by Mentalrage

Independent publisher Avatar Press founded in the early 90’s has built up quite a reputation both for it’s stable of Bad Girl comics like Pandora, Shi, and a recently rejuvenated Lady Death (via their Boundless imprint), but also more prominently as being the home of numerous creator-owned titles by some of the most high profile names in comics, with Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis, David Lapham, and others being given free reign to tell stories with no restrictions. Another name in their cadre of writers is Alan Moore.

Alan Moore is probably amongst the most deified of scribes in the whole comics medium. He generally shuns the mainstream media and only gives interviews when it suits his purpose for publicizing a project of some sort . Whilst he may be best known for high profile works like V For Vendetta and Watchmen, his latest work for Avatar, Neonomicon, comes from another realm entirely.

Brears and Lamper are two FBI agents are tasked with investigating a series of bizarre ritual murders that are somehow connected to the final case of Aldo Sax. Sax, formerly one of the FBI’s top agents, is now languishing in a maximum security facility after being convicted of numerous killings. After a frustrating interview with Sax, where he speaks only in a guttural inhuman tongue, the pair find themselves drawn to a seedy rock club and an occult book shop. Trying to make sense of the bizarre turn of events they find themselves caught up in, nothing prepares them for the sanity shattering truth that lies behind it all.

In a rare interview, Moore spoke with Wired about Neonomicon, and had this to say:

Funnily enough, that is one of the most unpleasant things I have ever written…With Neonomicon, because I was in a very misanthropic state due to all the problems we had been having, I probably wasn’t at my most cheery. So Neonomicon is very black, and I’m only using “black” to describe it because there isn’t a darker color.

Neonomicon is probably amongst the most disturbingly misanthropic works you could read and will no doubt take a lot of readers by surprise especially considering that the book itself doesn’t feature an explicit content advisory. Consider yourself warned.

Taking the mythos of H.P. Lovecraft, and adding in all the things that Lovecraft himself only made veiled references to, the “nameless rites” are rendered in disturbing clarity by Burrows refined art. I imagine a good number of readers will share the practically blind Brears’ sense of disbelief after putting in her contacts and seeing with her own eyes the ugly truth for the first time.

Her reaction to this is portrayed in stages as she retreats into her own mind to escape from the horror of it, but then a more begrudging acceptance materializes, influenced by a briefly alluded to past and possibly a manifestation of Stockholm Syndrome.

Burrows has already had plenty of experience in depicting disturbing imagery working on Crossed with Garth Ennis (also from Avatar), but I think in comparison to the constant desensitizing bombardment of atrocities seen in Crossed, his work here is given even more punch due to the relative brevity of things.

Undoubtedly Neonomicon will get dismissed by some out of hand just due to its graphic content, and it will no doubt rile some Lovecraft fans for depicting that which Lovecraft merely suggested. But for all its dark and disturbing glory, Moore is still an excellent writer and his meta-fictional treatment of Lovecraft is impressive. There’s plenty going on beneath the surface, looking at language, how we interpret it, and the perception of reality. One scene involving Johnny Carcosa is a brilliant example of this and would be unachievable in any other medium. Throw in some pitch black humor and a few turned-on-their-heads clichés, along with a brutal gut punch of an ending, which makes you want to read it all over again and Neonomicon stays with you long after you’ve made it to the back cover.

Originally a four-part comic book series, Neonomicon is now available as a single hardcover volume.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Alkaline Trio is the kickass band made up of Dan Andriano, Derek Grant and Matt Skiba. They just got the song, “We Can Never Break Up,” on an episode of the horror anthology series Masters of Horror. That song is included on the Masters of two disc CD soundtrack along with some amazing musicians as Buckethead, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, Matchbook Romance, and many more.

Read our exclusive interview with Derek Grant of Alkaline Trio on SuicideGirls.com.

by Steven-Elliot Altman (SG Member: Steven_Altman)

Our Fiction Friday serialized novel, The Killswitch Review, is a futuristic murder mystery with killer sociopolitical commentary (and some of the best sex scenes we’ve ever read!). Written by bestselling sci-fi author Steven-Elliot Altman (with Diane DeKelb-Rittenhouse), it offers a terrifying postmodern vision in the tradition of Blade Runner and Brave New World…

By the year 2156, stem cell therapy has triumphed over aging and disease, extending the human lifespan indefinitely. But only for those who have achieved Conscientious Citizen Status. To combat overpopulation, the U.S. has sealed its borders, instituted compulsory contraception and a strict one child per couple policy for those who are permitted to breed, and made technology-assisted suicide readily available. But in a world where the old can remain vital forever, America’s youth have little hope of prosperity.

Jason Haggerty is an investigator for Black Buttons Inc, the government agency responsible for dispensing personal handheld Kevorkian devices, which afford the only legal form of suicide. An armed “Killswitch” monitors and records a citizen’s final moments — up to the point where they press a button and peacefully die. Post-press review agents — “button collectors” — are dispatched to review and judge these final recordings to rule out foul play.

When three teens stage an illegal public suicide, Haggerty suspects their deaths may have been murders. Now his race is on to uncover proof and prevent a nationwide epidemic of copycat suicides. Trouble is, for the first time in history, an entire generation might just decide they’re better off dead.

(Catch up with the previous installments of Killswitch – see links below – then continue reading after the jump…)

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by Daniel Robert Epstein

It’’s a good time to be Clive Owen. In the past year he’’s received an Oscar nomination for Closer, had a big role in the groundbreaking Sin City and made out with Jennifer Aniston in Derailed. Now he’’s starring in the Spike Lee directed bank heist film Inside Man alongside Denzel Washington and Jodie Foster.

Read our exclusive interview with Clive Owen on SuicideGirls.com.

by A.J. Focht

The first official character bios for the Avengers movie have been released. No big surprises here, just most of what is already known about the movie’s all-star superhero cast. Regardless, it’s a great way to familiarize yourself with any characters you might not be completely sure about, like Hawkeye.

Continuing the trend of rebooting superhero movies, David Slade has given an update on his upcoming Daredevil flick. Slade announced that Brad Caleb Kane has finished the first draft of the script and that more news would come in the new year. The original Daredevil film was better than some superhero movies, but it was by no means up to standards that superhero movies try to uphold these days. Hopefully the reboot will fix that.

While DC comics are still successfully pushing their New 52, Marvel has plans to move forward with another one of their giant world events. Raising the stakes — which is difficult since comic book events normally are quite apocalyptic — Marvel is waging an all-out war between the Avengers and the X-Men. After Phoenix Force return to Earth to seek a new host, Hope Summer (Cyclops and Jean Grey’s daughter), the Avengers want to quarantine her, and the X-Men refuse to let them without a fight – gripping stuff!

While there is no word on the upcoming Metropolis project, it looks like there will be more Smallville, kind of. Bryan Q Miller is writing a new novel that tells the story of what happens to the cast afterwards. While there is no official word on this, it seems an awful lot like this novel could be the means of transitioning into the upcoming Metropolis project.

Lots of news coming from the starship Enterprise. First off, rumors of Benicio Del Toro playing Khan have been put to rest. But in light of this news, it’s been revealed that Peter Weller (RoboCop) has officially joined the cast of Star Trek 2. His role is currently unknown, but this sci-fi legend is a welcome addition to the cast. That’s not it either. Alice Eve (She’s Out of My League & Entourage) has also joined the cast, and will play a new character in the canon. Despite all the news about Star Trek 2, producers are apparently going to great lengths to keep details of the production secret, with prominent cast members such as Chekov and Sulu, being denied access to the script.

On to the Ender’s Game movie. Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit) is in negotiations for the female lead. This is the second major cast announcement in as many weeks. It’s fair to assume there will be plenty more where those came from as Ender’s Game is set to release on March 15, 2013.

Iron Man screenwriters Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby have completed the script for the next Tomb Raider film. The original portrayal of Lara Croft by Angelina Jolie is being tossed aside. “For me it’s re-inventing the wheel a bit, it’s a reboot. We’re going back before she was Lara Croft,” said producer Graham King, talking to Digital Spy about the nature of the origins-style screenplay.

Anyone else getting sick of the reboots yet? ‘Cause another prominent sci-fi classic, Starship Troopers is also getting a reboot – just 15 years out from the original!

The iconic Jaws ride at Universal Studios is being removed and replaced with the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The attraction will be build along the same lines as the original in Orlando, which has proved to be so successful that Universal Studios and Warner Bros. have decided that it will be augmented with a large expansion.

Finally, 2012 looks like it’ll be a big year for Joss Whedon. With the release of the Avengers already on the books, Whedon recently revealed he has completed another project, Much Ado About Nothing. Now there’s a third movie in the lineup. A poster for a Whedon project called Cabin in the Woods has just surfaced, and was followed up by the release of an official trailer. The film is looking like it could be a fantastic sci-fi/horror movie, and will premiere on April 13, 2012.

by Daniel Robert Epstein

Matthew McConaughey is very much like the characters he’’s played in a few of his movies. He’’s easy going, laid back, charming and very easy to talk to. He plays another one of those guys in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch. His character Trip is a wealthy boat broker who still lives with his parents at age 35! So his parents hire Sarah Jessica Parker to fall in love with him so he will have the confidence to move out.

Read our exclusive interview with Matthew McConaughey on SuicideGirls.com.

by Mentalrage

It might be decades since you could pick up a copy of Black Mask, but anyone thinking that hardboiled fiction has disappeared is clearly mistaken. One of the names you should be paying attention to is Christa Faust, creator of femme fatale Angel Dare, and author of hardboiled pulp gems Money Shot and more recently, Choke Hold.

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