News Update: July 3rd, 1999:

ITEM: Green Reunion Sends Bissette & Totleben Back to the Swamps: Work Underway on Neil Gaiman "JACK IN THE GREEN" Swamp Thing Story!

ITEM: Citro and Bissette's VERMONT GHOST GUIDE Delivered to Publisher!

ITEM: Hell to Pay: Bissette's Short Story "JIGSAW" Accepted for HELLBOY: ODD JOBS

ITEM: KREEGAH! Bissette & Yeates' TARZAN Pellucidar Special Now in Stores!

ITEM: Bissette Goes Fast 'N' Bulbous: Beefheart Art for Upcoming SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z

ITEM: Nancy Collins' LYNCH Almost Out of Print!

ITEM: First Citro and Bissette Collaboration Now On Sale!

ITEM: Citro and Bissette's VERMONT'S HAUNTS Color Map Now On Sale HERE!

ITEM: Definitive Overview of French Fantasy, Horror, and SF features Intro by Bissette...

ITEM: JOURNEY INTO FEAR Lecture Coming in September to Marlboro College, Available to Other College Venues

ITEM: TABOO 4 Only North American Printing of Classic Moebius Story...

and More! Read On...

Gaiman Sparks Bissette, Totleben Reunion on SWAMP THING Tale "JACK IN THE GREEN"

The rumors are true: John Totleben and I are indeed working on the art for a brand-new SWAMP THING story for DC Comics. In a turn of events that pleasantly surprised John and I as much as anyone, an unexpected invitation from our old friend Neil Gaiman to illustrate his very first "sample" script for DC (dating from the mid-1980s) resulted in our putting pencil, pens, and brushes to bristol board once again to delineate a medieval incarnation of Swamp Thing, Jack-In-The-Green.

As of this writing, I've delivered pencils on three of the ten pages to none other than Karen Berger, who edited the bulk of the SWAMP THING issues John and I had a hand in over a decade ago. Too soon to tell you more. Details to follow...

Citro and Bissette's VERMONT GHOST GUIDE Delivered to Publisher!

A poltergeist raining stones down on a hapless North Pownal farm... a doppelganger's prediction of death in Cavendish... the Phantom Gravedigger of Northfield... the Midnight Cow, haunting the highways... the ghost of Charles Dickens, guiding a writer's hand in nearby Brattleboro... the mysterious Eddy Brothers, who marked Vermont as "The Spirit Capital of the Universe" back in the 1870s... all these, and many, many more, have been rendered in black and white by yours truly for Joe Citro's VERMONT GHOST GUIDE.

After six months of hard work, we've finally put our pet project to bed. Joe Citro wrote over one hundred entries and I provided over forty illustrations for the GHOST GUIDE, which Joe delivered to University Press of New England (UPNE) this first week of July. UPNE will publish our VERMONT GHOST GUIDE early next year. Quite a remarkable collection of lore and linework it is, too, if I may say so myself!

The New England mountains are rich with legends and lore of ghosts, phantoms, and horrible haunts, and Joe has been covering that "dead-beat" for almost a decade, reporting on such strange-but-probably-true tales in a series of books, articles, and regular radio commentary on Vermont Public Radio. Citro also authored five novels over the past decade: SHADOW CHILD (now available in a new edition from University Press of New England), GUARDIAN CHILD (upcoming from UPNE), THE UNSEEN, DARK TWILIGHT, and DEUS X. The latter was illustrated by yours truly, the first of what we hoped would be many fruitful collaborations. VERMONT GHOST GUIDE marks our third project together, and if all goes well, we'll be tackling another in the very near future!

Unlike my prior work for numerous limited edition novels and short story collections, the VERMONT GHOST GUIDE is abundantly illustrated. I really stretched my artistic muscles on this project, and hope you'll feel a shiver or two once you lay eyes on the book next year. More details to follow, once UPNE determines their publishing schedule for the project.

"JIGSAW" Makes Final Cut for Upcoming HELLBOY: ODD JOBS Short Story Anthology

This November, a new short story by yours truly will hit the racks in bookstores and comic shops. Here's a teaser:

He could barely see the outline of the tall man who plucked his face to pieces.

Blood filled his eyes, and try as he might to blink and clear them, it did no good. Without eyelids, the urge to blink only pained him. Part of him didn’t care to see, really. He could feel the heat of the blood, taste it in his mouth.

How could he help it, now that his lips were gone?

Despite the chanting and the crying of the infants, he could hear the music of the cutting tools and the insistent slushy whispers of the incisions. There was a metallic sting across his hairline, the furrow of the blade gliding into his brow and deep into his remaining cheek. The cutting seemed endless, though he knew there had to be an end to it soon. How much more could they remove before his skull was picked clean?

Then he heard the cold clang of a saw, and felt its blade rest against his jaw.

The chanting faded as if on cue, followed by the inviting gurgle of running water. Its cold bite spilled over and into his wounds, across his flayed rictus grin and between his remaining teeth. He instinctively gulped at it, embraced it with the stump of his tongue, straining his neck to move toward its source until the stream of water lifted and poured into his lidless eyes, washing his vision clear for a moment.

The tall gowned man still stood over him, bone saw in hand, now held ceremoniously aloft.

The gown was adorned with arcane symbols, their patterns confused by the spots of dark blood and bits of flesh. Among them, though, one stood out: an arc within a square, bisected by a sword.

There were other figures behind and above him, and the sound of shrieking birds and yowling children, but only the surgeon was visible, methodically disassembling him, skin from muscle, tendon from bone, molar by molar.

The surgeon leaned in close, and muttered in a low, almost inaudible Teutonic voice:

“I will tell you of your father...”

So begins "JIGSAW," my original short story for HELLBOY: ODD JOBS, a forthcoming all-new fiction anthology featuring the cast and creatures of Mike Mignola's lovable HELLBOY. Clocking in at 13,500 words and making the final cut just under the wire, JIGSAW tells the tale of a lowly young janitor in a Paris University who accidentally shatters a curious fossil in the science lab. As he picks up the pieces, he begins to fit them together... and the object begins to speak. He has unknowingly resurrected a centuries-old evil -- an ancient evil that has already begun to reach out to Hellboy, promising him the secret of his birth.

Back in the fall of '98, I was approached by anthology editor Chris Golden and HELLBOY creator, scribe, ink-slinger and mini-mogul Mike Mignola and invited to contribute to the anthology. I submitted my story concept in December, and got the good news in February that my nasty narrative notion had been approved without changes. "Big thumbs up and enjoy yourself," Chris told me. If only comics publishers were this straightforward in their decision-making... Thanks, Chris and Mike! (And special thanks to John Totleben for the inspiration, David Kunzle's work for the background information, and Jean-Marc Lofficier for the French and Parisian suggestions and revisions.)

Though I had misgivings about my ability to capture the unique tenor of Mike's HELLBOY characters and universe, it was a great deal of fun to try to bring something fresh to the table while carefully building upon groundwork Mike and his various collaborators (including John Byrne and Crhis Golden) had laid. I felt satisfied with the final results, but couldn't rest easy until Chris recently got back to me, saying that "Mike loves the story!" I can't wait to see Mike's illustrations for the story.

Chris added, "According to what I've been told, Dark Horse is planning to release HELLBOY: ODD JOBS in November." Chris and Mike collaborated on a story for the mix, too, adding to the fine company. Other authors featured in ODD JOBS include Poppy Z. Brite, Brian Hodge, Max Allan Collins, Greg Rucka, Nancy Holder, Chet Williamson, Nancy A. Collins, Rick Hautala & Jim Connolly, Matthew J. Costello, Craig Shaw Gardner, Yvonne Navarro, and Philip Nutman, with a special contribution by Gahan Wilson. More information forthcoming...

Bissette and Citro's Full-Color VERMONT'S HAUNTS Map Still Available from SpiderBaby Grafix -- Quantities Limited!

What's so scary about Vermont?

Well, it's the birthplace of Joe Citro, Frank Miller, Rick Veitch, and yours truly, and the only state that scared H.P. Lovecraft away! Vermont is the home of all manner of monsters, ghosts, and madmen. Meet Corwin the Vampire, Champ the serpent, the dreaded Goonyak... and Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism. Here are dozens of mystifying sites to discover or avoid, intricately plotted by Citro, lavishly designed and illustrated by Bissette. This is VERMONT's HAUNTS, the first-ever map of the weirdest state of the union in all its unholy Green Mountain glory, in full, non-living color!

Back in the fall of 1997, Joe Citro and I cobbled together this oversized, full-color map charting the many ghosts, ghouls, monsters, and mysteries said to lurk amid the hills and hollows of our native state. We printed up a handful and sold them locally for a few months, before retiring the map for greener pastures.

After a little spit, a few revisions, and an artistic touch up or two, the map is finally in print again. Thanks to University Press of New England, the publisher of Joe's upcoming GREEN MOUNTAINS, DARK TALES and recent re-issue of his first novel, SHADOWCHILD, our VERMONT'S HAUNTS wall map has been revamped for display in your own home. It's a real beauty, too, printed on a hearty laminated stock. Measuring approximately 12" by 19", this eye-popper is brimming with spirits, spooks, vampires, graverobbers, and Champ, of course (our beloved Lake Champlain monster).

For a limited time, we're selling signed copies of this special limited-edition map here at the SpiderBaby table. Quantities ARE limited (only 500 rolled off the presses this time around), so ACT NOW! This is your chance to have your map personalized by both Joe and I to you. These make GREAT gifts, too.

Just send $10.00 US postpaid for your copy; $15.00 foreign. Please indicate whether you would like it mailed flat or rolled. If you're ordering more than one copy at the same time, additional copies are just $8.00 US ($10 foreign) each. Make checks payable to SpiderBaby Grafix and Publications; VISA or Mastercard accepted, include all info on your card including name as it appears on your card, address, expiration date, and a daytime phone number. Mail your order to SpiderBaby Grafix, Dept. M, P.O. Box 442, Wilmington, VT 05363. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery, please.

For information on SHADOWCHILD Joe's latest release GREEN MOUNTAINS, DARK TALES (offering deeper explorations of Vermont's strange-but-true heritage), or his forthcoming novel GUARDIAN ANGEL, you can contact University Press of New England at 1-800-421-1561, or FAX them at 1-603-643-1540. You can reach Joe Citro via e-mail at jacitro@vbimail.champlain.edu. Tell them Steve Bissette sent you!

KREEGAH! DARK HORSE PRESENTS #143 On Sale Now, Featuring Tom Yeates' TARZAN Story Scripted by Bundolo-Boy Bissette

A full-color cover painting by blood bro' Tom Yeates sporting a slavering Tyrannosaurus rex snapping at Tarzan's heels kicks off DARK HORSE PRESENTS #143, now on sale in comic shops across the country. Timed to exploit the recent theatrical release of the Walt Disney animated TARZAN feature, this very special issue of Dark Horse's popular anthology title features a three-part adventure of Tarzan in Pellucidar illustrated by my old Kubert School amigo Tom Yeates. Tom also wrote the first two chapters, while I scripted the third at Tom's invitation.

Chapter Three opens with the vicious attack of a rampaging Garth (a T. rex, natch), which ultimately plunges Tarzan into an unknown realm beneath Pellucidar where a strange, inhuman tribe schemes to pollute the subterranean wonderworld with... "THE SOFT PARADE"!

This job was one of my few real pro pleasures in 1998. Scripting this Tarzan story for my old friend (and fellow Kubert School alumni) Tom Yeates also brought me full circle, in a way: the first professional comics script I ever sold was a back-up story for SGT. ROCK entitled "Live by the Sword, Die by the Sword", which was written specifically for Tom to draw. That was back in 1977, and we'd hoped to collaborate again long before now. Granted, we did jam on a couple of issues of Saga of the Swamp Thing during Tom's tenure during the pre-Moore era, and later on a chapter of Time Spirits, which was co-created and scripted by another long, lost friend, Steve Perry. But this Tarzan story provided the unique opportunity we'd been waiting for.

"The Soft Parade"was written and drawn in the beloved tradition of the Dell and Gold Key Tarzan and Turokcomics Tom and I grew up with. The late, great comics writer Paul Newman was among the (if not the) most prolific writers in American comics history, and was a master of the self-contained fantasy-adventure story. I wrote two full versions of the script -- one almost completely in Edgar Rice Burroughs' famed "ape-tongue," the other with minimal use of the fabulous language. Tom chose his favorite take, and ran with it.

For me, Tom's art herein evokes the eerie atmosphere of Alberto Gioletti's art for the Turok, Son of Stone stories featuring the lanky Spider tribe, or Al Williamson and George Evans' Classics Illustrated adaptation of H.G. Wells' First Men In The Moon... for those of you with fond memories of those gems.

Tom's been preoccupied of late with work on the Zorro comic strip, and recently left his own distinctive mark on DC's venerable Tomahawk in a fine Vertigo one-shot scribed by Rachel Pollock. This Tarzan in Pellucidar special also caps Tom previous turn on Burroughs' jungle lord for Dark Horse, adapting and illustrating The Return of Tarzan as a three-issue mini-series back in 1997, and his rousing rendition of fellow ex-Kubie Tim Truman's wild and woolly script for the four-part Tarzan vs. The Moon Men in 1997-98 (all of which featured pulpy painted covers by another Kubie-Klan brother, John Totleben). Tom took his first shot at self-publishing in 1995 with his sketchbook Twixt Two Worlds, which I also recommend.

If you want to know more, check out Korak -- uh, oh, I mean Tom's table here at comicon.com. It's a brand new installation, and one well worth your attention! BUNDOLO!

Bissette Beefheart-Art Graces SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z

"Diddy Wah Diddy," indeed! The Great Don Van Vleit, aka Captain Beefheart, has always been one of my favorite musicians, poets, and artists. When my amigo Mark Martin asked if I might want to do a sketch of Beefheart for a book project he had just contributed to, I jumped at the opportunity. I've just turned in a portrait of the Captain himself for a unique book entitled SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z by Irwin Chusid. "Fast 'N' Bulbous!"

Irwin just turned in the completed manuscript for his book on "Outsider Music" to A Cappella Books, a division of Chicago Review Press. SONGS IN THE KEY OF Z: THE CURIOUS UNIVERSE OF OUTSIDER MUSIC is scheduled for publication in Spring 2000, so we've all got a little bit of a wait ahead of us. But good things come to those who wait. Irwin promises his tune tome "will feature, among others: The Cherry Sisters, Joe Meek, Daniel Johnston, Robert Graettinger, Harry Partch, Jandek, Wesley Willis, The Shaggs, Eilert Pilarm, Jack Mudurian, Florence Foster Jenkins, Lucia Pamela, Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Shooby Taylor (the Human Horn), Tiny Tim, Wild Man Fischer, BJ Snowden, and others" (including, natch, Captain Beefheart). What, no Moondog??

To illustrate this encyclopedia of esoteric aural delights, Irwin engaged the talents of cartoonists like Wayno (drawing Shooby Taylor), Curtis Woodbridge (F F Jenkins), Walt Holcombe (Tiny Tim), J.R. Williams (Legendary Stardust Cowboy), Pat Moriarty (Wild Man Fischer), and Mark Martin (MSR/Song-Poems), among others. I'm pleased to be in such stellar company.

Irwin has produced a number of CDs, featuring his favorites Raymond Scott, Esquivel, Ernie Kovacs, Space Age Pop, Lucia Pamela, Shaggs, and others. As soon as Irwin lets me know more, I'll pass the details on to you folks. Until then, "I'm gonna grow fins...."

Bissette-illustrated Nancy Collins' Novella LYNCH: A GOTHIK WESTERN Almost Out of Print!

Nancy Collins’ fine new novella, LYNCH: A GOTHIK WESTERN, released in December of 1998, is about to drop out of print. If you've been holding off ordering until now, you better act fast, pardners! According to Cemetary Dance publisher Richard Chizmar, "We're down to our last 10-12 copies." This is your LAST CHANCE to pick up this book at cover price.

If all you know of Nancy's work are her occasional comics scripts or her stint on Swamp Thing a few years back, you have no idea what you’ve been missing. Nancy cut her teeth on some razor-sharp short stories in the late 1980s before sinking her fangs into the contemporary vampire scene with her first novel, SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK, which won her a well-deserved Bram Stoker Award. Many novels (including ANGELS ON FIRE, A DOZEN BLACK ROSES, WALKING WOLF, and WILD BLOOD), novellas, short stories, scripts, and projects later, Nancy is finally targetting the western genre with her sure-aim brand of horror. Living up to all the implications of its title, LYNCH livens up The Ox-Bow Incident with its own twist on Frankensteinian horror -- imagine the Clint Eastwood of Hang ‘Em High and Outlaw Josey Wales waking up from the necktie party to find himself in a real nasty Re-Animator prequel, and you've got the idea. LYNCH is also the most recent of my annual limited-edition horror novel or novella illustration jobs. I’ve been lucky enough to sling ink (and some color) around the sterling work of writers like Joe Lansdale, Douglas Winter, Joe Citro, Rick Hautala, and others, and LYNCH is the latest addition to the lineup. The cover painting is one of the best pieces I’ve ever done anywhere, if I dare say so myself.

My first illustration work for Nancy’s publisher-of-choice for LYNCH, the venerable Cemetary Dance, graced my good friend Rick Hautala’s down-and-dirty novel about a clan of cannibalistic New England “Bigfoot” relatives, THE MOUNTAIN KING. As luck would have it, Cemetary Dance still has a few copies of Hautala’s tasty tale, which also sports a grue-dewed cover painting by yours truly and three atmospheric interior illustrations.

Nancy Collins’ LYNCH: A GOTHIK WESTERN is a special limited edition, and it's almost GONE -- so order your copy NOW! The signed and numbered edition is $30, plus $3 shipping and handling. Rick Hautala’s THE MOUNTAIN KING is still available at $50. Order from CEMETERY DANCE, P.O. Box 943, Abingdon MD 21009 or call (410) 569-5683 to use Visa/Mastercard.

JOURNEY INTO FEAR History of Horror Comics Comes to Marlboro College in September -- Now Available to Any Interested College Venues

One of the five 2-hour presentations from the JOURNEY INTO FEAR slide lecture series will be presented at Marlboro College in Marlboro, Vermont later this year. Presently scheduled for an evening in September, details on this planned event will be posted here as soon as they are firmed up.

The most expansive and complete version ever of my JOURNEY INTO FEAR presentation successfully debuted at Smith College in Northampton, MA, the week of January 18-22, 1999. Running over five days, two hours per session (a total of ten hours!), JOURNEY INTO FEAR was sponsored and co-presented by Susan Alston, formerly of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Incorporating over 400 slides, along with archival video excerpts and relevant reading materials and handouts, the Smith College seminar was indeed the definitive version of the lecture.

The 10-hour class A JOURNEY INTO FEAR: The History of Comic Book Censorship and the Heritage of the Horror Comic is an eye-popping visual chronology of more than FIVE CENTURIES of crime and punishment, sex and death, censorship and retribution from beyond the grave. Showcasing scrolls, woodcuts, engravings, broadsheets, comicbook covers and pages, and relevant documents dating from the 12th Century through the 20th Century, this series of five classes dissects the evolution of horror and censorship in comics. This rich history offers a broad perspective of the genre and its multiple incarnation in the narrative panel arts from the work of Goya and Hogarth to the underground "comix" of the 1970s and today's high-octane brand of horror comics. Special attention is given to the notorious 1953-54 Senate Subcommitte investigation that shook the comic book industry to its core, and the subsequent reign of the Comics Code Authority. Susan Alston introduced and concluded the Smith College seminar with a detailed overview of the devastating rulings against the Oklahoma City-based Planet Comics owners and Florida artist Mike Diana, the first and only artist in American history convicted on charges of obscenity.

JOURNEY INTO FEAR was originally designed as a one-to-two hour slide show lecture in 1991, and has been presented across North America at over 50 university and convention venues since. In 1993 JOURNEY INTO FEAR had its European debut in Copenhagen, Denmark, and later toured as a fund-raising event for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in association with the 1995 "Spirit of Independence" Convention tour, concluding with the Kitchener, Ontario five-hour marathon in December.

Having restructured, revised, and completed the first presentation of this special expanded version of JOURNEY INTO FEAR, I am currently preparing a package of promotional materials with the hope of bringing this seminar -- complete or in part -- to other colleges in North America. Watch this space for further updates!

Find Out The TRUTH About the Comics Code Authority at SpiderBaby's New "EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT..." Page! If You Want to Know What I'm Reading and What I Recommend, Check It Out NOW!

And now, more news...

Joe Citro's Novel DEUS-X Now Available from SpiderBaby Grafix

Anticipating the release of further collaborations with my friend Joe Citro later this year, I'm happy to offer (while supplies last) my first collaborative effort with Joe, DEUS-X. This was Joe's fourth novel, published in 1994 by Twilight Publishing in a handsome hardcover edition which I illustrated. To date, this is the only edition of DEUS-X, and supplies are limited.

Like all of Joe's novels, DEUS-X is set in our home state of Vermont. In SHADOWCHILD, GUARDIAN ANGEL, THE UNSEEN, and DARK TWILIGHT, Citro shed light on the darker corners of the Green Mountain State with rare insight and intimacy. Unlike his earlier fiction, DEUS-X embraces a broad emotional, philosophical, and metaphysical canvas, as a seemingly disparate eruption of mysterious events -- vanishings, transformations, manifestations, and an apparent possession -- coalesce into a terrifying, inescapable revelation. What begins with the execution of a political prisoner in a secret government installation in California and the almost simultaneous disappearance of a farmer in the backwoods of Vermont draw inexorably toward a confrontation with unimaginably powerful forces that will shake the foundations of all you believe to be true.

Now, I'm not just tooting Joe's horn, here. DEUS-X is a truly remarkable book. Though Joe's fiction has always had its Lovecraftian elements (a given with the best New England genre authors, I suppose), DEUS-X edges from the horrific to the genuinely awe-inspiring with a ruthless precision closer in intent and effect to British author Nigel Kneale's best work (i.e., the QUATERMASS series). This is without a doubt Joe's most bracing work of fiction, and I highly recommend it.

This is also one of my favorite illustration jobs. I completed over a dozen full-page black and white pieces and a few spot illos in pen, brush, ink, and duo-shade tone board. Though the techniques were calculatedly finite, the emotional palette ranges from the seductive and alluring to some of the most unsettling and gruesome imagery I've delineated since SWAMP THING's salad days.

For a limited time only, Joe and I can offer copies of DEUS-X to interested readers and collectors. This is the Twilight Publishing First Trade Edition hardcover, 387 pages, with dustjacket -- Signed copies are now available from SpiderBaby Grafix for just $32.00 US postpaid (foreign $39.00 US); personalized signed copies with a sketch from yours truly can be yours for just $40.00 US postpaid (foreign $45 US). Checks should be payable to SpiderBaby Grafix; just follow the instructions and ordering info listed on the SpiderBaby Merchandise or On-Line Exclusives page, applying the prices listed here.

WARNING: You'll never eat pan-fried trout again after you read this book!

Bissette Intros Forthcoming Definitive Study of FRENCH SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, HORROR & PULP FICTION

I'm proud to announce my modest contribution of a Foreword to my dear friends Jean-Marc and Randy Lofficier's soon-to-be published FRENCH SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, HORROR & PULP FICTION: A Guide to Cinema, Television, Radio, Animation, Comic Books and Literature from the Middle Ages to the Present.

Having grown up in Northern Vermont, local access to French Canadian television stations and (later in life) Montreal permitted me to sample the wonders of le fantastique as my own interests in film, literature, comics, and the genre matured.

The magical connection arrived unbidden, when, at a tender age...

"I was flicking through the channels in complete boredom when suddenly the face of a werewolf filled the screen. I had seen Lon Chaney as THE WOLFMAN only months before, but this wasn't Larry Talbot. This creature was -- different.Its face was genuinely startling, strangely feline, and alluring. Transfixed, I sat back, further startled when he began to speak French.... I shall never forget the confusing rush of emotions it aroused in me, nor the daze it left me in for days afterward. I was forever changed..." (quoted from my introduction).

I had stumbled onto Jean Cocteau's masterpiece LA BELLE ET LA BETE (Beauty and the Beast), and thereafter kept my eyes peeled for more horrific delights on the French scene.

As a teenager, I caught a late-night French TV broadcast of Georges Franju's notorious LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (Eyes Without A Face), which I had already seen in cut & dubbed form under the monicker THE HORROR CHAMBER OF DR. FAUSTUS. What I saw that night again irrevocably transformed me:

"... I could hardly believe my eyes... as the French version unflinchingly chronicled more of the gruesome facial surgery, as the blade glided along the unconscious patient's visage and the blood was daubed away, fading out only as the skin was carefully lifted away from the flayed features. It was not the clinical mayhem alone that made my gorge rise into my throat. It was the dawning realization that I had been denied this experience during the English-language version. This was an awakening for me... "

So now you know what led to TABOO! I discuss much more in the introduction, from my childhood discovery of Jules Verne to the seminal impact the first issue of METAL HURLANT had upon me and my peers at the Joe Kubert school, and more. But that's just the beginning... the book itself is a staggering piece of work.

Jean-Marc and Randy labored long and hard over this breathtaking, back-breaking (I kid you not!) book. Due from McFarland this summer, this massive encyclopedia of le fantastique in all media clocks in at 1024 pages (!!!), with over 1300 illustrations, and introductions by Luc Besson (director of LA FEMME NIKITA and THE FIFTH ELEMENT, among others), Rene Laloux (FANTASTIC PLANET), Moebius and Pierre Barbet.

This is an unprecedented event. The volume is divided into two parts: Part I offers historical overviews, complete lists, descriptions and summaries for genre works in film, television, radio, animation, comic books, and graphic novels. Biographies are provided for over 200 contributors to the popular arts. Correcting major oversights in other recent genre studies (such as THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASY), Part II covers the major authors and literary trends of French science fiction, fantasy and horror up to the present. There is an exhaustive biographical dictionary of over 3,000 authors, and over 1,400 illustrations illuminate this thorough presentation.

This one-of-a-kind tome will be available this summer for US$195.00, plus Shipping & Handling: Add $4 (US) / $6 (Canada & international). For information or to order, contact McFarland & Company, Inc. at Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. Credit Cards Orders only, call 1-800-253-2187 or Fax: 1-336-246-5018. Check out McFarland's site at http://www.mcfarlandpub.com

Be sure to take a peek at the book's listing at Jean-Marc and Randy's own table here at comicon.com, by jumping over to http://www.starwatcher.org/frenchsf.htm -- Or click on the Starwatcher Graphics icon and enjoy the entire array of wonders they offer. Bon Appetit!

TABOO 4 Only North American Printing Ever of Essential Moebius & Jodorowsky Classic "EYES OF THE CAT!"

Speaking of my friends Jean-Marc and Randy at Starwatcher Graphics, Jean-Marc recently advised me that SpiderBaby's first-time North American publication of the classic Moebius story "Eyes of the Cat" in TABOO Vol. 4 will most likely remain its ONLY North American appearance. Given the importance of this particular comics story to Moebius' oeuvre and the international comics revolution of the 1970s, Jean-Marc's observation seemed worthy of special attention here.

I first approached Jean-Marc and Randy at a New York City comics convention in 1989 to inquire about the possibility of printing an English-language translation of "Eyes of the Cat" in TABOO. This unique collaboration between visionary cartoonist Jean "Moebius" Giraud and filmmaker/author Alejandro Jodorowsky (EL TOPO, SANTA SANGRE) was a rarity in France, and had never been published in North America before. It was also, to my mind, one of Moebius' most astounding works, and one of the few to edge into genuinely horrific imaginative terrain. With the gracious permission and participation of both Moebius and Alejandro, we struck a deal, and "Eyes of the Cat" was given a deluxe showcase in TABOO 4.

Working from the best available source material, we printed "Eyes of the Cat" in a canary-yellow signature, emulating the original color of the paper "Eyes" had first been printed upon in France (it was originally issued as a special one-shot giveaway chapbook from the publishers of METAL HURLANT, Les Humanoides Associes). Its TABOO debut was further enhanced by special introductions, illustrated interviews with Moebius and Jodorowsky, and the first (and to date only) reprint anywhere of underground comix artist Spain (TRASHMAN) Rodriguez's four-page adaptation of Jodorowsky's midnight movie sensation EL TOPO. The reproduction throughout is excellent, making this the definitive presentation of "Eyes" for American audiences.

While Moebius' other ground-breaking comics masterpieces have been collected and repackaged by prominent publishers like Marvel (under their Epic imprint) and Dark Horse, TABOO 4 remains the one and only appearance of "Eyes of the Cat" on our shores.

The sorry state of the American comics market, and interpersonal and business affairs between the story's proprietors in Europe, precludes any likely future reprinting. "Given the current situation, which is unlikely to improve, it's fair to say TABOO 4 will remain the only North American publication of this story," Jean-Marc says. "Fortunately, you did a fine job of it."

TABOO 4 also features a startling full-color cover painting by Moebius. TABOO 4 is still available from SpiderBaby Grafix (see the TABOO pages at this table for info and details on ordering). Supplies are limited, so order your copy while you can. Once these are gone, this seminal comics classic will be out of print. So -- ACT NOW!

Moebius and Jodorowsky fans, take note!

Where's TYRANT? Does Bissette Really Work Part-Time at a Video Store? What the Hell is a SpiderBaby, Anyway? See the FREQUENTLY-ASKED QUESTIONS Pages for Tell-All Details!

More news...

International Horror Guild Awards Bissette "Best Artist"

What? Me, Best Artist? I don't think so. But then the handsome little IHG gargoyle "Lynda" arrived in the mail here at the SpiderBaby estate in mid-November, making it official: The International Horror Guild voted yours truly "Best Artist" of 1997. And just when I was feeling pretty down about my work... gee, thanks, IHG, and special thanks to Edward Kramer for seeing to it that the award itself reached me in one piece -- or, I should say, two 'self-assembly-required' pieces. Lynda is now proudly perched upon her stand and squatting in a place of honor in my front room.

For info about the IHG or attending the next World Horror Convention, e-mail the arcane powers-that-be at horrorcon@aol.com or write Ed Kramer at WHC '99, P.O.Box 148, Clarkston, GA 30021-0148 or via FAX at (770)623-6321. Info and updates are also posted at http://www.worldhoror.org. Be sure to tell Ed that Steve Bissette sent you!

Bissette Dinos Feed in Currie and Padian's Definitive ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS

My first professional paleontological art is now on view in the pages of Philip J. Currie and Kevin Padian's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS from Academic Press. This handsome volume lives up to its moniker in spades, amply deserving LIBRARY JOURNAL's "Best Reference for 1997" citation and the American Library Association's 1997 Editor's Choice award. Though its in-depth text will prove daunting to the laymen reader, this is one of the best dinosaur books available to date, and I'm pleased to be a little part of it.

I have three modest black and white illustrations in the book, painstakingly researched and revised according to the instructions of the authors of the respective chapters (our outstanding paleos-in-the-Calgary-fields Michael J. Ryan and Matthew K. Vickaryous) and lovingly rendered in brush and ink. My restorations of a fishing Therizinosaurus and especially a rodent-gobbling Oviraptor mongoliensis (Asian relative to the eggsnatching Chirostenotes featured in TYRANT) earned praise from those who know better than I, but my particular favorite is the bulky little ankylosaur Euoplocephalus tutus. Special thanks to Michael and Matt for making it all possible.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS is an expensive hardcover tome at $99.95, and sorry to say there is no paperback edition as yet (I'll be sure to let you all know when the more affordable paperback version is available). If you're a serious student of the field, however, this book is essential. You can order ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DINOSAURS from amazon.com, or directly from Academic Press via e-mail at ap@acad.com (or check out their website at www.academicpress.com), or via phone (1-800-321-5068) or FAX (1-800-874-6418) from Monday-Friday, 8:30 AM to 7:00 PM EST. Postage and handling is free on all prepaid orders.

ITEM: HAVE YOU READ TODAY'S DAILY "SPLASH"? For ALL the CURRENT COMICS-RELATED NEWS FROM ACROSS THE GLOBE, You OWE it to yourself to READ THE DAILY "SPLASH"!! Each News Item provides a DIRECT CONNECTION to the source material, bringing you THE FULL STORY!

Back to the SpiderBaby news...

Bissette and Romano to Splatter Fulci's CAT IN THE BRAIN in Adaptation of Lucio Fulci's ZOMBIE for 1999!

PLUS: Fulci's THE BEYOND Now Available!

SEE! The Comic Diamond Refused to Distribute! HEAR! Free BEYOND CD Soundtrack With Every Copy! READ! Intro by Doug Winter, Afterword by Steve Bissette, and More!

Blackest Heart Media's lavish new graphic novel adaptation of Lucio Fulci's 1981 classic horror film THE BEYOND is now available. But wait -- what's that yowling in my brainpan? Oh, ya -- negotiations are under way for yours truly to illustrate Stephen Romano's tasty five-page interlude from Fulci's CAT IN THE BRAIN for inclusion in Blackest Heart's upcoming ZOMBIE graphic album.

The impressionistic CAT IN THE BRAIN was a truly delirious horror movie, and Romano's snapshot may be short, but it sure is shattering. It reflects what Steve considers "the whole philosophy of the film -- start off worse -- then get beyond filth!" I'd better get my butcher's apron on and lay a fresh plastic tarp down under the old drawing board for this one...

And speaking of all things beyond, THE BEYOND is out NOW, and a truly handsome (and gruesome) package it is, too. From Chas. Balun's exquisite cover painting to the chilling full-length CD soundtrack tucked into the inside back cover, the good folks at Blackest Heart really gave this their all -- only to be slapped in the face by the stooges at Diamond who refused to distribute the book. Try as Diamond might to bury the project, though, Blackest Heart has come through with the gross-eries, and proven who indeed harbors the blackest heart. Art and script are rough and ready, but I love the book. Whatever creators Stephen Romano (script) and Noah David Henson (artist) lack in polish, they make up for in energy and allegence to Fulci's epic, and the best is yet to come. This is just the first of a line of Fulci film adaptations coming from Blackest Heart -- and I'll be contributing to each and every volume, if all goes according to plan. Among the tasty extras in THE BEYOND is my own humble overview of horror movie comics, from Movie Comics #1 (1939, featuring an adaptation of Son of Frankenstein) to the current breed of Aliens and X-Files spin-offs... and, of course, THE BEYOND. This is a must-have tome for any and all lovers of horror comics, Italian horror movies, and all-around cool books. Check it out right here at comicon.com by sauntering off the main floor to the new Publishers Expo/Artist Alley Floor (just follow the picto-superhero marching up the stairs to the left when you're on the main floor). Click on Blackest Heart Media's booth, and tell Shawn Smith Lewis the SpiderBaby sent ya!

VMAG Still Going Strong With News, Comics, and Bissette Video Reviews!

If you don't live in the Connecticut River Valley (stretching from Northern Vermont to the Connecticut shore), you've been missing VMAG! Since it's debut in October 1997, I've been a regular fixture in the hot new Valley publication VMAG, a free monthly magazine featuring cutting-edge articles, graphics, and comix for local audiences. These days I'm handling most of VMAG's video reviews.

VMAG is the brainchild of Stephen Murphy, co-creator and writer of the late, lamented independent comics series PUMA BLUES. After a lucrative few years working at Mirage Studios on a number of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-related projects, Steve retired from the comics scene to pursue a few personal ventures -- including VMAG.

Every issue is jam-packed with other goodies, too, including excellent articles and fiction, art and comix by Mark Bode, Mark Martin, James Kochalka, Eric Talbot, and others, music and video reviews, and much more.

VMAG is free to Valley residents who luck into copies at local shops, but YOU can subscribe for just $24 a year, payable to CroMag Publications, P.O. Box 774, Northampton, MA 01061 -- or you can e-mail Steve and the CroMag crew at vcromag@aol.com for further information on subscriptions, sample copies, or back issues (which are already scarcer then hen's teeth). If you move fast, you won't miss another issue -- and tell them that SpiderBaby sent you!

For the record, here's my list of contributions to date:

VMAG #1 (Nov. 1997 Halloween Special): "Dead Men Do Tell Tales: An Interview with Dr. Eleanor McQuillen, MD, MSA" (long and fascinating interview with former Vermont state Chief Medical Examiner and professional forensic pathologist); "Top Horror Movies" featuring "Bissette's Baker's Dozen" (my 13 favorite horror films plus my pick of the top five truly horrifying films).

#2 (Dec. 1997 Music issue): "Oh Captain, My Captain: An Ode to Captain Beefheart, Daddy of Diddy Wah Dada" (like it says, Apes-Ma) and "The SCORE Score: Top 5 Musicals, Musicians and Soundtrack Composers" (overview of my picks for top five film composers and soundtrack albums of all time).

#3 (Jan. 1998 Mixed-Up Media issue): "12 Days of Xmas Videos: Day 12 (and Beyond?): The Grinch Gore Fest" (my shortest contribution: final paragraph to collective article, ending with my recommendations for Xmas horror videos).

#4 (Feb. 1998 Over-Sexed Valentine's Special with Julie Strain cover and interview): "Video Virgin Pix: Top Ten Turn-Ons (and Turn-Offs)" (5-page article on top ten sex feature film turn-ons and turn-offs), PLUS! "A Plastic Kind of Day" (hilarious short story by my teenage daughter Maia Rose Bissette).

#5 (March 1998 Comics issue): "Holyoke Horrors! Pre-Code Horror from the Pioneer Valley" (lengthy article on Holyoke MA printing and publishing of Golden Age superhero and Pre-Code horror comics, featuring full-page original mock 1950s-horror comic cover by yours truly) plus black-and-white reprint of complete 1963 series' N-Man story "Showdown in the Shimmering Zone" by Alan Moore, Bissette, and John Totleben.

#6 (April 1998 The Future): "Dear Ex-President Clinton" (mock letter from the future addressed to Clinton about failure of television V-chips, signed as "Earl J. Bondgrasse) and one-page original comic "The Valley After the Millenium."

#7 (May 1998 The Settling of the Valley): Two-page comic story "First Citizens" (illustrating the prehistoric life of the Connecticut River Valley through to the Age of Dinosaurs), plus interview "The Best Place in the World to Study Geology: Steve Bissette talks to Richard D. Little about the Valley's Geology and Prehistoric Past."

No Bissette in #8 or 9, but I'm back in #10 (August 1998, Wildlife in the Shadows): "There's a Sucker Born Every Minute" (in-depth article on the fresh-water life cycle of the sea lamprey, featuring three black and white illustrations by yours truly) and "3 Nevermore" (short article on three extinct Valley bird species).

VMAG #13 (Oct. 1998 Halloween Special): "The Abduction of the Abduction" concerns the famous "Allagash Abduction" involving four New Englanders whose lives were forever shaken by a chance encounter -- and MORE -- with a UFO over a remote lake in Maine back in 1976. Plus: "The Halloween Dusk-to-Dawn Drive-In Theater Show," offering my recommendations for SEVEN horror video marathon dusk-to-dawn shows. ALSO: excerpts from Joe Citro's recent re-release of his premiere novel SHADOWCHILD; Eric Talbot's hilarious comic "the tale of no tail cat," and more!

By the time you read this, I'll have written and drawn even more for VMAG. Check it out!

GADFLY Anime Article by Bissette

My peek at the Japanese anime industry and its impact on American culture and animation recently saw print in Gadfly magazine (July 1988, Vol. 2 #7). As part of Gadfly's cover story on the current state of animated cartoons, my article "The Anime Alternative: From Tezuka to Tetsuo and Beyond" covers the anime revolution, from Astro Boy to the porn-horror extremes of Urotsukidoji and more. You can get a copy for just 2.95; for ordering information, call Gadfly's back issue department at 1-888-4GADFLY, or write Gadfly Productions, P.O. Box 7926, Charlottesville, VA 22906-7926. Or visit their web site: www.gadfly.org. Tell them I sent you, too.

While you're at it, also check out my expose on Todd McFarlane and Spawn in their October 1997 issue (Vol. 1, #8, featuring a Dave McKean cover), which you can order for only $1.95. There's lots of other thought-provoking articles and interviews at hand in each and every issue, so check 'em out. (For a copy of Gadfly's earlier incarnation Rutherford featuring my article on religion and horror comics, click here.)