An Introduction
(If you want to skip my rambling and get right to the comic, then click here!)
If I had to venture a guess, I would say the genesis of BEFORE DAWN– for me- started somewhere in the mid-90s.
For writers like myself, ideas for stories grow over time. During this time, other ideas would come along and attach themselves to the original idea. Some of these thoughts and possibilities would stick to the original idea and mutate with it. Others would cling on for deal life only to fall by the wayside or attach itself to another idea or even become it’s own story idea.
BEFORE DAWN was different. BEFORE DAWN literally came together in a matter of days. I knew what it was going to be from the beginning: a love letter to some of my favorite horror films from the 80s and early 90s. I wanted the germ of the story to start off simple but grow crazier and more batshit crazy as it went along. If you’re a horror fan, you will (hopefully) see shoutouts to EVIL DEAD and NIGHT OF THE DEMONS just to name.
But BEFORE DAWN would not have become a reality without illustrator Jason Whitley.
I met Jason through an ad I had placed on Digital Webbing looking for an artist / collaborator to help bring BEFORE DAWN to life. None of the submissions I received held a candle to what Jason submitted. Not even close! Jason’s art style fit perfectly with the story, giving it that fantastic CREEPY / EERIE feel which it needed. Plus, Jason is as big a horror fan as I am. So he got all my movie references and visual cues while giving some great feedback and suggestions which made BEFORE DAWN even better than I had hoped. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner on the project.
You can learn more about Jason and his great art work by visiting his site.
Our collaboration led to the publication of BEFORE DAWN in 2005 as a graphic novel which was distributed by Diamond and received some favorable reviews by the likes of Sam Raimi (yeah- THAT Sam Raimi), Rue Morgue magazine, and coverage in Fangoria which as a kid who grew up reading Fangoria in the 80s blew my mind!
Despite the positive reviews and selling out almost all of the first print run, BEFORE DAWN, unfortunately, found itself put on the back burner for both Jason and I. We had ideas on where to take the story next. I even put together an outline which takes things in a different, more bizarre direction. But things never came together due to a multitude of reasons.
But over the years, I would pull up my outline for the BEFORE DAWN sequel and just tinker with it some more. Even going so far as to add notes as to what could happen in the third part of BEFORE DAWN.
For now though, I’m just taking mine and Jason’s baby out, dusting it off, putting it online, and seeing what happens.
Even now, while putting this introduction together, I find myself wanting to open my BEFORE DAWN sequel outline and see what new ideas I can add to it. Only time will tell if something comes out of it!
If you do read BEFORE DAWN– please show your support by leaving a comment or by letting your friends know about it on social media. You are also more than welcome to send us your thoughts via email if you wish.
Thanks for taking the time to check out our bloody little baby. Cheers!
Wesley
