Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #209 by Drew Barth

A Minor Shock

We’re rather spoiled for comics in the US. If we have a decent shop close by, we can pick up any variety of comics that Diamond distributes as well as a few odds and ends that fall onto a typical comic shelf. Outside of these borders, however, when looking across the Atlantic, comics have been a little more difficult. Well, DC Comics have been more difficult. The UK has had its own comic scene and sensibilities for decades—magazines like 2000 AD and publishers like Titan—but DC Comics were notoriously difficult to come by in the regular monthly formats we’re used to. This is where London Editions Magazines came in and one of their forays into getting more DC stories, namely Vertigo comics, into reader’s hands in the form of Shockwave.

Shockwave on its own has an interesting history. London Editions Magazines, and its parent company Egmont, had been publishing DC Comic anthologies and magazines for year prior—typically compilations of Batman and Superman stories sold as monthly or annual stories. But they had wanted to branch out into some of DC’s lesser known characters and stories and began that with DC Action in 1990. This magazine focused on stories like Grant Morrison’s Animal Man and Marv Wolfman and George Perez’s Teen Titans comics from the late and early 80s, respectively. But, after six issues, this anthology was canceled. Their next attempt at bringing in more mature stories was with Zones, an anthology that reprinted Swamp Thing, The Shadow, and Wasteland. This was also cut even shorter with only four issues before LEM shifted focus to the similarly short-lived Shockwave.

Shockwave was one of the last attempts at these anthology reprint magazines as DC’s catalog, including the reprinted Vertigo stories, were becoming more common in UK comic shops. At four issues before cancellation it still managed to pack in a good amount of comics. Just in the first issue we have the opening of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Black Orchid, the first portion of issue seven of Animal Man by Grant Morrison and Chris Truog, another Grant Morrison story in the form of Hellblazer with David Lloyd, and an article on UFOs by Jay Taylor. It’s the kind of lineup that feels legendary now, but was the kind of thing you could pack into a reprint anthology in the hopes of keeping publication going back then. But even with this overwhelming quality, no one seemed to buy Shockwave and its final issue came just a few months later.

I couldn’t help but pick these first two issues of Shockwave up when I saw them in a used comic bin. They provide this fascinating snapshot of comics publishing in the UK at the time and show the ways in which more adult oriented comics were presented in that different context. While they may have been attempting something closer to the format that had been so successful for 2000 AD for so long, a magazine like Shockwave still gives us something unique to look at when contrasted with how we typically consume comics in America. 

Get excited. Get shocked.

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Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, & 510) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #193 by Drew Barth

Hollow Haunts

October is here. The spook season has again commenced. Sometimes it helps to go back to one of the progenitors of American hauntings: Sleepy Hollow. The original story is over two hundred years old. Adaptations of the tale are almost a Halloween tradition at this point. From the animated versions to the Tim Burton film, Sleepy Hollow and the Headless Horsemen remain perennial. This tradition continues on with the graphic novel Hollow by Shannon Watters, Branden Boyer-White, Berenice Nelle, Kaitlyn Musto, Kieran Quigley, Gonçalo Lopes, and Jim Campbell.

A recent transplant to Sleepy Hollow, Izzy Crane doesn’t believe in ghosts or the paranormal. More concerned with finding a good spot to research, Izzy only wants to get through high school with a minimal amount of Headless Horsemen encounters despite the town branding the figure as a mascot on everything from pizza shops to ambulances.

Of course, the legend is real. It has to be in a town like this. But the legend itself is different. Less a cursed haunting hanging over the town, the Headless Horsemen is a protector here—a lone soldier protecting the Van Tassel family from certain death by mysterious hands. But those mysterious hands have only grown more powerful over the centuries as they find new ways to try to end the Van Tassel bloodline.

More than anything, Hollow is fun. There is a more serious side to the story that centers on keeping the only daughter of the Van Tassel family, Vicky, alive, but this title maintains some of the hallmark hijinks of a high school mystery. There’s pranks, town festivals, elaborate Rube Goldberg-esque schemes, and teenage drama. It’s the perfect distillation of a classic story in a modern context with the familiar trappings of both that keeps it feeling fresh.

This story could really only work as a graphic narrative with many of its visuals skirting the line between horror and whimsy in a way that’s much more difficult to capture in a traditional story. The Headless Horseman is simultaneously intimidating in our first shots of him, but his pumpkin head takes on a much more animated presence once Izzy first confronts him on a bike ride home. Between that and the continual costume changes as character tones for Vicky Van Tassel, the art here elevates the story into something truly captivating.

Watters, Boyer-White, Nelle, Musto, Quigley, Lopes, and Campbell have crafted a Halloween story that already feels like a classic in its own right. From the playful tone to the modern sensibilities to the re-framing of the ghost story, Hollow offers the fun of Halloween with that slight creepiness that recalls walking down the aisle in a Spirit Halloween store. 

Get excited. Get spooky.

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Drew Barth (Episode 331, 485, & 510) resides in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida.

Episode 544 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature, is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

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This week, I speak with my friend and colleague Ryan Rivas about his new experimental memoir, Nextdoor in Colonialtown.

TEXT DISCUSSED

NOTES

TDO listeners can get 20% of a premium subscription to Scribophile. After using the above link to register for a basic account, go here while still logged in to upgrade the account with the discount.

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Episode 544 of The Drunken Odyssey, your favorite podcast about creative writing and literature, is available on Apple podcasts, stitcher, spotify, or click here to stream (right click to download, if that’s your thing).

The Curator of Schlock #387 by Jeff Shuster

The House on the Edge of the Park

You don’t like these kinds of movies.

I was being accosted by three goons in a dark alley. One of the goons had a turtle crossing sign strapped to his chest. He brandished an aluminum bat and I was expecting every bone on my body to get cracked. As soon as he raised his bat, a shuriken struck him in his wrist. He screamed and the lanky goon with a nervous twitch pulled out a 9MM and started shooting in the direction the ninja star came from. — To be continued.

This week’s movie is 1980’s The House on the Edge of the Park from director Ruggero Deodato. This flick is notorious. The House on the Edge of the Park made it on the Video Nasties list in the United Kingdom upon its release in the early 1980s. The fully uncut version didn’t get released over there until April of this year! We get the return of David Hess playing yet another psychopath. Giovanni Lombardo Radice also stars. Do you remember him? Of course you do. He played the town pervert in City of the Living Dead and the singing cannibal in Cannibal Apocalypse.

The opening of the movie introduces us to Alex (David Hess) and before the opening credits hit, we learn that he’s a rapist and murderer. Yikes!

Alex works at a garage in New York City with his dimwitted friend Ricky (Giovanni Lombardo Radice). This garage may also be a chop-shop. Alex and Ricky are getting ready for a night on the town. Ricky is very excited about getting the chance to boogie. Before they leave, a rich couple named Tom (Christian Borromeo) and Lisa (Annie Belle) pull in with a fancy Cadillac and ask for assistance.

Turns out that their car trouble comes from a loose wire that Ricky is quick to fix. Tom and Lisa are in a hurry. They’re leaving for a get-together with their other rich friends in New Jersey.  As payment, Alex wants an invite to that sweet shindig. He also insists that Ricky tag along. Before the four of them leave, Alex says he has to go back for his keys, By keys, he means straight razor. Yes, violence is coming.

Tom and Lisa bring the two working class mechanics to the party much to the amusement of their rich friends. Ricky humiliates himself by showing off his dancing moves. The blue bloods invite him to play a game of poker. Meanwhile, Lisa plays a game of “Now you get me. Now you don’t.” with Alex, leaving him frustrated. Alex returns to the other guests only to see them fleecing his simple-minded friend for all he’s worth. Realizing the poker game is rigged, Alex unleashes a torrent of violence on his wealthy host and guests. Alex busts up Tom’s face pretty bad. He knocks another guy into the swimming pool. Alex then proceeds to urinate on him while laughing maniacally. And it only gets worse from here.

Did you know David Hess was a songwriter? Apparently, he wrote several hits for Elvis Presley, Sal Mineo, Andy Williams, and Pat Boone. I just find it interesting that a man who already had a successful career had a side gig of playing sociopaths in exploitation flicks.

Photo by Leslie Salas.

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, episode 284, episode 441, episode 442, episode 443, episode 444, episode 450, episode 477, episode 491, episode 492, episode 493, episode 495, and episode 496) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

The Perfect Life #39 by Dr. Perfect

When Diets Won’t Die

Dr. Perfect,

My friend has been trying to do Keto for a year. It’s all she ever talks about.

How do I politely tell her that I truly, profoundly don’t give a shit?

Yours truly,
A victim

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Dear victim,

Like most frivolous endeavors, dietary trends come and go. Every so often, people attempt to curtail their gluttonous intake of processed foods and excess carbohydrates for something different. I’ve heard it all before. One eccentric reader recently extolled the benefits of cannibalism.So many preservatives!

Your friend appears to be seeking assurance or encouragement, or so it would seem. It could also just be her way of telling you and everyone else that she:

a.) desires a healthier lifestyle

b.) is more disciplined

c.) is bored with her life

d.) misses Bob Saget

We all miss Bob Saget.

What’s troubling is her lack of concern for your wants and needs. Every person you associate with should be devoted to those simple tenants. If they won’t be sycophants, who needs them!

Having said that, there’s nothing wrong with trying different foods. Just the other day, I had eggs benedict and found them thoroughly disgusting.

A couple I know went on about their new fasting diet ad nauseum. It’s part of this new starving fad.

“Technically,” Melanie (the wife) began, “we’re not starving ourselves. We have a light dinner in the evening.” I saw her louse of a husband (Garrett) in line at Five Guys just the other week. Fasting diet, eh?

I didn’t divulge Garrett’s dark secret but instead planted the seeds of suspicion. Inadvertent sabotage is as delicious as tender steak cutlets with a bottle of Château Lafite.

I tried the fasting diet for a few days and didn’t mind it. I got so much drinking done.

It’s time tell it straight to your Keto-loving friend. You’ve heard enough and respectfully wish to move on from the subject. That, of course, would be the simplest route. But it’d be more fun to drone on endlessly about your new Mediterranean diet.

Don’t be surprised if she jumps ship and converts. Then celebrate your victory with a night out an all-you-can-eat-buffet. I’m there if you’re buying.

Dr. Perfect has slung advice across the globe for the last two decades due to his dedication to the uplift of the human condition.

The Curator of Schlock #391 by Jeff Shuster

Edge of the Axe

Scream prototype. 

I had infiltrated a marsupial slaughtering factory under the guise of a welder. They had recently installed some factory equipment for their illegal kangaroo canning operation. I was to inspect this equipment and give it the okay.

While the security guard explained this to me, three cages housing kangaroos wheeled past me. Through the bars of the last cage, I saw Edwige, my kangaroo companion, who I’d thought I’d never see again!

— To be continued.

This week’s movie is 1989’s Edge of the Axe from director José Ramón Larraz. This curiosity was a co-production between the United States and Spain. Such cosmopolitanism reminds me of Madhouse, an Italian-made slasher movie I reviewed last year. Like Madhouse, Edge of the Axe was shot in America and featured American actors. And while the movie takes place in California, Edge of the Axe follows the Canadian slasher movie model–it’s a whodunit.

Edge of the Axe begins with a woman sitting in her car as it enters a car wash only to have her window and face smashed in by, you guessed it, an axe. The killer is masked and one wonders if this movie was an influence for Scream.

When the killer where’s a mask, everyone is a suspect.

We’re introduced to Gerald Martin (Barton Faulks), a young man obsessed with computers who needs the latest technology to play those newfangled computer games. He works at a pest control business with his best friend Richard (Page Moseley). The two of them get called over to a bar to investigate an odd smell coming from the basement. First they see rats, but upon further investigation, they discover the corpse of a murdered barmaid.

With two confirmed murders, the town is in a bit of frenzy. That doesn’t stop Gerald from sweet talking Lillian Nebbs (Christina Marie Lane), the daughter of the bar owner, into going out with him. Just like Gerald, she’s into technology and he gives her his old computer so the two of them can communicate through the computer? Imagine that. Being able to communicate through a computer!

Lillian confides in Gerald about a sordid incident involving her cousin, Charlie. When she was little, she pushed her cousin a little too hard on a swing set and sent him flying head first into a brick wall and whatnot. Charlie got sent to a mental hospital to recover. Lillian suspects he may be the killer. Charlie was released from the hospital about two years ago, but Lillian never made contact with him.

 There are more murders. I have to admit that Gerald is a little too calm during all of this. Maybe he’s too busy playing Preppie! or Crush, Crumble, and Chomp (look them up). The murderer gets revealed, the axe swings, there’s a case of mistaken identity, etc. I found Edge of the Axe on Prime streaming, though there’s also an Arrow Home Video release of this one. Check it out.

Photo by Leslie Salas

Jeff Shuster (episode 47, episode 102, episode 124, episode 131, episode 284, episode 441, episode 442, episode 443, episode 444, episode 450, episode 477, episode 491, episode 492, episode 493, episode 495, and episode 496) is an MFA graduate from the University of Central Florida.

Comics Are Trying to Break Your Heart #161 by Drew Barth

Psychedelic-Tinted Lenses

History in graphic novels is always interesting to behold. We’re given that midway point of intimacy between written accounts and documentaries—the interplay between visuals and words that comics does so well gives us that time and space other mediums can lack. And this is proven even more so with works like Project MK-Ultra: Sex, Drugs, & the CIA by Stewart Kenneth Moore. This fictionalized history of Project MK-Ultra dives into the era of the project in all its psychedelic horror with the unflinching eye of a journalist digging up the most putrid dirt.

Seymour Phillips is a writer for the San Francisco Examiner in the early 1970s—a struggling journalist trying to find the story that could finally make his career, which he thinks he has in the drug trafficking arrest of Ronald Stark. Stark, caught with a kilogram of LSD (equivalent to about ten million doses), has been arrested before, but was bailed out by someone with tenuous connections to the CIA. From there, Phillips’ life takes a drastic dip as he’s falsely caught with enough pot to send him to prison and enough time away to make him a pariah in most circles. But an unnamed man leaving him clues propels him back to the story that nearly ruined his life. As Seymour learns more about the classified Project MK-Ultra, we see more of the project’s history and the nonchalant misery enacted by the men at its helm.

But then we don’t know how much in this history is true or false. MK-Ultra has long been the realm of the conspiracy theorist, even when it was acknowledged as a real project the 70s. Due to the destruction of many of the project’s documents, not much is known outside of rumor, conjecture, and the scant surviving files that brought to light the CIA’s efforts to develop their own methods of mind control. This, however, is what comics can do best. By observing what may have occurred—the bits and pieces we can glean from the people who had lived through it—we can start to understand the magnitude of its scale and how people were affected. And while we can never know everything that happened as a result of the project, we can get a glimpse of the possibilities and the horrors of it.

Unflinching in its intentions, Project MK-Ultra is the kind of graphic novel that brings what we know about a shady past to the forefront, but gives it to us wrapped in a story and a protagonist we want to follow as the horrors unfold.

Get excited. Get dosed.

Drew Barth at Miami Book Fair in 2019.

Drew Barth (Episode 331 & 485) is a writer residing in Winter Park, FL. He received his MFA from the University of Central Florida. Right now, he’s worrying about his cat.