Customer Reviews

The Dark Horse Book of Monsters

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The Dark Horse "Book of..." series of books are nicely packaged and come with a variety of stories, some old and thankfully not forgotten by readers and some newer mintings by authors that everyone is familiar with, and the three I've picked up so far have been excellent reads. This is not to say they are for everyone - when you buy these you are basically picking up books that are more akin to older comic titles than something new and you are picking up something with a gimmick that could be viewed as campy if you are not into things like this. I originally picked it up because I wanted to see the offering by Mike Mignola, quickly noticed the Hodgson story added to the fray and Moore-Reppion-Green addition that seemed like a pulp comic from a time long forgotten, and was happy with the buy. Hardbacked, with a motif that showcases a beautifully designed interior that makes it look like a book of monsters, I was actually impressed with the fun read that was not terribly priced.

The Book of Monsters is basically seven stories that take up 82 pages, and the read is more like enjoying a stroll through comic horror than touching on anything serious. The best offering in the illustration department is, by far, the Mike Mignola piece, with a nice little story and the classic Hellboy catch. Also note that the Hodgson piece is a story and that it has pictures accompanying it; this really is a pulp piece that is like stepping back in time.
The pieces include:
(1) I Witnessed the End of the World! Busick, writer
(2) The Hydra and the Lion: A Hellboy Adventure Mignola, writer
(3) A Tropical Horror. Hodgson, writer Gianni -art (hopefully time will never lose Hodgson's place in horror history)
(4) To Weave a Lover: A Rex Mundi Story Nelson, writer
(5) The Horror Beneath Moore/Reppion, writers
(6) Hidden: A Devil's Footprints Story. Allie, writer
(7) A Dog and his Boy Dorkin/Dyer, writers

If you want a diversion this is a good book and, if you are a Hellboy collector, this is a piece of the puzzle. It is short - 6 pages total - and most of the stories are going to be the same. The appeal is not for everyone but, if this is your kind of climate, it is a good buy.

The book design and artwork are beautiful. The stories, ranging from 6 to 8 pages mostly, are too short to really go anywhere. With more space, one hopes that the creators could have given us something more than Frankenstein and pulp horror retreads.

I've read all 4 of the "Dark Horse Book of ..." books. I actually won all four of them from a Dark Horse Halloween giveaway. (Thanks Dark Horse!) However after reading all four books I can easily say that I would have gladly bought them.

I think any fan of horror, Hellboy or Beasts of Burden will enjoy these collections. I really liked that each book had a classic short story in it with great illustrations by Gary Gianni. His style matches the stories perfectly. I even enjoyed the 3 interviews. I don't remember there being a bad story in the bunch. What the books lack in page count they make up for in content and design. Check em out.

I bought this book for one reason only: I wanted to see "A Tropical Horror" by William Hope Hodgson, one of my favorite writers. Turned out it was the worst of the lot in terms of presentation. The text of the entire short story was presented, which unfortunately left precious little room for any artwork. What there was constituted of only a few line drawings. Very disappointing. The other stories are more "Creepshow" than what I would consider genuine monster stories.