Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary won the 2022 Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel this Saturday at StokerCon 2023 in Pittsburgh, PA.

The 188-page graphic novel contains 12 all-new contributions from the world of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, which began in 1972 as a TV movie starring Darren McGavin as the title monster-hunting reporter and went on to become a TV series earning cult status that famously inspired X-Files creator Chris Carter.

The anthology, which was conceived and edited by James Aquilone (Dead Jack) and published through Moonstone Books, was funded in January 2022 through a Kickstarter campaign that earned a staggering $110,000.

“Winning the Stoker was a dream come true,” Aquilone told Geeks of Doom soon after his win. “To be in the company of such past winners as Alan Moore and Neil Gaiman is a true honor.”

A few years back a short horror film titled The Stylist was released. The short was directed by Jill Gevargizian, who is also known as Jill Sixx, and starred Najarra Townsend (Contracted, Me and You and Everyone We Know).

Now Gevargizian is hoping to make her feature directorial debut with an adaptation of The Stylist, with Townsend reprising her role from the short. To help make it happen, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund the project.

You can find more info below, along with the Kickstarter video and the 15-minute original short film if you’ve never seen it before.

Shared universes in literature and movies are an awesome idea, and when all creators involved are passionate about their individual projects as well as the larger universe itself, amazing things can be accomplished. Just look at what Marvel and Disney have done with their cinematic universe.

Silver Empire – a small independent publisher from husband and wife team Russell Newquist and Morgon Newquist – has set out to create such a world. Russell and Morgon have launched a Kickstarter for “Heroes Unleashed” Phase 1, the first set of novels taking place in a shared superhero world. The campaign has almost doubled its goal, now sitting at close to $2K. But there’s still 11 days to support Silver Empire’s endeavor!

I was able to have a chat with some of the creators and minds behind “Heroes Unleashed,” which you can check out below!

Over the past few years, I’ve found that one of the best places to discover independent comic book creators is via the crowdfunding site Kickstarter. For those interested in self-publishing their stories – whether in lieu of or on the road to traditional publishing – Kickstarter is a great avenue to get their books in the eyes of others, and to begin building a solid fanbase.

One such upcoming book, currently raising funds on Kickstarter, is Spirits: The Soul Collector by Colin Lawler and Joseph Grabowski. With 10 days to go, the book is very close to reaching its intended goal of $7,000 (and may have already passed it by the time you read this). From the synopsis of the story and the unique cartoon style of illustration, Spirits looks to be a fun all-ages series that I can’t wait to get my hands on.

Lawler and Grabowski were generous enough to spend some time with Geeks of Doom, discussing Spirits and more. Continue below to check out the interview and watch their Kickstarter video.

This Off Beat Town, Issues 1-4
Written and Illustrated by Jake Smith
Dead Gremlin Comix
Release Date: April, 2018
Cover Price: $3.00

What do you get when you place together on the pages of a comic book series a mercenary monkey, flying robots, a mad scientist, and cloning experiments gone wrong? You get This Off Beat Town: an awesomely unique action-packed world full of adventure, danger, and a whole slew of crass characters.

Felix is a mercenary. He’s also a monkey. And he’s made one mad scientist very angry. On the run from a multitude of enemies bent on completing a successful hit on Felix, he must evade their attempts on his life while also deciding whether or not saving the life of hipster chef friend is worth the extra trouble.