initially previewed in last year’s crowdfunding smash-hit, Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1—launched in mid-September, with a campaign page that is live now. Not only is the 32-page issue #1 be available to back, but for those looking for an extra bite, additional exciting tiers of rewards include a variant cover by artist John J. Pearson (In Bloom, Mindset), an exclusive collectible Macabre Valley postcard, prints by Tony McMillen (Attaboy) and Raul Allen (Dune, Secret Weapons), a comics journalism 101 Zoom class taught by Quaintance, and more. Fans are also be able to get their paws on a limited and numbered black-and-white artist edition, where readers can see all of Readman’s gritty, detailed inks in their full terrifying glory. The campaign is slated to be fulfilled by Halloween so that readers will have the perfect scary story to read on All Hallows Eve to get into the spooky spirit.
Set in Texas, Macabre Valley is not just about the carnage delivered by a clerically-collared lycanthrope on the loose, but also about the death of the local news itself. In the comic, a young reporter gets a job covering the night cops beat at a newspaper in South Texas. When a Border Patrol agent is gruesomely murdered, our hero must untangle a violent mystery with a beloved local priest and a werewolf at its dark center.
“Right after college, I spent five years as a newspaper reporter in South Texas, a wild place filled with news and legends,” said Quaintance. “I was in way over my head. It didn’t go well, and it’s always felt like a bit of a horror story to me—so now we’re taking my real life experiences and crafting a fantastical, monster-filled version of events. Fortunately, some of the most talented folks in comics have joined me on this project. By doing the comic through Kickstarter, we’ll be able to do the book our own way, with all the twists, gore, and gritty terror this story demands. It’s going to get bloody, y’all!”
“I’ve always loved the stoic romantic notions of Americana and the Southern Gothic,” said Readman. “From the melancholy notes of Townes Van Zandt to the pensive prose of Cormac McCarthy, the weird world of the Southwest has always been alluring to me. So when Zack sent me the script to Macabre Valley it was an immediate yes. Plus, drawing tattered cowboys is always fun!”
This marks the third Kickstarter comics project for Quaintance’s independent Comics Bookcase publishing imprint. Most recently, the imprint launched Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1, in 2024, featuring artwork by a murderer’s row of comics artists, including Readman, Nick Cagnetti, John McCrea, Ryan Lee, P.J. Holden, and more. That campaign was a big success, raising $12,000.
Alternative cover by John J. Pearson
Early praise:
“Macabre Valley is a lycanthropic blast. It’s scary, fun, and oh so very Texas.”—Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine, That Texas Blood, News from the Fallout)
“HOWLELUJAH! With MACABRE VALLEY, Zack Quaintance and Anna Readman give us a horror that’s gore-drenched, socially conscious and with a wicked streak of dark humour. And the evocative location of a sun-baked, sweat-drenched Texas town dripping in malice and supernatural peril is ripe with potential for further stories.”—John Lees (Sink, The Nasty, Orla!)
Praise for Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1:
“Death of Comics Bookcase harkens back to a simpler, more chaotic time for mainstream comics – a potent blend of genres, styles, and personalities that will keep readers guessing and hungry for more.”—Alex Segura (best-selling author of Secret Identity
