Horror-Mood: Out of the Night (ACG, 1998)

Out of the Night was originally a pre-code horror series by American Comics Group in the 1950's. In 1998 they put out an Out of the Night #1 one-shot featuring four new vampire stories by various writers and artists. Included here are "Blood Oath", "The Last Bite", "A Perfect Monster", and "Strange Mr. Milque".

"Blood Oath" is the story about a small village invaded by a hungry vampire, who is taking villager's daughters for his meals night after night. The villagers are afraid to stand up to the vampire, so one man takes it upon himself to rid the town of the fanged-one after his own daughter is killed.

"The Last Bite" is a tale about a private eye's vengeance against a vampire that has killed his partner.

"A Perfect Monster" is a story by Bill McCay and drawn by the brothers Day, Dan and David. This one's about a serial-killer who makes the mistake of kidnapping and torturing a female vampire.

"Strange Mr. Milque" is about a lonely vampire who falls in love and decides to bite his love interest so she will marry him. But what he doesn't expect is his new bride's penchant for fresh blood.

This is a decent one-shot of vampire stories, and horror-comic aficionados should keep a look out for it in the backstock bins at your LCS.

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Just Plain Strange: Twitch (Justin Hampton, 1994)

Halloween month wouldn't be complete without a story about a black cat!

Justin Hampton is a Seattle-based artist best known for his fantastic rock posters that he's created for concerts over the past two decades. He's also dabbled in animation and even comics as well, although the latter is few and far between.

Twitch #1 is one of those very few comics he's created, and it features four of his original stories and a poem. Included are "Hareraiser", "Fraidy Cat", "Fugitive of the Soul", "Death Bed Ear", and "Unraveled". Most of these are lighthearted romps, as well as hilarious. "Hareraiser" has to take the cake as the best story about a woman and her troubled dog (and their neighbor's prized, dead rabbit).

But today the focus is on "Fraidy Cat", in honor of Halloween Month. This is a well-drawn 12-page story about a black cat and it's battle against a possessed oven-pad that was discovered in a drawer full of witchcraft items. Here it is in it's entirety:

To check out more of Hampton's work, visit www.justinhampton.com.

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Horror Mood: Shadows From The Grave (Renegade Press, 1987)

A few weeks ago I talked about The Champion, which featured fantastic artwork by Dan Day. Day appears here again as inker in this 80's horror comic titled Shadows From The Grave #1, and his brother David Day does the artwork this time around...artwork that carries similar styles to his kin. Kevin McConnell writes all of the stories for this issue.

The three stories that appear in this book are "A Grave Mistake", "Purgatory", and "Flesh and Blood". Taking a look at "Purgatory" first, this is a western tale about revenge. A dark rider walks into an old ghost town and unleashes vengeance upon four men that had tortured and killed him in another life. Anyone that has ever seen Clint Eastwood's western movie titled, "High Plains Drifter" is going to see a lot of similarities here.

Next up is "Flesh and Blood". This is a decrepit tale of a man that discovers a book of spells, and begins to conjure food and money by kissing corpses and sleeping in tombs. The more spells he completes the worse they get...until finally he conjures a spell to control power of life and death, unleashing hordes of undead to do his bidding. Realizing the mistake he's made, he now wants to reverse the spell...but there is only one requirement needed for that...his own death.

My favorite story of the three is "A Grave Mistake", about a grave robbers taste for coffin jewels...but opens up more than he bargained for. Read it in it's entirety here:

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Also included is a portfolio of David Day's artwork, here's a sample:

While the stories in Shadows From The Grave are ok for the most part...the star of the show here is David Day's artwork and Dan Day's inks. Both brothers carry a unique style they can call their own, and give the stories an aged, classic feel throughout. Pick this up if you are in the mood for collecting some good 80's horror.

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Horror-Mood: Angry Shadows (Innovation, 1989)

October is finally here, and what better way to celebrate the days leading up to Halloween by talking about some obscure Horror and Halloween-themed comics. First up is Angry Shadows, a 1989 horror anthology series from Innovation. Angry Shadows features eight original stories, written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Mark Ellis (Outlanders), Faye Perozich and more. There is also a preview of Perozich's adaption of Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat included here as well.

The issue kicks off with "A Trip To Necropolis" by Mark Ellis, and penciled by the late, great Jim Mooney. This is a tale about regret, with a different twist...as a man cannot shake his past no matter how hard he tries. Here it is in it's entirety, and I like how the dead taunt him for his "grave" mistakes...

"The Skins You Love To Touch" is a Janet Fox story adapted by Faye Perozich and penciled by Earl Geier. Love the artwork by Geier in this one, as it reminds me of the classic pre-code horror styles of the 50's. The story is about two pickers who fall for an eerie-looking chair in a strange antique shop. Read the full story below, but don't let this one get under your skin...

Anyone with small children might think twice about hiring that next babysitter after reading "Good Baby" by Charles Marshall. Creepily penciled by Rantz Hoseley, I had a hard time reading this one as I have a four-month old daughter right now...and this story sent shivers up my spine. Yeah...I won't be hiring any babysitters for a good, long while now....read it here and see for yourself:

The other stories in Angry Shadows are "Unglued", about a man that is slowly falling apart, "Time in the Eyrie of Shatterproof Glass", about a man haunted by his deceased true love, "The Barbecue", a story about a guy getting barbecued, "The Conductor", a Steve Niles tale about a conductor and his yearn to dance with the dead, and finally "The Club", a gruesome story about a vicious bunch of murderers from one of the "victims" perspectives.

Angry Shadows carries a great 80's B-Movie vibe throughout the book, beginning with the painted cover by artist John Bolton. I just love this cover, an although there is no story that accommodates the image, it does a great job of conveying the "feeling" of the book. The introduction of the issue alluded to future Angry Shadows comics that never ended up happening, so as it stands Angry Shadows is a recommended dose of good 80's obscure horror.

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