Robert Saucedo is not only in charge of curating the film offerings at River Oaks Theatre, but he is also a published comic book writer. Now his two worlds are colliding, with a special celebration of the release of his werewolf horror-comedy comic alongside three special screenings of werewolf classics.
Saucedo’s new graphic novel, Curse Of The Where Wolf, is set for release on Friday, Aug. 7. To celebrate, he will be hosting three screenings of some werewolf classics. The Howling will be shown on Aug. 7, with Wolfen screening on Aug. 14, and American Werewolf in London set for an Aug. 21 showing. Saucedo will be signing copies of his latest graphic novel and follow-up to his 2022 debut, Where Wolf.
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Saucedo’s graphic novel publishing journey began in 2020. After being laid off from his movie theater job during the COVID pandemic, Saucedo says that with the first time he had free time in 20 years, he took a step back to figure out his other passions. He decided to pursue writing a comic book, which turned into a graphic novel, Where Wolf, a horror-comedy about a journalist in College Station, Texas, who has to save a furry convention from becoming a bloodbath.
“Where Wolfwas finished in 2021 and then published in 2022, and then I immediately started working on the sequel,” Saucedo told Chron. “It’s just taken me four years to make the second book because I didn’t have a pandemic to give me free time.”
Texas’ “weirdness” makes it perfect for a werewolf story
A Texas-set horror comedy is one thing, but highlighting College Station specifically is quite the creative choice. Supernatural dealings and furries don’t necessarily seem like they would be related to College Station to untrained eyes. Saucedo, who graduated from Texas A&M University and worked in the college town as a journalist, says the strangeness of the town, especially when removed from being a student, is something that always piqued his creative interests.
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“I always kind of loved the weirdness of College Station,” Saucedo said. “It’s such a strange town, especially if you’re not like going to school there. As soon as you leave school there, it becomes like this weird kind of city.”
Using his experience as a journalist in College Station, Saucedo wanted to tell a story he described as a “quarter-life crisis” mixed with a werewolf story. The town is also more than meets the eye. The outside image of the town and the peculiar stories he would come across in College Station, like furry conventions, were a big inspiration.
“We wrote a story about the local furry community, and so it always stuck with me that even in a city this small and this conservative, there would also be like a cool furry community there,” Saucedo said.
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The sequel follows its journalist after his heroics in the first graphic novel turned him into a werewolf. After saving the furry convention, Chaney finds out how not fun being a werewolf is while trying to fight off the insatiable hunger that comes from the affliction, finding himself in new parts of Texas, including San Antonio.
When asked about the possibility of more Texas stories in what looks like a burgeoning comic book universe, Saucedo said he’s put a lot of thought into that possibility.
Texas is a giant state with several regions, cultures and legends. It’s the perfect state for some supernatural storytelling. Saucedo explained how he has laid the groundwork for more stories and has hopes to highlight even more Texas cities and towns with their own supernatural stories.
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Smart, funny and sometimes unhinged look at the week that was.
“If I continue to make books in this series, I want every book to be set in a different Texas city, Saucedo said. “The second one’s primarily set in San Antonio, the third one I’m thinking maybe Austin because that’s where all the vampires live. And, eventually we’ll get back to Houston.”
When asked about the supernatural phenomenon a Houston story would potentially be centered on, Saucedo brought up the city’s geography and relation to swamps and bayous.
“We have to have some kind of like a semi-aquatic monster here, I’m thinking like some kind of Bayou creature,” Saucedo answered.
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