Octobris!

This October has turned into celebrations of two great talents. The first is Rich Corben who started out his career in the underground of comix but soon migrated to the more respectable (if not necessarily better) comic books and comic magazines when his talent became obvious to one and all. Currently Dark Horse is reprinting his famous Den saga and this month I will examine the first four volumes as well as other vibrant Corben offerings. That includes some more traditional Corben horror set up as Halloween itself nears.

The second great talent is Fritz Leiber, a grandmaster of science fiction and the creator of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser (that's them in the bottom right corner), the most urbane and sophisticated "heroes" in an extraordinarily weird world in the sword and sorcery genre. We'll take another long look at the complete bizarre saga.  I love this mismatched but exceedingly dynamic duo, and I have to make a journey to Nehwon every so often, just to remind myself of its splendid quality.  And I'd love to slip in a few other classic Leiber novels if I can get the chance. 

Also on tap is Manly Wade Wellman's Silver John or John the Balladeer, created by Wellman for the pages of Weird Tales. I've long wanted to read these strange and dark stories of the man with the silver-stringed guitar, and will get my chance this month, with the short stories. These are tasty supernatural tales set in the mountains of Appalachia, an environment I was reared in. Very much looking forward to these yarns. 

The Jim Henson Company is most famous for The Muppets of course, but I'd like to take a gander at two of the company's darker creations, the fantasy films The Labyrinth and The Dark Crystal. Both of these films were made when movies were still mostly done on the stage or in camera. 

Warren Magazines created a batch of truly weird heroes. One of the most successful was Hunter and the sequel Hunter II. Jim Warren's outfit was responsible for getting some work from across the pond published for the first time in the United States, albeit with some changes. Hope to get around to some of those such as El Cid and Dax the Damned. Some of these have been collected by Dark Horse over the years. 

The Web of Horror was a short-lived magazine during the heyday of other horror mags like Creepy and Eerie. A lot of great young talent broke out in these pages. The magazine ran just three issues but four were prepared and finally Fantagraphics has reprinted them with lots of extras. I've been waiting all year to dive into this tome, and now is the month. 

That leaves time for a few other items to toss in, such as wrapping up my year-long look at Atlas-Seaboard. The company which burst onto the scene with so much promise and vigor gave up the ghost before the chill of the year had settled in. The last few comics and a look at their magazine line-up as well.

Also, I haven't forgotten about the great Neal Adams who I have been celebrating all year long. Look for some outstanding stuff from him a as this Halloween month shambles along. I've jammed in all sorts of surprises. 

Look for lots of creepy things, stuff with a sword and sorcery tilt. It's not so much traditional horror this year at the Dojo, but something a bit different. And who knows what else I'll find a way to fit in. It's a celebration of the weird and the unusual. And that's got Halloween written all over it. 

Rip Off