Some Stuff I Wrote
During my 30-year run as a writer and editor, I tried a bit of everything before finally finding my home in the glorious madness of narrative design.
I've paid the bills as a comedy writer (stand-up, sketch, radio) and newspaper editor. I wrote a comic-book series endorsed by Clive Barker and edited 125+ others, including a whole lot of books for Scout Comics' Black Caravan imprint. I wrote/directed the horror movie THE WRONG HOUSE and played monsters in several other films. For the video game EPIC TAVERN, I created hundreds of quests, 160 unique hero backstories, and did extensive world-building. For MURDER ON THE MIDWAY (which I also code), I designed dialogue trees and created a fully-functioning traveling carnival loaded with dozens of memorable characters.
Some recent audio fiction projects for Realm.fm include the 10-episode werewolf series BLOOD FOREST, the standalone audio ghost story RETURN TO BLACKOUT POINT, and miniseries THE PULSE and LAST CALL, all available by searching for UNDERTOW wherever you get your podcasts.
I thrive on complexity, I have a quiet, dedicated home office deep in the Maine wilderness and impeccable references as a remote writer. It is my firm belief that having worked in damn-near every storytelling medium in existence has prepared me to handle anything a project throws at me.
Some Stuff I Wrote
Official Selection: PAX 10 2019 Winner, Momocon 2018 Indie Games Awards "A fascinating reverse-RPG" - PC Gamer "A cross between The Sims and a rousing game of Dungeons and Dragons"- Geek & Sundry One of "The Best New Steam Games You Might Have Missed This Week"- Rock, Paper, Shotgun Epic Tavern is a fantasy-management-RPG where you rule the land from your Tavern.
Return to Blackout Point is a standalone audio ghost story produced and published by Realm. Written by Shawn French, directed by Fred Greenhalgh (Locke & Key, ElfQuest) and starring Carol Potter (90210).
Illustrated by Mortimer Glum, written by Shawn French, endorsed by horror legend Clive Barker.
PREVIEWS CODE: AUG211992 The official comic-book adaptation of the video game Epic Tavern, coming Fall 2021 from Black Caravan/Scout Comics. Written by Shawn French. Art by Steve Mardo. Colors by Steve Lavigne.
Tales: Choose Your Own Story A series of grisly murders rocks the Eternal Circus, a 1970s traveling carnival. Solve the mystery and uncover the Sideshow Slasher... or become the next victim.
An indie horror flick I wrote/directed/edited.
A playlist of full-cast audio fiction stories I wrote for Realm.fm. Playlist: 18 episodes.
I was the lead writer on this full-cast audio miniseries by director Fred Greenhalgh (Locke & Key, Harley Quinn and The Joker: Sound Mind).
An audio horror story I co-wrote with Fred Greenhalgh (Locke & Key, Harley Quinn & The Joker: Sound Mind), starring Lee Tergesen (Oz, Wayne's World) and Ilyssa Fradin (Batman Begins).
UNDERTOW is an ongoing supernatural horror series that reveals the dark, monstrous side within us all. Every week, host and creator Fred Greenhalgh will take you deeper into this warped version of Maine where nothing is as it seems. Here, still waters hide eerie rip-currents and the secrets we keep...
An attempt to clone Jesus eventually succeeds, but in the process creates scores of hideously deformed near-Jesus freaks and a monstrous twin brother, Yeshua. When the Vatican learns of Christ's return and sends in an extraction team, all Hell breaks loose in this horror comic book series from writer Shawn French and illustrator Mortimer Glum.
A webcomic spinoff of Escape from Jesus Island, featuring the Antichrist and his mutant pals as adorably murderous toddlers. Created as a proof of concept for an animated series pitch.
Gears and Mutants is a tabletop skirmish game set in a dark and twisted version of the American Civil War. Designed by Nicolas Genovese, rulebook by Shawn French.
Media Mentions
An NBC interview about my series for the Tales app, Murder on the Midway. www.murderonthemidway.com
LIMERICK - From the time he was in middle school, fiddling around with his Commodore 64 computer, Shawn French dreamed of a career creating video games. He left Maine a couple times in his 20s to pursue video game jobs that never materialized.
I was the lead writer on this sci-fi/horror audio podcast for Realm.fm.
Epic Tavern was selected by Penny Arcade as one of their 10 favorite indie games of 2019 and exhibited at PAX West.
ATLANTA - May 31, 2018 - Epic Tavern, the tavern-management roleplaying game by Hyperkinetic Studios, joined SINKR, Door Kickers: Action Squad, The Norwood Suite and Mike Dies as winners at Saturday's fourth-annual Indie Game Awards at Momocon.
My appearance as a guest professor on the comedy gameshow Balderdash Academy.
Shawn French Talks Escape from Jesus Island Comic Launch and Future Plans The title first caught our eye at the end of 2012. A bunch of comic creators were trying to put together a book called Escape from Jesus Island. Never fly, right? But the title was so good we had to do a story.
A 2021 interview about staying afloat as a creative professional during a pandemic.
It's happened to anyone with an interest in the medium; standing in line or sitting in traffic, an idea snakes its way into your head and you think, 'This would make a great comic book!'
Writing Samples
Return to Blackout Point is a standalone audio ghost story produced and published by Realm. Written by Shawn French, directed by Fred Greenhalgh (Locke & Key, ElfQuest) and starring Carol Potter (90210).
The first two episodes of a comic-book series I wrote and co-created with artist Mortimer Glum.
A webcomic spinoff of Escape from Jesus Island, featuring the Antichrist and his mutant pals as adorably murderous toddlers. Created as a proof of concept for an animated series pitch.
Some Things I Edited
In the early Viking Age, a faithless Norseman Detective is summoned to a Scandinavian hamlet where a series of familicide murders have occurred. Discovering the dark and bloody history of the village he investigates the local outcast, a Necromantic Witch who brings his atheistic values into question.
The Electric Black is a cursed antique shop, appearing in any time or space, soliciting customers it hungers to corrupt or devour. The mysterious Julius Black is the store's demonic proprietor and narrator. He and his psychopathic employees regularly manipulate patrons for their own devious purposes.
From the chilling pages of the Electric Black comes a new horror anthology, centered on its most insidious characters. Brace your souls for four twisted tales of murder and mayhem. Featuring the art of: Paul Pelletier, Karl Moline, Christian DiBari, Walter Ostlie. Kickstarter-exclusive covers by: Ben Bishop and C.P. Wilson III.
Seventy-two children are conscripted to the Academy of Black Magic for a duration of seven years in an environment devoid of the sun. At the end of their seven years of study eight will survive - but only seven will walk out.
A group of children whose families are part of a cult are conscripted to the Academy of Black Magic for seven years where they study the dark arts in a setting devoid of the sun.
Black Caravan is the horror imprint from Scout Comics exploring the darker side of creator-owned comics, high-end art books, and collectables. Joseph Schmalke, co-publisher; Rich Woodall, co-publisher; Shawn French, Editor; James Haick, President Scout Comics.
Black Caravan imprint. For uncounted millennia, the Cryptocrystalline Stone remained lost to the blackness of space, hidden amongst the stars. As time passed, the galaxy slipped into greater peril. Thousands of systems fell and worlds crumbled. Dark and ominous beings conspire from the shadows to possess its unlimited power and ability to resurrect a legion of deathless warriors.
(W) Peter Goral and Joseph Schmalke (A) Joseph SchmalkeFull Color, 32 pages, BLACK CARAVAN IMPRINT: The Curse of the Cryptocrystalline Stone continues in 2021!
Black Caravan Imprint: Tales Told In Techni-Horror is a biennial horror series that blends the best in horror sub genres (body shock to grindhouse and more). Each issue contains five short stories from the dark minds that brought you Provenance of Madness. Includes a mini pinup gallery of horrors.
Every adventuring party needs a true hero, but sometimes you get a Murder Hobo instead. Meet the Team: Joseph Schmalke (writer); Jason Lynch [art]; Shawn French [edits]
In the lands of High Adventure, where brave warriors seek out fame and fortune, the unlucky few will recruit a Murder Hobo into their ranks. Follow the further exploits of Roddy the Rotten, Big Momma Venus, and Spectra Liaison as they team up with (and ruin the plans of) every adventurer they come across.
Black Caravan Imprint: Alison Hart wakes up inside a bright candy-colored room to discover that she's tied down with licorice, small toys around her move because they're alive, and her hands are no longer real. She struggles to piece together the surreal and horrific events that led her to this place and more importantly what has happened to her young daughter, Emma.
Through a variety of imprints, here are Scout Comics' September 2022 solicits and solicitations, beginning with Black Caravan and Jon Clark's Something
Black Caravan Imprint. Rockstar Cherry Blackbird sold her soul for fame. Now at the age of 26, time is running short. The day she turns 27, she'll be dragged to Hell. But Cherry is not one to go quietly. The Devil tasks her with collecting seven demonic souls that have escaped the Abyss.
What happens when three junkies make a deal with the Devil? Sex, Drugs, and Damnation. This Grindhouse mini-series tells the tale.
The true story of a teenager who stood up to the mullahs' regime in Iran, recalled in the words of his surviving sister and told through drawn pictures. Ahmad, the hero of this story, was killed in 1988 at the age of 24, while in captivity but the perpetrators of the murder remain in key positions of power in Iran.
Oldsmobiles With Laser Guns is a science fiction comedy; following the adventures of three friends who are trapped thousands of galaxies away from earth, living out of a 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera that has been converted into an ultra powerful space fighter with outstanding maneuverability, experimental energy source, and all the comfort of an early 80's family sedan.
Black Caravan Imprint! Black Friday is the biggest shopping day of the year. Millions of Americans pack the aisles of retail outlets all over the country battling for the best bargains. What could go wrong?
Delightful telling of seminal ghost stories that have inspired many favorite tales. This hard bound book was a Kickstarter project that I backed. The illustrations are gorgeous and the printed book is excellent quality. I will not hesitate to back another project from manoghosts.com.
They came from the swamp... the scummiest squad of Confederate soldiers, brought back to life by powerful Voodoo magic. They crave power, carnage, and female flesh! They are the Swamp Dogs!
(W) Tristan Gallagher (A/C) Chirtsian DiBariFull Color, 32 pages BLACK CARAVAN IMPRINT: Rad Wraith is the story of a young skateboarder named Grom who falls victim to a prank-gone-wrong and dies at the bottom of a half-pipe.
Deep Inertia is an decision based narrative game with linear progression but with an open like feel. It's completely hand drawn and textured and will be multiplatform. You play as John Renton, an antagonised and tortured scientist working for the President of the United States.
Custom comics, low print run comics, graded comics, variant comics,
Dylan Andrews is raising funds for THE OPPRESSORS on Kickstarter! A retired vigilante has 24 hours to prove that he's still got what it takes to save his family, and himself.
A reluctant hero in a harsh and violent world uses a futuristic weapon against its creator to save a dying planet. A sci fi epic about war, love, and becoming a hero. USA shipping only. If you're international, please consider supporting the campaign by grabbing a digital copy of the comic.
Calvin Chase is cursed with a disease that is slowly turning him into a monster. A dark action adventure comic series for fans of The X-Files, Hellblazer, Hitman, Preacher and The Darkness. **EARLY BIRD SPECIAL: One physical reward backer from the first 48 hours of the campaign will win an ENGRAVED drawing!
An unwilling and unlikely hero is forced to use a futuristic weapon against its creator to save a dying planet. 129 backers pledged $4,575 to help bring this project to life. You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. ARCHIVE The WarHood Odyssey Volume One - (31 days)
An ancient, hungry creature from the deep has risen to the surface to wreak havoc on a violent world. 73 backers pledged $2,516 to help bring this project to life. You'll need an HTML5 capable browser to see this content. - (25 days)
Performance Credits
I voiced a couple minor characters in this audio adaptation starring Kate Mulgrew, Tatiana Maslany and Haley Joel Osment.
Shawn French, Actor: The Wrong House. Shawn French is known for his work on The Wrong House (2009), 2 (2007) and Amish Devil (2018).