Justin Partridge’s Reviews > Killer, Come Back To Me: The Crime Stories of Ray Bradbury > Status Update

Yeah, sure, Ray, a story about a murderous four month old and another about a guy who gets cucked by his own doppelgänger robot. Why the hell not?!

Truly appreciating how 80% of these so far have been open horror/slasher set ups.

I love that this thing is so good it just casually throws you a pair of stories that pick up minutes after one another. It’s like it’s still the same cadence and turn of phrase you love and recognize as Bradbury but it’s applied to like some really gnarly and tautly mean little stories. It’s kind of amazing?

“He found Juke lying in a chemical bath. Red chemical from his own body where a knife had dug out his dreams and his living and his talking forever and spread it around in a scarlet lake”

This thing is really starting to not fuck about. It’s fun seeing Bradbury being so mean and openly pulpy.

These continue to be really weird (and weirdly entertaining!)

Man, Bradbury sure was a weird writer, huh?

Boy, Bradbury could sure get gnarly huh?

First THREE stories down.

None of them have been like belters so far but it IS very fun and charming that it, so far, just seems to read like “What If Ray Bradbury Did A Bunch of House of Secrets Issues?”

It’s very EC Comics in a way I didn’t expect from someone like Bradbury (who tends to be much more lyrical and poetry driven than the pulps tend to allow).