THE HORRORS
So what are The Horrors? They’re a digital card series developed for the wax blockchain.
And who am I? I’m John, the writer and director of the project. Writer and director, of a set of cards — what the hell are you talking about?! You don’t need a writer for that! Well, you kinda do. From the characters, to the names, to the variant names, and the variants, and the story… well you get the picture. It was all written. And directed, working with an incredibly talented young artist from the North of England.
But the real writing is in the story. A story that’s evolved over the preceding months as we’ve developed the project. At first, it was just an idea for a card series. I pitched a few things to Richie, my partner in crime (or more professionally, my business partner — no crimes have been committed) — but one that stuck was a series of cards inspired by horrifying monsters, from literature to the movies to folklore the world over.
I’m a collector at heart. Always have been, always will be. Whether it’s GPK or Super Nintendo games. My main inspiration came from one such collection: Horror Top Trumps. You might not remember them. You probably don’t. They were quite weird and very British. A bit like me. But they’re a card series that have always stuck in my psyche, from the moment I held that Venusian Death Cell in the school playground. I knew I was looking at something I shouldn’t be. There was something unsettling about the cards, something just… off. And I loved it. And that was what I wanted to capture with The Horrors. A sense that something’s not quite right. Something else is going on. I also wanted my Horrors to have absolutely kick-ass art, which — if you’ll forgive me for blowing my own trumpet — I think they do. No offence Horror Top Trumps, I love you really.
But going back to the writing. The Horrors wasn’t always going to be a comic. However, the more I churned it over, the more I wanted to build a narrative into the series. I’m a storyteller, I can’t help myself. And sure enough, a story emerged. Just a small one at first. A little tale hidden deep in the packs. But it grew into something else. Something bigger. And… I was gonna say weirder, but it was pretty weird from the get-go. In fact, the comic I’ve written is balls-to-the-wall, bat-shit insane. I’ve never read anything like it. In fact, I’ve never seen anything done quite in the way we plan to do it. A card series that quite literally becomes a comic that becomes… well, I won’t spoil it.
I’ve been a writer for a lot of years, but creating a series of cards like those Top Trumps that inspired me all those years ago — not gonna lie, probably one of the most exciting and fun things I’ve ever done.
I hope it unsettles you. Deeply.
You can follow the horrors on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UltraRareUK
Join the telegram: https://t.me/The_Horrors
And for more info on The Horrors, visit: www.ultrarare.uk
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