by Zakary McGaha Up until now, Ben Arzate has only written shorter works of fiction and poetry. Now, his first novella-length work has been unleashed into the wilds of the small press scene. Although still rather short, The Story of the Y is written in a minimalistic, to-the-point way that makes it play out like
by Ben Arzate Ira Rat is a fellow Iowan and a jack-of-all-trades in the arts. Here, I pick his brain to see what he’s all about. A quick disclaimer: I had a story published in his zine Fucked Up Stories to Tell in the Daytime and I’m very grateful he featured it. Ben Arzate: Let’s
Written by Bob Freville Illustrated by Brian Glossup
Review by Bob Freville Duncan P. Bradshaw’s Mr. Sucky is very funny and very British. From its first paragraphs, we are graced with a scenario straight out of a Monty Python episode. By that, I mean that Bradshaw takes familiar imagery and subverts expectations with hilariously matter-of-fact horror that’s at once bust-a-gut funny and uber-cringey.
By Ben Arzate Welcome to the first installment of “The Unreprinted,” wherein I discuss out-of-print books of every genre. For this initial discussion, we’ll be taking a look at the cult erotic horror novel by author and film critic Tim Lucas, Throat Sprockets. “A city without theaters is a guilty city; it is a place
The following Halloween treat was originally published by Bizarro Central as part of their Flash Fiction Fridays series. It appears here in its unedited and unabridged form. By Bob Freville They’re spilling out on to the rickety termite-ridden runway. Woo daddy! We can see them lumbering out now! Oh yes! Those adorable little gals! Our
By Bob Freville When some of us hear the word “dark,” it conjures up things like the Dark Tower movie, based on Stephen King’s iconic book series, or Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, but others among us immediately picture something completely different. Dark comedy movies haven’t always been popular, but they’ve always been distinct from
by Zakary McGaha A ton of horror fiction fans are currently optimistic. They’re saying we’re due for another horror boom…you know, like the one in Paperbacks from Hell. Well, I’ve said on multiple occasions in private, and I’ll say it again now: this isn’t going to happen. Nothing is going to bring back the mass-market
By Bob Freville If you’re anything like me—a glorified freakshow with a propensity towards hunting through thrift stores for forgotten gems—you’ve likely unearthed a king’s ransom of bizarre and risque movies on VHS or DVD. Many of us have marveled at flicks like Adam Rifkin’s The Dark Backward (1991) or the Mel Brooks-produced The
I picked up Christopher Rigel’s debut novella, Oval Orifice, almost entirely by chance. I knew Chris from college and was delighted to discover he had written a book. He had always been one of the sharp students in my literature courses, and I was certain his work would be worth a glance. When I discovered
