A Cincinnati indie publisher is weaving a story of cryptids, American folklore and Indigenous tales in a spooky and adventurous new comic book set in Kentucky.
The Goat: Pope Lick Creek Monster from Creative Mussel adds a new, diverse focus to the legend of the Pope Lick Monster, a cryptid said to be half-man, half-goat, who lives under a train trestle just outside Louisville. Writer Jay B. Kalagayan and illustrator Ethan Pope promise a story that will “derail” all your expectations of the story you’ve come to know about the creature.
“The Goat: Pope Lick Creek Monster … plunges readers into a Kentucky night shattered by a desperate, silent cry. This cry echoes off the iron of the notorious Pope Lick Trestle, a structure already steeped in local legend and a magnet for thrill-seekers. The comic asks: who is calling for help, and what monster lurks on the tracks?” reads a description of the comic.
Writer Kalagayan is Filipino-American and says he wanted to create a story that adds more diverse representation, including Indigenous histories, to an American folktale.
“We deserve to see ourselves reflected in these stories,” Kalagayan said in a press release. “This land has a rich tapestry of cultures…wouldn’t it be incredible to weave these diverse histories into the fabric of American folklore? This might just be the spark for something bigger.”
Illustrator Pope says he was excited to bring the real-life setting of the Pope Lick Trestle to the page, incorporating different tools to create a unified and moody scene, which he found “just a fun story to invest in.”
“I love the mysterious origin of [the story’s heroine] Kamari’s powers, the moment where she psychically communicates with The Goat is one of my favorite panels,” Pope said. “The only hiccups were finding the flow and nuances in the staging of certain scenes…sitting around the table in the train car was interesting, compositionally having to compromise and adjust the scene, so that the reading order of the word balloons would make sense. Mostly just tinkering, nothing out of the blue.”
“Ethan’s artwork is so expressive, I had to remove dialogue — it’s that good! I knew I found an artist who could capture action and expressive scenes,” Kalagayan added.
The Goat: Pope Lick Creek Monster will make its public debut at the Goatman Festival in Louisville Friday-Saturday, Oct. 10-11. You can purchase a copy here for $15.
Learn more about Creative Mussel at messedcomics.com.
