McNamara, Hinkle crowdsource The Rattler

 

Jason McNamara and Greg Hinkle are turning to Kickstarter to crowd fund their hardcover graphic novel, The Rattler. At its core, the tale told over 96 mostly black and white pages is a love story, but with a classic horror twist. McNamara describes the book as “It’s a tragic love story about the moments that change and define our lives, the choices we make, and the things we sacrifice along the way.”

Ten years ago, Stephen Thorn watched helplessly as his fiancee vanished without a trace. Now, he’s hearing her voice in the strangest of places. McNamara says the lines between horror and love stories aren’t as blurred as one might think.

“It doesn’t take much for a love story to become an emotional horror story, really. Both involve extreme emotions and are tied to your personal identity, which makes for compelling character motivations.”

McNamara became enamoured with the horror genre at an early age, thanks to his father. “He took me to almost every 80’s horror movie that came out in theatres. I have a very satisfying memory of explaining the transformation scene inAmerican Werewolf in London to my second-grade teacher,” he said. “With the Rattler, I wanted to re-create the feeling and the pacing of 70’s horror. I tried to imagine I was writing the script for John Carpenter in his prime. Even the page count of the book was meant to mirror the running time of my favorite films.”

Hinkle, the book’s artist, helped McNamara get this project off the ground in a big way. “A good collaborator will elevate your own work,” he said. “I had the idea for the Rattler for years but never got around to writing it until I met Greg. His art style is both cartoonish and realistic, creating this almost other-worldly atmosphere and tone. Greg’s work inspired me to finally script the Rattler, so I’ve only ever imagined doing the book with him. He’s as invested as I am in creating the best book we can. I got lucky; collaborators like that are hard to find.”

The book’s art is black and white with the occasional addition of red for blood. It was Hinkle’s idea to strip away all but the red from pages.

“Horror, when it’s effective, is about isolating an emotion in your audience. And in a horror comic you’ve only got so many pages to set the tone before you start confusing readers,” McNamara said. “By removing the comfort of “color,” I think it’s easier to create the mood and expectation of what’s to come.

“Greg suggested adding reds for the blood because, quite frankly, blood does not have the same impact when it’s printed in black,” he added. “My initial thought was that this would come off as corny but Greg proved me wrong. The amount of red in the book increases with the conflict and really enhances the reading experience.”

The idea of crowdsourcing is a new one for McNamara, but self-publishing is not; McNamara already has several titles under his belt, including Continuity and The Martian Confederacy. “The base mechanics are the same: if there isn’t enough interest in your book it doesn’t get distributed,” he said. “Far from household names, Greg and I would have a much harder time getting our book noticed in the Diamond catalogue, where inevitably we’re competing with Batman. That’s not to say we won’t ever go through the direct market with the Rattler but it doesn’t make sense as a healthy first step for this book.”

The pair are looking to raise $4600 through the campaign, which kicked off on March 27th. If you’d like to contribute or to learn more about the project, visit https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1573718555/the-rattler-a-96-page-graphic-novel-by-mcnamara-an?ref=live.

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