An abandoned amusement park where people disappear. You Must Be This Tall To Ride could go straight horror, but writer John Robert McGuire and artist Ivan Rehzi tell a tale of family-friendly kids-on-bikes adventure and fantasy in this new comic book mini-series.
I asked John to talk about the first issue, how far he is into developing the series, and what kind of park he’d want to caretake and curate.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): You’re working on a new comic book series and kickstarting the first issue. What is the premise behind You Must Be This Tall To Ride?
JOHN ROBERT MCGUIRE (JOHN): It is the story of a family who inherits a rundown amusement park, Eagle Falls, from their long-missing Uncle. While the parents see this as an opportunity to figure out a way to make some money, the kids are mostly trying to figure out this strange place. When the youngest ends up disappearing into the park during a game of Hide and Seek, it is up to the other kids to try to find them. However, what they begin to realize is that Eagle Falls is a nexus point amongst various worlds… and it is very likely that they are going to overcome their fears of the unknown in order to save their brother.
EGG: That’s a cool idea. For the tone, what media inspired this story? If you were to compare it to an existing property, what stories would fans connect with your work?
JOHN: First and foremost is the old Dungeons and Dragons cartoon. I loved that idea of being able to go to a far away fantasy world and have powers. Beyond that, nearly any movie or TV show that falls within the Kids of Bikes genre where the kids have to take the lead because the parents are clueless about what might be going on around them. The Goonies, Monster Squad, Flight of the Navigator, and DARRYL to name a few. This is really my love letter to all those great ‘80s movies that seemed to run nonstop on HBO.
EGG: This park has a backstory, but you’re jumping into what’s happening to the new owners and their family. Is there a larger puzzle that will be solved in this series?
JOHN: There are multiple stories going on in this comic. The first is where Connor (the youngest kid) is and can they find him (before the parents come home!)? The other is what happened to cause the park to close? And finally, what happened to Uncle Jack Samual, the man who created Eagle Falls? This four-issue series will solve the first question, give some answers to the second, and hint at the fate of their Uncle.
EGG: John, I’ve known you for a minute, and you dig a good psychological horror movie. The premise of your comic book lends itself equally well to family-friendly adventures as well as horror. What inspired you to go all-ages with this tale?
JOHN: Over the years I have tabled at various comic conventions and Free Comic Book Days. As time went on, I started to realize that my current comic books and novels are geared toward adults more than kids. Which means that when a family comes up to my table with their 10 year old son or daughter, I really don’t have any stories that would be appropriate for them. Realizing that I could take this idea behind You Must Be This Tall To Ride and write it a little more Young Adult/Family Friendly seemed to be a perfect fit.
I was also inspired by the kids in my life. I’m an uncle to four nephews and one niece, so I used them as inspiration for the characters in the comic, even going so far as to use their names. Now it isn’t an exact match, but I hope when they read it, they can see a little bit of themselves in there.
EGG: Hey, write what/who you know! How many issues is this series planned for?
JOHN: I’ve planned for 4 issues to tell this specific story, but my hope is that there is enough interest to let me get into some of the other worlds and some of the bigger mysteries of the park. While this Kickstarter is for Issue #1, I actually have a complete Issue #1 and #2, with art on Issue #3 scheduled to begin in May. By having the next issue done, I’m looking to minimize the time between Kickstarters so that it isn’t a year plus before people can read the story.
EGG: Timing is important. Let’s talk about your artists on this series.
JOHN: Ivan Rehzi is the artist and colorist on the book. I knew with the feel I wanted for the comic that it needed to be a little more on the cartoony side of things, and Ivan does a great job with that style. There was a lot of times when I’d get pages in, and some random panel would just make me laugh with the expression on one of the characters’ faces. Ivan provided the primary cover for the Issue #1.
Amauri Morales is the cover artist for the variant. As I was searching for someone to contribute to the comic, I came across Amauri’s work, and it felt like a natural fit. His cover has a background “monster” that might look familiar to an astute reader.
Wendy Herdiana, who I found on Fiverr, created the Eagle Falls Map. They had a handful of amusement park style maps in their portfolio that caught my eye. Again, it is just the right amount of cartoony while also seeming like I could create a real tri-fold map out of the image.
S. Beltramo, who I also found on Fiverr, created the Logo. There is both the one that looks like a ticket, and then a stripped down version which appears as the masthead on the comic itself.
EGG: To promote this comic, you’re giving out “tickets” to get into the park/comic book. What inspired you to provide tickets?
JOHN: It likely came from some car trip to a roleplaying convention with you and Leland Beauchamp. With Kickstarters the hope is that you not only fund, but also exceed that funding goal. Stretch Goals help to propel the comic into bigger heights. I think I was brainstorming anything and everything which might make sense for a Stretch Goal and tickets were a natural choice. When I was fulfilling the Kickstarter for In Our Dreams Awake #3, I printed out some “tickets” which had a brief message on the back and a QR code which took them to the You Must Be This Tall To Ride #1 Prelaunch Page. I’m going to have a number of them on hand at the couple of comic conventions I’ll be appearing at this month to hopefully drive more eyes to the project.
The first of those is this weekend at the Atlanta Sci-Fo & Fantasy Expo on March 14-15, 2026 at Northlake Mall in Atlanta, Georgia. The great thing about this convention is it is completely free to attend and normally has a good mix of comic book, anime, crafts, and other vendors. You can find out more information at their website.
The second is FLUKE in Athens, Georgia which is a smaller one day convention on March 28. 2026. This is my second time there, and I had such a great time the first go around so I’m really looking forward to attending.
EGG: This isn’t your first comic book. What other comics/books have you written?
JOHN: On the comic book side, I have a Steampunk Graphic Novel called The Gilded Age which collects the first 4 issues of that series. Each issue focused on a different member of a carnival troupe which allowed me to tell various types of stories including a western, a fantasy, a horror, and a heist comic.
I have co-written The Crossing with Robert Jeffrey II which is a multi-dimensional chase of a father and the daughter he is trying to protect.
I have also co-written In Our Dreams Awake Issues #1-3 with Egg Embry. It is a story of a man who lives two lives, one in a fantasy world and one in a cyberpunk future… and he doesn’t know which is the real world and which is the dream.
On the novels side I have an Urban Fantasy, The Dark That Follows, a Dark Fantasy that I cowrote with J. Edward Neill, Hollow Empire, and a sci-fi novel, The Echo Effect.
All of these can be found at my website.
EGG: Your comics are solidly indy, which I mean that in the best way. Not poetry as comics or any “negative” connotations some carry when you say “indy comics.” Instead, your stories are cerebral with more layers than a Chris Claremont issue of The X-Men. What inspires you to create something like You Must Be This Tall To Ride as opposed to tights and fistfights?
JOHN: My problem is I don’t have any good superhero ideas right now, otherwise I might do some of those! 😊
The truth about Comics is that you can do almost anything you can think of, and that makes for very powerful opportunities to tell stories in a collaborative setting. Taking it one step further, the blending of art and story can sometimes move the reader in a way that other mediums may fall short.
With any of the comics I’ve been lucky enough to write, my goal is to look at life and think about what lessons I’ve learned. Whether that is to be happy in your own skin, or to cherish your friends and family, my hope is that anyone reading it can and will see some aspects of themselves within the characters. Barring that, I hope they have a good time experiencing the stories.
EGG: If you could retire to an amusement park, would you? A little caretaking, a lot of popcorn popping. What would your ideal amusement park be? What ride would you ride until you hurled?
JOHN: In my younger days, I would have loved to have free reign in an amusement park. As to my ideal one… there would have to be some larger than life rides both on the rollercoaster side of things as well as a couple of really good immersive style rides (I’m thinking the Spider-Man ride at Universal or the Star Wars ride at Disney). But no matter what, I’d want to have something that rivaled the Haunted Mansion at Disney. That’s probably my favorite ride of all time, so I might just freak myself out more than throw up.
Oh and no matter what, there would have to be an ample supply of corndogs or no deal!
You Must Be This Tall To Ride #1 – A Young Adult Comic Book
End Date: Fri, April 10 2026 11:09 AM EDT.
“Eagles Falls Amusement Park promised fun and excitement for the whole family. They didn’t say anything about portals to other worlds.”
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DISCLOSURE: Egg Embry has co-written comic books and RPG zines with John McGuire. He is not involved in this project. Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, Noble Knight Games’ Affiliate Program, Kobold Press Affiliate Program, and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG, Noble Knight Games, Kobold Press, and Amazon.
