In progress
LIMINALIS
A dreamlike tale that found its audience
Liminalis holds a special place in the history of Happy Misfits. As our first long-form graphic novel, this 220-page manga one-shot — written and illustrated by Neal Pouyer — was rejected by more than fifteen publishers during the 2024 Angoulême Festival. Their reason? “There’s no audience for this kind of story.”
And yet, our Kickstarter campaign proved them wrong: nearly 650 pre-orders, €27,500 raised, readers in over 30 countries, and an exclusive cover illustrated by Gou Tanabe, guest of honor at Angoulême 2025.
This surreal tale blurs the line between dream and reality, following a sick child cared for by a ghostly creature in a snowy, abandoned village. Inspired by Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill, Blame!, and most of all by
Arnold Böcklin’s haunting painting The Isle of the Dead, Liminalis invites readers to sink into the depths of the subconscious.
Liminalis is a dive into the subconscious, an inner journey as mysterious as it is disturbing.
Liminalis will be officially released this summer. The collector’s edition with Gou Tanabe’s exclusive cover is no longer available for pre-order — but if you missed the campaign, you still have one last chance to grab a copy!
A signing tour is in the works, and we’ll be bringing a few extra collector copies with us. You can already check out our partner bookstores on the map.
👉
And in the meantime, start exploring this dreamlike world with
Liminalis – Side Quest, an original short story that takes place between the pages of the main tale (only available in French for now, English version coming soon!).
COMING SOON
THE GHOSTS WITHIN US
give a voice to what haunts us
The Ghosts Within Us is an anthology of 12 short stories exploring the things that haunt us — trauma, fear of failure, abandonment, phobias…
In a way, this project was the entry test for the first artists to join Happy Misfits. From the start, the goal was clear: to better compensate creators and highlight stories that don't fit into neat little boxes. But there was still one crucial thing missing to bring that vision to life — artists to champion.
That’s when Steeve, the founder of Happy Misfits, came up with the idea of an anthology built around a single theme. By giving total creative freedom to a dozen writers and illustrators, The Ghosts Within Us brings together a wide range of voices and styles — from comics to illustrated prose, from dark humor to horror, through deeply personal narratives.
The first versions of these stories were pre-published in our now-defunct newsletter (soon to be reborn in a brand-new form 👀).
The print edition of The Ghosts Within Us is coming soon, and will be launched through a crowdfunding campaign. It will include all 12 short stories, each accompanied by a thematic essay. You’ll also find the very first collaborations between Happy Misfits and artists like Neal Pouyer (Liminalis) and Jorg de Vos (Métal Hurlant).
👉 Want to be notified when the campaign launches? Just drop your email in this form!
in development
who wants to be god?
An exploration of what makes us human
Who Wants To Be God is a large-scale narrative project that has been taking shape for nearly a decade. Eleven stories, eleven artistic styles, eleven puzzle pieces — each brought to life by a different artist.
At the heart of it all lies one simple question: What would you do if you were God?
Five characters from radically different walks of life — a Frenchman, an Englishwoman, two Americans, and a South African — are put to the test. Each episode dives into a facet of their humanity through a unique cultural lens, using a format that adapts to the storytelling style of the artist involved: manga, comics, or European comics.
From the horrors of war to the absurdity of fame, from disability to parenthood, Who Wants To Be God confronts the notions of power and humanity head-on.
Nearly half of the episodes are already completed, and the project continues to move forward. A crowdfunding campaign for a prestige collector’s box set is planned once all 11 episodes are finished.
👉 Would you be interested in reading the episodes before the full release? Let us know [here]!👉 Would you be interested in pre-releasing the episodes before the box set releases? (Express yourself here)
ICONIC COLLABORATIONS
Renowned artists, one-of-a-kind creations
At Happy Misfits, we’re committed to uncovering new talent — but our vision is also backed by some of the industry’s most respected names.
Their support is a powerful sign that the model we’re building — fairer compensation for artists and a platform for bold, unconventional stories — is not only viable, but necessary in today’s publishing world.
Gou Tanabe
When the Liminalis project began to take shape and we started preparing our crowdfunding campaign, one challenge quickly became clear: the names Neal Pouyer and Happy Misfits meant virtually nothing to anyone.
We had no doubt about the quality of the story we were about to share with the world. But how do you convince an audience — one that still doesn’t know you — that two names no one had heard of could deliver a story worth their hard-earned money?
The answer came naturally: get an established artist to vouch for the project by lending it their support.
Gou Tanabe quickly became the obvious choice. Not only is his work one of Neal’s major inspirations, but the themes and emotional tones that run through his stories deeply resonate with those in Liminalis.
So we reached out to the master and shared the project with him. After diving into the world of Liminalis, Gou Tanabe agreed to create an exceptional illustration — one that would become the exclusive Kickstarter cover.
Jorg de VOS
Best known for his regular contributions to the legendary French magazine Métal Hurlant (the original version of Heavy Metal), Dutch artist Jorg de Vos is more than just an occasional collaborator — he’s been a true supporter and friend of Happy Misfits since day one.
He brought to life SHAFT, the very first illustrated short story in the The Ghosts Within Us anthology, written by American author Juan Carlos Fernandez — marking it the first international collaboration in our catalogue.
A visceral horror story that hits you in the gut, SHAFT demanded visuals that could match its raw intensity.
Jorg was our first choice — and he was immediately drawn to both the story and the Happy Misfits model.
After delivering three jaw-dropping illustrations for SHAFT, Jorg stuck around. He recently created the cover for Liminalis – Side Quest, and he’ll be back soon with more art to haunt your dreams!