By: Nicole D’Andria
On this
Monday’s “Kickstart the Week” I’m showcasing a comic book project from the
creative team of Time Stop #1. This time he needs
your help funding Year of the Goat, a
horror comic about killer goats. No, that’s not a late April Fool’s day joke.
The year
2015 is the Year of the Goat and that’s not a good thing for the human
population! Goats all over the world are becoming demons bent on killing human
beings. The writer calls it “Walking Dead meets Planet of the Apes.” In the
first issue, three areas in the US are taken over: a farm in Arkansas, Amish
Land in Upstate, New York, and backwoods Mississippi. It is currently outlined
that future issues will involve other countries as well.
The
independent comic book will be written by Tom Spellman and drawn by Rafael
Chrestani. The red shading and lettering of the comic book is by John Rudwall.
With a successful campaign the creative team is planning on having Year of the Goat #1 out by early summer
of 2015.
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Tom
Spellman is trying to raise $1,500 for his art team and comic book by May 13, 2015 at 9:17 PM EDT. You can pledge money on their Kickstarter. The first reward you can get is for $5 and is a digital
version of Year of the Goat #1. For
$15 you receive a print version of the comic.
The funds
the creative team get from this Kickstarter will help not only fund the first
issue of Year of the Goat but will
also help them get a start on the second issue. The money is first and foremost
going to the production of issue one and anything left over will go towards
paying the artist, variant cover artist and the colorer/worder. Money will also
be going to the shirt-maker company, goat figure maker company, goat figure
custom painter, and post office to send out the awards to those who pledge
money for the campaign.
I spoke
with the writer of the series, Tom Spellman, to get details on the Goatpocalype!
Me: The concept for Year of the Goat is very
bizarre... and intriguing. How did you come up with it?
Tom
Spellman: To be honest, I think it came from
my inability to sit still for extended periods of time. Issue #1 of my
comic Time Stop was in production.
I’m the writer so my job has been done for a while. While it’s
being drawn, inked and colored, there’s not much I can do. I’ve gone as
far as to write the next five issues, but #1 still isn’t ready for print.
So, out of boredom, I said to myself, what is your next comic going
to be about? I decided to make a list of the stories I really love and
thought, let me take a little from each story and come up with an idea. I
love the apocalyptic theme of Walking
Dead and Planet of the Apes.
I also added George Orwell’s Animal
Farm (one of my favorite books of all time) to the list.
You have to admit, apocalyptic
stories are in right now. But I have always been one to make fun of what is
in. I took my list and said, how can I make this story a parody of what’s
in right now? I know, I’ll have goats be the antagonists. The story
is serious and filled with horror but you can’t stop to laugh at the sight of
goats walking on their hind legs and holding whiskey bottles in their hooves.
And there you have Year of the
Goat.
Me: How would you describe the level of violence in Year
of the Goat?
Spellman:
On a violence scale of 1 to 10, Year
of the Goat is a solid 15. Since the story is somewhat of a parody, I
want to add some humor. Maybe humor is not the right word. It’s
more like the movie series Final
Destination. Characters in that movie are killed one by one, in
bizarre ways that top the last. It keeps watchers thinking, whoa, that was
awful. What’s next? I want readers on Goats to think the same way.
Me: What do you think makes works such as Walking
Dead and Planet of the Apes stand out from other
stories about the apocalypse?
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| Year of the Goat Issue #1 Page 1 |
Spellman:
Well, each apocalyptic story
revolves around some event that drastically reduces the human population.
Virus is a popular event...the rising of the dead is popular. It’s
more taste and I just love those two stories. There’s some other awesome
events as well. I frankly watched Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar which addresses the idea
from weather destroying the food supply. That’s a new angle that I love.
And it’s not a new idea...how many black and white movies are there that use the
idea of war to end mankind. At least I
can say the idea of demonic killer goats hasn’t been used before.
Me: What are some tips you can give on how to survive the
Goatpocalypse?
Spellman:
Hmmmmm, that’s a tough one. Year of the Goat #1 is broken into three
different parts of the U.S. and in each instance, the goats are very quick to
move. Where they are headed will be explained later. So my first
idea would be to stay where you are and stay out of site. Let the goats
migrate. If they see you, you’re in trouble. Second, if you live on
a farm, or work in a petting zoo, or some other goat entrenched area, good luck
because by time you know what’s going on, it’s too late. You’re screwed.
And if you see the goats, do not try to stop them. They look weird
and harmless but they are actually very skilled and powerful. Man, I can’t
wait to get to further issues and explain what’s really going on!
Me: You’re working with the same artist who was also a part
of Time Stop, Rafael Chrestani. How would you describe his art
style and why did you think he was the right artist for this project?
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| Year of the Goat Issue #1 Page 4 |
Spellman:
I chose Rafael for Time Stop because the story needed to be
realistic, which defines his drawing style. When I came up with the idea
for goats, I threw the idea past him and said, do you think you can draw this?
It’s a goat that is standing like a man and has human characteristics.
When Rafael sent me knocked me off my chair. At that point I knew Rafael
would be perfect for bringing my idea to life. Also, Rafael and I have
become friends and I’m very excited to be working with him. He is still
drawing the final pages of Time Stop so we are in constant contact.
Me: John Rudwall did the red shading and lettering for the comic
book. Why did you have someone other than Chrestani doing the shading and how
would you describe Rudwall’s work on the book?
Spellman:
John is a friend of mine that has a
photoshop and printing background. He is lettering editing and preparing
the final version of Time Stop. My idea for goats was to make it a black
and white comic. Then I had the idea, since it is such a brutal, bloody
comic, how cool would it be if only blood was red? John took a bloody
page, colored with red and it looked great. He then took another page
with no blood but added red to anything on the page that would be red. I
loved it and we decided to run with the idea. It’s a black, white and red
comic.
Me: Thanks for your time Tom and best of luck
surviving the Goatpocalypse!
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| Year of the Goat Customized Demon Goat Figure |
Do you
have an Indiegogo or Kickstarter? Want to be interviewed about it and have it
showcased on “Kickstart the Week?” Let me know in the comments below or message
me on www.comicmaven.com.
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