CALIBER BRINGS TWO ORIGINAL MYSTERIES IN NOVEMBER

Storyville: The Prostitute Murders and Strange Detective Mysteries Debut.

September, 2014

Caliber Comics will be releasing two original mystery graphic novels in November as Strange Detective Mysteries and Storyville: The Prostitute Murders capture the mystery element in two different approaches. The creator owned tales are both self-contained stories yet each can continue with future stories.

In Strange Detective Mysteries, the premise begins with “Who Killed Edgar Allen Poe?” as a mysterious individual brings together a diverse group of men in 1902 New York City to solve the murder of the great horror novelist and poet. The group consists of some of the greatest minds of the new century: Nikola Tesla, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, Bat Masterson and H.G. Wells. Before they realize it, they discover a hideous plot that includes major governmental figures, Jack the Ripper, ancient rituals and possibly even time travel! 

The steam punk vein brings in a bit of the fantastical and Strange Detective Mysteries was co-created by Terry Pavlet and Sam Gafford, both of whom have had long careers in the comic industry and illustrated by Rosaria Battiloro.

As Gafford remembers, “Terry came to me with the idea of using historical characters to explore the death of one of America’s greatest writers, Edgar Allan Poe! Being a lifelong devotee of Poe and his literary descendent, H. P. Lovecraft, I couldn’t pass up this chance and the story just kept getting bigger and bigger and more wild!”

 “We knew,” Gafford says, “that this story needed a special artist with a particular style. Once we saw Rosaria’s samples, there was no doubt that she was the one! Her art perfectly captures the time period, the diverse characters and all the drama and terror of the story.

Storyville: The Prostitute Murders has a more realistic and historical approach as writer Gary Reed, known for his historical and literary work, firmly drops readers into a very realistic period piece of 1910 New Orleans.  Within the infamous legal red light district of New Orleans known as Storyville, just about everything was permitted, prostitutes and their clients are being murdered…some would say butchered.  As the police try desperately to deal with what may be a new type of killer...a 'serial killer' that threatens to tear New Orleans apart, Dr. Eric Trevor, a psychiatrist, is brought in from Saint James Infirmary. 

A crime story is at times a police procedural and other times, an excursion into the new field of psychotherapy.  The backdrop of the brothels amid the diverse streets of New Orleans is one of the settings but so is Saint James Infirmary where Dr. Trevor attempts to strike a balance between the criminal and the insane. 

The artist is Wayne Reid, who teamed up with Reed on A Murder of Scarecrows and IDW’s Sherlock Holmes as well as Zulunation, which was named as one of the  Seven Best Historical graphic novels by World War Z’s Max Brooks.
Reed stated, “This is a culmination of two themes I’ve long wanted to do, Storyville and an insane asylum.  But I’ve always wanted to approach them in realistic fashion rather than delve into anything supernatural.  The plan is to do a series of stand-alone graphic novels, just as one does with novels. 
Both graphic novels are available in September’s Diamond Previews for shipping in November.  Additional information can be found at www.calibercomics.com.