Built For Strange, Human Stories That Don’t Fully Behave – Kinjin Storylab Is Taking Shape
by Brendan M. Allen
Where the strange feels human; a new, independent, creator-owned studio is being built around the mind of Dan Goldman.
Kinjin Storylab endeavors to develop original, genre-bending narratives across multiple mediums. Material is released through serialized comics and weekly storytelling before taking its ultimate shape. Each format is immersive, one feeding into the next, creating a continuous loop between release and final form, guided at every stage by Goldman’s hand.
The stories move fluidly between humor and horror, surrealism and realism. Characters wander through strange situations, and ask uncomfortable questions. Sometimes, they uncover something deeply human beneath the absurdity. The work is visually distinctive, emotionally grounded, and unafraid to dive deep into the weird.
Goldman’s practice spans comics, prose, games, film, and audio, with credits including Chasing Echoes, Priya’s Shakti, and Shooting War, along with writing for projects such as Silent Hill: Ascension, The Walking Dead: No Man’s Land, Cartoon Network’s Mega Man: Fully Charged, and Ubisoft’s The Division: Resurgence.
“The dirtiest word in the English language right now is ‘content’ because we’ve watched it flatten Art into a market-first product to be monetized” says Goldman. “I don’t believe this is what people want at all: stories that should shift hearts and move culture are instead optimized for algorithmic recs and product funnels. We need to feel raw, messy emotional truth to make sense of our own lives and connect to others.
“I founded Kinjin Storylab as a push-back to this. By harnessing the early internet’s tools like newsletters and webcomics and print books, we are here to take big swings, tell uncompromising stories, and draw in readers hungry to engage with something true.”
It’s the kind of storytelling you don’t scroll past. Stories that don’t fully behave, but still feel honest.
There’s more unfolding at Kinjin Storylab’s website.
