Belgian Duo Combines Horror and Taxidermy in Photo Project

I'm a horror nerd so when I find something unique and amazing, I get excited to share it with you guys. I recently came across a piece on LaughingSquid.com about two Belgian artists and their photo project called Wounderland. They call themselves Mothmeister and they're delightfully surreal.

According to Laughing Squid, these talented Antwerpians, "...create wonderfully bizarre portraits in which figures in frightful and surreal costumes pose with taxidermy animals." and "They present the project as a reaction against both 'selfie culture' and the beauty standards of the mass media." Check out a small sampling of their prints below and then follow them on Instagram. If you really dig them, their prints can be purchased from their Etsy shop.

-Larissa Mrykalo

Amazing Movie-Inspired Maps on Display in LA

From January 9 to January 24, at Gallery 1988 West in Los Angeles, an exhibit called "Charts" is being presented by artist, Anthony Petrie. Why do we think this is awesome? When you see the movie-inspired maps, you'll understand why. I'm pretty sure I need them all but I'll share a few paranormally pop culturistic (not a word but, whatever).

From Alien to Jaws to Raiders of the Lost Ark to Jurassic Park, Petrie put out some amazing work. The gallery is located at 7308 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046 and even if you can't go, check out the art here or on his official site.

After the jump, check out a sampling of his prints (courtesy Shortlist.com)...

"The Geeky Book of Horror" Kicking Off Kickstarter Campaign

Horror writers Jeremy Biggs, Victor Wright, Nathan Stack and John Robinson are teaming up to bring readers "The Geeky Book of Horror." The anthology will contain new stories that harken back to the horror stories we grew up on; a little silly with some spine chilling creeps along the way! Think of it as a new version of Alvin Schwartz' "Scary Stories" collection, for adults.

As of now, the book will feature 128 pages featuring at least two stories from each author. Various artists around the world, including Mario Gully & Maxi Quy, will be providing black and white illustrations to keep in the vein of classic horror stories.

When asked what the goal of the project is, author Victor Wright stated, "We wanted to write a book that would chill you to the bone; I think this does just that![...]It's great to be working alongside such great talent. These guys are gonna freak you out!"

No strangers to self publishing, each author has successfully published their own titles in the past. A Kickstarter campaign will go live on July 7, to bring this graphic novel/geeky horror anthology to life. The team is looking to raise £6000 ($10,204 USD) to put the project into production.

Backers who pledge £20 ($34 USD) will receive a copy of the book and for donations over that, you can receive merchandise from artwork to signed copies of the book and much more! If they attain their goal, "The Geeky Book of Horror" is set for a December 2014 release.

-Nowal Massari

ReedPOP Announces Special Edition: NYC

Love comic books right down to every little detail, but find yourself kind of left out of the convention scene? Well, chin up friend, because a new convention is coming your way! ReedPOP, the people behind events such as C2E2 and New York Comic Con, have developed a brand new convention specifically for "die hard comic book fans, creators and publishers!"

A press release from ReedPOP gives more detail: "As you know, ReedPOP puts on great events like New York Comic Con and C2E2 and we are very excited to announce our newest event - Special Edition: NYC! Being held June 14-15 in New York City, hosted in Javits Center North, Special Edition: NYC will focus on creators, artists, dealers and publishers and is expected to attract 25,000 Fans over the two day event. Special Edition: NYC will celebrate the love of comic books, cartooning, illustration and the graphic arts. We already have a great lineup of Guests and will have many more exciting Guests announced in the coming weeks."

So far the line-up of guests, or Creators, is pretty impressive. Fans can expect to be in the presence of people such as Alex Maleev, Dustin Nguyen, Jenny Frison, Frank Cho, Marguerite Bennett and many more! Be sure to keep checking the Creator's page for updates.

Tickets go on sale for the event February 26 at 12 p.m. ET, so be sure to snatch some up while you can! This inaugural convention is definitely something you won't want to miss.

-Nowal Massari

'Twin Peaks' as You've Never Seen it...Illustrated!

Courtesy: WelcometoTwinPeaks.com

Artist Martin Woutisseth, the man behind the illustrated "Breaking Bad" video, is at it again. This time he has delved into David Lynch's mad world of "Twin Peaks."

Woutisseth offers up some insight to the project on his personal website:

The universe of ‘Twin Peaks’ is so rich that I always wanted to add more symbols, transitions, details, [...]I based my character illustrations on pictures found on the Internet, and put them in a different backgrounds with different light. Kind of like the opening of ‘The Simpsons,’ I wanted to introduce the viewer to the town of ‘Twin Peaks’ and its residents by going from one place to another place with soft transitions, instead of the famous ‘Twin Peaks’ opening titles [...] Sometimes people comment on my illustrations that they’re just photos with an instant Photoshop filter applied to it. That’s not true. It takes hours to make them and portraits have between 100 to 250 layers! I wanted to show up how many layers I use in something more original and graphic design.

This video is about as amazing as a cup of coffee that's black as midnight served up with a slice of cherry pie!

 

-Nowal Massari

Mondo Announces 'Tales from the Crypt' Gallery Show

Mondo recently announced that their Halloween gallery show will be a tribute to EC Comics and one of their most well known characters, the Crypt Keeper of "Tales From the Crypt."

Officially titled "It Didn't Rot Our Brains," the gallery will feature images from artists such as Shane Hillman, Jeff Lemire and the legendary Jack Davis, the man responsible for some of EC's most recognizable imagery.

The opening reception will take place at the Mondo Gallery in Austin, TX from 7-10 p.m. on October 25 and will be on display through November 23.

Keep an eye on their blog, as they will be debuting artwork as well as announcing some fun surprises! They've left "Crypt Jam" as a hint of what's to come. We've no idea what that means, but it's bound to be ghoulishly delightful!

-Nowal Massari

Zombie art comes to NYC Last Rites gallery

Zombie the Eighth? 

Artwork that depicts the creepy and downright macabre is hotter than ever and there’s a gallery in Manhattan to prove it.

The Last Rites Gallery was founded in 2008 by artists Genevive Zacconi and Paul Booth. In their unique collaboration, they strive to display and explore some of the most “ominous, uncomfortable, and eccentric” pieces of art. The goal is to make the observer “reflect inward, inspired to understand that which resides in us all.”

Having already showcased almost 60 artists, Last Rights opened their newest exhibit, “Zombie” on May 25. It is being guest curated by Travis Louie and features several artists who “interpret the world zombie,” including Stefano Alcantara, Peter Chan, Zoetica Ebb and, appropriately named, Zombienose.

The exhibit is on display until June 26.

The gallery is located at 511 W 33rd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, 3rd Floor, New York City and is open Tuesday through Saturday 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, check out their website and let us know if you plan on checking out this very cool exhibit.

-Larissa Mrykalo

Artist gets Seussian with 'Evil Dead,' Lovecraft and more

What do you get when you take the covers of beloved Dr. Seuss books and combine them with literary and film horror classics? The answer is, some creatively cool art by Australian artist DrFaustusAU.

A few of the covers actually evolved into Seussian re-tellings (for beginning readers) of H.P. Lovecraft favorites. Namely, Dagon, The Tomb and The Call of Cthulhu. We’re not sure if Lovecraft would approve of these versions, but we sure do.

In the spirit of the Evil Dead reboot, check out "The Evil Dead are in My Shed." Ash as a Seuss character is truly inspiring.

I chained and locked the cellar door--
There's something strange beneath the floor.

And who wouldn’t love to venture to the horrifying abandoned mine town of Silent Hill in “Some Time to Kill in Silent Hill?”

What is this place?
I cannot tell.

Is it just fog,
or is it hell?

Check these and more out at Dr. Faustus' work at his site.

'Poltergeist' soundtrack coming from Mondo ... on vinyl!

If you’re a fan of Poltergeist or a collector of vinyl records (or both), then you may want to grab this while it’s available soon. How soon? Well, the creative folks at Mondo will be releasing the Poltergeist score soundtrack on Feb. 22! So, pretty soon.
According to the press release, Mondo -- the collectible art division of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema -- commissioned original cover art from Australian Illustrators We Buy Your Kids for a two-disc vinyl of Jerry Goldsmith's score. Available for $25, a small portion of clear vinyl copies will be randomly included. Also, there will be five tracks never before released on vinyl.

Mystifying Ouija exhibit opens in Baltimore

The Ouija board (a.k.a. spirit board, witch board, talking board) is one of the most controversial and mysterious devices known to the paranormal world. It's a simple design in appearance, but is believed by some to open doors in this universe that are not meant to be open. Still others just look at it as a party game that was popularized during the Spiritualism craze.

Whatever your take, the Ouija board has obviously elicited much controversy and prompted some individuals to delve into it's rich history and make it a focus in their lives - but none more so than with our friend, Robert L. Murch, Jr.

"Murch", as he is most commonly known, has spent over 15 years studying the Ouija board and Ouija manufacturer William Fuld, and will be involved in a new exhibit at the The Baltimore Museum of Industry called "Let The Spirit Move You: Ouija, Baltimore’s Mystifying Oracle."

According to a press release, the exhibit - which runs through Jan. 27, 2013 - features the "most extensive public display of Ouija boards in history, and highlights the rich history of the talking board in America, including their birth in Maryland and explosion in popularity under the guidance of entrepreneur William Fuld in Baltimore." Items on display include boards and memorabilia from the private collections of some of the world's most renowned researchers and collectors.

Paranormal pinups a supernaturally nude no-no for cop

One of Hansen's more SFW pics, courtesy Salon

There are all kinds of hobbies in this world: scrapbooking, card collecting, knitting ... taking pictures of naked women air-brushed to look like supernatural beings. Wait, what? Vampires, mermaids, fire elementals and witches are some of the many paranormal beings San Francisco police officer Gared Hansen likes to turn his nude, female models into and it's led to him nearly losing his job.

In an article at Salon.com, Hansen states, "I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy novels. So my idea was to create a series of photos that had been digitally altered or in some way surrealistically created to look like various characters in the science fiction and fantasy novels that I enjoy."

'Evil Dead' animated tribute: Amazing love letter to Raimi films

This just kicks all kinds of ass.

From the artistry of Daniel Kanemoto and Ex Mortis Films, this animated tribute to Evil Dead takes us on an all-too-brief, brilliant journey through the worlds of the Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell trilogy (The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, Army of Darkness).

Kanemoto said he created all the artwork in the sequence, with the final image directly inspired by an incredible Evil Dead poster created by Olly Moss.

"The moment I saw it, I only wanted to see it move – which is how I feel about all great posters. The new wave of artists working with Mondo have made movie posters worth collecting again, and that’s a great thing. I hope to someday join their ranks."

Kanemoto is looking forward to the new Evil Dead remake, currently being filmed by Fede Alvarez with Raimi overseeing. He also says he would not-so-secretly like a chance to pitch his approach for the upcoming film.

Here you go, Mr. Raimi. This is the next wave of talent. Pick it up now.

-Aaron Sagers