The Witch Salome casts a six-part spell from the top-floor suite of Hotel Constantinople, a mass sacrifice to renew an ancient contract.

A lucky few avoid the first enchantment, and in the chaos have to decide to make a run for the roof, or to stay and try to defeat Salome. 

(Cover by Monika Maccagni)

This is part 1 of 2, but is a FULL STANDALONE 120 page graphic novel in it's own right that works up to a climactic showdown. 

Drawn by Jared Jewell, edited by Narwhal. Colors by Jared Jewell and Narwhal. Co-written by Narwhal and Jared.

The art is 100% done. However, this campaign will stay open for AT LEAST 4 MONTHS, to ensure as many people as possible get a chance to experience this comic. 

A COLLABORATION WITH LEGENDARY CARTOONIST JARED JEWELL

Narwhal met Jared 12 years ago in Iowa City at an animation/game dev student organization on campus. Jared organized a comic-jam within the club, and Narwhal noticed his iconic style even then. Jared's influence pulls a lot from 1950s UPA-style, German Expressionist painting and 1970s gekiga, as well as some contemporary artists like Thom Moore and Natsume Ono. In an era where almost all cartoony styles look like adventure time, Jared's style stands out. Narwhal literally refers to it in shorthand as 'Jared's Iconic Style' when discussing art direction. While Narwhal and Jared have assisted each other on some smaller projects, HOTEL STORY struck them as the standout script to feature Jared's unique aesthetic.

The GAG story

In horror stories, "gags" aren't jokes.  A "gag" is a clever bit of gore SFX. They can be gross, surprising, and fun.  Sam Raimi packed his early movies with gags, as did Peter Jackson.

Gags aren't so much written as they are storyboarded and brainstormed and improvised with the tools at hand, and lots of fake blood, they are VISUAL but beyond that they are TACTILE.

Hotel Story is PACKED with gags, this was a North Star when creating the story.  The original working title of the script was 'Hotel Gag Story.'  

A NARWHAL JOINT influenced by Demons 2, Evil Dead 2, and Dead Alive. 

Narwhal has built a brand where readers can expect long, immersive comics that pull the reader in to be read in one sitting, and feel like they are moving.   If you've read one, you know!

THE SECOND BOOK        "T H E   O B O L"

48 pages, black and white, perfect bound

Last spring, Jared took a break from Hotel Story to create a comic for a convention in Iowa City. He wrote, drew, and lettered a 48 page haunting-horror comic in 4 weeks (an amazing feat), and sent it to Narwhal. Narwhal loved it.

An  artifact smuggler plans on meeting up with a mysterious benefactor on a riverboat to complete a transaction. While on the lookout, he crosses paths with a detective in the middle of a case.  All the while, a dense fog drifts in and strange things start happening.

Combined with Hotel Story, the Obol makes this a pretty special debut for Jared Jewell.

THE MAKING OF HOTEL STORY

64 pages, black and white, perfect bound.

The entire script was brainstormed and written through an email correspondence, as well as video meetings in which heavy notes were taken.  The behind the scene content form a narrative of it's own: Narwhal reaching out to Jared for a collaboration. They develop an interesting new workflow involving 2d character art drawn over 3d low poly backgrounds, with special attention to character and environment designs, and in all this Jared brings his own special sensibilities and ethos to the project.  

Narwhal and Jared will also be documenting and sharing their process of making the animated trailer for Hotel Story featured above.

Lastly, the making of will feature a short comic called GARY LORE, about the lore of Gary, one of the more interesting characters in Hotel Story.  Who is Gary, you may ask? Gary is a piece of shit!  Just such a piece of shit.  He's based on the parts of Narwhal that Narwhal has buried deep.