Set in Roche and O’Halloran’s native Ireland, the comic follows a group of parents who awaken “an ancient evil buried beneath the old Church Hall, unearthing a decades-old mystery about a missing child, and inviting something… hungry into their lives. Suddenly, their mornings go from playdates and peanut allergies to a battle for the souls of one broken family — and one child in particular.”
“My generation grew up in what seemed like a haunted Ireland,” Roche said in the press release. “Superstition still abounded, and everyone had seen moving holy statues, or lived near a stately home that had been burnt to the ground in a Satanic visitation, or knew someone who chopped down a Faerie bush and lived to regret it. ‘Scarenthood’ is about realizing that some of those horrors from childhood are real, but nothing is more terrifying than ruining your own kid’s life. Also: there are funny bits.” He elaborated on Twitter that the comic could be seen as “The Goonies, grown-up and with mortgages,” or “Catastrophe meets Stranger Things.”
O’Halloran said, “I’m incredibly happy to be coloring ‘Scarenthood,’ I’ve been an admirer of Nick’s work for a long time and working on a story set so close to home is a bit of rarity. The spookier elements are such fun to work on and getting those moments to hit right each time is a treat, but it’s the incredible character work by Nick, both as a writer and artist, that’s making this such a special project for me.” (He also joked that he did it because he had made a “blood pact” with Roche, “so I literally have to do it or chance returning to Hell again.”)
“Scarenthood” #1 releases in October with Cover A by Nick Roche, and a Retailer Incentive variant by fellow Irishman Declan Shalvey. The book’s logo was created by graphic designer Wayne Daly, whom Roche made comics with as a teenager. “I can’t believe we get to team up on my first [creator-owned] series. It’s magic,” he said. You can read more insight from Roche, and see more artwork, here.
