THE TORMENTED

Fans of Ghostbusters and the paranormal will want to check out a new spooky comic book series, THE TORMENTED, that is debuting on March 19th as Amazon's Comixology Originals exclusive digital content. Writer, producer, and animator Chuck Austen and artist Patrick Olliffe craft a new 5-issue comic book series about Ryan Auster, a young man starring on a new ghost hunting reality TV show. THE TORMENTED also features colors by Lee Loughridge, letters by Jodi Wynne, and edits by Greg Lockard. 

Ryan Auster is the son of legendary ghost hunters Vera and Adam Austerhölle, but this is a fact he doesn’t share willingly. Unlike his father, mother, and sister, Ryan never had “the gift” to “see” the paranormal, so they’d leave him behind whenever they went out to investigate. But Ryan was hiding his abilities, terrified of the consequences of his supposed “gift,” and the parents who gave them to him. Then, one life-altering night, his entire family is brutally murdered. Instantly orphaned, Ryan was raised by various foster families—many of whom faced horrible fates of their own. 

Now, as an adult, Ryan finds himself the charismatic host of a children’s online cooking show. But when that series suddenly ends, and his pushy producer discovers Ryan’s family history, Ryan is unexpectedly and unwillingly sold as the host of a brand-new ghost hunting reality TV series. Ryan desperately needs the money, but he knows that if he agrees to host “Restless Spirits,” and use his supernatural “gifts,” it will make him a beacon that draws—not only the beings that gruesomely butchered his family—but all the many horrors that hide in the darkness, marking him, and his newfound friends on the show, to suffer the same fate as his murdered family.

“Ryan Auster, our protagonist in THE TORMENTED, sees ghosts, but kept it from his ghost-hunting family because he feared his family more than the ghosts, and because he’s been hiding it his whole life, now in his twenties, he still hasn’t quite learned how to deal with the unexpected spirits, demons, and otherworldly creatures that are constantly invading his life," Chuck Austen communicated to ageekdaddy.com. "This series has been an absolute trip to create with Pat, and I hope readers have as much fun reading the story as we’ve had making it.”

Amazon’s Comixology Originals exclusive digital content line is available at no additional cost for members of Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, and Comixology Unlimited, and for purchase at amazon.com/comixology. Prime Reading offers all Amazon Prime members a rotating selection of more than 3,000 digital books, magazines, comics, and more – all at no additional cost to their Prime membership. Kindle Unlimited gives customers access to more than 4 million digital titles, including thousands of audio books and comics, plus current magazines for just $11.99 a month with a free trial period at amazon.com/kindleunlimited. Comixology Unlimited offers over 45,000 comics, graphic novels and manga for just $5.99 a month with a free trial at amazon.com/comixologyunlimited.

Treat Yourself To Some Spooky Fun Tricks On Family & Friends This Halloween

** The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free **

Halloween has always been one of my favorite times of the year with its costume parties, haunted houses, ghost stories and trick or treating.  One of the funnest parts of the season though has to be pulling pranks on people to see if you can scare them.  BEST BUY's Geek Squad has come up with some great ideas on how you can use recent advances in technology to take your Halloween pranks to the next level.  With some help from BEST BUY, you can really treat yourself to some fun with awesome spooky tricks on your friends and family.

Our family walks past this mantle probably a hundred times per day with a mirror hanging over it and built-in cabinets underneath with a television and audio-video equipment and I figured they wouldn't be pay much attention if I tried to pull off the Best Buy Geek Squad's "Mirror Mirror" prank.  So I followed the directions in the video below by swapping out the mirror over our living room mantle with the flat screen television I have stashed in my basement workout area while my wife and kids were out doing some errands.  I grabbed an old Halloween monster mask and recorded myself jumping as if I would be coming out of the mirror yelling BOO!!!  Then I edited the video on my PC and burned it to a DVD.  I connected the DVD to the television which was hidden by a sheet of two-way mirror film and hoped my family wouldn't notice the extra cords dangling about.  Since we already has some A/V cords wrapped around some shelves and the mantle they really did blend in unless you were really paying attention.


When my wife and kids arrived home they went upstairs to put some things away and I grabbed the DVD and TV remote controls to get ready for my prank!  I hid by the stairway entrance to our living room and as I heard steps coming down I flipped on the video just as the person approached then jumped out with my camera to record the moment.  I snapped a picture just as my son began to howl out a cry of fright!  Ooops! thought it was going to be my wife walking into the room first and I felt bad about scaring my son.  He started laughing though once he realized it was a prank and started begging that we do it on my wife and daughter too.  I let him work the remote controls when we heard them walking down the stairs.  Oh the family fun you can have at Halloween!

While scaring friends and family at Halloween can be a real treat - even more fun is being able to show your "victims" how ridiculous they looked at the moment you've terrified them.  Taking a photo can be a nice present to preserve their memory of this Halloween prank or if you are more devilish  it can be a way to blackmail someone who wants to avoid having their embarrassing freaked out face show up all over social media.  BEST BUY has some great tips on how to really do a great job of recording your prank so there are images to share.


So are there any Halloween pranks you've wanted to do but haven't had the know how to pull them off.  BEST BUY can supply technology now that makes pranks that my have seemed beyond the realm of possibility in the past a reality now.  CLICK HERE for BEST BUY's full list of high-tech pranks you can do for a high-scare Halloween. BOO-HA-HA-HA!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!

Stop by the local Comic Book Store as part of your Trick or Treat Plans

On Saturday, October 25, 2014 local comic book stores across the United States and Canada will be giving away FREE comic books for the industry's HALLOWEEN COMICFEST.  Participating retailers will be handing out 12 full size comics and 7 mini-comics to kids, and adults, who stop by and say "trick or treat" while supplies last.  CLICK HERE to see if there is a participating location near you.

The full size comic books are aimed more for teens and adults with titles such as AFTERLIFE WITH ARCHIE, BATMAN-LEGENDS OF THE DARK KNIGHT HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, MAX BROOKS' EXTINCTION PARADE, GRIMM FAIRY TALES HALLOWEEN SPECIAL, RACHEL RISING and RESIDENT EVIL.

There are though a few of the full sized comic books with a kids focus such as HERO CATS, MY LITTLE PONY, and SCOOBY-DOO TEAMS UP WITH BATMAN.

The mini-comics are much more aimed for younger audiences with a compilation by Boom! Studios that includes stories featuring Adventure Time, Peanuts and Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock plus other comics featuring Angry Birds, Little Battlers and Vamplets: the Undead Pet Society.

Don't miss out on the fun! Make sure you swing by a participating comic book store on Saturday, October 25th.  They'll probably be out of the freebies by the end of the day so don't wait until later in the week to try and pick these up or try to actually trick or treat on Halloween at these stores.

For more information, visit www.HalloweenComicFest.com