Noted 'G.I. Joe' writer seeks funding for werewolf tale

Word Balloons #1229: Larry Hama’s latest is 'Mounties Vs. Werewolves'

Hardcover collections of the “G.I. Joe” comics written by Larry Hama raised $3.7 million on Kickstarter earlier this year. 

“Deadpool and Wolverine” made more than $1 billion worldwide box office dollars this year. Who wrote the characters’ first official meeting back in 1994’s “Wolverine” #88? Larry Hama.  

Now, Hama has turned to Kickstarter to fundraise for a new project alongside artist Guy Dorian Sr.: “Mounties vs. Werewolves.” 

“Mounties Vs. Werewolves” is something I've been working on for ten years, developing the characters, researching the RCMP and the history of Northern Alberta,” Hama wrote on Facebook. “The project might have languished on the shelf, but Guy Dorian gave me the impetus to get it back on its feet, and make it real. But we still need your help to go the final mile.”

Hama describes the concept of the series, set in the early 1920s in Canada.

“In 1922, David Lawrence, a veteran of the Great War in France, and a Deputy Inspector in the RCMP is assigned to a remote outpost in Northern Alberta.  The quiet posting he had been expecting turns out to be anything but.  The small rag-tag unit he commands is actually a top-secret sub-agency whose mission is to kill werewolves, and prevent them from spreading south to prey on larger settlements and population centers.”

A YouTube video promoting the Kickstarter launch showcases art from the comic. 

“Mounties vs Werewolves is ‘Deadwood’ meets ‘The Howling’ with a dash of ‘Saskatchewan’, and a soupçon of ‘X-Files,’” Hama said via the Kickstarter page.

An all-star lineup has joined Hama and Dorian to help bring this 48-page comic to the finish line. 

Inkers include Sal Buscema (Hulk, Spider-Man), Kevin Conrad (Kiss: Psycho Circus, Spawn), and Scott Hanna (Spider-Man, Detective Comics: Batman). Signed up for variant covers are Kelley Jones (Dracula Book 1: The Impaler, Batman), Mark Spears (Spawn, Superman), and J.K. Woodward (Star Trek/Doctor Who, X-Men Origins: Beast). Candice Han (Alien, Heavy Metal) is the colorist for the project.  

Hama, who created G.I. Joe stalwarts including Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and Scarlett (as well as basically all the significant characters from the ‘Real American Hero’ lineup), said with “Mounties,” he has some financial stake in the project. 

“I don't get a cent from the vast majority of GI Joe reprints, nor do I get anything from all the Wolverine material that is reprinted in 17 countries outside the USA,” Hama wrote via Facebook. 

“This project is one of the few projects that I actually own a piece of.  I've been kicking this idea around, developing it, and adding to it for over ten years.  I would greatly appreciate getting as many shares of this online as possible. Thank you, it would mean a lot to me.”

If the Kickstarter reaches its goal, this could be just the beginning of the “Mounties vs. Vampires” world. 

“If successful, we plan on this becoming an ongoing series, with a world that will grow as the series continues!” Dorian wrote in a Reddit AMA. 

Hama agreed, adding that he’s known for longer runs on titles, including “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero,” which he has written for three different publishers.  

“I plan on doing this as long as I can,” Hama wrote on Reddit. “I never quit (a) book once I'm on it as a regular. I have to be fired, or have it canceled from under me. I'm still writing the first book I ever got to write back in 1982, and I just finished plotting #313.”

The “Mounties Vs. Werewolves” project runs through 8 a.m. CDT Sept. 14 on Kickstarter. 

Matthew Price, matthew@matthewLprice.com, has written about the comics industry for more than two decades. He is the co-owner of Speeding Bullet Comics in Norman, Oklahoma.