Welcome to Monster ‘45!
In the Monster 45! universe we imagine a version of our world, starting in the year 1945, where the classic monsters of literature and the movies exist–at least in some form.
Of course 1945 sees the end of World War II. Everything is changing; old orders are ending and new ideas are taking hold. Huge leaps in technology and epochal political realignments mean the last “shadowy” corners of the world are finally coming into the light and with them those unusual or monstrous beings, the in- and the un-human who have relied on the safety of geographical, socio-political or metaphysical darkness to shield their existence from the world for so long.
In our alternative 1945, therefore, packs of werewolves still prowl the high forests below Alpine peaks, vampires still rule their ancient fiefdoms from their crumbling crypts, and all kinds of mad creators still look to both magic and science to stitch together the future in their own image and not all of them are Nazis (we a have great, already scripted story about mad science and the occult set against the end of Dutch colonialism in Indonesia).
So, everywhere you go - monsters! And of course many of them are human…
Across the globe, the undead remnants of past civilizations and the isolated descendants of cursed peoples have to come to terms with sudden and fundamental change as the new world threatens to crash in upon them. Some become refugees, searching for a way to break an ancient spell, others retreat further into their shadowy fastnesses hoping to ride out the tides of history as they have always done before. Others still emerge from centuries of slumber or isolation, expecting to rule but finding the world of 1945 is very different from what it once was.
And that’s just a glimpse of what we might find in Europe and the Middle East, upon which our initial stories are focused. Myriad unseen creatures and conflicts across the world–and notably in Asia and the Americas–are still to be explored and uncovered.
In the Monster 45! universe, then, you will find creatures of myth and legend, only these monsters may not always be the villains. Moral vampires? Social werewolves? Mumsy mummies? It’s not that simple of course. Monster 45! will certainly give you full on horror, but it will always be inflected by new perspectives on creatures and creations we have always pigeonholed as merely monstrous.
The great thing about Monster 45! is that there is an almost unlimited cast of monstrous characters both human and non human to draw from. There is also vast potential in the cultural and geographical settings for horror adventure. Even well known horror tropes, such as vampires, have global potential as we find them not only in East European forests but in China and Indonesia and who knows where else. In short, Monster 45! will find it hard to run out of stories and settings for all kinds of narrative media.
Having said that, we are going to fly our first monstrously entertaining flag (yes flags can be monstrously entertaining, trust) in the form of an online comic book - specifically as a linked series of long form comic book stories. These follow the adventures of an ordinary young man named Emil Tischbein as he struggles to escape the final death throes of the Nazi Third Reich and, in so doing, encounters more than one of the extraordinary worlds of Monster 45!
We are a team of two. I’m Julian Hoxter, but I go by Jules, the primary writer, and Sandra is the primary artist, although we tend to collaborate fluidly (and occasionally fluently) around our specific roles.
My professional background is in academia and media. I am a professor in the School of Cinema at San Francisco State University, a well regarded American film school with a long tradition of fostering independent and experimental film making and with a track record in giving a head start to filmmakers who go on to win Oscars and Emmys and all kinds of other awards. At SF State I mainly teach screenwriting, production and cinema studies and I have published a number of books on those subjects - that one time I even wrote a chapter on Transformers…
In much happier news, I am a life-long genre fan and a produced screenwriter. I have written numerous competition winning fantasy, science fiction and horror scripts (nineteen wins and awards so far). I regularly teach classes on the history of horror and fantasy cinema and on genre screenwriting and world creation and get a real kick out of interacting with the many genre fans among my students - they also help keep me up to date with all kinds of new material to watch and read, which is great.
Sandra is an artist and writer who also has an educational background in cinema and media. She absolutely loves monsters, and loves drawing them! So far her professional career has been focused in the tech industry where she has worked for software and games companies in Silicon Valley and beyond, but she has been illustrating her passions since she was a wee child, and has produced freelance illustrations for clients looking for concept art, storyboards, and more.
We hope you enjoy reading our scary stories as much as we have enjoyed creating them. We deeply appreciate any help you feel able to give us in keeping them coming!