For the Love of Fumetti

My first contact with Fumetti came about six years ago, when an Italian pen pal of mine mentioned he collected comics. I had been collecting comics since I was five; it was something we both had in common and decided that I would send him some of my favorite American titles and he would send me some of his favorite Italian titles. I really didn’t know what to expect, I sent him some Spiderman issues from the eighties and he agreed to send me some of his from the eighties as well.

When I first got the package I was a little taken aback, the shipping box wasn’t very wide, but was heavy. I opened it up and found four 5x7 inch books. They were quite a bit smaller than American comic books but were a lot thicker. They all had nicely illustrated covers, and the interior art was in my opinion somewhat better than some of the American comic book art of the era.

I took each title out one by one and flipped through it. The first was Kriminal, a skull faced antihero who had a good looking female sidekick. There was some action but this particular issue had quite a bit of dialogue and at the time I couldn’t figure out that Kriminal could change his appearance to look like anyone. The Second was Satanik, from what I could make out Satanik had an ugly face and a pretty face, in this issue she fought a vampire. The last two were something different altogether they were two issues of the title Storie Blu. Both covers featured naked woman and monsters, the stories were convoluted but I got the gist of what was happening. There were monsters, aliens, hardcore sex scenes, and gratuitous violence. I was hooked.

Everything I loved about Italian genre cinema was in these comics. I quickly shot off an email to my friend in Italy and inquired about the titles. He explained to me that they were an erotic/horror hybrid that was popular for a while in Europe. He told me about other titles I might be interested in and said that he had literally hundreds of titles taking up space on his bookshelves. Needless to say other exchanges were made; I have quite a collection of them now. My knowledge is limited but I would like to share what I know about the titles I have.

About a year ago I googled “fumetti”, thinking I wouldn’t get a hit. I never had before. To my surprise I found a site called The Groovy Age of Horror. The fellow who ran it had a nice backlog of short fumetti reviews. The format was simple a cover scan a short synopses about the book and a few key page scans that told the story in short form. I’m now totally addicted to Groovy Age, not just for the fumetti but for all his post. Curt, the guy who runs it, always has something discussion worthy to post. Check it out for yourself here.

Down but not Out

Sorry for the unexpected hiatus, I contracted a particular nasty strain of the flu, and then inadvertently spread it to my youngest son. I was so sick I didn’t really feel like reading much, but I’m feeling much better now and am ready to spread the good word of literary sleaze. Expect a new post Monday morning.

Out for a while

I'll be away from my computer this weekend, so no Original Fiction this Friday. But rest assured I'll be back next week with new fiction, a review or two, and maybe a fumetti post.

Out of the Gutter #5

Out of the Gutter #5: The Modern Journal of Pulp Fiction & Degenerate Literature

I’ve been reading this unique publication since issue one; it impresses me more with each consecutive issue. Issue #5 is the revenge issue; we get all kinds of stories in this one. The stories are divided up by read time starting with Flash fiction, then the 10 minute read, 15 to 20, and one 30 minute story. Mixed in here and there are comic strips, a crossword, and interesting facts.

From story one we are treated to some really good flash fiction, these stories may be short but they are very well executed. Things just get better as the length increases, in the 10 minute section the story “Just Look What the Bitch Made You Do” the perfect murder goes totally haywire and ends on a very bleak note. Then again that’s how most of these stories run, the hardest of the hardcore hardboiled. If you like your crime well written with large helpings of viscera and sleaze, definitely check this out.

Out of the Gutter retails for $12.95 + shipping and is available here.

The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics

Edited by Peter Normanton

As the title promises, this tome is mammoth and full of great comics. Other books in the Mammoth Comic series are hit and miss. Some of the stories are good while others not so good, but I enjoyed close to every story represented in this volume. That might have something to do with the fellow who edited the book, Peter Normanton. For those who don’t know Mr. Normanton, he is responsible for editing the wonderful horror fanzine “From the Tomb”.

This book’s chapters are divided by decades each representing a different period in the comic horror cycle. Each chapter begins with a small essay discussing the era and where horror comics stood within the industry at that time, and with each comic story prefaced with a short discussion of the book which the comic came from. Normanton does a terrific job of selecting which comics are on display. There is quite a variety of stories with most of the standout artist/writers represented like Mike Ploog, Frank Brunner, and even Steve Niles. Not an altogether easy task considering that any Marvel, DC, EC, or Warren Magazine stories are included in this collection.

Of particular interest to me are the chapters covering the 80s through the 90s. A rather dry time for horror comics, and the time I started collecting comics. I was always interested in horror comics but as a kid there just were not many to be found on store shelves. This book puts a perspective on that time and explains why the genre nearly dried up during that time only to explode again at the beginning of the new millennium.

This book is massive with a page count of 544; the print is all black and white on thick pulp-like stock, and retails for just $17.95 available from Amazon.