More Oscar Zahn Comic Strips and a cool horror Kickstarter

Hi everyone, welcome back to another edition (I've given up on numbering them) of Tomago House, my bi-weekly(ish) newsletter... blog... thing where I try to keep you up to date on the stuff that's going on with me. Sadly a lot of stuff I'm currently working on isn't announced yet but some of my more astute readers have put two and two together and made some pretty pretty brilliant guesses to what's going on behind the scenes... none of which I can confirm or deny.

Last month I was digging through my old Oscar Zahn files and found these short comics I made around the pandemic just for fun. They were shared on instagram but I think a lot of people never knew they existed so I thought it would be cool to share them with you here.

In case you need a story recap... well, there isn't much of one. Oscar is sad that everybody has a dog other than him.

Everybody But Me

Wow what a cliffhanger huh? Haha, I don't think I really had a plan in mind for these strips and I was just having fun with them as I went along. Ultimately, I only produced thirteen of these strips before work just got too busy and the idea fell to the side. Although... now that I think about it, this newsletter would be a pretty good excuse to start making new short comics rather than just prattle on endlessly about making comics. Hmmm...

A Kickstarter for an Awesome Filipino Horror Comic

My pal (and studio mate), Allison O'Toole, is running a kickstarter for a really great Filipino horror comic. Because she's way more eloquent than I am, here's an except from their press release:

“What if those old stories of ghosts and monsters from back home were
true?” This is the question asked by Balikbayan, a new comic launching on Kickstarter. It explores the often-strained relationships between the children of immigrants and their parents, and the difficulties of reconciling those two worlds.

After years of estrangement, a sudden tragedy forces Ben into contact with his father, bringing up memories he'd rather forget. He must confront his broken relationship with his father before they face the malevolent force calling them back to their homeland. They will learn firsthand that the sins of our past will always find us, no matter how far we try to run.

With this comic, artist Fabian Lelay hopes “to contribute to the broadening stories about cultural horror.” He says that “the Philippines is known for its Hospitality and its love for food and music, but it is also rich in the supernatural.”

This is a personal story for writer Jeff Estrella: “It’s been very important to me in recent years to try and connect better with both my family and my heritage.” He says that the comic was inspired by a story his father told him “about the curse that has followed the men in my family for generations.”

It's a really compelling premise for a horror story and its always great to see a different take on a well known genre so please check out her kickstarter and support if you can!

That's it for this week and thanks for reading!

Tri