Graphic novelist (and horror buff) Jacoby Matott and his forthcoming work, Pumpkin Guts. (Submitted photos)

It snowed again today. Just flurries, but cold enough for me to pull out “the BIG coat.” I expect everyone who lives in western Wisconsin owns a similar one. The coat that once you have taken out of the back of the closet and moved to the front, you officially have surrendered yourself to the long haul of winter.

Artists pull out inspiration like that. Sometimes you only need a quick coating of curiosity to give you the push to sketch out an idea. Add a once-over with a magenta-filled watercolor brush, and you’re done. Other times, you just know the scope of what you’re imagining will fill up an entire sketchbook, and you’re going to need more time.

Jacoby Matott knew that while merging his past skills acting in and directing homemade short films with his love for reading comic books. Having attended UW-Eau Claire, he had completed a double major in theater and illustration and attended countless comic conventions, but his big idea started way back in 2010 when he portrayed a teenage werewolf helping to create the “delightful horror” that was the Village of Terror on the Renaissance fairgrounds in Chippewa Falls.

“What if the excited festival goers weren’t walking into a carnival? … What if they were walking into a slaughter? What if the costumed actors were real monsters instead?”

“What if the excited festival goers weren’t walking into a carnival? … What if they were walking into a slaughter? What if the costumed actors were real monsters instead?” He decided that day to write down and illustrate a Halloween adventure in graphic novel form.

A page from Pumpkin Guts.

Jacoby knew he was in it for the long haul, and Pumpkin Guts began to slowly morph into more than just an idea. The story unfolds as Nancy and the Ravens, a gang of rambunctious teenagers, attend a mysterious Halloween festival. As the darkness of night falls, they become prey to Lord Hallow’en, who captures their friend Katrina and pits the group in an epic battle against countless ghouls, spooks, and some of their worst nightmares.

Working mostly in the winter months, sometimes up to 16 hours a day, Jacoby’s pile of hand-drawn pen and ink images grew to hundreds as he outlined the story and traditional panels via the “Marvel method.” Once the story was far enough along, he recruited his equally talented friend and colleague Andrew Walde as colorist to digitally add the colors. Matott considers this passion project his “Magnum Opus,” and he has a deep desire to get it out into the world.

Now, in 2025 the thick volume of his efforts will finally become an adult graphic novel and come to life in this epic Halloween adventure, Pumpkin Guts. There is still some final work to be done, but you can expect the book to hit the shelves this fall just in time for the Halloween season. If you are interested in learning more about his project, or wish to help with start-up funding, you can reach out to him at @jacobyamatott.authorartist on Facebook or JacobyMatott on Instagram.

“Behind the Easel” is a periodic column by Patricia Hawkenson, a visual artist and one of the proprietors of Decadent Gifts & Gallery in Eau Claire.