John Carpenter’s Tales of Science Fiction: Vault #1
Created & Written by James Ninness
Pencils & Inks by Andres Esparza
Colored by Sergio Martinez
Cover by Nick Percival
Lettered by Janice Chiang
Edited by Sandy King
Published by Storm King Productions
Release Date: July 26th, 2017
Price: $3.99 is available now.

“There are moments when all of humanity goes to the same three words… What the F*ck?”

John Carpenter is known by his legions of fans as “The Master of Horror.” But when you look back at the visionary director’s filmography you see the influence and impact science fiction has had on his over 50-year career. His first feature film was 1974’s Dark Star, a sci-fi comedy set in the reaches of deep space. After hitting it big with Halloween in 1978, a film that became the highest grossing independent film ever made at the time, he would return to sci-fi multiple times. Possibly his greatest achievement was 1982’s The Thing, a remake of the Howard Hawks 50s classic about an alien who grotesquely impersonates crew members in the Antarctic. He returned to the genre with Starman (1984), They Live (1987), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), and Ghosts of Mars (2001). Carpenter is now devoted to new mediums to translate his unique visions of horror and science fiction. Alongside his wife and collaborator Sandy King Carpenter, they have ventured into the world of graphic novels and comics, releasing titles like Asylum Vol 1 and 2 as well as Tales For A Halloween Night for Storm King Comics.

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #2
“The Dunwich Horror”
Written by Joe R. Lansdale
Art by Peter Bergting
Lettering by Shawn Lee
“The Hound”
Script by Robert Weinberg
Art by menton3
Lettering by menton3
Covers by Nick Percival, menton3
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 9, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Joe R. Lansdale and Peter Bergting do it again as a writer and artist team. A spectacular rendering of the eighty-year-old short story The Dunwich Horror is to be found in H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #2. Additionally, The Hound is expertly envisioned and beautifully illustrated, a work of true craftsmanship.

H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #1
“The Dunwich Horror”
Written by Joe R. Lansdale
Art by Peter Bergting
Letters by Shawn Lee

“The Hound”
Script by Robert Weinberg
Art by menton3
Letters by menton3
Covers by Nick Percival, menton3
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 19, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

I chose H.P. Lovecraft’s The Dunwich Horror #1 to review just because I’m a fan of Lovecraft. I was quite happy to find that Joe R. Lansdale had written the script for the first story in this comic. I’ve met him several times since he lives in the same small Texas town as I do. Both the stories were entertaining and as dark as you would expect from a Lovecraftian piece.

The first story, the self titled The Dunwich Horror is obviously just the beginning to a great horror story. The first few pages contain no dialogue but are there to set the mood. Ambiguously suspenseful dialogue between the characters really does little to assist the reader in understanding what is going on, but it lends itself to the mystery and makes you flip the pages that much faster to try to find out what’s next…just like a good story should.  Peter Bergting‘s art is almost like it was done with watercolors in that he blends features and colors to create a lot of dusk-like panels. The near dark atmosphere is one that always works in horror movies and it seems to do just fine in comics, too. Not much can be said to spoil the story here but it really is one that you need to read to get a sense of the ambiance that Lansdale and Bergting present to the reader.

Hellraiser #1
Written by Clive Barker and Christopher Monfette
Art by Leonardo Manco
Colors by Charlie Kirchoff
Lettering by Travis Lanham
Cover A: Tim Bradstreet
Cover B: Nick Percival
Cover C: Clive Barker
Price $3.99
Release date: March 23, 2011

It’s always funny to hear that with all the Hellraiser movies out there, Clive Barker has only been involved in the first movie, and the novella that movie was based on. And that’s it. And this is the name most often connected with the series. So I’m sure it’s exciting for horror fans to learn that Barker has returned to the series that made him famous, as he has with the new comic series from BOOM! Studios. It’s been almost 25 years since he last worked on the series, so now it’s time to see if he has picked up where he left off.

Anyone familiar with the movies will be right at home with this comic. It quickly sets up the familiar elements of the series: the puzzle box, the Cenobites, lots and lots of bodies without any skin — they’re all here within the first 10 pages. Hellraiser #1 sees Pinhead, the most famous of the Hellraiser characters, as he tries to make some kind of deal with a powerful force. It also brings back a character that will be known to people that know the series, but others will need to check the Hellraiser Wikipedia entry.

Clive Barker is returning to his cult favorite Hellraiser franchise, but this time, it’s in comic book form with Hellraiser #1, a new comics series from BOOM! Studios.

The 40-page full-color Hellraiser #1 will be written by Barker and Christopher Monfette with art by Leonardo Manco, and will sell for $3.99. Cover art is by Tim Bradstreet and Nick Percival, while the variant cover will be drawn and signed by Clive Barker.

This first issue will also contain a 10-page backup story written by the co-writer and co-director of The Matrix trilogy, Larry Wachowski.