REVIEW: Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror #15

Publisher: Jason Crawley

Writers: Jason ‘The Bloke’ Crawley, Scott Rosema, David Brana & Alfonso Bueno.
Artists: Mike Hoffman, Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo, Daerick Gross Sr, Rob Moran, Antonio Di Cicco, Santos Zaballos, Marc Gras Cots & Jose Torres Brocal. Cover Art: (Front) Mike Hoffman/ (Back) Paul Abrams

Editorial Assistance & Lettering: Keith Braun
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $8.95

Available from:

Amazon UK http://tinyurl.com/hq9y787

Amazon US http://tinyurl.com/hxjwhg6

Bloke’s Tomb Etsy Shop in the US http://tinyurl.com/gkptpz6

Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror #15
Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror #15

I like my horror like I like my relationships, short, terrifying, visceral and the added bonus of a bloody denouement and that Shakespearian pound or two of flesh. Or maybe that’s just me and the courts and those pesky restraining orders. Who knows, I figure I just haven’t met the right one yet.

But while I’m waiting for the right Mrs Hooker – obviously less litigious and less concerned for their own safety, to join me in my blood bath – there is always Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15 to while away the hours and make me fret less about the local residents and their default setting, where I am concerned, of pitchforks and burning torches.

And there is no better way to spend those hours than with this latest instalment in the Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror series. And, as the cover blurb rightly suggests, this is the 15th Ferocious Issue, in a very overlooked and sadly neglected genre of horror comic books. Very much a tradition which has been consigned to the corner of the comic book world for reasons, well, I can only guess at. The constant parade of costumed emoting superheroes probably has a lot to do with it, the superficial superhero genre has a lot to answer for. I’ll leave that there though and get on with covering Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15.

There is nothing superficial about Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15, page after page of horror as it should be, dark, gruesome, grisly and very much in your face. Human emotions are very much the centre, or bloody beating heart, if you will, of the stories in Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15; the greed, the jealousy, the avarice. There is a welcome lack of pretension in the artwork and the stories. Everybody gets what is coming to them in tightly written and focused artwork.

Dead Skin by David Brana and Jose Torres Brocal is certainly one of the stand-out moments in Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15. Yet, all the writers and artists bring something worthwhile to the horror fest. Made of Fire and Air by Alfonso Bueno and Santos Zaballos stretches the notion of horror and will surprise.

Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15 is out there on its own, the last bastion of a comic book genre currently being buried alive. So, go and exhume your copy of Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror 15 and give it some midnight company.

And if you know a suitable Mrs Hooker, let me know! Can accommodate but must bring own sacrificial table!!

 

Reviewer: Steve Hooker
Reviews Editor: The Dark Lord (Okay, me…but I can dream……)