Mad Cave Studios' Soul Taker brings a new face to independent horror

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Horror has a new face, and it’s one that’s getting younger all the time in a new creator-owned comic series launching from Mad Cave Studios this summer. Death stalks a retirement home, looking for one victim in particular in the upcoming six-part storyline Soul Taker.

The official publisher description of the series runs as follows: “Amarantha is the last of her race, an ancient species that has lived among us for millennia, feeding on the life energies of humanity. Now enjoying a peaceful existence in a retirement community, she continues to consume just enough to survive. But Amarantha has made enemies throughout her long life and an ancient foe thought long defeated has returned and is out for blood, while a newer threat seeks to capture her for their own nefarious purposes! Now Amarantha must do everything in her power to vanquish her enemies and protect the life she has made for herself.”

“I’m crazy excited to be working with Mad Cave Studios on Soul Taker, my first creator-owned comic series,” co-writer Jeannine Acheson said in a statement provided by Mad Cave. “It seems like forever ago that the character of Amara was born from an innocent conversation between Tom and me about our elderly moms. And now, four years later, Amara’s story is here, about to be unleashed on the world. I’m so grateful that Mad Cave decided to take a chance on us, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet Amara and the other colorful characters who inhabit her world.”

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“When Jeannine brought me the germ of an idea — an old lady aging backwards while living in elderly housing—I knew that the project that would eventually come from it would be something special, and that it would need a special home,” added co-writer Tom Sniegoski. “We continued to work on the idea which would eventually become Soul Taker, hoping that we would find a publisher that understood the kind of story we were trying to tell, and luckily we did with Mad Cave Studios. Jeannine and I are incredibly excited for everybody to experience the unique characters we have created, and the world in which they live.”

In addition to Acheson and Sniegoski, the series features art from Italian illustrator Valeria Burzo, with colors from Emilio Lecce, and letters by Jim Campbell.

The first issue of the series features a primary cover by Michael Sta Maria, as well as two additional variants by Meghan Hetrick and Rosi Kampe, as can be seen in the gallery below. The six-issue series launches July 3.

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