Altruist Comics launches Wizard of Oz horror comic, Poor Old Ms. West

Launching November 28 on Kickstarter, Poor Old Ms. West is a 24-page one-shot that provides a twisted take on the classic Wizard of Oz characters. The titular Ms. West is terrorized by monsters that attack her home and try to take her life. Rewards include variant covers for each of the monsters, digital and print options, original artwork, and even props created for the photo variant. Backers who are new to Altruist Comics can also catch up on previous releases via add-ons.

“When I had the initial idea for this book,” explains co-creator and publisher Randy Stone, “I cast out a vague Tweet to see if anyone wanted to work on a horror story with me. Dillon stepped up without knowing it had anything to do with Oz, but it turned out he was a huge fan of L. Frank Baum’s book. He brought a new perspective to the story and added a key component that I’m excited for readers to experience.

“I definitely lucked out in the art department as well,” he continues, “Heather Vaughan doesn’t do a ton of interior comic work, so this is a treat for fans. We also have some amazing talent on variant covers, which are available as prints for those not looking to add extra copies to their collection, but want a piece of the artwork.”

The campaign runs from November 28 through December 21, 2023.

Find out more at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/altruistcomics/oz?ref=ctxiqp

Dillon Gilbertson is a writer based in Boston. He got his start in college where classes became a source for story ideas, learning new things and running in the wrong direction with them (comics). Currently best known for the Award-Winning series Sweet Heart, Mandible, ANEW, and Belsnickle in the Ringo! nominated YULE: Dreadful Tales for the Holiday Season.

Heather Vaughan is an award winning illustrator hatched in Philadelphia PA. She has worked in a wide variety of illustration markets including table top games, comics, and movie posters. When she’s not working on art, she can be observed lurking at her local corner bar and being generally obnoxious about snakes, dad rock, and various Philadelphia sports teams. She resides in South Philly with her husband, a lot of snakes and two tarantulas. Go birds.

Joamette Gil is a (gender)queer Afro-Cuban cartoonist, editor, and letterer. Joamette has lettered for multiple Mad Cave titles including Nottingham, Becstar, and more. She’s also the one-man operation known as Power & Magic Press, publisher of such titles as Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy and the award-winning Power & Magic: The Queer Witch Comics Anthology. She is a full-time freelancer living in Portland, Oregon, with two furry gremlins.

Randy Stone has either written, drawn, inked, or lettered various comics, including projects with Scout Comics and Arcana. Through Altruist Comics, Randy has published Bullet, Bullet Adventures, The Sensational Swan, the Crime Pays anthology, and his collection of shorts Death & Comics. All of these were successfully funded here on Kickstarter.

Altruist Comics is making the world better…with comics! This means helping emerging creators and supporting those from underrepresented groups as much as bringing entertainment to the masses. Since 2019, Altruist has published titles ranging from crime and horror to all-ages superhero books, with plenty more in store.

Author Profile

Al Mega

I'm Al Mega the CEO of Comic Crusaders, CEO of the Undercover Capes Podcast Network, CEO of Geekery Magazine & Owner of Splintered Press (coming soon). I'm a fan of comics, cartoons and old school video games. Make sure to check out our podcasts/vidcasts and more!