Yes, all the publishers have jumped onto the horror bandwagon - and with good reason: the genre's selling like hotcakes! And not just on the zombie front, even though that's the one most being exploited. In coming months, there are literally dozens of zombie titles being released, even from powerhouse Marvel. Still, you can be sure that B-Rated is your place for the best information as to which titles to pick; my allegiances for any specific company went the way of my need for a clean house at about the same time.
KISS -- yes, the band -- is releasing a monthly title which has nothing to do with rock n roll. Instead, it follows the characters the band created (Starchild, The Demon, etc.) as they fight crime, or monsters, or get into wacky misadventures or something. The art looks okay, largely based on their Psycho Circus toy images, released years ago and designed by one Todd McFarlane.
30 Days of Night is wrapping up its current mini-series, Spreading the Disease, very soon; this month's issue is the next to the last. They then pick up with a new series. Then there's something called Raising the Dead, then there's something called Vampire Puppet... but the big thing I've noticed in coming attractions is the overwhelming number of "mystical arts" (or occult)-related titles - everything from the delayed Dr. Fate to the recently concluded Dr. Strange to just a slew of magic-based characters, both superhero and non-. Not that I have anything against the trend, just that I find it sociologically interesting, given current world events.
It seems that most everyone is looking to rediscover spirituality in a big way and the comics companies have wasted no time in coming to this same conclusion. On the other hand, with the continued success of such properties as Charmed, Buffy, Angel, and so on, one could say that the comics companies have actually been sleeping on the idea for going on ten years. And then too, there's the idea that most trends go in 20-30 waves, surfacing then resurfacing later. This is a very true concept which has been borne-out throughout the ages and the 1970s had a huge upswing of occult-based characters and concepts -- many of which started to resurface in the 1990s (Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, more). And recall how the early 1990s were consumed with the 1960s and a return to psychedelia, folk music, free sex, and so on.
Which means that our grandchildren's generation will probably go through a reality TV phase...
If only we can make them learn from history before that happens.
UPDATE: We cannot. - 2018
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
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