[Exclusive] Sneak Peak of ‘Skull Maskerade’ #6: The Stunning Gothic Watercolor Series

Kickstarter campaign goal reached within 48 hours!

Nov 07, 2025

“Skull Maskerade is a haunted-ballet fever dream. Carla’s work is fluid, fragile, and dripping with atmosphere. The pacing is cinematic, and the whole thing reads like a beautifully broken lullaby.”—Rick Remender (The Seasons, Deadly Class)

From indie comic creators Carla Wyzgala and Justin Tauch, Skull Maskerade is back with a new arc! Issue #6 is now available to back on Kickstarter, ending in just a few days on November 12th. Issue #6 will be a 32 page comic with 28 pages of story, hand-painted in watercolor and printed on premium paper with a spot gloss soft cover. (With some NSFW covers available as a part of the campaign *wink wink*) The latest issue will continue the arc of the first five issues that left on a massive cliffhanger. Issue #6 introduces a new co-writer Anthony Mauro (Salvation); he will be joining the team with artist Victoria Robado (aka Shourimajo) as the letterer.

In Skull Maskerade, a young woman named Dahlia wakes up from a slumber to find herself in an unknown realm full of beautiful supernatural creatures and horrifying monsters. After being rescued by a Princess Mononoke-like warrior from demon-like beasts, she is brought to a macabre Victorian mansion in the desert, where she meets other mysterious women, each unique and possessing their own set of magical powers. Dahlia remains in the mansion, surrounded by friendly cat familiars, not knowing how she got to this realm and why she is there. During a Gothic maskerade in her honor, Dahlia and her new mystical friends and allies are threatened by evil entities and a chilling villain. Taking place after the shocking cliffhanger at the end of issue #5, issue #6 will start a new arc in the fantasy series, revealing more secrets and beginning new adventures in the wonderfully strange world of Skull Maskerade.

You can also experience the ladies of Manor Macabrea with character-specific fragrances from Skull Maskerade in collaboration with the wizards at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. Fans can purchase these perfume oils from Wyzgala at conventions and at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.

From the press release:

“Now that we are done with the introductory first five issues, we can finally start to talk more about why we are telling this story and what it all means,” said Wyzgala. “Justin and I have been intentionally cryptic with information to let the readers experience it a certain way. From the very first page, we are in Dahlia’s perspective. We go through this journey with her—she has no memory of how she got to this realm and the reader does not have any extra information about where she is or what’s going on until it is revealed to her. We leave you as the reader perhaps feeling the frustration that she does in the moment, never getting any direct answers. That’s intentional, and it was a choice made by Justin from the beginning to let the readers discover the world for themselves and unravel the mysteries slowly, feeling the tension, questions, and danger.”

Wyzgala added: “issue #6 starts to get into Dahlia’s head and mental health journey—we start to see what she is working with and essentially who she is. Finally! But we still don’t want to give it all to you, it’s very much a slow burn. There is something to be said about a properly executed tease, if you will, and my biggest artistic inspiration is burlesque after all. We will start to dive into the stories of each of the Ladies of Manor Macabrea, exploring their past traumas and how those inform their powers and paths. Self-awareness and acceptance is a huge theme for Dahlia’s journey and we start to flesh it out in the new arc. Anthony’s script centers around the stages of grief and getting out the other end of it. We hope to lure you in with the moody visuals and Gothic fashion of Skull Maskerade as we slowly pull back the curtain to share this new chapter of the story.”

“For the past five years, Carla and I have been creating the world of Skull Maskerade,” said Tauch. “The first issues were intentionally written at a slower pace to give readers time to absorb the world and characters we have created. As we embark on issue #6, it is with great pleasure that we bring in Anthony Mauro to help grow this world and expand it even further for our audiences. One of my favorite aspects of writing this series has been keeping the reader asking questions, allowing them to experience the mystery, magic, and adventure through the eyes of Dahlia. With Anthony on board as co-writer we are looking forward to giving audiences the answers they have been waiting for!

“It’s rare to meet creative voices that know exactly where you are coming from and share all your same inspirational touch points, so it felt almost too good to be true when Justin and Carla asked me to join them in telling the ongoing saga of the ladies of Skull Maskerade,” said Mauro. “It’s dark, it’s gothic, it’s weird, kinetic, and sexy. And they have been so open and encouraging of my insane ideas I have going into this second arc. This story is just getting started.”