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REVIEW: ‘You Promised Me Darkness’ #1 from Behemoth Comics

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You Promised Me Darkness

You Promised Me Darkness #1 (Behemoth Comics, $3.99) starts with a story by Sage, a character known only through narration at the outset, who tells a story of a brother and sister.

The brother is a victim of a boogeyman–a dark force within himself–that liked to burn things. The way that boogeyman manifested was a pyroclastic explosion of fire, igniting objects in a close radius. The sister, as the book title mentions, promises him darkness and a way to keep that fire from coming back and hurting himself and others.

If that sounds familiar–perhaps as in superheroes or mutants–well, you’re getting warm.  Sage, the narrator, is the next person we see, and he tells a tale of superhero-like ‘children of the comet’ that first appeared in 1910, creating characters with special abilities, many of which are dark and troubling.

A constant question I came up against in this review was ‘is this a horror book or a superhero book?’ The answer to me is “neither and both,” as there are elements of superheroes–specifically of the aughts-decade television show Heroes–balanced with elements of horror. The race of super-beings “were obviously persecuted, abducted, manipulated, analyzed, dissected and subjected to all sorts of atrocities,” Sage says. Those are not words from a superhero tale.

There’s a lot to like in the first issue. The villain, a (speaking of Heroes) Sylar-like character discovered his powers during a satanic sacrifice. He hunts super-powered children of the comet to kill them so he can consume their powers.  His next target? The brother in Sage’s introductory tale. There are also fun horror elements. I don’t want to spoil too much of the story so I’ll mention the group of mind-controlled assassins as my favorite.

Depending on taste, the art will be either a help or a hindrance. It’s minimal and raw–black on white, with no gray tones.  At its best, it conveys raw creepiness, such as a full-page shot of a gas mask and the setup/fight that dominates the latter half of the issue. At its worst, it gets overly dark, muddy and confusing–especially when textured backgrounds are involved–with panels that sometimes appear like zine pages that have been photocopied over one too many generations.

While I enjoyed most of the writing, an element of it didn’t work for me: a present narrator (Sage) seemed unnecessary, especially given the character’s dialogue quirks of ‘Yikes’ and the use of teenage-sounding speech mannerisms.

That said, the strong points of the story (the plot, the premise of the villain and the key brother and sister characters) win out. The art also works for me and tips the scales in favor of horror. Characters are minimalist and creepy and items like floating eyeballs show up more ominous on the page.  It harkens back to early indie work by Brian Michael Bendis and other creators who used pure black and white a la Sin City to deliver their stories in the 1990s.

Most important, in reaching the end of You Promised Me Darkness #1, I was eager to get to issue 2.  You Promised Me Darkness wields an interesting premise and promising plot lines.  Superhero, horror, a combination of both, this is a story with enough creepy elements and intrigue to keep readers satisfied.

For more comics reviews check out Something is Killing the Children.

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‘Alien’ is Being Made Into a Children’s ABC Book

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Alien Book

That Disney buyout of Fox is making for strange crossovers. Just look at this new children’s book that teaches children the alphabet via the 1979 Alien movie.

From the library of Penguin House’s classic Little Golden Books comes A is for Alien: An ABC Book.

Pre-Order Here

The next few years are going to be big for the space monster. First, just in time for the film’s 45th anniversary, we are getting a new franchise film called Alien: Romulus. Then Hulu, also owned by Disney is creating a television series, although they say that might not be ready until 2025.

The book is currently available for pre-order here, and is set to release on July 9, 2024. It might be fun to guess which letter will represent which part of the movie. Such as “J is for Jonesy” or “M is for Mother.”

Romulus will be released in theaters on August 16, 2024. Not since 2017 have we revisited the Alien cinematic universe in Covenant. Apparently, this next entry follows, “Young people from a distant world facing the most terrifying life form in the universe.”

Until then “A is for Anticipation” and “F is for Facehugger.”

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Holland House Ent. Announces New Book “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

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Screenwriter and Director Tom Holland is delighting fans with books containing scripts, visual memoirs, continuation of stories, and now behind-the-scenes books on his iconic films. These books offer a fascinating glimpse into the creative process, script revisions, continued stories and the challenges faced during production. Holland’s accounts and personal anecdotes provide a treasure trove of insights for movie enthusiasts, shedding new light on the magic of filmmaking! Check out the press release below on Hollan’s newest fascinating story of the making of his critically acclaimed horror sequel Psycho II in a brand new book!

Horror icon and filmmaker Tom Holland returns to the world he envisioned in 1983’s critically acclaimed feature film Psycho II in the all-new 176-page book Oh Mother, What Have You Done? now available from Holland House Entertainment.

‘Psycho II’ House. “Oh Mother, What Have You Done?”

Authored by Tom Holland and containing unpublished memoirs by late Psycho II director Richard Franklin and conversations with the film’s editor Andrew London, Oh Mother, What Have You Done? offers fans a unique glimpse into the continuation of the beloved Psycho film franchise, which created nightmares for millions of people showering worldwide.

Created using never-before-seen production materials and photos – many from Holland’s own personal archive – Oh Mother, What Have You Done? abounds with rare hand-written development and production notes, early budgets, personal Polaroids and more, all set against fascinating conversations with the film’s writer, director and editor which document the development, filming, and reception of the much-celebrated Psycho II.  

‘Oh Mother, What Have you Done? – The Making of Psycho II

Says author Holland of writing Oh Mother, What Have You Done? (which contains an afterward by Bates Motel producer Anthony Cipriano), I wrote Psycho II, the first sequel that began the Psycho legacy, forty years ago this past summer, and the film was a huge success in the year 1983, but who remembers? To my surprise, apparently, they do, because on the film’s fortieth anniversary love from fans began to pour in, much to my amazement and pleasure. And then (Psycho II director) Richard Franklin’s unpublished memoirs arrived unexpectedly. I’d had no idea he’d written them before he passed in 2007.”

“Reading them,” continues Holland, “was like being transported back in time, and I had to share them, along with my memories and personal archives with the fans of Psycho, the sequels, and the excellent Bates Motel. I hope they enjoy reading the book as much as I did in putting it together. My thanks to Andrew London, who edited, and to Mr. Hitchcock, without whom none of this would have existed.”

“So, step back with me forty years and let’s see how it happened.”

Anthony Perkins – Norman Bates

Oh Mother, What Have You Done? is available now in both hardback and paperback through Amazon and at Terror Time (for copies autographed by Tom Holland)

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Sequel to ‘Cujo’ Just One Offering in New Stephen King Anthology

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It’s been a minute since Stephen King put out a short story anthology. But in 2024 a new one containing some original works is getting published just in time for summer. Even the book title “You Like It Darker,” suggests the author is giving readers something more.

The anthology will also contain a sequel to King’s 1981 novel “Cujo,” about a rabid Saint Bernard that wreaks havoc on a young mother and her child trapped inside a Ford Pinto. Called “Rattlesnakes,” you can read an excerpt from that story on Ew.com.

The website also gives a synopsis of some of the other shorts in the book: “The other tales include ‘Two Talented Bastids,’ which explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills, and ‘Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream,’ about a brief and unprecedented psychic flash that upends dozens of lives. In ‘The Dreamers,’ a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored while ‘The Answer Man’ asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.”

Here’s the table of contents from “You Like It Darker,”:

  • “Two Talented Bastids”
  • “The Fifth Step”
  • “Willie the Weirdo”
  • “Danny Coughlin’s Bad Dream”
  • “Finn”
  • “On Slide Inn Road”
  • “Red Screen”
  • “The Turbulence Expert”
  • “Laurie”
  • “Rattlesnakes”
  • “The Dreamers”
  • “The Answer Man”

Except for “The Outsider” (2018) King has been releasing crime novels and adventure books instead of true horror in the past few years. Known mostly for his terrifying early supernatural novels such as “Pet Sematary,” “It,” “The Shining” and “Christine,” the 76-year-old author has diversified from what made him famous starting with “Carrie” in 1974.

A 1986 article from Time Magazine explained that King planned on quitting horror after he wrote “It.” At the time he said there was too much competition, citing Clive Barker as “better than I am now” and “a lot more energetic.” But that was almost four decades ago. Since then he’s written some horror classics such as “The Dark Half, “Needful Things,” “Gerald’s Game,” and “Bag of Bones.”

Maybe the King of Horror is waxing nostalgic with this latest anthology by revisiting the “Cujo” universe in this latest book. We will have to find out when “You Like It Darker” hits bookshelves and digital platforms starting May 21, 2024.

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