by
Ghastly McNasty
A total must for any fan of the zombie genre this outstanding book by Max Brooks gives a unique perspective of the zombie outbreak and aftermath. Subtitled ‘An oral history of the zombie war’ the book consists of a series of interviews with survivors of the zombie apocalypse. It doesn’t have a standard storyline as such but the interviews follow a linear timeline streatched over 10 years that cover the origins and initial outbreaks through to the reclaiming of the world from the zombie hordes.
I’m still persevering with Kirkman’s ‘Walking Dead’ series but ‘World War Z’ manages to give me everything I hoped the meandering ‘Walking Dead’ comic would be, in one simple well written book.
This is also going to be made in to a movie to be released fairly soon and i can’t wait. Thoroughly expect this to be the best zombie movie ever made!
Click here to buy World War Z from Amazon
by
M.I.K.
The cover of The Mammoth Book Of Best Horror Comics, claims that it contains “OVER 50 OF THE GREATEST HORROR COMICS AND GRAPHIC SHORT STORIES EVER PRODUCED”.
It doesn’t.
Something being the “best” or “greatest”, is of course, a matter of opinion, (and there is some good stuff in here), but that doesn’t alter the fact that whether you agree with that part of the claim on the cover or not, there are only 48 stories in the book. This is probably a genuine mistake on the part of the publisher, but it’s an odd one to make, especially since all the stories are quite clearly listed in the contents section. Stranger still, if you google the title of this book, you’ll find it on sale alongside a picture of what is obviously an earlier version of the cover which claims it contains “60″ stories.
This isn’t the only mistake in the book. Two of the stories have their pages printed in the wrong order, which rather messes up the structure of the tales.
However, these are just minor niggles, as overall this is a very well put together and varied collection. The Book is divided into four sections, each devoted to a different era of horror comics and each preceded by a small chapter on the decade in question, all written by the editor, Peter Normanton. Normanton also provides a foreword and notes on each story. He’s no stranger to horror publications himself, having edited the horror fanzine From The Tomb for the last eight years.
The stories are reprinted in black and white and while a few pages of colour wouldn’t have gone amiss, the reproduction is good enough. There’s plenty here to satisfy anyone’s craving for horror.
Overall rating 7.5/10
If you like this volume, as I’m sure you will, The Mammoth Book Of Zombie Comics is out in October and The Mammoth Book Of Best Crime Comics is out in a few days time.
The Mammoth Book Of Best Horror Comics
ISBN : 978-1-84529-641-4
Publisher : Constable & Robinson Ltd
544 pages Price : £12.99
by
Countess Duckula
I’ve just finished a good read from Ramsey Campbell, a unusual combination of Lovecraftian mythos and English folklore.
Its plot concerns the Price family who live in a small English town near a sinister wood called Goodmans wood, and how they are inescapably drawn in to it by the entity that exists there.
The family consists of Margo, an artist, and Lennox, a professor who is now in a local mental hospital because of his experiences in the woods. Their adult children are Heather, a solid, ‘unimaginative’ type, and her sister Sylvia, who is in many ways her opposite. Sam is Heather’s 23 year old son.
The woods themselves have a history of local folklore concerning the “Good Man”, although as Sylvia points out, “It’s often placatory, that kind of name.” At night, local girls see the “sticky man” outside their windows. And at the centre of the woods lie the remains of a mysterious tower torn down by the locals generations ago…
Throughout the novel, the woods are frequently described as if they are actively moving by themselves, rather than passively being moved by the wind or lit by the sun. Actions are implied and motives for them are suggested. It isn’t too long before you start asking yourself: “What are the trees? What are they, really?”
Campbell heightens this effect by using the somewhat unreliable nature of human perception. It’s a very persuasive technique (since this is what tends to be behind “paranormal” experiences in real life) and works well as we see the woods through the eyes of the characters.
The way in which these strange sights affect their emotions as the story unfolds is also handled very convincingly. At the beginning of the story, the characters only think they see something. Was it just a trick of the light, or was something there? About halfway through the story the characters start to want to deny those perceptions…and towards the end, Heather, the least imaginative one, desperately wishes for the time when she could actually doubt her perceptions.
The Lovecraftian aspects of the story are very nicely done. The woods display intricate patterns and colours which are tantalisingly just beyond the human mind, objects that seem to lack one dimension, and other subtle spatial dislocations. There’s also the fate of one unfortunate mage who, while travelling through the void, is reduced to a disembodied spirit which has suffered some kind of unimaginable damage “… that now cry’d out sans Voice for it import’d not what Manner of Bodie in which to procure its own swift Death”.
I found the conclusion to the tale satisfying, as the woods finally drop the pretense and reveal the sheer size and scope of the entity that was using them to “reach for the world”. There’s also a nice twist as things return to “normal” at the end, and an unexpected use of theme of the crazy person who understands the truth of what really went on…
Recommended 9/10
Read it with some trees around 
by
Jova
On visiting my comic book shop, I discovered a comic book that came out recently. It’s called ‘Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs’. This was a spin off from The Lost Boys, the cult classic vampire movie.
Being a sucker (no pun intended) for The Lost Boys, I picked it up. And I liked it. There are cheesy moments, but I think it is more tongue in cheek than bad writing. This comic follows the Frogs brothers well known from the movie. Set in the present day, a teenager wants to become a vampire hunter and seeks out Edgar Frog. From there, there are a couple of flashbacks as Edgar explains his background as a vampire hunter. Plenty of action and blood letting. It also gave an interesting spin on American history.
The art is good but I’m not a fan of thick black outlines surrounding the characters. I find them a bit distracting. This is a limited series lasting 4 issues. I’m going to pick up another issue then I will if it’s worth sticking with it.
I also found out that there is a sequel to the Lost Boys. It’s due out this summer, straight to DVD. Straight to DVD, I ask? Does that mean it’s crap? I have no idea but I’m apprehensive seeing how most horror sequels can fail to impress. I’ll reserve my opinion until it comes out. Meanwhile, check out the trailer.
Ghastly 
M.I.K.
Countess 
Jova