Zombos' Closet

Hairy Scary Monsters

Here's a monsterkid version of Wooly Willy!

Night Gallery at One Way

A pleasant bite at Crazy Burger, then a nighttime walk past One Way Gallery in Narragansett, Rhode Island reveals these two engrossing pieces of horror art. I couldn't make out the artist's name. Perhaps he's a child of Pickman...

The Tell-Tale Heart HDFor iPad

ZC Rating 4 of 7: Very Good

Given the multimedia and color capabilities of the iPad for displaying magazines and newspapers, the natural next step for novels and short stories may be to embellish their words with sound, illustration, and animation. The tricky part as I see it is not to subvert the author's original vision with a different intent by doing so, but to enhance his words in more dynamic fashion. This would especially help "sell" older works of fiction to a younger audience OD'ing from YouTube watching those dancing (insert your own plural noun here).

The Tell-Tale Heart HD for iPad is a good indication of how effective this enhanced story-telling can be. Edgar Allen Poe's short tale of murder, madness, and terror is known by many who've probably never read the original story, but have seen its derivatives often enough. Dwayne Ferguson's illustrations, with small highlighting animations here and there, allows Poe's tension-building framework to not only come through, they intensify its dark tone using grim, stark artwork, and subtle sound effects.

I chose to read it with my internal voice instead of listening to the voice narration--you turn it on or off by tapping the little skull on the bottom right. I found Hunter Wolf and Janet Hubert's voices were too melodramatically pitched and overly enunciating Poe's words, which are all ready dramatic enough. Either way, you'll find this version of The Tell-Tale Heart a wonderful way to capture Poe's classic horror experience.

A complimentary copy was provided for this review.

If you like this format for story-telling, you may find Hasso Wuerslin's Dead Books series also entertaining.

And Still More: English Horror Movie Lobby Cards

Here are more examples of the subdued layout employed by English language lobby cards: a picture framed by text and illustration. In contrast, Mexican lobby cards usually go heavier on the illustration and shrink the picture.

 (cards courtesy of Professor Kinema)

 
 
 
 

More English Horror Movie Lobby Cards

Here are examples of English language horror movie lobby cards that minimize illustration and text in favor of a larger picture highlighting action or actors. World Without End is still a guilty pleasure of mine. (These cards come from the Professor Kinema archives.)

English Horror Movie Lobby Cards

Unlike Mexican lobby cards, English language horror and sci fi cards usually have a larger picture surrounded by a more sedate layout of illustration and text.  

 Lobby cards courtesy of Professor Kinema.

Ballantine Paperback Covers: Glimpses into the Fantastic

After posting the Penguin Paperback horror book covers, I rummaged through my shelves to find these Ballantine paperbacks I've had so long I forgot about them. Of course I've read them; Bradbury, Lovecraft, and Burroughs had probably the strongest influence on me as I slid headfirst into teen age.

The last book from ACE, Edgar Rice Burrough's Back to the Stone Age: A Castaway in Pellucidar, is the first paperback book I ever read. I picked it up at Phil Seuling's comic book shop off of 86th Street in Bensonhurst Brooklyn. I picked up a lot of books, Warren magazines, and comics at Phil's. I would ride my bike after school to get there. Phil was a great guy. His wife was wonderful, too. When they hit a rough patch after he started playing around with a younger girl, things sort of faded away, quietly. It wasn't much fun going to the shop after that.

The second I pulled these books from their mylar bags I couldn't resist opening Back to the Stone Age and sticking my nose inside, close to the spine. There's a scent, of browning paper, fading ink, and living memories, also browning and fading, you'll never get from a Kindle. That's a shame.

The Art of Penguin Science Fiction and Horror

 Chindi, all knowing, all seeing, alerts us to this collection
of Penguin science fiction cover art.

 

And from the Penguin Blog, here are some horror covers to be fearful of.

Coralie Bickford-Smith is a Senior Designer at Penguin. Here she is talking about the covers for the Gothic Horror series of Red Classics published by Penguin.

 

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Me and Cthulhu From Day After Art

Chris at Day After Art has Cthulhu-ized me with one of his Cthu-You portraits. Take that you zombie-izers! Slimy, briney, tentacles beats rotting flesh any day. So, should I call myself John-Soggoth? It seems like a natural. That turtle-neck sweater really sets the tone, don't it? Thanks Chris!

Artist Andrew Wodzianski Mimics Castle Horror Flick

Courtesy of Mary J. Lohnes, freelance writer, and the College of Southern Maryland's News and Events...

 

"This year marks the 50^th anniversary of William Castle’s classic B-horror flick House on Haunted Hill. Artist Andrew Wodzianski has survived more than a night with the haunted house, producing the exhibition “House,” and will treat five guests to his own form of reward as part of this month’s gallery show, costume party and fundraiser at Flashpoint Gallery in Washington, D.C.

"As a tribute, Wodzianski will engage in some gimmickery of his own. As part of the opening reception for his Flashpoint Gallery solo “House,” on Oct. 8 in Washington, D.C., he will mirror the actions of the film’s star Vincent Price and invite the public to spend the evening in the gallery and participate in their host’s possibly sinister scavenger hunt. Clues will be made available on opening night through the reception “stewards,” (several nurses and a funeral director) with additional clues given to guests that register for their host’s (Wodzianski) Twitter feed http://twitter.com/househuntDC."

Wodzianski’s “House” exhibition runs at Flashpoint Gallery Oct. 8 – Nov. 7.

For information on Wodzianski’s show and other Flashpoint Gallery events, visit http://www.flashpointdc.org/.

For information on Wodzianski's third solo exhibit at the Fraser Gallery, "Abra Cadaver," Oct. 9 to Nov. 14, visit www.thefrasergallery.com.

To view Wodzianski’s other paintings, visit http://www.wodzianski.com/. For information on CSM, visit www.csmd.edu.

Night of the Living Dead Reanimated And Old Time Radio Horror Animated

  Interesting zombie horror news, especially regarding the old time radio horror facelift...

Night of the Living Dead: Reanimated is a mass collaborative artistic re-envisioning of George A. Romero's 1968 cult classic, Night of the Living Dead. International artists and animators were invited to select scenes from the film and reinvent them through their artwork. Their varied works are organized and curated into an art show hung in the time line of this cult classic film.

Neoflux Productions will be employing a similar approach in creating artistically animated video tracks to accompany Old Time Horror Radio Dramas. By combining these well written and aptly preformed stories with our artwork, 'Unseen Horror' will usher these classic tales of the macabre into our visual culture and represent them to a new generation of horror fans.

To sign up for more information, go to http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/unseenhorror/

The Day After Art Strikes A-cute Fear

Chris Zenga must have had a teddy-ble childhood. His zombears appear not only in his nightmares, but also in his artwork. Attacking the classics first, is there no end to his black and white and gray madness?

"I don't have a career as an evil scientist, but what you are about to see is the first series of my Classic Monsters. These are black and white illustrations of the classic monsters that have played a huge part in why I do what I do today.

"In this first series, I have exhumed for you Zom-bear-tep the Mummy and the Bride of FrankenTedd. Next is the InvisZomble Bear, followed by the WolfBear. Last, but not least, is Tedd the Ripper. Ted the Ripper is a piece that I did to support the B.R.A.F.F. organization and some of the proceeds of this Zombear will go to support braff.org.

"All the Classic Monster illustrations will be available as print reproductions, along with my Illustrations for B.R.A.F.F. and other The Day After creations in my Red Bubble store. They will be available in black and white and in oil-painted versions in the coming months. Also look for the Classic Monsters - Series 2 that will include QuaZombearmoto, FrankenTedd's monster and The Gil Tedd. Finally in Series 3 you will get to see PhanTedd of the Opera and Teddula with his brides."

The Day After Art will be at FanExpo (Rue Morgue Festival of Fear), August 28th through 30th, 2009.

Chris Zenga on Facebook.

Joshua Hoffine Has a Devil of a Time

Joshua Hoffine's new devilish photograph is hot. You can read how he created it on his blogsite.

This photograph was shot in my studio. I constructed a set with a floor that was raised three feet off of the ground. My good friend Jason Coale, who works as a professional scenic designer, acted as supervisor. My friends Damien Vela and Matt Tady helped with all of the carpentry...

View more of his horror portfolio.

Little Girls and Big Monsters Interview With Joshua Hoffine

One of the greatest pleasures derived from writing a horror blog is meeting so many interesting people involved creatively with the horror genre and how they express themselves through the moving image, the written and spoken word, a chilling melody or ominous sound, nightmarish illustration, or a fiendish photograph that freezes horror for one lasting moment in time, somewhere between our feet dangling into the deepest pit of our fears and the tips of our fingers holding fast to the shorn edge of our reason.

I'm not quite sure whether photographer Joshua Hoffine has lost his grip yet, but let's chat with him while we still can about his morbid curiosity getting the better of him, and his nightmarish visions clouding his better judgment; in other words, his freaking-me-out photographs of horror.

HOW DID YOU GET STARTED IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND MUTATE FROM WHOLESOME SUBJECTS TO FANTASTIC HORROR?

I started making photographs shortly after graduating from college with a degree in English Literature. My original portfolio of photographs was very dark and disturbing. At that time, I was interested in Frederick Sommer and Joel Peter Witkin, and was creating proto-horror assemblages that sometimes included animal parts. I landed an internship with Nick Vedros, who is the biggest photographer in my hometown of Kansas City, and Nick encouraged me to make my work more palatable to survive as a commercial photographer. From Nick I moved onto Hallmark Cards, which is also based in my hometown.

At Hallmark I mastered the art of making things pretty. I left after only 18 months, and started shooting weddings. With the free time and resources that wedding photography afforded me, I began my first project as a mature photographer, a series of horror photographs called After Dark, My Sweet. Without a gallery or an agent or an audience of any sort, I drove my family into poverty time and time again as I self-financed this costly work. My images are not photoshop collages, but meticulously lit performances caught on camera. I build sets, and use costumes, elaborate props, special effects make-up, and fog machines to bring my ideas to life. I am only restrained by budget.

WHAT IS YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? HOW DO YOU COME UP WITH THE SITUATIONS YOU DEPICT?

From my own memories and fears, as well as the fears of my children. There are sometimes allusions to specific horror films or fairy tales. I am especially attracted to any fears that might be considered universal - like the fear of a monster or boogeyman lurking under your bed.

I FOUND 'CELLAR' PARTICULARLY DISTURBING, AND EVOCATIVE OF J-HORROR NIGHTMARE. HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THIS ONE?

That image is directly inspired by Henrietta bursting out of the earthen floor of the fruit cellar in Evil Dead 2.

MANY OF YOUR PHOTOS HAVE A LITTLE BLOND-HAIRED GIRL IN THEM. WHO IS SHE? WHY NOT USE A LITTLE BOY INSTEAD?

The Little Girl is played, alternately by my daughters Shiva or Chloe. I chose to use a Little Girl because it carries more archetypal power, and references other Little Girl characters like Goldilocks, Little Red Riding Hood, Alice in Wonderland and Dorothy in Oz. In my work, like everywhere else, the Little Girl symbolizes innocence and wonder. Simultaneously, the work possesses a subtext about child predation - which is more easily conveyed, I feel, by using a little girl rather than a little boy. I am interested in the operation of subtext and metaphor in Horror.

I'LL ASSUME YOUR A HORROR FAN IN GENERAL. WHICH ARE YOUR FAVORITE MONSTERS AND WHY?

My favorite monsters include Rob Bottin's work on The Thing, the original Nosferatu, Chris Cunningham's Rubber Johnny, and the child-devouring ogre in Pan's Labrynth. Because they are perfect.

DO YOU DO COMMISSIONED WORK; FOR INSTANCE, TAKE SOMEONE'S NIGHTMARE IDEA AND PHOTOGRAPH IT FOR THEM?

I do commissioned work all the time, mostly for bands and musicians with independent record labels. There is no art director with small labels, so I'm able to write an original piece tailored just for the musician. My most recent work was done for a Detroit rapper named Prozak. Some of his work has a political streak through it, so I wrote 'Uncle Sam' for him to use as artwork on his CD. Other times, he just had a prop he was interested in, like a gas mask or a chainsaw - and I'd hammer out a scenario to go shoot. We're gearing up to do another one in fact, based on The Slumber Party Massacre.

WHAT'S THE ONE QUESTION I SHOULD BE ASKING BUT DIDN'T? AND WHAT'S YOUR ANSWER?

Question: Do you still shoot weddings?

Answer: About 20 a year. But under a fake name.

Now that is truly frightening, indeed! You can shudder at Joshua Hoffine's photographic horrors at http://joshuahoffine.com.

Monster Modren Art

Before Chindi is stoned to death for that Last Supper thing, I should point out that he also found these groovy-gruesome portraits by the "masters," a while back.  There's nothing like a classic horror done up classy, I always say. 

Go to Worth1000.com and scroll down the page to view the Monster Modren 4 entries and more!

Why don't I ever see any of these priceless paintings on Antiques Roadshow?