Shawn McBee & MJ Jankowski - Westron #2 & Building Horror From Slavic Mythology

Shawn McBee & MJ Jankowski - Westron #2 & Building Horror From Slavic Mythology

From The United States Department of Nerds Podcast by USDN_Chairman

July 13, 2026 · 1h 25m · Episode 120

About this episode

Shawn McBee and MJ Jankowski discuss their comic Westron #2 and the influence of Slavic mythology on their work.

Shawn McBee and Maciej “MJ” Jankowski join The Chairman on the USDN Podcast to discuss Westron #2, their supernatural horror detective comic inspired by the creatures, legends, and folklore of Slavic mythology. After the first issue reached its Kickstarter goal in just six hours, Shawn and MJ return to expand the dark supernatural world of Westron. In this conversation, they share how a chance connection through Discord led to their creative partnership and the creation of the series, why Slavic mythology offers an untapped world of terrifying creatures and stories, and how they balance authentic folklore with building an original comic universe. The conversation also explores the realities of independent publishing and creator-owned comics, lessons learned from crowdfunding, the Kickstarter mistake they won’t make again, the challenges of funding future issues, planning a long-term story with a definitive ending, and what lies ahead for Westron. Support Westron #2 on Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/propsmith/westron-2 Learn more about Westron: https://westroncomic.com Connect with the USDN Podcast: https://linktr.ee/USDN_Podcast Business & Media Inquiries…

People in this episode

Host: The Chairman

Guests: Shawn McBee, Maciej “MJ” Jankowski

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

BCW SUPPLIES

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Westron, Kickstarter, USDN Podcast

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