PREVIEW: Get kissable and hungry with Sage Coffey’s WINE GHOST GOES TO HELL

This week, Iron Circus Comics launched a crowdfunding campaign for their latest release, cartoonist Sage Coffey‘s debut graphic novel Wine Ghost Goes to Hell. The book follows the ghost of a sotted woman as she navigates the afterlife while trying to maintain her constant buzz. Today The Beat is pleased to offer an exclusive preview of the graphic novel, which finds Wine Ghost returning home after a night of – you guessed it – heavy drinking.

Here’s how Iron Circus describes Wine Ghost Goes to Hell on the book’s BackerKit page:

When Wine Ghost was alive, she was a booze-soaked train wreck. And now that she’s dead . . . well, to be honest, not a lot has changed. But when an old friend from her days among the living turns up in Hell unexpectedly, she’s faced with a lot more responsibility—and self-reflection—than she’s used to dealing with! Fortunately, if anyone knows how to handle life after death, it’s Wine Ghost. 

She learned the ins-and-outs of Hell a long time ago, but it’s her pal’s first days down in The Depths. And boy howdy, are they both in for a wild ride!

Wine Ghost Goes to Hell is the first graphic novel for trans, non-binary cartoonist Sage Coffey, whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nib, The Washington Post, and more. Wine Ghost is a recurring character of Coffey’s, with multiple stories featuring the character available to read on their website. I say ‘read,’ but a better word might be ‘experience,’ as Coffey has been known to dress up as Wine Ghost, or to use a mechanical puppet of the character, for public readings, some of which can be viewed on their site. Along with creating comics, Coffey is also one of the organizers of CAKE, the Chicago Alternative Comics Expo.

“Before I was sober, my mind would always wander to the basics when drinking: Sex and food,” Coffey told The Beat in describing the exclusive excerpt. “With Wine Ghost, I wanted to show that tangential string of thought from brain fried nonsense after a night out. She is kissable and she is hungry.”

Check out the exclusive preview of Wine Ghost Goes to Hell below. The BackerKit crowdfunding campaign for the graphic novel is live now, and runs through June 1st.