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| nobinobita 1249th Post
  
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|  "Horror Comix" , posted Thu 6 Feb 09:00  
The topic of Horror Manga came up in the Scanlation page and I thought it might be worth it's own thread!
Please chime in with your favorite horror comics and related stories.
I'll start things off (continuing from the scanlation thread)
quote:
The comic I read was made expressly for the purpose of giving children nightmares, more along the lines of something from Hideshi Hino or Junji Ito, but drawn much much more realistically. It's burnt into my memory. It's about a little kid (Oh hey! He's my age!) who has an imaginary friend that of course, no one else can see. The odd thing is that his imaginary friend is a very mundane looking old man. He seems friendly enough at first, like an affable grandpa, but as the story progresses he starts asking the kind to do stuff that makes him uncomfortable and as the kid resists his appearance slowly changes, his expressions become more perverse, his mood grows darker and then it culminates in a scene where his neck starts distending and spiraling around the room
Hey Nobi, I'm hardly an expert regarding horror manga, but I have some weird suspicion that it may have been something by Junji Ito, who's I think most famous for Uzumaki and Gyo. His Tomie has the distinction of creeping the shit out of me about a decade ago when I first came across it. I'm slightly embarrassed to admit that I was almost unable to finish reading Gyo, as I was alone at my work during a thunderstorm while I read it.
I kinda hope he made the story you're talking about since his work is pretty easily available-- and by that I mean legitimately, in English translation. His work has a certain odd realism to it even as he's drawing d
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In spite of the use of spirals i don't think it was Junji Ito. The style was a lot more realistic, along the lines of I am a Hero (another GREAT horror comic btw!)
Hey if you're a Junji Ito fan, do you know the work of Uno Moralez? He's a Russian artist who does these AMAZING black and white pixel art illustrations. They're fantastic. (I think he's also heavily influenced by Suehiro Maruo--another favorite!)
Here's his website:
[url=http://unomoralez.com/
]http://unomoralez.com/
Here's his Tumblr:
http://unomoralez.tumblr.com/
Here's a great writeup about him:
http://www.foundwonders.com/art/illustrations/bizarre-pixel-art-horrors-by-uno-moralez/
Here's a great interview with him from the Comics Journal:
http://www.tcj.com/uno-moralez/
www.art-eater.com
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| Pollyanna 3610th Post
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| "Re(1):Horror Comix" , posted Thu 6 Feb 10:06
Your tale of a terrifying imaginary friend reminded me of Kazuo Umezu's short story collection "Negai," which offers a demented and poorly-drawn Santa Claus horror story among some much more accomplished works.
I became aware of him when I saw Cat Eyed Boy playing late at night in Japan. It was 50% "what the hell is this?" and 50% "I need this now."
(disclaimer: I have no idea what the video I linked to entails, so the episode might totally suck...it was just the first Cat Eyed Boy thing I found)
Much to my surprise Viz released two huge books of it in English years later. I can't say they did a great job with it, but it's still worth the purchase. The stories, like Umezu's work as a whole, I think, are a mixed bag, but the ones that are good are stunning.
I do love I Am a Hero, but my favorite horror manga is probably Shiki. Its use of photographs is absolutely insane. There are so many unique "tricks" in the artwork. So many "how did he do this?" and "what a brilliant idea!" moments. I would love to see a documentary on how it was made. Despite the comparatively cartoonish look of the characters, the use of photographs for locations or things like hands can be quite chilling or at the very least, hugely interesting. I haven't had the pleasure of reading the novels it was based on, but I have a great respect for Fuyumi Ono as an author and her skill shows through delightfully here. It's hugely disappointing that only the anime was released over here, which despite its wonderful Buck-Tick opening, can't compare to the manga.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| nobinobita 1251th Post
Red Carpet Executive Member
| "Re(2):Horror Comix" , posted Thu 6 Feb 11:32:
quote:
Your tale of a terrifying imaginary friend reminded me of Kazuo Umezu's short story collection "Negai," which offers a demented and poorly-drawn Santa Claus horror story among some much more accomplished works.
I became aware of him when I saw Cat Eyed Boy playing late at night in Japan. It was 50% "what the hell is this?" and 50% "I need this now."
(disclaimer: I have no idea what the video I linked to entails, so the episode might totally suck...it was just the first Cat Eyed Boy thing I found)
Much to my surprise Viz released two huge books of it in English years later. I can't say they did a great job with it, but it's still worth the purchase. The stories, like Umezu's work as a whole, I think, are a mixed bag, but the ones that are good are stunning.
I do love I Am a Hero, but my favorite horror manga is probably Shiki. Its use of photographs is absolutely insane. There are so many unique "tricks" in the artwork. So many "how did he do this?" and "what a brilliant idea!" moments. I would love to see a documentary on how it was made. Despite the comparatively cartoonish look of the characters, the use of photographs for locations or things like hands can be quite chilling or at the very least, hugely interesting. I haven't had the pleasure of reading the novels it was based on, but I have a great respect for Fuyumi Ono as an author and her skill shows through delightfully here. It's hugely disappointing that only
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Wow Cat Eyed Boy has such a rad theme song! This is the perfect show to discover randomly late at night! The whole thing feels like a weird dream. God I love the colors from everything from that time period. I didn't know Viz published the comic. I gotta pick it up. I love Umezu's work. The show's so low budget, but it has a cool feeling to it, like watching a kamishibai. The drawings are so good and they do a lot with the multiplane camera work. Gotta love those 70s quick zooms too!
Polly have you read Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil? So many amazing stories. I'll never forget the first one with the crazy scissor lady. That's one of the most terrifying gruesome things I've ever seen (comics, movies or otherwise). There was also a really great one about a kid who could see demons everywhere (at least I think this was from Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil). They were these floating, skinless, goat headed men who just hovered behind people watching them go about their day. That one really stuck with me cos the demons weren't doing anything most of the time, but their mute omnipresence throughout really mundane situations was incredibly unnerving.
It would be great if someone published those on our shores. Maybe the content is a little too extreme though, especially cos it's usually kids being killed.
I will have to check out Shiki. I hadn't heard about it previously. The manga looks amazing! In my young idealistic days I was really against photo tracing, but some comics artists are incredibly photographers and really put it to good use.
Hey the Buck Tick theme for Shiki is pretty good too! If you're a buck tick fan, check out this illustration my buddy did for a magazine spread about em:
http://gammon.deviantart.com/art/Buck-Tick-44070715
quote:
Perhaps not exactly horror, but Tatsuya Egawa's the last man gives me such bad feelings....
Egawa is best known for golden boy, but even there his style can be creepy...I Find the way he draws anatomy particularly discomforting...he also uses sex in way that does not make it erotic, just weird and uncomfortable.
Still, he can do comedy and action, it just always comes out weird at the end...'
I LOVE TATSUYA EGAWA! Someone at my job just told me I remind them of Kintaro hahaha.
Have you seen his Shonen Jump manga, Magical Taruruto-Kun? It was so good! I can't believe all the stuff he got away with! I mean, it wasn't just the nudity, it was the fetishistic tone of everything. Somehow everything that guy does is incredibly perverse and pure at the same time. Can't believe he had a hit kid's franchise. It was even popular enough to get some videogames (including a BEAUTIFUL MegaDrive game by Gamefreak) and a TV show which was suitably bizarre(i guess everything in Shonen Jump got a TV show eventually though). Holy crap, there were even some OVAs! Look at those dudes fighting it out in their leotards!
One of my favorite things from Egawa is Last Man. It's like a weird mix of a high school romance comedy, plus kamen rider, plus devil man plus ... i dunno. It really goes off the deep end. Really heart rending. The way he draws violence in that comic is really visceral. Some of the most painful to look at art I've seen.
The main character's stag beetle form is still one of my favorite monster/sentai designs ever.
www.art-eater.com
[this message was edited by nobinobita on Thu 6 Feb 11:42] |
| Pollyanna 3611th Post
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| "Re(3):Horror Comix" , posted Fri 7 Feb 08:07
quote:
Polly have you read Left Hand of God, Right Hand of the Devil? So many amazing stories. I'll never forget the first one with the crazy scissor lady. That's one of the most terrifying gruesome things I've ever seen (comics, movies or otherwise).
You have reminded me that I am possibly the dumbest human alive for reading the first book and not picking up the others. I might be taking advantage of the nice exchange rate and making an Amazon Japan order to rectify this soon.
The rusted scissors story is...I don't want to say horriFYING, because I don't know that it scared me so much, but it's almost certainly the most horriFIC thing I've ever read. It's like the part of the horror movie where someone's head spins around and snakes come out of their eye sockets only it lasts for 250 pages. It's so stupid that its genius, then so horrific that it's ridiculous, then horrific all over again. Artistically, he's in very good form on this one and I love love love the way he draws children, especially little girls.
So thank you for the reminder. I'll be reading the rest of the stories soon.
quote:
I will have to check out Shiki. I hadn't heard about it previously. The manga looks amazing! In my young idealistic days I was really against photo tracing, but some comics artists are incredibly photographers and really put it to good use.
Hey the Buck Tick theme for Shiki is pretty good too! If you're a buck tick fan, check out this illustration my buddy did for a magazine spread about em:
http://gammon.deviantart.com/art/Buck-Tick-44070715
I used to be against a lot of digital manipulation in manga, but now I just see it as another tool for the creators to use. I'm actually surprised at how closed-minded I was in the past. I didn't like artists using programs to color their work either, like "C'mon, you used Photoshop? I thought you were a real artist!" I have no idea where such a pointlessly judgmental standpoint came from, but I suppose digital art has really evolved and improved over the years. That being said, I'm still pretty unforgiving when an artist uses a digital medium poorly, though it's not like there aren't tons of professional artists with deficiencies in other areas as well.
As for the Buck-Tick picture...wow, that's an incredible thing to be able to just bust out. "Hey, you like Buck-Tick? How about this?" I'm delighted, but perhaps a bit speechless. I am a big fan of theirs, but mostly their more recent work. It's very rare that bands I like do openings to shows or games, so even if I don't care for the Shiki anime itself, the opening was something monumental for me.
I am undressed from 80’s style and recreated with modern sexy and beautiful style that amaze you and feel never been experienced world before.
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| Mosquiton 1965th Post
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| "Re(5):Horror Comix" , posted Thu 27 Feb 17:25
quote:
I'm not much into horror comics per se, as I don't usually find them so scary at all (a side effect of reading Creepy and Richard Corben underground stories since I was 6, perhaps?). But I must admit I've discovered some works throughout the years that managed to gross me out, mainly those which deal with pshychological themes as much as they play with guro imagery: Waita Uziga's Schoolgirl in Concrete and Mai Chan's Daily Life, Shintaro Kago's and Suehiro Maruo's works, or even Hiroaki Samura's Bradherley's Coach left me with the impression of peering into the blackest, vilest abyss of human subconscious. Whenever I get that weird feeling in my chest, as if something was withering away inside it, I know I'll closely follow that artist's career...
The cold stare of your avatar combines well with this post...
Honestly I can most often deal without peering into that vilest abyss you're talking about here. There are certain works that recalibrate your measure of human depravity when you see them. I don't think the themes aren't valid, it's that I don't have much of an appetite for that kind of explicit work.
But back to slightly more mainstreamy (at least within this rather specific genre), Uzumaki/Spiral is pretty great.
This guy's endings always leave me with a strange feeling, though... it's like they kind of just happen but the themes keep stretching to eternity? Like many others in this thread I enjoy Ito's work.
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| nobinobita 1264th Post
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| "Re(6):Horror Comix" , posted Sun 2 Mar 09:45
quote:
I'm not much into horror comics per se, as I don't usually find them so scary at all (a side effect of reading Creepy and Richard Corben underground stories since I was 6, perhaps?). But I must admit I've discovered some works throughout the years that managed to gross me out, mainly those which deal with pshychological themes as much as they play with guro imagery: Waita Uziga's Schoolgirl in Concrete and Mai Chan's Daily Life, Shintaro Kago's and Suehiro Maruo's works, or even Hiroaki Samura's Bradherley's Coach left me with the impression of peering into the blackest, vilest abyss of human subconscious. Whenever I get that weird feeling in my chest, as if something was withering away inside it, I know I'll closely follow that artist's career...
Samura's work is shocking. I think I'm going to have to lie down after reading that.
Samura's guro work is harrowing!
I picked up Hitodenashi no Koi (The Love of the Brute) last time I was in Tokyo (hanging out with The Professor and Maou).
I'd seen little glimpses of it here and there in Illustration magazines and even advertised in Josei manga, but my god, when I actually read it in person it made me sick to my stomach. His pencil drawings are so beautiful. Samura can draw a perfectly real, nuanced, individualistic human body from any angle. And he draws the most beautiful slim, raven haired women imaginable. But the things that happen to them in that collection of illustrations makes my hair stand on end.
I dunno if I can even call it a horror comic, though it is horrifying. The closest thing I can think of is Pier Paulo Pasolini's film Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. Beautifully crafted, exemplary of just how far you can push its medium, but it leaves you feeling hollow. Admirable, but not exactly enjoyable.
Anyway, here's a nice writeup on it (NSFW--not safe for your peace of mind either!)
http://cdn.halcyonrealms.com/illustration/brutal-love-the-twisted-art-of-samura-hiroaki/
www.art-eater.com
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| Grave 1493th Post
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| "Re(7):Horror Comix" , posted Sun 2 Mar 13:49
quote:
nobi talkin samura
Yes! And this is exactly why his work in this vein is the only kind I find myself interested in, I think- the stark contrast of the beauty of his work and the horror of what's depicted, I guess?
Might also have a bit to do with time of exposure... I was really young when I got into Blade of the Immortal, and when I got a lil bit older and the internet got a lil bit better and I was able to track down more of his work, well, that was a little bit of a surprise I suppose.
The Salò comparison is quite apt! If a strong enough feeling is invoked and the craftsmanship is good enough, then I guess this too is a kind of enjoyment, if that makes sense...?
I have a rather unusual story involving the time I ran into a girl I hadn't seen in years, invited her over, then showed her Salò and the second Guinea Pig movie back to back... I... think I should probably save this one.
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| Spoon 2569th Post
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| "Re(8):Horror Comix" , posted Sun 2 Mar 15:36
In spite of the fact that I can play through Dead Space, and in spite of that fearful captivation that the juxtaposition of beautiful craftsmanship with gruesome/horrific subject matter possesses, I can't handle mutilation guro. I can handle some pretty gruesome violence (I love Shigurui and Fist of the North Star, after all), but I find the dwelling on mutilation for its own sake hard to stomach.
I Am A Hero is pretty incredible, though!
My relationship with horror is still illuminating, though, because even though mostly I take it as a component of something else. I'm fine with sci-fi that has horror like Aliens or Dead Space, or fantasy that has horror like Berserk, or some comedic horror like House of the Dead Overkill. Maybe horror in its pure state is too strong of a flavor for me and I need it diluted a little.
Has anybody ever looked at Morohoshi Daijirou works? His work has a certain Lovecraftian element to it that is interesting.
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| mattfabb
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| "Re(7):Horror Comix" , posted Sun 2 Mar 17:09
quote:
I'm not much into horror comics per se, as I don't usually find them so scary at all (a side effect of reading Creepy and Richard Corben underground stories since I was 6, perhaps?). But I must admit I've discovered some works throughout the years that managed to gross me out, mainly those which deal with pshychological themes as much as they play with guro imagery: Waita Uziga's Schoolgirl in Concrete and Mai Chan's Daily Life, Shintaro Kago's and Suehiro Maruo's works, or even Hiroaki Samura's Bradherley's Coach left me with the impression of peering into the blackest, vilest abyss of human subconscious. Whenever I get that weird feeling in my chest, as if something was withering away inside it, I know I'll closely follow that artist's career...
Samura's work is shocking. I think I'm going to have to lie down after reading that.
Samura's guro work is harrowing!
I picked up Hitodenashi no Koi (The Love of the Brute) last time I was in Tokyo (hanging out with The Professor and Maou).
I'd seen little glimpses of it here and there in Illustration magazines and even advertised in Josei manga, but my god, when I actually read it in person it made me sick to my stomach. His pencil drawings are so beautiful. Samura can draw a perfectly real, nuanced, individualistic human bod
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I also thought about Pasolini when I read that,
I think the big difference between salo and samura's work is that in salo, Pasolini shows the mutilation happening, and while it's pretty horrifying, it's also made less daunting because it's on camera, and you don't have to imagine I much.
The manga medium is different, in that the mutilations don't happen on screen but in your mind, and it's much more graphic when you imagine it.
If you look at the manga, it suggests - an eye on the floor, a bandage, etc. - it does not show violence happening, and it's much worse for you. Scott Mccloud explained it well in ''understanding comics"--- it's the reader that fills the spaces between panels...so what happens its different for everyone.
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