Because time isn’t always kind: economic reviews in a world full of waste!
In Creeping Hemlock’s chapbook THIN THEM OUT, we may have the first zombie story directly informed by Hurricane Katrina. Limited to 250 copies, this collaborative effort by Kim Paffenroth and Hemlock founders/Louisiana residents R.J. and Julia Sevin is set in the pelican state after an apocalyptic event which raises the dead (not to mention the stagnant waters). The surviving humans hole themselves up in a warehouse, where they bicker until factions form, some of which take their chances by leaving. Slowly, the undead find the site and surround it in increasing numbers. What sticks with you is the behavior of one zombie the story follows in alternating chapters, who instinctively spends a day in an abandoned drugstore searching for the right kind of over-the-counter pain relievers, even if he doesn’t know why. This sympathetic view is strangely touching, which goes a long way in providing closure that the actual plot may lack. The cover is something awesome.
From 18th-century Hungary to present-day Massachusetts, THE NIGHT PROJECTIONIST #1 is the latest comic to concern itself with a vampire infection. Written by Robert Heske (COLD BLOODED CHILLERS) and drawn by Diego Yapura, the Studio 407 title finds bloodsuckers being very real, and let loose in a movie theater on Halloween night during a marathon of Dracula films. Meanwhile, various woodland creatures and horny high schoolers are turning up not just dead, but brutally slaughtered. Just as the story gets really good, the issue ends, leaving me wanting more. (I also want to know how the two time periods are connected, as the jump is a little abrupt, but apparently that comes to pass in #2.) This slick, colorful comic is off to a good start for various reasons, not the least of which is that it’s not afraid to get its hands dirty.
I knew THE DARK SIDE OF THE SCREEN: FILM NOIR looked familiar! Foster Hirsch’s 1981 tome was used as a textbook in one of my college classes; now, Da Capo Press reissues it with an all-new afterword. The film professor gives a crash course on this unique, beloved movie genre, explaining its motifs and detailing — in many cases, spoiling — plots of dozens of its gems. All the crime stuff you’d expect to be included in such a study are there, plus METROPOLIS, THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI and latter-day pictures like TAXI DRIVER. Those aren’t exactly the kind of films we think of when we hear “noir,” which is why Hirsch’s opinions and arguments are more interesting. Whether right to the point (Veronica Lake is described as “very, very sexy”) or downright amusing (“Spiral staircases are a sure sign of chaos”), DARK SIDE is a bright light in the realm of cinema analysis.
“Style! Pep! Fit! Value!” So goes a page from a 1928 Sears catalog, and so it goes for CATALOG: THE ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF MAIL ORDER SHOPPING by Robin Cherry. As a child, I used to love the annual receipt of the Sears catalog in the mail. The Internet has killed that pleasure, so Cherry’s look back is more than welcome in all its glory of hideous examples of yesteryear’s wears, from unfortunate children’s sailor suits and men’s python-print underwear to ’70s shag carpeting and vaginal jelly. A 1940s catalog from Johnson Smith & Co. even sold Hitler masks! And check out that 1975 PONG “Tele-Games” set — yours for a cool $98.95. Cherry’s condensed histories of notable catalog companies is appreciated, as are the choice reproductions of Neiman-Marcus Christmas covers. —Rod Lott
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Vampire Horror fans –
The Night Projectionist hits bookstores on February 25th.
To make sure your local comic book shop carries it, please call them (or tell them in person) to order THE NIGHT PROJECTIIONIST by Studio 407 in the December Diamond Previews (Page 305, Order #DEC084241).
Happy Holidays to all!
Bob Heske
Writer, The Night Projectionist & Cold Blooded Chillers
http://www.studio-407.com | http://www.coldbloodedchillers.com