(I originally read these comics in early/mid Octopber 2016)
'Freak Show' collects a story originally serialised over a decade earlier in the pages of Heavy Metal, by Bruce Jones and Bernie Wrightson. It's a slim fable about carny folk with a gruesome denouement straight out of Tod Browning's 'Freaks', which makes it hard to believe Jones' assertion in the foreword that he'd never seen the film. Wrightson's art is usually worth a gander and this is close to peak stuff. The three early back-up strips culled from obscure sources (in the hardcover, at least) show burgeoning talent but are otherwise unimpressive.
Jones' 'Twisted Tales', dating from around the same time, attempts to capture the EC spirit with short, gruesome, twist-in-the-tale stories. Two consecutive stories with very similar 'shock' endings threaten to derail things early on, but the comic soon finds its stride and come 'Sunken Chest' in # 3, you're usually guaranteed at least one standout tale per ish. The somewhat infamous 'Banjo Lessons' in issue # 5 is prefaced by a cowardly editorial seeking to pre-empt any offence caused by its portrayal of racism. However, art-wise there are few complaints. Legends Mike Ploog, Richard Corben, Doug Wildey, John Bolton, Bernie Wrightson and others (including Jones himself in # 4) provide sterling work. Rick Geary's one-page fillers see pointless, though.
I didn't read the 3-D special as much as I just flicked through it, given all its contents are reprinted from the mother title. I will state, however, that the 3-D effect is convincing and fun.
The album from Eclipse presents three stories, leading with 'Termites from Mars'. It's less a horror story than a nostalgic recollection of late '50s youth as a 'monster kid' and echoes works of adolescent awakening and adventure like 'The Goonies' and 'Stand By Me.'
Freak Show is available in:
Hardcover:
Softcover:
Stories from Twisted Tales (1982) # 2/6 are collected in:
Softcover:
A strip from Twisted Tales (1982) # 10 is collected in:
Hardcover:
Softcover:
