Ghastly Awards - July 2013 Update

Horror comics are becoming more and more frequent in our reading culture, and the Ghastly Awards are here to recognize, through Horror Comic submissions, those that shine the brightest. We encourage all Comic Creators to take the time to head over to www.ghastlyawards.com and submit your work for 2013 Ghastly Award Nomination consideration.
    

Creators please remember that you can submit your Horror Comic work through out the calendar year! For the month of July 2013 the judges are recommending you take a look at: 

Army of Darkness vs Hack/Slash #1 (Dynamite) - Cassie is back and she has got herself a new partner so to speak in the name of Ashley J. Williams. This crossover takes place 5 months after the final issue of Hack/Slash. Cassie is still dealing with the death of Vlad and is trying to live a normal life with Margaret and baby Sandra, but in Cassie's world the dead don't stay dead. When Ash seeks out Cassie's help in finding the missing pages of the Necronomicon you know personalities are going to clash. I had high exceptions for this comic and it did not disappoint. Tim Seeley has got Ash down and Cassie is back as her usual self. Daniel Leister's art for Hack Slash has always been spot on and with the addition of Ash it just makes it all the more fun. - Spaced (www.twitter.com/Spaced4SimonPeg) 

Lobster Johnson: A Scent of Lotus #1 (Dark Horse) - Lobster Johnson investigates a rash of Tong-related violence erupting in New York City. This being a Lobster Johnson story, however, expect plenty of blood and a healthy dose of supernatural shenanigans. Mignola and Arcudi keep the more fantastical elements under wraps until a fantastic last-page reveal made even more powerful by Fiumara's excellent artwork. The striking and frightful imagery on the climactic page more than makes up for the relative lack of chills in the rest of the issue and sets things up intriguingly for the upcoming conclusion. – Pedro Cabezuelo (http://www.rue-morgue.com/)

The Strain: The Fall #1 (Dark Horse) - Woohoo — it’s finally here!  I loved del Toro’s Strain Trilogy, and Dark Horse’s graphic version has been fantastic.  So I clapped my hands with glee when I saw that the second novel — The Fall, naturally — is finally here in all it’s glorious comic-book-ness.  Does it keep with the amazing art and high-quality adaptation?  Hellz yeah.  The Fall picks up where The Strain left off; the search for the Occido Lumen, a book fabled to hold the key to ending the vampire plague.  David Lapham (whose work on Crossed: Family Values was some seriously twisted fun) cuts to the chase, but doesn’t let characterization slide.  And Mike Huddleston’s work on The Master makes it one badass strigoi.  (Note: fans of The Exorcist should look for a cameo by Pazuzu early in this issue.) So glad this series is back in action! - Denise Dutton (atomicfangirl.com)

Ballistic #1 (Black Mask Studios) - The official synopsis gives us this: "[BALLISTIC is a]...Madcap, Psychedelic, Transreal utterly-whacko buddy adventure about Butch and his best friend gun, a drug-addicted, genetically-modified, foul-mouthed firearm…” ::Drop the mic:: “Need I say more?” Honestly, I probably don’t, but I will. Because I like to hear myself talk about batshit crazy comics. BALLISTIC has such a stellar plot that I’d put it up there with Chew, Sweet Tooth, and Criminal Macabre. One of the very well done aspects about BALLISTIC is the way that the post-apocalyptic world is presented. Post-apocalyptic worlds generally become the same desolate, screwed-up, dark, vacant places. In BALLISTIC, Adam Egypt Mortimer (writer) and Darick Robertson (illustrator) have created this bright, twisted, Wonderland meets Die Hard meets The-Bar-In-Star-Wars type post-apocalyptic world. It’s refreshing and terrifying. Butch, our MC, is a failed bank robber, turned AC repairman living in Repo City State—“a reclaimed trash island.” So, you know. It’s a sophisticated place, and it’s the perfect place for Butch to work on his criminal aspirations. In THIS world, technology is alive. Not like Knight Rider alive, but completely and organically alive. Monster arms for beer taps, streetlights that appear to be lurking over you, sexy red sports cars with flaming eyes like the Eye of Sauron and dragon wings. And guys, I swear there was a brain in that girl’s bong. Basically, everything…EVERYTHING is alive in this world that has been so meticulously created. One aspect (I don’t know whether to call it the coolest or most suffocating) is that when Butch’s adrenalin gland activates, he and his gun activate as one. The gun literally becomes a part of Butch. Its Cthulhu-like tentacles weave their way over and under Butch’s skin. Problem is, Butch’s gun is kind of a dick… and Butch has very dangerous people after him… and he doesn’t make the best choices… or choose the classiest girls… So what we have here is a very promising start to a monstrously badass criminal ride through crazy-danger town. Like, DANGER! FALLING ROCKS! This comic is so worth following. – Bree Ogden (agentbree.wordpress.com)

Steve Ditko's Monsters Vol. 2: Konga (IDW) - I'm not sure which book I like better, this one or Ditko Monsters: GORGO! Both are essential, especially if you're into either classic Silver Age comic series that Steve Ditko cranked out for Charlton Comics at the same time he was doing equally super work for some of the bigger, more well known comic publishers. Fun and fast paced adventure stories about a teeny chimp scientifically transformed into a gigantic, monstrous gorilla. There's a mammoth selection of full color stories beautifully reprinted, a cover gallery, and a fascinating intro on everything you ever wanted to know about each issue and it's creators, plus lots on the movie that inspired it all and loaded with photos. I don't know how many times I can say "Craig Yoe does it again", but... well... he did. – Steve Banes (http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/)

Ghosted #1 (Image) - "Oceans 11 meets The Shining", is how creator Joshua Williamson describes his new series from image comics, "Ghosted", and after issue #1 it has earned such bold comparisons. The plot is simple: a big-time thief is hired to steal a ghost from a haunted mansion. While the first issue offers only a brief glimpse of that mansion, the final page is just haunting. "Ghosted" is a heist horror story that shouldn't be missed. – Lonnie Nadler (www.Bloody-Disgusting.com)

Eerie #3 (Dark Horse) - Behind what looks like a pretty good painted cover (but upon close inspection is merely "meh"), the third issue of Dark Horse's sister mag to Creepy keeps plugging along, bringing you "the best in Science-Horror". Again, one third of the comic is reprinted from the glory days of Eerie, back when Warren published it with artists and writers who could come up big. Indeed, Wally Wood's "The Man Hunters" (originally from Eerie #60 and reprinted a few times since), is the standout story here. The other two new, original stories are OK, but have their problems.

Landry Q. Walker's "Hunger" is a nice, gruesome story marred by Troy Nixey's scratchy and ugly artwork. Ugly is fine for horror but this just looks like sloppy (though detailed) inking over rushed pencils. Yeah, yeah... it's a style. 

Jonathan Case's "The Saturnian Infantroids" is about giant, destructive baby humans. As Stan Lee might say, 'nuff said.

With loads of talent out there looking to get a foot in the door of the comic business, it's a shame that Dark Horse insist on dredging up the well worn Warren reprints instead of trying something new. But then, with the reprint in this issue being so much better than the other offerings, I think I understand their thinking. - Mike Howlett (http://eeriepublications.blogspot.com/) 
 
B.P.R.D.: Vampire #5 (Dark Horse) - This issue wraps the brilliant story by Mignola, Ba, and Moon, leaving us open to a future full of psychotic vampire potential. This entire issue was so completely trippy and terrifying at the same time, I couldn’t help but feel like I had dropped some bad acid. And I loved every second of it. The art is so wonderfully twisted and atmospheric, you’ll forget you’re reading a comic and find yourself sucked into the pages. It serves as an absolutely perfect complement to the insane storytelling. If you missed out on this 5 issue mini-series, do yourself a favor and grab them all at once! - Rachel Deering (https://twitter.com/racheldeering) 

Undead Evil #1 (Asylum Press - Digital) - Ok, lets all be serious for a second… lean in a little bit close to the screen, closer… CLOSER! Okay now that I have you THIS CLOSE… GO READ THIS BOOK!!!!! I have been waiting, and waiting, and waiting to read this issue since 2008, yes that is correct, 2008! Just to begin let me tell you about the art…. oh my lord is it GORE-Geous. Every single page by Gucunja supplied me with an eyegasm. The story is on the same level as the artwork. Forte delivers a longer tale then you might expect from a comic this size. It took me about 30 minutes to finish the issue, there is a lot of story, but it’s damn good story. I guess it doesn’t help if I tell you that I am a big fan of Voodoo stories, because this book was just catered to me from the start. However, I think it caters to all horror fans everywhere, because this is the stuff we need. This is what horror comics are all about. - Decapitated Dan (www.decapitateddan.com)

 
Creators and Publishers please make sure to go over to www.ghastlyawards.com to submit your books for 2013 Nomination consideration! More informaiton on how the submission process works can be found here http://ghastlys.blogspot.com/2010/10/submit-your-horror-comic-to-be.html