The following review contains dirty words, a flippant tone and at least one use of the colloquialism "nyah". Also "sez"...
So, I get this email from Jake over at Tales from Uranus. I had seen his comix advertised in a horror magazine or two, and my interest was piqued, but frankly, I had never really considered doing anything about comic books on Atrocities Cinema.com...because it's about Cinema. Ahem...
So Jake sez (paraphrased), "So, do ya wanna review my comix, huh?" So I sez, "Sure, why the hell not!" I got to thinking about it, and came to the conclusion that some types (but certainly not all types) of horror comix were suitable for attention and review on AC. Namely, the ones that drew clear parallels to the classic EC comics, which in turn were so important...in their own way...to the development of the modern horror movie as we know it (and mostly love it). So, how's that for a qualifying statement? That's the last fucking time I'm going to justify my actions to anyone on this site, so nyah.
Jake mails me a handful of sample issues, and I must say I'm impressed. There is more than meets the eye here, as the artwork, tone, and storylines definitely recall those halcyon EC days...but with an even nastier bite. Another parallel I could draw would be to say that Jake might very well be this country's answer to Hideshi Hino...sure, he's not as "high brow" as Hino (heh, heh), but the soul of these comix rents real estate in the same section of Hell.
Further drawing on the EC parallels, "Tales From Uranus" simply does the things that the writers and artists at EC could have only fuckin' wished to draw and/or write. There's bountiful blood, boobs, and naughty words galore in these four-color phantasmagoric frames, as if Jake were getting revenge on all those Comics Code censors that pretty much chased EC out of the business all those years ago. Plus, there's an apparent sly wit and keen sense of sarcasm and irony at work here, and there are some truly delightful (and sick) bits of dialogue...observe:
"Oh Yeah! Ride my engorged tool!" "Oh yes! My hot steamy teen twat throbs for your pulsating mansnake! Unghf! Unghf!"
...great stuff...
"Tales From Uranus" and its companion comics "Tomb of Satanic Gore" and "Crypt of Sadism" are highly enjoyable, extremely offensive, surprisingly well drawn and produced, and most importantly, they're fun! They are definitely for readers aged 18 and over (but with the mindset of 13 year old geeks). If someone were to make a movie out of this stuff...and actually attempt to do it some justice, I for one would be the first in line. Even the story titles themselves are priceless: "Face Eaters", "Tomb of the Sick Fucks", and, my personal favorite, "Scream, Fucker, Scream" are just a sampling.
Go ahead...you have my blessing. Go on over to Tales From Uranus and show Jake your love. In no small way, people like him are keeping our beloved genre alive and kicking, in all its blood-drenched, exploitative, silly glory.
The following review contains dirty words, a flippant tone and at least one use of the colloquialism "nyah". Also "sez"...