by
Ghastly McNasty
Hideshi Hino is a well respected manga artist who burst on to the scene during the 70’s. As well as writing novels and directing movies he is best known for his horror manga including such delights as Hell Baby & The Bug Boy along with over 400 books! Often referred to as the ‘Master of Horror’ Hideshi’s artistic style deliberately side steps the standardized manga visuals, which many have come to love/hate, where it wallows in his own unique and twisted version of manga that perfectly suit the disturbing stories he has to tell.
Lullabies from Hell is an excellent place to start if you’re looking to delve into the deranged world of Hideshi Hino. The novel comprises of 4 short stories beginning with the semi-autobiographical ‘Lullabies from Hell’ in which the author introduces himself to the reader and to his psychotic imagination. In this fantastically dark story we meet a young Hideshi, neglected and abused by his family, his sick childhood fantasies are laid bare on the pages inviting us to understand just how low the human imagination can stoop when a person is unloved and uncared for. If some of the elements in this story are true it’s no wonder the author has such a twisted imagination. It really makes you feel for the poor kid.
The cutely drawn panels suit the childish nature of the story and the grotesque sweet little bug-eyed Hideshi is freakishly likeable/pitiable. At the end of the story we catch up with the adult Hideshi Hino who has grown to become a master of horror and a ruthless killer. He addresses the reader directly and informs us that after reading the story we are destined to die in 3 days. It’s a classy end to a brilliant story and quite chilling, especially as the panel in which we see him threaten us directly is the one used on the cover of the book. For the next few days I had the author pointing at me whenever I looked at where the book was lying!
In the second story, entitled Unusual Fetus: My Baby the author takes on a story that most parents would avoid even thinking about; what if your unborn child turned out to be a monster? It’s a bold move to go where few other authors would dare to go and solidifies your belief that this guy really is a fruitcake!
The remaining 2 stories retain the themes of solitude, alienation and terror that this small collection of stories wears on its sleeve, although none as powerful as the first story we were treated to. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent work of horror manga and would be more than happy to see what else the author has to offer.
by
M.I.K.
Appearing just in time for Hallowe’en, this new collection will reprint two stories, originally printed within the pages of 2000AD back in 2001, and both illustrated by the talented Frazer Irving.
Necronauts, written by Gordon Rennie, tells the story of a team-up of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry Houdini, H.P. Lovecraft and Charles Fort, as they attempt to thwart dark forces with plans to enslave humanity.
A Love Like Blood by John Smith is kind of like Romeo & Juliet but with vampires and werewolves. Yes, it does sound a bit like Underworld, but this appeared two years before Kate Beckinsale showed up in that tight leather outfit.
…What was I talking about again?
Oh, yes…
Tharg’s Terror Tales Presents Necronauts and A Love Like Blood will be published 18th October.
Price : £12.35
128 Pages
Amazon link
by
Ghastly McNasty
Step right this way for The Theatre of Terror’s 10 Top Horror Comic Logos. Yes, we have been very busy down here in the depths and have collected together a fangtastic selection of horror comic signage. This list brings together logos from across the history of horror comics. The selection was chosen based on style, font, overall look and the cultural significance at the time it was released.
1. Tales From The Crypt
There are few horror comic logos that opitimise the very essence of the horror genre and this classic logo from EC. Comic’s Tales from the Crypt pretty much defines horror comics and sets the standard to which all other strive to achieve. A worthy victor.
2. The Tomb of Dracula
Marvel Comic’s The Tomb of Dracula is rated by many as the best horror comic of it’s generation. Thankfully it has a beautifully crafted logo to match.
3. 30 Days of Nights
This logo has a sinister beauty to it.
4. Ghostly Tales
Ghostly Tales was published by Charlton Comics and ran from 1966 to 1984. It’s a simple logo with just a hint of ghostly quivering. Delicious.
5. Flinch
Vertigo’s turn of the century horror anthology looks fairly normal until you reach the scrawled ‘N’ in the middle. It looks out of place, scrawled and scary. It’s a clever trick and is very unnerving for the reader.
6. Locke and Key
Neat logo for this modern horror comic hit.
7. Vampirella
The hottest vamp in comic history has a massive and loyal fan following. Just like the lady herself the Vampirella logo oozes class.
8. Swamp Thing
This logo looks like it’s just dragged itself straight out of the swamp. Thing shaped as well. Creepy!
9. Dogwitch
Exiled fetish-witch superstar Violet Grimm’s logo is the brain child of Dan Schaffer and thrilled gothic horror fans from 2002-2005.
10. Tales of the Zombie
Wobbly letters with a hint of Voodoo. Lovely stuff!
by
Ghastly McNasty
Ben Templesmith is probably best known for his artistic skills in Fell, 30 Days of Night, and Criminal Macabre. In Welcome to Hoxford, Templesmith unleashes his creative writing skills and, just as his exceptional artwork proves, this talented award winning Australian is a grand master in horror.
Welcome to Hoxford is a four-issue mini-series released by IDW Publishing in 2008. The story centers on a group of murderers, rapists and psychopaths so deeply damaged and deranged that the state prison system cannot treat or even house them. Instead they are delivered to the privatized correctional institution of Hoxford and in to the hands of Warden Baker chief representative of the mysterious Usmanov Corporation.
It’s a fantastic setting for a horror comic. Trapped within the confines of a soulless private prison under the control of a faceless corporation, the inmates are beyond any form of salvation. These criminals are off the radar, without hope and without a way back. It’s a desperate situation which only adds to the oppressive atmosphere of the book.
As we get to know the prisoners we start to feel thankful they are locked up with no chance of redemption or escape. Morton: Pedophile and Murderer, Burly Bill: Rapist and Murderer, Skunty: Necrophiliac and Murderer, Gravy: Cannibal and Murderer, Jones: Cop Killer and Sadistic Torturer. Each character is introduced along with his own particular brand of craziness, almost like how members of the A-Team would be introduced via their own skill or talent (this is Face, he’s the ladies man), but just horribly evil. These are the guys we’re supposed to be routing for?
The main protaganist is one Ray Delgado a delusional monster of a man with more servere mental issues than the rest of the cast put together. While the other criminals are simply very bad people, Ray is crazier than a coconut and rather bitey! Oh yes, he’s just stopped taking his medication! Overall it’s a fantastic cast which only helps to draw you deep into the story.
With an awesome setting in place and a cast of psychotic killers lined-up for slaughter Templesmith unleashes his monsters in to the mix with an abundance of violence and gore. The frantic action suits the artist’s wild style and the simple colour palette of prison grey, dirty brown and blood red blur together to disorientate the reader and ramp up the fear.
With so many villainous types in this novel the real monsters needed to be truly horrible. Fortunately I really enjoyed the werewolves in Welcome to Hoxford. Visually they are all teeth, claws and ears. These are the type of slobbering carnivorous beasts that made werewolves frightening in the first place. You wouldn’t cuddle up to one of these bad-boys for warmth. I thanks the artist for making his werewolves old school scary.
It’s also a credit to to the authors writing skills that we find ourselves cheering on Ray Delgado. His insanity is so creepy and odd that we almost take pity on him. He drifts through the comic like an unstoppable destructive force showing the path of the righteous man can not be broken by even the most horrific of creatures.
Overall I thoroughly enjoyed this graphic horror novel. It’s got that something special about it that makes it great, a confidence in it’s own ability to impress and scare. This positive vibe has meant that Welcome to Hoxford is also due to get the Hollywood treatment in 2012. I advise you to read the graphic novel before you watch the movie. The author had a vision of a great horror story when creating this book, you should enjoy this raw experience before it gets sanitized.
Check out the Welcome to Hoxford website.
by
Ghastly McNasty
On my eternal quest to read every horror graphic novel on the planet I came across many reviews of ‘Black Hole’ and most seemed to hold Charles Burn’s epic coming of age/sexual awakening story in very high regard. The history of Black Hole makes for good reading itself. A compilation of a twelve volume comic book which Burns wrote and illustrated over a 10 year period! A real labour of love which must be applauded. Black Hole won the Harvey Award for Best Graphic Album of Previously Published Work and Burns also won the 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006 Harvey Award as Best Inker for Black Hole. When it arrived in the post I eagerly tucked in hoping the story would live up to the intriguing and well designed jacket cover.
The story focuses on the lives of a selection of disaffected adolescents living in Seattle during the 70’s. The reader is invited to join the protagonists as they explore their young lives, survive high school, experiment with drugs, go skinny-dipping and run away from home. Looming over the whole proceedings like an enormous black cloud is the threat of a sexually transmitted disease which seems to affect those promiscuous enough to indulge in sex.
Burn’s art is the highlight of this book. His rich artwork adds a visceral heaviness to the story giving the teen characters angst a disturbing visual presence. Considering the story was completed over 10 years it’s a triumph that the style remains consistent.
The many metaphors the novel carries on its shoulders are also reflected in the artwork. There is an abundance of gash shaped pictures and the contrasting deep dark black and white drawings add an additional resonance to many of the dream-like imagery crafted onto the pages. It can be quite disturbing at times.
Ultimately I found the book cold and distant. I found one reviewer who stated “For many people—including myself, naturally—high school felt like an endless, inescapable vacuum without air or light.” Ouch! Maybe because I didn’t experience the same trials as the cast members growing up. Maybe I couldn’t connect with the American high school drama or the fact it was set way back in the 70’s made it seem distant. I was not as engaged in the book as I had hoped I would be.
Although you may find plenty of reviews placing Black Hole on a comic book pedestal please be aware that for some it’s not as great as the reviews make out. It does not reach out to a universal audience, which to give it credit, is a fairly neat trick for a graphic novel about alienation. The story is oddly paced and skips about. The horror is infrequent. The artwork is sublime but the story fails to deliver. Maybe a second or third reading would help with these issues but I sold it soon after I completed reading it. I had hoped this beautifuly drawn story would have demanded a worthy place in my horror comic collection. Looking at the space on my shelf, like the title suggests, it just left a Black Hole.
by
Ghastly McNasty
It seems my German cousin Grauenhaft von Nasty was busy spreading the word of Scream long after its demise. Whilst searching the catacombs this morning I found reference to 4 German Scream Holiday Specials released between 1988-1990. Published by Bastei Verlag this collection of Gespenster Geschichten (Ghost Stories) are reprints from the IPC archive with a couple of extremely interesting cover variants. Behold the German Scream!
by
Ghastly McNasty
Originally released on the Comic Monsters website the ‘Happy Panda Funtime Show’ is a free horror comic story from the diseased minds of the Brain Food Comic Company.
Millions of children all over the world are mesmerized on a daily basis by the #1 children’s show in the world – Happy Panda Funtime Show. But not everyone feels Happy Panda is a good influence, and one man is about to show the world just how evil he feels the corporate dumbing-down of today’s youth is becoming – by hijacking the show and presenting the studio audience and live viewers a chilling ultimatum; one of the children must kill him on live TV or they ALL die.
HPFS is a short story that is worth a read for any horror comic fans. Daniel Thollin has a great drawing style and writer Stephen Lindsay is clearly unleashing some internal rage against the evils in society, which many people may sympathise with. The Happy Panda costume worn by the villan has such a lovely look on its face which contrasts perfectly with the evil acts it carries out.
Click here to view the story
by
Ghastly McNasty
Garth Ennis has achieved legend status in the world of comics and is famous for comic creations such as Preacher, The Boys & Hitman to name a few. I rate Preacher as one of my favourite comic series so was excited to get my hand on Crossed his latest horror offering drawn by the skilled Jasen Burrows. Having already read some reviews which had warned me of the ‘extreme’ content found in Crossed I was eager to see what all the fuss was about.
Crossed is a 10 part series which ran from September 2008 – March 2010. I purchased the complete work in juicy graphic novel format and set about reading with my usual childish eagerness. Publisher Avatar have this to say:
Crossed is his horrifically visceral exploration of the pure evil that humans are truly capable of indulging. This gut-wrenching vision is brought to vivid (and more than a little disturbing) life by Ennis and Burrows. Imagine, for a moment, the worst crimes against humanity. Picture the cruelest affronts to decency. Conjure your darkest nightmares… and then realize it could all be so much worse. When civilization crumbles in one terrifying moment; when people are gleefully breaking into unthinkable acts of violence all around you; when everyone you love has died screaming in agony: What do you do? There is no help. There is no hope. There is no escape. There are only the Crossed.
Sounds good huh…
The Crossed, so called because of a cross like rash that appears on their faces, have lost all inhibitions and morals finding themselves driven towards acts of extreme brutality, sadism and evil with a huge amount of enthusiasm and pleasure on their part. This results in a graphic and disturbring story filled with moments that purposefully set out to revolt and terrify the reader. If you’re looking for depravity on a grand scale then this book is for you. The first chapter ends with an image that is so truly horrifying that it will burn itself into your brain.
These infected homicidal maniacs are the stars of the comic and righly so because they are what makes it work so well. Stumbling zombies are all well and scary but the fact that the Crossed are still human, fast, cunning and driven by their evil desires, make the whole story seem even scarier. They are totally dedicated to their goal of causing unspeakable acts of murder, rape and mutilation. There’s no silver bullets or get-out clauses for these villians and this just adds to the overbearing sense of hopeless doom.
I was slightly wary approaching yet another apocalyptic story. As a regular reader of the Walking Dead I have enough quality survivalist horror in my life. However, in Crossed, the villians are not zombies but deranged humans infected by some unknown disease. A decent enough twist on the survival theme to warrant a read. There is of course some well trodden ground covered in Crossed but with the amount of zombie stuff around these days it’s almost impossible not to have some similarities. Those infected are done so through some form of bite or bodily fluid transfer but the author manages to throw in a few new surprises that kept it fresh.
Jasen Burrows’ artwork is great and he compliments Ennis’ story with some great pictures. Be warned though, no punches have been pulled by either contributor. They really did set out to make it as horrible as possible so kudos to them. There’s actually a Crossed movie in the pipelines but i doubt it will be quite as graphic as the comic.
In Conclusion
I’m both a fan and collector of graphic novels. Being drip fed continuous stories suits by addictive personality and arranging the volumes in numerical order ticks my OCD boxes. I rate comics as either keepers or sellers. If i’ve enjoyed them enough to read again I will keep them and proudly add to my collection. Those that don’t make the grade will be flogged on eBay.
I’m happy to report that Crossed easily makes the grade as a keeper thanks to the post-apocalyptic story and its ability to truly disguct and horrifiy. The only caveat is that if I ever have kids it will be sold. If one were to ever stumble upon this at early age it would well and truly fuck them up.
Some cool Crossed artwork on Flickr
by
Ghastly McNasty
Who better to devote a horror comic to than the grand daddy of the macabre, H.P. Lovercraft himself. The first edition of this interesting looking graphic novel was released in April of this year and has already caused quite a stir. It seems Universal Pictures has snapped up the movie rights to produce The Strange Adventures of H.P.Lovecraft, Mac Carter and Jeff Blitz’s disturbing take on the life of Mr Lovercraft.
Toiling away as a timid and eccentric writer of pulp horror stories, H.P. Lovecraft, is powerless in the world… in love with a girl who doesn’t love him back, mired in a profession that inspires no respect and frozen in the grip of a terrible writer’s block. Until one day when everything changes. Lovecraft comes in contact with an ancient book that passes onto him an insidious curse: whenever he sleeps, his darkest nightmares come true and are loosed on the world. Suddenly, this shy and bumbling writer becomes both an unwitting god of destruction and the only man who can fight the wickedness he unleashes. It’s a fantastical revision of the life and work of H.P. Lovecraft, a story in the mold of the classic Universal horror movies. A weird tale indeed.
Looks pretty darn good and anything Lovecraft related has got to be worth a punt. Visit The Strange Adventures of H.P.Lovecraft website for more information.
by
Ghastly McNasty
Being a medical horror comic by Mssrs. Brandon Seifert and Lukas Ketner
If your looking for an example of excellent artwork and a ripping good yarn then it’s surely worth your time delving in to the world of Witch Doctor.
About Witch Doctor
Vincent Morrow’s fall from grace in the medical world was swift, total, and his own damn fault.
He would’ve ended things that same night if he hadn’t been headhunted into an exciting new career — in the black arts. Then there was the matter of pulling a certain sword out of a certain stone and being declared earth’s destined protector, but he’d rather you didn’t mention that. The obedient path of mystical tradition isn’t the one for Morrow. The Holy Grail made a great sink — it just needed a hole for the plumbing and a rubber stopper in the bottom — and earth’s vampires, zombies and other superfauna are just patients to him, victims of unknown illnesses waiting to be treated.
It’s a sick world. And Dr. Morrow serves it with both hands — one in magic, one in medicine — as earth’s Sorcerer General. Earth’s Witch Doctor.
Witch Doctor has some really great characters that strengthen the storyline. The lead character has an intriguing personality and if you venture on to the Witch Doctor site and read the preview story ‘First Incision’ you will definately leave wanting to know more about the mysterious and intelligent Vincent Morrow.
It seems from their blog they have just lined up a fresh story so scoot on over and get a taste of this great indy comic. You can find out more about this awesome comic and read the first story at the Witch Doctor website
by
Ghastly McNasty
Night Zero is a photo comic book that pretty much stands out in it’s field. Very professionally made it harkes back to a time when Doomlord used same technique in some of the older issues of Eagle. Check out the blurb below and visit the site to read for yourself
NIGHT ZERO is a photo comic book, or fumetti, produced on location in Seattle, Washington. It is a collaboratively-driven project that blends the talents of writers, actors, photographers, digital artists, and film crews, to create a graphic novel unlike any other.
THE STORY
Set in the months following a deadly viral outbreak, NIGHT ZERO follows the lives of the surviving population of Seattle, Washington. Holding together in the New City, a semblance of normalcy barricaded against the terrors of the world outside, those still alive have no choice but to throw their lots in with the rest and make a new future.
THE LOOK
NIGHT ZERO is produced like a feature film, shot on-location with a full cast and crew, complete with sets, props, and costumes. Using the emerging technology of High Dynamic Range photography (HDR) and a process called tonemapping, our digital artists are able to transform the images into a unique visual style somewhere between photography and illustration. There is no tracing or hand drawing superimposed on the photographs– the “illustrated” style is purely the result of the HDR photography method.
You can find more information about this amazing project and read the comic stories in full by visiting the Night Zero website.
If you’re interested in the spectacular zombie horror game Left 4 Dead then you may want to check out Left 5 Dead also from the creators of Night Zero. The artistic after-touches applied to these photographs create an amazing effect. Top notch work!
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
The cutely drawn panels suit the childish nature of the story and the grotesque sweet little bug-eyed Hideshi is freakishly likeable/pitiable. At the end of the story we catch up with the adult Hideshi Hino who has grown to become a master of horror and a ruthless killer. He addresses the reader directly and informs us that after reading the story we are destined to die in 3 days. It’s a classy end to a brilliant story and quite chilling, especially as the panel in which we see him threaten us directly is the one used on the cover of the book. For the next few days I had the author pointing at me whenever I looked at where the book was lying!
In the second story, entitled Unusual Fetus: My Baby the author takes on a story that most parents would avoid even thinking about; what if your unborn child turned out to be a monster? It’s a bold move to go where few other authors would dare to go and solidifies your belief that this guy really is a fruitcake!
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