Tynion IV And Fullerton Release Unannounced Horror ‘The Closet’ On Substack
by Brendan M. Allen
James Tynion IV and Gavin Fullerton have released the oversized first issue of their previously unannounced horror miniseries, The Closet on Substack. This is his second comic book feature released on Substack following the launch of Blue Book with Michael Avon Oeming last September.
The Closet will run on Tynion’s Substack Newsletter for three oversized issues, clocking in at roughly 30 pages apiece, over the next few months. The comic tells the story of a young boy who believes he is tormented by a monster that lives in his closet, and the father who can’t bring himself to take his son’s fear seriously in the face of a cross-country move. Tynion calls the piece a “Horror Novella in Three Acts.”
“This is a story that I’ve been trying to figure out how to write for a very long time, loosely based on a recurring nightmare I had as a five-year-old moving from New York City to Milwaukee, WI,” Tynion said. “The trouble was, I always wanted to make the story a bit bigger than it had any right to be when the concept is almost too simple to hang a longform story on. It took me sitting down and realizing the shape of the uncomfortable emotions I wanted to play with in the piece, and stripping everything else away, that I finally saw the focused piece of emotional horror I was setting out to tell.”
Tynion’s other horror efforts, like BOOM! Studios’ comic book series Something is Killing the Children, as well as the sales powerhouses The Department of Truth at Image Comics, and The Nice House on the Lake at DC Black Label have all been highly successful in the last two years. Something is Killing the Children was nominated for Best New Series at the 2020 Eisner Awards. The Department of Truth was nominated for Best New Series and Best Continuing Series at the 2021 Eisner Awards. The Nice House on the Lake topped many end of year lists. All three series are ongoing.
“Shortly after I made the decision to sign with Substack, I had the idea of how to finally bring my childhood nightmare to life in a short, focused horror story.” Tynion continued. “In the past, when I was predominantly working on licensed comics, having a new idea was always a little bit of a heartbreak. Knowing it would be years before I could put it to the page. But this time, I had the idea, reached out to an artist whose work I admired, and then started writing the piece in the span of a few days. The Closet is the project that taught me the thrill of being a free agent for the first time in years, able to chase a fresh idea while it’s new and I’m most excited about it.”
Readers can subscribe to Tynion’s newsletter on Substack for $7 a month. Paid subscribers will receive issues of The Closet directly in their inboxes, be able to read them on the Substack website, and download them in either the PDF or CBZ format. Paid Subscribers will also be able to download issues on the Panels app for i0s.
“The set up of our story I’m sure will be familiar to many horror fans. A little boy is afraid of the monster in his closet,” said Gavin Fullerton. “But also many horror fans will know that these familiar tropes are there to guide the audience into something much much deeper. Maybe it will compel you to look into your own closet and force you to confront what you find there. Or maybe you’ll just have fun reading a spooky story. I hope you enjoy it in any case! “
The Closet is co-created and written by James Tynion IV, co-created and drawn by Gavin Fullerton, colored by Chris O’Halloran, lettered by Tom Napolitano, edited by Greg Lockard, with design by Dylan Todd.