Have You Read This? The Cockroach King by Andrew Cull

 

Some might erroneously call the horror genre one-dimensional since the basic definition talks about “any story that generates a fear reaction,” but fear is more a spectrum rather than one single emotion and stories can cater to any position on said spectrum. There are horror stories that feel like a cold breeze across your skin, there are horror stories that feel like a hot breath across the back of your neck, and then there are horror stories that feel like a thousand little legs scurrying beneath your skin. Andrew Cull, in particular, is a writer that seems to write with the sole purpose of getting under one’s skin, not only to get to the meat underneath but to leave a little something behind that is sure to hatch and grow formidable within the mind of the reader. One such example of this ability to burrow under the reader’s skin is his novella The Cockroach King.

Single mother Cassie Baker thinks that she’s found the perfect house for her and her baby boy Sam. It reminds her of growing up with her mother, there’s plenty of room, and the neighbors seem friendly, if a little unusual. There’s just the issue of the dead animals that she finds buried on the property. And the cockroaches. LOTS of cockroaches. There is something else buried underneath her house, and she might be the only one capable of protecting her and her child before what lives beneath her demands its pound or so of flesh.

I read Cull’s Remains and it was a haunted house story that truly shocked me because of its willingness to dig at emotional scabs and taboo subjects. Reading this book makes me think Cull is a writer who will always “go there.” Dead dogs? Check. Insect swarms that guarantee a skin-crawling experience? Check. Putting women and young children in danger? BIG CHECK!

Now this isn’t saying that Cull is shamelessly exploiting and glorifying violence and revulsion. Andrew Cull is a writer who knows how to hit the readers’ pressure points. Those pressure points might be anything from horrifying scenarios to terrors that might hit you or your loved ones. He might be a writer who’d make trigger warnings mandatory, but if you’d rather survive a horror story than read it, Andrew Cull might be the madman you’re looking for.

Graphic Content: Creepshow Vol. 1

 

It seems that Creepshow has enjoyed a kind of wretched renaissance, to employ a phrase the eponymous Creep might use. Indeed, Creepshow is still showing on the Shudder network, just as horror anthologies are still going strong on all the streaming services. Horror historians might remember that books like Tales from the Crypt and Creepshow not only offended pearl-clutching parents back in the day but also how they created new media properties in the form of movies and television shows. Proving that horror is ultimately cyclical, there is Creepshow, Vol. 1, once more returning to the graphic novel medium while also featuring some heavy hitters in comic book writing like Clay McCleod Chapman and Paul Dini.

Fans of the Creepshow series, the movies, and even the comics are familiar with the format: each issue collected in this trade paperback features two stories (a grand total of ten for this entire collection) and they all feature the same gory, campy shenanigans of the Creepshow brand. From birthday mascots scarier than any clown to forbidden temples guaranteed to make shallow influencers pay for desecrating them, there should be a few tales guaranteed to raise hackles and tempt you to buy some x-ray specs.

Like many anthologies, the entries vary in quality but there are a few standouts, like the one featuring a character that eats more than cake at a children’s birthday party and a group of hunters who frequent a local barber shop talking about what could be lurking out there in the woods. One particular story that shows the series’ gleefully dark humor is about a comics creator who defends his home thanks to the brutal encouragement of his cuddly creations. But if you’re a fan of Creepshow, or even Tales from the Crypt, this is one anthology series you should check out while waiting for new episodes on Shudder.

New Arrival: The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

 

Hauntings are as much a part of horror as chocolate is to ice cream. Chocolate isn’t necessarily a requirement, but it’s hard to imagine ice cream existing without chocolate, just as it’s hard to imagine a horror story without its protagonist being haunted in some way. That said, just like there’s Rocky Road, Death by Chocolate, and all the subtle variations of chocolate, there are many variations of hauntings, some of them might be done by ghosts but nearly all of these hauntings are helped along by the protagonist. Married mother of three Alejandra, for example, is a woman haunted by many things in V. Castro’s The Haunting of Alejandra.

Alejandra is nearing a breaking point. Her husband treats her more as hired help than a life partner, and she spends most of her life living for her children, who drain her emotionally. On top of all of that is La Llorna, the murderous mother of Mexican legend who wishes to pull the women of Alejandra’s family into a pit of despair and death. Alejandra discovers her roots, a therapist who doesn’t scoff at her visions of La Llorna, and a mother she never knew, but will it be enough to save her and her family?

(Might be spoilers ahead, but read this book if you like woman protagonists getting stronger)

The book could have easily been called “The Transformation of Alejandra” as its real focus is on Alejandra’s personal and spiritual journey. Rather than explosive phenomena of blood pouring from the walls and furniture flung every which way, this story is more about how Alejandra arms herself for battle from La Llorna and what she represents; the despair of a life lived in quiet, soul-crushing desperation. She takes steps to help her and her family, gathering knowledge about her past and about herself, deciding who she really wants to be. The real vanquishing of the story isn’t so much sending La Llorna back to Hell or wherever she resides; it’s Alejandra vanquishing those elements of her life and personality that are holding back her growth as a person. It might be a different flavor of haunting than some are used to, but the metamorphosis Alejandra undergoes gives a more than satisfying ending.

Have You Read This Graphic Content? Frankenstein Underground by Mike Mignola

 I sometimes wonder if Mary Shelley had any idea just how popular her monster would become. Did she have an inkling that its blend of science-gone-wrong and horror-done-right would earn its place on everything from t-shirts to trick-or-treat bags (along with everyone confusing the monster’s name with its creator Frankenstein). Perhaps not, but even if the story was born simply out of a gathering of writers telling stories, no one can deny what it’s eventually grown into, especially as many writers take their turn deconstructing and rebuilding the monster. One such writer is Mike Mignola who reconstructs the monster into a sort of antihero in his book Frankenstein: Underground.

Frankenstein’s monster has just escaped a battle with Mignola’s most famous creation Hellboy and has escaped underground. Looking for a chance to be left alone while recovering, he soon tumbles headlong into an adventure featuring a race of underground dwellers, a temple full of the not-quite-dead, and a demon who’s looking to destroy everything. It’s enough to make this monster go right back to the lab in Mexico and ask Hellboy to punch that Right Hand of Doom into his rebuilt face.

Mike Mignola fans should be quite familiar with Mignola’s art style as well as this book’s action-adventure format: throw several mythological monsters into a blender, throw in a hard-to-kill protagonist, and set to puree. However, I am hesitant to simply say that Hellboy can be switched out with the monster, and it pretty much be the same story. Mignola also understands what makes Frankenstein’s monster so popular. Shelley showed this monster both as a murderer and as a misunderstood creature, but at its core is the desire to belong. The more poignant moments in this book are when the monster states how it simply wants to rest, to not be. Hellboy at least had friends to help him. The monster becomes a hero despite being a complete outsider.