The YA graphic novel medium has always found creative ways to bring readers together. But what happens when a love of comics collides with real-life mysteries and supernatural surprises? That’s exactly the premise behind Haunted Comic Club, the new young adult graphic novel from writer Josh Tierney and artist Caitlin Soliman, a story that mixes friendship, fandom, and spooky adventures into a celebration of community and imagination.
With the book hitting stands this week, we’re excited to welcome Josh and Caitlin to GVN Talking Comics to talk about bringing Haunted Comic Club to life, building a cast of relatable young characters, and balancing heartfelt coming-of-age moments with ghostly thrills. And the collaborative process behind creating a graphic novel that invites readers to embrace both their passions and their fears. So, let’s welcome Josh Tierney and Caitlin Soliman to GVN Talking Comics.
Creative Origins
GVN: Greetings, Josh and Caitlin. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Since this is our first chance to chat, let’s begin with both of your creative journeys. Starting with you, Caitlin. When did you first take an interest in comic art, and whose work do you feel inspired those ambitions?
Caitlin: Thank you for this opportunity! I grew up looking at newspaper comics like Pearls Before Swine as well as Peanuts and Garfield when I was a kid, but I really fell in love when I discovered the Flight anthology (specifically volume 4) by Kazu Kibuishi around late junior/early high school, which in turn led to me discovering webcomics! I think one of the main influences would have to be Amy Kim and her graphic novel series The Rema Chronicles (which I read when it was still in webcomic form). I remember being completely swept up in the world and characters she created, and eagerly waiting for new pages or rereading as I waited. I still have a very faded Tokyopop volume of her comic Sorcerers & Secretaries, haha.
GVN: Same questions for you, Josh. When did you consider writing as a career and comic writing specifically, and whose work led you on that journey?
Josh: With Haunted Comic Club being about two tweens trying to make their own comic, this is something I definitely reflected on while writing. I collected Jeff Smith’s Bone when I was a kid, back when it was a self-published black-and-white series, and that inspired me in a lot of ways. Bone being self-published made me realize nothing could truly stop me from trying to make comics. I wanted to do something like Bone, having fallen in love with its characters and setting, and even drew my own zines with knockoff Bone characters. Over time I stopped drawing, focusing instead on writing.
I love the collaborative experience of making comics with an artist, so now I write while working with awesome artists like Caitlin!
Haunted Comic Club
GVN: Now let’s get into your new graphic novel “Haunted Comic Club.” This story combines ghosts, friendship, and a love of comics into one spooky middle-grade adventure. What was the original spark for the project, and what made these themes feel like the perfect combination for a graphic novel?
Josh: I wanted to write something inspired by my experience at a Boys & Girls Club, which was extremely formative for me. The club was just filled with kids from different schools, and then there were the teenage volunteers, and I think the only actual adult I ever saw was the bus driver. But something that made it extra special was how it ran into the night. The nighttime atmosphere was pure magic—it felt like anything could happen, and when I found myself completely alone in a hallway, my overactive imagination made me feel like I could sense ghosts lurking the halls.
I was working on a horror webcomic called Iris Complex with Caitlin while reminiscing about this, and it hit me that this memory could be the start of a middle-grade graphic novel. I also felt that if I have any tips for making comics or advice for making friends, Haunted Comic Club would be the place to put them.
Working Together
GVN: You’ve worked together on multiple projects over the years. How has your creative partnership evolved, and what did each of you bring to “Haunted Comic Club” that helped shape its unique identity?
Josh: Our projects have gotten bigger and bigger. I wrote a collaborative webcomic where a different artist drew each scene, and asked Caitlin to draw one of the scenes—and then a second scene because I loved the first so much. I then wrote Iris Complex with Cassio Ribeiro as the initial artist. When Cassio left, Caitlin came on with the tricky task of incorporating aspects of Cassio’s style into her own. Over time she switched to her personal style. And now we have a full book together with Haunted Comic Club!
Beyond my own personal tween angst that I tapped into, I’d say two aspects of my writing style that are immediately apparent in Haunted Comic Club are my love of character banter (which is especially fun when the characters are kids) and flashes of formal experimentation, like a cutaway view of a bus.
Caitlin: For me it definitely changed from before where the main input I had was only in the drawing phase, whereas in Haunted Comic Club I was helping out from the beginning! I also feel like the collaborative story phase is where Haunted Comic Club found its identity. I’m actually pretty slow when I’m coming up with my own original stories, but since there was already the base idea of HCC from Josh, I was able to build on that and throw a bunch of ideas at him, haha.
Comics as a Subject and as Media
GVN: I really appreciate that the book celebrates the act of creating comics while telling its own supernatural story. What drew you to exploring comics as both a storytelling medium and a subject within the narrative itself?
Josh: I really wanted to invite readers to share in that feeling of excitement you get when making a comic, especially when you’re a kid. There’s a special intensity to it when you’re a kid, or at least there was for me, where making a cool comic could feel like the most important thing in the world. I’d love for Will and Anita’s comic, and Haunted Comic Club itself, to inspire readers to create, no matter their age or skill level.
I love seeing fun characters and their unique worlds brought to life in comics, something that goes back to my love of Bone. Caitlin and I enjoy playing around with the possibilities of comics as well, such as Anita’s sketch flashbacks.
Balancing the Story
GVN: Judging from my own ancient recollections and those of my grandchildren, Middle-grade readers love a good scare, but they also connect deeply with authentic emotional journeys. How did you balance the ghostly elements with the themes of friendship, creativity, and growing up?
Josh: The simple answer is that I had a feeling of “ghosts are definitely real” when I was a kid haha. The world seemed a little more mysterious back then. Kids are the ones imagining monsters in their closets and under their beds, after all.
The ghost connects to Anita’s loss of her grandmother, and of Will’s fears of being rejected and being alone. But believing in a ghost is also an act of imagination, which leads Will and Anita to make a comic about it. In a way, it’s definitely at least partly thanks to the ghost that these kids are able to gain confidence in themselves and their abilities.
Caitlin’s Artwork
GVN: Caitlin, your artwork has a warmth and expressiveness that feels perfectly suited to younger readers. How did you approach designing the settings and characters to ensure the book felt spooky without becoming overwhelming?
Caitlin: Thank you so much! I think my main approach was figuring a good balance between color and how much black to use in the background. When I was working on Iris Complex the style I had relied on black filling out a lot of the comic to help with the more serious tone and story, but I tried to stay away from that in Haunted Comic Club. There’s definitely some pretty inky backgrounds scattered throughout the comic, but I usually added some color to it so it wasn’t pure black. There’s a lot of night time scenes that are blue and I like how it still feels mysterious and a little spooky rather than creepy.
Creative Communities
GVN: At its core, Haunted Comic Club is about people coming together through a shared passion. Why was it important to explore the idea of creative communities, especially for younger readers who may be discovering their own artistic voices?
Caitlin: I think it’s important mainly because of how isolating creative processes can be, like for example when I was drawing this graphic novel, haha! I did, however, have two friends of mine help me out with color flatting (shout out to Joseph and Kang!), and having them there made the process a lot more fun and inspired me as well. Same as when I was collaborating with Josh and figuring out the story; Josh would send ideas and I would come up with new ideas or directions, or when I would send the newest batch of pages to him and he’d respond with some comments. Basically, I don’t think there’s anything wrong if you want to create things on your own, but it can be incredibly fun if you find the right people or community to be excited about making things together.
Josh: Like Caitlin says, finding likeminded people who you can collaborate with, or even just interact with, can be very encouraging and inspiring for everyone involved. When you have a friend at your side while you’re actively creating, and you’re bouncing ideas together or both of you are talking up your personal projects, it can really fire you up and make you feel less alone.
I remember being around 12, and another boy asked if I wanted to work on a story with him. He wasn’t someone I was close friends with, but he knew I was always writing or drawing something. We would meet at his place to type up the story and go to the library to research mythology for world-building ideas. It felt like a real adventure and we became stronger friends because of it. From there I continued to collaborate with others, sharing ideas and making friends along the way!
What Readers Remember
GVN: Thank you so much for your time, Josh and Caitlin. In closing, when readers close Haunted Comic Club, what do you hope stays with them most: the mystery, the friendships, the love of comics, or perhaps something else entirely?
Josh: Thanks for the interview! One of my lifelong goals as a writer is to make books that readers can treasure, that introduce them to characters and places they’d want to return to in order to spend more time with them. So, as far as the story itself, Will and Anita’s friendship in the haunted Tween Zone is something I hope sticks with readers.
Kids love to start making comics but it’s rare for them to finish them (well, speaking for my younger self, my kids, and what I’ve observed throughout my life). I’d love for Haunted Comic Club to encourage readers to finish their comics, since there’s so much to be learned from seeing something through to the end, and the wonderful sense of satisfaction that comes with it.
Caitlin: I hope they’re encouraged to keep reading and exploring more stories through comics! And if someone reads Haunted Comic Club and decides they also want to try making comics for fun, I think that would be super cool.
As Haunted Comic Club prepares to welcome readers into its spooky yet heartfelt world, it’s clear that Josh and Caitlin have created a story that will connect with anyone who’s discovered friendship through a shared passion. Make sure to check out Haunted Comic Club when it premieres, and stay tuned to GVN for more interviews, previews, and all the latest news from the realms of comics, graphic novels, and pop culture.
Senior Writer at GeekVibesNation – I am a 60 something child of the 70’s who admits to being a Star Trek/Star Wars/Comic Book junkie who once dove headfirst over a cliff (Ok, it was a small hill) to try to rescue his Fantastic Four comic from a watery grave. I am married to a lovely woman who is as crazy as I am and the proud parent of a 21-year-old young man with autism. My wife and son are my real heroes.
