Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood by Will Penny & Nik Poliwko

What is Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood about?

Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood is a “cocktail-recipe-comic-book.”  It follows the misadventures of a couple of bachelor beach bums on the search for perfect waves, who end up getting into trouble with a coven of island witches.

The story is my attempt to pay homage to (and subvert some tropes of) midcentury men’s adventure magazines, and it features fantastic artwork by Nik Poliwko.

As a bonus, when you read through the comic, you learn 10 different tiki cocktails that relate to the plot of the story.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always been into the horror genre, and when I moved to California from Iowa several years ago I got into surfing.  I eventually stumbled across the tiki art scene out here, which was appealing to me given its overlapping genre elements.  So I thought it’d be fun to create a tiki-themed horror and surf comic book - which turned out to be Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood.

Why did you choose this art style for the book?

The title “Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood” comes from talented illustrator Steven Rhodes.  I thought it was such a great concept that it would be perfect for the book I was writing.  It reminded me of all those random, low-budget movies you could find at your local video rental shop back in the day (before Netflix).

With that in mind, I knew the book needed a similar vintage/old-school aesthetic, and given that I wanted to pay homage to midcentury men’s adventure magazines, I figured the art style should reflect the comic books of that same time period - namely William Gaines' EC books.

So I was very fortunate to work with artist Nik Poliwko on Tiki Surf Witches Want Blood.  His style hearkens back to the classic EC and Warren horror comics of the 50s, 60s, and 70s.  Nik is one of the best pencilers and inkers in the business, and the book certainly would not have been as successful without him.

What part of the writing process did you find the most enjoyable with this book?

I’d say that collaborating with all the talented individuals who made this book possible was my favorite part - Nik, Steve, and cocktail mixology consultant Joey Schmidt all brought different and fun perspectives to the comic that I think ended up making it a really unique book.