For horror fans, you truly live in a golden age thanks to anthologies galore. (OK, it’s not golden, but whatever the shade of red that blood happens to be.) But in addition to bigger collections like Creepshow, Catacomb of Torment, and Hello Darkness (among several others), be sure to watch out for indie artists as they terrify and delight with precious.
Case in point: Ruffian Meat, a new horror anthology organized by writer Aaron Losty and currently crowdfunding via Kickstarter. Losty wrote five of the stories here, and tapped special guest star Gretchen Felker-Martin to write yet another entry. Together, they’re joined by solid roster of artists in Marie Enger, Micheal Walsh, Sajan Rai, Artyom Trakhanov, Sloane Hong, and Connor McCann.
So, just what sort of tales have they cooked up? Here’s a sampling of your spooky smorgasbord:
- “Devourer” (Losty and Trakhanov): Here, a “ranger and his animal companions witness a celestial orb fall from the sky and begin to consume everything it touches.”
- “Earn Your Spot” (Losty and Enger): This “oilpunk cosmic fantasy” follows trenchers who, everyday at 6 p.m., climb “from their dugouts to stand exposed and fire six shots blindly into the smoke and fog of the battlefield.”
- “Birthday” (Losty and McCann): The duo draw inspiration from “Gary Busey’s monologue in Surviving The Game” for a story where a father implements “a cruel form of training” for his son and the boy’s new dog.
The Ruffian Meat Kickstarter is active now through Wednesday, May 13. (As of press time, the campaign has raised greater than $3,000 of its initial $17,680 goal.) The campaign goes to cover printing and other fees as well as paying each collaborator, and any profits will be divided among the collaborators. Pledge your support to Ruffian Meat right here.
To drum up further support for the endeavor, Losty was kind enough to answer a few questions via email about Ruffian Meat. That includes the origin of the collection’s tasty title, the uptick in horror-centric anthologies, operating on Kickstarter these days, and even any future plans for the anthology.
AIPT: I have to start with this: Where did the amazing title come from?
Aaron Losty: Thank you! *bats eyelashes* *clacks nails* My bestie, Michael Walsh, always tells me I’ve a talent for titles. I have a notes thread on my phone where I’ll jot down words that look interesting together. Often I’ll have a title for a project before I even have a story. My next solo project is titled “Hunger’s Mother.” When I made note of that name I knew it had to be a vampire story. LOL.
AIPT: Since you’ve co-written five stories and organized this bad boy, is there a larger theme or “message” informing this collection?
AL: I think restlessness and action. At least that’s how I felt when concocting this project. I had a lot of small ideas set in big worlds swirling around in my head, and I just wanted to grab the clay and push them into being, so to speak. At the time of writing them, myself and my wife (Becca Carey) were being kicked out of Canada and we had to move back to Ireland, so I’m sure the doom and gloom of that influenced these somber tales in some respect.
https://bsky.app/profile/aaronlosty.bsky.social/post/3mjfacdw7js2e
AIPT: Similar to that last question, is there anything that unites, or serves as a throughline, for the various collaborators assembled here?
AL: Before I locked in any ideas, I had floated the project to a bunch of artists I greatly admire, and thankfully everyone I approached said yes! So being massive fans of these artists I’m collaborating with, I was able to tailor each story directly to the them. To quote Marie Enger when I pitched her on our tale (“Earn Your Spot:): “Oh, this is just Enger bait.” I think the connective tissue between all the talents is that they’re great at drawing little freaks and I’m great at writing them.
AIPT: You’re Irish, and so you’re probably more locked into horror from the European “tradition.” Do you feel like it’s different from, say, what I (an American) might consume?
AL: Loaded question. LOL. Um, I think often American horror can center around fear and fear of the stranger. The home invader, the serial killer, the monster, the terrorists, etc. etc.. Where European horror is more about why do the hills scream when the wind blows; it’s cosmic, existential. It is the self as the horror. This is mostly a comment on pop culture than anything else to be fair. (I’m a devoted lover of a good creature feature).
Art from a story called “Phantoms.”
AIPT: What’s a favorite story (or maybe just a standout tale) across the entire collection, and why that one specifically?
AL: Damn, that’s a tough one. I’d be a fool to pick a favorite honestly, but I’m so glad I got to work with Connor on “Birthday,” which is inspired by Gary Busey’s speech in the film Surviving The Game, in which he describes how he got a certain scar on his face which I just think is hilarious as a pitch for a story. I’m super excited to see Gretchen Felker-Martin and Sloane Hong’s story “Cellulite” come to life.
AIPT: What is the key (or keys) to a really great horror story? Is there a “formula” involved?
AL: I’ve become less and less thoughtful about how I write. I know that sounds really silly, but I’ve been writing for a long time and I’ve read all the books on structure and plot and yadda yadda. I really just try to follow my gut. I have a quote from Akira Toriyama I print out and stick on every notebook and it reads, “Slackers like me weren’t supposed to think, really.” I try to convey emotions as best I can, and if a reader can find that upsetting or unnerving, I’m on the right track. I’m really just hoping to ruin the reader’s day.
“My favorite idea of horror is that you’ve gone on this grand adventure in a magical world, and now you’re back home and it’s over.”
AIPT: There’s been a real surge in horror stories/titles in the last 5 or so years. While most folks I’ve asked said that has to do with ::gestures toward the larger world::, is there anything else that’s gotten people onto the Good Ship Horror en masse?
AL: For me at least, it was a realization that I always wrote horror without intending to. There has been an air of existentialism to my stories from day one that I just hadn’t analyzed in any great depth. Even going back almost 10 years to my debut OGN The Waves That Break, which is three short stories dealing with death and the loss of loved ones. I think horror is always in vogue. It just depends on how you look at things.
My favorite idea of horror is that you’ve gone on this grand adventure in a magical world, and now you’re back home and it’s over. Of course, the current state of the world is always going to influence things, and when times are at their harshest we see a need for escapism. The world has always been on fire, we just have 24/7 access to it in our pockets now. But as a genre, it is often taken lightly and without consideration, which often makes it accessible as a genre from a creators’ standpoint.
AIPT: Similar to that last one, horror anthologies have also been all the rage as of late. Why does that genre and that “format” seem to work so darn well together?
AL: That’s true for sure. I think horror has always been a genre looked down upon and seen often in its own category of pulp. So often it was banished to short stories, where more of a risk could be taken on something shorter, and that has become a hallmark of the genre as a result. But aside from that, I think horror works best when you don’t hang around. Get in. Upset everyone. Ruin their day. Get out. Bob’s your uncle.
Art from the story “Birthday” (by Losty and McCann).
AIPT: Kickstarter is seen as this easy, undeniable model for indie creators. In 2026, is that true — is Kickstarter this foolproof, slightly magical platform? Is it complicated perhaps?
AL: If you look at the metrics comics are Kickstarter’s most successful market in the sense that they have the highest success rate of any project category. This is most often because comics are made by a sole creator, and their goal is often set quite low so this makes it easier to get over the line. That said, Kickstarter isn’t as surefire as it once was. As we’ve alluded to, the world is on fire, and if people even have disposable money, they’re more cautious with it.
A couple of years ago you’d be at panic stations if your book didn’t fund on day one, but now the support is slower-paced and more calculated. I think if you already have an embedded fanbase with Kickstarter accounts [then] it can be easier to drum up support, but nothing’s gifted in comics. Not to mention social media marketing has collapsed over the past few years as platforms mess with algorithms and put a price on advertising.
AIPT: Do you have a favorite horror story of all time? Maybe something that inspired a contribution here, or just serves as a continued source of motivation?
AL: That’s a hard one to pin down honestly. I’m not sure they fall neatly into the horror genre, but I’m greatly inspired by the works of Yoshihiro Tatsumi, which are just incredibly dark. Most of which were eight-to 10-page stories published in men’s magazines. The Shining (the film) is also one of my favorites, and I’ve always had a fear of being abducted by aliens. In fact, I have a recurring nightmare about it which crops up from time to time. No doubt from watching too many horror films as a kid. I’m sure this has also led to my love and fear of the film Signs. The premise, and its delivery, I find fascinating and enthralling.
Art from the story “Earn Your Spot” (Losty and Enger).
AIPT: If this goes well, could there be a long-term future for Ruffian Meat?
AL: For sure! I would love to do a collection like this one every 12 or 24 months under different titles. The next one will be titled Smashed Ashtrays, but I’m not getting ahead of myself just yet.
AIPT: Is there anything else we should know about Ruffian Meat, comics, horror, etc.?
AL: It’s been an absolute privilege to have the trust of my collaborators on this, and I feel truly blessed to have my name alongside theirs. I’m incredibly fortunate they all agreed to be a part of this, and I hope we can make this a roaring success. I live a very privileged life where I get to tell sad stories about little freaks, and I hope I get to do so for the rest of my days. Go back Ruffian Meat!!!!
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