Comic Review: The London Horror Comic
Review by Jeffery J. Timbrell
Comic fans these days are lucky bastards.
You wouldn’t know it by looking at online discussion of mainstream comics. There’s a growing backlash towards sexism in superhero fiction, and the larger brands are obsessed with running giant convoluted mega-events that nobody can follow, popular writers are voicing complaints about editorial decisions and long time Spider-man fans felt disillusioned when a deus ex machina was used to arbitrarily change over 20 years of continuity.
And when the mainstream’s idea of being ‘progressive’ is trying to capitalize on niche markets like Manga and Horror comics by presenting the staple characters of their brands in those artistic styles, it’s kind of embarrassing. Seeing Superman as an anime character or as a zombie, is sort of like seeing Superman get a set of shiny grills, and run around Metropolis throwing gangster signs while informing all his peeps that he’s the Super-Schizzle, for rizzle.
And yet comic fans are lucky? You bet; ‘cause they got books like The London Horror Comic.
You see, back in the 80s when I was collecting comics like a rock star collects venereal diseases, I didn’t have a lot of variety. If I went back in time and asked a store owner for a ‘manga’, I would likely leave the place with a piece of fruit. A lot of times people couldn’t find the great indie comics like Cerebus or Elfquest, and disenfranchised fans had to pick between the latest issue of DAZZLER and Reagan’s Raiders.
Believe me, there were times when I picked Reagan’s Raiders.
The experience was…educational.
Modern day fans are lucky enough to have a great selection of alternatives in superhero fiction, romance, science fiction, historical comics, sports, drama, comedy and every other genre you can imagine from independent publishers and from over-seas.
Horror fans in particular, are spoiled rotten. The list of talent in horror comics reads like a who’s who to genre fiction; from Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) to Neil Gaiman (Sandman), Warren Ellis (Fell) to Naoki Urasawa (Monster), Mike Mignola (Hellboy) Alejandro Jodorowsky (Metabarons), Mochizuki Minetaro (Zashikionna), Alan Moore (From Hell), Junji Ito (Uzumaki), Steve Niles (30 Days of Night), Hideshi Hino (Panorama of Hell) and Katsuhiro Otomo (Akira) to name just a few. The horror genre in comic books is stacked with a fantastic variety of talent, and every day more young writers and artists are being drawn to horror comics in an attempt to publish their own original work. Some of those new talents are clearly amateurs who are getting their feet wet and finding their comfort zone, in other cases there are some legitimately interesting writers and artists who make you sit up and take notice.
The London Horror Comic is a perfect example of the latter.
Wickedly clever, with a 32 page horror anthology format that is both simplistic and refreshing, The London Horror Comic completely ignores the serial model of the mainstream and focuses on using the medium as a way to deliver bursts of super-short fiction. The London Horror Comic moves with a likable and quirky sense of tongue-in-cheek terror, hopping madly between satire and suspense. Featuring the talents of John-Paul Kamath (Trailer Park of Terror), Lee Ferguson (Black Canary Wedding Planner), Marc Deering (Miranda Mercury), Matty Ryan (New X-Men) and Hi-Fi Design (American Virgin), The London Horror Comic approaches the horror genre from every angle, ranging from dark comedy to social commentary, clever jabs at the medium and the industry, and some downright chilling and disturbing work.
The first issue gets things off to a good start with a variety of stories, including a comic book writer who learns the hard-way about things that appear to be too good to be true, a day in the life of a monster, and a Vampire who discovers a horror, more terrifying than he can imagine. The vampire story in particular is delightfully clever; with its emphasis on social awkwardness and the irony surrounding the undead’s anxiety about accomplishing something significant in their life-time. The whole piece acts as a satirical mirror of the modern era and a generation’s obsession with status to the point of warped absurdity. That little story all by itself, was more then enough to make me interested in seeing what the talents behind The London Horror Comic had in store for their next issue.
The London Horror Comic is definitely a book I’d pick up again if I saw it one of my stores. For comic book fans sick of the mainstream and the status quo, The London Horror Comic is a smart and original approach to the genre, and a fine display of future talent.
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