New Horror-Action Thriller BEHEMOTH Unites Creators From Marvel and Star Trek

Shaun Corley has been with ScreenRant for over 5 years, and is currently the Coordinator for PR and Outreach for the Comics Team.
The new horror-action thriller Behemoth is coming to Kickstarter, and it unites creators from the worlds of Marvel and Star Trek. The brainchild of writer Chris Kipiniak and artist J.K. Woodward, Behemoth combines aspects of body horror with high-octane action. It’s perfect for fans of action franchises such as Animorphs, and ScreenRant is pleased to bring fans a preview.
Despite its horror lineage, Behemoth can trace its roots back to other genres as well. Writer and co-creator Kipiniak’s previous credits include Marvel titles such as Nightcrawler and Marvel Adventures. At the time, Kipiniak was also pursuing a law degree, but never gave up on creating comics. Meanwhile, J.K. Woodward, Behemoth’s artist and co-creator, made a name for himself drawing Star Trek and Doctor Who comics for IDW. Kipiniak and Woodward met while pitching other projects, and before long, Behemoth was born.
The impending Kickstarter campaign for Behemoth brings the epic story back into print. Previously published digitally by Monkey Brain and in print by Scout Comics’ Black Caravan imprint, Behemoth is now being presented as its creators intended in a gorgeous new collection, with bonus features and even eight new pages of story. With the Kickstarter launching today, ScreenRant can now share a preview of Behemoth’s collected edition.
Behemoth Puts A Body Horror Spin On A Real World Concept
Behemoth puts a horror spin on the “child soldier” concept. When asked to sum up what Behemoth is about, Woodward had this to say:
BEHEMOTH is about kids turning into monsters and being forced to run suicide missions for the government. The story focuses on the experience of watching your body become unfamiliar and feeling your mind do the same.
In the preview pages provided to ScreenRant, readers see first hand what Woodward was talking about: a group of monstrous soldiers are dropped behind enemy lines for some sort of black ops mission. These pages set up some intriguing mysteries that will play out across Behemoth.
Behemoth’s preview pages, shared here, are an excellent showcase of the talents of its two creators. Kipiniak, who is also a playwright, manages to capture the confusion and horror the kids are feeling as they are thrust into a brutal, violent situation. Likewise, Woodward’s painted art also brings the horrors of Behemoth to life by pulling no punches in depicting the blood and gore.
Behemoth Is Following In The Steps Of Stephen King and Ray Bradbury
Behemoth Has Personal Meaning For Its Creators
The transition from childhood to adolescence has fascinated writers in all genres, but horror in particular.
Horror is one of the best genres to explore social and personal issues, and Behemoth is no exception. Behemoth’s main characters are children, despite their hideous appearances. The transition from childhood to adolescence has fascinated writers in all genres, but horror in particular. Both Ray Bradbury and Stephen King tapped into this vein in works such as Something Wicked This Way Comes and It. Movies such as Ginger Snaps have also spun gold from this premise.
Both Kipiniak and Woodward are working in this tradition with Behemoth. Reflecting on the horror genre, Kipiniak had this to say:
I love horror because it is so expressive. It physicalizes emotional truths - and questions, and fears and anxieties - in a way that allows for deeper exploration than when those truths remain abstracted.
Likewise, Woodward ruminated on monsters, and their place in horror and pop culture, stating:
For me, monsters are a way to show the parts of ourselves we want to ignore. But can’t.
For Woodward, Behemoth takes on an even deeper meaning: after years of working on science fiction and licensed titles, Woodward wanted to pursue more personal projects, leading to the horror genre and Behemoth.
More Behemoth Could Be Coming In The Future
Both Woodward and Kipiniak hope to bring readers more Behemoth once the Kickstarter campaign ends and the books are released. If Behemoth Volume One is successful, then the creators hope to begin work on Volume Two. In the meantime, fans can pledge on the first, and pick up some cool rewards along the way. Woodward and Kipiniak have stated that additional story pages will be added as stretch goals, giving readers more Behemoth. After years of cutting their teeth in the Marvel and Star Trek genres, Kipiniak and Woodward are bringing their most intense project to fans.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.