Do yourself a favour and go into this one as blind as you can. You’ll hop into a wild ride that will shock you, disgust you and take you on an emotional rollercoaster. When the ride is finally over you’ll be left stunned at what you just experienced but in the best way. Can’t wait to check out more by Bowyer!
I’m a big fan of Brian’s writing style. Fast-paced, brutal, extremely visceral. KILL FACTOR is no exception. From front to back this is jammed packed with action, drugs, murder and sex. A killing spree and black magic wrapped into a story of a deviant family and those unfortunate enough to cross paths with them.
Do yourself a favour and go into this one as blind as you can. You’ll hop into a wild ride that will shock you, disgust you and take you on an emotional rollercoaster. When the ride is finally over you’ll be left stunned at what you just experienced but in the best way. Can’t wait to check out more by Bowyer!
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Firstly a big thank you to Tenebrous Press for sending me an ARC of this. My first read by Danger as well as first dive into Bizarro. I enjoyed this read though I think the point kind of went over my head. A mysteriously horrifying look into a Newlyweds move in to a new apartment where a mold is slowly taking over.
This read filled me with anxiety as I couldn’t figure out how the two would get out or survive. Heavy feelings of dread in the mix of scenes of body horror and truly disgusting descriptions of this mold. For what it’s worth, even though I know I didn’t understand what was going on I did enjoy this read. I think I’m just going to have to ask a couple friends what was going on haha. This reminded me a lot of ‘New Cherry Flavour’, not in story line but in vibes. An incredibly surrealist read. I have an obsession with completely unhinged, villainous woman as MCs and Maeve certainly fits the bill. The whole book reads like a fever dream as you read through Maeve’s experiences and deviances.
A new-aged ‘Psycho’ but make it extreme and make it Hollywood. Leede does an amazing job at intricately weaving in and out of reality and Maeve’s insanity. I found myself cheering for her, though she is hands down the villain. Exhilarating, disturbing and shocking; Maeve Fly is a book I will not soon forget and will definitely be checking out more by this author as I am very impressed. Released by IDW Publishing, Godzilla Rivals is a series of one-shot comics focusing on the titular creature fighting a different foe. Each story has its own distinctive visual style, capturing the Kaiju carnage and human reactions as the stories span different time period and locations. The first volume, entitled Round One, collects the first four issues.
The first issue is set in 1971, during Hedorah and Godzilla’s battle in New York City. While the titular creature tries using its atomic breath to combat the foe’s burning remains, a young man called Todd is escorting a gravely injured woman to hospital, sharing that her status as the director of the Kaiju Defense Research Center means she should be prioritised. Writer Paul Allor delivers compelling human drama amidst a feeling of futility when these people can be destroyed by Kaiju carnage at any time, with such impact and scale effectively conveyed by E.J. Su’s artwork. Mary Kenney begins the next story in Lake Ikeda, 1984, where a curious light is emitted under the water. Journalist Mima discovers the light source is a chained-up Mothra, who is reacting to the oncoming terror of Godzilla. Mima believes that Mothra can help quell things, although this goes against a Rear Admiral’s orders, who wishes to avoid another released monster potentially destroying humanity. While the arguing characters can grow wearisome, it’s worth the thrilling battle where each Kaiju must combat unique abilities their foe emits. Adam Gorham starts his story in a curious place, as flying saucers assault Tokyo in 1996. As a fighter jet squadron struggles combating the invaders, Godzilla steps in until the aliens entrap and abduct the Kaiju. As world leaders meet in the secret lair of international supervillain Dr. Ogilvy Hu, this leads to much exposition from Hu’s machine-man creation, Hoshi, about how the intergalactic beings are called Xiliens and pose a threat to humanity. While a plan is launched to use an Electro-Bomb to stop the Xiliens, Godzilla battles against King Ghidorah within an intergalactic fighting arena. This is a story worth it for the artwork, particularly when the striking visuals capture the Kaiju terror from their first appearance. The writing is on less stable ground, as a Xilien admission about the fighting distracting from a costly war feels undercooked, while the scenes of a Captain and their robotic assistant talking about human emotions feels too familiar. The last story takes place in the future of 2027, as Rosie Knight sets it in Hackney-On-Sea. The quiet seaside town is polluted due to being every evil corporation’s dumping ground. As the tides and earthquakes worsen, Battra arrives to target the humans whose ravaging of Earth has left it in peril. Adding to the issue is ecofascist Sawyer Smith, who speaks environmental doom messages to fund himself, and Godzilla, who clashes with Battra. What occurs is a stronger use of real-world issues for a Kaiju fighting story, complete with the wonderful sight of Godzilla’s roar being stylised with a font that resembles something a heavy-metal band would use. All of these stories add up to a fun graphic novel that’s worth reading. The latest work from director Sofie Vibeke Muasya, Twisted is an, at times, compelling work that doesn’t quite live up to the sum of its part. A sort-of folk-meets-mind horror, the narrative chronicles an overbearingly toxic relationship between Hannah (Madeleine Masson) and her mother (Karen Leigh Sharp) and something potentially more supernatural there.
The woody surroundings of Twisted are evocatively used, giving Twisted an unnerving quality enhanced by Val Camp’s evocative cinematography. Tension ebbs and flows here, particularly from the film’s central duo and their scenes in particular come with a creeping sense of dread. Strong work comes from Sharp and Masson, with an unsettling chemistry between the two, particularly during Twisted’s evocative first half. Regrettably as the narrative works towards a more divisive conclusion some of this feels stripped away, without anything else in the script (written by Muasya) quite meeting its central relationship. Twisted may well also prove a test to some due to a dreamy, quasi-Lynchian quality and a rather unreliable narrative perspective. For some this will be what draws them in to this work, for others it will prove a barrier. In the end this is a work that feels closer to admirable then completely enthralling. There is an ambition here, evocative imagery and moments of genuine tension. But it lacks that special element that brings this all together and elevate this beyond a curious genre work and into something that feels like a truly necessary horror. It’s hard for me to describe in words how incredibly genius this book is but I’m going to do my best. An autobiography intertwined in a historical/folklore queer horror story, complied into one of the most raw, hopelessly poetic and mournful books I have ever read.
This brought me to tears as Demchuck’s writing is so masterful and so all consuming I could feel the pain and grief in the words. ‘Red X’ encapsulates Horror in every sense of the word. Sprinkled throughout are terrifying scenes amongst harrowing truths and the way the two meld together is really nothing short of pure genius. Clearly, I’ve been sleeping on Demchuck as this is my first read by him. I’ll be adding more of his works to my wishlist. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough. Easily one of my favourite reads of all time. Another fun read by S.C Mendes! When a new metal band called Suck-U-Bus starts to gain popularity a sister and brother head to their concert for old times sake. Every show The Mothers pick some lucky fans to come onto their tour bus after the show where they get to meet with a sex demon, or so the legends goes. Unsurprisingly, things go downhill fast.
An erotic, mysterious ride from front to back. It gave thriller vibes as the sister travels across the country to try and find her brother and solve the mystery of what happened to him. Rock & Roll, sex and the supernatural. You really can’t go wrong. Again, Hofstatter manages to turn the world of sex work into a poetic masterpiece. A quote in this 2nd book struck me; “Don’t bury your lessons. You paid for them with aches”. Wow, I’ll probably use that one a lot in life as it rings so true. The characters beautifully broken. This book more erotic than the last.
Once again, the writing style is like nothing I’ve ever read before. These have definitely peaked my interest in Hofstatter, has me wondering what other worlds he’s created await. If you’re looking for quick reads, I certainly recommend this series. This started off strong for me and lost steam about half way through. Personally I would of liked more Zelda the Witch and less of the mass of additional Waterpark characters gone wrong. Overall this was a fun, slasher that kept me entertained. I think Zelda is hilarious and terrifying. It’s definitely peaked my interest in Penny Moonz and her other titles.
This would make a very entertaining, cheesy slasher if it were to be made into a film! What an original idea from Moonz. When I heard the title I knew I had to read it and overall am glad I did. Definitely will look at the waterpark differently this summer haha! A quick, poetic crime noir read that absorbs you into the belly of its story. Generally, poetic prose is not my favourite. I find I get lost in the flowery word-play but this was not the case with this read. Instead I found myself encapsulated in the story as I read on. I could smell the streets and the characters and felt as though I was there. I went in blind and was pleasantly surprised.
Hofstatter’s writing style is incredibly unique. Excited to jump into the next, which I have sitting right next to me waiting for me to crack open. I would definitely recommend this enchanting read. |
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