weird fiction, visual

[Ibrahim]

I am rather curious what people here appreciate in the way of visual weird/supernatural fiction- I could say 'comics' as i see regular mention of Grant Morrison here, but it needn't be comics as usually defined, and i'm thinking more along lines of artist also being the author- Ian Miller's picture stories in Green Dog Trumpet come to mind.

Incidentally, i have my own attempt at visual weird fiction out this month. It is called Half Blood & the publisher is apparently promoting it as a "graphic novel of Gothic Romance." Get it here:http://www.sherpa.nu/ if that sounds like your thing. It is also a broken clock, a useless instrument, an eliptic tale of hermetic solipsism, a reflection upon depression and artistic inspiration, and a gob of spit on the theories of Joseph Campbell.
Some copies of my 'White People' homage should also still be avalaible.

I am aware this could be seen as (and is, in fact) self-promotion, but i am tacking this onto a larger subject i am genuinely interested in hearing about from you, since i am loth to claim a thread specifically for promotional aims, although i see it being done.

My own recommendations in this sphere would be, apart from the Ian Miller:
Alberto Breccia's 'Informe Sobre Ciegos'
Cyrrus/Mil by Andreas Martens
Mark Beyer's 'Agony'
&c.
&c.

[Michael]

Centipede's Lovecraft Retrospective is at the top of my list.

I really like the work Alan Moore and Jacen Burrows have done on Providence. For some reason that style is perfect; the artwork underplays the cosmic horror, which I think is the entire point. Brilliant.

[ToALonelyPeace]

Thanks for making this thread. I wasn't sure if a comic/manga weird fiction thread has been made or not. Nice comics. Unfortunately it's in a language I don't understand.

Anyhow, there are a lot of good weird fiction manga out there.

Here are several I enjoy:
Homunculus


Goodnight Punpun



Freesia

[MTC]

Hans Bellmer, Giorgio De Chirico, Alberto Giacometti, Max Ernst, Raoul Ubac, ...

[Ibrahim]

ToALonelyPeace- the Breccia book is an adaptation of a single chapter from an Ernesto Sabato novel- you could probably find that one translated to English somewhere. Mil/Cyrrus are for the Francophone, yes- But Beyer again is an English publication.

The Manga you mention all seem rather of the explicit kind?
I have one Homunculus paperback & i wish there were more of those melancholy shots in there-the artist infuses them with a lovely forlorn quality.

Michael- Yes, Moore is good at picking his collaborators so that the artwork underscores the story.

Can anyone think of any comic that equals the best Poe, Ligotti &c. through visuals?
I saw a few Al Colombia pages being posted recently- i'd say he comes close.

[ToALonelyPeace]

Quote Originally Posted by Ibrahim

ToALonelyPeace- the Breccia book is an adaptation of a single chapter from an Ernesto Sabato novel- you could probably find that one translated to English somewhere. Mil/Cyrrus are for the Francophone, yes- But Beyer again is an English publication. The Manga you mention all seem rather of the explicit kind? I have one Homunculus paperback & i wish there were more of those melancholy shots in there-the artist infuses them with a lovely forlorn quality.

Thanks, I'll check it out. True, they are explicit and belong to the Seinen genre (target adult men). I have always enjoyed the (sometimes overblown) weirdness. If you don't like them, you can check out Parasyte.

[Tom A.]

Very good to mention Breccia in the first post. His work was beyond the quality standard of most comic book artists.

In the manga area, let us not forget Junji Ito.

[trieffiewiles]

Haven't posted one here forever. Don't know how to copy and paste with a Mac. That aside, to Ibrahim, while this might not be exactly what you're looking for- as all of his stuff that I know of is cyberpunk in nature and often quite violent. Nevertheless, in terms of strange and vast (often animate) architecture, visceral creatures, and labyrinthine plot lines, much of Tsutomu Nihei's work ranks pretty high in those said arenas.

Blame!, Abara, and Knights of Sidonia are all good examples in my opinion. Can be an expensive pursuit to acquire them though. Again, can be violent, Blame! especially.

[Ibrahim]

Lots of Manga recommendations here...what is that? An entire country better at weird visuals than most others? Or the added charm of a different visual culture creating a kind of instant weirdness?

What makes Breccia so brilliant is his use of the materials of his craft to communicate the horror- the textures and blackness of the ink itself rather than the image described by it.

Comic-book artist Sarah Horrocks says it better than i ever could, here:

Alberto Breccia and The Power of Suggestion in Horror Comics Imagery | 73

[Robert Adam Gilmour]

There's so many great artists who did horror comics but it's harder to think of any properly good comics.

Jones/Wrightson's "Jenifer" from Creepy.

The two Spookhouse books by Scott Hampton are great.

Definitely the Junji Ito stuff.

Hideshi Hino's Red Snake, Hell Baby, Living Corpse and Lullabies From Hell.

John Zack's overstuffed work for Epic Illustrated is not a good read but it looks dazzling.

Druillet.

Tim Conrad 's Toadswart D'Amplestone.

Gustave Verbeek's work was light and whimsical but very weird.

"Just Passing By" by Alex Nino
Look Here, Read: by Alex Nino | Ragged Claws Network

I think a lot of manga benefits from more economic writing and easier panel arrangements but there's not a lot of artists I groove on.