WesterNoir Special!

Can you help push our Kickstarter over the edge?

With just a few days left, WesterNoir: Double Shot is still a ways off being funded. We’re really hoping that this last push will give us what we need to bring these great comics to you. Even if you can’t back us, sharing the campaign would mean a lot.

To encourage you, we’ve put together a special double interview special with Dave West (WesterNoir creator and writer) and Jemma West (writer on Moon Cursed). Read on for insights into writing, collaboration, and more!

Find WesterNoir: Double Shot’s Kickstarter here!

Katie, Digital Overlord

The Basics

Our newest Kickstarter campaign brings together Volume 3 of Josiah Black’s ongoing saga, and stand-alone story Moon Cursed, which Quantum readers might remember running in the anthology last year. Both books are full of WesterNoir’s unique mix of horror, mythology and western tropes.

From creators Dave West and Gary Crutchley, WesterNoir’s central story follows gunslinger Josiah Black. Told he was the last line of defense protecting humanity from hidden horrors, Black became a ruthless monster slayer. However, Volume 3 sees him decide that he was duped into seeing monsters where none existed. Instead, he dedicates himself to helping a man whose own story is reaching its own terrible end.

Moon Cursed tells a new story in the world of WesterNoir. Co-written by Jemma West, with art by Joseph Villar Parangue and colours by Matt Soffe, it stars the mysterious Mrs Jones as she arranges a wagon trail across the Wild West with the aim of luring out a creature with a connection to her own past.

Backers of WesterNoir: Double Shot will receive bonus prints and limited edition minifigs, based on protagonists Mrs Jones and Josiah Black!

There are even special one-off Mrs Jones, painted by Dave himself!

WesterNoir creator and writer, Dave West on Volume 3

We had a quick chat with Dave on what you can look forward to in Volume 3 of Josiah’s saga.

Q: This new volume sees Josiah challenged in new ways, what made you decide to do that with the character?

Dave: There is a larger story behind a lot of my comics. Each character appears in a tale that seems to be purely their own until a certain point. At this point these characters meet and the reader gets the sense of the larger story. In the first volume we introduce monsters into the Wild West and in the second volume we turn this on its head a bit. Volume 3 turns it back again. We want the reader to learn about this weird west at the same time as Josiah himself.

Q: WesterNoir twists a lot of western tropes with horror. What are you especially looking forward to readers exploring in Vol. 3?

Dave: There are aspects of volume 3 that are pure western. Gary and his grew up when westerns were always on the tv screen in some form or another. Great TV series and solid movies influenced us both growing up and we wanted people to learn a bit about Josiah Black before he became the monster hunter, to learn a bit about his code, his morals. To help people understand why he is who he is at the start of Vol. 1. So we see his early life as well as events that take place after Vol. 2. Some of the subject matter was hard to write but did happen in the real world at this time and we mustn’t pretend it didn’t. And this helped shape the man.

Q: Gary Crutchley’s art has continued to evolve as the series progresses. Are you leaning into this in your writing, looking for new ways to explore the WesterNoir world?

Dave: Gary’s artwork has always been great but I can see his growth over the books. Solid story telling and some wonderfully designed layouts. To be honest most of this book was written by Gary and I’m sure that he had the visuals in his head as he wrote it. My role was to make sure it didn’t wander far from the path to the story’s end. A little wandering, especially when it builds in the character, isn’t a problem though.

Q: The minifigs are an especially fun part of this campaign. What was the thought process behind creating them?

I love painting figures and have played D&D for a very long time. We want to produce a WesterNoir roll playing game one day. Getting the figures was a nice way to start this, and it’s much easier painting a figure than working out all the rules that a game requires. We plan to do a whole range of them. I’m very pleased with the ones we have so far. They look so cool.

WesterNoir: Moon Cursed writer Jemma West on her new story

We spoke to Jemma about adding to the WesterNoir universe and what it takes to create a new horror classic.

Q: You’re the first new writer to work in the WesterNoir universe, what was that like?

Jemma: It has definitely been a daunting task, but also an exciting one.

When WesterNoir was created, all the way back in the late-2000s, Gary Crutchley and Dave West had a rather specific vision for the story they wanted to tell. Expanding from that was always going to be a challenge, wanting to keep the same tone without simply repeating what has already been done.

Thankfully, both Gary and Dave have been really receptive and helpful, especially with the Moon Cursed story. It’s allowed me to sculpt a unique story within this universe while still staying true to the original vision and hopefully that is something that can be felt throughout the series.

Q: What were you looking to achieve in this story, what did you want to introduce to the world of WesterNoir?

Jemma: I think the main goal was to create a new perspective of the Old West which has become so familiar to the readers of WesterNoir. We wanted to craft a story which focuses more on how the supernatural affects the everyday, looking more to the background characters and how they understand this world.

There is also going to be more history brought into the series as it continues, particularly in regards to our protagonist and the creatures that she comes across throughout the wider series.

Q: ‘Mrs Jones’ is a very different sort of protagonist to Josiah Black, was that deliberate?

Jemma: When we were coming up with the character of ‘Mrs Jones’, we didn’t really have Josiah Black in mind at all. Instead, we had a list of qualities that we wanted her to possess and she grew from there. It was once we had a basic idea of who she would be that we started to think about how we can differentiate her from Josiah.

The main difference that we found that we wanted to focus on is the gap in experience between the two. ‘Jones’ has been filling the role of monster hunter for a long time and, as her backstory will hopefully reveal over time, has had the training to go along with it. Black was pretty much thrown in the deep-end with little warning.

This has also left her with a particularly ruthless approach to her job, an approach that has left her holding little regard for the people around her when there is a job she needs to do. But there is also a loneliness to her that we wanted to tackle with her, something that will be challenged.

Q: Artist Joseph Parangue and colourist Matt Soffe bring a new, moody, stylised feel to the comic that sets it apart from the main WesterNoir story, was that important to you in creating this story?

Jemma: It is absolutely one of the most important elements for a series like WesterNoir. There is such a unique tone to the series that we wanted to be able to carry that over to Moon Cursed and Joseph and Matt were absolutely crucial in creating that feeling.

Joseph’s art has always been so impressive, having enjoyed his work in Scar and a couple of projects that will be published in the future! It captures a wildness and emotionality that runs as an undercurrent in Moon Cursed, the style seamlessly weaving into the story.

Matt’s work will be familiar to anyone who has read the colourised WesterNoir volumes. He really captures a specific feel of the Old West, mixing in the grime of the time while still keeping it vibrant and alive.

It’s been a privilege to have them work on this story, and hopefully readers will be able to fully appreciate their work in all its glory.

Thanks so much to Jemma and Dave for their time. You can check out the Kickstarter here!

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