Scream Queens (Patreon)

      Years ago, I created a horror-action-comedy comic series tentatively titled Scream Queens. (After the TV series of the same name came out, I decided I should probably change the title, and went through quite a few options, including Moonlighters, Live Dead Girls, Graveyard Chicks, and Extreme Violets. But I always come back to Scream Queens, probably because that's just how it's been in my head for so long.) It's about a group of women who investigate and fight supernatural threats, while being, themselves, supernatural in origin. They pose as a band (The Scream Queens, get it?) who make themselves up as monsters as part of their act; the twist of course is that they really are monsters, albeit good ones who fight for humans rather than against them. They're overseen by a government agency that recruited them each individually and gave them a choice between this gig, and winding up wherever uncooperative monsters are sent.  

    There's Fran, the Frankensteinian monster who leads the group. She's your basic powerhouse, who can also absorb and discharge huge amounts of electricity, but she prefers her sawed-off 12-gauge. There's Liz, the amphibious reptile who was a brilliant biologist before she was transformed by the sinister GMO conglomerate Sonmanto Corp. (see what I did there?). Cleo is a true ancient, a once-mummified Egyptian with telekinetic control over her wrappings (or "bandages").  Grrl is the werewolf of the group. She's sweet but...simple, the result of a bullet lodged in her brain that also keeps her from transforming back into her human form. Then there's Miko, the Japanese vampire whose samurai sword has cut down centuries of opponents. And finally, there's my favorite, D.K., who was a college cheerleader when she was run down by a car and later resurrected as a zombie. She's the smart-ass wild card of the group, and although she has no particular powers (apart from being really hard to kill), the Glocks she hides in her pom poms more than compensate.

  This was going to be a high-action series, with lots of monsters and fighting, and lots of dark humor. Over time the girls would have bonded and become a real band, as well as real friends, and they would ultimately have stood up to their government handlers and begun operating independently. This is yet another in my Never-Was files, existing only as character designs and a few scripts. I am planning on doing a Scream Queens short, which will be posted here. So stay tuned!

  BONUS FUN FACT: Did you know that Abbey was originally intended to be the vampire of the group, before she wound up in Boneyard? How the hell would you have known that? But yes, she was. She's been in a number of projects that never saw the light of day. And now you know!