Superstar artists Frank Quitely, David Mack, Nick Dragotta, Howard Chaykin, Dean Haspiel, Jae Lee, Das Pastoras, Juan Jose Ryp, Stan Sakai are teaming up with artist Vanessa Cardinali, writer Chanan Beizer, and letterer Ferran Delgado for the stunning star-studded second and final volume of graphic novel The Golem of Venice Beach. Picking up immediately after the thrilling cliffhanger of Book One, Book Two continues and concludes the epic story about the adventures of a 400-year-old Golem spanning from 16th century Europe, to the horrors of World War II, to modern day Venice Beach, where the Golem has become entangled in a war between a gang and the police. Both a riveting narrative and a celebration of Southern California, both volumes of The Golem of Venice Beach will soon be available on Kickstarter.

Returning to THE GOLEM OF VENICE BEACH to complete the story of Adam the golem presented me an opportunity to experiment with my process in an effort to inject a new vitality into the world Chanan has created. I chiefly accomplished this by, for the first time in my career, skipping the pencil stage and focusing my energy on the layouts, where all the important decisions and storytelling choices are made, and then in the inks & colors, where atmosphere is born and feeling & expression—the most important elements of comics for me—become paramount.

There is an extended fight scene later in the book and this was a challenge that turned out to be my favorite part of the whole story, I had so much fun illustrating this epic battle page after page.

I grew to love some of these characters and will miss them. Working on the GOLEM books with Chanan and Chris these past years has been a highlight of my time in comics and I hope readers enjoy how we concluded this part of the golem’s adventures!

–Vanessa Cardinali

The Golem of Venice Beach: Book Two is a 184-page oversized deluxe hardcover and also available are Kickstarter Exclusive prints, the seven prints from the artists in Book One, and a unique signature plate signed by Quitely.

Vanessa is the engine of THE GOLEM OF VENICE BEACH and has pulled off the neat trick of a girl from Italy living in Italy completely manifesting modern day Venice Beach, California. Her scene setting and character work bring each diverse element of Chanan’s world to distinct and vibrant life all while grounding things with a verisimilitude even lifelong Venice residents could recognize and admire. Already in fine form on Book 1, her shift in process on Book 2 has lifted her even higher up the ladder of today’s best working artists. Did I say work? She is a rarity in comics as I can’t think of one deadline missed, one extra mile not walked in pursuit of the best result. As this story ends now, Vanessa has left her mark on all these characters and places I’ve come to know and love, and I thank her for making the journey with us.

–Chris Stevens (Editor)

In The Golem of Venice Beach: Book 1, Adam is a Golem, a creature of vengeance and destruction, of violence and death created 400 years ago in Eastern Europe. Today he spends his days adrift on the sunny boardwalks of Venice Beach, the only hope of release from his lonely existence being the clueless Jake Loeb, the sole remaining heir of the Golem’s creator. But when Jake becomes involved with a mysterious tattooed woman and a drug-dealing death worship cult, things get complicated and dangerous for Adam. Golems are not meant to walk the Earth forever. Can Adam make a difference? Can he find peace in the California sun? And can a monster have a soul? 

In The Golem of Venice Beach: Book 2 we find Adam the Golem in the midst of gang warfare while trying to protect two runaway teens. To make matters worse, Jake comes under the scrutiny of the very same gang while Uncle Steph tries to mend a rift that has formed between Adam and Jake, and things come to a head when Stephan is kidnapped. It’s up to Adam and Jake to save him—but first, Jake must first find a way to make Adam whole again and restore the Golem that has been part of his family legacy for over 400 years.

We have an exclusive look at Vanessa Cardinali‘s art process including pencils, inks, colors, and lettering as well as some designs.