“The Beyond” Graphic Novel
Review by the Fiend of Grue
Ambiguity was one of Lucio Fulci strengths or weaknesses depending upon how you view him. While his most known films has an undeniable visceral quality to them, sometimes the opened endedness of his works frustrates some viewers. I never had a problem with this personally and actually enjoy that aspect of his film making, but can see how it could turn people off. One such film where this happens is in the fan favorite The Beyond. I love this movie just as much as the next guy, but there are several illogical/unexplained things in this film. With “The Beyond” graphic novel from Blackest Heart Media, the story is made to be a much more cohesive narrative. Taking several key moments in the story and adding new elements and subtext to them, Blackest Heart Media has expanded upon one of Fulci’s seminal classics.
Beginning in Louisiana in 1927, just like the film, this graphic novel plays out much like the movie does with most of the scenes replicated in stark details. The difference between the two comes from the graphic novel delving even deeper into the mythology behind the seven dreaded gateways and…the beyond!
The changes are evident right away as we are introduced to Schweick a little sooner than in the film, here we are shown a series of thoughts taking place within his head as he describe the visions he has seen of the beyond: “Shadows swirling and boiling like blood red lava,“ he says, “billowing across the face of time in a razor flash split-second, rumbling and roaring and coalescing into shape, demon clouds filled with the screaming, shattershard remains of half butchered dreams, pulsing twilight embers, the glowing light of souls who’ve gone too far and taken too much in the name of their own pathetic vices, souls that squirm and writhe and cry out for mercy under the hammer of excruciating torture, scorching eyes and invading tongues probing every cavern of love and hate and desire with brutal, all-enveloping force.” He continues on and soon the mob rushes in and of course kills him.
The added narrative continues on with Martha and the plumber Joe. Apparently the two of them use to be lovers, having a secret affair and when Martha finds the zombified Joe in the bathtub, he actually speaks to her before killing her and such is the case with other scenes from the film like the scene with Emily and the dog attack. When Schweick and his zombie horde are coming towards Emily, they are taunting her and reminding her of where she was before she found the Book Of Eibon and learned the truth. It’s little things like this that are revealed that make the story more coherent.
The graphic novel was written by Stephen Romano and beautifully illustrated by Noah David Henson in complete black and white and the story seems to take on a more sinister slant that way. Included with the graphic novel is the complete re-mastered soundtrack to The Beyond which in and of itself is worth buying the book, for it is truly one of the best and most haunting scores ever recorded. In with the music is added snippets of film dialog which pulls you right into the emotion that the film provokes.
For fans of The Beyond this is a must-have that really adds to an already great story. It was nice to read the story because I seemed to get a different feel out it than when I watched it. The added back stories - of which there are several others that I didn’t mention - really add a new dimension to Fulci’s classic tale. It’s actually been out for quite sometime (1998) and was written so people could have the story in it’s uncut form since the stateside DVD release of the uncut version had still not been issued. This comic was limited to a 500 print run, but surprisingly you can still buy it new from Rotten Cotton, makers of all those kick ass, fully licensed horror T-shirts. Since releasing “The Beyond”, Blackest Heart has also released “Zombie” along with the CD soundtrack which is much harder to find and is known to go for upwards of $70. “The Gates Of Hell” was also released in graphic novel form by X Machina Comics and is also hard to track down.
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