Four years ago, a comics-oriented magazine by the name of Savant tried to organize International Read A Comic Book in Public Day. Since I live in Canada, and I tend to go outside as little as possible in March, I proposed an alternative, hence the Fifth Annual International Read A Comic Book Naked Day.

There has been some confusion as to the criteria for participating in International Read A Comic Book Naked Day. It’s actually very simple. You must read a comic while naked. Your choice of location, reading material and the company you choose to share this special day with are all up to you.

Sadly, there are still some people who are comic-deprived. Therefore, every year I present a small selection of online treasures to help those who either don’t read comics or who are looking for an alternative to what they normally read. Enjoy, and Happy International Read A Comic Book Naked Day!

Briefer’s Frankenstein. Dick Briefer’s creature is a hoot, and perfect for the Monster Kid in anyone.

Kirby Monster Comics. You can’t go wrong with the King, baby. Dozens of comics that walk like a man!

The Shadow meets The Batman. The weed of crime bears a cowardly, superstitious lot.

Shoot. The unpublished issue of Hellblazer that made Warren Ellis walk from the book.

The Monster of Dread End. John Stanley of Little Lulu fame crafts one of the creepiest comics ever printed. Scroll down for the full story.

For even more comics, check out my parallel post over at Flat Earth. Rock out with all your genitals out!

Not every superhero character hits the big time, and more than a few don’t even get the chance. The Golem is a perfect example of this. X-Y-Z Cosmonaut once again delves into the quarter bin and digs out a batch of comics that you probably didn’t even realize you needed to read. As a bonus, he lays out a decent publication history for the Thing The Walks Like A Man, all the way up to and including his appearance in Nick Fury’s Howling Commandos. Oh, Golem. We hardly knew you.

Small world. I received notice about this clip at both my horror email address and my civilian one.

Just in time for the day after Valentine’s, Sam Costello has posted a bittersweet little tale of love and regret over at Split Lip entitled The Tree of Remembrance. The artist this time around is none other than penultimate Jenny Everywhere artist Nelson Evergreen. Nelson isn’t just one of my favourite webcomic artists, he’s one of my favourite comic artists in general, and he does an absolutely amazing job on this story. Highly recommended!

Don’t worry. This isn’t turning into Brother Voodoo week. Though I wish I had enough material to make it happen.

If anyone has been associated with Brother Voodoo the most over the years it’s been cartoonist extraordinaire Fred Hembeck. For decades he alone kept Brother Voodoo in the public eye through his strips in Marvel Age. In fact, I wouldn’t doubt it if Fred Hembeck has drawn Brother Voodoo more than everyone else combined, an auspicious honour indeed. Hembeck has some interesting Brother Voodoo material on his site, including an explanation as to why he chose Brother Voodoo and a rough story devoted to Brother Voodog. In addition to the huge amount of art on display, Fred also keeps a regularly updated blog that’s full of great anecdotes from the world of comics and beyond, including the occassional creepy cover scan or three. Enjoy!

I could spend all day wallowing in the excessive pop culture madness that is X-Y-Z Cosmonaut. I’m especially happy when he deals in horror, if only so that I can send even more people his way. Today I recommend you snag his sweet-ass Brother Voodoo collection, and while you’re there make sure you browse around. From disco to Doctor Who, from anime to kaiju, you won’t walk away disappointed.

I always feel a little weird posting a NOT WORK SAFE warning. After all, this is a horror blog and you probably should expect some questionable content. Still, an experience from my past has drilled into me the need to make the occassional announcement, and Robin Bougie’s comic Turd is deserving of that honour.

The first story, Special Enforcer X starring Rubbins ‘N Tuggs, is a stunning amalgamation of every sleazy grindhouse flick thrown together with heaping dollops of deviant sex and absurd violence. Teresa Rubbins and Garrison Tuggs are cops with a license to kill, hot on the trail of Smegma Fondu, the lactating monster who killed Rubbins’ family. Hey, anything that references Lady Cop is alright by me. The story so far.

Guro is an abbreviated term for Erotic Gruesome Nonsense, an idea that has found it’s way into almost all forms of art in Japan, particuarly manga. The concept is as straight-forward as it’s name, wherein the artists take sex and horror and push them to absurd and grotesque extremes. To illustrate how brutal these comics are, I had to wade through about a dozen pages from various guro before I could find even one image that I could use in this post, and that’s after cropping it.

Guro is rarely translated in North America, presumably because of an insufficient market, but also possibly because some of this material may in fact be considered obscene in various parts of the continent. Due to this, guro seems to have a very healthy presence in the scanlation community, thereby allowing you to sample the sub-genre for free. GuroFan has a number of stories available, from Guillotine Masturbation to Schoolgirl in Concrete, and even provides sample pages so you can pick and shoose which to download. Same Hat! Same Hat!!, from whom I found GuroFan, also has a few stories available if you like what you see and are looking for more.

Thanks to Journalista! for the tip!

Every once in awhile something comes along that seems so perfect, so obvious, that you wonder why you didn’t think of it first. Writer Rick Remender will be joining forces with former Walking Dead artist Tony Moore and Remains artist Kieron Dwyer to bring us XXXombies, the tale of a zombie outbreak set against the backdrop of the burgeoning porno industry in 1976. The first story, entitled “Crotch Rot” will centre on a porno producer’s efforts to round up famous, recently deceased movie stars to appear in his films. Especially interesting are the cover designs, as Tony Moore explains.

Kieron and I are both doing send-ups to the striking graphic design of ‘70s porno posters. Seems like the design sense of even the most base crap back then had a pretty impressive amount of skill and panache. Looking at these posters, I was astounded at the amazing quality and visual sense these things had. So, yeah, basically my covers will all be patterned straight off some of my favorite porno poster designs from the ‘70s.

I never would have believed that I would use the “zombie”, “comics” and “porno” tags together in one post. Two of them, maybe. Despite a glut of zombie comics in the marketplace, the names involved and the attention to detail have certainly sold me on XXXombies.

David Z. has posted the entire 10-page comic that inspired the Dario Argento Masters of Horror episode, Jenifer. With a story by Bruce Jones, who I’ve only recently acquired an appreciation for, and renowned horror artist Bernie Wrightson, this is easliy one of the most eerie comics I have ever read, and well-deserving of its reputation. Do yourself a favour and give it a read.

My only quibble with David’s post is that he was going to make this comic available alongside an essay contrasting the comic with the television version. I would have been interested in reading that, particularly since I quite enjoyed Argento’s episode, and would have loved to have seen a dissenting opinion. To be fair, my appreciation for the adaptation was at least partly due to not having read the original, superior source material first and my somewhat low regard of Argento’s work, but even taking these into account I think I would have still liked the episode far more than David Z. did. Maybe one day he’ll spill.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Newsarama reports that Marvel is following through with their Marvel Zombies expansion by throwing everyone’s favourite Deadite killer in the mix. Robert Kirkman is onboard as a consultant to keep that ol’ Marvel Zombie continuity from getting out of hand, while writer John Layman takes over the reins.

“This is a story of a guy who is used to fighting the undead, who is used to being a hero, flung into a strange universe full of heroes …heroes who are not only all crazed flesh-eating zombies, but ones with hundreds of different crazy super-powers.”

“How’s a guy with a chainsaw, a shotgun, and a smart mouth supposed to survive that?”

One of the things that I’ve always loved about mainstream comics is that, between their punishing scheduling and their inherent disposability, they’re more than willing to not only take greater chances but to actually get things done. How long do you think something like this would have wallowed in development hell if it were being produced as a movie?

I didn’t really set out to celebrate October with a any kind of a coherent schedule. My plan was to simply keep providing horror news, opinion and entertainment at a slightly increased pace from the norm. So those of you hoping for a grande finale may be slightly disappointed. That said, I can think of few better artists to end on than Junji Ito.

Junji Ito is quite possibly my favourite horror comic artist, and that’s saying alot. Like many, my first exposure to his work was through Uzimaki, and it completely freaked me out. If you’d like a free sample, Same Hat! Same Hat!! posted a scanlation of Junji Ito’s short story Falling months back. Enjoy!

In a related note, the story above may or may not be available on Same Hat! Same Hat!! for much longer. The site has promised to take it down just as soon as the story gets a proper release in North America. Apparently, Dark Horse Comics has been publishing Museum of Terror, a 15-volume collection of all of Junji Ito’s short stories, but while they have the rights to the entire series the sales have been less than encouraging.

Read the story presented above, or take my word for it, then pick up Museum of Terror at your local comic book store. Either way, do your part in ensuring that Same Hat! Same Hat!! eventually take that story down, and subsequently make your bookshelf a more terrifying place.

I’ve mentioned more than a few times my sordid past as a comics blogger. Those days may be long gone, but if you ever find yourself wondering what my comic blog may have looked like, ableit ten times better, you can always check out the misadventures of Mike Sterling over at Progressive Ruin. Mike is my Evil American Twin, compiling a four-colour smorgasbord every day of the week, filled with the kind of goofy stuff which drew us into comics to begin with and which we often lose track of as time goes on. In short, Progressive Ruin is the place to go when you absolutely must see farmers shooting space aliens or watch as Yoda hitches a ride on Bob Marley’s back. Today, Mike presents to you five fascinating tales from the dark side of the Big, Blue Boy Scout. Enjoy, and please check out Progressive Ruin.

Five Favorite Scary Superman Moments

When one thinks of “scary,” usually Superman comics don’t come to mind. Bright, cheery, sometimes even whimsical, sure…but scary? Not usually, but there are rare, very rare occasions when a moment in a Superman story will get under your skin, sticking with you long after the comic is put away. Here are just a handful of those instances, when the world of Superman was not as bright and friendly:

5. Superman is confronted with his own dead bodies (Action Comics #399, April 1971):

Following the explosion of an experimental power generator, Superman finds himself thrown out of our world…and into a giant crystalline “cell,” where he finds himself trapped with General Custer, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. Eventually Superman breaks free of the cage to discover that he’s in the future, being studied by a time-travelling historical institute…and that the common thread among the “guests” is that they’ve been brought from the past from just before their imminent deaths!

That’s not the only surprise awaiting Superman, as the future historians explain that he is, in fact, the third Superman! Following the death of the original Superman, Earth scientists clones a second Superman to take his place, removing the memories of his death. And when that second Superman died, a third was created…the Superman that has been brought to the future just prior to his own demise.

Superman doesn’t believe this, of course, but by coincidence, the crypt containing the three super-bodies is just below the historical center:

For the most part, this is your standard Superman adventure, with the twist being that Superman was in fact thrown into the future of a parallel universe, and thus the history being related to him is not the history he lived…no cloning, no deaths. But that brief sequence, with Superman being confronted with his own dead bodies, and his own fear at having to see the final clone body, supposedly his own…it remains quite affecting.

4. Superman can’t save everyone (Hitman #34, Feb 1999):

Superman and Tommy Monaghan have a brief heart-to-heart talk about what it means to be not just a hero, but a symbol of what heroism is meant to be, during which Superman relates an instance in which his own symbolism adds to an extra level of despair to an already tragic disaster.

A nuclear space shuttle headed for Mars is in trouble, and Superman has his hands full trying to shield the shuttle’s escape craft from the atomic reactor leak, when he notices another astronaut, previously thought dead, huddling in one corner of the bay.

Superman can do nothing…he has to continue shielding the crew from the radiation or they will be lost. The astronaut in the bay is doomed…he knows it, Superman knows it…and, as Superman says:

3. That werewolf cover (Superman #422, Aug 1986):

Okay, the story inside is no great shakes…yes, Superman fights a werewolf, never actually turning into one himself, and yes, all the characters in the story are scared, but nothing in those pages is actually scary.

That cover, on the other hand…no Superman image can top the sheer wrongness of those hideously overdetailed head and hands attached to the smoothly streamlined body, drawn as only that master of the disturbing image, Brian Bolland, can manage. And on top of that, presenting the image in stark black and white, save for the red eyes…this image is one of the epitomes of superhero creepiness.

2. The final Luthor/Brainiac team (Superman #423/Action #583):

Taking place in the near-future, as Superman’s last battle approaches, arch-nemesis Lex Luthor seeks out and finds the crippled body of Superman’s other arch-nemesis, the robotic Brainiac. Lifting Brainiac’s head, Luthor is startled to discover that his mechanical “comrade” is not as lifeless as he seems:

Using Luthor as a host-body, Brainiac trundles off into the distance, preparing whatever revenge he’s planning to exact on the Man of Steel…

…Until the story’s climatic battle, when, face to face with a super-powered Lana Lang (don’t ask), Luthor is able to break Brainiac’s hold just long enough to plead for death from his fellow former Smallvillite:

And if that’s not enough, Brainiac attempts to continue commanding his dead host body, until it gives up completely:

That whole sequence is creepy in and of itself, but what makes it even more affecting is the unique position this particular version of Luthor holds in Superman’s long history. This is the sympathetic Luthor, the Luthor who’s protective of his young sister Lena; who loves the people of the alien world Lexor, who worship him as a hero; who admires Albert Einstein; and who, when the time came, was able to call out to a former childhood friend and beg her to release him from his living hell.

1. The Phantom Zone #1 - #4 (Jan - April 1982):

Of all the Superman stories ever printed, none can top this for what may be one of the most off-model adventures for the Man of Steel. A very basic explanation of the plot sounds like it’s right out of the Silver Age: the Phantom Zone villains escape their prison, trapping Superman (and former Zone prisoner Quex-Ul) in the Zone in the process, and then proceed to wreak havoc on the Earth while Superman tries to escape.

What makes this different, however, is the brutal storytelling of writer Steve Gerber and artist Gene Colan. Colan’s portrayal of the Man of Steel’s adventure is unlike any other artists…dark, moody, and mysterious, all shadows and swirly smoke, when Superman is usually presented as bright and triumphant. For example, the Phantom Zone itself, the extra-dimensional prison for Krypton’s worst criminals, usually looks like it’s just a room filled with grey clouds and transparent “ghosts” who are just normal looking folks colored all in white. Colan’s Phantom Zone looks more like what one would think of as a nightmarish spiritual world:

Gerber pulls no punches from the story’s get-go, as he details the crimes of the various Phantom Zone villains back on Krypton…mass destruction, mayhem, and, in the case of the PZ villain Faora Hu-Ul, tortured and murdered men:

This brutality continues, as the freed Zone villains begin their reign of terror upon the Earth, threatening civilians and easily overpowering the remaining superheroes. And it’s not the typical clean, antiseptic superhero action you’d expect. In Gerber and Colan’s hands, it’s horrifying: buildings are razed, people are burned and broken, and none can stand against the freed Kryptonian criminals.

Trapped in the Phantom Zone, Superman and his companion, the former Kryptonian criminal Quex-Ul, travel deeper and deeper into the depths of the ethereal prison looking for an escape route…and find themselves confronting the alien presence whose being apparently encompasses and creates the Zone itself. Bizarre beings and scenarios are thrown into their path, such as this temple of masked priestesses, whose masks hide a frighteningly symbolic visage for Superman:

As the series reaches its climax, Superman and Quex-Ul find themselves in direct contact with the central alien intelligence controlling the realm, which tries to absorb their spiritual forces into its own. Quex-Ul makes one final attempt at defeating the creature, flying directly into the monster’s maw, only to have his soul destroyed in the process. Superman, angry and defiant, makes his own attack upon the being, avoiding Quex-Ul’s mistake but finding himself in a place that wears heavy upon his soul nonetheless:

Having passed through this final portal, Superman finds himself back in the corporeal world, and the Zone villains are quickly dealt with. But General Zod, the most famous, most notorious of the Zone villains, gets some special treatment from Superman for the part he played in sending Quel-Ul to his death in the Zone:

And of all the elements of this particular story, this is the one that sticks with me the most. This isn’t the staid, mannered Superman of the Silver Age, tricking villains into defeating themselves, or finding himself in a superheroic domestic comedy, trying to hide his identity from Lois. This is a Superman who is showing real human emotion, real anger — this Superman is, quite frankly, pissed off. And, for the 13-year-old kid I was when I read this comic for the first time, back in ‘82, back before “pissed-off” superheroes were the norm, this was indeed just a little scary.

It’s still not official, but Dread Central has the scoop on the probable demise of the Blade television series. I watched the pilot episode, but like many the series didn’t manage to keep my interest. Unlike many, I had no problem with the lead and thought he did a wonderful job filling in for Snipes. It just seemed as if they were covering the same ground as the movies with a streetwise vampire hunter taking down the aristocratic vampire elite, and I’m pretty much finished with that Anne Rice nonsense, especially since that kind of storyline didn’t seem as if it would be taking advantage of the wonderful locale. Oh, well.

In more positive Daywalker news, comic artist Howard Chaykin has been busy illustrating the new adventures of Blade over at Marvel Comics, and he talks shop over at Newsarama. It’s too bad Marvel isn’t getting any more of my money, or I would probably pick this up.

One thing leads straight into another. A piece of news left unmentioned in the Kirkman interview is that he has finished writing a prequel to this year’s Marvel Zombies comic, in which the super-heroes of the Marvel Universe became flesh-eating ghouls. That series suggested, but didn’t show, various events that occured during the beginning of the plague. The prequel will address those incidents. For example, Marvel Zombies artist Sean Phillips describes one scene he is busy working on.

And yes, I will have to draw the Avengers eating Jarvis.

For more Marvel Zombie goodies like the picture above, make sure you check Sean Phillips’ blog.

Comic Book Resources has a brand-new Robert Kirkman interview up. Kirkman is the writer behind The Walking Dead, one of the few comics I still actively read, along with Conan and Little Lulu. Don’t laugh.

Comic Book Resources - Now, your zombie story has gone on longer than most attempts. What do you feel the trick is to maintaining a story for this long in the zombie genre?

Robert Kirkman - Not stopping after two hours? By design, the zombie story is geared toward longer stories that follow things to its logical conclusion, but it’s just never been done. I mean, think about how different the world would be after ten years. That’s what I’m working toward - reveal how we get there and show all the changes in people and society and civilization.

The Walking Dead is a comic that has actually caught me off guard and made me gasp in surprise with just the turn of a page. The latest trade paperback for The Walking Dead is out, and I plan on picking it up sometime this weekend.