Full Throttle: Stories by Joe Hill

I've been in the mood to read Joe Hill lately. 

This 2019 collection of Joe Hill stories is a baker's dozen of short stories that have seen print previously in anthologies or magazine form. The two stories that Hill co-wrote with his famous father, Stephen King were my least favorite as they lacked the voice of the younger author which I have become a fan of over the past decade. But overall, this was a great read filled with excitement and a whole lot of chills for someone who is interested in reading Halloween themed stuff but couldn't yet because it wasn't October yet. 

My favorite stories were the tragic 'By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain', which later became the focus of an episode of the Creepshow series on Shudder, 'Dark Carousel' with it's perfectly eerie ending set across the pond, and 'Mums' which may or may not be about a young boy who grows a menacing plant-like version of his late mother. My absolute favorite was 'Late Returns', which along with 'Mums', was published for the first time ever in this book. It's about a young man who takes a part-time job driving his hometown's bookmobile and discovers that he can recommend great final reads to dearly departed members of the local library. I so very much did not want this story to end and I would love for it to be a movie or even a mini-series.

Another story that I would like seen put on film is 'You Are Released'. It's about the early hours of a nuclear holocaust as experienced by the passengers on a jumbo jet. Although I really want this story to be longer as well, with everything that has been happening in Israel in the past week, I think I could wait for the movie as I get this eerie feeling that right now, life is imitating art. 

Don't skip out on Hill's foreword nor his afterword. Both are amazing non-fiction reads. The foreword talks about how having 2 famous writers for parents influenced him to become a writer. There's also a great story about Hill when he was a little fella starring in the framing sequences of the original Creepshow movie. Hill's afterword discusses where you might have come across many of the stories collected in this book, along with sources of inspiration for those tales. Hill claims he's not a story teller but I would love to read a collection of his thoughts. He's that good a writer!

I think I am done with Joe Hill novels for a little bit. Not because I'm tired of him. Nor is it because I'm scared crapless; though Joe Hill is the only author that can write about non-demonic things and scare me cleaner than Ex-lax. It's just that as we are now in October, I am burning through a bunch of those Halloween reads that I've been saving up to read. Thanksgiving and Christmas are up next and I really want to dip into those reads too. Maybe when it's time to spend the holidays in St. Louis this Christmas, I'll bring another Joe Hill work that I haven't read yet with me. Hopefully, the author will have something new on the horizon as I am running out of things of his that I haven't read yet.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Creepshow

Stephen King's love letter to the horror comics of the 1950s has returned to print.

Next to his young adult novel Eyes of the Dragon, 1982's Creepshow is Master of Horror's most rare book. For one thing, the book is done in graphic novel form. For most of his fans, this isn't the preferred medium for a Stephen King work. After I read this (well re-read it as my library had a copy of this back in the 90s) I offered to let my wife read it. She informed me that she had no interest. 

As for myself, I was thrilled with it. When I found out this was being reissued, I put it first and foremost on my wish list. Creepshow- the film, is perhaps my favorite horror film of all-time. Plus, the book features the artwork of the late Master of Horror Comics Bernie Wrightson! Plus the cover is by EC Comics' legend Jack Kamen. It's a win-win!

The stories are classics:

• The grave will not stop a matriarch from getting his father's day cake.
• A jealous husband enacts video revenge against the man who stole his wife.
• The so-called sterile apartment of a wealthy spinster has a bit of a roach problem.
• ...and much, much more spine chilling tales await inside!

A couple of things are missing from this book, including the beginning and ending sequences featuring a young boy named Billy, played on screen by a very young Joe Hill.

Another thing I wasn't a big fan of was the coloring of the book. It's a mix between washed out marker and over-diluted water colors. You would have thought that the muted tones might be the result of print negatives poorly saved over the course of 35-years. But that's actually how the book originally looked.

A classic of horror comics and horror literature that's back in print- albeit probably not for long...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 28

   40 years ago today, a book debuted in stores nationwide that would enter into the corners of horror literature, pop culture, and our collective nightmares. The book I am talking about is Stephen King's The Shining.
  
    The book is about a man named Jack Torrance. Battling alcoholism, Jack lost his temper and his job when he caught one of his students slashing his tires. As a last ditch effort to make some cash and regain his family's trust, Jack moves his wife and son Danny to Colorado where Jack will be the caretaker of the Overlook Hotel during it's off-season.

     After first, everything seems to be okay for the family. But when the snows come, the Torrances are cut off from civilization until spring and that's when the insanity happens. Blood trickles down walls, strange sayings appear on mirrors, oh!, and some creepy ass twin girls want little Danny to play with them.

     See, it appears that Danny has latent psychic abilities and the hotel wants him. With Danny around forever, the hotel can continue to get stronger and take more victims, like the previous caretaker who went nuts and slaughtered his wife and two little girls, along with himself.

    Hey, what's Jack Torrance doing with that mallet and newly discovered bottle of scotch?

Original 1980 theatrical poster of Kubrick's adaptation.

   The Shining was Stephen King's third novel and his first best-seller. It was a massive hit that later became a hit film by one of personal favorite director's Stanley Kubrick. While Kubrick's movie is a horror classic, it's really nothing like the book. King hated it and afterwards led the author to have complete control over the future adaptations of all of his works.

In the 90s, ABC did an authentic remake of the Shining.
In part the original novel and remake, Torrance used a croquet mallet instead
of an axe as used by Jack Nicholson in the 1980 feature film.

     I remember watching the Shining as a little kid. It scared me but it wasn't a film that frightened me off. I could watch that movie over and over. One reason it may not scare me is because of personal experience.
 

In the red circle is what is reported to be the Stanley ghost.
Stephen King supposedly had a run-in with it and was part of his inspiration for the Shining.

   The Overlook is based on a real hotel called the Stanley Hotel. During a stay in 1974, Stephen King was so freaked out by the place and a nightmare that he had, that he used it as the backdrop of a novel he would craft in part with his personal struggle with alcohol. I actually known people who have stayed at the Stanley. A very good friend in high school stayed last year. But more importantly, I had an uncle and aunt who stayed in the 90s and brought me a tee-shirt that said "I survived room 217. The Stanley Hotel Estes Park, Co." 

  I loved that shirt. I hate that I can't find it. So last year when TeeVillain posted a shirt for the Overlook, I bought me a one right away! 

  

    Before I go, I wanted to point out the irony. On the same day that the Shining hit book shelves, the North East of the US was hit with the largest blizzard in American history. A blizzard and a book about people trapped in a haunted hotel during blizzard season- on the same day?! A major publicity stunt by the Master of Horror? Possibly! Coincidence? I think not!

The legacy of King's frightening book was
played up in an episode of Friends.

    Talk about creepy...

Heroes For Hope Starring The X-Men #1

   A couple of days ago, I reviewed DC's Heroes Against Hunger, a benefit comic book released in 1986 to raise awareness and funds for famine relief in Africa. Unbeknownst to me until after reading Heroes For Hunger, it turns out DC was following suit after Marvel published their benefit comic a year earlier. Maybe had I known this, I would've read Marvel's offering first. But I was really looking forward to reading Heroes Against Hunger and chose it first instead. But hey, in the spirit of fairness, I went on and read Heroes For Hope afterwards.

    In this benefit special, the X-Men are facing their worst fears and they are trembling in terror and defeat. With the help of Rachel Summers and Storm, the mutants are able to regain their confidence. After the attacks, the X-Men determines that the offender is stationed in Africa and race to the region to prevent further damage. 

    Landing in Ethiopia, the X-Men come face-to-face with the horrors of hunger and famine and volunteer to unload planes laden with relief supplies. But the mutants will have to act fast because every minute they spend helping their fellow man, the unseen terror that assaulted them back at the X-Men mansion grows ever stronger.

    Geez- this was a stinker. I gave Heroes Against Hunger a solid rating, trying to be as impartial as can be. I tried to do the same with this book but Marvel didn't make it easy for me. Yes, dozens of legendary writers, artists, and editors got together and worked pro bono for this project- including Berni Wrightson, Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and The Man himself, Stan Lee. Why even the master of horror, Stephen King contributed 3 or 4 pages! But no matter how hard I tried, I just hated this book. 

     The plot was a mess. There was very little cohesion between the assortment of writers. Plus, I thought this book was supposed to be about hunger relief. But honestly, the famine in Africa seemed like an afterthought. Plus, most of this story takes place in the deepest darkest recesses of the minds of several X-Men, including Magneto and man was it dark! 

     I know that people dying of starvation isn't joyful stuff. But unlike DC's publication, this special was a giant downer. For a title called Heroes For Hope, the main characters sure are hopeless.

Sorry folks, but I just ain't on board with this one. Like they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions and the intentions behind this landmark comic were very genuine. However, I found that attempting to get through this rambling mess was hellish to say the least.

    Not Worth Consuming.

    Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

American Vampire, Volume 1

   From the brilliant mind of Scott Snyder (New 52 Batman), trek through the mesas of the Old West all the way to Hollywoodland of the Roaring 20s as outlaw Skinner Sweet is on a mission to destroy the old school European vampires responsible for his transformation into a neck nibbler. 

   Assisting Mr. Snyder is the Master of Horror himself, Stephen King. This is the horror writer's first ever comic book effort and his skill level doesn't waver one bit. 

  It's actually fitting that Snyder chose the novelist to help with the writing duties since Stephen King's 1975 'Salem's Lot' is considered the work that modernized the vampire for the late 20th Century. With that novel, bloodsuckers were no longer viewed as just the Bram Stoker Dracula that spent it's days in the dungeon of Castle Dracul. Vampires were mean, cruel, and eerily able to blend into any situation or setting.

   American Vampire builds on that lore and the modern archetype established by King's masterpiece. Snyder makes this new world bloodsucker literally unstoppable unless it's a moonless night. It actually makes sense to retool the vampire for the superhero age. The Bela Lugosi-type vampires established in the Victorian Era were pretty vulnerable for being the king of the monsters. Mild sunburns are deadly. A misplaced pencil could be lethal. And if you worked at an Italian restaurant, you were probably going to live to see another day from a vampire attack because you reeked of garlic. 

    Series creator Scott Snyder crafted the American Vampire as the perfect vampire to the point it's enough for wrestling fans to chant 'USA! USA!' Stephen King takes Snyder's blueprint and weaves a sweeping origin tale that spans over 50 years of American history. Added to the mix is the deft artistic style of Rafael Albuquerque (Blue Beetle) which blends European gothic with American realism

    Needless to say, by the very last page, I was lamenting that I didn't have volume 2! I'll be rectifying that problem real soon, believe me. But this wasn't a bad investment of only $3 from the year-round book sale shelf at my local library and I wouldn't have been upset if I paid more for this either.

   Worth Consuming

   Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne

 

This 1969 poem was inspiration to what would become in author Stephen King’s opinion “His greatest villain.” Written while in college, The Dark Man sets the tone for the character Randall Flagg from King’s The Stand. I’ve never read The Stand, but my wife has and she says Flagg is “evil”.

 

In this poem, we see the Dark Man walking the railroads of America bringing death, dread, and destruction with him. The narrator claims he’s camped with hobos, enjoy cold beverages on hot summer’s days, and even deflowered a pretty girl in a meadow. But, it’s thanks to the artwork of Glenn Chadbourne that we see that these acts aren’t so innocent.

 

The Dark Man features some of the creepiest artwork this side of that classic kid’s anthology “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an inspiration to Chadbourne. Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the artwork are all of the dead bodies hidden in the background of the drawings. I doubt each page has a corpse hidden in between the lines but once you see a couple of them, your brain starts to see them everywhere.

 

Truly a terrifying read. I would not recommend reading this is the dark or during Halloween. My not knowing who Flagg was might’ve made the main character of this poem more frightening than it really was. But it’s a creepy read.

 

This book is a must for any fan of Stephen King and their collections. The poem is only about 300 words- if that, and only 70 pages. About 10 pages don’t even contain words. This is not the type of book I’d buy. At $25.00 the price is pretty steep. Thankfully, I found this at my local library and as long as I turn it in on time, won’t have paid a dime.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.