The early 1970s made possible a very cool television movie starring legendary tough guy actor Jack Palance as Dracula. Imagine Clint Eastwood as Dracula. Close, but no cigar. Today, Liam Neeson could do it, but he probably won’t. The ’70s were a good time for vampires, along with zombies. It was a more innocent time. They had not even begun to claw the surface of today’s oversaturation. Dracula, as both a literary and horror figure, played well with audiences. And certain older actors were welcome too. There was something about Palance, his affinity for the dark side, that made him a natural for the role.
Tag Archives: Horror
DVD Blu-ray Review: DAN CURTIS’ DRACULA (1974)
Filed under Dark Shadows, Dracula, movies, MPI Home Video, Richard Matheson, Television, Vampires
Review: THE WOODS #1
If you’re looking for some good all-ages comics that teens, and anyone for that matter, can relate to then “The Woods” is an excellent choice. Everything in a teenager’s life can seem like it could trigger the end of the world. And then, one day, that world literally ends. That’s the premise of “The Woods,” a new comic by Boom! Studios.
Filed under Boom! Studios, Comics, Comics Reviews, Horror, Sci-Fi, science fiction
Review: THE DOLRIDGE SACRAMENT #3 (of 4)
“The Dolridge Sacrament” is a strange enough sounding title for a comic book. It is at once a little spooky and a little nerdy. That’s worked out pretty great for Stephen King, right? The more I looked, the more I wanted to look further. Alterna Comics has a decidedly offbeat vision and this comic fits right in.
Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Comics Reviews
Graphic Novel Review: THE CHAIR
“The Chair” is described on the back of the book as a “psychological thriller” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s pretty grim but it does not run off the rails into torture porn which it easily could have done so. All the elements are there: a creepy prison we always see in shadows, a series of disturbing events, a main character brought to the brink of insanity. But there is always more going on in this story than mere prison tropes. It’s an ambitious thing to attempt with such dark material but this story keeps us wondering all the way to the end.
Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Graphic Novel Reviews, graphic novels, Horror
Review: BILLY THE PYRO #1
There is something likable about Billy, even though he is pretty unlikable. “Billy the Pyro” is a new comic, published by Alterna Comics, that gives us a main character with an uncontrollable hunger for arson. Well, as he puts it, he just needs to see things burn. His psychiatrist can’t seem to break through. His dad would just as soon break his skull. No, it’s not good being Billy.
Filed under Alterna Comics, Comics, Comics Reviews, Horror
Review: THE WITCHER #1
Paul Tobin is a very thoughtful writer and that’s what makes for immersive work like, “The Witcher,” his latest comic with Dark Horse Comics. Tobin is a seasoned pro who has written for all the great superheroes. He has a keen mind that likes to play so it makes sense he’d want to see what happens when you set a story in the Middle Ages and throw together the fates of a warlock and a hunter.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dark Horse Comics
Devil’s Due: MR. RHEE Is Out Now!
Meet Mr. Rhee! The cryptic and tortured main character of TALES OF MR. RHEE, is now a prestige hardcover collection published by Devil’s Due. This is a story that unfolds in a collection of thirteen chilling horror-infused short stories. You can now read the collected Cthulhu-mythos-based comic book series from writer Dirk Manning.
This book was a successfully funded campaign on Kickstarter.
Visit our friends at Devil’s Due right here.
Filed under Comics, Comics News, Devil's Due, Dirk Manning
Zombies and Incest: Archie Comics Goes Too Dark?
In a story in today’s New York Times, an article featuring Archie Comics’ new chief creative officer, playwright Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, had a lot to say about the new direction of Archie Comics. One thing you probably never expected: an Archie comic that takes two characters from the Archie universe and puts them in an incestuous relationship. The characters are siblings Cheryl and Jason Blossom. Now, the entertainment industry is notorious for dropping a provocative nugget and seeing who will take the bait. Dig a bit deeper to the actual comics series referred to and this pairing of siblings suggests more than it outright says. The series in question is Afterlife with Archie, which is Archie Comics’ foray in zombie comics. And the incest, well, perhaps an ambiguous suggestion. So, a provocative nugget.
Filed under Archie Comics, Comics
Review: DARK HORSE PRESENTS #33
Another awesome issue of the celebrated, and critically acclaimed, Dark Horse Presents is out. In Issue 33, we kick off with the first chapter to “Cruel Biology,” written by Christopher Sebela, drawn by Brian Churilla, with colors by Dave Stewart. It’s an 8-page beauty of an opener set during WW II on a isolated little South Pacific island. The three main characters have been deemed by Uncle Sam to be “undesirable but useful.” The narrator, Private O’Brien, would just as soon tip back a few cold ones. PFC Zimmerman attempts to maintain order. Captain Curtis is a medic who has been left broken from his tour in Italy. All three guys don’t expect much from their current tour in the middle of nowhere until, one day, a strange item hitched to a balloon comes in for a landing.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dark Horse Comics, Dark Horse Presents
Review: Gustavo Duarte’s Monsters! & Other Stories
Dark Horse Comics has unleashed quite a monster with this collection of work by Gustavo Duarte. But it’s not just monsters. It’s chickens, pigs, birds, a whole wacky and, quite enthralling, world.
Guatavo Duarte is a new talent with an old soul. As Sergio Aragonés makes clear in the introduction to this book, Duarte has hit the ground running in wordless comics. He is very much in the traditon of the greats, from Otto Soglow to Jim Woodring. Duarte’s comics are truly electric. There’s a live wire quality to them that is complimented by its clean refinement. While very smooth and polished, you get that sensation of a rapidly moving line.
Filed under Comics, Comics Reviews, Dark Horse Comics



















