Not Dead Yet: Print Reviews

Late last year, Wonder Entertainment released a special collector's edition of Thomas Ligotti's short story "The Frolic" in a book that comes bundled with a DVD -- a 24 minute adaptation of that story directed by Jacob Cooney. Get it soon, because this product is limited to 1000 copies, and there are signed editions available. Remarkably, this is the very first cinematic adaptation of Ligotti's work -- and I must say, it's an excellent treatment, co-scripted by Ligotti himself, intensely directed, and well-acted. In my Goreletter reviews, I try to shine light on (mostly independent) "print" books because I feel…

One of my old Army buddies, Eric Hoffman, went on to become a comedian, making a name for himself in the Chicago improv circuit and landing some good roles in TV and film (most notably, he parodied the John Travolta character from Pulp Fiction in My Big Fat Independent Movie). He even wrote for Bob & Dave's "Mr. Show" for awhile. Well, now he's an author, or co-author with Gary Rudoren, anyway, with the release of a great humor book: Comedy by the Numbers I didn't intend to review the book here, but it's such a singularly funny read that…

Have you ever read Thomas Wiloch? If not, maybe you should. Don't just take my word for it. Thomas Ligotti says Wiloch is writing "what deserve to be included among the best prose poems ever written in any language." And like Ligotti, Wiloch has been quietly working away in relative obscurity in his own "niche" for two decades, developing a one-of-a-kind approach to a form he almost entirely owns. Wiloch writes surrealist short-short pieces, often no longer than a page long, that are as philosophical as they are whimsical, as clever as they are poetic, and as disturbing as they…

Meet "Bob the Angry Flower," Stephen Notley's outrageous main character in his comic strip by the same name. Bob is a pissed off sunflower -- that icon of happiness and sunshine. But Bob's disposition isn't sunny, sappy, or sugary -- he's angry as hell. This embodies Notley's approach to the form: he turns what we assume about popular culture icons inside-out and upside-down, in the process challenging our worldview. And it makes for a very entertaining, thought-provoking read. Dog Killer -- his latest collection of comics -- is rife with wry political commentary and subversive play, but it's also an…