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Horror

Bad, Bad Bunny

And more dark stuff from the Long Beach Comic Expo. Remember when we talked about the graphic novel Wretched Things? Well it turns out that the publisher, Source Point Press, has another creepy anthropomorphic title in their crop: Rottentail. “This deranged graphic novel comes straight from the minds and hands of David C. Hayes, Kevin Moyers, Kurt Belcher, and Henrik Horvath. Geeky fertility researcher Peter Cotton is bitten by a mutant rabbit and changes into the half-man/half-bunny Rottentail. What’s a boy to do? Why, take a hippity, hoppity trip home of course! Peter begins a bloody killing spree of revenge that culminates in his childhood hometown of Easter Falls.” Ready for this? Rottentail has even been made into a film!

image c. 2019 Source Point Press

What Crawls Beneath

Definitely a darker sort of anthropomorphic story — that’s The Rats of Heaven, a new novel by J.J. Elliot.The Rats of Heaven tells the story of the fallen angel Rahab, as he seeks revenge on the angels that exiled him to live out his existence on Earth as a rat. When the fallen angel meets a dying serial killer in the sewers they strike a deal that will terrorize a city. Only a 12 year-old boy knows what their secret and how to stop them. The Rats of Heaven will take the reader from the sewers of a modern city to the gardens of Heaven.” What a ride. Check it out over at Amazon.

image c. 2019 by JJ Elliot

Guys, Leave These Ladies ALONE!

Previews made us aware of a new comic series from Image called Maneaters, written by Chelsea Cain. In an interview, here’s how she describes it: “Maneaters is a monster story about women who turn into ferocious killer wildcats when they get their periods. They are very scary and dangerous and extremely grumpy. Naturally their unprovoked attacks cause a great deal of societal consternation, and measures are taken to help the women control themselves.” Got that? With art by Kate Niemczyk and Rachelle Rosenberg, the first issue pounces on the shelves in September.

image c. 2018 Image Comics

Dog of the Dead

Okay, how about a furry story from a horror comic based on a tabletop game? You got it! Oni Press brings us Dead of Winter: Good Good Dog. “From the tabletop smash hit comes this new comic series starring your favorite characters from Plaid Hat Games’ Dead of Winter, written by Kyle Starks (the Eisner Award-nominated Sexcastle), and illustrated by Gabo (The Life After). In the pantheon of superheroes, none are more loveable and loyal than everyone’s favorite good ol’ dog, Sparky. Surviving in the wintery apocalypse of the undead, this former TV show stunt dog turned zombie killing machine just wants to make friends and be a good boy. As his fellow survivors scavenge for supplies in the frigid wasteland, will Sparky be able to protect his companions from threats both undead and otherwise?” Check out this new trade paperback at DCB Service.

image c. 2018 Oni Press

Beware of Bunnies with Sharp Things

We found this in a recent Previews magalog: Stabbity Bunny, written by Richard Rivera, illustrated by Dwayne Biddix, and published by Scout Comics. “Seven-year-old Grace, still clutching her adorable plush bunny, is kidnapped by supernatural forces that have been hunting her family for generations. She awakens in a shack on the outskirts of town, and for the first time in her life, the little girl can’t sense her mother’s presence. Her captor knows the family’s secrets, and that link has been severed. When her escape attempt fails, it seems there will be deadly consequences, but an unlikely protector intervenes. It’s a big mistake to kidnap a child with a plush toy named Stabbity Bunny!” Oh you just know someone is working on a movie adaptation of this, don’t you?

image c. 2018 Scout Comics

The Cop What Lurks

We can see how the pitch for this probably went: “HE is a hard-boiled New England cop… IT is a Cthullu-spawned horror… Together, they fight crime!” Actually, here’s what we got from Previews: “Artie Buckle is a grade ‘A’ schmuck. His excessive fondness for booze compliments his flash temper, but hold their feet to the fire, his fellow officers would agree: Artie is one helluva cop. He’s gonna need that scrap of goodwill because Brick City is under siege from its citizenry… and to top it off Artie’s been saddled with the city’s newest hero as his partner: A hideous, monstrous, but completely likable, extra-dimensional being named Vinegar Teeth. Can Artie pull his head out long enough to work together with a Lovecraftian monster with a heart of gold and set Brick City back on its feet?” Vinegar Teeth is a new 4-issue comic miniseries created by Damon Gentry and Troy Nixey. The first issue is out now from Dark Horse.

image c. 2018 Dark Horse Comics

Beware of the Werewolf Queen

From Previews: “Collected for the first time, The Howling: Revenge of the Werewolf Queen Vol. 1 picks up where the cult-classic 1981 film left off: Three weeks have passed since Chris Halloran revealed on national TV that werewolves walk among us. No one believed him. Now Marsha Quist has returned for revenge–and now there is no colony to hold back her blood lust. This collection includes The Howling: Revenge of the Werewolf Queen issues 1-4, and a cover gallery— featuring Bill Sienkiewicz’s supreme cover!” Written by Micky Neilson and with art by Jason Johnson and Milen Parvanov, it’s available now as a full-color trade paperback from Space Goat Publishing. [And with that, we’ll see you all after we get back from Further Confusion!]

image c. 2018 Space Goat

Grim Grinning Cats

Huevocartoon is an animation studio from Mexico that made a name for itself with the Huevos series of animated films — which were quite profitable north and south of the border. Now they’re taking things in a different direction with their new CGI film Grimalkin. According to an article in Variety, “…the horror comedy narrates how a domestic cat’s love for his family is tested when mischievous creatures invade the house, a foster home run by a loving young couple. Being the only one with the ability to see them, the cat must confront the creatures before they take over the house and its inhabitants.” The film is being directed by storyboard artist Sant Arellano. There’s no word yet on a planned release date — but check under your bed just in case.

image c. 2017 Huevocartoon

Bettie the Werewolf Slayer?

Back to Halloween, it seems — and back to more strange new twists on old friendly characters. This time, it’s Archie and the Riverdale gang — in a new horror comic called Jughead: The Hunger. Yes. “Jughead Jones is an average (though endlessly hungry) teenage boy by day and a blood-thirsty werewolf by night. His latest victim in a spree of deadly attacks is longtime foe Reggie Mantle – after which Jughead left Riverdale without a trace. Now Betty Cooper: Werewolf Hunter and Jughead’s best friend Archie Andrews are hot on Jughead’s trail, but how many more lives will be sacrificed before they find him? On October 25th, join writer Frank Tieri (Wolverine) and artists Pat and Tim Kennedy (Death of Archie) for the terrifying first issue of the new Jughead: The Hunger series!” There’s an extensive review over at The Nerdist.

image c. 2017 Archie Comics