Posted in: Comics | Tagged:

Brain-Sucking-Mullets From the Back Of Beyond

Boaz Dror writes,

Finally, a series about brain-sucking-mullets that explains everything!!

In the late 90's, while working as a video clerk in Austin, TX's Vulcan Video at the height of VHS and dawn of DVD, I had one of those "lightning-strikes" epiphanies.

My coworker and I were in the midst of a horror/alien-invasion marathon, having just screened John Carpenter's The Thing and Philip Kaufman's Invasion of the Body Snatchers, when I randomly picked out some super-low-budget creature-feature … I think it was Mosquito.

As we heckled the film I flipped idly through a copy of the Beastie Boys Grand Royal magazine, which is when I landed on their famous "Mullet" spread.

I was struck by a thought: what if the mullet – that symbol of rowdy redneck kitsch and hokey hockey hooliganism – was in fact a parasite from outer space, which fed on the adrenaline and testosterone produced in (mostly male) human brains? Wouldn't that explain a whole lot? Little did I know that that brief moment of juxtaposition would lead me on the arduous, decades-long journey of "Night of the Mullets."

I started to craft a story set in the fictional town of Crater Springs, TX… borrowing heavily from my own Lone Star experiences: partying at trailer-park keggers in small panhandle towns, finding myself at impromptu backyard wrestling matches and deafening monster truck rallies, and attending other perplexing events you'd find nowhere but the more "mulleted" pockets of America.

The plot concerned an underground group of fighting female hairdressers – secretly headquartered in a hi-tech beauty college and known as "The Hairforce" – who kept the steady stream of brain-suckers landing in their midst from wreaking havoc on the local town-folk.

Over a decade and a half I wrote several drafts of the story, and even garnered some interest in making a low-budget film – which unfortunately never materialized. Then, in 2014, I decided to adapt the story into a comic book. I'd always been a huge fan of comics, especially the work of Ted McKeever, Mike Allred, Sam Kieth, Peter David, Neil Gaiman, Peter Milligan… you know, the good stuff. So I made contact with Spanish-based illustrator Valentin Ramon, whose work on D4VE was simply amazing. And when he agreed to join the project, I knew we had something potentially cool on our hands.

Together, Val and I set out with the humble goal of finishing a first issue. But by the end of 2016, that goal had morphed… into a second, then a third, fourth and ultimately a final fifth issue. The first installment was released on comiXology in 2015, and the entire series was completed in 2018.

And now we're collecting it in physical form for the first time ever, in a limited edition Kickstarter TPB! 

The campaign offers rewards such as personalized artwork, trucker hats, and other Southern-flavored swag. It launched on Wednesday October 15th, and crossed the 50% threshold in its first 48 hours! And now… for all Bleeding Cool readers who back Night of the Mullets… we're featuring an extra-special offer! Pledge at the "The Thing" Tier or above and receive a FREE high-quality 8 1/2" x 11"cardstock print of the inks of ONE of three covers:

1. Jim Mahfood's pencils for our first issue cover.
2. Grim Wilkins' pencils for our second issue cover.
3. Ulises Fariñas' pencils for our fifth issue cover.

That's in addition to all pledge rewards already contained in your tier, and any stretch goals you help us unlock! Just make sure to type in "BCOOLMULLET" in the messages section when you back the Night of the Mullets Kickstarter followed by the name of the artist to get your special swag!

Nowadays, mullets are making a comeback… and uniting people across the socio-economic divide. You see 'em riding high on urban 'grammers posting "business up front/party out back" hairdos to Insta every #TBT and #FBF… and also (naturally) on rural, unassuming folk. Heck, there's even a problematic pompadour prominently perched upon the American President! Which means now more than ever we need to expose the secret history of the mullet!

So if you're a fan of comic books, satire, or horror-comedy science fiction, come check out Night of the Mullets! … and claim your super-secret bleeding cool swag while you're at it!

Boaz Dror is a writer, director and comic book creator living in Los Angeles. He's written ADR for anime, gangster flicks for Bollywood, sketch comedy for Hollywood, and now has an animated show at a major studio. For additional information, visit boazdror.com.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!