Halftone Horrors: The History of Horror Movie Comic Books

Are you fans of horror movies that were adapted into comic books? Then I think this is going to be a book you’re going to want to pick up! The first in a series of collector-based hardbound books, Halftone Horrors is a 240-page, full-color tome giving you the history of officially licensed comic book adaptations of horror movies, from the cult and obscure to the more popular titles. It will be a visual guide to this particular medium, giving readers a history lesson, as well as being a guide for every issue published, even including variants, one-shots, promotional comics, and more.

According to the press release, “This guide covers everything from Nosferatu, Frankenstein, and Night of the Living Dead to A Nightmare on Elm Street, Hellraiser, and Army of Darkness.” Continue reading

Discover the Horror Book Sale!

With the holiday coming up, we know that we all have a horror-loving fiend out there that you’re on the lookout for a unique gift for. Well, we are here to make an offer that will be hard to pass up. Until the end of the year, I am cutting the price of my book, Discover the Horror by 25%! That’s right, if you order the book directly from me, you can get your copy for only $15! Plus the fact that I will gladly autograph it and personalize it to whomever you wish, so it would be an even bigger surprise for the person on the receiving end!

Or, maybe you want to be a little selfish and pick up your own copy!

Please remember there still is a $3.00 shipping cost, so for one copy, your total would be $18.

You can send a check or money order (made payable to: Jon Kitley) or you can send payment through Paypal. Continue reading

Taking Shape II – The Lost Halloween Sequels

Earlier this year, I posted my review of Taking Shape: Developing Halloween from Script to Screen, by Dustin McNeil and Travis Mullins. It was not a book I thought I would be interested in because I thought I knew as much about the early Halloween films that I need to or when it came to the later sequels, as much as I cared to. But I found the book fascinating and ended up loving it. Well now McNeill and Mullins are back for Taking Shape II:  The Lost Sequels.

If you think this covers a couple of films that never got made, think again. This volume covers 24 (!?!?!) lost Halloween sequels that never made it past the script stage and onto the big screen. You’ll get to read about these from the people directly involved, some being heard publicly for the first time. At 600 pages and priced under $30, you can bet that this will have so much trivia and information about these films that never came to be, hearing insights and ideas of what some wanted to do. That alone seems pretty intriguing if you’re a fan of the Halloween series.  

Here is some of the subjects covered in this volume. See if this doesn’t wet your whistle… Continue reading

Horror Out of Control Book

A lot of reference books that come out cover the classic films, which I’ve never saw as a problem. But when one considers that the year 2000 was already 20 years ago, it does show us (especially us old timers) that there’s two decades of horror films out there since then, there’s a lot of ground to cover. Fans always know the films that came out in certain decades, like the classic horrors of the ’30s, the giant monsters of the ’50s, the Euro-horrors from the ’60s and so on. But when you ask someone about the films past the 2000 mark, the waters get a little muddled. But now, thanks to this new book coming out, maybe we can change all that!

Written by David Flint and Keri O’Shea, Horror Out of Control is a 440 page book that includes reviews of over 400 film titles, all made between the year 2000 and 2020. Not a “best of” guide but an overview of those two decades and the films that were made, from “major cinema releases and franchises to zero-budget shot-on-video obscurities.”

Pre-orders are being taken now, with a release day of this month. It doesn’t look like it is available anywhere besides the publications website HERE. With a price tag of £25.00 (plus postage), this looks to be a nice edition to a horror film fan’s library. Might be a bit pricy for us here in the states, but maybe it will come stateside at some point to make it a little easier on the pocket book. If/when we get a copy, you know we’ll have a review posted in the future!

McFarland Book Horror Sale!

McFarland has published a ton of different books on the horror genre, quite a few of which I’ve reviewed here on this site. Typically they are a bit on the pricy side, but now is your chance to save some big bucks this horror season because they are having a huge sale. You can now get 40% off each and every one of their huge selection of titles, if you order before Friday, October 16th. Use the coupon code HORROR to get your discount.

They have so many titles that I would consider must have for any library, such as Gregory Mank’s Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff: The Expanded Story of a Haunting Collaboration, with a Complete Filmography of Their Films Together. Normally priced at $40, for $24! Or what about learning about the underrated and talented Paul Blaisdell in Randy Palmer’s excellent biography Paul Blaisdell, Monster Maker: A Biography of the B Movie Makeup and Special Effects Artist. Normal price is $20 and now you can get it for only $12! Or want to learn everything you need to know about The Creature from the Black Lagoon and its sequels? Then pick up Tom Weaver’s The Creature Chronicles. Normally priced at $40, now you can add it to your library for only $24. Not to mention so many other great titles they have listed. Just click HERE to start browsing. Pick up a few for yourself for the Halloween season, or, with the other holidays coming up and you have a horror fan that you need a gift for, now is the time to save some $$.

Peveril To Unleash the Seven Golden Vampires!

Coming in November of this year, Peveril Publishing will release their next book in their always amazing volumes on Hammer Films. This one tackles the 1973 film The Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires (amongst many other titles!), that was a co-production between Hammer and Hong Kong’s famous Shaw Brothers Studios. While this might not be a favorite of most Hammer fans (myself included), the history of this film is just as important because it is the last appearance of Peter Cushing as Van Helsing for the studio! But even besides that, no matter what the title, keeping the history alive and available to fans is always important, because the more you know about the actual production, both positive and negative, it will help you appreciate the film much more. 

Peveril has always published beautiful looking books, and this one looks to be no different. It includes both Cushing’s and director Roy Ward Baker’s annotated scripts, showing all the notes they wrote down during the production. Just seeing all the notes that Cushing made, even for this lesser production, still shows how much of a perfectionist he was when creating a character, or even returning to one. The book even shows the water color paintings of suggestions for his character’s costume. Continue reading

Rod Serling’s Night Gallery: The Art of Darkness

Back in May, I posted about an upcoming book on the artwork from the TV show Night Gallery. This one one of the most important shows in my childhood. Where most were anxious to see The Twilight Zone, I was more interested in the darker tales brought through the Gallery. I mentioned there was an upcoming book that would feature all the artwork from the series in a new coffee table book. Now is the time to place your order! Continue reading

Discover the Horror … on eBay

I came across this the other day and found it pretty amusing. Here is a seller listing copies of my book for $34.95. I guess I should feel honored that someone thinks the book is worth almost twice as much as it was when it was first published. But instead I find it both sad and funny, because not only is it still available on Amazon for $20, you could also ordered it directly from me, and I’d even sign it for you, free of charge!

DtH on ebay

Continue reading

Giallo Canvas: Art, Excess and Horror Cinema

giallo canvasHere’s another volume for the library of giallo fans. Alexandra Heller-Nicholas has just released the cover of her newest book, The Giallo Canvas: Art Excess and Horror Cinema, which sounds to be much different look at this popular sub-genre of films. While most books on this sub-genre covers everything from the production and making of, sexual subtexts, and a huge focus on style, this title “explores an overlooked yet prevalent element in some of the best known gialli – an obsession with art and artists in creative production, with a particular focus on painting.” Sounds like a very interesting read, that is for sure. Plus, I love that this is something new to consider about these films, focusing on the art used in these movies. The author will be exploring art that is used by some of the masters of Italian giallo cinema, such as Mario and Lamberto Bava, Dario Argento, Lucio Fulci, Sergio Martino, Umberto Lenzi, and Michele Soavi. 

This will be publised by McFarland, but there is no release date as of yet. Stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted.

1000 Women in Horror

1000 Women in HorrorBack in Feb. of 2018, we posted a mention about this upcoming book. Well, now it is officially out and can be ordered! In this 600 page book, the author gives us a “love letter to both the stars and often-invisible women who have made the genre what it is today. From Classical Hollywood to alt-Nollywood, mumblegore to J-horror, this book offers a tiny global snapshot of the vast number of women who have worked in the creation of dark and spooky movies for well over a century, both behind and in front of the camera, and in films both widely known and comparatively obscure.”

The book covers over 700 feature films that were either directed by or co-directed by women, and also interviews with a ton of women who have been contributing to the genre over the years. In other words, this is a must for all horror fans because part of the learning about the genre is learning about those within it and the struggles and challenges they have. 

This is available in both paperback and hardcover editions, which I would recommend going through Amazon since you can save on the shipping charges that way. The book might seem a bit pricey, $44 for paperback and $54 for hardcover, but at 600 pages, I think that is more than a fair price. So order your copy now!