About

Hounded BY Hell officially took shape about 2yrs. ago when I flipped over a form at work and began drawing on the empty space. Something of an epiphany hit me as I formed the first page of HbH – I realized this is what I wanted to do with the ticking clock that’s my life. Not having drawn seriously in a decade and having never done a comic book, I began working on my craft while simultaneously pressing to finish the first issue. After tons of corrections and traveling down some dark roads and dead ends, I found the sun  – my wife. She thought I was crazy, she knew I could draw, but slowly she came aboard and together we pressed forward. She became my main editor and began to shape portions of the plot and character. She was a hard taskmaster (you can only imagine – her mouth has zero governors), but it was exactly what I needed.

Slowly, we both began to really feel this vision and believe that it might just be something others would want to be a part of. Then we became stuck with trying to figure what the heck to do with it now that it was near completion. My buddies who were more savvy than us and were doing their own independent comic FILE 13 (check it out) urged me to do two things: submit to some companies and be prepared to publish yourself. Well, after submitting to Image and getting cobwebs and silence (No hard feelings, still Love Image), my wife and I headed down door #2. Dan Hosek, a former Marvel editor and letterer, was invaluable in his lettering of pages 1-5 and imparting his wisdom. So now here we are!!

My wife and I are in the process of selling our house and things and moving to Panama (where it’s cheaper to live, the dough we have will go farther and the vibe of life is a better muse than New York). Our plan is to give our all to this project. It took a lot of love and will on her part to sell everything, uproot our kids and go all in…and I am very grateful. Over the next couple of months we’ll finish a bunch of issues and at the same time promote our dream in a drive towards kickstarter…we want this tale to be told till it’s end and we want you to hear it. We need your help with spreading the word by being a part of the HbH family – we are working our tails off to earn it!

Finally, just as a backdrop, this story had alot of drive from some great music that was imparted to me by my mom (God rest her soul). Back then it didn’t really click – it never seems to with kids. She would shine up her records before she set them spinning and sing. In response, I would roll my eyes, run for cover and turn on some Rock & Roll or Heavy Metal. As I got older and wiser (and better taste), I found my way home to those songs…they were a buoy in my very turbulent life and also a spirit of energy in the creation of this tale. If this thing rolls the way we would like it, we want to include a sound track with every issue – in some ways to enhance the tale (a real good tale needs a soundtrack, no?!) but, also to impart to those who have never heard these life-changing songs before and to edify those who already love them with all their heart. These songs were made made by some of the greatest artists of the 20th century! I for one am grateful and humbled before their genius.

With an overflow of thanks,

Mike and Nena Curtis