HERE'S BERNIE !!!

Hello Chums,

I have been a fan of Bernie Wrightson for a very long time. I remember buying a book he illustrated back in '82. What! Yeah '82! When I first saw this guy's artwork, I was blown away by not just the creepy factor, but the level of detail he had. This guy's inked art was amazing. I had to have MORE! But getting more through the years hasn't exactly been easy. Bernie has done work in other fields that has taken from his time (and body of work) in comics. So when there is a new book or comic or cover work, I tend to latch on to it like a junkie would their fix ( this can also be traced back to the fact that I didn't buy his book "A Look Back" when it was new and have regretted it ever since).

Now here it is 26 years later and I have read a new (old material) book. Although Freak Show was published by Image Comics in 2005, the material is from the early '70s. These four stories were entirely new to me. Yeah! New material! I don't know where these stories came from, but I wish Image Comics would find and publish more. And a full size hardcover book at 14.99? What a good deal!

The meat of Freak Show is the 44 page title story. This story, written by Bruce Jones, has plenty of haunting images in the usual Bernie Wrightson style. Dark, shadowy, raining nights with mysterious creatures lurking in the woods, really Bernie at his best. What makes this great is the fact that it is black and white art. Color is not wanted or needed when it's Bernie's story. His attention to detail coupled with his inking style, give his panels depth that's rarely seen with other artists.

The other three short stories are written and drawn by Wrightson. The story "The Task" has Bernie doing an almost (painted?) Conan story and art. While "Out On A Limb" and "Nosferatu" feature his usual creepy style. These stories feel like they might have originally been published in some magazine.

I'm planning on taking my copy of Freak Show to the Kansas City Con to get Wrightson to sign it. I hope he makes the trip.

Rating: Story: A, Art: A+

K.R.C.

D.L.