Asian Horror Month: Princess Resurrection by Yasunori Mitsunaga

Contrary to what the cover and write up leads you to believe, the star of this manga is not Princess Resurrection.  The true star is Hiro, an abandoned boy who is resurrected to be a slave for the princess. Poor Hiro wakes up in a morgue unaware that he is now undead and wanders to the Princess’s house.

Princess Resurrection is nonchalant and uncaring of his life or what becomes of him. As the daughter of the king who stands above all monsters, I guess she has the luxury of being jaded about death.  She wields many weapons such as stakes, swords, jackhammers, and her favorite, a chain saw. Despite the many monsters she massacres, her dress is never damaged. Now, this is a girl we can look up to!

So, let’s see… we have a hell-bent princess, an undead boy, a robot maid, is there someone missing?  Ah yes!  Let’s add a rebellious werewolf girl into the mix.

These books are great. No matter how many times Hiro is “accidentally” killed by the Princess’s weapons or the robot maid says her only word “Hooba”, this story never gets old.

What you’ll find in Volume 1:

• Hiro wakes up dead and finds the Princess battling a horde of werewolves.
• Insane hospital employees attempt to make Hiro their savior and then try to kill him.
• Werewolf girl saves Princess Resurrection from a battalion of squidmen.
• Extras in the back include a four-page spin-off comic and two pages of translation notes explaining the significance of certain scenes along with a sneak peek at Volume 2.
• Favorite quote: “You think Hiro’s alright?”
  “He only drowned for one night.  There shouldn’t be a problem.”

What you’ll find in Volume 2:

• The Princess’s evil little sister visits and infects the house with triffids.
• A sexy vampire girl wants Hiro for her own and attempts to steal him from the Princess.
• The Princess battles another horde of werewolves.
• The robot maid finds an android who she cares for.
• The Princess kills an eyeball squid creature with a jackhammer.
• Extras in the back include a five-page spin-off comic and two pages of translation notes explaining the significance of certain scenes along with a sneak peek at Volume 3 which looks to include a mummy army.
• Favorite quote: While most of the crew is fighting for their lives against triffids, the maid is cleaning up. “It’s a little noisy upstairs… Oh well. I need to vacuum!”

The art in this manga is not pretty and frilly, but it is very well done. Monster art, gory blood, fighting, and a girl who cuddles her weapons? What more can a horror manga fan want?

Comic Review: The Willows by Algernon Blackwood

Reviewed by Sebastian Grimm
☆☆☆☆

As one of H.P. Lovecraft’s inspirations, The Willows by Algernon Blackwood is a classic tale that isn’t known by many. Algernon may be more famously remembered as the writer who influenced writers rather than for his own work. The man himself was an interesting person I would have liked to been friends with. A member of The Ghost Club and a mystic develing into occultism, Rosicrucianism, and Buddhism, he also loved the outdoors.

His story, The Willows, mixes his two loves. The outdoors and creepy shit. He does what rarely is done well. He takes on the realism of camping and being amongst the trees, making you feel you are there with him and adds the fear we all have about the woods. What is the shadow in the woods? What is that sound? Is it simply nature or is there something supernatural watching from a wooded perch?

In The Willows, two friends on a canoe trip down the River Danube encounter ominous masses of menacing willows, which “moved of their own will as though alive, and they touched, by some incalculable method, my own keen sense of the horrible.”

In this comic edition of The Willows, the story is told through pictures and presents a visual representation of the willow monsters that will haunt your dreams. Put together by Nathan Carson and Sam Ford, this edition is either a must-have collectible for Willows fans or an introduction for those who have not read the original story. 

If you’ve read my other reviews, you know I am very picky on artwork. Because of the time period and the nature aspect, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the art. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by Sam’s work and will look for his other endeavors in the future. There is a slight steampunk look to some of the work, but at the same time, I feel he recalls the time period well. Although I am not sold on all of his people depictions because sometimes the humans don’t look the same in one frame versus the other, his creature and animal renderings are phenomenal. I especially enjoyed the full page art pieces he did such as the undine army and the branches being an optical illusion. The facial expressions on the main character are the best I’ve seen. His demon and supernatural cells are the stuff of nightmares. I was supremely happy with the comic in general.

I’d say the story representation was done well. I feel from reading the original story that there were portions that dragged and I wondered where they were going. Being cut with Nathan’s modern mind helped move the story along at a great pace and contributed to allowing Sam the freedom to create the demons he needed to in the art.

Overall, I’d say this is going in the win column for comic adaptations of classic horror works. They kept the original story and built an even better representation of it. I’m giving this comic a strong 4 stars. ☆☆☆☆ 

Sebastian Grimm signing off.

Comic Review: Spike: Into the Light

Spike: Into the Light Comic
Reviewed by Sebastian Grimm

You know as well as I do that the major success of Buffy the Vampire Slayer is all because of Spike. If he’s your favorite characters too, you’ll find this comic Spike: Into the Light an amusing little read.

Written by James Marsters himself (the actor who played Spike) this little comic has all the fun comedy we have learned to expect from the blond one.

In a time when Spike is trying to be a good boy, he travels to a different town called Greenville where he helps save a woman in an alley from two thugs. He then uncovers a demon trying to kidnap little kids, tries to recover some money he stole in his heyday, and replace some broken boots.

This story is supposed to take place near the beginning of Season 7 of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series. So, you might want to watch the end of six before you start this read.

Now, the artwork is all very well in this book. I found the demon especially interesting and Spike was as we would expect him. I enjoyed the inner monologue Spike gives us in this comic and it was fun watching him try to be a good guy when all he wants to do was bust some skulls. Or drain some blood for God’s sake!

My only disappointment was that, I like Spike when he’s bad. Seeing people take advantage of him, breaking his boots and not paying for it, stealing his money, all these things happening and he just taking it…it was hard to watch.

Still, I’d say this comic was a success. Well done James, and I look forward to more if you have it in you.

This is a rare 4.5 ☆☆☆☆ ½ on the scale.

Sebastian Grimm signing off.

Comic Review: Mary Moon Volume 1

Mary Moon Comic
Reviewed by Sebastian Grimm

I’m reviewing an old comic Circa 2012 that I picked up at a used bookstore. Mary Moon is a story about a gal who gets bitten by a werewolf and a vampire at the same time, making her some sort of hybrid were-vamp.

This Volume 1 by Black Mirror Comics seemed somewhat like an indie publication and does have a few typos. However, they seem very passionate about their story and there’s even information in the back about how to subscribe to them. Now, I haven’t looked up the website to see if it’s still in service, but here’s my review of this issue.

First off, the art is rather well done. Much better than I would expect from an indie comic company. I enjoyed most of the images. There are a few that are a little out of whack, but overall it’s done well.

This story is an interesting idea. What if you were bitten by a vampire and a werewolf at the same time? Would you be a cross between both of them, or would one be a more dominant feature in your blood?

In Mary Moon’s case, she experiences these beings separately. She’ll be a vampire, she’ll feed on blood, and be stated. Then her werewolf being emerges, feeds on flesh, and is sated. They don’t seem to mix the bloodthirst and the flesh thirst, but hopefully, the victim will stick around long enough to feed bother her beings.

All this being said, about halfway through the book we find her in the emergency room being cared for by doctors. This is where the story falls apart for me. She is supposedly in Transylvania, being cared for by medical professionals there. However, the people in the hospital look like Americans. They use a lot of technical American speech almost as if it’s an episode of Grey’s Anatomy. The primary doctor in the story is so angry, he yells every single thing he says as if that is how his demeanor is. But it’s really strange because he’s overly dramatic at some points. Also, the way he’s painted is like he’s the devil or something when he’s just trying to save this woman’s life–we think. Not only that, the medical procedure is pretty flawed. When she’s bleeding internally, she goes into cardiac arrest and flatlines. They don’t try to revive her in any way shape or form. The doctor just says, “Wrap it up. Time of death is…” For a doctor who was so angry about getting the patient fixed as soon as possible and yelling orders to every nurse, attending, and orderly around, he just drops her when she flatlines?

Besides this 7-10 page scene in the book, the rest of the story is rather well done and interesting. The vampire and wolf art is pretty good and the storyline is enjoyable. I’d give this comic 3 ☆☆☆ out of five, and remember, I am a tough critic.

Sebastian Grimm signing off.

Black Creators in Horror Comics

Black Creators in Horror Comics by  Lori Titus

    Horror comics strive to accomplish much in a small space. Smart dialogue, breathtaking art and storytelling flow that is simple enough to convey ideas in a few frames but compelling enough to draw the reader in for more takes patience, talent, and collaborators worthy of the task. For Black History Month, I wanted to spotlight some of the rising  comic book creators of African/Black decent who breathe life into the complex  worlds that combine horror and ethnicity.

Eating Vampires by Regine Sawyer.

Set in Africa during the 1900’s, this tale follows a caravan of women making a trek across the desert. Imbued with mysterious powers, they are led by Regil Alexa. She is an “eater,” a shapeshifting apex predator that is the worst nightmare of any vampire. Regil has been tasked with protecting a little girl named Evelyn, the last link of a dying breed. Despite the fact that saving the child means risks to her own safety, she will endure what she has to in order to uphold her duty.

Evelyn is no slouch either. The little girl wears afro puffs, wields a knife, and keeps company with a cheetah named Madix who can change form into an even larger cat when needed.

Check out this and Sawyer’s other comic creations at www.lockettdown.com .

Shadowclub Karma by Rocbottom

Shadowclub is composed of a team of classic monsters who have been resurrected to save the world. The story goes into detail with back stories for each. Readers will thrill at the new take on stories including Dracula, The Wolfman, and more. A world so messed up that only the most reviled creatures can save it proves to be an intriguing premise. And don’t let the classic monsters here make you think otherwise; the dark underpinnings of this story and graphic violence make it a solidly adult read.

Part 1-3 are available at www.Truthfulcomics.com.

Offset by Delvin Howell

Someone – or more aptly, something– is stalking Kyle Harding.

Set on an imaginary island based on Barbados, the young hero of this story begins to notice odd things happening after the death of his mother. Lights glow on his evening walk home, flute music sounds in the air, and one night, he sees a specter in the darkness. Can he save himself and his family from what awaits him in the unknown? Luscious art, beautifully done suspense and the unexpected locale give the story true life and texture.

Check out the comic book at www.beyondpublishingcarribbean.com  .

Malice in Ovenland by Micheline Hess

Hess creates a fairy tale/horror comic about Lily, who gets more than she expected from her mother’s simple request. She’s an imaginative little girl who is upset that she didn’t go to camp for the summer. Among other things that she needs to do, one of her chores is to clean the oven. What Lily doesn’t know is that inside the oven is a portal into another realm,  ruled by the evil Queen of Oven Frites. She will be forced to fight for her freedom and learns some important lessons along the way. Think of this story as a cross between a Grimm fairytale and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

1-3 are available at www.comixology.com/Malice-in-Ovenland .

R.R.H by Orlando Harding

What if the old tale of Red Riding Hood was true, with a few nasty details omitted?  What if the werewolf was a powerful Alpha, whose bloodline has survived to this day?

This is the premise behind R.R.H. The story opens with Sydney Woodman’s seventeenth birthday, and she is doing normal things, celebrating with her girlfriends. She even gets the gift of a new car from her parents. What she didn’t expect was to be told that she is one in a line of descendants who have fought against wolves throughout history. And at seventeen, she is now ripe for the picking. It’s an inventive story with a plucky, quick witted heroine.

For more of the R.R.H universe, go to www.rrhcomic.com .

 

**********

Lori Titus is a Californian with an affinity for dark fiction. Her work explores mysticism and reality, treading the blurred line between man and monster. She thrives on coffee and daydreams when she isn’t writing or plotting out her next story. Her latest novel is The Bell House. She is also the author of Hunting in Closed Spaces (The Marradith Ryder Series) and co-author of two novels with Crystal Connor under the name Connor Titus.

HorrorAddicts.net 108, Alexander Beresford

Horror Addicts Episode# 108

Horror Hostess: Emerian Rich

Intro Music by: Cancer Killing Gemini

Click to listen:

40 days till Halloween!

alexander beresford, post rapture party, whitechapel

coolest little monster, john zacherley, halloween prep, whitechapel tv series, jack the ripper, eden lake, wolf creek, dating a zombie, c.a. milson, zombie town, pet cemetery, crystal connor, devil, m. night shyamalan, cam2cam, post rapture party, cropsey, dark wave, music, venus de vilo, queen of the pumpkin patch, a taste of murder, chocolate coconut oblivion cake, end of the world radio, zombies, 809 jacob street, marty young, christine sutton, all the little children, suffer the children, craig dilouie, apocalypse, flash fiction friday, ken macgregor, horror addicts guide to life, events, count dracula and his daughter boocula, reanimator, h. p. lovecraft, the ring, japanese novel, 30 days of night, comic, movie, clive barker, oscar wilde, bela lugosi, dracula, alexander beresford, doll face, charla, www panel audio, emerian rich, heather roulo, laurel anne hill.

 

http://traffic.libsyn.com/horroraddicts/HorrorAddicts108.mp3

Find all articles and interviews at: http://www.horroraddicts.net

 

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Dead High Yearbook by Dutton Books

Dead High Yearbook is a hardcover comic book about a pair of dead teens who create a high school year book by matching live photos with dead photos of teens that have passed on. Each dead photo goes with a story and during this yearbook class, you learn about teens, their obsessions, and how they died. A great concept and one that could go further given the proper imaginative writers to work with. As it stands, the art is well done, but I just didn’t find any of the stories that exciting.

Probably the most interesting story is the one titled “Fear Pressure”.  A fat chick and a wimpy boy like each other. They go to a herbal remedy shop where they are promised their bodies will change to their liking. Soon the chick is losing weight and the dude becomes Arnold Schwarzenegger. Both of them are excited and love their new bodies, but then the remedy goes overboard. The muscle man explodes from the pain of his muscles expanding and the skinny chick dissolves into just an eyeball with a tail. In the end, they are together in separate jars, nothing but alien-looking blobs.

Horror fans may dig this book just for the cover. It looks like a real yearbook with a bloody handprint on the front. Who doesn’t want something cool like this to display in their personal library next to their flesh-like Evil Dead book and vampire coffin kit? As for story, this one is plain eye candy with mildly amusing tales.

Manga Review: Princess Resurrection by Yasunori Mitsunaga

Contrary to what the cover and write up leads you to believe, the star of this manga is not Princess Resurrection.  The true star is Hiro, an abandoned boy who is resurrected to be a slave for the princess. Poor Hiro wakes up in a morgue unaware that he is now undead and wanders to the Princess’s house.

Princess Resurrection is nonchalant and uncaring of his life or what becomes of him. As the daughter of the king who stands above all monsters, I guess she has the luxury of being jaded about death.  She wields many weapons such as stakes, swords, jackhammers, and her favorite, a chain saw. Despite the many monsters she massacres, her dress is never damaged. Now, this is a girl we can look up to!

So, let’s see… we have a hell-bent princess, an undead boy, a robot maid, is there someone missing?  Ah yes!  Let’s add a rebellious werewolf girl into the mix.

These books are great. No matter how many times Hiro is “accidentally” killed by the Princess’s weapons or the robot maid says her only word “Hooba”, this story never gets old.

What you’ll find in Volume 1:

• Hiro wakes up dead and finds the Princess battling a horde of werewolves.
• Insane hospital employees attempt to make Hiro their savior and then try to kill him.
• Werewolf girl saves Princess Resurrection from a battalion of squidmen.
• Extras in the back include a four page spin-off comic and two pages of translation notes explaining the significance of certain scenes along with a sneak peek at Volume 2.
• Favorite quote: “You think Hiro’s alright?”
  “He only drowned for one night.  There shouldn’t be a problem.”

What you’ll find in Volume 2:

• The Princess’s evil little sister visits and infects the house with triffids.
• A sexy vampire girl wants Hiro for her own and attempts to steal him from the Princess.
• The Princess battles another horde of werewolves.
• The robot maid finds an android who she cares for.
• The Princess kills an eyeball squid creature with a jackhammer.
• Extras in the back include a five page spin-off comic and two pages of translation notes explaining the significance of certain scenes along with a sneak peek at Volume 3 which looks to include a mummy army.
• Favorite quote: While most of the crew is fighting for their lives against triffids, the maid is cleaning up. “It’s a little noisy upstairs… Oh well. I need to vacuum!”

The art in this manga is not pretty and frilly, but it is very well done. Monster art, gory blood, fighting, and a girl who cuddles her weapons? What more can a horror manga fan want?