LORD OF GORE Blood Splatter Edition (Devil’s Due/1First Comics, release date to be determined) Created by D.B. Stanley and Daniel Leister. Written by D.B. Stanley. Illustrated by Daniel Leister. Colors by Sean Forney.
Back on June 12, 2018 I turned the spotlight on the LORD OF GORE Blood Splatter Edition Kickstarter campaign, and suggested that splatter punk and slasher flick fans give it some consideration. Here’s an update on the progress of that fundraiser:
As of 1 p.m. today (July 12) the LORD OF GORE campaign had raised $4,793 of its’ $4,500 goal from 103 backers with still 23 hours to go before closing on Friday, July 13 (how appropriate). Since it’s now a sure thing, if you were sitting on the fence before you still have a window of time to participate and get your copy. I’ve read the five issues of the series that are included in the trade paperback, and enjoyed them.
You can contribute as little as $7 for a digital copy, $15 for the standard trade paperback edition or $25 to get the exclusive Splatter Edition. Do I think you should?
For those impatient blog viewers or anyone who doesn’t want to spend the time to read more, the short answer would be YES, with clarification.
Upon hearing the title of the book, most readers have an inkling of what to expect just from the name - - LORD OF GORE. While there is a fair amount of bloodshed, slaughter and butchery within the story, it’s about more than just that. There’s also a decent amount of sex or sexual references, which definitely classify this as a view for mature adult readers. Funny, isn’t it, how blood and violence don’t seen to affect a rating as much as sexual themes do?
LORD OF GORE takes place within the exploitation film industry, those movies that attract an audience by exploiting current trends, niche genres, or lurid content (according to Wikipedia). Specifically, the slasher film genre, movies which focus on a psychopath stalking and violently killing a sequence of victims. (Thanks again, Wikipedia, for the quick summary).
Lord of Gore (the comic) is based on the fictional films featuring an immortal medieval executioner, dubbed The Headsman, whose bloody murdering mission continued on through the centuries into modern days. It was a successful franchise back in the heydays of slasher films and earned a cult following. The story opens at a Lord of Gore fan convention, where news of a reboot of the film are circulating. And then the murders begin, even before preliminary production starts up.
Lord of Gore is an engaging mystery story as well as a character exploration (believe it or not) of some interesting and appealing individuals. The main protagonist is Danny Graves, the original screenwriter hoping to get a chance to be involved in the newest version of the franchise. While there have been several actors to portray The Headsman (which helps to increase the list of murderer suspects, of course) there’s only been one writer. Now, it appears that he’s going to be passed over for the assignment.
When Danny’s beloved mentor is brutally murdered by The Headsman during the opening parking garage carnage, Danny is on a mission to track down the killer and bring him to justice. The trail of clues (and bloody bodies) runs through former actors and actresses, the film director, past associates, prostitutes, institutionalized suspects, the exploitation film industry and the pornography business.
There are plenty of characters involved in the action before the story concludes (for now) after five issues, and for the most part they are introduced gradually as the tale unfolds. Writer Stanley does a fine job of building the suspense, engaging the reader, and making us care for the characters (or some of them). Artist Leister is skilled at depicting body language and facial expressions, excels at the action/fight scenes, and doesn’t spare the red ink.
I don’t want to give away any of the details by explaining too much of what happens from issue to issue. Suffice to say, the ending leaves things open for the series to continue. We’ll have to be satisfied with learning who the murderer and the mastermind are, and wait for the next story arc to see whether they meet justice (after a sufficient number of new murders, of course). To get your copy, go to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/585093821/lord-of-gore-volume-1-blood-splatter-edition
No comments:
Post a Comment