Storm King Comics has announced it will release Cathedral, the first original graphic novel written by legendary filmmaker, composer, and co-founder John Carpenter. Written with his partner and editor Sandy King, and Sean Sobczak (John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight), the horror comic revolves around a murder investigation at an abandoned cathedral, that soon proves to be genuinely evil. Rounding out the creative team are artists Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna (Heavy Metal), colorist Ryan Winn, and letterer Marshall Dillon.
The middle of downtown Los Angeles sets the scene for John Carpenter’s Cathedral, where an abandoned cathedral stands, fenced in and ignored by the world around it. The preoccupied passers-by have long since ceased to notice the dilapidated church in their midst, never mind sensing the danger and centuries old evil trapped inside its walls.
A gruesome murder one late night pulls the structure into the spotlight, triggering a police investigation into the loss of one of their own. Lieutenant Christine Marks, along with detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield, must enter the church in search of the monster that murdered her father. Every step takes them deeper into the belly of the church revealing the mystery of an ancient evil imprisoned within.
Carpenter states, “I saw it in a dream: a nightmare landscape deep underground filled with monsters too weird and sinister to exist in daylight. I knew instantly I had to get these things out of my head and into everyone else’s brains.” Sandy King adds, “We have a saying at Storm King, ‘Every dream should be a nightmare.’ By reading Cathedral, you can take John’s dream and let it become your next nightmare.”
The book will be accompanied by an original soundtrack, presumably composed by Carpenter himself, though details will be confirmed at a later date. The 78-year old has scored many of his own films, including Halloween, and has continued to release albums, even though his last film, The Ward, came out in 2010. Along with the books released by Storm King (which was founded in 2015), his credits in the comics industry include 2020’s DC release The Joker: Year of the Villain, and BOOM! Studios’ Big Trouble in Little China: Old Man Jack.
Carpenter will promote Cathedral at this weekend’s MegaCon Orlando, while King will do so at Cincinnati’s HorrorHound Weekend, at booth i116-i118. It will be released online and in bookstores on August 4, as well as comics stores the following day, and retail at 120 pages for $22.99. You can sign up for updates in the meantime on the official website.
