Strahd Loves, Man Kills Review at Halls of the Nephilim

 

Justin Ryan Isaac was kind enough to post a review of the first issue of Strahd Loves, Man Kills on his blog Halls of the Nephilim. It is, of course, pleasing to see such laudatory things said about my humble zine, but I wanted to pick out one particularly line in Justin's review because he really hit upon something I'm trying to do with the zine: "It's not flashy and feels like a throwback. I really like that aspect of it."

I'm so glad someone noticed that! We live in an era where small creators have the tools to make things that are on par, quality-wise, with major publishers. And that is fantastic, I don't begrudge anyone going full flash at all, but I wanted to make something that felt like the product of an excited amateur that harkened back to the first zines I encountered in the early 90s. I'm going for the feel of a "fanzine," nothing glossy, nothing too polished. I'm working from high quality photocopies, stapling them together by hand, and addressing every envelope that gets sent out. I hope people appreciate the personal touch that goes into it, even if it results in an imperfect-yet-enthusiastic zine.

Plus, it helps me to keep the price down. $6 for 28 pages of gaming content is a pretty good deal, I reckon.

I have a few copies of the first issue still available here, and the second issue is also still available but going fast.

Strahd Loves, Man Kills #2 Now Available!

Ah, the first day of fall...a certain crispness tinges the air, which can only mean that the second issue of Strahd Loves, Man Kills, my Ravenloft fanzine, is now available for purchase! This zine was inspired in equal parts by my enduring love of the Ravenloft setting and by the recent release of Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft. My hope is that SLMK will give you new toys to play with and inspire your own unique take on Ravenloft.

The second issue features 28 pages of content. The zine is professionally printed by the fine people at Best Value Copy. Additionally, I will send a pdf version of the zine to the email address attached to your order! If you buy a copy soon it should get it to you well before Halloween.

This issue's contents include:

Lurid Locations explores a Wild West-themed version of Nova Vaasa.

Baleful Backgrounds presents two new backgrounds for characters: dandy and inquisitor.

Seeds of Evil gives advice on using the adventures in Candlekeep Mysteries in the context of a Ravenloft campaign.

Cryptic Alliances revisits and updates seven classic factions and secret societies from Ravenloft’s prior iterations.

Portraits of the Damned details Donesta Sangino, a villainous artist who crafts monsters from paint and canvas, and the Viscount, a drow gunslinger haunted by his violent past.

Tragic Heroes focuses on grim gunslingers you might create as characters for games set in the Domains of Dread.

Forbidden Tomes provides a bibliography of a particular genre of horror for your edification and entertainment. This installment explores body horror.

Check it out on my Big Cartel page. If you need to catch up on the first issue, I've got a few copies left.