Zombos' Closet of Horror

Blacklist Studio's King! 1

"In less than one hour, a hole will open in the fabric of the universe, unleashing a horde of Moche zombies, led by their bloodthirsty god."

"And where, exactly, will this hole open up?"

"In the dining area of Blubber Tubber's Burgers about a mile away."

In King! Issue 1,  Thomas Hall and Daniel Bradford begin the adventures "of a former professional wrestler who not only is a monster killer for hire, but who also closely resembles a certain "King" of Rock n Roll."

As they did with Robot 13's storyline, the King! rocks through Bradford's breezy, taking care of business panels, while Hall lets his  hunka hunka burnin'  impersonator's soul roll with the mayhem as Blubber Tubber's fast food joint becomes the center of the apocalypse. Hold the fries because there's no time to waste with lengthy exposition, copious explanations, or deep conversations. Hall and Bradford prefer action to words, as does the King, and this first issue has it as much as Elvis' hips could swivel.

The question is, will the King get to eat his Peanut Butter Banana Burrito before it gets cold?

An advance copy of King! Issue 1 was provided for this review.

The Strange Adventures of H. P. Lovecraft TPB

But now, a third alternative reveals itself. A harrowing possibility that I, more than anyone, should have considered! My night's wicked reveries conjure monsters. And if I sleep--Providence dies.

ZC Rating 4 of 7: Very Good

Madness wags the tail of Lovecraft's fiction. No reason it shouldn't since it dogged him every day of his life. But there are many forms of madness, though each one eventually distills into one consummate abyss surrounded only by the boundaries of chaos. Not benign, nor reticent, nor remorseful is the journey to this abyss, and shadows of malevolence dot its rim, poking furtively into consciousness, just enough to chill the bone and heat the blood.

Such is Lovecraft's legacy to fantastic literature: he gives us the briefest of glimpses into that awful abyss, which leaves a taste like salt sucked after  the bitterest glassful of Tequila spirit is downed with a chewy biteful of the thickest worm. But the worm is only in your imagination, of course. Con gusano is a myth perpetuated for the gringos who don't know the difference between Tequila and Mezcal. But myth can be powerful, nonetheless, especially when cosmic in scale, yet kept personal in the telling.

The Strange Adventures of H.P. Lovecraft issues 1 through 4 are collected in Image Comics trade paperback. Written by Mac Carter and drawn by Tony Salmons, Howard Philips Lovecraft becomes his own haunter of the darkness, shaded over by his spiritual dissolution, doted over by his two perpetually tipsy aunts, weakened by his mentally-deranged parents, and nearing a void in his life ready to trip him into that abyss. Of course this is the imagined Howard Philips Lovecraft, the fictional one who unwittingly becomes the Gate, the reluctant welcoming committee and tour guide par excellence for those Others, the Ones patiently waiting at the rim of the abyss to return insanity and chaos to its proper place in the cosmos. Their cosmos.

Carter keeps it all very personal for Lovecraft. Howard has writer's block big time, but his volatile dreams betray his inmost desires, the ones he can't seem to man up to during his waking hours. This bottling up becomes his uncorked genii at night, speeding off on more than ethereal wings, and soon the people of Providence--the ones he can't seem to get along with all that well--are madly stroked into Picasso paintings colored in chaos.

Being an underground artist, Salmons doesn't quite capture the flux of unreality, the melting of sanity, or the horrors-beyond-time as morphologically lucid as I'd like, but between Carter's narrative for Howard's plight and the repercussions of his cosmic gate-keeping, there is a symbiosis of intent between Carter and Salmons that realizes the action more than adequately. The frantic elucidation of the Necronomicon's influence on Howard's fragile mind, the subtle murmurings from its long dead compiler goading him on (the opening pages in issue 1 are some of the best in the series), and his psychological instability converge into a fast-paced tale of terror that makes it all very personal for Lovecraft and us.

Turf 1: The Fangs of New York

ZC Rating 2 of 7: Fair (due to poor page layout; otherwise story and art are very good)

If you've ever read a Classics Illustrated comic you're familiar with how the artwork is accompanied by large blocks of narrative and copious balloons of dialog in each panel. By today's standards those comics appear too wordy, but these are literary classics that were transferred to a medium their authors didn't normally worry about. To compensate, the panel layouts were carefully designed to accommodate art and text so neither overpowered the other.

Image Comics' Turf issue 1 is like reading a Classics Illustrated story, but without that careful planning of art and text layout. This gives the impression the artwork was done first, then narrative and dialog text were slapped on top, creating an awkward, crowded, and often contentious marriage of both within panels too small to cleanly hold them. Some pages stretch to ten panels, which are then crammed with text, some of which is either unnecessary or could have been better accommodated by choosing a different page layout or approach. How Alan Moore's penchant for verbosity is craftily handled in comics comes to mind. So my question is why didn't Ross and Edwards do a better job of planning their graphic story layout? Jonathan Ross' story is ambitious and well written--for a novel--and Tommy Lee Edwards artwork captures the grit and flap of the roaring 1929 social scene with detailed precision--when you can see it.

Suzie, the society columnist for the Gotham Herald realizes her dream of becoming a bona fide news reporter when European vampires (their progenitor, shown in one panel, looks like Bela Lugosi's Dracula), led by Stefani Dragonmir, move to eliminate the city's gangs and take control of organized crime. Along with her reluctant photographer Dale (why do sidekicks always seem reluctant?) she's heading knee deep into the belly of the beast. If that's not enough for you, there's also alien cargo runners locked in a space battle above the city, soon to crash the party in issue 2. Vampires, gangsters, and aliens: sounds like a B-movie extravaganza, not to mention a mysterious Old One the vampires are looking to revive to start their war on humanity.

Given panels sized and arranged to fit everything snugly but adequately, issue 1 would be almost exhilarating in its pace and setups. However, as written, the only size to properly make it all harmonize would be a coffee table book format. Without a doubt, for the cover price, this is one issue where you get more than your money's worth.

The Nightmare Factory Vols 1,2

ZC Rating 4 of 7: Very Good

Shhh. Listen. That is a furtive step creaking up the basement stairs. Hold your breath. That is a shadow crouching in the corner of the room, and every other room you enter. Breathe in. That is the briny smell of fish scales and water-logged wood, and freshly turned earth filled with bloated worms, and moldering leather-bound volumes crammed onto drooping shelves. Now look. Those crumbling facades of edifice and sanity, cracking and peeling in the mirror behind you, are yours. And yours alone.

Welcome to the eerie world of Thomas Ligotti, an author who is either highly praised or mostly ignored by readers of the horrific, whose stories are adapted in these two volumes from Fox Atomic Comics. Somewhat Lovecraftian in intent, partially E. F. Bleiler-- with a tincture of Robert Aickman--in portent, Ligotti's stories are incessantly bleak and eldritch and filled with uncanny events confronting his displaced, misplaced, and psychically-debased characters. Images of festively-clothed clowns and harlequins, ancient alien things with grotesque appendages, and arcane horrors waiting patiently at your doorstep occupy his imagination. And now yours.

LOTT D Horror Comic Crypt: Sleaze, Mystery, And Undead

The bells strike the midnight horror. Dare you enter the comic crypt with The League of Tana Tea Drinkers to dig up the dirt on horrifying comics (and those others)? Who knows what you may discover buried deep between the covers. Make sure your flashlight's batteries are strong, pack a good midnight snack, and mind the rats. Now let's go.

Uranium Cafe: The Sleazy World of Eerie Publications

Myron Fass was to magazine publishing what Ron Ormond and Al Adamson were to film making, only consistently lacking their sometimes dubious scruples and ethics. His best remembered for his wild assortment of magazines published from the 60’s to 70’s by the company called Countrywide Publications that he partnered with Stanley R. Harris.

My Monster Memories: Tomb of Dracula Issue 1

This is probably my favorite comic book that I ever bought. I picked it up in late March of 1972, when I was 13 years old, at my regular haunt for comics and books; Chichester's drugstore on Vineville Ave. in Macon GA.

Robot 6: Sinister Six: Alt-Horror Update

Before Halloween I posted a list of "Six Deeply Creepy Alt-Horror Cartoonists" as part of Robot 666's week-long reign of terror. Well, these avatars of alternative comics' dark side have been up to some interesting things lately.

Vault of Horror: House of Mystery Halloween Annual

I recently got my grubby hands on House of Mystery's first-ever Halloween Annual, and can honestly say it made my Halloween just a little more festive. In some ways, the issue does a better job of recapturing the old Creepy Magazine feel than Dark Horse's actual Creepy revival book--albeit in a more mature, Vertigo style.

Moon is a Dead World: Victorian Undead Issue 1

Horror has recently found a fascination in remaking the Victorian age of literature. We've seen novels parodying Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, and now we have a creation from Ian Edginton and Davide Fabbri pitting Sherlock Holmes and Watson against mindless zombies. Do we have a fascination in debauching (in a good way) the classics?

Zombos' Closet: Vincent Price Presents Issues 1, 2, 3

Using the persona of famed horror actor Vincent Price to host a series of illustrated terror tales is a demanding challenge.

LOTT D Horror Comic Crypt: Zombies, Vamps, Alt-Horror, Majestic

The bells strike the midnight horror. Dare you enter the comic crypt with The League of Tana Tea Drinkers to dig up the dirt on horrifying comics (and those others)? Who knows what you may discover buried deep between the covers. Make sure your flashlight's batteries are strong, pack a good midnight snack, and mind the rats. Now let's go.

The Walking Dead (Cinema Suicide)

You see, everyone thinks that just because I’m a horror fan and I run a website where the bulk of the writing is dedicated to the genre that I am automatically a drooling zombie fanboy because they happen to be the monster of the moment.

The Evil Dead Rise Again (Monster Land)

With permission from Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, writer Mark Verheiden set out to do what seemed like the impossible, and recreate the celebrated 80s cult film hit Evil Dead as a comic book.

Six Creepy Alt-Horror Cartoonists (Robot 6)

For my money, the most reliably disturbing and disquieting work in the genre over recent years has come from artists who produce what you'd consider to be "alternative comics."

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (Love Train for the Tenebrous Empire)

I'd like to think I'd make a really kickass vampire hunter.  I've got a low tolerance for weepy Anne Rice melodrama and an array of fabulous hats that make me an ideal candidate for that role.

Majestic-XII (TheoFantastique)

MAJESTIC-XII is the story of a team of superheroes charged with fighting a secret war against alien invaders. One has to wonder how these aliens–who already control most of the universe–can possibly be held off by a handful of superhumans, who seem to do nothing but engage in chaotic fist-fights with other superhumans, and moon over each other in constant, maudlin interior monologues.

Peter Normanton Speaks From the Tomb (Zombos' Closet)

His love of the dissolute images and outrageous stories that spring from the unsavory pages of horror comics, to linger in our minds long after those pages have yellowed with age, makes him the kind of person we like to be interred with...for a little chat.

A Very... Zombie Christmas 1

ZC Rating 4 of 7: Very Good (especially with hot chocolate)

While I prefer my Christmas toasty warm and eggnoggy smooth, there is something a tad enjoyable to having a little bit of zombie fear in all that holiday cheer. So put on your Snuggie, take a sip of your hot chocolate, and settle down by the fire with Antarctic Press' A Very...Zombie Christmas one shot.

I would have probably missed this issue if Glen, the owner of my local watering hole for comics, Fourth World, hadn't dropped it on my pull pile. He knows I like horror a bit and is always on the lookout for comics and magazines I might miss.

The three stories drawn in black and white are written with an eye toward leaving the reader with a little lump of coal among the candy in his or her stocking: short and sweet with a tart ending. My favorite is The Littlest Zombie Meets Santa by Fred Perry. In a world overrun by zombies, with survivors barely surviving, it's Christmas Eve and there is more than mice stirring around one particular sanctuary. The stylish illustration and story is like a big gingerbread cookie; cute to admire, but ready to bite. 

In Unholy Night, Joseph Wight makes sure to hang the stockings with care and leaves the children wide awake with dread in their beds after Grandpa Foster tells them his wartime experience with the undead on a snowy night. A two-page battle scene and decrepit zombies trampling the snow provide the visual treat as Wight takes full advantage of the black and white medium to convey the carnage.

The last story, David Hutchison's You Better Watch Out..., shows a heist gone bad using an EC-spiced ending to bring the boys together for the holidays. The inking over his pencils is very light, and his panels open up here and there to give his characters room. Some of his character positions reminded me of Steve Ditko's style, especially on the first page. The last panel is a cheery picture of togetherness that brings home the spirit of the holidays; for horror fans, anyway.

A Very...Zombie Christmas left me wishing it t'were twice the number of pages. These stories are well written and drawn. Now just imagine what you could do with a concept like a festival of zombies: eight days of terror...maybe next year, perhaps. Or how about George Bailey finding himself in zombie-town in It's a Terrible Life. Zombies. The possibilities are endless.

Lovecraft For Kids: Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom

ZC Rating 3 of 7: Good (but is it Lovecraft?)

Blasphemy? Heresy? Bruce Brown and Renzo Podesta are treading very thin ice by making the anglophilic cosmic horror of Howard Phillips Lovecraft palatable for kids in the graphic novel Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom. Or perhaps, by their adolescent-themed story based on Lovecraft's Mythos they may instill a fresh appreciation of those eldritch horrors that have become the first base and potent home run in much of horror fiction? Perhaps. But missing in the atmosphere created by their words and illustrations are the Gothic Noir and Rococo stylings--the stiffly starched shirt, rumpled cuffs verbiage Lovecraft is either praised or damned, but always noted for.

Drawing on Lovecraft's own tragic childhood, young Howard, in the company of his mom, pays a visit to Butler Sanitarium to see his raving mad dad. His father comes out of delirium long enough to implore Howard not to read that book, you know, the quintessential one that keeps getting every acolyte, neophyte, and unfortunate slub stepping into Lovecraft-land into terrible trouble. Here, it is his father's hand-written journal, containing the fruits of his occult explorations. Howard's mom, ironically, dumps that book into his little hands that same night for some bedtime reading enjoyment.

Gifts for Horror Comics Fans

Here is a list of gift ideas for that comic book fan in your life. You know, the nephew you thought would love Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes because that helpful patron in Borders--the one who thought Myra Breckinridge was a cook book author--insisted he would. Now you know better.

No need to check over this list twice; every book is a surefire winner that will light up the holiday for any devout comic book reader, especially the horror-minded ones.

1000 Comic Books You Must Read
by Tony Isabella

Starting briefly with Superman in the 1930's, then into the Fighting Forties, Tony Isabella provides cover shots and brief synopses of many notable issues categorized by decade up to the present. Archie and Millie the Model, super heroes and horror mix it up in a sumptuous memory lane experience for older fans (like me) and a wonderful, if-you're-so-smart-what-about-that-issue, reading list for younger ones (like me, too). Some older issues will, of course, be harder to find by themselves, but with so much of historical and reading interest being reprinted today in archived volumes, it's becoming easier to catch up on all this sequential art goodness.

Saga of the Swamp Thing, Books 1 and 2
by Vertigo and DC Comics

Horror never had it so good until Alan Moore decided to explore its elements in Swamp Thing. I recently received Book 2 from DC Comics for review. With Moore's depth of storyline and penchant for bringing in familiar DC characters, and Stephen Bissette and John Totleben's expressive illustration gallivanting across panels--and printing it all on superbly non-slick, dull, pulpy paper to retain the original sense of coloration and tactile nuance, this hardcover edition, along with Book 1, is essential reading for any horror comic fan.

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery, Vol. 1
by Dark Horse Archives

This hardcover archive collects the first four issues of Boris Karloff Thriller retitled to Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery. Sara Karloff provides a brief introduction and bios of the creative people involved are included. Confined to static panels, five per page, the artwork is a tidy balance between adequate story-telling and heavy-inked momentum. The stories come with morals or little twists of fate. Boris the Uncanny introduces each one and sums up the lesson afterward. Not overly scary or expressively artistic, this volume will either bring back delightful memories for older fans or provide a good example of what bread and butter comic art and story are all about for others.

Victorian Undead 1 Sherlock Holmes vs. Zombies

ZC Rating 3 of 7: Good

The game's afoot once again for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, although this time around it is much gamier; downright putrid, in fact. Not so elementary zombies are prowling the fog-bound streets of London in this steampunk and Inverness coat-dressed pastiche from author Ian Edginton and illustrator Davide Fabbri.

In Part One, The Star of Ill-Omen (Issue 1 of 6), Holmes and Watson are brought into the investigation of peculiar and inexplicable events occurring around Baker Street by Inspector Lestrade. In the opening pages, Holmes tangles with an adversary well-versed in the scientific arts of automata--a certain Professor perhaps?--while a green comet sets the stage for the undying detective to meet the undead, who are becoming more common on the streets than hansom cabs.

The story moves quickly, leaving enough mystery to hold promise. The artwork is adequate, but lacks the edginess the world's first consulting detective and his vibrant London warrant. The scenes of 221b Baker Street are perfunctory, and Holmes' visage and dress borders on the dashing; unusual for someone of his spontaneous and somewhat untidy habits. The color palette used for London is also far too chipper.

But this is Holmes and Watson against zombies, a capital idea; so I anticipate an exhilarating adventure grander than his encounter with the Giant Rat of Sumatra.

Review copy courtesy of Wildstorm/DC Comics.