ComingSoon is debuting the exclusive Host Mortem trailer, previewing the upcoming time travel adventure book from Emmy-winning writer Kevin Shinick.
What is Host Mortem about?
Host Mortem comes from Shinick, who is best known as the host and time-traveling detective of the Emmy-winning series Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, as well as a writer on the hit stop-motion Adult Swim series Robot Chicken. Shinick will be joined by artist Damien Torres, colorist Pippa Bowland, and letterer Taylor Esposito.
The 180-page graphic novel follows the story of Shinick and Greg Lee (who also hosted the hit show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?), as the pair of them are transported back in time to 1947 while at a comic con. The pair then find themselves thrust into a murder mystery involving Humphrey Bogart’s legendary film The Big Sleep.
Check out the trailer for Host Mortem, as well as a cover from Damien Torres for the graphic novel, below:
Shinick and the team behind Host Mortem are crowdfunding the development of the graphic novel, with the book available on both Kickstarter and BackerKit. Readers who support the book on Kickstarter will be able to pledge for different covers, including ones by noted comic artists Tony Foti, Timothy Anderson, and Damien Torres. Personalized video messages from Shinick and Lee will also be one of several other rewards.
“Host Mortem follows TV hosts, Kevin Shinick (Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego?) and Greg Lee (Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?) who are transported to the year 1947 by a time portal at comic con,” reads the book’s description. “They soon find themselves enmeshed in a murder mystery involving Humphrey Bogart’s legendary noir film The Big Sleep. When one of the stars winds up dead, Kevin and Greg’s knowledge of random trivia might be the key to solving this Hollywood caper.”
“Between the two of us, Greg and I have hosted a number of game shows,” Shinick said in a statement. “As a result, we have a lot of random trivia floating around in our heads and I always wished I could put that knowledge to better use other than just, “Hey, did you know the singular of spaghetti it spaghetto?” And since we both played fake detectives on Carmen Sandiego (me a time traveling detective and Greg a classic gumshoe detective) I got to wondering how we might fare with an actual murder? The ultimate question being, “Are hosts really smart? Or do they just have the answers?”
“The premise of two fake detective game show hosts from the 1990s having to solve a series of real murders in the 1940s seemed like a novel idea so we thought we might be onto something,” said Lee. “Now, thanks to Kevin’s amazing talent writing comic books and our combined experience with game show shenanigans I get to star alongside my pal in Host Mortem! Which involves time travel, film noir, game show trivia and lots of comedy because, spoiler alert, we’re not as good at solving murders as we think.”
