Jun 15 2011

ARCANE Magazine – A Review

ARCANE Magazine
http://www.arcanemagazine.com/

Madness would be a primary motivation for anyone looking to involve him or herself in the current day magazine industry, with subscriptions dying and print costs rising. Madness, I might then assume, guides the hand that created ARCANE, a new magazine that identifies itself as “penny dreadfuls for the 21st Century.”  However, the man helming the magazine is well versed in madness, so I am confident that in its existence, ARCANE will be an influential and highly enjoyable publication.

ARCANE’s editor is Nathan Shumate, creator of the late ARKHAM TALES that ventured into electronic distribution. With publisher Sandy Petersen, Shumate comes to this world more primed with eReaders, of kindles and nooks, with experience and a good sense of what can and cannot succeed in this perilous publication landscape. At $2.99, the electronic version of ARCANE #1, currently available, offers up twelve tales of terror at what you’d pay for two liters of brand name soda these days. For those of us who prefer the paper copy, a print copy is available for $7.99.

As electronic readers rise in sales and viable business models emerge in this new field, it’s going to be the way for writers to get their stuff read, let alone sold. Four months ago, the news broke that Amanda Hocking, a twenty-six year old writer, was a millionaire by using Amazon and its Kindle. Her fiction in recent favor: of the books she’s written, there is a vampire romance series and a self-discovery in an urban fantasy trilogy.  She made a cool two million before scoring a publishing contract with St. Marten’s press.

ARCANE, I think, looks to duplicate Hocking’s success. Normal literary journals like this run up in the 8-15 dollar range. The print version is the cheapest I’ve seen. Normal monster magazines are going to set you back ten bucks. So here’s a chance for you, dear consumer, to get your horror for cheap and immediately; it seems to me like a sensible deal (if not a clever lure for that impulse buy.)

Electronically, I would purchase this for three dollars. I would not be so quick to be parted from my money at the eight dollar price, even though it’s the same magazine full of the same stories. It’s not a concept of quality, but more that my impulse to purchase a magazine I am unfamiliar with is greater at a reduced risk. Why? I think at that lowered price for an electronic copy, both the money and the product retain a immaterial concept, a thought of “unrealness.” This might ultimately lead to disaster, but if the moment, new writers are given a chance to circumvent outdated methods that prevent them from being heard, I’m all for it.

The first of the quarterly magazine, ARCANE #1 provides twelve diverse tales with a similar take on the genre of horror fiction. Instead of capitalizing on the ‘splatterpunk’ ethos of gore and attitude, the stories of ARCANE are described as using “foreshadowing and dread” to build a creeping terror, a tribute to the old weird tales that influenced Shumate. Like minded writers and readers will find ARCANE to be delightfully twisted.

The tales “In The Place Where the Tree Falleth” by Michael Lutz and “The Mine” by Jason V. Shayer would fit in with the Blackwoods, Smiths and Lovecrafts. Both of those stories occur in a past setting, where “Hazards” by Justin Pollock takes a similar sense of terror in a modern world.

Humor is well represented with Jeff Cook’s “Darnell Behind Glass” and “Dear Management” by Tom Wortman. Each story has its horrific elements but the stories are written to reflect both Wortman and Cook’s individual dark humor.

Probably the most visceral of all stories in this issue is Stephen Hill’s “Laundry Night”, whose depictions of the story’s central antagonist were strong enough to give me a shudder.

S.M. Williams’ “Ricky and the Elder Gods” contains similar creepy crawlies, but with more action. It is an enjoyable read though I suspect it’s more of an introduction to a greater world of Williams’ creation.  I think that in the future, Williams will point back to this issue as the start of a future novel.  Similarly, the characters of Amanda C. Davis’s “Courting The Queen of Sheba” could power a whole short story collection.

Committing to diversity, ARCANE includes some fantasy elements in stories like Jaelith Ingold’s dark reimagining of the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale in “Gingerbread and Ashes” as well as William Knight’s dreamy conjuring of the tale, “A Requiem for Tarsenesia.” Each retains a creeping dread or terror and neither seems to be a placeholder or token; each stands shoulder to shoulder with the other stories in this issue.

There are some abstract, dementedly surreal pieces. “Hello Operator” by Donny Waagen is a very strange piece that warrants more than one reading to fully understand the subtle horror. Similarly, “The Hole” by Rob Errera is a slow burn, a story who aims to hint at the horror so it lingers in the corner of your eye long after you finish reading.

The short story is a hard dance to get perfect and every finished product is, in its own, a success. ARCANE has composed its first issue full of distinct and different voices, each offering a new take on the subject of horror, a different flavor of fear. I look forward to the second issue and would recommend it to anyone. It’s a collection of horror stories from contemporary voices. With such a artful eye selecting a talented variety, you’ll definitely find something to enjoy.

Big thanks to Blackgate, whose interview with Nathan Shumate provided the information in this piece.

Jun 14 2011

Tuesday uEtsy: Vivid Vivka

Tuesday uEtsyVivid Vivka
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Vivka

Brim digital print red orange yellow black macbre dark goth

A lot of weddings had been happening ’round the last month. The climate has turned a bit more agreeable, giving favorable traveling conditions for those out of town relatives to come and join in the joyous festivities.

Traveling is what Cort has been up to, having returned from a trip out West recently. It’s good to see Cort out and about, especially since he’s what we, in our profession, call “haunted.” Once destined to be married himself, Cort’s engagement fell through for reasons not entirely clear. The bride was known for a lattice of rich mahogany hair that blushed a fine rosewood come the middle of July. Rumor says that she might have done Cort wrong and when he sought to meant things right, well. That’s when she left.

Though gone is rarely for good, and it’s possible poor Cort’s been haunted by her ever since. Can’t say he’s gotten any closer to the altar, which is a shame. He’s a good guy. We’ve heard that he went west, where beautiful women are in no short supply, but found her face on each and every one.

Speaking of beautiful women, this week’s Tuesday uEtsy comes from one Vivid Vivka, glamour model and creative mind.

H U M A N . H A I R a PAIR of bright dark AQUA teal blue extension clip ins

She excels in selling organic and synthetic hair extensions and clips, much like the aqua-teal additions above. Understandably, blue hair doesn’t always function in a business minded world. Your task of selling life insurance might be hindered if your hair exists in a non-natural hue. But sometimes, you have to have purple hair. Life is full of situations where it’s perfectly appropriate to have a streak (or five) of orange in your hair. Check out the other fine products.

Target No. vector digital art print 8×10 orange red yellow

It’s hard to say what exactly Cort saw in his would-be bride. We never really got to know her and what details he is free to share don’t really compose a complete picture. Perhaps he’s a bit worried that upon sharing what visions he saw when the sun crested against her hair, they might disappear. Perhaps he saw similar shapes and patterns like that in this digital art print, the product of Vivka’s artistic hand. We have our theories.

LiveFish vector digital art print 11×14 koi blue black white

Some people are fashioned to be better off living alone. What hand framed their symmetry made sure of that, and we here judge not. Subsequently, there are those who have been constructed to function with a mate, much like this picture here. The LiveFish has a mate of its own in Vivka’s art gallery, and you are welcomed to get one, the other or both. Be you alive or be you dead, these pictures will look fine hanging above your bed.

Nagelization digital art print 8×10 Patrick Nagel 80s

If you’ve put a couple decades under your belt, and heavens know we’ve got plenty here at the local, you might have caught eye of a Patrick Nagel painting, especially thirty years ago. Not just the cover of a Duran Duran album, the artist made a distinctive style that it can be seamlessly parodied, or in this portrait of the artist herself, made into a tribute. If you have a fondness for Nagel’s art AND find yourself enchanted by the photos of one Vivid Vivka, you’ve now been given the greatest gift of all.

unique Hand painted Aged Silver and Black Modern deco FRAME framed art upcycled

Hair and paintings aren’t the limit of Vivka’s offerings, as many ‘upcycled’ frames are available for your purchase. Find a nice companion frame for one of the prints your purchase from her or simple hold some scraps of paper or unused wedding invitations that you hold dear. Whatever you slide into the frame will look fantastic, so do be a dear and purchase at least five.

Some of her photographs are risqué and not terribly safe for work environments that don’t promote a healthy intake of cheesecake. So do be warned when you visit her Facebook pages (for both her and her Etsy store.) If you wish, you can also find Vivka on Twitter. Tweet something at her and then don’t be a twit: come back next week for another Tuesday uEtsy.

Jun 11 2011

Vincent Price Presents: Volume 1

Vincent Price sold separately...

Although some might argue that the Vincentennial ended on May 27th (Vincent Price’s birthday), but we here at Gravedigger’s Local 16 disagree. After all, the US Bicentennial celebration lasted long after the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. Since our celebration started with a review of a Price-related radio drama series, why not end it with another?

Vincent Price Presents is an interesting case in that Mr. Price doesn’t actually appear in it. The name comes from the series’ origin as a modern horror anthology comic published by Bluewater Productions. Thanks to a deal with the Vincent Price Estate, the comic was allowed to use his image to either introduce or “star” in various terror tales (both original stories and those spun off from classic Price films-presumably due to further deals with the films’ rightsholders). The comics proved so popular that Bluewater teamed up with Boston’s famous Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air and Brilliance Audio to create a radio drama adaptation that aired on Sirius/XM. This particular collection offers a select four (of numerous) episodes that make for over two hours of radio horror: “The Tinglers,” “Fade Away,” “Canus” and “Road Rage.”

Disc 1 kicks off with “The Tinglers,” an audio sequel to Price’s 1959 cult classic. Due to the events of the movie Dr. Warren Chapin’s career is in ruins and he’s become addicted to the “fear serum” he had been experimenting with (or as it’s known in the film, LSD). In an effort to help him out, his assistant and sister in law convince him to investigate an African tribe whose garb suggests a connection to the Tingler. As you can guess, things don’t go well for the good doctor’s expedition. Although “Fade Away” starts out as a noir story (with an occasional humorous touch) about a private detective investigating a series of mysterious break-ins at a wealthy client’s home, but does the lack of any physical evidence of a break-in point to a confused old man’s delusions or the supernatural? And why does the butler seem so keen on stopping the investigation? The disc ends with a special bonus: the first half of a recent interview between radio personality Jordon Rich and Vincent Price’s daughter Victoria via phone. Despite the introduction’s warning of the interview’s varying quality, it’s only a small notch under the rest of the CD’s high quality and is very listenable. The interview itself is quite interesting, as it discusses how a renaissance man like Vincent Price, who was initially being groomed as a matinee idol(!), wound up getting involved in the world of horror. There’s also plenty of fun anecdotes to be found, my favorite involving an Edgar Allan Poe anthology.

The extremely effective opening of “Canus” starts off disc two and leads into a twisted variation of the Bluebeard legend involving an insane cyborg dog. I read the partial preview of the original comic on Amazon, I was immediately enthralled by the story potential of a young boy being sent into a dark basement in order to retrieve a ball from a mad dog. Although the story goes in a different direction than I had initially expected based on the comic sample, it’s still a fun ride. Speaking of rides, “Road Rage” brings us the tale of how a nasty ad executive whose “minor accident” turns out to have major consequences. I won’t spoil it by revealing more, so let’s just say that it’s the kind of story that you have to listen to again immediately after you finish in order to fully appreciate it. The CD closes with the continuation of the interview from disc one, which discusses (among other things) Price’s comedic work, favorite movie and some background information on “Thriller” and Edward Scissorhands. This portion of the interview also has Victoria Price (unknowingly) disprove Denis Meikle’s theory as to why her father chose roles like “Egghead” in the 60’s Batman series over the course of his lengthy career.

So, does Vincent Price Presents succeed as a radio series about Vincent Price without actually featuring him? Yes and no. Aside from the opening narration explaining the show’s comic book origin, the actual Price connection is slim. “The Tinglers” features both a character played by Vincent Price and dialogue you can easily imagine him saying, “Canus” hints that we should imagine the father character as being portrayed by Price and the actor playing the ad exec in “Road Rage” has a somewhat Price-esque quality to his voice. I honestly can’t say for sure whether or not it’s a good thing they didn’t use a Vincent Price imitation or digitally manipulated clips from vintage Price works in order to make the connection stronger. All four stories feature top notch acting, music and sound effects. With the exception of “The Tinglers” (more on that later), said stories are wonderfully written.

Despite its strong Vincent Price connection, I found “The Tinglers” to be an unworthy sequel to the original. I’m amazed that the comic managed to wring two issues out of its miniscule plot. By revisiting the world of The Tingler, it unwittingly exposes several plot holes in the original that will undoubtedly ruin it for most fans. Although much is made of Dr. Chapin’s addiction to LSD, it goes nowhere and serves no real purpose in the story. Worst of all, “The Tinglers” doesn’t have an ending so much as it just…ends.

Given the bizarreness of having a character that was played by Price speaking in a voice that sounds nothing like him, I kind of wish they ditched the spin-off stories and used another name for the show by taking a cue from the Tales from the Crypt TV series and adapting stories from various horror stories from Bluewater Productions’ stable of comics. In any case, it should be noted that the Colonial Radio Theatre on the Air says that the show “…would carry a PG-13 and in some cases an R rating.” Given the gruesome deaths in several tales and the numerous swearing in the final story, I can’t help but agree.

While I can appreciate Brilliance Audio’s efforts to keep the price as low as possible, I would glad pay extra for two factory-pressed CDs in a jewel case rather than two CD-Rs in paper sleeves (with styrofoam padding) in cardboard packaging. On the plus side, they used the more professional-looking CD-Rs with metallic tops.

Well, that’s it for the Vincentennial here at Gravedigger’s Local 16. If you’re still in need of more Vincent Price, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will be having a “Price-a-thon” later in the year. Otherwise, there’s always the Vincentennial tie-in episode of our podcast…

Special thanks to Brilliance Audio for the review copy!

Jun 10 2011

6′+ Episode 6 is Up!

To quote the description given at our sixth episode’s official listing:

“Interspersed between this review of the best music of 2011 (so far) is the promotion 6′+ ran when we started up our Facebook page. The first twenty five to LIKE the page were able to pick six words to be read aloud on this episode. Let’s get together, enjoy the warm weather and listen to some great music.”

So be sure to have a listen, either at the official website or on iTunes. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

Jun 09 2011

Free RPG Day is Coming!

With June comes the last of the “free goodies” retail holiday that may be of interest to our readers: Free RPG Day. So if you’re interested in gaming, clear some time in your schedule for June 18th!

Jun 09 2011

A Handful of Dirt: Our Ghoul Jenn

A Handful of Dirt

A Handful of Dirt asks a person five questions they wouldn’t normally expect or receive in any other credible interview.

 

In consulting the Serendipiter Bag o’InquiryTM, we pose a series of questions to come up with a bit of knowledge unknown before – a handful of dirt.

 

 

Our Ghoul Jenn doesn’t care for your crappy Volvo. She’s the sleeper agent for sinister french ducks and biker tortoise-shell cats. Our Ghoul Jenn is both the voice of the street and the eye in the sky.

She’s SMASHING down injustice of those lactonic mofos that are all DUDE and no action. Our Ghoul Jenn has been one of the strongest supporters for GdL16 since the inception and we are honored to have her for this week’s A Handful of Dirt.

 

 

Which snack food can your friend(s) offer you that would have you lower your opinion of them?

The Dorito. The Dorito is an insult to the humble potato. Or possibly corncob. I can’t be bothered.

When was the last time you heard your favorite song?

My favorite song has not yet been created. The astrologers tell me that the artist for my favorite song will be born next month, and in 37 years time, she will write my favorite song. I await this moment patiently.

You are chosen to pick the ruler of the world – but it can’t be yourself – who do you pick?

I pick Batboy. It’s time he a chance to show everyone what’s what, and by that I mean, I’m sure he will smite all of my enemies, so bring him on.

What is the holiday you wouldn’t missed if everyone in the world forgot about it?

Thanksgiving. I don’t find genocide particularly celebratory. Unless it’s the genocide of spiders. I get it, they eat bugs, but they scare the shit out of me, so they have to go.

Which television show would you bring back from cancellation?

Get a Life. Chris Elliot is an undervalued talent.

 

Jun 08 2011

The Pine Box Boys, TALES FROM THE EMANCIPATED HEAD

The Pine Box Boys
Tales From The Emancipated Head

Official Site

The greatest artistic injustice that will come about at the end of 2011 will be the plethora of BEST OF lists that don’t place Tales From The Emancipated Head by The Pine Box Boys up near in the single digits. Most might just straight up ignore this release and that’s plain offensive to me.

The music by the Pine Box Boys (Lester T. Raww, “Possum” Carvidi, Col. Timotthy Leather and Steven “Your Uncle” Dodds) is what they’ve christened ‘bloodgrass,’ the sincere bluegrass and southern music which holds the influence of the macabre and evil of life. But I can’t see a label fully covering the band’s sound. There are elements of classical, rock and punk in their music.

I am reluctant to use the h word when describing the Pine Box Boys, because applying the label “horror” would instantly inject a distancing buffer that risks putting this group out on the margins. The Pine Box Boys are a straight up, damn fine group of musicians.

Though it’s a concept album, which is rarely a great starting point to get into any group, Tales From The Emancipated Head would be what I’d give anyone who wanted to get excited about music again. Lester’s narration before each song is the hand that guides the metal edge scraping away the cynicism, priming you for the music that is to follow.

It doesn’t take much digging to get into the depth of metaphor of songs like “Frankenstein” and “The Weeper.” And when you listen to “Pretty Little Girl,” it’ll take a few times to take in how this bluegrass sounding sound incorporates both an Eastern European folk melody as well as throat singing. Yes, Lester T. Raww throats sings and it’s glorious. This is a contender for scariest sounding song of the year and it’s bewildering how it all came together so well. Possum, Col. Leather and Your Uncle’s playing is incredible and both Jason Kleinburg and Yoon-Ki Chan on fiddle are magnificent additions.

The story of Tales From The Emancipated Head is right in the title. A poet’s head suddenly finds a bit of freedom and we are graciously privy to the thoughts of this mind, the evil and fantastic things he has seen. It all wraps together in one of my favorite songs from the album, simply titled “Blood.” The album ends with “The Funeral,” which I think was a way to make sure the Pine Box Boys send you home alive and moving, but I think the album truly ends with the penultimate track, “AM Radio Floating In Blood.”

This is a great album and I can’t recommend it enough to you. If you are lucky to have them come by, do what you have to in order to catch them.

When late in his life, Vincent Price described his movies as “fantasies” and I think that’s the best way to apply to the elements of supernatural in the Pine Box Boys.

Sometime before I could count my age on two hands, I was transplanted from the South West to the North East, criss-crossing the country. I never grew up metropolitan but never would be so bold and bullshit to call myself a “southern” product. As I come up to the time when it’ll now take three Xs to sum up my years, I’ve built up some acceptance for what I am and understanding what I’m not, mind you. And being that I’m full of thought, I’ve spent some on the Pine Box Boys.

I think what makes the American South acculturate these dark fantasies is the same as why New England allowed H.P. Lovecraft and Poe to prosper. There’s something Victorian and Romantic about the locales that exist outside the bright lights of industrialized life. I think there’s a way that getting beyond a concentrated amount of life could promote a greater external imagination, which will allow the darker flourishing images of fright and might to grow.

There’s something about the American South that lends itself to fanciful situations. Unfortunately, there are more ways this has been abused than properly used. Putting a southern accent on a racist voice or diluting a movie’s antagonists with characteristics meant to invoke the ideas of “inbred” and “hillbilly” are errors that creative hacks and insincere charlatans use to scam you out of your money.

Much like much of the music that I’ve been fortunate to find in these recent years, there’s an undeniable sincerity in the music you hear off a Pine Box Boys record. The Pine Box Boys’ earnest in their music is one of the shining examples I’ve found (and continue to look forward) of ‘southern horror.’ They might be enough to counteract any ridiculous stereotype that has turned a culture into a simple caricature.

It’s highly unlikely that I could ever see blood rain skyward if I were walking in Chicago. But after listening to “Confusion Hill?”, I think it’s a possibility if I were to head to a rural corner of this nation, finding myself alone under a shady tree, my imagination would get the best of me. Until, of course, I saw that thin line of red flowing uphill.

Jun 06 2011

The Problem with Frankenchrist

Young kids: If you ever want to get into the Dead Kennedys, you only need to pick up their first two full-lengths, the IN GOD WE TRUST INC. EP, the GIVE ME CONVIENCE compilation and, if you’re a big fan, the LIVE AT THE DEATH CLUB release.  Pretend that the band broke up in 1986 and that the divisive nature of the split caused all the members to quit playing music whatsoever (unless you’re a fan of the Jello Biafra/Al Jourgensen LARD releases. That’s forgivable.)

Jello Biafra has gone on record in regards to the Dead Kennedy’s origin, expressing a desire to make a musical experience that took the spookshow theatrics of Alice Cooper but substituted the terrors of the political world, mad scientists drugging your water supply and corporate bottom lines for the vampires and zombies.

The Dead Kennedys are a band I associate with sunshine. The first time I heard them was working a summer job, one that afforded a cheap radio I could play to pass the lulls in business. When the local radio station, during its 80’s-flashback-lunchhour, played “Holiday In Cambodia,” it was the end for me.

Looking back, the thought that a commercial radio station would play a Dead Kennedys song in a program that highlighted “Take on Me” and Soft Cell’s cover of “Tainted Love” is astounding. Reality is, by all means, ludicrous.

I picked up FRESH FRUIT FOR THE ROTTING VEGETABLES a few days after hearing that song. The guitar sound was different from anything that was on the radio station and I wanted to hear more. Some have said that Dead Kennedys guitarist East Bay Ray was influenced by surf music. Don’t know where, but I read somewhere he had been a fan of The Shadows and the Fireballs (though somewhere else, he’s quoted as not being an avid surf music fan, that the influence only comes from growing up in California.)

“Moon Over Marin” is probably the closest that the Dead Kennedys got to a surf song. The solo in “Holiday in Cambodia” is also similar to what one might hear on a Ventures release. But “Moon Over Marin,” I tell you: great song. It’s one that has yet to be covered properly, though I think Siniestro Total’s rendition off of REGRESSO is as close as it’s going to get for me.

PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS is the scariest the Dead Kennedys got in terms of their sound. Songs like “Dead End, “Bleed For Me, “I Am The Owl” are just sinister sounding pieces of music, where “Government Flu” and “Well Paid Scientist” are frantic, panic and paranoid stricken screeds that tapped into the problems the group saw with the world of Reagan’s America. There’s a few songs on GIVE ME CONVENIENCE… that amp up the fear but start to finish, I think PLASTIC SURGERY DISASTERS is the band’s best work, second to the IN GOD WE TRUST INC EP and their first release.

The problem with FRANKENCHRIST, the band’s third album, is that every song is about two minutes too long. Like many of the 80’s hardcore punk bands, it was about the time that most of the bands of that time got just bored with playing the same style of two minute, face-punch type of songs. Black Flag, SSD, Bad Brains and Minor Threat grew up, got old or/and broke up around that time. FRANKENCHRIST’s slower and longer song structure reflects this trend.

The band would actually revert back to the short song structure on their final full-length album, BEDTIME FOR DEMOCRACY. Out of twenty-one songs, only three are more than 2m30s long. But the album sounds hollow. The CD might be the problem, since odds are it was a remaster. Perhaps a vinyl playing would make BEDTIME… sound less plastic and empty. But it could have just been that the band was on the verge of collapse when they made it.

BEDTIME… has a few songs that are nice but it’s largely forgettable to me. In fact, one of my friends “borrowed” the CD a few years left and I haven’t bothered to replace it. I should and I’d like to but it’s a low priority. I kind of consider it and FRANKENCHRIST to be the superfluous runoff of a band that, musically, hit a stage of perfection. This was the “everything is downhill from here” stage.

The self-destruction of the Dead Kennedys and the resulting lawsuits and fights that followed remains one of the biggest tragedies in punk rock (that doesn’t involve someone dying.) It’s documented elsewhere and the differing sides are both untrustworthy. It’s always funny, in a sad and twisted way, when a band that rages against the evils of capitalism breaks down because someone in the band wants to get paid better.

The band was successful in writing some music about the horrors of the real world that still stand up today. It’s sad that when Biafra shouts about war in Afghanistan, it applies today despite that he was singing about it thirty years ago. The socio-economic and religious political concerns, if you skew that way, are still prevalent.

It’s good to get out of the spooky once in a while and observe some of the real monsters that exist. I know that during these economical problems and strife, escapism is more attractive. Being reminded how horrible life sucks and sometimes, I can’t fault a person for wanting to get away from that. I do it, time to time.

Escaping means that there’s no going back. I think we can’t escape to a world where our problems don’t exist, where we trade unemployment for vampires, industrial pollution for H.P. Lovecraft’s monsters. As much as we write about monsters, suspense and creatures of all sorts, we here at Gravedigger’s Local 16 recognize that there are plenty of real horrors that exist. Murder. Rape. Theft. Racism. Institutional oppression.

These are things that the Dead Kennedys sang about in a way to combat them, to use music, a common method of escapism, to keep the masses from falling asleep and remaining complacent. It’s a shame how they ended, but the Dead Kennedys, at a time, were there to tell us that the real monsters awaited us outside of the theater when the movie ended.

Jun 03 2011

The Mermen, A GLORIOUS LETHAL EUPHORIA

The Mermen
A Glorious Lethal Euphoria

June is a four letter word. June, historically, has been what they call a shit month for me. Nothing outright tragic or catastrophic has come about within that calendar month which is why the yearly dolor that rides in after May is confounding. Outside of some biological or metaphysical association with the start of summer somehow triggers a lethargy party in my frontal lobes, I can’t figure out why this month just brings me down.

This isn’t an indulgent plea, but more of an explanation that for the last fistful of years, I’ve found that during this period, instro-surf-mental music tends to make the days a bit more tolerable. About three summers ago, I was digging through the used bin at a local record shop, trying to see if my good fortune would kick in. Luck had it that I found a later-stage Man…Or Astro-Man? release (A Spectrum of An Infinite Scale) as well as both something from The Fireballs and The Pyramids among the billion copies of Crazytown’s first record and other alt-rock castoffs. Sometimes you dig without knowing what you’re going to find. That day, I came up with A Glorious Lethal Euphoria by a band called The Mermen.

No clue about who or what this group was. The Mer– prefix hinted at water, which hinted at surf. The opening song title was “Pulpin’ Line” with additional tracks “The Drowning Man Knows His God,” “Lizards” and “Blue Xoam.” I honestly had no expectations. If it turned out to be a dud, it couldn’t be resold. It was an exciting risk, something that is harder to duplicate with modern technology and how everything these days comes with a thirty second preview. This store didn’t have listening stations set up for those who wanted to sample before purchases so appropriately, I dove in.

I think it was the title “With No Definite Future & No Purpose Other Than To Prevail Somehow…” that gave me the go ahead, letting me know that this album was going to work out. And it did.

It’s not traditional surf, but has the influences of surf. The title “The Drowning Man Knows His God,” a bit prog-rockish (hell, most of the titles are prog) gives warning that this isn’t some Ventures cover band. A lot of reviews for this record, which came out in 1995, link the words “psychedelic,” “Hendrix” and “reverb,” which I think one of the three are fitting.

The album is powered by Jim Thomas’s guitar and like the Experience, Allen Whitman’s bass and Martyn Jones’ drums offer a solid support for Thomas’s more fuzz-covered explorations of sound. But there’s something heavy here.  A Glorious… has some weight in the songs. The sticker on the front of the album describes them a “Dick Dale meets Sonic Youth,” which is terribly accurate. This is the music of minds soaked in reverb and held down/up by consciousness, very influenced by the year it was released. “They’ll Bloom” supports this grunge-against-surf comparison, as Jim says it was written “in anger at Kurt [Cobain’s] supposed suicide.”

The cover image, taken from the ceiling of a Mexican restaurant in Tokyo, Japan, features a painted rendition of Jesus dying on the Cross. The title is taken from the philosopher Martin Buber, whose “I-Thou” philosophy consists of “relationship that stresses the mutual, holistic existence of two beings. It is a concrete encounter, because these beings meet one another in their authentic existence, without any qualification or objectification of one another.”

“I guess you can say the theme between the title and the cover is about bearing the difficulties and compromises of life, carrying your cross, not diluting them.” – Jim Thomas

As June shows up, I’m more readied to handle what trials and tribulations may come within the next thirty days. With this album, I am more ready to deal with the difficulties of these five weeks. A good message with great music.

Jun 02 2011

A Handful Of Dirt: Peter J. Lazarski of IMAGINARY MONSTERS

A Handful of DirtA Handful of Dirt asks a person five questions they wouldn’t normally expect or receive in any other credible interview.

In consulting the Serendipiter Bag o’InquiryTM, we pose a series of questions to come up with a bit of knowledge unknown before – a handful of dirt.

  

  

 

The mind of Peter J. Lazarski is full of monsters. Having created Imaginary Monsters, Lazarski has made a comic full of beasties and brutes who are equal parts gruesome and whimsical. 

Dennis the Necromancer, Grizzledude and Lizard Wizard join a cast of hundreds of creatures birthed from Lazarski’s art style. With a pen that is as playful as his storytelling, Peter Lazarski is a talent in creating an adventure that teaches the value of friendship, self-confidence and sandwiches.  

  

What do you usually consult, listen to, invoke or watch in order to get inspiration with your current or upcoming (ed: in this case, the ongoing ‘Imaginary Monsters’) creative project?

I spend a lot of time thinking about monsters and drawing them. I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy books, watch movies of a similar nature, and spend a good amount of time hanging out with friends and playing board games or Dungeons and Dragons. Those aren’t the only things I do, but it’s safe to say I’m fairly embedded in monster culture.

Which Cable Channel, were we to force you to watch (at gunpoint, if needed) for a straight 72 hours, would drive you into a world of never-ending agony?

The Lifetime Channel.

Your sudden life choice has you opening a tavern – what do you call it?

The Witches Tit. I would serve Troll Piss and Dragon Breath. And coffee.

If you were to resurrect Vincent Price, what would be the first thing you’d have him say?

I’d ask him to say “Bird house” and probably talk to him about The Last Man On Earth.

What was your favorite movie growing up (that you don’t think is so great now?)

Most of my favorite movies growing up are still favorite movies now…recently I tried watching Ladyhawke for the first time thinking it was going to match films like Legend and Dragonslayer in production value, but it was a little too hokey and I ended up being disappointed there.

I will point out though two of my favorite movies growing up that have held up exceedingly well, those being Aliens and The Thing (I used to have parent-edited copies to watch on vhs). Both are awesomely suspenseful and gritty with real tangible special effects. Digital special effects are cool and expand the possibility of some films but I don’t think they work as well as make up and prosthetics in making a scary movie.



May 31 2011

Even More Fiends of the Local

You know the drill. A site either links to or follows us and we link back to them in our own special way (especially when yours truly needs a break). Today’s shout-outs go to the following:

Keith Broun
Fear In Words
Horror Extreme
Tars Tarkas.NET
Body Count Blog
Orgone Research
Bent Realm Studios
Justine’s Halloween
The Midnight Brood
Celebrating The Seasons
The Devil’s Advocates Movie Reviews

Thank you!

May 31 2011

Oblivion

Oh my!

Given that May is Asian Heritage Month, I thought it would be appropriate to take another look at George Takei’s body of work. Based on my research, it appears that the subject of today’s review, the sci-fi western Oblivion, was the first non-Star Trek, non-TV science fiction movie that Mr. Takei had an onscreen role in. Given his many years of acting, it is both amazing and saddening to think that it took until 1994 for him to land such a role. Thankfully, this later led to several more appearance in future genre films. But let’s look at where it all began…

The year is 3031 and things are not looking good for the citizens of Oblivion. As if the planet’s variety of nasty alien creatures (like giant two tailed scorpions) weren’t bad enough, their sleepy little town has been taken over by a nasty reptilian outlaw named “Redeye” and his gang of cronies. Thanks to his personal stash of the valuable mineral Derconium, which interferes with electrical equipment, he has successfully both killed the marshal (by deactivating his personal force field) and rendered the cyborg deputy helpless. It’s up to the marashal’s estranged son Zack and his native friend Buteo to save the day. The thing is, Zack is an empath who can feel the pain of anyone he hurts or kills, which makes him reluctant to go in guns a blazin’. But as the level of violence escalates in Oblivion, it becomes harder and harder for him to just stand by…

Oblivion is a treat, from the futuristic western designs (with ATMs standing in for banks and electronic prospecting equipment) to the creature effects by the late David Allen. Co-producer/screenplay writer Peter David’s well-known lightheartedness comes into play several times in the film, including an amusing “bingo funeral” sequence and a blatant Man-Thing reference. It’s also fun spotting the various cameos. There’s Isaac Hayes as a saloon owner, Julie Newmar as “Miss Kitty” (a reference to both the Gunsmoke character and her role Catwoman in the 60’s), Carel Struycken (“Lurch” from the 90’s Addams Family movies) as a mortician (a staple of both horror and western films) and George Takei as Doc Valentine. Although he spouts his fair share of Star Trek references, his character isn’t just there for a few jokes. Being the town’s dentist/barber/inventor/robotics specialist/etc., Valentine is guilt-ridden over the “failure” of the force field badge he designed killing the marshal and soon turns to drinking to numb the pain. Takei’s acting skills get to shine as his character rapidly (but believably) goes from humorously drunk to mournful and then to violent and unpredictable before recovering the next day. This multifaceted role was a major step up from the roles traditionally offered to Asian American actors in westerns: cringe-worthy, one note “comedic” stereotypes like Hop Sing. Although not his greatest role, acting in movies like Oblivion did keep his name in the public eye, which allowed him to further develop his fanbase and fame. Over time, he became a famous enough figure to lend his name to causes like this protest and actually have it mean something to the general public. I’m not saving that Oblivion was solely responsible for this, just that it’s a good-sized stone on the road that is George Takei.

Full Moon has wisely released the film onto DVD in order to cash in on the hype for the upcoming (as of this writing) film Cowboys and Aliens. The DVD offers a nice, crisp transfer with some minor print damage here and there. The audio sounds great, especially the dead-on perfect western score. As was the case in Killjoy 3, there is no chapter selection menu, despite the presence of chapter stops! This is simply inexcusable. I can’t imagine why anyone at Full Moon thought this was a good idea. The fact that you can’t go back to the main menu after starting the film is also irritating and I hope this is merely an issue with my DVD player and doesn’t represent the disc’s behavior on all players.

But that isn’t the disc’s biggest failure. Bizarrely, the “Video Zone” making-of segment from the original VHS release is nowhere to be found! Fans who want to learn more about the film’s production without searching out the VHS release will have to make due with Peter David’s recollections on the matter or pick up a copy of The B-Movie Survival Guide for its brief tidbits from people involved in the Oblivion series (along with those from other cult movies). That said, this is a huge blunder by Full Moon. They would be wise to avoid doing so on future releases, in addition to including chapter selection menus.

Besides the semi-animated main menu, the disc’s special features consist of two different selections of trailers. The first batch consists of previews for Oblivion, Oblivion 2: Backlash, Puppet Master: Axis of Evil, Doll Man, and Skull Heads. As usual, the “new” trailers very in aspect ratio and occasionally in quality. The transfer on the one for Oblivion, is good, but not quite as good as film’s transfer on the DVD. The Puppet Master: Axis of Evil, trailer is a new version using scenes from first Puppet Master in addition to new material not seen in the usual versions of the film’s trailer.

There are also 10 “Full Moon Vintage Trailers” (Technically Full Moon and Empire Pictures trailers) that are all full frame and are of wildly varied quality. The selection consists of Arcade, Bad Channels, Crash and Burn, Laserblast, Meridian (aka Meridian: Kiss of the Beast), Netherworld, Robot Wars, Seed People, Shadowzone and Subspecies. Not having seen the film itself, I can’t say for sure if the trailer for Arcade is the one that featured the original and eventually replaced special effects. The trailers for Bad Channels and Netherworld are worn while the one for Seed People is especially worn. However, it’s of Criterion Collection quality when compared to the awful quality of the ones for Laserblast and Shadowzone! Still, it was a pretty fun trip down memory lane. I just wish they had a “play all” option.

Despite the DVD’s flaws, I still found Oblivion to be a very enjoyable way to kill about an hour and a half. While The Haunted Casino and Killjoy 3 will eventually get traded in at my local used DVD store, Oblivion will always sit proudly on my shelf. Here’s hoping that a DVD of Oblivion 2: Backlash is in the works (but without any of this disc’s faults).

UPDATE: It turns out that the sequel did get a DVD release…in 2004. Although initially confused by the seeming reverse order of the releases, further research revealed that Oblivion had its original DVD release in 2002 through Artisan. That said, seeing the prices given for it on Amazon have me hoping that Full Moon reissues the sequel.

Special thanks to Full Moon Features for the review copy!

May 31 2011

Adieu Zombie Awareness Month

Today is the final day of Zombie Awareness Month 2011. As the site’s zombie-related content got rather lean towards the end of the month, I thought I’d share a zombie video to give ZAM the send-off it deserves:

I love the way that video ends, don’t you? But don’t worry, I’m not only going to show a video that’s just over 20 seconds and call it a day. Here’s something you can really sink your teeth into, a music video starring Baron Samedi called “Thrill Me”:

The above was included at the end of the video cassette that came with the fourth installment of the Nightmare VHS game series (also known as Atmosfear), wherein a board game is used on conjunction with a prerecorded video. In this series, Baron Samedi is a zombie who acted as a “harbinger” that a player could control during his original appearance and later acted as the host of Nightmare II expansion in 1992. However, he returned to his role as a harbinger soon after and his last appearance was in 2006’s Khufu The Mummy, with DVD having replaced the game’s use of VHS in 2006’s Atmosfear: The Gatekeeper. But, given the series’ strong fanbase online, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Baron makes another appearance in the future. Happy Zombie Awareness Month!

May 31 2011

Tuesday uEtsy: Zombie Toes

Tuesday uEtsy

Zombie Toes
http://www.etsy.com/shop/zombietoes

SALE Private Party Zombie Silhouette original painting dark fantasy art zombies eating

Giving to the heat of the shifting seasons, May is falling away and with it, the end of 2011’s Zombie Awareness Month. Tomorrow, Rights and Equality for Animated People officer Nemi Lem will take down all the decorations. Though the month is over, her duties continue. Word is her fundraising was better than last, but such as it would be since last year was hard on us all.

What better way to send off the month than with some art? Thankfully, we have the wonderful Zombie Toes to send off may with their fine products.

Green Zombie Silhouette art print limited edition

It will be interesting to see where the zombie genre goes from here. We’re waiting for the zombie bubble to pop, for zombie critical mass to hit and the subsequent fall-out. There will always be room for new additions to the genre that probe the corners left explored. During those lengthy hours contemplating the significance of this idea of the dead coming back to life, you would be wise to have an artistic print like this Green Zombie Silhouette to inspire your thoughts.

Zombie Ink Blot 1 dark art Print psychology silhouette horror living dead

Though, do be careful not to get too caught up in it. You might end up with too much zombies on the mind. Everything thing that you see turns out to be zombie shaped. Sure, that might help if you’re caught in a survivalist scenario. Can’t be too jumpy, though. What is a zombie, what is a survivor? Can’t tell, can you? Not anymore. This print might help you figure things out – what’s a zombie, and what’s not? A good question to ask yourself, any time.

Zombie Portrait Sara living dead dark fantasy horror art print cemetery goth painting

Perhaps you need someone specific to focus your thoughts? Here, the Zombie Zara poses for a portrait. Perhaps you know her or someone who looks like her? Are you ready to defend yourself against her when she attacks? Is she your sister, an ex-girlfriend, your new wife you thought would meet you at the Courthouse with the rest of the group (like you said you would?) What did she do – did the rest leave her behind? What are you going to do now as she comes at you? Hesitation means death. Take this picture and look at it when you have the luxury of a moment for mourning.

Little Book of Zombie Limericks set volumes 1 through 3 original poems

Of course, not everything done by Zombie Toes is totally serious. Here you have their set of Little Books of Zombie Limericks. Sold individually or together as a set, you have a do-it-yourself publication of limericks about our undead shadows. Perhaps if they knew of our prior Halloween contest, Zombie Toes would have entered and swept the competition. Maybe you can get one up on next year’s competition by purchasing all three and getting to know your opponents?

Deathbox Necronomicon hand sculpted horror tin with two zombie magnets

Whenever you feel that twinge of hunger that brings you to the refrigerator, ponder the magnets that look at you. Consider the tin that brought them to your door, the one that resembles the skin of a human face. Ponder that which separates you from an undead creature. Is it the hunger? Is it the society you keep or the laws you obey? Do you pride your free will, your choices made; the thoughts you entertain and express? Ponder what little can be taken away before the beast matches your reflection. If it’s something simple as pigmentation and a pulse, you might consider switching from the pork loin to a nice, healthy salad.

Do check out Zombie Toes on Etsy, over at their official blog and at their Facebook page. Bid a fond farewell to this Zombie Awareness Month. And may you fondly find yourself back here for another Tuesday uEtsy.

May 30 2011

More Vile Verses

I'm here because the real artwork for "The Goblin Market" didn't fit GdL16's standards. That, and because I'm so darn cute!

Since my last article about horror poetry turned out so well, I decided to revisit the subject. Wikisource has once again proven its usefulness to me thanks to its wealth of material. For example, I was able to find Christina Rossetti’s controversial “The Goblin Market,” James “B.V.” Thomson’s famous “The City of Dreadful Night,” Robert Burns’ “Halloween” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Go to the Grave” there. Famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s “Haunted Houses” and “Haunted Chamber” were there, as well as Don Marquis’ “Haunted” and “A Nightmare.” The works of Charles Baudelaire were also well represented by the somewhat NSFW “A Carcass,” “The Litanies of Satan” and “The Sick Muse.” Finally, Robert Southey’s “The Devil’s Walk” and “The Funeral” caught my interest. However, I had to go to Google Books to find Southey’s “To Horror” (which sadly features some politically incorrect content).

Google Books also yielded quite a lot of poems with spooky subject matter, like “Monday’s Troll” from Cobwebs, Chatters, and Chills: A Collection of Scary Poems by Patricia M. Stockland and “What Should I Be?” from Skeleton Bones and Goblin Groans: Poems for Halloween by Amy E. Sklansky and Karen Dismukes. The preview for Halloween Night by Charles Ghigna and Adam McCauley gives us “My Secret List,” “What to Wear on Halloween?” and “Costume Crazy.” However, things get decidedly more mature with poems like Jane Yolen’s “Knives” (based on “Cinderella”) and Donna Taylor Burgeess’ NSFW “Eat.” The adult nature of David Galef’s “Siren” should be of no surprise, given that it’s from the infamous Horror Between the Sheets. That said, Mark McLaughlin’s “The Titterer in the Twilight” is from the same anthology despite the lack of explicit content.

Amazon also offers numerous free book previews. I personally recommend checking out the ones for The Kingfisher Book of Scary Poems, Scary Poems to Make You Shiver, Delightfully Depressing Dark Poems, An Eyeball in My Garden: And Other Spine-Tingling Poems and The Graveyard Poet: Dark Adult Poems Of Horror, Madness and Death.

Although better known for his short stories, alt.horror.cthulhu regular James Ambuehl has also tried his hand at poetry. Works of his like “The Seed From the Stars,” “The Ballad of Black Bart” and “Following in Pickman’s Footsteps” can be found here.

Although you’ll have to sign into your Gmail/Google Groups account to see them, other poems can be found at alt.horror.cthulhu. Some ones that I found during my last trip there include “Old Ctharaths” by “Simon,” Thom Brannan’s “Unquiet Dreams,” “A poem dedicated to an unidentified supernatural entity” by Peter Vorobieff and “They Await” by “Special Agent Cooper.”

For more horror poetry, please visit:

Scary Poems

Gorelets.com

Scary Poems – Bedtime.com

Scary Poems by Richard Macwilliam

Scary Poems and Stories – Things That Go Boo

May 30 2011

Book Review: THAT’S NOT YOUR MOMMY ANYMORE by Matt Mogk & Aja Wells

That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore
By Matt Mogk
Illustrated by Aja Wells
Available on Amazon

I had to ask myself, “Would I buy this for Bethanista on her birthday?”

Bethanista is a cool girl who likes zombies, fairies, dancing and ice cream. She’s also seven. When after her mother bought Plants v. Zombies, Bethanista interest in the undead sparked and took off.

So when reading That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore, written by Matt Mogk and illustrated by Aja Wells, I had to consider if this would make a good present for Ms. Bethanista. She is the intended audience’s age, I suppose, though I can see how the novelty of this book would appeal to grown-ups.

(Full Disclosure, a copy of Dog Train by Sandra Boynton sits on my shelf, a gift I got because The Phenomenauts had a song on the CD that came with it. You’re never too old for a book.)

If your kid is cool enough, That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore is a great gift. I wouldn’t recommend it for any child at the age where they don’t have an abstract of the concept of death. This book, however, is perfect for kids who are into things that are scary, spooky and creepy.

Matt Mogk is the founder & Head Researcher at the Zombie Research Society (Full website here, the ZRS blog, and their presence over on Facebook.) If anyone would be fitted to write a children’s book about zombies, it would be him.

In writing, Matt Mogk shows some skill with a dexterous rhyme set. In the first scant eight lines, paired with Aja Well’s full page illustrations, Mogk establishes what makes a “Mommy,” expressing the acts and emotions of a loving caretaker. But as quickly as he sets up what makes a Mommy, Mogk draws a clear distinction, indicating that when she’s a zombie, that is indeed not your mommy anymore.

That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore is a book that acts as a warning. Never does it instruct children to combat their parents – no “go to the gun closet, lickety-split/and grab your father’s big boomstick.” I think children reading this book will not act out against their parents. It’s more of a precautionary tale that warns against a ‘zombie threat,’ than an instruction of how to combat it. Instead, it advises the children to hide, be smart and avoid the danger. These lessons can be easily transferred over to something more predominant (i.e. “real”) in a child’s life.

Aja Wells’ illustrations are playful and contain a sort of disarming whimsy, perfect for a children’s book. While the subject matter warns against the threat, a child reading this won’t be scared too much by the depictions of all types of zombies and acts of gore. Nothing appears ghoulish or grotesque enough to inflict nightmares. Still, Wells does a great job at managing the balance between horror of the subject and the gentile nature of the book’s intended audience.

I think it’s a really good book, and spooky parents reading it to their kids will have some hidden Easter eggs for themselves. From a spooky standpoint, it’s a great book. The language is clear enough that those learning to read could make their way through it and those with some skills would not get stuck on an indiscernible world, such like “indiscernible.”

Overall, it’s a good book. If Bethanista is still into zombies by the time her birthday rolls around, I might consider it. Though, with the way she’s taking to reading, she might ask for a copy of World War Z instead. I’ll talk to her mother about it. For everyone else, I say That’s Not Your Mommy Anymore is the children’s zombie book you’ve been asking for.

 

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