Fox Atomic Comics has released a series of horror friendly graphic novels over the past year, taking movie franchises and making them their own. We saw a glimpse of what was to come with 28 DAYS LATER: THE AFTERMATH, which they followed up with THE HILLS HAVE EYES: THE BEGINNING. They’ve shown us that they know how to take a well established story to the next level, and now they’ve done it again… this time, adapting the stories from the novel THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY, by Thomas Ligotti.
While I haven’t heard of Ligotti before picking up THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY, I think it’s safe to say that he’s a master of the macabre, as his stories and style reflect the art of other masters, including Edgar Allan Poe and H.P Lovecraft. Four stories are presented in THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY, each with a unique take on the macabre, each with a different group of artists bringing the stories to life. Is this FACTORY worth a visit? Come inside and take a look for yourself.
The first story is THE LAST FEAST OF HARLEQUIN, adapted by Stuart Moore, with art by Colleen Doran. HARLEQUIN tells the story of a writer in academia with a clown obsession, searching out a town that includes clowns in it’s annual festival. After exploring the town (and the folks who live there), he discovers there’s more to the festival than meets the eye… like a crazy cult of bizarros and nasty worm creatures.
Out of all the stories featured here, this was my favorite, mostly because of it’s overall creepy feel and sense of dread, and because it deals with one of the scarier inventions of all time: clowns. While it doesn’t dabble on a full-on circus, it does touch on the protagonist’s fascination with clowns, which to me is just wrong in and of itself. The further the story goes along in the discovery process of the town, the more bizarre and dreadful the story gets… all the way through it’s worm-filled climatic ending. Wow- that’s all I’ll say about that. I dug the story’s artwork as well, being more ‘comic book fare’ than some of the others that went for a more artsy look. In the end, the feeling of macabre and uneasiness poured out of this story, and as that was it’s purpose, it accomplished what it sent out to do.
Next up is DREAM OF A MANNIKIN, adapted by Moore with art by Ben Templesmith. MANNIKIN’s a bizarre story of mannikin’s coming to life, a psychologist who’s loosing his mind, a girl with bad dreams and other weird stuff. Can you tell I didn’t really ‘get’ what was going on here?
Like HARLEQUIN’s clowns, MANNIKIN touches on another creepy ass subject: that of dolls and mannikins. Creeepy. So when I dived into this story, I was hoping for more of the same, and what I got was a confusing storyline and an odd string of events. Like I said before, I don’t think I ‘got’ what was going on here. Obsessed narrator, mannikins, and a chick with bad dreams. What does it all mean? I have no clue. On the flip side, the art was masterfully done, using what appears to be watercolors and pen- and while it has the cartoon look you’d find on the Cartoon Network for most of it, when things turn dark, so does the art, reminding you that this ain’t no kids story. The choice of colors also worked beautifully here as well, so while I didn’t really ‘get’ what was going on, I did appreciate the art and had fun looking at the pictures.
MANNIKIN’s followed by DR. LOCRIAN’S ASYLUM, adapted by Joe Harris with art by Ted McKeever. ASYLUM focuses on a town that’s overshadowed by the abadoned Asylum just outside of town. After years of trying, the town finally gets around to demolishing the asylum, but later learns that there’s more to getting rid of it than just blowing it up.
Ligotti knows how to pick his subjects! Where the previous stories touched on clowns and mannikins, ASYLUM touched on… well, an asylum, which is up there on the creep-o-meter. What made this story work for me was how it tied the asylum’s dreadful past in with the town, so no matter how hard the town tried to destroy it, it could never destroy the past the two shared. That there’s a metaphor that can be applied to lots of things, but since we’re talkin’ loony bins here, it filled the story with a supernatural feel that may- or may not- have been there at all. What I also dug about this is Dr. Locrian himself, as he reminded me of that priest from POLTERGEIST 2- he had the outfit down and everything. McKeever’s panels and art showcased the evils the asylum’s past, as well as the bland affects it ultimately had on the town. The choice of colors worked well, and the attention to eyes contributed to bringing to life the feelings of those in the town as well as those stuck in the asylum. Eyes can say a lot, and they were used exquisitely here to help tell the story.
The compilation of stories is wrapped up with TEATRO GROTESSCO, adpated by Harris with art by Michael Gaydos. GROTTESCO is an odd little tale about the secret society of the Teatro Grottesco, as it strikes artists of all mediums, making them do crazy and demented things. The story focuses on a writer who plans on exposing the Grotessco, but winds up taking more than he bargained for.
The final story played almost like a mystery, one with supernatural overtones, and best of all, one that I could see actually happening… to an extent. Dealing with the art house crowd and their reasoning for why some artists go mad, they’ve created a folklore for themselves… but instead of letting it be just a folklore, the main character decides to investigate it further- told through a series of flashbacks (as to how it happened to others), and then through present time, I dug the story to an extent, but must admit it wasn’t really ‘my thing’. Legotti dabbles further into the bizarre macabre that he does so well, I think I just didn’t fully grasp the complexities of what was going on. The art almost appears to look like real pictures and images, done over in watercolors- I dug the style , and it gave the whole story of sense of surrealism that the others didn’t hit upon- probably because the panels look so real.
There is no denying that Thomas Ligotti is a modern day master of the macabre, as his stories showcased his talent beautifully, and I can only imagine how they read in novel form. Each section touched on impending doom and encompassing dread, focusing more on the horrors of the mind rather than just blood, guts, and violence. Each story is accompanied by an introduction from Legotti, shedding some light into the story itself and the background of how it came to be.
While I enjoyed some stories over others, I’m not sure I ‘got’ what was going on all the time, which was a bit more frustrating than I like when it comes to enjoying a graphic novel of this nature. The artwork was superb across the board and was the highlight of the whole experience. However, if you’re a fan of Ligotti or the likes of Poe and Lovecraft, and you’re looking for something to curl up to this fall to get your ‘creep’ on, then I’d recommend picking THE NIGHTMARE FACTORY up and giving it a whirl.
Rating: 2.5 Out of 4 Stars
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