Author Interview: Bruce Brown of Lovecraft for All Ages!

Today I am very happy to introduce an interview with Bruce Brown, creator of two graphic novels (so far) which chart the misadventures of young Howard Phillips Lovecraft and ‘explain’ how he became mixed up with the monsters of the Necronomicron. 

The latest graphic novel by Bruce and co-written with Dwight L McPherson

Bruce lives in Springfield, Illinois and you can keep up with his latest work and news through Twitter, Facebook, and Amazon. His co-author, Dwight L. MacPherson’s site can be found here.

The Haunted Eyeball’s recent review of the two graphic novels, ‘…Frozen’ and ‘…Undersea’ Kingdom are here.

Starting ut

Haunted Eyeball: Welcome to the Haunted Eyeball, Bruce. Tell us, which authors did you enjoy as you were growing up?

Bruce Brown: I had so little interest in reading as a child because it was a struggle for me. It was my mother who introduced me to comics in an effort to spur my interest in reading. So, when I was young, all the early comic writers of my childhood drew me into comics but more importantly the joys of reading.

What do you like most about the horror genre?

I love the unknown in horror. I am not a big fan of the scare with the gory payoff.  The horror genre taps into the depths of the mind that lets you fill in the blanks on what is the scary thing lurking in the shadows is; Lovecraft was the master of this.

Do you have a favourite horror film?

Lately I have been watching the old Dark Shadows television show. Granted, I know it’s not a film (but soon will be – HE), but it had stuck with me so, because it was so elegant and subtle in creating this eerie mood. The horror is just right out of your sight, but you feel it. So, at the moment, that is my favorite horror.

Do any graphic novels or comics influence you?

I would say that Christopher Priest’s run on Black Panther. It was so unique and mesmerizing to me. I had never read anything like it and it showed me comics could tell stories in an incredibly unique way.

What’s your favourite H P Lovecraft story? (or top three!)

I would have to say “The Colour out of Space” and “The Shadow over Innsmouth”. They were the first Lovecraft stories I ever read and I was absolutely awed by Lovecraft’s work.

Lovecraft and the ‘Howard’ Graphic Novels

What inspired the creation of the ‘all ages’ novels?

Honestly, I have done other books that weren’t all ages, so I let the story I want to tell dictate whether it is all ages or not.

What part of H P Lovecraft’s work would be too dark to touch in these
graphic novels?

I think nothing is too dark if it is handled right. There are some extremely dark elements in the Frozen Kingdom but all of them are treated off panel.  There are things in the Frozen Kingdom I remember thinking about after the book was done and I was surprised how truly dark it was in certain parts.

Would you be interested in ever doing more adult versions of Mythos
stories?

I actually did co write an adult mythos story with my co-writer of the Undersea Kingdom, Dwight L MacPherson. I really enjoyed working on that story, but as far as Lovecraft mythos, I will probably only stick with my boys Howard and Spot.

The art is very lush, did you consciously go with a less ‘cartoony’ style, especially for the more epic scenes?

Absolutely! Both Renzo (Podesta) and Thomas (Boatwright) have such unique styles that they added to the eerie quality of the story. A cartoony style would have been totally wrong destroyed the mood of the whole story. Plus I wanted to mention the beautifully subtle interior cover art of Nicholas Brondo.

How did you decide what parts of Lovecraft’s real life to leave out, and why?

There are so many elements to Lovecraft’s work to play with. I wanted to blend real life things in Lovecraft’s life along with his work.   There are key elements to Lovecraft himself I wanted to include in these stories.

It is difficult to choose what elements of his work to use in the stories; just too many wonderful characters and stories to choose from.

Do you hope this will encourage kids to grow up and get into Lovecraft
and other horror stories?

Absolutely! I truly hope this will encourage younger readers to check
out Lovecraft’s work when they are older.

The Future

Can you hint at what lies in wait for young Howard and his faithful
friend Spot?  

The next installment, if sales allow for another, will really ramp things up for Howard and Spot. I think it is important to expand their universe in ways that also explain the real Lovecraft himself; of course done with a unique twist.

Name of the next instalment?

Well it will always be Howard Lovecraft & The……..Kingdom. But the words, Middle, Hidden, and Underground have been tossed around.

When are you expecting it to be released?

Hopefully it won’t be as long as a wait for the next book as there was for this one.

Any final message you’d like to give to the lovely readers of the Haunted Eyeball?

First, I wanted to thank the Eyeball for allowing me to talk about Howard and Spot and their adventures. Also, I wanted to ask its readers to please check out the Howard Lovecraft series! If you are a fan of Lovecraft or never heard of him, to give it a chance; you won’t be disappointed!

Many thanks for your time and best wishes Bruce!

Also of interest:

First look: You Know, For Squids

Innsmouth Press ‘Future Lovecraft‘

Real Ghostbusters: ‘Call of Cathulhu‘

Review: Stinkypaws by Dennis Green

Young Badger is the town outcast, not least because he exudes a rather overpowering stinky smell that he can’t ever wash away. Following the tragic loss of his mother, Badger and his put-upon father seem to be facing a tough lifetime of poverty and loneliness, until an act of kindness for a small dirty cat brings poor Badger some much-needed luck, and may just give him a chance to fix all his problems.

It’s not often we look at children-orientated books here on the Eyeball, but Dennis Green has proved that you’re never too old for a whiff of extreme silliness, or to enjoy watching gruesome bullies getting their comeuppance. The wickedly surreal spirit of Roald Dahl is in full flow, and it’s greedily eating slug and rhubarb jam and taking names. Tapping into everything great about all those darkly funny books we grew up with, some deceptively cute illustrations enhance its gleefully off-key sense of humour. You can see a few of these drawings further down the page.

Irreverent enough to enthral both adults and children, Stinkypaws is a fantastic story which keeps the giggles and the ‘eeeews’ coming thick and fast. Great fun for any age, this is highly imaginative, sweet, hugely disgusting and utterly hilarious.

From April 22nd to May 22nd 2012, Dennis will be giving any royalties from Stinkypaws to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. Full details on the Stinkypaws facebook page. You can also visit Dennis Green’s Goodreads page, check out his website, or follow him on Twitter

Below: Evil bully Dinger Dredgeworth; cute kitty ‘Stinkypaws‘ himself; and A Dying Sasquatch – which the Eyeball imagines very probably would make this noise. Probably. Perhaps. Almost surely.

Stinkypaws! A magical blue cat with a striped tail

Also of interest:

Lovecraft: You know, for Squids

Review: Howard and the Undersea Kingdom & Howard and the Frozen Kingdom

Review: Attic Toys Anthology (Edited by Jeremy C. Shipp)

Attic Toys by Jeremy C. Shipp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Toy Story’s eerie concept of sentient, self-propelled toys is terrifying, if you really think about it, but at least Buzz Lightyear and his friends aren’t a malevolent bunch. However, ranging from gory and disturbing to sad, sweet and epic, this collection of playful nightmares may inspire you keep those action figures and favourite childhood toys under lock and key until the sun comes up. Just to be sure.

And wait, isn’t that Barbie looking at you funny?

Highly recommended.

Inside the Boxes by Jeff Strand
A man visiting his loving grandparents uncovers some deeply disturbing secrets about his childhood. Tongue in cheek but dark as hell, a great opener to the anthology and perfectly hitting a tone of repressed unpleasantness and corrupted innocence

Down in the Woods Today by Emily C. Skaftun
Very unnerving twist on something so familiar and cute. It’s midsummer in the woods, and of course, the teddy bears must have their picnic. But pagan-esque rites make monsters out of children’s loyal friends. This is definitely the stuffing of nightmares.

Dollhouse by Craig Wallwork
A clever take on the ‘haunted dollhouse’ scenario. I think we’ve all learned by now that if you find a perfect miniature replica of everything in your home, including its occupants, then you either run away or burn the thing. Fast. Eerie and upsetting, an excellent story.

Poor Me and Ted by Kate Joney
A damaged character’s disturbing reaction to grief. This story cleverly strangles you with your own heartstrings, twisting into an all too plausible and horrific payoff.

A Little Crimson Stain by Joe McKinney
A rare antique collector thinks he’s hit the big time when he discovers a valuable collectible doll packed away with a creepy picture of a dead girl. However, he soon learns that some toys are best left lost. Effectively spooky, and very visual.

I Heard it Through the Grapevine by S. S. Michaels
Brilliant story. A young boy hides in the attic to escape his abusive, violent father, only to receive help from a truly unexpected source. With plenty of gore and suspense, it’s still almost too ridiculous to work, but it totally gets away with it.

Dreams of a Ragged Doll by Cate Gardner
A girl follows her dream to a weird circus, although it’s all so surreal it’s hard to entirely catch the point of it all. It seems to be a bad dream about rag-dolls and human stitches that snap, and the imagery is uncanny and painful. There’s a real sense of unravelling reality as her sanity, and limbs, get snipped away.

Attic Dog by David Raffin
Wonderfully sad and very strange. Creates a beautifully desolate atmosphere of dust-strewn, forgotten spaces and the creeping, lonely decay of a long abandoned toy. Also there’s an alarming possible future for the ‘attic dog’ himself, if he ever gets out again.

When Harry Killed Sally by Lisa Morton
A concerned mother is driven to the brink when her daughter keeps destroying all her playthings, and then she hears a bizarre scratching sound in their attic. An enjoyable slice of ‘creepy child’ horror.

Living Doll by Piers Anthony
An excellent story that reads more like an exotic, yet classical fairytale. It’s a charming and beautiful piece of work, even if it isn’t technically horror. With plenty of magic, sorcerers curses and heroic quests, it maintains a tough, down-to-earth streak that stops it getting too syrupy.

The White Knight by Aric Sundquist
Children can get a bit lost inside their dangerous games, with very ominous consequences. Also, never listen to a talking stuffed blue cat, especially one that talks about real curses. An important lesson learned from a deceptively fluffy story.

The Doll Tree by Amelia Mangan
Eerie, very visual piece which carries you to some vivid yet surreal places. More about atmosphere than action, this takes you on a strange, dreamlike journey and leaves some horribly uncanny imagery festering in the brain.

A Little Terror by Phil Hicks
One of the most memorable stories here, and sickly funny. A boy mutilates his sister’s toys and turns them into a fearsome monster. If only lightning hadn’t struck the attic on the very same night. The good sort of nasty, with a knowing trickle of molasses-black humour.

Give it a Name by Gary McMahon
This modern day Rumplestilskin story has an inevitable ending, and the final reveal doesn’t entirely ring convincingly, but this is a well managed, unforgiving update of a sinister storybook classic.

Discarded by Nancy Rosenberg England
A short tale, where a boy trapped in an attic is spooked out by a legion of sullen, soulless dolls. Creepy at first, but it feels like it lets a little too much light in at the end.

Googly by Jeremy C. Shipp
Not as wantonly surreal as a lot of his work, but very involving and powerful. A young boy must decide what his parents want of him after they lock him in the empty attic with only his long dead sister’s bones for company. Things only get worse for him after that. Great ending, too.

Rubik’s Cube by Melanie Mascio
Can you lose your mind to a 1980s fad? A man twisted up over his responsibilities becomes increasingly averse to reality, and works through this by obsessively trying to solve the classic toy, while he also wonders just what happened to his Smurf puppet? Unusual, in a good way.

A Brightly-Coloured Box Full of Stars by Dorian Dawes
A man is led to an ordinary door on an ordinary street, where a witch promises to find him what he longs to rediscover. The trouble is, there’s always a price to pay. Very sinister with a rich and chilling payoff.

The Tea-Serving Doll by Mae Empson
The second story in the collection to channel fairytale wonder over real horror, this is still very beautiful. Beguilingly combines the plight of Japanese immigrants, family betrayal, slavery and mysterious heirlooms. This was a rather charming and well mannered finish to a seriously impressive anthology.

View all my reviews

Review: Aberrations edited by Jeremy C. Shipp

Aberrations by Jeremy C. Shipp
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A strong and all-too short collection here, with Aberrations ranging from shocking and surreal, to scary and even heart-breaking. Not a duff story among them, although particular standouts were, ‘Bug House’, ‘The Hounds of Love’ and ‘Bus People’. ‘Goat Boy’ by Jeremy C Shipp also requires a re-read or two, as he continues to push the boundaries of surreal and disturbing storytelling. Most of these would also make excellent TV episodes, along the lines of the much-missed Masters of Horror. Strongly recommended for any fan of the frightening, horrific and bizarre.

Also, that cover is brilliant.

Money Well Earned by Joseph Nassise
The notorious Mothman is a very usual case for a professional hitman, and his hunt doesn’t pan out quite how he expects. An effective and genre-bending story with a slick resolution.

*Bug House by Lisa Tuttle
Eeeew. Gross, horrible, and excellent. Some deeply unpleasant, squelchy body horror gets superbly carried off, more by suggestion than graphic detail, and it’s all the more icky for that. You came here for uncomfortable, and now you’ve got it. Shudder.

The Thing in the Woods by Nate Kenyon
The first of two ‘couple hit monster with their car’ stories in this collection. With its domestic abuse aspects, there’s a dash of Stephen King in its DNA, but this is very much its own beast. Fighting to survive can bring out the best and the worst in people. It also refuses to easily answer who you should think the real monster is. Great writing.

Survivors by Joe McKinney
This deals with the human cost and emotional fall out following a worldwide zombie holocaust. A soldier revisits old and painful memories of someone he tried to save. Emotional stuff that doesn’t skimp on the gore, as well as adeptly handling the character’s post traumatic stress and survivor’s guilt.

The Hounds of Love by Scott Nicholson
The toughest, most rewarding story here. Disturbed, nightmarish, and extremely sad, it’s very hard to read (content-wise) and yet utterly compelling. You’ll need a strong stomach for the quite graphic description of animal cruelty, yet if you stick with it the payoff more-than compensates. Deftly delivered and brilliantly written, with complex layers of darkness. Love is truly all around.

Goat Boy by Jeremy C Shipp
It’s about a goat boy. Who, er…well, he….look, just read it, ok? I’ll get back to you. Maybe you can explain it. Because this was great. Yes, I liked it. Huh? No, I did. Supreme surrealism as always, recommended despite the inevitable head-scratching. I may have to re-read again. And again. Strange relationships get pulled through every possible dimension. There’s a goatlike-man, who…look, let’s just go with it.

Tested by Lisa Morton
The second ‘couple hit a monster with a car’ story from a very different viewpoint. This time it’s all from a male perspective. After a dreadful car crash in an isolated spot, a mild-mannered husband has to dig for his long-buried courage in order to make it through a terrifying ordeal. A very solid survival story.

Bus People by Simon Wood
A totally accurate portrayal of the population one generally encounters when using public transport, albeit taken to gruesome extremes. Marvellously grotesque, displaying a fine eye for the freakishly uncomfortable. Bus journeys really are just like this. Highly recommended.

Beggars at Dawn by Elizabeth Massie
A former soldier confronts his guilt and trauma after surviving the trenches, receiving support from an unexpected quarter. This is a gentler story about the healing of the human spirit, and it feels noticeably different to the rest of the stories in this collection, but it’s effectively written and well worth a look.

From Hamlin to Harperville by Kealan Patrick Burke
A very famous fairy-tale gets a disturbing modern update, although it’s really more of a ‘what happened next’ piece. Can a monster really live as a human? Can they ever escape what they are and what they did? Creepily effective, and fully in the spirit of the original children’s story.

View all my reviews

Surviving Twin Peaks

Well, the big plan at the Easter weekend was to get through all 30 episodes of Twin Peaks. It didn’t seem like such a tough challenge at the time. However, I made it as far as episode 13, Demons, then had a call a halt to the experiment.

The first season was actually really good, and seemed to have a larger budget for outdoor shooting, which made the whole show seem more expansive. There’s also absolutely nothing wrong with Agent Dale Cooper and his quirky approach to investigation techniques. He’s actually the only reason we kept watching as long as we did.

For a while, it was a great ride. I loved the OCD stacking of donuts, the strangely chic dancing by adult straight men, the oddness of the town did draw me in at first. But, it was also its worst feature. Because it’s not the early 1990s anymore, and the soap opera elements began to stink. Also the music really started to grate. The cheesy acting went from endearing to relentlessly bad. It seemed that, after the terrifying references and appearances of Bob, and the mystery surrounding Laura Palmer’s murder, things sort of slowed. Right. Down.

It was the third full day of watching Twin Peaks when we cracked. I’m sorry, I will continue trying to complete the show, one at a time, with breathing space inbetween. But this weekend, meant for relaxation, was probably not the ideal time to race through 150 hours of a show created by David Lynch.

I read around it, and it just didn’t sustain the weirdness long enough. I’m pretty sure there’s some good stuff coming, but again, we’d reached our Twin Peaks saturation point by midday Saturday.

Also, we’d run out of Tunnock’s Caramel logs. Disaster!

We ended up watching all of Season 1 of Breaking Bad, and most of Season 2 instead, and actually LEAVING THE HOUSE once or twice. Then it rained over the entirety of Bank Holiday Monday. But that was OK, too, by then, mental balance had been restored.

I definitely think I’ll return to Twin Peaks, and before the year is out as well. This exercise has proved that, watched in a lump, one after the other, the show is just not that interesting. Or maybe I’m missing something. I know the show had some problems in Season 2, and that’s a pity as well.

I still love Agent Cooper, and can’t emphasise that enough. I’m also grateful that this show opened a door to quirky in everything from the X-Files to Buffy. Spotting Scully’s Dad in this was a treat and I still haven’t seen Mulder in Peaks yet, so I will be going back for that!

Instead, I got on with other writing, reading and capturing the last of the weekend. Lesson learned. Normal service will resume this week on the Haunted Eyeball.

Twin Peaks Easter Weekend: Day One

Twin Peaks opening title

Thursday night

Twin Peaks is a show I thought I’d ruined for myself by watching all those ‘top ten’ list shows and too many curious scans of wikipedia. So, now it’s all on Netflix in the UK, it’s time to mak the best use of the Easter weekend by, er watching all of it. Probably for the one and only time, so the plan is to make the most of it.

We are stocked up on Tunnock’s Caramel Logs (they’re called biscuits in England, and seem essentially the same as the ‘logs’). We’ve made some damn fine coffee (French blend, oh yes) and the cherry pie is on standby.

Now I’m trying to entirely forget what details I know about the show, and enjoy this iconic surreal melodrama in its entirety.

The Pilot (hour and a half long)
Nothing much happens at first. Poor Laura Palmer is discovered on a lakeshore, wrapped in plastic. The music already bugs me. Yes, poor Laura Palmer is dead. And the grief in the community is palpable. A cop called Andy cries buckets over the situation. Everything takes a looooooong time to happen, I think there’s always a problem with pilot episodes, but this one was suffering from 1980s TV show pacing. I hate the two teenage boys. There are a lot of people to keep track of.

When Kyle Mclachlan’s preppy Agent Copper finally shows up the show really bursts into life! He is definitely the draw for this show. He’s so enthusiastic about the location. He loves trees. He loves the snow bunnies. I spend the whole episode waiting for him to mention the ‘damn fine coffee’ and it never happens. Disappointment! If this show was made now, there’s a good chance he’s the first character we meet. As it is, he’s definitely worth the wait.

Then the episode ends in terror. Mrs Palmer has a vision. A weird gnarly guy with lanky grey hair is lurking and leering at the foot of Laura Palmer’s bed. Eeeeeeeeeee.

Episode One
The two douchebags are in jail, and so is the other boyfriend with the puppydog eyes. There’s lots of talk about drugs, and Agent Cooper finally says he loves that Damn Fine Coffee, and eats a great deal of cherry pie. Yay! We also meet log lady properly.

Episode Two
Robocop’s creator shows up (Bob Morton!) and Agent Cooper has to stop the rest of the law enforcement officers from decking him. Cooper also uses a unique method, inspired by Tibet, I think, to narrow down the list of murder suspects. It involves a rock, a blackboard, and a glass milk bottle. It’s also accurate. We learn about the existence of a seedy club called ‘One Eyed Jacks’ where gambling and hookers dressed like frilly anime girls (with a deck of cards theme naturally) are available to the Audrey’s dodgy dad and his brother.

Then Agent Cooper has a very weird dream set in a red room with a backwards-talking, dancing midget and a woman who whispers the name of the killer in his ear. He won’t say who it is until breakfast the next day! The titles end with more midget dancing. Awesome.

Episode 3
Agent Cooper only kind-of knows who murdered Laura; he and the cops must decode the finer points of his very strange dream.  We learn there’s a secret society called ‘the Bookhouse Boys’ set up to combat a dark presence in the woods, which sounds a little like Stephen King’s IT, actually, if The Losers Club were organised. It’s also very funny and tragic hen Laura Palmer’s grief stricken father won’t let go of her coffin – there’s no way that scene isn’t meant to be hilarious. The hunt is also on for the one-armed man. Also, I could care less about the power games at the Mill, although I’m sure that’s going to be important later, and Piper Laurie is fantastic.

Episode 4
They actually find the one-armed man, and the conspiracy about the mill and Audrey’s attempts to woo Agent Cooper continue. The episodes seem to be ending quicker and quicker, which is a sign we’re getting into it.

At this point, it was bedtime….

Favourite characters so far:

Agent Cooper – Kyle McLachlan is very funny, who knew? Why is he always cast as a kooky stiff? He’s great here.
Amy – Love her squeaky voice and OCD stacking of department donuts.
Log lady – I gather she’s important? Want to know more! what does that log have to say?
Ed – The big faced, tiny-nosed guy is having a clandestine relationship with RR Diner owner, Norma. His drape-obsessed, eye-patch wearing wife, Nadine, is NUTS.
Josie – that lady can carry off the early 90s androgyny.

Don’t love:

Leo – big ol’ psycho, wife beating nutcase. I have  a hunch he’s out to die soon, but who is the guy all dressed in black, hanging out with him in the woods?
Audrey – Flirts, sulks, sort of great and pushy yet irritating as hell. Really resembles Marilyn Monroe and she will probably grow on me.

So, now we’re over halfway through the first season, a few thoughts. Twin Peaks is slower paced than I was expecting, but it looks beautiful on HD. There are a lot of characters to get used to, but I do want to go back there. It’s a strangely absorbing show and Kyle McLachlan is fantastic as the boyish oddball FBI agent. In fact, he reminds me of Benton Fraser, the Mountie from Due South, which also channelled the surreal in the name of fighting crime.
There’s a lot to take in. More will be viewed over tomorrow. I think we’re gonna run out of Caramel Logs before too long! Also, gotta get some donuts in, and stack them appropriately. Probably on Saturday’s viewing.

Flash Fiction Faction: The Shriek Hunters

Reblogged from Joanna K Neilson:

The prompt this week from Quill Shiv’s blog is a simple picture.

I think a photograph like this is both useful and tougher, as I hate to do the most obvious choice, and did try out a couple of other ideas. However, this is the one that grabbed me.

So, I hope you enjoy reading The Shriek Hunters! Comments and observations are all gratefully received.

Read more… 972 more words

My entry for this week's Flash Fiction Faction, 'The Shriek Hunters'