Jeff Burk's Blog, page 14
April 22, 2014
New Kindle Collection
Jeff Burk is the cult favorite author of several books including SHATNERQUAKE and CRIPPLE WOLF. He is also one of the most original, ridiculous, and nerdy voices in the bizarro genre. B-MOVIES AND BEER RUINED MY LIFE! contains six short stories and two non-fiction pieces by Jeff Burk. From the filming of a hentai where a monster can’t get it’s tentacles up to a house made literally of cats, this collection shows why Wil Wheaton described his writing as “Lloyd Kaufman and Sam Raimi’s mutant offspring,”
This ebook also contains two non-fiction essays. One about his worst reading ever where someone called the cops and an essay on loving extreme horror.
This collection contains:
I’VE SEEN ENOUGH HENTAI TO KNOW WHERE THIS IS GOING…
THE DOG WHO STARED
HOUSE OF CATS
FROSTY AND THE FULL MONTY
THE MOST ACCOMPLISHED CRACK HEAD IN THE WORLD
PUNK ROCK NURSING HOME
WHEN THE COPS CAME FOR SHATNER OR MY WORST READING EVER
YOU SICK FUCK OR WHY I LOVE EXTREME HORROR
February 24, 2014
I was interviewed on the Surreal Grotesque Podcast
I was interviewed for the 52nd episode of the Surreal Grotesque Podcast. It’s a great interview series with some of the coolest people in bizarro and horror. Here’s host Jeremy Maddux’s description of the interview:
“I interviewed Jeff Burk of Deadite and Eraserhead Press. We talked about the impressive Deadite releases coming up next month, the Shatnerquake series, his cat Squishy and what lessons we can take away from extreme horror.”
Click here to have a listen and make sure to dig through their archives for more great interviews!
January 29, 2014
Today is my Reddit Ask Me Anything!
Stop by and ask me questions about writing, publishing, horror, nerd shit, or whatever else is on your mind. I will be hanging out until midnight (pacific time). Here’s the link to the thread.
January 28, 2014
YOU SICK FUCK or WHY I LOVE EXTREME HORROR
I’m the head-editor for Deadite Press, an imprint of Eraserhead Press that focuses on cult and extreme horror. What I look for in books is the sickest and weirdest shit out there. Snuff film starring an infant? Fuck yeah! Genital grinder? We have a hit! Fucking someone in their skull via a power-drill hole? Can you make it a series?
Many of my friends, and even many others in the horror industry, don’t understand what I get out of these kinds of stories. They don’t understand why anyone would want to read or watch something filled with rape, torture, necrophilia, mutilation, and all other sorts of vile acts.
It’s really quite simple. I find all those things horrifying.
Many seem to forget the point of the horror genre is to horrify the audience. While I adore the fog-drenched sets of the Universal monster films and I’m a sucker for a well done haunted house flick, those things don’t actually scare me. Sorry to break it to everyone but ghosts and werewolves aren’t real. Rapists, serial killers, terrorists, sex slavery, and random acts of cruelty are real. The thought of being stalked by a vampire does not linger in the back of my brain in the same way as what could happen when walking alone in the middle of the night.
I know it’s cliché to say but humans are the real monsters and our supernatural creations are just stand-ins for our own fears. I just prefer the cut-out the symbolic middle-man and get straight to the dirty shit. Watching films like NEKROMANTIK and SALO give a safe glimpse into the depravity of the human condition.
In recent years we’ve had two controversial films released that (somehow) managed to get coverage in world-wide mainstream media – THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE series and A SERBIAN FILM. Apparently the idea of films revolving around forced shit eating or the production of child pornography/snuff were too much for some. Some misguided protectors of morality even managed to talk some countries into placing arrest warrants for the directors for obscenity (don’t worry, the cases got worked out and Tom Six and Srđan Spasojević are fine). All over fictional films featuring no real acts of violence or sex. They just went “too far.”
The idea of someone complaining that a horror film or story has “gone too far” completely mystifies me. The horror genre has always been the genre to “go too far.” It’s part of the point. Horror has always been pushing the boundaries of good taste to scare, upset, and disgust. It’s always been an integral part of the genre and it always will be.
I have to immediately question if these films did indeed go “too far” or were they instead successful horror films? They assaulted the audience with concepts and images that disturbed, sickened, lingered in the mind. Those that complained about these movies in terms of their subject matter just got something that we’re not use too – an affective horror movie. I believe those films should be praised for accomplishing their goals of mentally fucking the audience without mercy.
I’m not one for criticizing someone’s taste in media. If you like something I don’t like, good for you! But I will say if you are approaching the horror genre with a politically correct mindset, you’re going to have a bad time. The world is a violent and sick place and for many people, myself included, movies and stories that wallow in that nastiness help make the cruelty of reality make a little more sense. It’s a safe glimpse into the dark side of humanity. Complaining that a horror film disturbed or bothered you is like complaining that a comedy made you laugh. It’s just fucking stupid.
However, there is no denying how much fun it is to get together with some like-minded friends, crack some beers and spark up, and watch the GUINEA PIG series or BLOOD SUCKING FREAKS.
Maybe I am just a sick fuck? Fuck it, I don’t know but I know what I like. I think I’ll go watch CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST again…
This essay originally appeared in issue #4 of Splatterpunk. It was an awesome issue that also featured John Skipp, J. F. Gonzalez, Robert Essig, Shane McKenzie, and many more. There are still a few copies left, click here and get yourself a copy.
January 21, 2014
I’m doing a Reddit AmA (Ask Me Anything)!
I will be doing an Ask Me Anything on Dreadit, Reddit’s horror forum on Wednesday, January 29th from noon to midnight Pacific time. Stop by to ask me about publishing, writing, the bizarro scene, my favorite video games, or any other random bullshit on your mind: http://us.reddit.com/r/horror
January 5, 2014
Issue #11 of THE MAGAZINE OF BIZARRO FICTION – Out Now!
The newest issue of the premier magazine of bizarro fiction is out! For this one I wrote a profile on Edward Lee and an essay on the BABY JESUS BUTT PLUG controversy. Also featuring Garrett Cook, Robert Devereaux, Michael Allen Rose, Scott Cole, and the first piece of new fiction in nine years from Ryan Harding (author of GENITAL GRINDER) – a novella titled THE CORPSEFUCKER BLUES. Plus much more!
Click here to learn more and buy.
CRIPPLE WOLF Art
The disabled mass-murderer of my novella, CRIPPLE WOLF, is easily one of readers’ favorite characters from my stories. I must admit, I’m a bit amazed when I go to conventions and events at how often people bring up that they love the monster. I’m been fortunate and four different artists have created their own interpretation of the character. I thought it would be fun to show off the various ways the beast has been realized.
The novella was originally published in THE BIZARRO STARTER KIT (PURPLE). Frequented collaborator and long-time friend Chrissy Horchheimer (who also did the cover art and interior illustrations for SUPER GIANT MONSTER TIME) offered an illustration for the book:
For the CRIPPLE WOLF collection, she created a title page for each story. Here’s what she made for CRIPPLE WOLF:
Samuel Deats did the cover art for the collection. He also was responsible for the SHATNERQUAKE cover. If you look closely at the back of the seat on the left side, you can see a copy of SHATNERQUAKE in the seat’s pocket:
Skurvy Ink, who creates many awesome horror and bizarro shirts, got Justin Coons to design a CRIPPLE WOLF shirt. His features many of the other characters who appear in the story. You can click here to buy a shirt.
The newest vision of the beast comes from Elizabeth Canup. She also included Cripple Wolf’s sexy nurse assistant that appears briefly in the story:
Pretty badass.
If you’re curious about a wheelchair-bound lycanthrope massacring a plane of fetish sex enthusiasts, click here to learn more and buy a copy.
January 4, 2014
New Interview
I did an interview with Christoph Paul over at his website. I talk about Bizarro, independent publishing, the future of Deadite Press, and more.
January 3, 2014
December 28, 2013
2013 Wrap Up
Well another year is almost over. This was quite the busy one for me.
I’m finishing the year with four new Deadite Press books. THE RISING: SELECTED SCENES FROM THE END OF THE WORLD by Brian Keene, THE DUNWICH ROMANCE by Edward Lee, SANTA CLAUS SAVES THE WORLD by Robert Devereaux, and the long-awaited Tom Piccirilli benefit novel SIXTY-FIVE STIRRUP IRON ROAD by Brian Keene, Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, Bryan Smith, J. F. Gonzalez, Wrath James White, Ryan Harding, Nate Southard, and Shane McKenzie. Counting those four books, Deadite Press released fourteen books this year. You can check out them as well as all the past Deadite Press titles by clicking here. I also edited Garrett Cook’s amazing TIME PIMP for Eraserhead Press.
In terms of my own fiction, 2013 saw the release of my fourth book, SHATNERQUEST. People have been demanding it for years and who am I to say “no” to my adoring fans?
2013 also saw the publication of three new short stories I wrote, “The Most Accomplished Crack Head in the World,” “Hipster Hunter,” and “The Satanic Little Toaster.” Click on the links to grab the books they appear in. “House of Cats” was translated into Polish (“Dom (z) Kotow”) and BizarroCast produced an audio adaptation of “Frosty and the Full Monty.” Finally, there was a chapbook I made for BizarroCon, AND THEN A BUNCH OF STUPID SHIT HAPPENED, but you had to be at the con to get it.
I also did a bunch of non-fiction. Here’s what I did and where you can find it:
“When the Cops Came for Shatner or My Worst Reading Ever,” The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction #10 – Click here to buy
“You Sick Fuck or Why I Love Extreme Horror,” Splatterpunk Zine #4, – Click here to buy
“Head Humping and Tentacle Fucking: Author Profile on Edward Lee,” The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction #11 – Click here to buy
“The Satanic Little Toaster,” Bizarro Bizarro, – Click here to buy
“Miss Spoooooky” (co-written article with Tiffany Claus), The BURRO Lifestyle Magazine #5, – Click here to read
Not too shabby for 2013.
What’s to come in 2014? Many more awesome horror books from Deadite Press including the first Deadite Press anthology (shhh, it’s a secret). I’ve also begun work on my fifth book, HOMOBOMB. Hopefully, you’ll get to read it in 2014.
Stayed tuned, my Top Ten Movies of 2013 will be up in the new couple days.
Until then, I leave you with this:
