Monsterly
Monsters live among us.
It is possible to publish during the pandemic.
Writer/photographer/U.S. diplomat Damian Wampler again teams with the emerging talent of artist Elisabeth Mkheidze on a new and breathtaking graphic novel called Monsterly.
After the success of their collaboration on the thrilling sci-fi graphic novel Monitor, Damian and Elisabeth are working to take readers on another ride with the a fantasy drama about a world where monsters and humans coexist.
The story: A middle-class suburban family, part human, part monster, tries to survive the growing anti-monster backlash after a young monster dies while in police custody.
In 842, a Moravian king discovered a portal connecting our world to a kaleidoscope dimensions full of monsters. Now, humans and monsters coexist and sometimes intermarry. In present day San Francisco, one family of half-monsters will have to choose sides as their city erupts in anti-monster violence after a young half-monster is beaten to death while in police custody.
Damian and Elisabeth are thrilled to be partnered with Markosia Enterprises, a leading UK publisher known for high-quality graphic novels. Some of the creators that have worked on Markosia titles include ‘Midnight Kiss’ artist Ryan Stegman (Superior Spider-Man), ‘Starship Troopers’ artist Neil Edwards (Fantastic Four), ‘Of Bitter Souls’ artist Norm Breyfogle (Batman), ‘Dark Mists’ artist Lee Garbett (Batman), ‘Scatterbrain’ artist Szymon Kudranski (30 Days of Night) and many more.
Monsterly first appeared as a short story in the award-winning Gwan Anthology Volume Two. But there was much more story to tell, and Damian drafted an outline for a story of love and strife in an alternate San Francisco where monsters and humans coexist.
Monsterly is a story that allows readers to understand the true emotional cost of hate, bigotry, and discrimination. As the world reevaluates our common past and our relationship with race and racism, I wanted to write a personal story looked at one average family just trying to make it through the day. I avoid politics, and I don’t choose sides. The focus of the story is family, love, honor, and, even in the darkest times, hope. I felt like this was a story that needed to be told, and needed to be told now.
– Damian Wampler
Monsterly will be available in print and digital formats in 2021.