Legendary monster hunter Rip Moonspawn vanishes into the nightmare realm known as the Terrorscape. Now, his estranged daughter Zaria must rally the Defenders of the Dark to save him before his mind—and the multiverse—are lost forever.
Across the bleeding edges of the multiverse, no name strikes fear into the monstrous heart like Rip Moonspawn. Banshees. Werewolves. Bone wyrms. Blight drakes. If it had fangs or fed on fear, Rip hunted it, bagged it, and moved on. But time is a curse even legends can’t outrun. The years have gnawed at his mind like the beasts he once caged. And now, Rip has vanished into the Terrorscape, a nightmare dimension stitched together from the darkest corners of reality to chase one final monster.
The problem is… he went alone.
Now, his estranged daughter Zaria Moonspawn must gather the Defenders of the Dark — a ragtag crew of cursed heroes and haunted killers — to plunge headfirst into a realm of living horror, twisted gods, and soul-eating shadows.
Because if the Terrorscape doesn’t kill Rip… the thing he’s hunting will.
Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark #1 is the first in a four issue mini-series. This debut issue is a 22-page, full-color comic book. For the process nerds, it's printed with 80# satin interior pages with a heavier, 100# uncoated cover stock.
Moonspawn is perfect for fans of:
Movies like Hellboy, Blade, and The Thing
Television shows like Castlevania, The Witcher, and Doom Patrol
Books and comics like Clive Barker's Books of Blood, The Immortal Hulk, and Wytches
In order to travel to the Terrorscape, Zaria Moonspawn needs some backup. Luckily, she traversed the RiotVerse to find a crew to help out. You can see stories starring the teammates in Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark #0, a whopping 46-page collection of short stories.
With this campaign, we have five covers you can choose from for Moonspawn #1. On top of that, we're also pushing Moonspawn #0 back to print with a new cover!
We're also big fans of bookmarks here at Meltdown HQ, so we're offering two different bookmark packs: a regular ol' cardstock bookmark option and an upgraded metal bookmark pack!
Cardstock Bookmarks
Metal Bookmarks
If a physical pledge isn't what you're looking for, we have three DIGITAL packages available. Each one includes a DRM-free PDF of Moonspawn and the Defenders of the Dark #1, while the DIGITAL: DELUXE package also includes a PDF script book and some BTS tidbits. The DIGITAL: CATCHUP pack includes all the aforementioned PDFs, plus a PDF of Moonspawn #0.
Since we are a Printopia 2025 campaign, we wanted the spirit of collaboration to be at the root of this campaign. As such, Team Meltdown is partnering with a couple of friends to release a series of connecting prints.
Getting all three pieces to complete the print is simple: you get the print of the campaign(s) you back. If you back Moonspawn at a physical level, you get the Moonspawn print. If you back Wells at a physical level, you get his print. If you back J. Michael at a physical level, you get his print. If you back all three of us at physical levels, you get ALL three prints!
We're all collectors here at Meltdown Press, so we understand how imperative it is that you receive your comics in as good of a shape as possible. That's why we skip way past the flat envelopes and unguarded bubble mailers.
Since this is a BackerKit project, shipping will be collected post-campaign in the BackerKit Pledge Manager."
Each backer will get their books bagged and boarded, placed into a protective bubble mailer pouch, and then shipped in a Gemini mailer. Fulfillment is expected to be completed by the end of November 2025.
This project is participating in the BackerKit event Printopia 2025 📚 A celebration of books, comics, and graphic novels featuring an all-star lineup of creators crowdfunding together from September 9–30, 2025.
🧭 Explore the 4 Printopia Groups — Every project belongs to one of four unique groups helping you discover stories you’ll love and creators to follow:
Dawnrise | Uplifting, imaginative tales for all ages.
Suncrest | Bold, hopeful adventures for middle grade readers.
Duskmelt| Emotionally rich stories for teens & adults.
Nightfall | Complex, mature narratives for older teens & adults.
⚔️ Introducing Crowd Quest — a backer-powered community game running during Printopia! Every project belongs to a group, and when you interact, you earn points that help unlock group-wide rewards. Learn more about it in our freebies section below!
🎁 Printopia Freebies Overview — Check out all the different ways you can get freebies in addition to your pledge rewards!
Cross-Collab Freebies — Back both projects in a Cross-Collab pair and get 1 freebie from each creator (see individual project pages for unlock requirements).
Crowd Quest Digital Zine Freebie — Help each of the 4 groups unlock their achievement to earn their digital zine freebie, filled with art, stories, and bonus content from that group’s participants. Collect up to 4 digital zines — one from each group.
Printopia Bookmark Freebie — Back 10+ projects across any group to get the Limited Edition Printopia 2025 bookmark (fulfilled by BackerKit).
*Only pledges to physical reward tiers or main digital offerings (if no physical items are offered) qualify towards earning the limited Printopia 2025 Bookmark.
