Jeff Burk's Blog, page 24
December 13, 2010
My Top Ten Eraserhead Press Books of 2010
I originally wanted to do a list of my top ten fiction books of the year, but then I realized almost all of the fiction I read was either published (or will be published) by Eraserhead Press or one of its imprints. Working as an editor and writer leaves me very little free time for reading. What free reading I have done this year was mostly comic books, nonfiction, and books from previous years. So I thought I'd take a different approach to the list.
Here are the top ten books published by Eraserhead Press (or one of its imprints) that made an impact on me. This isn't what I think were the best books written this year. These are just the books that meant the most to me. 2010 was an insane year for Eraserhead Press. Forty-three releases and three new imprints. This list acts as my personal year in review.
The books are in order of release:
Super Giant Monster Time! by Jeff Burk – The first release in 2010 by Eraserhead Press was also my second book. It's meant to be a tribute to those old choose your own adventure books that I would read when I was a kid – just with all the hardcore violence that I wished was in them. This was a special project to me because I got to work with long-time friend and bizarro artist Chrissy Horchheimer. When we first met six years ago in college, I never imaged she would be illustrating my second book. Fun Fact: We are working on a new book together, Dinosaurs Attack!, look for it sometime in 2011.
A Hundred Horrible Sorrows of Ogner Stump by Andrew Goldfarb – Andrew Goldfarb is an amazing renaissance man. He plays in an one-man band, writes novels, and writes/draws his own comic series. When hunting for creators for Shark VS Badger, Eraserhead Press' comic book imprint, Goldfarb was the first on everyone's list. His work is fantastically imaginative and combines David Lynch, Tim Burton, and voodoo within the comic book medium. Fantastic and sadly overlooked in the bizarro scene.
Brain Cheese Buffet by Edward Lee – 2010 saw me becoming Head Editor of Deadite Press, Eraserhead Press' cult horror fiction imprint. The first release I oversaw was this collection of Edward Lee's most extreme stories – most of which had been out of print for years. Lee is one of my all time favorite authors. Nobody delivers obscene sex and violence like him. He was also very supportive of me at the very beginning of my writing career. To now be in the position of publishing his work and making his hardcore stuff available to a wider audience is a dream come true.
The Kobold Wizard's Dildo of Enlightenment +2 by Carlton Mellick III – In addition to reading splatterpunk collections, my High School years were spent playing Call of Cthulhu, Magic: the Gathering, and, of course, Dungeons and Dragons. Apparently, Carlton wasn't that different than me. This is an amazing tribute to all those caffeine fueled RPG binges from when you were fourteen. Carlton even went as far to create maps, notes, illustrations, and more to really create that class AD&D feel.
Night of the Assholes by Kevin L. Donihe – After Carlton Mellick, Kevin Donihe was the next bizarro author that I first got into. Every one of his books is amazing, weird, and beautiful. His newest novel is a parody of "Night of the Living Dead" (also one of my all-time favorite movies). This is easily Donihe's funniest book and, for the Donihe newcomer, the book of his I would recommend the most.
Zombies and Shit by Carlton Mellick III – Getting to work with Carlton Mellick everyday has been one of my favorite perks of being on the Eraserhead Press team. You never know when it's time for spontaneous drinking, video game marathons, or J-Pop dance parties. While he wrote Zombies and Shit, I had the privilege of reading the book as he wrote the chapters and give feedback. It's a really amazing experience to be able to see one of your favorite writers create a book and see their process from brain-storming all the way to drinking to celebrate the printer novel.
The Flappy Parts by Kevin L. Donihe – It's no secret that I love the work of Kevin L. Donihe. One of his books is already on this list and I have published him several time in the Magazine of Bizarro Fiction. I was first exposed to his poetry in issue 5 of Bust Down the Door and Eat all the Chickens. At that point I had only read The Greatest Fucking Moment in Sports from the orange Starter Kit. The poems really spoke to me much more so than any other poetry I have read. Finally, Lazy Fascist Press has released a collection featuring a large chunk of Donihe's poetry output.
The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction #4 guest edited by John Skipp – When I was in High School, Skipp's Book of the Dead anthology series made a major impact on me. They were my first exposure to modern hardcore horror fiction. Skipp was also the first editor I became a fan of. His name on a book became an immediate seal of quality. Words can't describe how thrilled I was when he asked to guest edit an issue of The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction. The issue upholds Skipp's reputation as an awesome editor. He managed to gather some of the top names in bizarro and horror fiction and get them deliver some of the weirdest and best stories you will ever read.
Whargoul by Dave Brockie – When Deadite Press started taking off, we knew we needed some more authors and books. Carlton suggested I try getting Dave Brockie (most famously known as the lead singer of GWAR). About ten years ago, he was supposed to release Whargoul via Eraserhead Press but the project fell through. I looked it up and it turned out the book still had not come out. After a few emails, I got the manuscript and now, this December, you can finally read this amazing novel of war crimes and demons.
The Bizarro Starter Kit (purple) – The first two Bizarro Starter Kits where my introductions into the bizarro scene. I'm proud to say many of the authors from them are now my coworkers, friends, and family. I'm even prouder to say that I was one of the ten authors selected to contribute to the third volume of the series. When I first started getting serious about writing I would, for my own egotistical indulgence, imagine what my profile in a starter kit would look like. This year, I got to stop dreaming and actually write up that profile.
Christmas on Crack edited by Carlton Mellick III – I really hate Christmas. The holiday, and the celebrations that go with it, strike me as gaudy and crassly consumerist. When Carlton told me he wanted to do a Christmas anthology, I jumped at it. I called dibbs on doing a Frosty the Snowman story. I had no idea what I wanted to do to him, I just knew he needed to go through Hell. I'm really happy with my finished story, "Frosty and the Full Monty," and I think Frosty got what he deserves. Fun Fact: my mother is obsessed with Christmas. She doesn't know this story exists. She would not be amused. Shhhhhhhh, nobody tell her.
Bizarro News Roundup
- Carlton Mellick III was interviewed over at Affairs Magazine.
Ready to go on? Mind-boggling isn't it?"
- Bradley Sands is selling the movie rights to his collection "Sorry, I Ruined Your Orgy" on eBay:
"Have you ever optioned a movie? If so, you probably paid tons of money for one story.
Personally, I think you were ripped off.
- Amazon.com has Andrew Goldfarb's "One Hundred Horrible Sorrows of Ogner Stump" on sale for only $5.11!
December 12, 2010
Every Eraserhead Press Release from 2010
43 new books. This is what we did in 2010 instead of sleep.
ERASERHEAD PRESS
Christmas on Crack edited by Carlton Mellick III
The Bizarro Starter Kit (purple)
Starfish Girl by Athena Villaverde
Night of the Assholes by Kevin L. Donihe
Mr. Magic Realism by Bruce Taylor
The Cannibal's Guide to Ethical Living by Mykle Hansen
The Emerald Burrito of Oz by John Skipp and Marc Levinthal
The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island by Cameron Pierce
Slag Attack by Andersen Prunty
Eyeballs Growing All Over Me…Again by Tony Rauch
Lick Your Neighbor by Chris Genoa
The Kobold Wizard's Dildo of Enlightenment +2 by Carlton Mellick III
Lost in Cat Brain Land by Cameron Pierce
My Fake War by Andersen Prunty
Sunset with a Beard by Carlton Mellick III
Super Giant Monster Time! by Jeff Burk
DEADITE PRESS
Whargoul by Dave Brockie
Population Zero by Wrath James White
The Haunter of the Threshold by Edward Lee
Zombies and Shit by Carlton Mellick III
Rock and Roll Reform School Zombies by Bryan Smith
Trolley No. 1852 by Edward Lee
The Book of a Thousand Sins by Wrath James White
The Vegan Revolution…with Zombies by David Agranoff
Slaughterhouse High by Robert Devereaux
The Innswich Horror by Edward Lee
Bullet Through Your Face by Edward Lee
Brain Cheese Buffet by Edward Lee
LAZY FASCIST PRESS
Sorry I Ruined Your Orgy by Bradley Sands
The Flappy Parts by Kevin L. Donihe
Person by Sam Pink
Boneyard Babies by Alan M. Clark
The Self Esteem Holocaust Comes Home by Sam Pink
SHARK VS BADGER COMICS
A Hundred Horrible Sorrows of Ogner Stump by A. Goldfarb
NEW BIZARRO AUTHOR SERIES
How to Eat Fried Furries by Nicole Cushing
Muscle Memory by Steve Lowe
Felix and the Sacred Thor by James Steele
Love in the Time of Dinosaurs by Kirsten Alene
Uncle Sam's Carnival of Copulating Inanimals by Kirk Jones
The Egg Said Nothing by Caris O'Malley
Bucket of Face by Eric Hendrixson
THE MAGAZINE OF BIZARRO FICTION
Issue #4 guest edited by John Skipp
Issue #3 edited by Jeff Burk
& Teller – Zombie short films from the silent half of Penn and Teller
The amazing Teller, of Penn and Teller, made two short films about the zombie apocalypse. Their absolutely hilarious and you get to hear Teller speak!
& Teller 1
& Teller 2
Donate to the IPRC
The Independent Publishing Resource Center is an amazingly awesome place and one of the many reason Portland, OR is the best city in the US to be an independent artist. Here's how they explain what they do:
"The IPRC is one of the only nonprofit self-publishing centers of its kind anywhere in the world. We offer access to workspace and tools to aid in the production and distribution of zines, comics, hand-bound books and artwork. This includes computer workstations for writing, scanning, graphic design & desktop publishing, and high-speed internet access for research and networking purposes; two copiers, five table-top letterpresses, a Bind-Fast 5 Perfect-Binding Machine, and various other tools for creating, binding, and assembling publications. We also have two art galleries and one of the nation's largest circulating zine libraries."
In the giving mood due to the holiday season? Good. The IPRC is organizing a donation drive. To promote the cause they enlisted Toaster the writer cat (voiced by famous author Mykle Hansen). Check it out:
Click here to learn more about the IPRC and Donate
December 10, 2010
December 8, 2010
Christmas on Crack out now!
A new anthology of Bizarro Christmas stories. Featuring my newest piece, "Frosty and the Full Monty"
Perverted Christmas Tales for the whole family!*
(* As long as every member of your family is over the age of 18.)
It's a dark and seedy side of Christmas that you didn't know about. A Christmas underworld where Santa gets dominated by Peppermint women and Frosty is a transvestite stripper. There's elf sluts, toy orgies, and giant flesh-eating Christmas crabs that shoot lasers.
That's right.
Lasers.
It's the holiday season, bitches, so strap on your sugar plum ball gag, bend yourself over the Yule log, and get ready for Kris Kringle to shove some Christmas cheer up your ass!
Featuring stories by Jordan Krall, Jeff Burk, Kevin L. Donihe, Cameron Pierce, Kirsten Alene, Kevin Shamel, Edmund Colell, and Andrew Goldfarb.
Click here to buy from Amazon.com
