# Shawn McBee & MJ Jankowski - Westron #2 & Building Horror From Slavic Mythology Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372/shawn-mcbee-mj-jankowski-westron-2-building-horror-from-slavic-mythology Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372/shawn-mcbee-mj-jankowski-westron-2-building-horror-from-slavic-mythology.md Podcast: [The United States Department of Nerds Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372) Published: 2026-07-13T14:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/d4a4ca01 Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/d4a4ca01/b7782103.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372/episodes/shawn-mcbee-mj-jankowski-westron-2-building-horror-from-slavic-mythology Duration seconds: 5117 ## Resource Shawn McBee and Maciej β€œMJ” 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: thechairman@usdnpodcast.com πŸ›’ PROTECT YOUR COLLECTION WITH BCW SUPPLIES Save 5% on your order with code USDN : https://www.bcwsupplies.com/?acc=usdn As a BCW affiliate, we may earn a commission from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. The USDN Podcast - Where Indie Comics Come To Life ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372/episodes/shawn-mcbee-mj-jankowski-westron-2-building-horror-from-slavic-mythology/transcription-requests` β€” Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-united-states-department-of-nerds-podcast-6458372/shawn-mcbee-mj-jankowski-westron-2-building-horror-from-slavic-mythology.md` β€” Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.