No matter what Jack does, he seems to wind up with knives ~ and yet he looks the most surprised when it happens. The real question is: is that just a steak knife for trimming the gristle off a t-bone or is Jack planning to make his new life even more complicated than it already is? I’m guessing a story about Jack eating dinner wouldn’t exactly be a grabber (though I could be wrong!), nevertheless, rest assured: part two of “dark visions” will pit killer against killer with whatever weapons they can lay their hands on.

Check back soon for some interesting artifacts dug up from the scary archive, including very early character sketches!

We have been hard at work putting together the second issue of Jack (”dark visions” part 2), and so far it’s looking good! Unfortunately we only have the cover to share at the moment, but we’ll be posting a preview soon!

If you missed the first issue of this two-part story, it’s not too late to get a copy!

concept sketch for the new cover

The new cover for issue no. 2 of Jack is complete and ready for unveiling!

Watch this space for news, updates on our latest projects, sneak peeks at works-in-progress, and much more!

Here there Be Monsters Press took a whopping five books to San Diego’s ComicCon this year, including all four issues of Eleison (which just continues to look better and better every year!), and the debut of Jack, our first sequential art effort (which is fabulous as well. I’m thoroughly impressed with how well it turned out!). Order your copies today!

As he does every year, Jaime painted a promotion image for Eleison to make a display poster. You can see this year’s in the background in the picture below (and here’s a small tip to readers out there: it could well be a future cover ~ that’s not just random symbolism there. For a closer look, check out JCARR studios gallery image here.

Thank you to all the people who have supported what’s been a somewhat frenzied year. We were super tight on the deadlines, but we made it with your help and encouragement!

the reviews are coming in for Eleison as we prepare to head out to Comic Con 2006 and this one is outrageously amazing!

Broken Frontier’s reviewer Dave Baxter says:

Eleison (which means “mercy” in Greek), is an astonishing first book by a talented new duo. They’ve been lurking around the internet and comic con borders since late 2003, and it’s high time they were given a greater exposure to comicdom at large. Their gorgeously wrought, inspired story of a French-Native American penitent with uniquely western occult powers waging battle with a centurion-demon Hell-fiend with a small, rabbit-headed kid weighing him down…well…it’s by far the most unique composite of dark fantasy elements I’ve come across in a western comic book in years and years and years. Add to this a boatload of honest talent and I’m looking at the brother-sister creative team-up of the decade (though I suppose that may not be saying as much as I want it to).

click the link to read the whole review!

this is very exciting!

don’t forget you can order online now just by clicking the link to your right!

We’ve decided to go with this bold, evocative pose for the second issue of Eleison (due out late January, 2006).

In addition to some other delays, we went through a number of choices before selecting this one for the cover ~ not only because it’s just a thrilling rendering top to bottom, but it also ties into the themes of this second issue in which we’ll start to see the past unravel a little. We’ll gain more insight not only into the malignant force that is Decimus Quintilius (and his hoarde of harried “flonsters” below right), but into Father Jean-Marithé Baptiste’s recent history as well.

Then the priest will go forth to engage in mortal combat with the demon that has possessed Amelda Harkis. But is he really prepared to take on such evil?

With more illustrations and some really stand-out splash pages, you won’t want to miss this exciting continuation of the Eleison pre-serial mini-series!

 

July 13-16th we were in San Diego for Comic-Con 2005 with our first small press booth featuring Issue No. 1 of Eleison and original artwork (the front and back cover were sold!). We had an excellent time, met some wonderful people, and received a ton of positive feedback from conventioneers, other small press exibitors, and numerous roaming professionals. We were very excited to have such a warm reception since he had no idea what to expect!

We’re definitely looking forward to next year. Stay tuned for more pictures and thoughts about the Con!

Synopsis: Can you reform a Ripper?

Dr. Marianne Gordon, a psychotherapist working in the criminal investigation department of the metropolitan police has a case file dropped onto her desk that she doesn’t know what to make of: a twenty-something British amnesia victim who seems to be convinced that he is Jack the Ripper. Picked up on suspicion in a string of violent serial murders, “Jack” is both amiable and outright stupid ~ seemingly too stupid to have even committed the crimes he’s accused of. Who is this tea-drinking, chain-smoking, affable anarchronism who talks to an “imaginary” incarnation of the notorious Springheeled Jack?

When Jack offers to help collar the real killer, strange and wonderful things begin to happen, proving this lost lamb has powers not only beyond belief, but beyond his own control. Dr. Caligari had nothing to compare to the creatures in the cabinet of this reincarnated serial killer’s mind.

This graphic novel debuted at Comic-Con 2007 ~ !

Some Background on this Project: A mild mania for urban legends, ghost stories, and the chilling true tales of ghoulish murder in East London in 1888 were the basis of this somewhat zany, but dark series.Jack transplants everyone’s favorite psychosexual maniac to modern-day America to not only get him some much-needed therapy, but to atone for his violent misdeeds. Ripperologists and other “hunt the Ripper” fanatics may wonder which suspect plays the lead role in this particular drama, but our hero is an amalgamation of mythology and reality ~ even he doesn’t recognize himself and has only the vaguest recollection of his murderous past.

Here There be Monsters Press is proud to present its first print serial: Eleison ~ the epic battle between good and evil premiered July 14, 2005 at the San Diego Comic Con.

Synopsis: Father Marithé swore poverty, chastity, and obedience, but that wasn’t always so. His new vow: make right what has gone wrong by hunting down 101 demons unleashed on earth by his own disobedience. In a wilderness between native superstition and the supernatural forces of the western world, he has his work cut out for him. Not to mention that rabbit-headed child of his ~ quite the distraction when trying to vanquish evil.

Some Background on this Project: Christmas, 2003. As if it had never occurred to us before, during the annual two week visit home, my brother and I colluded to “make a comic”. I had arrived without a story ~ without even an idea ~ and we commenced to dive in headfirst with no plot, all the wrong materials and media, and a character who was variously referred to as “Pim” and/or “our Lord” due to the unfortunate circumstance of my initial conceptual drawing looking a bit too much like Jesus. The concept was sort of Dances with Wolves meets Solomon Kane.

Needless to say, like almost all of our “let’s make a comic” projects before it, by the end of two weeks we realized that gouache doesn’t do well on cardstock, that what we were calling “Slaine” (say it like you’re talking about the raunchiest heavy metal band ever: Slaine!), still had no title, that I can’t draw (let alone count how many fingers are on the human hand), and that try as we might to just do it “quick and fun” it was neither quick nor fun at times due to the frustration of warping board, bad artwork, and a complete lack of a plotline. At the end of two weeks we had five pages of a comic of which only two were completed and an underpainted “cover” which had necesitated a rather involved photo-shoot of my brother with the Archangel Michael drawn on his back with a Flair pen.

Recovering from all this took a few months. We set aside the project to attend other things, hoping a plot (and a name for the main character) would come. It did.

Easter, 2004. By the time the next big holy day rolled around, we had it all: not only one name for the main character, but two: his Christian name as well as his Indian name (Nimbaabaa Waabooz ~ which means Father Rabbit in the language of the Ojibwe). Everything fell into place: a title (Eleison which means “mercy” in Greek), and lastly, a plot involving the Legion of Decimus Quintilius, Shiloh the rabbit-headed baby, and one hundred other creatures from the depths.

Stay tuned! More good things are coming to those who wait!