Crowdfunding Spotlight: Forensic Psychology Meets Folk Horror in Heartwood #1, “The Less Dead”
Some crime stories ask who committed the murder. Heartwood, a new comic book that’s the focus of a Kickstarter from innovative British independents PSYComics and Scratch Comics, asks a more uncomfortable question: why do some victims disappear twice – first from life, and then from memory?
Heartwood is an ambitious new graphic novel that blends detective noir, psychological crime and folk horror into a story about justice, memory and the hidden structures that allow violence to endure
“A frozen wilderness; A trail of blood in the snow, and something ancient wearing a human face…”
Heartwood brings together an exceptional creative team committed to producing psychologically rich, creator-led comics. Created by Professor Laurence Alison (Odysseus), illustrated by 2000AD artist Warwick Fraser-Coombe, this new series, already close to its initial £2500 target, will be published under a new Heartwood Comics imprint, a collaboration between Shane Chebsey’s Scratch Comics and PSYComics, the independent publishing house founded by Laurence Alison and designer Neil Roche
At the centre of the story is Sarah Heartwood, an Indigenous detective working in the forests of northern Minnesota. Quiet, stoic and fiercely principled, Sarah refuses to let go of the cases everyone else has abandoned. Investigating the disappearance and murder of Indigenous women, she uncovers not simply a killer, but a pattern of violence sustained by silence, indifference and generations of injustice
Unlike many crime comics, Heartwood is grounded in real forensic psychology. Professor Alison is internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading forensic psychologists, having spent more than three decades advising major murder investigations, researching violent offenders and interviewing some of history’s most notorious serial killers. That experience informs every page of Heartwood, exploring not simply how crimes are solved, but why violence persists, how institutions fail, and what it costs investigators who refuse to look away.
“I’ve spent much of my career trying to understand people who commit extraordinary acts of violence,” says Alison. “What increasingly fascinated me were the people who keep searching long after everyone else has stopped. Sarah Heartwood grew from that question.”
If Alison provides the psychological foundation of Heartwood, Warwick Fraser-Coombe gives it its emotional and visual identity
Fraser-Coombe’s artwork captures both the beauty and isolation of northern Minnesota while conveying the emotional complexity of Sarah’s investigation. His storytelling moves effortlessly between tense interrogations, intimate character moments and scenes of genuine horror. Rather than relying on spectacle, Fraser-Coombe builds unease through expression, pacing and atmosphere, allowing readers to feel every difficult decision Sarah makes
“What drew me to Heartwood was Sarah,” says Fraser-Coombe. “She’s incredibly restrained, so every expression, every pause and every glance matters. The horror only works if readers care about the people first. Laurence’s script gave me the space to let those quieter moments do as much of the storytelling as the darker scenes.”
The title itself carries a powerful metaphor. In a tree, heartwood is the dead central core that gives strength to everything still living around it. That idea runs through the story. Sarah has been shaped by what she has witnessed, but rather than breaking her, those experiences have become thetigates: beneath the visible surface lies something older, harder and far more difficult to confront
For editor Shane Chebsey, Heartwood represents exactly the sort of ambitious project independent comics were created to champion
“Independent comics give creators the freedom to tackle stories that don’t fit neatly into established genres,” says Chebsey. “Heartwood combines authentic forensic psychology, compelling crime fiction and outstanding artwork in a way that feels genuinely original. Collaborating with Laurence, Neil and Warwick has produced a book we’re immensely proud to publish through Scratch Comics.”
The collaboration between Scratch Comics and PSYComics reflects a shared belief that independent comics can tell sophisticated, emotionally intelligent stories while remaining accessible to a broad audience. By combining Laurence Alison’s psychological expertise, Warwick Fraser-Coombe’s exceptional storytelling and the publishing experience of both imprints, Heartwood marks the beginning of an exciting new partnership
The Kickstarter will fund the first volume of Heartwood, “The Less Dead”, alongside exclusive editions, original artwork, signed copies and behind-the-scenes material exploring both the creative process and the forensic psychology that underpins the story
More than a detective story and more than a horror story, Heartwood asks what happens when someone refuses to accept that certain lives can simply be forgotten.Truth and darkness share the same roots…
• Check out Heartwood Issue #1 – “The Less Dead” A Mystery Horror Comic here on Kickstarter
Meet the Creators…
Writer and Creator of HeartwoodLaurence Alison is the creator of Odysseus, In Defiance of the Gods (a collection currently seeking support here on Kickstarter), Hedrek, Out There, Soulbreaker, Madness & Monsters, and Heartwood. Raised on a steady diet of 2000AD, Leo Baxendale, Brian Bolland, and Massimo Belardinelli, he grew up believing comics should be bold, imaginative, unpredictable, and dangerous.When he’s not building worlds, unleashing monsters, or sending heroes into impossible situations, Alison works as a psychologist. For more than thirty years he has studied human behaviour in some of the world’s most demanding environments, exploring how people think, decide, survive, and sometimes fall apart under pressure.That fascination with the human mind runs through everything he writes. Whether drawing on mythology, fantasy, science fiction, horror, or crime fiction, his stories are driven by characters facing extraordinary choices in extraordinary worlds.After all, monsters are easy. People are the real mystery.
Shortlisted by the British Fantasy Awards for Artist of the Yearin 2020, Warwick Fraser-Coombe is a comic book artist, cover artist, writer and publisher. His titles include the horror comic, The Skullf*****, Revenger: The Shadow Constabulary, Cut Throat, and Friendly Fire. He’s drawn “Rogue Trooper” for 2000AD, and is a regular multi-media pin up artist for both 2000AD and Judge Dredd Megazine
In the UK Indie comic scene, provided illustrations, strips and stories for Afterlife Inc, The 77, Shift Magazine, Warfighter and Soul Breaker, and variant covers for Behemoth/Sumerian Comics in the US. He was a contributor to the Most Important Comic Book on Earth: Stories to Save the World, and is a long time contributor to Black Static and Interzone. In 2008 his first cover for Interzone was shortlisted for a British Science Fiction Association Artwork of the Year Award, and he was commissioned to illustrate every cover of Interzone for a year in 2010 and again in 2020.
His novels include The Clock Face Man, The Skullf******, and The Stitch in Your Eye. Ongoing publishing projects include Unit 666, and the Buckets of Blood series of short, illustrated novels
Heartwood letterer Neil “Bhuna” Roche is an indie press artist, designer and letterer, who has spent over 15 years illustrating for a plethora of UK small press publications. He is also the series co-creator, illustrator and publisher of Killing Moon and Killing Moon Rises and co-creator, illustrator and designer of Unit 666. And, of course, letterer, designer and the ‘Nerve Centre/Engine Room’ for all things PSYComics
Based in Leicestershire, Heartwood Variant Cover Artist Neil McClements is a self-taught artist. Over several years, he has built a dedicated reputation within the independent publishing circuit by contributing distinct illustrations and some sequential artwork to a broad range of small press publications. He has found that small-press creators are often the best place to find creative inspiration
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• Scratch Comics is online at scratchcomics.co.uk
• Check out Heartwood Issue #1 – “The Less Dead” A Mystery Horror Comic here on Kickstarter
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John Freeman
John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who MagazineandOverkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood
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