Review: Vincent Price Presents

I just finished this initial offering of Vincent Price Presents from Bluewater Comics, which promises to be an ongoing series. Cutting straight to the chase, I suggest that any horror comic fan should give this a try. This book has some of the best production values I've seen in a horror comic in quite some time with slick pages and full color art throughout. Impressive!

The book contains one story which is framed by a Vincent Price sequence. Joel Robinson is the artist responsible for this Price intro/outro, and I don't know if he achieved his results with computer imaging or straight freehand work, but it is simply beautiful stuff and represents Mr. Price quite accurately. Well done, Joel!

As for the story, "Welcome to the Family of the Night," you should be left satisfied as well. The art by Rey Armenteros is of the murky painting type, which sets a dreamlike tone for this short tale. One just rarely finds such professional looking work in an indy book these days! The writing itself, by Chad Helder, is not bad either. Chad's prose probably could have benefitted the reader with some beefing up via more narrative boxes, but overall one should be able to figure out quickly that vampires have seized control of the government. A very cool concept, and the reader is left with an open ending to leave to their imagination what transpires after the last panel.

Basically, I can't wait for issue # 2 if Bluewater continues to achieve this level of production. I'm looking forward to the success of this series!

http://www.bluewaterprod.com/

Return of the Creature

...also titled "Where did I go?" You may I have noticed the blog went AWOL right before Halloween, of all times. What?!? That's like a Santa Claus blogger stopping just prior to Christmas, isn't it? Unexcusable! He,he...

What ended up happening was that the week before Halloween I packed up the family in a rental van and took off for a secluded cabin in the Smoky Mountains. Very "Evil Dead"-esque. This was the first time I had ever spent Halloween somewhere besides my home state of Ohio, so I was actually a tad nervous as to my ability to fully enjoy All Hallows Eve the ways I'm accustomed to. After all, it is the National Holiday for any horror-head, no?

I'm glad to say the whole thing was quite a fine experience. A couple days before the Big Night, our family carved more Jack O'Lanterns than ever before. We had to set them inside in front of the fireplace or out on the 3-story high back deck so as to not attract roving bears (which we saw plenty of) to our front porch. We had TV's in every room, and when we didn't have to have Dora the Explorer on for our children's sanity, we watched AMC or TCM with their continuous spook reels for our own. We roasted pumpkin seeds, made creepy cookies, and cut up little spooky arts & crafts projects. Our children (both under 3) got dressed up & went room to room for candy, & they loved every minute of it! So did I, it was a blast!

So let me suggest that next year, try mixing up your Halloween routine a bit. Adding something new to your traditions may just make for a more memorable holiday!

Just another cover...

Well, it's another one of those long weekends that I have to work, so I'm going to squeeze a measley cover scan in, just so you guys have something new to look at. Hope you enjoy!

Frighthouse # 1

Another "overdue review." Randall Wincek is the man resonsible for both the art & stories in this indy offering from Harrowing Productions. A one-man labor of love. This comic is done in b&w interior with color cover by Mr. Wincek, and the paper stock lends itself very well to the b&w medium. Good production values!

The color cover is only slightly indicative of Wincek's style, which I would best describe as "underground" inspired. The art loses a little something with the coloring, as the b&w work on the interior is much more stylish and detailed; using gray tones and washes to eerie effect.

The highlight for me is Randall's storytelling. He has a good command of the short story format (Did I mention this is a 3-story anthology with framing pieces? No? Shame on me...) and pace. His use of a horror host, Mr. Nightly, is witty & hearkens back to all those campy hosts of yesteryear. Randall's plot, narrative, and dialogue are all quite strong and reflect a well versed knowledge of the horror genre. What's icing on the cake is that the storytelling is never too serious, and often has humor in the right places at the correct dosage. Randall may be one of the better writers of this throwback horror style that you probably haven't heard of yet. I wish I had better contact info, but the best I can do is to steer you toward http://www.indyplanet.com/ and look him up there. Good luck!

Graphic Classics: H.P. Lovecraft

This 2nd edition of GC:HPL contains 75 additional pages of new material, so even if you have the 1st, you ARE going to want to pick this up. Tom Pomplun's Graphic Classics series, for those not "in the know," is a graphic novel series which adapts stories from one author at a time, in a short story anthology format. High production values make these well worth your money.

So, what can I say about the writing? It's HPL, and it is pretty hard to adapt him poorly. You can't (and won't)go wrong here. "Shadow Over Innsmouth," "Dreams in the Witch-House," "Herbert West: Reanimator," "Cats of Ulthar," "Terrible Old Man," "Shadow Out of Time," and a couple others. Pick your favorite & enjoy. Myself, I got a warm, fuzzy feeling last night as the air finally began to get a good chill to it outside, and I settled in to read "Innsmouth." Good times.

As for artwork, there is something for all tastes within. Everything interior is in b&w, and you are treated from abstract and cartoonish illustration to creepily serious stuff. From Simon Gane to Matt Howarth to some cat named Richard Corben (Ever heard of him? Thought so!) you won't be let down.

http://www.graphicclassics.com/

Wulf & Batsy

Here's one from the "insanely overdue" pile. Wulf and Batsy in "We Have No Home," written and illustrated by Bryan Baugh, and published by Chanting Monks Press. The latest print is available from Viper Comics.

Nice cover by Joe Chiodo (does he ever do a bad job? Note: scan is the back cover by Baugh). Inside, we are treated to a full length B&W story. Wulf & Batsy are, for the uninitiated, a werewolf & vampire who are apparently constantly on the move for survival purposes. This story depicts what I imagine would be a typical scenario for them if they are discovered by the locals. Bryan's plot & dialogue are apt & makes for a quick read, but don't expect any lengthy, mind-blowing prose. I don't think there was a single narrative box in the entire book, but inactuality it wasn't needed.

Baugh's art is in somewhat of a cartoonish style, which is not my normal cup of tea as often it indicates an artist who needs lots of developement. However, this is not the case for Bryan, as I find his style quite enjoyable & very well crafted. He makes great use of the b&w medium, providing excellent background detail to set a "horror mood" throughout the book. Lots of nice "surprises" placed in the art here & there for those who are looking, as well. Hat's off to Bryan, one of the few artists to have ever won me over completely with this style.

http://www.cryptlogic.net/

The Unpublished HCR # 5 Cover!!!

Once again, I have decided to do something different today rather than reviewing something from the "long overdue" pile. I present to you the cover art that was slated to grace Horror Comics Review # 5. Fantastic contribution from Pete Von Sholly. It is titled "He is Born," and features a certain Lovecraftian creation. Enjoy!

http://www.vonshollywood.com/