Read This Book Before You Go to Sleep

William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland has always creeped the holy hell out of me. I first read it back in high school when I was on a Lovecraft bent and a friend suggested it. Being such a slim volume, it didn't take long to read. But when I finished it in the wee hours of the morning, I found myself glancing around at random shadows and flipping the lights on before I walked down the hallway on the way to bed. You know, for safety and stuff. *AHEM*

Anyway, this little book turned out to be one of the most disturbing, satisfying horror stories I'd ever read. When I found out a few years ago that Vertigo was due to publish an adapted version with art by Richard Corben, I came as close as a mild-mannered bookstore employee can to completely flipping out. I immediately got that sucker all pre-ordered up and when it came in I set aside a whole hour to read it. I'm happy to say I wasn't the least bit disappointed.

This adaptation has everything you could possibly want from a good horror story.

Creepy-ass mansion overlooking seemingly bottomless pit?

CHECK

Crazy unreliable narrator dude trapped in asylum?

CHECK

Scary-mean locals that don't take kindly to strangers?

CHECK

Forbidden ruins just outside of town?

CHECK

Journal from last dude who messed with unknown forces warning you that you're about to die but that you keep reading anyway?

CHECK

Crazy, naked, portentous dream?

CHECK

Happy, unsuspecting new homeowners?

CHECK

Half-glimpsed, shadowy beings?

CHECK

Believed to be doomed animal companion that shows up again at last minute to save his master's life?

CHECK

Hideous race of other-dimensional, subterranean pig-men?

CHECK

Barricade that probably won't hold?

CHECK

Prolonged and bloody siege followed by brief, false victory?

CHECK

An axe to the back of a porcine head?

CHUNK...er, I mean CHECK

Gateway to Hell?

CHECK

Ill-advised trip to the basement?

CHECK

Secret passageway that was probably sealed up for a pretty good reason?

CHECK

Sudden mood swing brought on by infected monster bite?

CHECK

An uncomfortable number of incest-laden panels?

CHECK

Yet another ill-advised trip, this time into the yawning cavern where all the evil stuff lives?

CHECK

Gory transformation scene?

CHECK

And we top all this off with a breathless escape followed immediately by

a horrible, bloody death via pig-monster.

from William Hope Hodgson's The House on the Borderland adapted by Richard Corben and Simon Revelstroke with Lee Loughridge

At Least 10 Jokes Per Page, Guaranteed!!

What say you, oh great and wise floating head of FDR?

panels from Dork #11 by Evan Dorkin

Gotta Catch'em All!

PICK OF THE WEEK: Action Comics # 842 by Kurt Busiek, Fabian Nicieza, Pete Woods

The current storyline in Action Comics centers around a giant alien called the Auctioneer who's been snatching up famous monuments and putting them up for sale on some intergalactic version of eBay. This issue reeks of silver age goofiness, but it never becomes so completely ridiculous that you stop caring about the story. Besides, it gives Superman the chance display his bonafides to a world that still doubts his identity and motives.

When the Auctioneer notices the insane number of rare and collectible super beings that Earth has to offer, he decides to take advantage of this untapped market and begins kidnapping them, heroes and villains alike. Superman ends up in a cell with Skyrocket, Aquaman, Blue Jay, Livewire, and the Veteran.

Stories like this pop up every now and again in comics. Nigh omnipotent alien or villain comes along, grabs up a bunch of super beings for whatever reason. Hodge-podge group always manages to escape and put the kibosh on villain'a plans. Pretty standard.

This one kind of reminds me of an Ultra-Humanite story from JSA a few years back.As predictable as they are, I can't help but to love most of them. Don't tell anybody, but I even have a few fond memories of Secret Wars.

In Action Comics #842 we get the same basic story. All the super guys and gals are floating in some weird energy field that negates their powers. It's up to Superman and the random assortment of metas he's locked up with to save the day. Also, Nightwing and Firestorm have managed to stow away on the alien prison ship.

There's a nice little bit where everyone's standing around arguing about who's going to be in charge. Meanwhile, Superman and Nightwing have already formulated an escape plan.

Busiek and team successfully mix comedy, sci-fi, and heaps of good old fashioned super hero drama to produce one of the most entertaining Superman stories I've read since...well, since last issue. This is the kind of stuff I'd like to see in the Justice League title.

One of the coolest parts about stories like this is trying to identify all the background characters. Some of the more interesting characters I've managed to spot are what looks like a blond Zatanna (1st panel, two left from Superman), Sam Simeon (1st panel, three up and one left from Superman), and Dr. Fate(1st panel, two down and three to the right from Superman.)

Any thoughts on who the Zatanna lookalike might be? Coloring mistake, perhaps? What about Fate? I'd love to see Simeon turn up as more than just background decoration later on.

Maybe one of you guys with a more complete knowledge of DCU characters and a better set of eyes could point out some more little nuggets.

What say you oh great and powerful floating head of FDR?

I Like This Reality-Cluster. It Has Angles and Everything!

I read The Next #1 today, and I really liked it. So much so, that I'm already hoping for an ongoing. What's that you say? I'm jumping the gun a bit? A single issue isn't exactly the best measure of the future quality of a series?

I guess I'm just a sucker for-

See through dogs

A super powered Mount Rushmore

Extra-dimensional weirdos who run up the sides of buildings

And dialogue like this...

and this.

Plus, you get a Superman/Metron team-up and a reference to the Legion of Superheroes thrown in for no extra charge. What's not to like?