Boundary-breaking publishing house GUNGNIR is unleashing a new horror anthology graphic novel featuring stories from a stacked creative cast of horror and dark genre storytelling experts – we've got all the exclusive details for you today on The Lies We Tell Ourselves.
Spanning five cities with stories of five different characters, The Lies We Tell Ourselves features stories from GUNGNIR creator and co-founder Matthew Medney, Jim Krueger (Justice, Earth X), Steve Orlando (Hello Darkness, Batman), filmmaker and writer Brea Grant (Lucky, Torn Hearts, 12 Hour Shift), and Rebekah and David McKendry (Fango's Colors of the Dark podcast, Glorious, Barstow). Artist Elis Zill provides the novel's artwork, which blends symbolic surrealism with the grounded brutality of real-world horror.
A full plot synopsis for The Lies We Tell Ourselves reads as follow:
In this tightly wound collection of nightmarish morality tales, a single myth threads through five cities and five doomed lives: Lyla, the ancient demon of truth, born from the first lie humanity ever told. In Medney’s original creative treatment, Lyla does not punish out of vengeance — she punishes because the balance must be kept. Lies warp reality. Lyla snaps it back.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves spans five cities and five shattered lives, tracing a chain of lies that can no longer hide in the dark, because Lyla is already on their trail.
Each chapter of the graphic novel follows a different character — a music manager in Los Angeles, a chef in New York, a real estate shark in Boston, a Chicago woman hiding the truth from herself, a Detroit automotive employee whose “innocent” shortcuts ripple into devastation, all bound together by the same thread: their lie has harmed someone, and Lyla has noticed.
Rebekah and David McKendry describe The Lies We Tell Ourselves as follows:
“Horror is a shared language, and we’re absolutely honored to share it with these amazing writers. These stories remind us that the smallest decisions we make in our daily lives can have lasting impacts far beyond us. Choose your path wisely because Lyla is always watching.”
Grant adds:
“I’m thrilled to be a part of this amazing collaboration with some of my favorite writers in the business. This book feels like the beginning of a franchise people will want to return to again and again.”
And for Medney, both the creator of Lyla and the Publisher at GUNGNIR, this book is personal:
“From the moment Lyla appeared in my mind, I knew she wasn’t just a character, she was a universe. Bringing together this dream team has transformed a simple idea about consequences into a full mythology. THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES is the foundation of a horror franchise built to endure.”
For more information and to grab yourself a copy of The Lies We Tell Ourselves, head over to GUNGNIR's official site, and scroll on for a sneak peek at Zill's stunning artwork for the novel:
