Tag Archives: horror fans

Holiday Gifts for Horror Fans 2019

Posted on by

As the song says, “It’s the most wonderful time of the year!” The holidays are in full swing, and that means it’s present-buying time. Have a horror fan in your life? Then allow us to recommend some books that might grab their attention—by the throat, of course!

blood_feud_lg_cover_2013Blood Feud: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 1: This critically acclaimed novel by yours truly explainshow teenaged Goth girl Pandora Zwieback, along with her parents and friends, are drawn into a conflict between an immortal, shape-shifting monster hunter named Annie and warring vampire clans searching for the key to an ultimate weapon (or so the legend goes)—a key that just so happens to have been delivered to the horror-themed museum owned by Pan’s father! It’s a character-driven action-fest featuring the kind of gun-toting vampires that would make Selene from the Underworld movies feel right at home, and it leads immediately into the second novel:

Blood-Reign-FinalCvrIn Blood Reign: The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Book 2, Pan faces even greater challenges as the vampire clans draw up plans to go to war with humanity. Leading the charge is a fallen angel named Zaqiel, whose previous attempt at subjugating the world was stopped by Annie—who, back in the day, was Zaqiel’s lover! But Pan isn’t about to let some ancient monster win the day, not when the lives of her parents and friends—along with those of every human on the planet—are at stake, so she leads a charge of her own. Yes, there’s more vampire gunplay involved—the undead sure do like their firearms—but that’s only part of the dangers Pan has to contend with, as her adventures take her to a mysterious South Pacific island where monsters dwell!

Chasing Danger: The Case Files of Theron Chase is the latest release from fantasy Richard C. White. It’s a collection of fantasy-noir, pulp-detective tales starring a private eye working the supernatural beat in the city of Calasia. From a sexy chanteuse who literally turns into a beast when the moon is full to a string of pearls that kills its owners, and from the ghost of a dead woman seeking justice to the Grim Reaper’s little girl seeking her stolen chicken, Theron Chase certainly has his hands full—of danger, death, and dames!

Carmilla_CoverCarmilla is the blood-drenched temptress of this 19th-century novella by author J. Sheridan Le Fanu. Carmilla Karnstein is a vampiress who desires not just blood but love from her victims, and when she enters the life of a young woman named Laura, Carmilla decides that her new friend will become her next great love—and won’t take no for an answer. Regarded as the one of the earliest lesbian vampire tales—if not the first—Carmilla was an influence on author Bram Stoker in the creation of the vampire brides in his seminal novel, Dracula, and remains a popular character in fiction to this day. The StarWarp Concepts edition features six all-new illustrations by artist Eliseu Gouveia.

king-kong-cvrKing Kong: The ultimate version of Beauty and the Beast (with killer biplanes—and dinosaurs!) celebrated its 85th anniversary this year, was adapted as a hit musical on Broadway, and has its star getting ready for his upcoming bout with the King of the Monsters in November 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong (a sequel to both Kong of Skull Island and this year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters). Know a Kong fan or a devotee of kaiju (giant monsters)? Then they’ll definitely enjoy this digital-exclusive Illustrated Classic: the 1932 novelization of the original Kong movie! Written by Delos W. Lovelace, based on the screenplay by James A. Creelman and Ruth Rose,it includes scenes cut from the final print and, as a bonus, our edition features six exclusive illustrations by pulp-influenced artist Paul Tuma.

whitefell-werewolf-cvrWhite Fell—The Werewolf: Looking for a tale of female empowerment? Then how about this SWC Horror Bite by renowned author, artist, and suffragette Clemence Annie Housman that’s regarded by scholars as the first feminist werewolf story ever published! Abeautiful woman wanders into a snowbound village—and into the hearts of twin brothers, one of whom immediately becomes smitten by her. The other brother, however, soon grows suspicious of the enigmatic White Fell. Where did she come from? And is her sudden appearance somehow related to the recent sightings of a bloodthirsty wolf in the area?

Blood Feud, Blood Reign, Chasing Danger, and Carmilla are available in print and digital formats. King Kong and White Fell are digital exclusives. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages and chapters.

Vincent Price Defends Horror Movies

Posted on by

So last Friday I was waxing philosophical on whether horror is something one can “outgrow” as you can get past your teen years. It wasn’t a question I’d ever contemplated, considering I still watch horror movies and read horror comics and write books and comics about monster fighters and succubi, but then again I never expected to encounter a Walmart cashier who equated being a horror fan with something only kids do.

“In Defense of Horror Films” was an essay penned by one of the great masters of the macabre, Vincent Price. It appeared in the fourth issue of Fantastic Monsters of the Films (a better-than-average knockoff of Famous Monsters of Filmland), published by Black Shield Productions in 1962. Fantastic Monsters was the brainchild of special effects artist Paul Blaisdell and horror and sci-fi enthusiast Bob Burns.

Vincent Price, as old-school monster kids know, is the legendary actor who starred in a ton of horror films like the original versions of House on Haunted Hill, House of Wax, and The Fly, along with The Tingler, The Last Man on Earth, and producer Roger Corman’s series of movies loosely based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe: The Raven, The Masque of the Red Death, The Tomb of Ligeia, and The Pit and the Pendulum. Younger Goths might recognize him as Edward Scissorhand’s Inventor in the Tim Burton movie. And if you’ve ever heard Michael Jackson’s zombie-danceoff classic “Thriller”… well, that’s Mr. Price you hear giving voice to such immortal lines as “The foulest stench is in the air / The funk of forty thousand years / And grisly ghouls from every tomb / Are closing in to seal your doom” and laughing like a lunatic at the end.

But being a master of horror isn’t all he was known for during his career—he was also a fine-art collector, a stage actor, and an acclaimed gourmet cook who penned cookbooks with his second wife, Mary (I spent Thanksgiving and Christmas last year making pumpkin pies following their recipe; they tasted awesome)—but yes, horror was his main genre. It makes sense, then, that Price would defend something that had been so good to him.

And so without further ado, ladies and gentlemen I give you…Mr. Vincent Price. (Click to embiggen, as they say.)

VincentPrice-Defends-Horror

Too Old to Be a Horror Fan?

Posted on by

i-frankenstein“Frankenstein?!” asked the cashier at Walmart this past weekend, holding up the DVD of I, Frankenstein I’d just purchased.

“And Dracula,” I said, pointing to the copy of Dracula Untold that was next on the checkout conveyor belt.

“Dracula…” He laughed. “What are you, a teenager?”

Huh. Well, considering I’m…well, pretty well past my teenaged years, the answer would be no—but on the other hand, is there such a thing as being too old for horror? I wouldn’t have thought so, or else you wouldn’t have people like George Romero, who was still creating zombie movies in his seventies until the day he died, or Guillermo del Toro, who won two Academy Awards this year—Best Director and Best Picture—for the human-loves-monster-fishman story The Shape of Water.

dracula-untoldOutgrowing horror? Is that even a thing?

I mean, I can somewhat see the cashier’s point of view. Over the years I’ve talked to people who are surprised I still read comics, let alone write them, because they gave them up when they were young—they “outgrew” them. (They usually have two clichéd responses: “They still publish those things?” and “I used to read Archie comics—when I was a kid.”) The same thing with people who can’t imagine other adults still collecting toys. Funny they never find it strange to be a grown-up collecting sports memorabilia…

Anyway, the real reason I bought the two movies was because they were in the clearance bins in the back of the store: I, Frankenstein for $3.74, Dracula Untold for $5.00—low enough prices to get me to add them to my collection. True, neither of them was a blockbuster, but I, Frankenstein was created by actor Kevin Grevioux, who co-created the Underworld franchise starring Kate Beckinsale (he was also the right-hand man to Michael Sheen’s werewolf leader in the first entry), and Dracula Untold had been meant to function as Universal Studios’ revival of their monster-filled shared universe.

Okay, it’s true that Dracula Untold got tossed aside as the relaunch point in favor of Universal’s Mummy reboot starring Tom Cruise (which also tanked at the box office), as Dracula had tossed aside the Benicio del Toro–starring remake of The Wolfman that came out in 2010, and Wolfman had knocked over 2004’s franchise attempt, the Hugh Jackman vehicle Van Helsing. And although Aaron Eckhart’s a handsome guy and I liked his work in The Dark Knight and Battle: Los Angeles, I, Frankenstein simply lacks the visual attraction of a Kate Beckinsale in a latex catsuit. But they’re enjoyable-enough films and make for a good double feature.

Yo-FrankensteinThere’s also the fact I grin like an idiot whenever I remember that the Spanish-language title for the Eckhart film is Yo, Frankenstein.

Still, I don’t think enjoying monster movies is any reason for somebody to look down their nose at horror buffs, or fans of anything, really. I mean, I proofread manga and Japanese light novels for a major publisher and they’re not my thing at all—but then I’m not the audience for it, I’m just the guy making sure the English translation is spelled correctly. Do I look down my nose at the otaku? No—but I sure do scratch my head sometimes over the storylines they’re reading…  😉

So…too old for horror? Never!