Exclusive Reveal: John J. Pearson's Macabre Valley #1 Cover Art

Get your first look at John J. Pearson's beastly cover for Macabre Valley #1, the new comic from Zack Quaintance and Anna Readman.

Last week, Dread Central announced the Kickstarter pre-launch for Zack Quaintance and Anna Readman’s Macabre Valley #1. Set in Texas, the grindhouse-infused horror comic is based on Quaintance’s own experiences as a young reporter investigating life on the border. In an effort to properly convey his emotional reality from the past and his feelings about the eradication of local news, Quaintance incorporates a lot of blood and a clerically collared lycanthrope. Makes total sense to us.

Readers caught a glimpse of the story in The Death of Comics Bookcase anthology, which we discussed in last year's podcast with Quantance. It’s a gnarly tale, for sure, but Macabre Valley is deeply personal and fervently embraces the medium of comics.

We’re excited to share with you an exclusive look at John J. Pearson’s Macabre Valley variant cover. You’ve seen Pearson’s work all over the place, having worked for DC, Image, Vault, Z2, Heavy Metal, Netflix, Rue Morgue Magazine, Arrow Video, and The Ray Harryhausen Foundation. In 2021, for his work on the Image Comics series Blue in Green, he received the Eisner for Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Interior Art) alongside collaborator Anand RK.

Below, stare into the eyes of the Macabre Valley beast and read the full press release for the comic. Most importantly, make sure you check out the Kickstarter page and consider signing up for the pre-launch. We certainly did.

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TEXAN WEREWOLF GRINDHOUSE COMIC MACABRE VALLEY BY AWARD-WINNING CREATORS ZACK QUAINTANCE AND ANNA READMAN TO LAUNCH ON KICKSTARTER

Just in time for Halloween season, fans will soon be able to back the new miniseries inspired by both Quaintance’s real-life experiences reporting on the U.S.-Mexico Border and classic monster horror

Brooklyn, NY (8/22/2025)—This Halloween season, comic book fans will have a new reason to howl with excitement. Esteemed comics journalist and writer Zack Quaintance (Death of Comics Bookcase), who is a part of 2025 Eisner Award-winning Comics Beat team, and rising star artist Anna Readman (2000AD), who just won the United Kingdom’s prestigious Observer/Faber graphic short story prize, are teaming up for the Texan werewolf grindhouse comic book miniseries, Macabre Valley. Joining Quaintance and Readman on the title are seasoned comics colorist Brad Simpson (Universal Monsters: The Invisible Man), Eisner-nominated letterer Becca Carey (Exquisite Corpses), and celebrated designer Jared K. Fletcher (Paper Girls). 

A Kickstarter campaign for the horror miniseries—which was initially previewed in last year’s crowdfunding smash-hit, Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1—will launch in mid-September, with an early pre-launch page that is up now so that folks looking to score the comic can be notified when the campaign goes live. Not only will the 30-page issue #1 be available to back, but for those looking for an extra bite, additional exciting tiers of rewards will include a variant cover by artist John J. Pearson (In Bloom, Mindset), an exclusive collectible Macabre Valley postcard, prints by Tony McMillen (Attaboy) and Raul Allen (Dune, Secret Weapons), a comics journalism 101 Zoom class taught by Quaintance, and more. Fans will also be able to get their paws on a limited and numbered black-and-white artist edition, where readers can see all of Readman’s gritty, detailed inks in their full terrifying glory. The campaign is slated to be fulfilled by Halloween so that readers will have the perfect scary story to read on All Hallows Eve to get into the spooky spirit.

Set in Texas, Macabre Valley is not just about the carnage delivered by a clerically-collared lycanthrope on the loose, but also about the death of the local news itself. In the comic, a young reporter gets a job covering the night cops beat at a newspaper in South Texas. When a Border Patrol agent is gruesomely murdered, our hero must untangle a violent mystery with a beloved local priest and a werewolf at its dark center.

"Right after college, I spent five years as a newspaper reporter in South Texas, a wild place filled with news and legends,” said Quaintance. “I was in way over my head. It didn't go well, and it's always felt like a bit of a horror story to me—so now we’re taking my real-life experiences and crafting a fantastical, monster-filled version of events. Fortunately, some of the most talented folks in comics have joined me on this project. By doing the comic through Kickstarter, we'll be able to do the book our own way, with all the twists, gore, and gritty terror this story demands. It's going to get bloody, y'all!"

"I’ve always loved the stoic romantic notions of Americana and the Southern Gothic,” said Readman. “From the melancholy notes of Townes Van Zandt to the pensive prose of Cormac McCarthy, the weird world of the Southwest has always been alluring to me. So when Zack sent me the script to Macabre Valley it was an immediate yes. Plus, drawing tattered cowboys is always fun!"

This marks the third Kickstarter comics project for Quaintance’s independent Comics Bookcase publishing imprint. Most recently, the imprint launched Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1, in 2024, featuring artwork by a murderer’s row of comics artists, including Readman, Nick Cagnetti, John McCrea, Ryan Lee, P.J. Holden, and more. That campaign was a big success, raising $12,000.

Macabre Valley #1 is currently in Kickstarter pre-launch, with the full campaign slated to begin in mid-September.

Early praise:

“Macabre Valley is a lycanthropic blast. It’s scary, fun, and oh so very Texas.”—Chris Condon (Ultimate Wolverine, That Texas Blood, News from the Fallout)

Praise for Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1:

“I’m a sucker for a good anthology, and Death of Comics Bookcase scratched that itch nicely. Zack Quaintance and a range of artists enjoyably maintain a tone of inspired lunacy, mixed with some wry meta commentary on comics and those who love them.”—John Lees (Sink, The Nasty)

“Death of Comics Bookcase harkens back to a simpler, more chaotic time for mainstream comics - a potent blend of genres, styles, and personalities that will keep readers guessing and hungry for more.”—Alex Segura (best-selling author of Secret Identity)

For press inquiries please reach out to Cat Nuwer at cat@damnfinepublicity.com.

ABOUT COMICS BOOKCASE

Comics Bookcase was a comic book news and review website created and run by Zack Quaintance. It’s now the publishing imprint for Quaintance’s independent comics, including last year’s smash hit anthology, Death of Comics Bookcase, Vol. 1, which featured artwork by John McCrea, Nick Cagnetti, Ryan Lee, and more. To date, Comics Bookcase projects have raised nearly $20,000 from 600+ backers. You can follow Comics Bookcase via the monthly newsletter and its popular Instagram account (@comicsbookcase).

ABOUT ZACK QUAINTANCE

Zack is an award-winning journalist and the Reviews Editor at 2025 Eisner Award-winning outlet Comics Beat. He is also the creator of Comics Bookcase, and his reporting and short fiction have been published by NPR and Tin House, among other outlets. He is based in Brooklyn, N.Y.

ABOUT ANNA READMAN

Anna Readman is a cartoonist and illustrator based in the U.K. A graduate from Leeds Arts University, she has produced work for 2000 A.D., Z2 Comics, and more. Her 4-page comic, Dancing Queen, recently won the Observer/Faber Graphic Short Story Prize.