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Graphic Novel Review: Dead Beats: A Musical Horror Anthology edited by Joe Corallo and Eric Palicki

Dead Beats: A Musical Horror Anthology edited by Joe Corallo and Eric Palicki
A Wave Blue World, 2019
ISBN-13: 9781949518030
Available: Paperback, Kindle, comiXology

Dead Beats contains 24 tales of music and horror introduced by a sort of horror host, The Shoppe Keeper. As she leads the reader through her record shop, new, horrifying, poignant, and well-illustrated stories emerge.

While I enjoyed all of the vignettes in this anthology, there are some that stand out. “Grotesque”, by Cameron Deordio with art by Brent Schoonover, focuses on a long-lived rock band with a new member to the lineup. It is crucial that he gets every note perfectly. It means their career, and lives.

In “Reversed Cards”, by Nadia Shammas with art by Sweeney Boo, two bandmates visit a tarot card reader who delivers an ominous message. When it comes time for them to go on tour, the tarot effects the decision of one of the members, who decides it would be best for her to skip the tour. What comes of her choice presents rather unexpected consequences.

Sometimes we all get that one song stuck in our heads. In “Earworm”, by Christof Bogacs and illustrated by Giles Crawford, anyone who listens to a certain track gets more than just a worm. This one was particularly unnerving.

One of my favourite comics teams is writer Ivy Noelle Weir and artist Christina “Steenz” Stewart. “Beyond Her Years” gives us the story of a young woman driven to complete her musical opus after breaking into a haunted music building on her campus.

“”Let’s Stay Together”, by another favourite writer of mine, Vita Ayala, and illustrated by Raymond Salvador, is heartbreaking. I don’t want to give the whole thing away, but I feel that it is a beautiful love letter to the elderly LGBTQ community. I had to put the book down momentarily to let this one sink in. That last panel is absolutely lovely.

I recommend this book for libraries specifically who are interested in increasing their independently published comics collection. This is a fantastic anthology, expertly curated by the editors and beautifully written and illustrated by everyone involved in its creation. Highly recommended.

Contains: blood, gore, murder, racism, sexual assault, sexual content, suicide

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on April 1, 2020 by , Reply

Graphic Novel Review: Belzebubs by J.P. Ahonen

Belzebubs by J.P. Ahonen

Top Shelf Productions, 2019

ISBN: 9781603094429

Available: Hardcover, Kindle edition, comiXology edition, special editions with full album and band merch

The life of a metal band can be challenging, especially trying to balance time with family and religious obligations to fulfill. Called a “trve kvlt mockumentary”, Belzebubs, which started out as a webcomic,  gives us a glimpse of the life and times of a black metal band, complete with home life, raising a family, young love, and a healthy dose of the occult. The band is struggling with staying afloat after a lengthy hiatus. With their new line up– Sløth on vocals and guitars, Hubbath on vocals and bass, Obesyx on lead guitar, and new member Samaël on drums– they are ready to take on the world… and the underworld. Oh, and everyone wears corpse paint, even Grandma.

Since there is a lot of content relating to Sløth’s family life, it would be terrible of me not to include the female characters in this review. Lucyfer, Lilith, and Grandma are all compelling characters. Lucyfer, Sløth’s wife, is a stay-at-home mother, and her interaction with their children is loving and hilarious. Lucyfer finally gets the baby to sleep, but when she turns her back, baby is floating in the air and muttering incantations. Lucyfer and Sløth are a devoted couple, and will do anything to protect their kids from harm. When Leviathan wakes his parents up to complain that God is watching him, Sløth wastes no time in chasing an old man with a long white beard, and wearing a robe, out of their yard. Their daughter, Lilith, is a particularly compelling character. She’s a teenager with hormones everywhere, falling in love with a nerdy boy in class who compliments her on her choice of headphones, and doing everything she can to give him the hint. Her methods are unconventional, but relatable at some level. Then there’s Grandma. She’s a fairly recent widow, but will not let Grandpa go… literally.

There is also plenty of Lovecraftian and demonic activity going on in this series: Grandma makes the kids’ favorite meal, Soup Niggurath; Leviathan accidentally leaves a portal to another dimension open and demons get in the house; and Sløth and Lucyfer even take a relaxing vacation to Hell to get away from it all.

I highly recommend Belzebubs to fans of black metal and Lovecraft. It’s funny, irreverent, and, in its own weird way, heartwarming. The fact that the band has a website with their album, band merch, and music videos makes it all the more interesting for me.  Highly recommended.

Music video link for Cathedrals of Mourning: https://youtu.be/SkdkZN1rduo

Music video link for Blackened Call: https://youtu.be/sxzb00dqNg4

Contains: a little bit of nudity

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on June 23, 2019 by , Reply

Book Review: Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You by Scotto Moore

Tor.com, 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1250314901

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook

 

Just when you thought Lovecraftian horror couldn’t get any weirder, Scotto Moore tosses this tongue-in-cheek tale of a band that is destined to bring out the end of the world into the ring. It’s a fun read that can and will be easily read in one sitting, and that’s sure to leave the reader with a smile.

The story begins when a music blogger happens upon a new group named  Beautiful Remorse on the Bandcamp website (akin to Soundcloud) with the name Beautiful Remorse. Of course, the infectious music soon causes quite a stir in the industry. The first song causes strange reactions in those who listen to it, and the narrator of the novella decides he needs to meet the singer of the band, Airee McPherson.

When he lands the interview, he learns that Airee and her enigmatic band have a plan for him: she informs him that she’s not from this dimension,  and will not be satisfied until she brings forth the end of the world as we know it.

Every day, Beautiful Remorse releases a new song that tears into the reality he knows, and something changes that just might signal the apocalypse. Airee plays the blogger like a finely-tuned instrument. He is a witness, and yet, can do nothing to stop it.

What ensues is pure entertainment, sheer fun in grandiose storytelling that just might cause old Howard Phillips to rock a bit in his grave. Reminiscent of Skipp and Spector’s The Scream, Moore’s book eschews the sheer horror of that classic for something much lighter (if you consider summoning forth old gods out of another dimension light). Think of  Lovecraft crossed with Jeff Strand and one might get the proper feel for this book. Your Favorite Band Cannot Save You is a fun read, recommended for a dark and stormy night.

 

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on April 9, 2019 by , Reply
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