Earlier this year, Grimmcore Studios was announced to the public as the newest horror comics publisher to crash into the independent comics scene. Founded by experienced comics editor and publisher Daniel Grimm, the company is focused on creating new original horror stories and curating classic comics from the past for modern audiences to enjoy.
The company started off strong with its first comic announcement. ‘The Return of Camazotz’ is an upcoming horror graphic novel following twin brothers as they face an ancient curse involving the demonic Mayan god of bats, Camazotz. The series, written by Rafael Flores Jr. with art by Azrael Aguiar, is set to release its first chapter in October 2023, with the full story arc releasing in early 2024. The short comic version of the graphic novel was a finalist in the Negative Space short comics competition in 2022, which was enough to convince Daniel that this was the right title to spearhead the new line of horror comics coming out of Grimmcore Studios.
We caught up with Daniel Grimm to talk about his inspiration behind Grimmcore Studios and get some insight into what we can expect from the publisher in the future:
GC: Hi Daniel. Great to have you on the blog.
DG: Thanks for having me!
GC: Before we get started, why don’t you introduce yourself to the audience? Who is Daniel Grimm?
DG: You’ll get a lot of different answers to that depending on who you ask (laughs). Well, I’m Daniel Grimm. I’m a writer, editor and publisher based in Philadelphia. All of my life I dreamed about making comics, and shortly after I graduated high school I decided I would do everything I could to achieve my childhood dream. I got my first job in the comics industry as an editor for Konkret Comics, an independent superhero comics company. A year after that I became their Editor in Chief and worked on a lot of amazing comics there for several years, even publishing my own. After a few years of working as an editor, seeing many of the comics I worked on win awards and be extremely successful in both crowdfunding and direct sales, I gained enough experience that I decided to create my own publisher. And that’s Grimmcore Studios!
GC: What drove you to start this company?
DG: I wanted to be able to tell stories I cared about and help creators produce their dream projects. With Grimmcore Studios, I’m trying to create a space where horror writers and artists can publish their best work without having to worry about being taken advantage of by money-hungry companies who don’t care about quality or micro-managing editors trying to follow strict corporate guidelines. I want creatives to be able to express themselves freely and tell stories that leave a mark on people, something that entertains and makes the audience think and feel something. The freer storytellers are to express themselves, the better stories we’ll be able to provide for our audience. Artistic freedom, creator rights, and top quality are at the forefront of our values as a company.
GC: Why focus on horror?
DG: I started my career writing and working on superhero comics. I’m very proud of most of the superhero series I worked on, but I’m absolutely in love with horror. I genuinely believe that horror is the best genre. It appeals to our most primal emotions and reflects human nature with a level of honesty that you don’t really see in any other genre. The way the genre explores ethics, destiny, and our very mortality is incredible. It’s also ALWAYS enjoyable. Every bad horror movie I’ve ever watched was still a great time because I could find things to enjoy about them. I am convinced that everybody is a potential horror fan, and there is a horror story out there for everyone. It’s that universal of a genre. Part of what I want to do with Grimmcore Studios is to tell those kinds of stories, not only appealing to hardcore horror fans, but also trying to get more people to try out horror for the first time.
GC: What’s your vision for Grimmcore?
DG: I want Grimmcore Studios to be the new EC Comics. When the genre of horror was being developed in comics back in the 50s, EC Comics was the undisputable king, pushing boundaries and inspiring legions of future creators. In the same way, I want this publisher to build a legacy of creating great horror stories that can entertain, inspire, and terrify audiences throughout the world. They're big shoes to fill, but if you're going to shoot for the stars, you might as well pick the brightest one.
GC: What can we expect from Grimmcore Studios in the near future?
DG: Our first comic, ‘The Return of Camazotz’, will be dropping on Kickstarter October 1st, 2023. Rafael Flores is a wonderful writer who came up with a story that has equal parts heart and brutality, a feat that is not easy to accomplish. Azrael Aguiar is bringing his A-Game to this, whenever I see him finish a new page I imagine this is what it must feel like to work at Darkhorse Comics seeing Mignola pages come in. It sounds like an exaggeration, but the art is genuinely that good. This graphic novel will make some waves. We’re also working on starting a podcast where we’ll talk about all things horror, focusing on reviews, news, and interviews with horror creatives. We have a new monthly Substack newsletter where subscribers will be receiving exclusive content like news, book and film recommendations, interviews that will not be included in our podcast, and more importantly: FREE VINTAGE HORROR COMICS! So if you want to get a great dose of old-school, four-color horror comics that inspired greats like Stephen King or John Carpenter, you should subscribe to the newsletter today! We’ve got a whole lot more coming soon, but these are the highlights for now. You’ll have to stay tuned to know what’s next, ghouls!