It is October and Halloween is right around the corner. For most of us, we are marathon watching our favorite horror franchises. The sequels, no matter the quality, may be entertaining, but never seem to live up to the original. And in very rare air, a sequel delivers more than the original. John Carpenter’s Tales for a Halloween Night Volume Two may be in that rare spot even stacked up against its Eisner Winning Volume One.
This second collection was ambitious. Volume Two is actually double the size of the original. Horror Anthologies that run longer in length tend to lead to more inconsistency across stories, Tales actually bucked that trend and made the book more enjoyable.
The art in this volume is really diverse and stylized and gives each story a distinct perspective. There is everything from black and white with scratchy lines to bright and bold coloring reminiscent of Jhonen Vasquez’s Invader Zim cartoons. There is also appreciation for some of the stories that let the art do the heavy lifting of the storytelling.
Each writer found a way to tell their own tale of terror and no two stories felt similar. Due to the size of each tale it is hard to say too much without giving away, but truthfully, I enjoyed each of the tales.
The only critical critique of this came in the way in the final tale, “House of the Rising Son.” The lettering was so jarring that it really took away from some beautiful art and was an unfortunate end to a really solid great horror anthology series.
Quick Cuts:
The Traveler’s Tale – John Carpenter kicks off this book with a wonderfully realized setting and the feel of a perfect Twilight Zone episode.
Ratings: 4.5 out of 5
Carnevil Max –Daniel Leister from last week’s Lord of Gore helps deliver a twisted game show tale with a spectacular creepy ending.
Ratings: 5 out of 5
The Posse –Who doesn’t love horror in the Old West?
Ratings: 5 out of 5
The Finger – My favorite. The final panel was haunting.
Ratings: 5 out of 5
Patterns – If An Inconvenient Truth scared you, this will leave you terrified.
Ratings: 5 out 5
The Basement – An origin story to the next slasher I want to see on screen.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
So Happy – Killer Klowns from Outer Space run an amusement park.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
Just Stories – Enjoyed the black and white art of Dexter meets mountain man.
Ratings: 4 out of 5
Hands Free – Solid Art. Solid Story.
Ratings: 3 out of 5
‘Til Death –If you thought Gone Girl was scary, this kicks it up a whole new level.
Ratings: 5 out of 5
Mr. Goodnight –Very vivid art, a little short on compelling story telling.
Ratings: 3 out 5
Safe from Harm – A little confusing, but felt like an old radio drama.
Ratings: 3.5 out of 5
House of the Rising Son – Great Art. Lettering was too bad to ignore.
Ratings: 3 out of 5.
This was a ton of fun and encourage everyone to check out this book. Also check out my interview with Amanda Deibert and Catt Staggs, the creative team behind the Til Death story talk about their creative process and more here.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!