Review

It's been a bit of a wait but Baden Kirgan and the team at Black House Comics have unleashed Issue 3 of After the World on an unsuspecting World. As opposed to the previous two Issues, both novellas by Clay Blakehills and Jason Fischer respectively, Issue 3 takes the form of an Anthology. This is either a great development or a disappointment depending on your perspective. I'm cool with it as we are still in the early evolution stage of the series with nothing written in stone as yet. The format has also changed, with Issue 3 now having magazine dimensions rather than the more standard book like look the previous Issues wore with pride. We're living in interesting times kids, wonder if Issue 3 got more shelve space or the new format worked against it?

Regardless Editor Kirgan delivers a fine collection of seven stories ranging from flash pieces to pretty much a novella by Jason Franks. So you could say you not only get your cake but you get to eat it as well. Overall a lot to get through, let's lock and load and wade into the dead.

While Issue 3 pretty much deals with the subject of death from various perspectives it marks a departure from the zombie apocalypse that formed the background scenario for the two previous novellas. Raymond Gates gets things underway with the wonderfully suggestive Nothing Goes To Waste. There's not a hint of the zombie in this medical yarn, beyond I guess the concept of patients in comas being maybe slightly more aware than one would imagine. Gates builds towards a particularly nasty conclusion that had me grinning from ear to ear.

And if you think that's just an abbreviation before things hit the highway with shambling zombies then Peter Kempshall will further cast you adrift with the SciFi shocker The Rule of Three. Though to be fair I guess rotting flesh is part and parcel of the walking dead breed of zombie. Anyways very solid story set in outer space that gets where it's going without unduly troubling the horror reader. Like that Alien movie, Kemsphall's story is an out and out horror yarn wrapped in the thin plastic of another genre.

Holding center stage in the Anthology and offering a bridge to past Issues is Jason Franks' epic post zombie apocalypse novella After the World: Pack Rules that will put the reader right back in familiar Romero style surrounds. Franks, here taking a break from graphic novels, presents a tale of survival told from multiple viewpoints, including the titular group of dogs roaming the shattered landscape. We're talking survivors doing the best they can amongst the stumbling zombie hordes with more dangers present than one might suppose. A well-constructed yarn that ties it's divergent plots together seamlessly to present one of the better zombie stories of the year. Franks should crank up the word processor, if he hasn't already, and get the sequel to this excellent novella happening ASAP. First in line for a copy over here, hell yeah Pack Rules is that good.

The Anthology rounds out with a number of interesting tales of the macabre that wouldn't be out of place in a "Year's Best" collection. The Hobart Town Whisperer, Clinton Green, is one of those stories that are hard to pin down, though nice touch to high five Alexander Pearce's Tasmania. B. Michael Radburn throws in a traditional ghost story in the solid enough Indian Summer, Jason Fischer ensures his name is sticking with the franchise via the excellently original A Clockwork Arthur, fans of a certain notorious movie will be digging that tale of alternative reality, and finally Thirty Seconds sees Eugene Gramelis purloining an idea from Torchwood to good effect in a revenge outing that closes things nicely. Phew, big breath needed.

Rounding out our dance card is an editorial by the rampaging Baden Kirgan explaining the change in format, and offering a tantalising glimpse into the content of the next Issue. You also get a full colour two page poster for the second novella in the middle of the Anthology that should please some readers and which will be a welcome additional to a lot of bedrooms around the nation. Naturally there is also a bit of Black House propaganda, not overly intrusive, and I got to say the forthcoming SciFi comic series is going to be top priority around these here parts when it is released. Unfortunately for Baden he reminded me that The Dark Detective hasn't had some loving for a while, the dude can expect some correspondence on that score.

About the only thing missing from the Anthology I guess were short Author Bios for those of us who might like to explore further works by the contained Writers. Google is your friend people, plenty on the web for each contributor.

I really wish art would not imitate life, but recently a bunch of stuff that has hit the ScaryMind's review pile is pertinent to ongoing geek discussions we are having around the bunker. If you remember back a while we were having an argument over whether or not the move by T-Rex from acoustic to electric was a good thing, that debate continues with a lot of cool tracks being presented by various parties in support of their own side of the equation. Anyways, and before I completely diverge from the review at hand, a similar debate was had over the change in format for After the World. The general consensus being if the franchise sticks to the base post-apocalyptic wonderland than all's good. A danger exists in the series moving away from the zombie goodness of the first three releases, I'll keep you posted folks. On the business side of the head shot, Baden Kirgan has delivered a compelling anthology that should have dark genre fans lapping it up. Full recommendation, get this one under your belt if after some superior dark genre reading material.

After the World Anthology is available for both local and foreign readers from href='http://www.blackboox.net'>Black Boox, the magazine will set you back $5 (AUD), talk about value for money yo!