Customer Reviews

Nightmare World: 13 Tales Of Terror Volume 1

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Began reading Dirk Manning's "Nightmare World" on-line a couple years ago. At first I wasn't sure what to make of it - the eight page stories were shorter than I was accustomed to in comics. Funny thing, though - the more stories I read, the more I wanted to read! Each story stands alone - Manning has become a master of the short form he's employing here. But there is an over-arching BIG narrative that connects them - the more you read, the more the "big picture" emerges. Manning's attention to detail grounds his stories in the world he's created, a world much like our own, where things are going awry. The stories are titled after songs - been meaning to ask Dirk if he's got the mix tape...

Long time fans of "Nightmare World" are rewarded with a glimpse of the "big picture" in this collection, as Manning includes a prose piece ("The Long Hard Road Out of Hell")giving us the POV of one of the primary actors in the grand scheme. The piece actually details the thought process going on behind one of MY favorite pages in the series ("Wrath" from "MINE"). I was pretty sure I knew what was going on overall before reading it, but now have a better grasp of the meta arc thanks to the piece.

The art is fantastic throughout the book. Each story features a different artist, giving each its own look and vibe. I'm a big fan of Josh Ross' work on "Nightmare World", and you get the classic "MINE" in this collection, centered on the seven deadly sins. Manning writes to his individual artists' strengths, and in turn the artists deliver strong performances. Anthony Peruzzo is perfect for the violent chaos of "Break Stuff", Mark Winters' tragic samurai kick ass in "Bitter Wine", and Len O'Grady provides the period look that suits the grim "The Same Deep Water As You", just to highlight a few. There's even one artistic "improvement" - though the original never bothered me, it looks much cooler now - "You Oughta Know" has been spiffed up for this trade collection with new inks and colors by Ray Dillon, who's own art graces the last illustrated story in this volume one, "Violet".

Jim Reddington also deserves major kudos for his work on "Nightmare World" - he letters most of the "Nightmare World" stories and created the logo, so he's another unifying factor alongside the meta arc. Yet Reddington also ably varies his fonts and balloons, subtly fitting the art and the mood of each piece, giving each its own "voice". He maintains a nice balance of consistency and individuality.

If you're a fan of creepiness, fear, horror, humor, intimate relationship tales and grand scale gruesome epics of demonic apocalypse... you'll find a lot to like in "Nightmare World" Volume One.

Dirk Manning's world is populated by ghosts, monsters and even a helpful little world eating demon from an H.P. Lovecraft nightmare. This collection of his short stories is truly just another in a set of masterworks from the writer. These tales of misery, desire and hellish imagined tortures shows us that Mr. Manning is fastly becoming a rising star in the horror/science fiction genre. If you like Stephen King, Clive Barker and the like you will have to pick up this graphic novel. If you don't, you may never be able to sleep with both eyes closed again.

Ok.. So I'm not a huge comic reader.. I read every now and then and it usually takes me days to finish a trade. But I met Dirk Manning and just hanging out with him I knew that his comics would be incredible. So I bought Vol 1 and 2 and I haven't made it to Vol 2 yet, but I DEMOLISHED Vol 1 in less than thirty mins. The stories are short and sweet (in a blood and gore sort of way) and just tease your brain non-stop.. I love Nightmare World and will forever be a faithful reader.

Good stuff here. I was fortunate enough to meet the writer, Dirk, at Mid-Ohio Con in Columbus. I flipped through, and he explained the premise too me. I was sold! Excellent Twilight Zone style horror stories. The 8 page stories really work in this book. The stories don't seem connected at first, but you understand that they actually do when your'e done reading. It left me wanting more!

Wonderful "nightmares" from a very underrated story teller. Send us more.
Really well drawn, great stories and some very good twists.
Keep them coming.

Wow...

Do I think horror as a genre rocks? Yeah, pretty much.

Have I ever been into horror comics? No.

That said, do I think comic books rock? Yeah, they're a huge part of my life.

Have I ever read any comics that were in an anthology format? Very, very few.

All THAT said: Would I ever think that I would absolutely LOVE a graphic novel that's a horror anthology? Nope... But I really, really do...

Dirk Manning has put forth a genius collection here. Not only does he employ diverse themes such as sci-fi, existentialism, comedy, and theology under the eerie and endlessly entertaining shadow of horror, but he does so with very, very rewarding results. I often forgot I was reading a comic and just got sucked into thirteen little worlds of magic and story.

The song titles as titles for each story are a stroke of genius, too, and a real treat if you're a music buff (much like I consider myself).

I'd recommend this one to any one either loving comics or just interested or starting reading the medium, music fans, horror fanatics, heck... almost anyone!