More eye candy for you:

http://monsterbrains.blogspot.com/2011/08/amazing-poster-art-of-albert-kallis.html

Is a pretty damn awesome concept, designed by German artist Oliver Paass for a German horror TV station called 13th Street (made me laugh too). Check out this video about it.

[Via Neatorama]

And what Creepy does it put me in a very happy and calm world where I can detox from a day of bits and loops and schemas and other complexities that stress my already stressed brain more than I should let it.

When I reach for a read right after a stressful day, the last thing I want to do is get into something that’s going to be as difficult or more difficult than what I had already been focusing on for 10+ hours.

Not saying that Creepy is dumb, but far from it. It’s downright witty!

The reason I started picking up the old Creepy books was that Dark Horse has put out a new version of the book (volume 1 recently came out), and I picked that up and started doing some research. The whole story of Warren publishing is inspiring.

Creepy Magazine. #1 was published in 1964, about 10 years after Tales From the Crypt was canceled amid pressure from the Comic Code Authority (assholes). What Warren did was to release the comics in magazine format instead, bypassing the authority. Awesome.

The original Creepy has since been re-released as a series of 5-issue collections by Dark Horse, and is already up to the 9th volume.

Creepy is very much in the vein of TFTC: short stories, good prologue, a build up, and generally, a twist! The content varies from volume to volume, but you’re guaranteed to get a full dose of classic monsters (werewolves, vampires), some sci-fi (weird worlds, space), and lots of “karma is a bitch, now you’ll die” revenge stories. All easy to read, and each like candy, making you crave more after more.

One of the coolest parts of these archives is that they’ve included original read letters, as well as the old advertisements for things like monster rings, ant farms, movies, etc. Brings back memories no matter what era you were born.

I also picked up Eerie Archives Volume 1, and read it, and some consider it better than Creepy, which is weird considering they use the same authors and artists. Both good.

There’s a Creepy website too, although sadly, it is very old.

Evil skulls, to be precise. This is a couple of months old, but still pretty cool.

Artist Beto Janz recycled snapped boards and turned them into skulls like this one.

Once upon a time, Vincent and I attempted to skateboard. It didn’t end well. However, reaching a 3rd life crisis, we may pick it back up. If we do, we intend to procure the evilest of boards.

Check out this article on 1800Recycling (a friend sent this to me, I would have never found this website, but it does remind me of this Anal C*nt song) for more pieces of work.

[Buy this shit if you really want]

I was bored yesterday, so I figured I’d dig around the interwebs for some

Whether you need to build a 1998 website, whether you’re a Hot Topic regular, whether you’re a MySpace or Friendster junkie, or stuck in the past, or just have terrible taste, here are a few sites for you:

http://www.hellucination.com/

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/avatars-100×100-skulls/001.htm

http://www.animated-gifs.eu/horror-devil/001.htm

I could’ve listed more sites, but then again, I don’t want to feel like that big of a loser.

Well well well, if it isn’t my lucky day (it is, actually). I have in my hands a copy of Stephen Lindsay’s Buck #1, and it’s my pleasure to provoke and prompt you to pick this up as soon as it’s available.

If Stephen Lindsay doesn’t ring a bell, then perhaps Jesus Hates Zombies does (and my childlike excitement over the discovery of it). That’s an amazing comic, so if my math and logical reasoning is right, Buck will be as well!

I couldn’t sum up the story better than Lindsay himself, saying it’s a take on the “awesomely bad b-movies that SyFy has been producing lately”. You know, the ones with the slightly cheesy acting, the overwhelming absurdity of the creatures/situations (as well as readers/viewers’ surprise at how easily the characters believe in what’s happening). The ones that can keep you laughing, then surprise you with gore, then make you laugh even more. The ones where you find yourself cheering for the villain just to kill off all the imbecile humans (at least I do).

From 215 Ink, Buck’s going to be 4 issues short, so expect plenty of action to be packed in. Issue #1 gets rolling fast, and leaves no room for funny business. Things start with a bang, high paced from the first pages. It’s going to be a fun ride.

The story centers around the small town of Pititchu, Washington, where Sheriff Layne O’Donnell and his deputy Mike Peterson obviously spend their days (normally) doing things like slapping people on the wrist for not paying parking tickets, or maybe giving the local town drunk a ride home. Until now … when the town has a visitor … you can guess what …

Newcomer Danny Kelly provides fantastic black and white artwork (there’s some color mixed in …) that has the necessary simplicity yet edginess that goes along with a tale like this. I think Walking Dead (and Jesus Hates Zombies) immediately, which is a good thing.

It comes out March 30th (should be on the 215 Ink Shop soon). Prepare for the Buck!

“Welcome to Pititchu”. This is the point where if this were a movie, the audience laughs!

Yeah, I thought that was a hell of a title too when I first read it. But you know, I have no problem with eccentric comic book characters who have multiple important characteristics.

Created by Sam Johnson, Cabra Cini is a recovered crackhead who used voodoo as her new addiction and escape from darkness. She’s become a hitwoman, and a damn fine one at that apparently, evidenced by her skill with various forms of murder (you’ll see for yourself).

The story’s brief (it’s just an intro after all), but there is a ton of promise here for a dark and rich storyline.

On top of getting to know the hero of the day, you’re introduced to a menagerie of things/themes/people (crack, boobs, pimps, Limbo, demon-types) as several characters get their chance to make a quick impression in the few precious pages they have.

There are a variety of mischievous fiends, all apparent mortal enemies of Cabra. She generally has a chip on her shoulder, and intends to make those who have wronged her or other women (probably men too) pay dearly.

Artists Bruno Letizia and Rodrigo Diaz present us with fantastic amounts of blood and boobs, 2 things which we give major thumbs-up to.

Overall, this is a great intro that leaves me wondering what’s next. I look forward to seeing if the future appearances of Cabra can live up to expectations! The most intriguing thing for me would be to learn more about her past, how she actually became a hitwoman (her first kill, etc.).

If you wanna read for yourself, you can do so online for free.

Cabra Cini is one of three strips featured in Digital Visions #4 (along with Deity and Gangland Avalon, also good reads), a compilation series published by Visionary Comics.

Go here, click “Read Online”, and you’re all set (no account or login required! Cabra Cini is the first story). DO IT.

I love classic horror. Not just modern classics like Halloween, Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and Evil Dead, but old classics that more often than not drift into the realm of “camp.” I’m referring to Hammer Horror films, the MGM Monster movies and anything involving Vincent Price. No, these films aren’t scary, per se, but they are great at evoking feelings of evil and Halloween and autumn and darkness. That’s what I love about them: they are a completely separate entity from say, Paranormal Activity. They don’t scare me, but I love them just the same.

In that same vein, I love books that pay tribute to 50′s, 60′s, and 70′s horror comics. I doubt anyone has ever been genuinely scared reading Tales From The Crypt, but that doesn’t mean they’re not awesome (they are). Someone else apparently gets this, and that someone is Asylum Press. To wit: they’ve just released the first Anthology of their throwback horror comic, EEEK!

Apologies for the glare.

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