The Teenage Beast, cloaked in flames, bursts from the punk club like a meteorite tearing through the smoky night.

I’ve been pouring my heart into Teenage Beast, a punk rock horror story set in the 1980s that’s slowly clawing its way out of my brain and onto the page. Right now, it’s a chaotic mix of notes, half-formed scenes, and sketches that fuel each other. I often start with a drawing—chasing some grisly image that sparks in my mind—and then find a way to weave it into the story. One scene in particular has been haunting my sketchbook of late: the climactic chaos at a grimy punk club where all hell breaks loose, flames erupt, and my monster, the Teenage Beast, becomes a blazing force of nature.

Another pass at my burning Beast. I’m trying to bring life to the smoke and flames as my monster sizzles.

I’ve been playing around with pencils in my sketchbook, imagining the Beast—part human, part nightmare—caught in a fire that doesn’t destroy it but transforms it. The image of it streaking out of the club’s doors, engulfed in flames and trailing embers into the darkness, felt so raw and alive. It’s become the heart of this scene, where the energy of a punk show collides with supernatural mayhem. The crowd’s screaming, the amps are roaring with feedback, and the Beast is… well, let’s just say it’s not your typical mosh pit moment.

I’m working in a small Ticonderoga UCreate sketchbook—6 inches by 9 inches, perfect for carrying around when inspiration strikes. I use pencils to rough things out and my trusty Sailor Fude De Mannen fountain pens for inking. The sketchbook’s paper holds the ink surprisingly well for something so affordable, letting me layer in shadows and textures without bleeding through. It’s become my portable laboratory for this story’s darkest corners.

I’ve taken a few stabs at this scene, but it’s still evolving. I’m experimenting with how to draw the smoke and flames—swirling, almost alive, as if they’re part of the Beast’s demonic power. Setting fire to my main character wasn’t part of the original plan, but the sketches made it feel inevitable. The Teenage Beast is going to be a little crispy around the edges by the time this story screeches to its end, and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

What’s next? More sketches, more notes, and certainly a few more nights wrestling with this monster. I’ll probably work in a larger sketchbook so that I have more real estate to design within and can get more from my ink textures.

Stay tuned for updates as I keep building this world of punk rock horror—and let me know what you think of the sketches so far!