It’s a new year, and that means new thrills as Storm King Comics announced an original graphic thriller arriving next month. It involves award-winning author Duane Swierczynski, and artist Andrea Mutti that will be part of the Dark & Twisted Imprint titled DEAD FLOWERS.
The Aztec Hotel is a historical landmark, located in in Monrovia, in the San Gabriel Valley, California. It was designed by architect Robert Stacy-Judd, and built on U.S. Route 66 between 1925 and 1926. The building is an example of Mayan Revival architecture, but it is rumored to be riddled with ghosts and a cursed past. Storm King Comics‘ new Graphic Novel puts The Aztec Hotel’s rumored connection to the paranormal in the spotlight, focusing on a gruesome murder that took place in 1949 that shook a small town that was home to The Aztec Hotel. Its new owners claim to have solved the case 70 years later with a promise to reveal the killer’s true identity to anyone who takes their special tour. Laney, new to town and curious about the infamous local attraction, decides to join this once-in-a-lifetime tour but soon finds that someone—or something—will go to deadly lengths to keep the secret hidden forever, no matter the cost. DEAD FLOWERS will be available on February 10, 2026 in comic shops, bookstores, e-retailers, and the Storm King Comics website. It has been described as a graphic novel thriller full of twists and turns for fans of true crime and murder mysteries. You can pre-order your copy now on Amazon.
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics 
Image Credit: Storm King Comics
Let’s look at the team behind this new thriller, starting with Edgar Award-nominated Duane Swierczynski, a NYT bestselling author of over a dozen novels, including California Bear and the Charlie Hardie series, as well as co-authored works with James Patterson, Audible Original The Guilty (starring John Lithgow and Bryce Dallas Howard), private eye thriller Lion & Lamb, and the newly released bestseller Billion Dollar Ransom. Andrea Mutti will be illustrating this tale, Mutti has worked with publishers worldwide, including Marvel, DC, Image, and Dark Horse on series such as Star Wars, X-Men, Batman, Punisher, Wolverine, George A. Romero’s Empire of the Dead, and more. Sandy King, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Storm King Comics spoke about the new book by this team, and the legacy of the Aztec Hotel.
“The first time I had my hair cut in a haunted hotel in Monrovia, California, I knew I’d be writing about it. My barber would tell me ghost stories about the former… um, residents… he encountered, But it wasn’t the supernatural that spoke to me; in fact, DEAD FLOWERS isn’t supernatural at all. I was inspired by the idea of supposedly ‘historical’ events that very much impact us — sometimes violently — in the present.”
Duane Swierczynski
“Despite its perpetual sunshine, Los Angeles is home to some of the most haunted locations in the world, proving that even the brightest lights can cast the deepest, darkest shadows, that’s what makes Duane’s story so compelling, and gives us the opportunity to dive into the history and legacy of the century-old Aztec Hotel. This is a story that combines the most suspenseful elements of true crime, horror, and mystery into a singular experience that’ll leave you guessing for a long time to come, making it the perfect fit for our Dark & Twisted line.”
Sandy King, founder and Editor-in-Chief of Storm King Comics
What is Storm King Comics?
Storm King Comics, formed in 2012 as a division of Storm King Productions, is headed by writer/producer and editor Sandy King. Along with her husband, director John Carpenter, King focuses on bringing the best writers from the worlds of comics, movies and novels together to bring their special brand of horror and sci-fi entertainment to comics. Their flagship comic book title John Carpenter’s Asylum has become a global fan favorite, followed by the award-winning annual anthology, John Carpenter’s Tales for a HalloweeNight, and the monthly anthology series, John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction. More recent imprint additions to the Storm King brand are Dark & Twisted, John Carpenter’s Night Terrors, and John Carpenter Presents Storm Kids, introducing horror and sci-fi to younger audiences.
Source: Press Release
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