Forbidden Gallery #2 (ACP)
William Mull, Rene King Thompson, Nicola Cuti (w)
Craig Hamilton, Karl Comendador, Tim Holtrop, Brian Postman, Nik Polikwo (a)
There was a time when mystery/horror/science fiction anthologies were published by all the major comic companies Marvel had Tales of Suspense, Strange Tales & Journey into Mystery these were turned into superhero comics as Marvel challenged the ascendency of DC in the sixties. DC lasted longer than most with it's House of Secrets, House of Mystery, Ghosts and Mystery in Space titles amongst other but these too fell by the wayside as comics changed.
Then of course there were the smaller publishers most notably Charlton who put out a whole range of mystery books with both new and old material employing people like Steve Ditko to turn out some excellent material (and let's face it some bad) over the years until the company gave up the ghost...
Recently there has been a successful attempt to revive a black & white horror mag for the "top shelf so to speak with Creeps from Warrant publishing. Now another company, ACP has appeared on the scene with Forbidden Gallery, an anthology of stories to entertain and horrify!
There have been two issues so far with the format improving with the second issue. There are five stories plus a "risque" opening scene with the series host Archimedes.
There have been two issues so far with the format improving with the second issue. There are five stories plus a "risque" opening scene with the series host Archimedes.
The Book opens with sacrifices being made in Scattercrow only for everything to go wrong. Reflections in a Black Pool comes up next with a rather compelling tale of lynchings, savagery and prejudice by the human race. This has a twist which I won't spoil but brings back memories of other similar if not so violent stories from the old days.
Pumpkin Smoosher, The Other Side and my personal favourite The Wire Brain finish off the book. No spoilers here. Overall a high standard of art and writing that renews the genre for the modern age.
The first issue is still available. Here's a sneak peak!
See more at: www.acpcomics.com. Available through Diamond and digitally from Comixology. You can also order here: www.indyplanet.us
Hey, thanks very much for your review and mention of "The Wire Brain"...i loved working with Nicola Cuti on that!
ReplyDeleteYes, the whole ACP crew,William Mull and company were great!
DeleteThanks for the wonderful review and mention of "Reflections in a Black Pool". William Mull, Tim Holtrop and the entire ACP crew were great to work with!
ReplyDeleteCheers guys. Keep up the good work and I'll look out for the next issue in Previews!
ReplyDelete