Uzumaki: Spiral Into Horror

Writer and artist: Junji Ito
Publisher: Viz Comics

What's it about?
From the Viz website:
Kurozou-cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed.  According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral: the hypnotic secret shape of the world.  It manifests itself in everything from seashells and whirlpools in water, to the spiral marks on people's bodies; the insane obsession of Shuichi's father, and the voice from the cochlea in our inner ear.  As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of  Kurozu-cho are pulled ever deeper into a whirlpool from which there is no return!

Comixology submit: spooky and mythical

In the second of our posts prompted by March's Comixology submit sale we focus on books that have mythical elements, that are sometimes a bit fairy tale and sometimes a bit horror.

Supernatural
Who Needs the Moon - there's a vampire in Kingsford and the townsfolk don't know anything about it.  Enter a werewolf, who can do something about it.  The art in this is intelligent - something I rarely say.  The colour palette and panel layout tell the story more than the words.  In fact, many panels have no words, but there is never a problem in understanding what you are seeing.  This is a great and challenging (in the best way) comic that really does deserve your attention.
Art and writing: Todd McCullough
Publisher: Self published

Ink and Thunder - three supernatural short stories written and drawn by Becky Cloonan.  These are beautiful and inspiring and sumptuous.  All three have a feeling of immense sadness and yearning about them.  Cloonan is a professional storyteller and these have to be three of her best.
Writing and art: Becky Cloonan
Publisher: Self published 

Fairy tales
The Demon's Sermon on the Martial Arts - I haven't read much of this but it looks impressive. Paraphrased from the comixology description:
This is a classic collection of martial arts parables.  The stories feature demons, insects, birds, cats and more.  They may seem whimiscal but they contain essential teachings that offer insight into the fundamental principles of martial arts.  This graphic novel is based on Issai Chozanshi's eighteenth century text.
It's in black and white and has a classic Japanese art style.
Adaptation: Sean Michael Wilson
Translation: William Scott Wilson
Art: Michiru Morikawa
Original writer: Issai Chozanshi
Publisher: Shambhala publications

Twas the Night Before Krampus - This is a black and white book about the Christmas Eve fight between St Nicholas and the evil Krampus.  This is a rather unique and creepy Christmas story.  Not suitable for kids.
Writer: Ben Avery
Art: Tim Baron
Publisher: Lifesize Monster Ghost

The Order of Dagonet - this is written by Jeremy Whitley (he who wrote the amazing Princeless).  Mythological creatures of ancient Britain return and knights have to be found.  Although created by Americans, it's got a really British voice and a really good handle on British folklore. N.B: this wasn't part of the sale but I've included it because it is an independent comic.
Writer: Jeremy Whitley
Art: Jason Strutz
Publisher: Action Lab Comics

I've tagged all of these as age mature as although older teens would probably like them, they have a bit too much to them be considered age: general.

Best of 2013: self published

I wanted to say a few words about some self published comics that struck a chord with me in 2013.

Best of 2013: horror

Last week Bamf Comic Book Radio, a podcast I am a co-host for, http://waabamf.podomatic.com/entry/2014-02-05T09_25_13-08_00 did a horror special.  We invited P M Buchan, aka Bucky, author of Black Out (reviewed last year) to join us.  Four of us chatted for 60 minutes about the latest comic news and all the horror comics we have enjoyed, covering manga, indies and some more mainstream stuff.  There's a fair bit of swearing on the podcast, so it's probably more suitable for mature listeners!

If you like horror, go give it a listen.  I think the sound quality may not be great on this one, but please bear with it.  I had an absolute blast recording it :)

Black Out

Writer: P M Buchan
Art: Jack Fallows, Mike Barnes, Joe Whiteford, and Philip Marsden
Demonology by Andrew Waugh
Fat Jackie by Philip Marsden
Self published

What's it about?
Black Out collects 11 stories and they are all, with the exception of The Demonologies, incredibly crude.  If you like Tank Girl, or Viz magazine, you'll probably like this. Wages of Sin is about a dirty fucker living in a hovel who gets haunted by Death and the Devil.  Zingo's Lament is a one pager about a clown who eats kids (or not) and gets sent to hell. There's one story where a fat bloke gets so high on mushrooms he decides to dress as jack o' lantern and carves a face into his belly.  It's horrific but it's also really, really funny.  What's Inside A Girl? is a tale of unrequited teenage love, with misunderstanding, booze, acid and cannibalism.  Then there are sex dolls and love in the afterlife ending in a suicide.

You get the idea.  It's horror/comedy and most definitely for mature readers only.

Halloween month is upon again!

It's October and that means all things spooky and creepy out to play, which means that we do a horror themed month!  So, expect some scary books dotted amongst the usual clutch :)

Starman Omnibus volume 1

Story: James Robinson

Art: Tony Harris
Inks: Wade von Grawberger
Colors: Gregory Wright

Letters: John Workman, Bill Oakley, Gaspar Saladino
Publisher: DC

Other creative credits as follows:
Issue 6: Pencils by Teddy Kristiansen, inks by Chrstian Hojgaard, Bjarne Hansen and Kim Hagen
Issue 11: Art by Matt Smith
Issue 14: Art by Tommy Lee Edwards, Stuart Immonen, Tony Harris, Chris Sprouse, Andrew Robinson, Gary Erskine, and Amanda Conner with Inks by Wade con Grawbadger and Gary Erskine. 

Today's review is a guest post brought to you by Mothee.  Mothee is a comics fan, just graduated from film school and would like to be a writer.  You can find Mothee at the following places:

Twitter: @Mothee

Blogspot: http://mothee.blogspot.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mothee

What’s it about?

At it’s core Starman is about legacy. It’s about growing up. It’s about doing the things you don’t want to do. It’s about a father’s love for his son. It’s about taking the reigns of your own destiny. It’s about the finest work of fiction in any medium that I’ve ever read.

Morning Glories Volume 1

Writer: Nick Spencer

Art: Joe Eisner

Colours: Alex Sollazzo

Letters: Johnny Lowe

Design: Tim Daniel

Publisher: Image

What’s it about?

Come walk with us into the halls of Morning Glory Academy.  We join six new students about to start at this impressive private school for the rich and talented.  However things seem a little odd.  The book’s opening chapter begins with a booby trapped exploding blackboard and ends the scene with a mysterious transparent hand feeding off a student’s head…

Oh yeah, Morning Glory is not your usual school.  The teachers have an agenda, the other students seem to be in on the plot and the six new attendees are soon fighting for their lives.

Museum of Terror: Tomie Vol 1

Writer and artist: Junji Ito
Publisher: Dark Horse

What's it about?
We meet Tomie as a beautiful teenage schoolgirl, she has a boyfriend and many other admirers.   She is brutally murdered, cut up, and her body parts redistribute around the town.

Then Tomie returns.  Like she'd never been away.  Driven to a frenzy, her killer attacks again.  Then more Tomies show up.  You see, every time she is killed, she is cut up and her pieces scattered.  Each piece regenerates into a fresh Tomie.  She provokes bloodlust in others, she teases and aggravates those she meets until all around her are haunted and driven mad.  You cannot get away from her.

Planetary by Warren Ellis

Written by Warren Ellis
Art by John Cassaday
Colours by Laura Depuy
Publisher: Wildstorm

What’s It About?
Elijah Snow has been approached by the Planetary Foundation to become a member of their field team. Together with the enormously strong Jakita Wagner and the possibly-insane Drummer he travel to uncover the secret history of the world. As he uncovers mystery after mystery he finds himself with more and more questions:

Why does the Planetary Foundation exist? What agenda is it pursing? Can his new associates be trusted? And who is the mysterious Fourth Man who finances it all without question?

The Drifting Classroom

Writer and Artist: Kazuo Umezu
Publisher: Viz Media

What's it about?
This is a superbly spooky horror tale.  Leading the cast is Sho, an 11 or 12 year old boy who attends Yamato primary school.  One day the school disappears and is replaced by a gaping rock and sand filled hole.  From the perspective of those inside the school there is a different scenario - to the students and teachers it seems that the outside world has disappeared.

Cut off from everywhere the children and adults soon panic.  Phone lines are down, radio stations don't work and no one can understand what has happened.  Some scream, some cry, some fight.  All are despairing.

Creatures of the Night

As Valentine's Day draws near we at New readers... think you should be offered a variety of romance themed books to mark this particular day.  Being the kind of people we are, these won't be your typical boy meets girl stories, rather they will represent oddities and interests from among our comic collection.  Read on for the first suggestion....

Writer: Neil Gaiman

Illustrations: Michael Zulli

Letters: Todd Klein

Publisher: Vertigo

What's it about?

It's comprised of two tales, The Black Cat and The Daughter of Owls, based on Neil Gaiman's short stories of the same name.  They have a touch of the Gothic romance feel to them, despite not being about love or relationships.  Instead, these stories concern Good and Evil and the fight between the two.

The Black Cat concerns a family of cat lovers who discover a new stray amidst their lives one day, a mysterious black cat.  Soon they discover this feline coming home with unexplained injuries and as they seek to learn the cause of these they find that the fate of their family appears to be tied into the fate of the cat.

The Daughter of Owls is written in the style of John Aubrey and starts with a baby girl being found abandoned on the town steps.  She has no name, no family and is only clutching an owl pellet.  The townsfolk deem her unholy and lock her in an old convent to grow up alone.  As she grows older news of her beauty spreads and tragedy strikes.  Is she human or does she belong to the owls?  What befalls those who would harm her?

Scary Go Round

Scary Go Round
written and drawn by John Allison

What’s It About?
Tackleford, Yorkshire. Not the most normal town in the world: there’s goblins, a Satanic nunnery, a very creepy child is telling people “Things are going to change” and at one point a time machine is installed in a teapot.

Scary Go Round follows the adventures of a large cast in Yorkshire’s most surreal and unpredictable town. Originally updated five days a week from 2002 to 2009, the entire archive is still available online.