Every year, legendary creatures from all over the world gather for an annual convention. But never has there been a murder.
Who Killed Nessie?, a new graphic novel by Paul Cornell, the award-winning comics writer, and Rachael Smith, the award-winning comics writer/artist, is a comedy cryptozoological whodunnit about finding confidence through rationality and accepting a world of mysteries… by solving one.
"It’s like you dreamed up a comic just for me" - JOE HILL (creator of Locke & Key)
‘I need to know who killed Nessie!!!’ - MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL (author of the Lady Astronaut novels)
“I desperately want to read this collaboration — whimsy noir from Paul and Rachael is something the world needs!” - GREG RUCKA (Whiteout)
"Honestly, I couldn't be more charmed. Well, I could. I could take a look at Rachael's art, and then I'm even more charmed" - KIERON GILLEN (The Wicked and the Divine).
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100 pages, B5-size (6.9 x 9.8")
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Softcover REMARQUED + Original Art Page + Zoom Call w/Creators
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Local Pickup Option (for UK supporters)
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Lindsay Grockle, a sceptical, rational young woman, agreed to be the manager of an isolated hotel in the Great Lakes to get over a terrible break-up that left her with zero self-confidence. Her partner was romantic, whimsical, a believer. And she kept telling him there were no such things as fairies. She arrives to find the former manager on his way out of the door, as if he’d been freed from a terrible burden. The rest of the staff have all elected to go on leave this weekend. Because this weekend is… the convention.
Lindsay doesn’t know what that is, but is pleasantly surprised when some charming, but eccentric patrons arrive, patrons who want to hide their faces or shelter under huge coats or all walk together in single file, as if they’re one long creature pretending to be several people. And there’s a just slightly too big cat that’s started to hang around. And the lake outside seems to have suddenly become both deserted of wildlife and weirdly choppy.
But still, Lindsay goes to bed in the hotel that night sure that her weird guests are having the best time she can provide.
She’s woken in the early hours by the cat, who tells her she has to come quickly. There’s been a murder.
Lindsay can’t quite decide which part of that to deal with first, the murder or the talking cat, but she’s quickly hustled to the ballroom, where, on the floor, lies the enormous corpse of… the Loch Ness Monster.
And around Nessie are gathered the convention attendees, now revealed as who they really are: legendary creatures from all over the world. There’s Bigfoot and the Jersey Devil and a Unicorn and a Succubus and a minibus-load of Yokai from Japan… and outside in the lake there’s the Kraken and many more water-based monsters. And the cat is actually the Beast of Bodmin. Or Bob for short. And oh dear there really are Fairies.
Every year, Lindsay is told, the cryptids gather here for their annual convention. But never has there been a murder. Suddenly, they can’t trust each other. They’ve locked the doors and prevented all external communication. The only person they can agree on to solve this mystery is Lindsay.
‘You may not believe in us, Lindsay,’ says Bob, ‘but we believe in you.’
Paul Cornell has written episodes of Elementary, Doctor Who (‘Father’s Day’ and ‘Human Nature’), Primeval, Robin Hood and many other TV series, including his own ITV children’s show, Wavelength. He’s worked for every major comics company, including his creator-owned series I Walk With Monsters for The Vault, The Modern Frankenstein for Magma, Saucer Country for Vertigo and This Damned Band for Dark Horse, and runs for Marvel and DC on Batman and Robin, Wolverine and Young Avengers. He’s the writer of the Lychford rural fantasy novellas from Tor.com Publishing. He’s won the BSFA Award for his short fiction, an Eagle Award for his comics, a Hugo Award for his podcast and shares in a Writer’s Guild Award for his Doctor Who and the Grand Prix Nova and Scribe awards for the audio series Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Firewall. He’s the co-host of Hammer House of Podcast. His latest book is the SF novella Rosebud, his latest graphic novel is The Witches of World War II for TKO and his latest comic series is Con and On for Ahoy.
Rachael Smith is an award-winning comic creator based in Manchester, in the UK. She is best known for making comics that deal with mental health issues with warm, relatable humour, such as Wired Up Wrong, Quarantine Comix, and Isabella & Blodwen. Rachael is currently drawing her autobiographical webcomic NAP COMIX about being a new mum. Rachael also wrote and drew the humour comics for Titan's Doctor Who, Tenth Doctor comic series for three years. She has created work for The New Yorker, Image, Boom! Studios, and Mad Cave, among others.
$25,000: Postcard of our cast from the great comics artist Emma Vieceli (Life is Strange)
$30,000: Postcard of our cast from the great comics artist Alison Sampson (Ministry of Truth)
$35,000: Spot varnish on the cover to make a luxury logo!
As of the launch of the campaign, Paul is finishing up the script and Rachael has more than half of the book to go. It will be worked on throughout the campaign and after, and we anticipate it being done sometime Fall ‘24, at which time we’ll head to the printers.
Printing and shipping should take around three to four months from that point, so delivery of rewards is expected to be done at the beginning of 2025.
Zoop will always be here to communicate with backers should any delays occur, if there’s confusion about delivery, or if any other concerns pop up.
Yes! We encourage you to get more than 1 item! That could be multiple copies of the same reward, or you can mix and match rewards! There is no limit, unless otherwise stated in the reward description.
Our campaigns are for a worldwide audience unless stated otherwise in the campaign. All international orders are sold with the terms DAP (Delivered At Place). You are responsible for any duties and taxes required for the shipment's entry into your country. Our carriers may require you to pay taxes and fees related to importation and customs brokerage of your shipment -- but if your item is really low in value, it may fall under the customs de minimis of most countries. For more information, please contact USPS
Zoop does not store or keep your credit card info. Stripe simply holds the credit card info until the end of a successful campaign and then charges it. It is strictly for this one time use and won't charge it ever again.
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Cancellations of rewards or add-ons of $500 or more must be made before there are 72 hours left in the campaign. The reason for this is it can have a negative effect on the tally of the campaign. If it is a limited reward or add-on, there may not be sufficient time for someone else to purchase it, leaving the campaign possibly not funded. We ask for your courtesy of the people running the campaign when making these decisions.
Please use the notes section in the last checkout step or you could e-mail us at hello@wearezoop.com with that info during the campaign if you'd like to get it out of the way. Otherwise, we'll be reaching out to all supporters of rewards that require feedback shortly after the campaign is over.
If you want to make changes, you should first cancel your original order and then start over with a new one. If you don't do that and simply process an additional order, the way our system is currently set up you may end up being overcharged for shipping -- which we could remedy for you, but it just takes that extra step of catching it and crediting you back the extra shipping, so please try the prior way first.
Rewards are the priority items that the creators have chosen for the campaign. Add-Ons are meant to be secondary items that are 'unlocked' after you buy something from the Reward level. There are no restrictions on buying Rewards, but you can only buy Add-Ons if you've bought a Reward. Zoop sets this up under the direction of the creators. Some may choose to only have Rewards, some may choose an even balance of Rewards and Add-Ons, and others may choose to only have one or two Rewards with the rest of the items being Add-Ons.
Since we have an a la carte rewards system, shipping rates will vary from supporter to supporter. We use a weight-based calculation system in your checkout cart, though, so, after you enter your country, you'll be able to see it calculated in real time with each item you add.
No - this is it! We're essentially your in-campaign pledge manager. If you are interested in supporting these creators, this is the time to do it! And it's the exact reason we allow you to purchase as many rewards as you want during the campaign!