John Carpenter escapes to L.A. for new graphic novel: Cathedral

John Carpenter hasn’t made a movie since 2012, when he more or less retired from filmmaking to smoke weed and play video games. Who could blame him? After decades of trying to make movies his way, he grew tired of fighting and found other outlets, including making music with his sons. He’s also tried out other visual arts, like that true-crime docuseries for Peacock, Suburban Screams, and the recently released video game, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commandos. Only a week after the game dropped, Carpenter has announced his next project, a graphic novel called Cathedral. 

Co-written with his wife and producer Sandy King and longtime collaborator Sean Sobczak, and illustrated by Federico De Luca and Luis Guaragna Cathedral is Carpenter’s first graphic novel but hardly lacks his DNA. Set in downtown Los Angeles, the book centers around an abandoned cathedral, where a “centuries old evil” remains trapped in its walls, which certainly has a hint of Prince Of Darkness to it. Here’s the full synopsis:

A gruesome murder one late night pulls the structure into the spotlight, triggering a police investigation into the loss of one of their own. Lieutenant Christine Marks, along with detectives Paul Hernandez and Steve Mayfield, must enter the church in search of the monster that murdered her father. Every step takes them deeper into the belly of the church revealing the mystery of an ancient evil imprisoned within. 

“I saw it in a dream: a nightmare landscape deep underground filled with monsters too weird and sinister to exist in daylight,” John Carpenter said in a statement. “I knew instantly I had to get these things out of my head and into everyone else’s brains.”