Broken Frontier

Horror film icon Brian Yuzna teams with a talented group of Euro artists to chronicle a perverse and sometimes shocking series of short stories for the comic book medium.

I must admit that I am the type of person that will gravitate to anything bearing Brian Yuzna’s name on it. I will also admit to being affectionately attached to his popular Re-animator series of films, so it’s safe to say that this anthology series from Narwain was a shoo-in for me to pick up.

Brian Yuzna’s Horrorama is a thick tome containing eleven b/w horror stories from a wide variety of artists and writers. Some of the more familiar names mixed in amongst this group of mostly Euro based artists and writers are: Takeshi Miyazawa, Bryan Talbot, B. Clay Moore, Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Rubinstein. But beyond this initial group of recognizable names, you’ll find some breathtaking visuals from Sergio Ibanez. His work is the creepiest looking of the bunch, and he’s contributed two very distinct stories that blend twisted predicaments with hair-raising endings provided for each story.

The strongest story of the bunch is a toss-up between Takeshi Miyazawa’s The Hike, and B. Clay Moore’s Sail Away. Both stories deal with the detonation of friendships, and the surprising similarities found in each story ends with a twist that’s guaranteed to steal your breath away. The remaining stories in this anthology tend to be a mixed bag of interesting ideas and horrific moments, but I admit that some were uneven and left me generally unsatisfied with the end results.

The art though is a different matter altogether. I think it’s a tough sell with a book that is entirely in b/w, but the anthology overall is a solid production from beginning to end. Artists like Sergio Ibanez, Charles Carvalho and Manuel Bracchi provide gritty styles that certainly lend to this type of genre, and it’s always nice to have stalwart vets like Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Rubinstein to lend a hand with the finishes. I even felt the inclusion of manga supertstar Takeshi Miyazawa helped to diversify the anthology, and his work was definitely not out of place at all.

Overall, I really enjoyed the concept behind the idea of rallying a select group of creators to tell horror stories. My only minor criticism is that Mr. Yuzna did not contribute a story of his own here. I found this a bit odd considering that this anthology is named after him, but don’t let that stop you from buying this tome. It is well worth reading through, and it may even frighten you a little.