Our latest SquadCast interview takes place with a pair of comic creators working to fund their latest project, and it is a great concept.
For several years now, writer and editor Russell Nohelty has been working on the multiple volumes of his anthology series Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell for a few years now, and as the project transitions to the next phase he has partnered with Laurie Foster and Unlikely Heroes Studios to repackage the books in an even more accessible format with added material.
The crowdfunding campaign for this special release is running on Backerkit until March 21st.
We spoke with both Russell and Laurie about the project, H.P. Lovecraft and the challenges that his legacy presents in the current social climate, and a whole bunch of other cool stuff.
Russell is an author with credits such as Ichabod Jones: Monster Hunter, The Godsverse Chronicles, and The Obsidian Spindle Saga, as well as being the editor for the Cthulhu is Hard to Spell anthology series. He has also contributed to a bunch of anthologies including: Cthulhu Invades Oz, Monsters and Other Scary Shit, Parallel Worlds, The Edgar Allan Poe Chronicles to name a few.
Laurie is an editor, inker, publisher, cosplayer, and pretty much everything else that you can think of. She runs Unlikely Heroes Studios and if the day has a Y at the end, she is probably running a crowdfunding campaign somewhere.
This conversation focused on the campaign for the excellent Cthulhu Is Hard to Spell, but it also ventured into the realms of the horror genre in general, representation in publishing, and nerdy favorites.
We hope you enjoy the conversation:
What is Cthulhu is Hard to Spell?
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Cthulhu is Hard to Spell is a book steeped in the mythology and gods of Lovecraft. The stories inside its pages follow the spirit of Lovecraft, but sometimes stray from the tone of Lovecraftian horror, too! Sure, some of the stories in this book are Lovecraftian in nature down to their very core, but there are also funny stories, cute stories, fantasy stories, sci-fi stories, and much, much more that build on the Lovecraftian mythos.
If you love Lovecraft, this is our love letter to Lovecraft fans of all kinds, from those who obsess about Cthulhu, to the ones who never want to leave Arkham, to the ones who keep a copy of the Necronomicon under their pillow, and everyone in between. Whether you are a casual fan or a rabid one, we’ve got you covered.
Best of all, this anthology is ALL AGES APPROPRIATE. These aren’t stories made for children, necessarily, at least not all of them, but we toned down the cursing (there is none), the violence (there is no blood), and there was never any sex, to make sure you could show it to your child, even if they won’t understand it all.
The books involve such pros as Kris Simon (Morning Glories, Group Editor at IDW), Megan Hutchinson (Department of Truth, The Approach, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), and Ray Anthony Height (Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur)!
These anthologies were ALREADY released via Kickstarter, but only as enormous hardcovers, so we have decided to re-release them as shorter, more accessible softcover volumes with covers by Stan Yak (TMNT, I Hate Fairyland, Broken Gargoyles) /Robert Nugent, Javiera Argandona, and Emily Maneval. We have also added BRAND NEW stories to each volume by series creator Russell Nohelty and Nicolas Touris, as well as others by Fish Lee, Michael Norwitz, and MORE!
