Norm Konyu

As part of our month celebrating all things horror, strange, and eerie, how could we not interview Norm Konyu for our ‘creator of the month’? His books The Junction, A Call to Cthulhu and the upcoming Downlands are masterclasses in mystery, creepy tales, and folklore, all illustrated in Norm’s own gorgeous style.

Titan Comics: Hey Norm, great to be speaking with you today, the famous “mooseboy!” Thank you for making some time to share with your fans a little more information about yourself. Firstly, I must ask, what inspired the nickname?

Norm Konyu: Hey there. I’m not sure about the ‘famous mooseboy.’ Just plain old mooseboy will do! The nickname came about years ago as a freelance animator. My surname is unusual, but not unusual enough to stick in people’s memory, so I started branding my showreel and website with the ‘mooseboy’ tag, and it did lead to work coming my way as people could easily remember it, instead of “what’s the name of that Canadian animator we crossed paths with last year?”

TC: Another nice and easy one, what started your journey towards creating graphic novels?

NK: That too came out of my animation work. Animation is almost always a collaborative affair, and I wanted to do something that was 100% me and me only, for better or for worse, and a graphic novel seemed like a logical step for me.

TC: You’re both the artist and author for your tales which gives you a lot of creative freedom, what do you love most about it?

NK: I think it is the fact that as the artist, I can change what the author has written at any stage of the process. Often when art-working, a better script solution will present itself to me. I can also freely curse the author for something he has written which I can’t express visually!

TC: Your stories tend to have the tone of spooky folklore, A Call to Chuthulu and your upcoming tale Downlands, definitely so. What is it you love about the genre?

NK: We all like to be unnerved don’t we? I’m not a slasher fan – I prefer a creeping sense of dread and I’m particularly fond of strange folklore – it’s a record of how our ancestors tried to deal with what they could not explain. Downlands is my attempt to bring those two things together.

TC: You were born in Canada, a place known for its beautiful scenery. Do you take any inspiration from the landscapes in your artwork?

NK: Absolutely! My first book, The Junction, incorporated (in a very stylised way), the small-town Ontario I grew up in, and Downlands draws heavily on the landscape of the South Downs between Eastbourne and Lewes, in England.

TC: You’re a master of art, somehow it’s colorful but dark and creepy at the same time. What do you think is the key to making illustration stand out?

NK: Now, that’s a tough one. I’m not sure if I have a ‘key’ for my own work. All I try to do is create it in a way that is wholly mine, though it probably takes a lot of influence from my animation work over the years. I don’t want it to look like anybody else’s. I want people to be able to look at it and say – ‘oh, that’s by that mooseboy guy’.

TC: You have a new story coming to the shelves in May 2025, Downlands promises to be another spooktacular fantasy, what was your main inspiration behind this new venture?

NK: On top of the folkloric element I mentioned earlier, I was inspired by the layers of visible history here in the UK, something we don’t have very much of in Canada. Within a few miles of my home, I can see a landscape shaped by Bronze Age tribes, the Romans, the Tudors, and WW2 invasion preparations. This land has seen so much. This is something I very much wanted to capture in Downlands.

DOWNLANDS – on sale May 13

“Every village has its stories – those of the living – and those of the dead.”

After the sudden death of his twin sister, 14-year-old James Reynolds becomes obsessed with her tale of a black hound, a folkloric creature that is regarded as a portent of death. Enlisting the help of his elderly neighbour, who the local children call ‘The Witch’, he delves into the centuries of village history, folklore, and ghosts, until he uncovers a deeper secret beyond his darkest nightmares, beyond the sight of most, and beyond the mortal veil. Set in the South Downs of England, a place that has been home to Celts, Romans, and Vikings, James’s story is interwoven with tales from his village that also blur the lines between the living and the dead.

Pre-order today from Forbidden Planet, Amazon and digitally.

THE JUNCTION – on sale NOW!

When a missing child, Lucas Jones, reappears on his uncle’s doorstep in his hometown of Medford after an absence of 12 years, the brief moment of joy is clouded by mystery. Where has he been? Where is his father who disappeared at the same time? And how is it possible that Lucas is still 11 years old?

As Lucas is uncommunicative, it is left to Detective Sergeant David King and child psychologist Jean Symonds to attempt to find some answers from the few belongings Lucas returned with: four Polaroids and a journal that speaks of his time in a placed called ‘The Junction’.

The story unravels through interviews, medical and police reports, and through visits to The Junction via the pages of Lucas’s diary, jumping back and forth in time, revealing pieces of the puzzle in a mystery that will keep you guessing until the end!

Order today from Forbidden Planet, Amazon, and digitally.

A CALL TO CTHULHU – on sale NOW!

‘Best Graphic Novel’ winner at the 2024 Aurora Awards – A suspenseful story that sees Cthulhu receive an unexpected midnight call that will change everything…

Part comic book, part artbook, part children’s storybook, A Call To Cthulhu is a fun, irreverent trip through the classic stories of HP Lovecraft, the influential horror writer, and a perfect introduction to his work for little terrors everywhere! His stories and Cthulhu Mythos has inspired Stephen King and Alan Moore, and forms the backbone of many of today’s movies, TV series, books, comics and games.

Order today from Forbidden Planet, Amazon, and digitally.