Welcome, Moon!
Moon (they/them) is a 26 year old queer artist based in Portland, OR whose work specializes in the tender, the eerie, and the sublime. They graduated in 2020 with an interdisciplinary specialization in art & design history. They simply adore the world of antiquity, and are currently directing an artist collective called “The Velvet Compote,” the name loosely based on their social media handles (Fruitgravy) which produces zines and artbooks that are historically-driven. When not working on their next anthology idea, you can find them illustrating their own characters, analyzing old films and music, or watching period dramas.
About Devil’s Claim
Devil’s Claim is a western horror anthology that reimagines the classic American frontier through the lens of horror, folklore, and the macabre. This collaborative anthology features original work from 70 talented creators: 44 artists, 14 writers, and 12 merch designers; exploring countless themes from cursed territories to supernatural vengeance. The second artbook from The Velvet Compote, a queer-led collective dedicated to history-focused collaborative projects; this 8.5”x11” book includes OC (original character) based illustrations, stories, poetry, and 12 pieces of merch. Whether you’re drawn to atmospheric horror or visceral frontier nightmares, there’s something for everyone between these cursed pages.
Interview with Moon
What inspired this project?
Often tines, “The Wild West” is a chunk of American history that’s often mythologized into something larger than life. When we think “Wild” West, we think outlaws, gold rushes, the forwarding of society for “the better.” While dynamic, many of these stories glorify a time in history that was realistically steeped in brutality. With Devil’s Claim, I wanted to explore the more tumultuous and macabre sides of this history through fictional horror. Horror is an honest genre that doesn’t let you shy away or sugar-coat things; and I feel that western horror in particular is a growing topic of interest for many, especially for those who grapple with the American identity. DC feels like a natural way to explore darker tales from the frontier while also celebrating the incredible talent that lives in contemporary online artist’s and writer’s circles.
This book features both stories and illustrations with weird west themes. How did you approach selecting the art and fiction for the piece?
Applications for Devil’s Claim were open to the public around the end of December 2025, after a successful “interest check’ survey of around 650 participants showed that western horror was a VERY popular zine theme (out of 6 other potential zine themes from prohibition to futurism, western horror won the majority by over 45%!) People scrambled to apply, and we ended up with around 540 interested artists, writers, merch designers, editors, and even a couple historical consultants. Contributor selection was a long but worthwhile process. Within the portfolios, I was seeking understanding of the theme and willingness to commit to historical accuracy (of course, with some leniency to the supernatural), as well as a tight grasp on the ability to draw or write about darker themes. I also sought to have a wide range of both art & writing styles in the zine, to give readers something brand new to take in with every page. So many of the portfolio submissions were incredible! After narrowing down the contributors from 540 to 70, I’m very proud to boast that we have illustrators with accolades, writers with published novels, and hidden gems that all get their spotlight with this book.
Can you talk in more detail about one or two examples of stories or art in the book to give readers a sense of what they might find?
One of the most stunning spreads of art I have ever seen comes from Parsnip (@cegageese on Instagram). It features their characters Elli, Melli, and Moni posed for a 1890’s-style magazine advertisement for a special locket proposed to prevent a hyperbolized phenomenon called “prairie madness.” Despite the colorful, ornate bordering and bold, bright letters; Parsnip’s characters look pained, uncomfortable and not-all-there. Parsnip juxtaposes their darker, contorted expressions with their use of colors, light, and a stunning digital gold leaf gilded effect to tell an accurate, chilling story. Some of my personal favorite themes within the horror genre are visualized here.
It sounds like there will be merch associated with the anthology! Can you tell us more about that?
We have a VERY unique spread of merch for this zine, and at 12 designs total, it’s on the larger side for similar zines of this nature! Some of our pieces include a western-themed temporary tattoo sheet by Finn (@haiifish on Instagram,) a bandana featuring a “Devil’s Claim” logo by Aya (@plant.lers on Instagram), the cutest little dress-up doll acrylic standee set by Tania (@nobledemons on Instagram) and a gorgeous set of three historically-accurate cigarette cards by Amanda (@acwhite.art on Instagram).
I’m incredibly excited to be able to provide such a wide variety of treats for our merch pledgers.
A merch pack is such a fun addition to buying a book – especially for those few who intend to collect The Velvet Compote works. I’ve never seen an online zine project with a spread such as this, and I hope that everyone who receives them will be able to enjoy! Of course, merch pieces will be available to purchase after the Kickstarter period if the designer chooses to sell it, and some of these pieces are too great to pass up.
Favorite weird west movie/book/comic/etc. and why?
A few come to mind already. Nope (2022) by Jordan Peele, while set in modern day, is a masterclass in slow-building American dread. The way that it uses the vastness of the flat, dry landscape to make you feel completely exposed and vulnerable to spectacle is something I think about constantly to the point of goosebumps. The concept of Jupiter’s Claim as this isolated, cursed location was actually a huge inspiration for the name of the book, Devil’s Claim.
I also think about The Hateful Eight (2015), which, while not “classic” horror, its historically an inspiration, thematically claustrophobic, paranoid, and horrifying all on it’s own. It’s less about the supernatural, and more about the violence and psychological, metaphorical rot already simmering inside people.
Third, I want to mention my most recent read – The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. Jones writes Indigenous horror like no one else, and that book specifically felt so relevant to what we’re trying to do with Devil’s Claim… its haunting in the most literary sense, rooted in real, historical trauma and uses horror to process that in a way that’s both devastating and necessary.
Learn more about Moon and Their Work:
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