Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone and Monstrous Books have acquired the print rights to Kolchak and will release a limited edition of Jeff Rice’s original cult novel as a deluxe hardcover edition featuring a new foreword by writer, actor, and friend of Fango David Dastmalchian (Count Crowley; Late Night with the Devil). The novel will also include an all-new afterword by writer and producer Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), an all-new essay on Jeff Rice by Kolchak expert Mark Dawidziak, (The Night Stalker Companion) with a cover and spot illustrations by Russ Braun (The Boys).
In 1972, Kolchak: The Night Stalker became the highest-rated TV movie in U.S. history and spawned the cult TV series starring Darren McGavin. The TV movie’s iconic screenplay was written by horror legend and novelist Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) and was based on an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice, which was released the following year. The Monstrous Books deluxe hardcover edition of Kolchak: The Night Stalker is being funded via a Kickstarter campaign, with a limited print run of 1973 copies.
“Kolchak and the world created by Jeff Rice has been such a huge inspiration to the person and storyteller that I have become,” said David Dastmalchian. “From my comic, Count Crowley, to the characters, films and series I love creating, there is always a glow of the ghost of our loveable pain-in-the-neck reporter. Grateful that James and the Monstrous Books team are doing such amazing work in their effort to bring this fantastic narrative to people around the world.”
“Kolchak: The Night Stalker was one of the early inspirations in my writing career,” said Rodney Barnes. “The opportunity to be a part of Kolchak’s 50th anniversary was truly an honor. And the beautiful collection of stories James Aquilone assembled is the perfect statement of appreciation for this iconic character.”
In the Kolchak: The Night Stalker novel, the corpses of young women – many of whom are working night jobs – are discovered, drained of blood, with unusual puncture marks on their necks.
“Reporter Carl Kolchak was television’s first paranormal investigator and his determined search for the truth directly influenced a generation of seminal TV shows including Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Supernatural, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” said Aquilone, who edited the award-winning Kolchak: The Night Stalker 50th Anniversary graphic novel. “Jeff Rice was a Las Vegas-based journalist by day and a novelist by night and his original novel is set on the streets of the country’s gambling mecca. It’s a thrilling, pulpy read and our plan is that this new edition of the original novel will usher in a new era for Kolchak books.”
Read David Dastmalchian’s Kolchak foreword in its entirety below:
KOLCHAK, the NOSTALGIA-STALKER
I first heard about the troubled reporter Carl Kolchak as if he were a thing of legend. Well, I suppose he is. Though the televised movies and series had aired before I’d landed on Earth’s surface, there were enough references to Kolchak in my monster magazines and I’d noticed enough horror convention fan art that I knew I needed to know more about this beleaguered reporter uncovering all manner of supernatural menace. When I was finally able to track down episodes on VHS that had been taped from tapes from tapes, the grainy quality on warbly old polyester ribbon made for a crunchy viewing experience that only added to the magical nostalgia of the great Kolchak!
As time passed, I felt more connected than ever to this man who was plagued by the devastating pain of being disbelieved and discredited. I’m a recovering alcoholic and addict who spent a lot of time burning personal bridges (not unlike Carl K) and when I finally started to turn my life around and focus on doing the “right thing,” it was hard for people to believe me. There was something so elevated and electric in the stories of Kolchak that also helped transport me to another world in my imagination.
When I began developing my series Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter, I was massively inspired by Kolchak. I remember coming from the set of MacGyver and talking to the creator of our show, Peter Lenkov, about our mutual love of Kolchak. In fact, Peter introduced me to Mike Richardson at Dark Horse comics who ended up publishing my series about an alcoholic news reporter who discovers that monsters aren’t just real, they’ve been circulating “fake news” and information into our culture for decades to keep us from learning that truth about monsters.
In the original book (thankfully released after the TV movie was a hit!), Jeff Rice’s protagonist is such a marvelously complicated character and he checks all of the boxes that I love as writer, as actor, and just all around monster kid storyteller! Kolchak is flawed and fallible. He’s a bit of an a-hole and yet you love him because he’s just so earnest and his tattered heart is worn so heavily on his tattered sleeve. Also…there’s something about a villain like Janos Skorzeny that makes me wish for a chance to bring the ageless bloodsucker to life again on the screen, either big or small. I hope that there are many more Kolchak films, series, comics, and all manner of stories to come. What a great gift Carl Kolchak has been to those of us who dream of hunting the night-haunters. And for those who dream of being a reporter like Carl, well I suppose Kolchak doesn’t offer the most inspiring advice: “…my dear, nobody wants to be a reporter like me.”
– David Dastmalchian
March 2024
Kolchak: The Night Stalker boasts a cover and interior illustrations by Russ Braun (The Boys). The limited-edition hardcover will feature painted edges and a sewn-in bookmark. Supporters of the limited-edition hardcover tier will receive a Kolchak fan club membership card, which will also have a Kolchak Press Badge on the other side. Visit the project’s official site to get your copy.
