M.R. Gott's Blog, page 15

The Crow Skinning the Wolves #3 Review

The Crow Skinning the Wolves #3James O’BarrJim TerryIn issue three of Skinning the Wolves The Crow confronts The Commandant and the scenes between the two are wholly satisfying.  With The Crow the reader has established that The Crow cannot be killed, and in this the audience is looking not for a simple revenge killing, but an experience of retribution and revelation.  In this Skinning the Wolves #3 delivers. 
As The Crow assaults The Commandant the pair converses.  During these scenes the audience is treated to flashbacks as The Commandant remembers who The Crow was.  This is an issue of revelation and mediation, that delivers on both fronts. This was a product of great dialogue between the two.  
The artwork is again strong, with a distinct style that works to tell a story, and never distract from it.  While this book is less moody visually, it works not to distract the reader from the interaction between The Crow and The Commandant. 
By keeping each man nameless it also lets their battle of wills extend beyond the two specific men into something larger and more universal.  If your just picking up this book without reading the other two, you will probably be disappointed.  The Crow Skinning of the Wolves is a book that rewards the reader with rich complete story telling, and while the script is not overly complicated from the perspective of narrative, this is an issue of emotional revelation that was well earned over the previous two issues.  

Thrilling Tales of the Downright Unusual

Click above to create your own vintage pulp magazine cover.  

Schwarzenegger & Stallone bust back to back weekends

This is a bit non genre, but so be it.

Schwarzenegger & Stallone both bombed back to back weekends with The Last Stand and Bullet to the head respectively.  And it got me thinking about Arnold, and for such a strong man, aside from the Predator he generally faces foes that are pretty weak by comparison.  Here he is with Bennett from Commando.
He was supposed to be the heavy in the film.  Or what about the bad guy Salim Abu Aziz played by Hell, even cuffed Arnold seems to have the edge.  In Total Recall has a big throw down with Sharon Stone. His biggest Franchise, The Terminator films, when he's the good guy who's he up against.  

So compare that with Rocky's antagonists, hell Stallone through down with Stone Cold in The first Expendables and let not forget Rourke in Get Carter. 
An action needs a good foe and Schwarzenegger's just been slumming for years.  

Top 10 Funniest Horror Ass-Kickers

Read my top 10 list at Ravenous Monster. Click for more.  

Win a Free Copy of Where the Dead Fear To Tread

Win a free e-copy of Where the Dead Fear to Tread, a novel that’s been called;

"...frantic, horrific, brutal, and without doubt the darkest thing I have read in years. Maybe in my life." 
Marc Nocerino of She Never Slept “The world of William Chandler starts out dark and grim and M.R. Gott is not afraid to make it darker and grimmer with every page.”
Dana Fredsti author of Plague Town“…a combination old time detective pulp story, a revenge story and a good old fashioned horror story.”
Peter Schwotzer of Literary Mayhem

“Where the Dead Fear to Tread is an immensely enjoyable read; jam-packed with great action sequences and wonderfully horrific monsters that will chill you to the bone.”
Dark Rivers Press

"It could be a future movie or video game franchise hit that you can brag about having picked up when it was just a humble indie e-book. Give it a chance and you may be surprised to find out Where the Dead Fear to Tread."
Robert Hibbs of Ravenous Monster

"...well-thought out. The main character, like the writing, is a complex man who you’re not sure if you can classify as “good” or “bad”. The story takes him through a supernatural mystery that will leave you wanting more."
Nerds in Babeland 
To enter you can like on facebook and send a facebook message to M.R. with your email address and preferred version (EPUB, HTML, MOBI, PDB and PDF).Or you can mark as to read on your goodreads account and send M.R. a goodreads message with your email address and preferred version (EPUB, HTML, MOBI, PDB and PDF).You can enter once through facebook, and once through goodreads to increase your odds of winning.  The contest will run from February first through the twenty-eighth.  Your email will not be used for any purpose beyond notification of winning. 
A police officer and a serial killer search separately for a missing child while running a malevolent labyrinth populated by creatures they never knew existed. 

Former prosecutor William Chandler, disgusted with his past inaction, spills the blood of those who victimize children to correct the ills he sees in the world. A self-admitted serial killer and uncomfortable with his actions, Chandler attends the funerals of those whose lives he has taken in an effort to retain a true understanding of the nature of violence. 

The carnage left in his wake is investigated by Detective Kate Broadband, who becomes progressively more comfortable with the corpses left by Chandler. Envying the power she sees in him, she pursues Chandler as each search for Maria Verde, a missing eight-year-old girl. 

As Chandler and Broadband draw closer to discovering what happened to Maria they are forced to confront The Devourer, an unnatural being trafficking in stolen children. 

Where the Dead Fear to Tread is a tale of hard-boiled macabre, bridging numerous genres to reveal a story of horror, crime and revenge. 

John Dies at the End Movie Review for Ravenous Monster

Click either image for my review of John Dies at the End for Ravenous Monster.

The Scariest Games You Never Played

The Scariest Games You Never Played'It's close to midnight, and something evil's lurking in the dark.'This is great article from IGN by Ryan Clements.  Click below to test your nerdy horror credentials.

From The Crow Skinning the Wolves #2

From The Crow Skinning the Wolves #2

The Crow Skinning the Wolves #2

The Crow Skinning The Wolves #2
Whereas the first issue of this series was set up, establishing a tone and hinting at what was to come.  The second issue comes fast and furious.  Our newly established, yet still enigmatic Crow has begun taking his vengeance.  The second issue also begins to flesh out our lead antagonist, a man only known as ‘Commandant.’  A great number of unnamed Nazis meet their premature deaths in this issue, but James O’Barr and Jim Terry still establish them as more than just fodder for The Crow’s wrath.  One of the book’s strongest scenes involves two Nazi guards justifying their role at the camp, despite their disdain for the operation.  Skinning The Wolves #2’s art style is very similar to the firsts.  Most of the images are close ups, putting the reader directly into the middle of the scenes.  Speaking of style, readers should be aware that this current incarnation of The Crow does not have the makeup that has become so iconic for The Crow, and this is a strength of the story.  By grounding the images O’Barr and Terry have made the scenes that much more gritty.
In the end O’Barr and Terry have book that fleshes out the depths of the characters, while still retaining a high level of action.  

Ghouls by Edward Lee

Overview;The murders were only the beginning. No one knew what went on in the sullen, dark house on the hill, but town cop Kurt Morris intended to find out. The sleepy town of Tylersville, Maryland was being stalked by an unimaginable evil, it had become the haunting-ground for horrors too grisly to be described. Young girls had vanished without a trace. Graves had been opened, corpses unearthed and carried away. Quiet moonlit nights gave way to a mindless slaughter, and to the sounds of hysterical screams… DARK HORIZONS Time was running out. How many more would be dragged off into an endless night, and for what hideous purpose? Fear led to wild speculations about psychopaths, crazed animals, vampires, and werewolves. But Kurt knew better. Deep in the fog-shrouded woods, he had seen the nightmare figures. And the truth was much, much worse… GHOULS!
Review;Ghouls by Edward Lee is a small town mystery story, with hints of the flourishes that would come to define Edward Lee.  Ghouls is the first book Lee wrote and did not later disown, and revolves around Kurt Morris.  Morris is a small town cop in his hometown of Tylersville.  Lee’s does a phenomenal job of fleshing out the feel of the town and the population.  He creates tension in every shadow, not only for the fantastical elements, but the darkness that inhabits the residents.  None of Lee’s residents of Tylersville are small town caricatures.  Even some the least sympatric characters are fully drawn out.  Occasionally the story leaves Tylersville for Saudi Arabia and Florida, however the bulk of the action occurs in Tylersville Maryland.  Kurt Morris is the reader’s guide to the town of Tylersville, and through his eyes we see the utter desperation and shit of the town, as well as its unrealized potential.  The town itself becomes its own character. Lee gives the reader’s hints of the fantastical, and we know something is killing the townsfolk that is unnatural, but Lee keeps his creature(s) well hidden leading to a series of very satisfying and well-earned reveals.  The story slowly builds up momentum chapter by chapter until the fast tense ending, where pages just fly by.In the End;
Edward lee has crafted a tale in a very distinctive place, with a cast of interesting and well thought out characters.  With slow, earned and consistent reveals Ghouls is a book earns its scares, and shows why some of us hold old school style horror in such high regard.