PINPRICKS (Bughouse Comics, release date to be announced) http://www.bughousecomics.com ISBN # 978-0-988-9884479-2-9. 130 pages. Created by Jason Pell. Edited by John Macleod. Written and illustrated by Jason Pell. Funded through Kickstarter at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1265535519/pinpricks-a-book-of-tiny-and-terrible-oddities?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=pinpricks
I was fortunate enough to persuade the author to let me examine a digital review copy of this book. It’s delightful, sardonic darkly humorous, very creative and imaginative. Jason Pell’s artwork reminds me of a cross between Charles Adams and Jeff Lemire.
The Kickstarter campaign for the successfully funded (224% of goal, $10,400+) Pinpricks book will end Wednesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. You can still participate and get a digital or hardcover copy of the book, and I recommend all fans of horror comics do so. I’m backer #282, and can’t wait to page through the hardcover and share it with friends. Go to the link here to check it out = https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1265535519/pinpricks-a-book-of-tiny-and-terrible-oddities?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=pinpricks
Within the last decade flash fiction, those stories of extreme brevity, have become very popular. I guess it was only a matter of time before this style transitioned into comics. Horror comics are the prefect genre for this format, as aptly demonstrated here.
PINPRICKS is described as “101 illustrated short stories of misfits, monsters and the terminally awkward”, a short summary that is concise and to the point. Many stories are just one page, one panel of art including beginning, middle and end. Some stories are told completely in a single image without benefit of text. There are several two page stories, with one panel of art supported by one page of text.
The longest story at 4 pages appears near the end of the book.
A good example of the magic behind Pinpricks is the very first story — a horrifying image of a boy with a look of both wonder and fear on hi sface as he watches his fingers catch fire. The text above the art tells us that “each cell in his body was a living thing, Christopher Clark learned in science class today”. The text below the image ends the story: “How alive? He wondered. But only briefly.”
What a punch in the face! There are many stories like that throughout the book. If PINPRICKS was intended to be longer, many of these stories could be expanded to 8 or 10 pages. But Pell just puts the idea out there, wraps it up, and moves onto the next story.
This is a book that can be read in one sitting, or absorbed over time. I think it’s more effective when consumed over several readings. One could really stretch it out by reading just one story a day. That might offer the most impact, certainly the most bang for the buck.
Among the gems that await readers are tales of angry television sets, hungry moons, secretive family trees, a house that grows, a haunted schools, a wishing well that serves as a portal to an alternate reality, an umbrella that blocks out the darkness, demanding trash collectors, and telemarketers of doom.
Don’t hesitate. Click the link and check it out.
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