Eclecticism - Issue 1 July 2007

Sex :
Violence :
Editor Craig Bezant
Publisher Eclecticism
Length 40 pages
Country

Review

As promised late last year here we go with a trip through the past darkly as ScaryMinds catches up with the complete back catalogue of Eclecticism issues. With Issue One Editor Craig Bezant presents five original stories, four poems, and the disturbing artwork of Lucas Aquirre and Bram Vanhaeren. Quite the achievement considering the fanzine is absolutely free to download and do with as you want. Let's get stuck in as Issue 2 is giving off this siren call that I'm finding hard to ignore.

In my previous review, no other bastard is going to get their hands on this gem, I pointed out that each Issue of Eclecticism revolves around a theme, Issue One kicks this off with a look at “cliche horror with a twist”. Now how cool is that, take an existing cliché, give it a spin, and where it lands no one will know. Sorry to P!nk fans for the paraphrasing. Mark McAuliffe presents a different take on an old staple with Bedtime. The story drips with quiet menace and whispers unspeakable things in your ear, read with caution as McAuliffe isn't taking prisoners friends and neighbours. Blind Man's Bluff by Brian G Ross owes a debt of gratitude to Dog Soldiers (2002), Neil Marshall's journey into the lycanthrope filled forests of backwoods Scotland. Both the story and movie exist in the same universe, and got to say I love me some howling at the moon action so was digging the twist on Marshall's beat here. And finally Craig Bezant takes time out of his schedule to present Stealing Shadows, an altogether chilling presentation of modern paranoia. I read this one late at night and must admit to then getting up and checking the locks on the doors, just in case.

If the theme isn't your thing, you sick individual you, well then Editor Bezant has you covered with two additional tales that range off the reservation, as the Yanks would say. With Neanderthal Natalie Je Potts takes up a recent anthropological discovery, mixes in some prejudice, and produces a tale that slyly picks at one of the issues many societies, I'm including Asian here as well, face. Darn and I was hoping for a melted caveman on the rampage story, Potts sidetracked me with a subversive yarn. Issue One closes out with Million Dollar Abduction by Eric Grayson, a story that throws together an attack on reality television in a sort of The Running Man (Bachman 1982) fashion. I dug this story's slow build up to it's condemnation of what television does to people.

Previously I've pointed out that I wouldn't know my arse from my elbow when it comes to poetry, and that remains the case kids, so I have no idea if the included batch of four poems does the business. Read the Issue and make your own mind up.

As mentioned Issue One features the Artists Lucas Aquirre and Bram Vanhaeren, who get full page reproductions of their work, but you also get contributions from the intriguing Mariusz Pocztowski, the excellent vision of Sarah Mitchell, and the disturbing imagery of Codoban Mihai. Art alive and well, Eclecticism fully endorses it, everyone's a winner and that's no lie. I actually have to take time out to congratulate Editor Craig Bezant for the inclusion of the absolute wealth of art featured in the Issue.

To the technical side of things. Issue One is a fully professional magazine that manages to combine the written word and visual elements in a unique and engrossing style. Each story or poem is present with a background that tries to visually capture the essence of the piece making for an enjoyable and rich experience for the reader. Must have taken one hell of a lot of piecing the parts together to get this Issue ready for publication. I found the blend of written and visual to be excellent, there are no problems with how the magazine comes together.

One aspect of the Issue however had me less than impressed. For no apparent reason certain stories and poems are presented in 90 degree to 180 degree rotation, which is more painful to deal with than experience enhancing. For those not aware, you can hit “View” from the top menu of your pdf reading and then select “Rotation” to twist things back to a more normal reading angle. While this wasn't that problematic overall, it was still a distraction from the pages in question.

I first read the Issue yesterday when I was being harassed to get some stuff done and then took a more leisurely read overnight. At forty pages the inaugural issue of Eclecticism isn't that daunting, but you will find some real treasure between the covers and I would imagine one or two stories that you just might pop in the classic category. I certainly had a lot of fun with Issue One and am now itching to start in on Issue two. An excellent magazine that should have dark genre fans doing the “we are not worthy” dance in front of Craig Bezant's house. Not that I'm saying you should go do that, maybe buy him a beer or something instead.

If after the Issue then it's available as a free download right here. The official Eclecticism site can be found over here for those after more information. Knock yourselves out there kids!

One of the cool games we're now playing in the office is, which stories from each issue of the magazine will feature in the book An Eclectic Slice of Life. I've noted one story from the first Issue, but will have to wait for the book to push it's way up our review queue to get the result there. If you can't wait then you can purchase the book from Dark Prints Press, click on through to the other side.

ScaryMinds Rates this read as ...

  Excellent lead off Issue to a great e-zone, dial in kids.