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juushikaWell yes, I am catching up on spooky-season reviews, however did you notice.
Title: Goth
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Kenji Oiwa
Published: TokyoPop, 2000 (2003)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 220
Total Page Count: 347,520
Text Number: 1256
Read Because: reread ad infinitum
Review: Two strange high school students meet over their shared fascination with a local murderer. This is a successful adaptation of one of my most favorite narratives, and an effective introduction to same (once upon a time, it was mine). The manga trims supporting elements and condenses some of the plots to focus on the protagonist's feelings towards Morino (and the art doubles down, making the viewer participate in the view of Morino as potential victim). It simplifies and exaggerates but, as a result, intensifies, a focused study of one of the most engaging elements. The art is clean, almost cold, affect-less portraits set against natural details and moments of stunning, detailed gore.
Title: The Werewolf of Paris
Author: Guy Endore
Published: 1933
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 265
Total Page Count: 347,785
Text Number: 1257
Read Because: werewolves!
Review: Homo homini lupus, indeed. This begins as a black humor buildingsroman following a boy whose fevered dreams may mean he is in fact becoming a murderous wolf, then expands into something larger and more bitter, a contemplation of humanity's persistent awfulness in the form of war. The werewolf is simultaneously emblematic and inconsequential: man is a wolf to man, and against that can one wolfman's dozen murders truly matter? It's a great thesis--which doesn't really improve the text's weaker elements, like the concept of inherited evil/nature vs. nurture, a touchy subject unsatisfactorily explored, or the fact that the intricacies of the Franco-Prussian war don't make for great reading; but these flaws are balanced by unexpectedly powerful, id-grabbing elements, particularly insights into the werewolf's self-concept and his intense, violent romance. A fascinating read, especially for werewolf fanatics, although its takeaways on the trope now feel a little on the nose.
(Guy Endore was Jewish! Which is a fact I not-infrequently stumble upon now that I'm tracking more author demographics.)
Title: Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire
Editor: Amber Dawn
Published: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 190
Total Page Count: 347,975
Text Number: 1258
Read Because: appears on numerous spooky queer recommendations lists, ebook borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Erotic horror by, for, and focusing on queer women is a phenomenal concept. It inspires/collects pieces which are carnal and strange--like the opening story, Milks' "Slug," which commits entirely to its title; like the editor's penultimate "Here Lies the Last Lesbian Rental in East Vancouver," with a rich queer history and remarkable central tableau. (Other particular favorites: Evans' "In Circles" has a dynamic which speaks directly to my id; Barnes's "Shark" has a convincing sense of place and home. Also Lamm's "Conspiracy of Fuckers" and Bach's "All You Can Be.") Boundaries like erotic/terrifying, fetish/fear, and consent are fluid and broken. The existence of the anthology in itself is invigorating, captivating, and bumps up my rating. But as in all anthologies, quality varies, and this particular theme and selection of indie authors exacerbates that. The tone can err didactic and bingo-y; all the poetry was a miss for me, and some pieces are on-theme but in hammy or unremarkable ways.
Title: Goth
Author: Otsuichi
Illustrator: Kenji Oiwa
Published: TokyoPop, 2000 (2003)
Rating: 5 of 5
Page Count: 220
Total Page Count: 347,520
Text Number: 1256
Read Because: reread ad infinitum
Review: Two strange high school students meet over their shared fascination with a local murderer. This is a successful adaptation of one of my most favorite narratives, and an effective introduction to same (once upon a time, it was mine). The manga trims supporting elements and condenses some of the plots to focus on the protagonist's feelings towards Morino (and the art doubles down, making the viewer participate in the view of Morino as potential victim). It simplifies and exaggerates but, as a result, intensifies, a focused study of one of the most engaging elements. The art is clean, almost cold, affect-less portraits set against natural details and moments of stunning, detailed gore.
Title: The Werewolf of Paris
Author: Guy Endore
Published: 1933
Rating: 3.5 of 5
Page Count: 265
Total Page Count: 347,785
Text Number: 1257
Read Because: werewolves!
Review: Homo homini lupus, indeed. This begins as a black humor buildingsroman following a boy whose fevered dreams may mean he is in fact becoming a murderous wolf, then expands into something larger and more bitter, a contemplation of humanity's persistent awfulness in the form of war. The werewolf is simultaneously emblematic and inconsequential: man is a wolf to man, and against that can one wolfman's dozen murders truly matter? It's a great thesis--which doesn't really improve the text's weaker elements, like the concept of inherited evil/nature vs. nurture, a touchy subject unsatisfactorily explored, or the fact that the intricacies of the Franco-Prussian war don't make for great reading; but these flaws are balanced by unexpectedly powerful, id-grabbing elements, particularly insights into the werewolf's self-concept and his intense, violent romance. A fascinating read, especially for werewolf fanatics, although its takeaways on the trope now feel a little on the nose.
There was something compelling in his eyes. Something of that strange compulsion of an abyss. That invitation of the void, of great heights: Come, cast yourself down. Just let yourself go. How do you know it isn't sweeter than anything you have ever imagined or experienced in life? Why do you fear? Why do you fear what you do not know as yet? Come! Come!
Oh! the opium-sweet attraction of death!
(Guy Endore was Jewish! Which is a fact I not-infrequently stumble upon now that I'm tracking more author demographics.)
Title: Fist of the Spider Woman: Tales of Fear and Queer Desire
Editor: Amber Dawn
Published: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2009
Rating: 4 of 5
Page Count: 190
Total Page Count: 347,975
Text Number: 1258
Read Because: appears on numerous spooky queer recommendations lists, ebook borrowed from the Wilsonville Public Library
Review: Erotic horror by, for, and focusing on queer women is a phenomenal concept. It inspires/collects pieces which are carnal and strange--like the opening story, Milks' "Slug," which commits entirely to its title; like the editor's penultimate "Here Lies the Last Lesbian Rental in East Vancouver," with a rich queer history and remarkable central tableau. (Other particular favorites: Evans' "In Circles" has a dynamic which speaks directly to my id; Barnes's "Shark" has a convincing sense of place and home. Also Lamm's "Conspiracy of Fuckers" and Bach's "All You Can Be.") Boundaries like erotic/terrifying, fetish/fear, and consent are fluid and broken. The existence of the anthology in itself is invigorating, captivating, and bumps up my rating. But as in all anthologies, quality varies, and this particular theme and selection of indie authors exacerbates that. The tone can err didactic and bingo-y; all the poetry was a miss for me, and some pieces are on-theme but in hammy or unremarkable ways.
