2016 Comic Challenge 257 Charles Burns' Black Hole

TITLE-Black Hole
PUBLISHER-Fantagraphics

I am pretty sure I reviewed the first issue of this series earlier this year. Got a copy of the collection of all 12 issues and been reading it over the past few days.

Holy fuck. I have been a fan of Charles Burns for a long time now. And this is the best thing I have read from him.

Really it is hard to explain this series. The bare basics is a virus is out. It only seems to infect teens. And if you get infected it causes your body to mutate. Some get lucky and have a mutation they can hide. The others end up living out in the woods.

But there is so much going on under the basic plot. Lots of stuff I am still trying to puzzle out.I am thinking this virus is really what all of us go thru the first time we have sex.But then it might be the stuff we all feel as teens,how we don't fit in and feel like we are a totally different species.

The great black and white artwork is stunning.Where as Frank Miller used this style of b/w art to recreate the mood of film noir,Burns seems to be using it more as a way to get you to focus more on the story. Not that the art is bad,hell it is better than 90% of the crap that is coming out from the big 2.

Black Hole gets a BUY!

2016 Comic Challenge 256 Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook

TITLE-Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook
PUBLISHER-Avatar

Ok now I see why I never see much talk about the Avatar remake based TCM comics. They all  seem to follow the same plot.

This time instead of Krug and company it is a car with some women and a hippie. Same carnage. Looks good.But after reading it once you don't wanna read it again for a bit.

Texas Chainsaw Massacre Fearbook gets a pass.

2016 Comic Challenge 255 Red Circle Sorcery #06

TITLE-Red Circle Sorcery #06
PUBLISHER-Red Circle/Archie Comics

Back in the mid 70s Archie tried to spread out into other genres of comics. So they started this horror anthology series.

Under that gorgeous Gray Morrow cover is a bunch of well drawn and well written stories. And for a comic published by Archie,even if they used a separate imprint and the Archie name is no where on the title,get pretty graphic for the era.

If you enjoy horror anthologies this series is worth tracking down. Seems every time I find an issue it is $5.Which considering how hard to find these issues are isn't a bad price.

Red Circle Sorcery #06 gets a buy.

2016 Comic Challenge 254 The Walking Dead #159

TITLE-The Walking Dead #159
PUBLISHER-Image

Halfway done with the Whisperer war and shit is starting to get really good.

The group that got attacked last issue is surrounded by Whisperers and zombies. Negan goes after Beta. Then out of no where Lucille breaks. Which causes Negan to have a breakdown. Thankfully Beta is injured and the Whisperers retreat.

Back at Hilltop Carl finds out from his new woman some secrets about the Whisperers. And if she is telling the truth ...well our gang of regulars are fucked.

Back on the battleground Dwight breaks the group up into 4 groups. Their plan is to divide the herd of Whisperers and zombies. Dwight managed to silently kill one of the Whisperers.And the issue ends with Dwight putting on the Whisperers zombie skin.

I love how this story is so very different than the All Out War story. Less big action scenes and the Whisperers seem to be the biggest threat our regulars have faced so far.

The Walking Dead #159 gets a A.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 20 Bates Motel

TITLE-Bates Motel
Source-DVD

When this first aired in the mid 80s I eagerly awaited the premiere of this TV show pilot. Watched it the night it aired and kind of forgot about it. Years later I thought "Hell I should track down a copy." And all I could find was one of those way over-priced burn on demand DVDs. No way was I paying 20 bucks plus shipping for a burnt disc. Then one day I found a pack that had Psycho 2 thru 4 plus this movie. It was only 5 bucks so I grabbed it.

Bud Cort gets sent to a mental hospital years ago when he was young. While there he becomes best friends with Norman Bates. So when Norman dies he leaves Bud the Bates Motel in the will. So Bud gets out and decides to reopen the infamous hotel.

The first hour or so of this pilot is all about Bud along with Lori Petty reopening the hotel. While this part isn't horrible,it is boring as fuck. They could have cut this down to 30 minutes and it might help.

Then of course the hotel opens. A lady checks in. And the last 30 minutes of this feel like the second episode of this failed series.She is gonna kill herself. But then the redhead from Head of the Class walks into her room. And we get this very Twilight Zone like story.

Really unless you are some mega Psycho fan that must see everything connected to that classic original avoid this movie at all costs. Sure that DVD I got cost me $1.25 for the film. And it isn't worth that much. It is odd cause I find Bud Cort and Lori Petty to be pretty good talents. But they can't keep this movie from being so boring I had to keep fighting off sleep while watching it.

Bates Motel gets a C-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 19 Nickelodeon Frightfest

Title-Nickelodeon Frightfest
Source-VHS rip

Recently got a pack of various animated horror/Halloween related specials. Never heard of this VHS before.But after googling the cover and seeing it had 3 cartoons I enjoyed on it I threw it in to watch.

Up first was Rugrats. Never seen this episode before,in it Angela is telling the babies about Halloween and how they can get Reptar candy bars. The Pickles have set up a tent in their backyard. And trick or treaters go into it to get candy. So the babies see this and of course misunderstand it. Overall it was a pretty entertaining episode.

The second cartoon was Doug.Which is one of the Nicktoons I watched every episode of. In this one Skeeter and Doug go trick or treating. Then end up at a haunted house attraction. Overall the episode was neat but nothing special.

To wrap it up we get the episode of Ren and STimpy with the haunted house. Pretty sure this is one of the last episodes before John K got kicked off the show. And for me it is one of the worst of the run with him at the helm.

Now if this tape was just those three episodes I wouldn't bother tracking it down. But inbetween each episode we get to see lots of horror/Halloween based Nick Bumpers. Most of which I haven't seen since the early 90s.

Nickelodeon Frightfest gets a B+.

2016 Comic Challenge 253 Clive Barker's Nightbreed vol 01

TITLE-Clive Barker's Nightbreed vol 01
PUBLISHER-Boom Studios

This collection of the first 4 issues of Boom's Nightbreed series turned out way better than I expected. The art is damn good and the writing is well done.

The head of Mideon is giving Boone a tour and history lesson. Through this we learn the backstory of Peloquin,the porcupine lady and a handful of others.

I only read an issue or 2 of the old Epic published Nightbreed series. And really it wasn't that good. This series seems to be more connected to the film and novella than the old series .

Clive Barker's Nightbreed Vol #01 gets a buy.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 18 The Craft

Title-The Craft
Source-Columbia Blu Ray

This is another film I point out to everyone that claims "There was no good horror coming out in the 90s."Maybe one day that fallacy will die.

A new girl has moved to town. And quickly she hooks up with a trio of witches. At first they are just doing small time magik. Like changing the color of their hair. They discover that now that they have 4 members they have access to much much more power.And of course too much power in the hands of some teenage girls might cause problems.

This is an odd film. In that 2 of the main cast I do not care for. Those would be Neve Campbell and Robin Tunney. For me Neve has never been a good actress and Tunney always looks bored. But thankfully the under-rated Fairuza Balk steals the film.

The Craft gets a A-.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 17 Stir of Echoes

Title-Stir of Echoes
Source-Epix Drive In Channel Airing

Back in 1999 2 different ghost films came out.One of them was a huge hit and became one of the most talked about horror films of the late 90s,and the other got kind of forgotten. The film that was a hit was The Sixth Sense,a film I do not like. The film that was forgotten is Stir of Echoes.

Kevin Bacon and his wife are a working class couple. At a party Bacon's sister in law hypnotizes him. After he starts getting flashes of the future and the past. Seems there was a mentally challenge teenage girl that disappeared in his neighborhood a few years ago. So Bacon is trying to figure out if the girl is dead or whatever.

Normally ghost films kind of bore me but this one is a major exception.The acting is damn good. The FX work is damn good,and the story is compelling.

Stir of Echoes gets a B+.

31 Days of Horror 2016 Day 16 Splatter Farm(DVD edition)

Title-Splatter Farm
Source-Camp Motion Picutres DVD

After having heard about this movie for years I finally saw it a few years back. An Aunt got me the dvd for x-mas. Didn't realize until I watched it with the director's commentary that the DVD version is missing scenes that were in the hard to find VHS release. The Polinia Brothers claim the VHS release was a rough cut. Plus they didn't have permission of some of the people in the cut scenes.

Shot on VHS back in the late 80s,Splatter Farm was a film that I heard so much talk about when I doubt most of my friends had even seen it. Released by Donna Michelle video the vhs was hard to find back then and now if you do find a copy it cost close to 100 bucks for the vhs.

As far as the DVD it is easy to get cheap. And loaded down with more than enough extras to make up for getting a slightly different edit of the film. Not only is there the previously mentioned directors commentary. But also right at an hour of their short films,which have an optional director's commentary. And a featurette where the two brothers travel back to where they filmed Splatter Farm.

The movie...well it is OK for what it is. Which is a low budget shoot on video movie that was made by two brothers in their teens with an off the shelf VHS camcorder. Some of the gore effects are pretty good. And it is barely over an hour long.

Splatter Farm(DVD edition) gets an C+.