Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Reviews: Zombie Terrors Vol. 1; A Murder of Scarecrows; Murder By Remote Control


ZOMBIE TERRORS VOL. 1(Asylum Press, 2010; Softcover)

Original graphic novel

Various writers and artists.

Like the stench of the decaying flesh and organs of zombies, the stories in this book stink. This anthology graphic novel is horrid, derivative, and uninspired...and those are the good stories. This is for masochists or those fanboys that dwell in zombie knock-off retread glory.

The OCD zone- Very thin paper, but it does have sewn binding. Sewn binding cannot save these stories, though.



A MURDER OF SCARECROWS (Transfuzion, 2011; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel, black and white

Writer: Gary Reed

Artist: Wayne Reid

I picked this up at Gary Reed's table at the Detroit FanFare last September, and it's one of those 'real world' moments where I likely never would've stumbled across this had I not been there. It's a decent read, and if it only had a costumed antagonist it would've felt similar to Marvel's Bronze Age monster/Horror output. Good stuff for those into Horror and Horror-tinged comic books.



MURDER BY REMOTE CONTROL (Available Press/ Random House, 1986; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel, 96 pages, black and white

Writer: Janwillem van de Wetering

Artist: Paul Kirchner

This book was another real world encounter. I would have never come across this in a million years if I didn't stumble across it at that moment at the Detroit FanFare. This is a murder mystery whodunit, and is very well done. It was way ahead of what was going on in mainstream comic books of the time, and holds up remarkably well nearly 30 years after it was originally published. Paul Kirchner's artwork is excellent and incredibly detailed. This is the English translation of a 1984 Dutch graphic novel, which was originally published as a full color hardcover.

The OCD zone- It is comforting that this book is nearly 30 years old, and yet the glued binding is still solid and nothing is loose. The paper is really nice. I know that those reading this on their iPad are saying to themselves “What's paper?”, but I still like the tactile sensations of real books.

2 comments:

  1. I want to borrow Murder by Remote Control.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Why borrow, when you can BUY it on my next eBay purging?? I kid. You can borrow it whenever you want...as long as you want to borrow it before my next purging.

    ReplyDelete