Comic: Nightmare Factory #2
Sep. 11, 2008
Summer has just wrapped and fall is right around the corner. This is the perfect time to curl up with a good tale of the macabre while the leaves change color and the air turns brisk. Fox Atomic Comics, who gave us the horrifying graphic novels 28 DAYS LATER: THE AFTERMATH, THE HILLS HAVE EYES: THE BEGINNING, and THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY are at it again, this time with more tales of surreal bizarreness with THE NIGHTMARE FACTOR VOLUME 2, featuring four more stories from horror master Thomas Ligotti.
The first NIGHTMARE FACTORY blew me away with its stunning visuals and awesome artwork, but left me high and dry when it came to the actual execution of the stories. I'm happy to report that the issues I had with the first volume have been rectified in VOLUME 2, as not only was I impressed by the different visual styles of the four tales, but I was sucked in to each tale with a firm claw-like grip. Considering how I felt after reading VOLUME 1, VOLUME 2 is a triumph… they went back to the source material and gave us an inventive take on each of Ligotti's stories.
VOLUME 2 features four separate tales from four separate artists, giving the reader a variety of styles to enjoy while focusing on the similar themes of Ligotti's work, mainly that of the unknown, of alternate realities, of being a loner, and trying to find one's place in the world. The first story, GAS STATION CARNIVALS, written by Joe Harris and illustrated by Vasilis Lolos, is a tale of magical revenge told through childhood memories of sideshow gas station carnivals and a mysterious 'showman' reeking of unexplainable evil. The panels were beautifully drawn, creating a world both realistic and surreal—while it may not have been my favorite of the bunch, it was a good 'lead in' story, giving the reader a taste of what's to come.
Clowns are probably one of the scariest creatures ever created and all the more creepy that they're on this planet to entertain children… and scare adults. So the second tale, THE CLOW PUPPET, also written by Joe Harris and illustrated by Bill Sienkiewicz, struck a particular cord with me--because I flippin' hate clowns. But what may be scarier than a clown? How about a puppet? Or better yet… a clown puppet! The artwork for this story was a bit bizarre for me and not really 'my style,' but I was able to follow along easily enough and was thoroughly sucked in to the storyline, about a regular guy who has encounters with a clown puppet from time to time. Maybe I liked this story because the subject matter was creepy as hell—whatever the reason, while the visual style wasn't my thing, the story delivered on the whole and that's what's important.
Science and all things involving laboratories, long white coats, and mad scientists are bizarrely horrific, and THE CHEMYST is no different! Written by Stuart Moore, with art by Toby Cypress and color by Rico Renzi, this tale takes the mad scientists looking to change the world to a level we've seen a thousand times: good intentions with evil results. What I liked most about this tale is that I couldn't tell whether what was going on was strictly in the chemist's head (he's really the only the character who talks), or was the events that unfolded from page to page actually happening. Talk about a reality mind-f*ck! I also dug the art work, as it was quite different than the other styles found within the book--a bit more cartoony along the likes of the art from classic TALES FROM THE CRYPT comics of the 50s and 60s.
Last but certainly not least was THE SECT OF THE IDIOT, also written by Stuart Moore, with art by Nick Stakal and colored by Lee Loughridge. This tale was (oddly enough) another tale of the bizarre, following a loner as he's visited by visions of a sect of cloaked people, only to find out that the visions aren't just in his mind but are the real deal. Of course, it takes him turning into a half insect to figure this out—then again, no one said it would be easy. What suck with me was the character's nightmarish visions and the panic that he feels when he realizes that he's not going crazy.
VOLUME 2 is a hop, skip, and a jump over the first NIGHTMARE FACTORY. The stories flowed better together, and while they kept with Ligotti's bizarre theme's and sense of confusion, I, as the reader, wasn't confused or lost (which was my biggest problem with VOLUME 1). What also helped with this volume was the introduction to each story by Ligotti himself—yes, he introduced the stories in the previous volume, but somehow his introductions were more focused here, setting the reader up with the context / theme of the story. These introductions were a huge help.
Then again, the reason VOLUME 2 rocked so hard could have been because this batch of stories were better than the batch in VOLUME 2. Either way, if you liked the first volume you're gonna love this—and if you thought the last volume was simply OK, then you're gonna really enjoy what Ligotti and crew have in store for you here. Dark stories, bizarre mysteries, and different visions of the Ligotti's world, this may be just the ticket for you to curl up to when you're all alone on some dark and stormy night.
3.5 out of 4
