Here's a preview of the first two pages for my contribution to Then It Was Dark, a ghost story anthology. I'm finishing these comics at the absolute last minute, as usual.
This is a story my mom told me -- swearing up and down that it's 100% true -- and it stars her as a 9-year-old kid. Spooky sick kids! Spooky shadow sisters! I hope people will enjoy the finished comic when it's out in print.
Well, I told you that things would go quiet for a while while the pages for TiWD were being produced, and it certainly has. But now that artwork has been coming in for a while, I've decided to start sharing a few sneak peeks at TiWD.
From top to bottom: Carey Pietsch, CB Webb, Elaine Will (illustrating a story by Natalie Leif) and Jen Hickman
This is the last big notice I'll post about this project until funding time runs out, but this weekend is your last chance to back Then It Was Dark, a super rad ghost story anthology that I'm planning on participating in! As of this post, we're just over $1K away from our $15K goal, most of which will be going toward paying all the contributors a fair page rate.
So if you've been on the fence about helping out this cool, spooky anthology, now's the time to act!
Conrad is as shocked as we were, maybe much more dramatical than us. Even though he's a vampire, he still cannot control his emotion so well.
"Why the hell do you bring that girl?!". He shouts behind the front door of his house. "Don't even dare you let her come in! This is my house, and I don't want any strangers entering into this place AGAIN!". I think the word 'again' points out his previous experience with a female bat. Well, I don't think it's a good idea to look back for now.
"She doesn't have a place to go, or anyone else to rely on! I just have to bring this girl with me. I know it!", Hanna argues with his weak statement.
"Yeah, by your instinct. You just met her few minutes ago and you're telling me you knew her so much?! Get lost!!"
"But Conrad, she doesn't know anything at all. And I mean, anything"
"Prove it!". Now Conrad is being almighty. I never seen him like this, aside being a mad man.
Hanna brings the girl closer to Conrad. "Ask her. Anything you'd like".
This is going to take a long time to convince Conrad about her.
I remembered when we stalked her, like a kidnapper or a robber. Tracing her lost footsteps.
It was Hanna's idea to follow her secretly, when we first met her on the street. "I smell mysteries around her!" he reasoned himself. Apparently, I smelled death. "Don't you think this is gonna be interesting, Donald? What if she's gonna be our next client? I hope to get paid for this!".
"I don't think we would get it"
"Why is that?"
"First, she's dead. Second, she--". As I was going to continue my sentence, we were surprised of what we just found: the same spot where we started to stalk her. Back to the start line. "Second, she's lost," I confidently stated that.
"That's strange," his body became still, standing on the ground. He thought about it a moment, and he came up with a simple plan, "How about we ask her right now? Just to get to know her, at least". That was quite a plan, I see.
The conversation did not go well, I'd assume. We both didn't get the answer of our curiosities, such answer of "I do" from her.
And now this.
"Hey lady! Can you please NOT to come into MY HOUSE?" Conrad asks. The young lady doesn't respond nor move. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"
"I do", she responds. My mind can only think of You use the sentence at the right time, this time.
"See, Hanna? She understands what I'm saying. Now could you please, PLEASE, get her out of here?"
"But Conrad! That's the only thing she could say! I do!", Hanna begs.
"Oh please! No more lame excuses from you! Now get her out or you're not welcome here!". Conrad seems pissed off, though I understand his reason for acting like so. Perhaps it is time for me to convince him.
"Conrad, listen to me. This girl can't speak anything other than the word I do. We were following her before and we ended up going circles."
"What…what are you trying to pull here?", Conrad looks uneasy. Maybe it's because he is having a hard time dealing with what's been happening to him lately, which I would say the unusual events we have been going through.
"I'm trying to say that…she has lost her memories". That is the only logical explanation for this unsolved mystery around her now.
The silence occupies the space among us for quite some time.
"You're genius, Bach! I couldn't agree more!" Hanna gets excited, as this thought leads to a new path. "It's time to do an examination! And research! Then maybe we can find evidences from her tracks…." he goes on as he plans his things.
"What do you say, Conrad?" I ask.
"…..ugh! This is the last time I let a stranger entering my house!" and Conrad opens the door abruptly.
"This way, Miss." as I lead the young, white lady.
