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Review: 1000 Nightmares #1

Nemesis

One of the great things about writing for Comic Crusaders is that occasionally I get to see new books from indie creators that are truly spectacular.  1000 Nightmares #1 is one of those.  1000 Nightmares uses an anthology format, telling a variety of different stories that mostly fall into the horror format.  This format has been tried in other media, Tales From The Crypt and Creepshow come to mind, but 1000 Nightmares is more hard-hitting and to paraphrase the author, they oftentimes pick up where other horror stories leave off.

This first issue contains 5 stories whose art styles are as varied as the stories and issues they present.  The first story, titled Oracle, is a cautionary tale about the conflicts that arise when new religions arise.  However, I think the writer, Bill Richardson, also presents the reader with a commentary about the influence that established figures in finance and business have on society and what happens to those who try to buck that system.  The art style here is classic comic book with a horror flavor and it adequately conveys the story to the reader while being entertaining to look at.

The second story is a graphic horror story that takes a Rod Serling style Twilight Zone tale and adds graphic horror elements.  This addition leaves you in a dreadful state, horrified to turn the page but knowing that you have to see where the story goes.  Lest you think this is graphic horror for graphic horror’s sake, a situation similar to this one happened to the Donner Party in the Sierra Nevada Mountains late in the 19th century.  Here, the artists have chosen to present the story in black and white.  The ink work is impeccable and the stark black and white with gray shading contributes to the stark nature of this story.

The third story is actually an original poem by the writer, Bill Richardson.  It is an homage to Edgar Allen Poe and his poem “The Raven”.  The poem is a joy to read.  However, if I have one complaint, it was a little long and it was off-putting to have several pages of poetry in the middle of what had been, and continues to be, a very good horror comic book.  If I had one suggestion it would be to add some imagery to go along with wonderful poetry.

The fourth story was very personal to me.  If you are not aware, I was a soldier, and my grandfathers and great-grandfathers each fought in World War II and World War I respectively.  This story tells the story of men going of to the first “modern” war and the toll it took on them and the people they left behind and eventually returned to.  This story uses a “found media” art style expertly.  The artist has found pictures and other media from the time frame and woven them together with a story and their impeccable art design.

The fifth and final story is a delicious philosophical discussion on the nature of life and death.   Ironically, this discussion is being held between two vultures sitting in the branches of a tree.  As the story ends the vultures are shown to be sitting above a killing field giving you much to think about as the story fades to black.

This is a wonderful book that transcends comics.  Elements of this book could easily be at home in a literary review or a philosophy class.  I enjoyed the fact that the creator included a back page that explained his thinking while writing several of the stories.  It is always fascinating to get a glimpse into the mind of an artist as they are creating.  If you have the stomach for horror I think you’ll find this book not only entertaining but thought-provoking.  I highly recommend it and look forward to reading the second issue.

Writing 4.5 of 5 Stars
Art – 4.25 of 5 Stars
Ink – 4.5 of 5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”medium”]

Get your copy HERE

Writer – Bill Richardson
Art – Bill Richardson, Renan Shody, Jeff Sadzinski, Yevgeniy Frantsev
Color – Juan Romera, Giuliano Peratelli
Letters – Nikki Sherman

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Author Profile

Nemesis
Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
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