Black Static #62 (Magazine) – The Horror Jumps Off The Page
Edited by Andy Cox
Published by TTA Press
As frequent readers will probably expect, Black Static #62 was bursting with horror goodness. In the following review, we’ll take a look at just what you can expect from this month’s edition of one of the UK’s premier horror magazines.
Firstly, a look at some of this month’s fiction.
“Caring for a Stray Dog (Metaphors)” was an odd one. I love dogs. We all love dogs. If you don’t love dogs, then stay the hell away from me, because you occupy a world in which I have no interest. Our protagonist, Kent, adopts a stray dog, which he hopes will fill the void left after his young daughter was killed by a madman with an AR-15. You probably won’t be too surprised to hear that his story takes place in the US, so it’s hardly surprising that author Michael Wehunt tapped into the insanity surrounding the fact that, despite countless mass shootings, the country has yet to pass any significant gun control regulations. Anyway, Kent adores his newfound pet and swears to himself that he will care for Grace with every fiber of his being, something which anyone who has ever owned a dog will fully understand; but from that point on, things start to get weird.
I’ll also admit that it wasn’t particularly easy to make it to the end of this story, mainly because of the fact it mostly followed one man and his dog traveling from place to place, without much happening and with very little spoken dialogue. The horror undertones, which were hinted at when Kent experiences a strange vision after entering an abandoned church, were a nice touch, but this is certainly a tale best suited for readers okay with taking it slow.
“Bury Me with Broken Light Bulbs, Bury Me in Shattered Glass” by Jack Westlake was a very short but hugely effective parable about the dangers of addiction, in which an alcohol befriends a man who literally eats himself to death. Whilst this was only four pages long, it will probably be enough to make anyone struggling with an addiction seek professional help.
“Things Behind the Sun” by David Martin starts off as a cautionary tale about the dangers of idolizing dead rock stars, before slowing evolving into something else. I won’t spoil it, but this was also a pretty fun and suspense-filled story.
In addition the the fiction, there was also the usual assortment of reviews of the latest DVD and Blu-ray releases, with the standout being for the new Blu-ray edition of Carrie, with writer Peter Couzens sadly acknowledging that Stephen King’s original novel would be dumped into the Young Adult section were it released today.
Peter Tennant provides us with this month’s book reviews, and he states that he would like either James Cameron or Ridley Scott to helm an adaptation of the newly released deep sea horror novel Into the Drowning Deep. I can’t say I agree with his choice of directors, but I found no fault with his verdicts.
As a newcomer to Black Static, #62 didn’t exactly turn me into a diehard fan, but it did make me eager to see what #63 has in store.
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Black Static #62
Summary
Horror readers can expect to find plenty of chills within the pages of Black Static #62.
Categorized:Reviews
