GARY SCOTT BEATTY on TOM MANDRAKE, INVERSE PRESS, Haunted Houses film

Here it is: Tom Mandrake's cover illustration for the Welcome to Dunwich GN. The art just arrived in the mail and the fantastic line quality that made him a favorite in The Spectre, Batman, Martian Manhunter and Swamp Thing is here in creepy, full force. Tom is one very down to earth guy, even though he was making inroads into DC when we knew each other from my con days. Some of my favorite Mandrake books are ones you may have never heard about. (His collection of short stories, Screaming Mandrake, is up on Comixology.) There is much more to see here at the official Tom Mandrake website. https://tommandrake.wixsite.com/tom-mandrake Welcome to Dunwich? I don't know, the majority of you want to see a Gods of Aazurncollection first! I need to claw out some time to run a Kickstarter. Stay tuned. +++ I'm in the unique position to have several things going on I can't tell you about yet. Enough about that -- +++   Friend of Aazurn Kevin LaPorte of Inverse Press talks with Tyler James in this ComixLaunch podcast interview. Happy 10th anniversary, Inverse Press! http://www.comixlaunch.com/session267/ Anyone remember Kevin's killer clowns in Aazurn's Indie Comics Magazine #3 and #4 (2011), with lovely illustrations by Amanda Rachels? From such humble beginnings sprang a comic company. See more from Inverse Press here. https://inversepress.com/ +++   I've seen a lot of horror movies. So when a unique approach comes along, I'm impressed. When that movie also revives a format I became bored with long ago I'm super impressed. The Houses October Built (2014) is about haunted houses. We've all seen these pop up in October and many of us wonder who these people are, where they come from, and what compels them to scare us. Most of the movie is footage of "haunts" and the strange people who build them. The sets are real haunted houses and their real scare actors. Not frightening. Until you pick up on the vibe Director Bobby Roe builds. We put ourselves under the control of these odd strangers. Some of them are pretty -- unusual. This was an indie film from 2011 that was remade by the same people who made the award winning indie. Don't let the "found footage" format turn you off. The slow burn and mood work here. And it's the perfect movie to see before you go out to a haunt on Halloween. The Houses October Built (2014) is free with ads on TubiTV. https://tubitv.com/movies/527784/the_houses_october_built (Just in case you're starting to think of me as normal, I've worked haunted houses and I've built haunted houses. Yes, some of the workers that show up at these scare even me.) +++ Stay safe but don't hibernate. Keep pushing for good. The world needs you out in the open. In difficult times all we have is each other. That will be enough if we don't give up. Don't give up! In glorious service to our Aazurn overlords, Gary Scott Beatty StrangeHorror.com