Review of "Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #2"

Review of

Berni Wrightson Master of the Macabre, issue #2

Five out of five stars

 The first story in this comic is called Jenifer and is chilling, even to the reader that is accustomed to the frightfully bizarre. It opens with a man with an axe kneeling over a woman down on her hands and knees and another man with a hunting rifle coming up on the scene. When it is clear that the man intends to decapitate the woman the hunting man shoots and kills him. With his dying breath, the man with the axe whispers “Jenifer.” When the hunting man approaches the woman, he realizes that her face is hideously deformed.

 There are many aspects to this story as the man’s life spirals out of control, it is as if there are powers controlling him. He loses his wife, children and job, but never is ever to part with Jenifer until the story ends in many ways as it began.

 The second entry is a graphic novelization of the classic short story “Cool Air” by H. P. Lovecraft. This is an excellent introduction to this master of the craft of horror. Story number three (The Laughing Man) is another in the genre involving the unknown tribes and customs of the remote regions of Africa. Published in 1983, this was on the trailing edge of when such stories were still plausible, although this one would have been better if it was published in 1883. The last one (Clarice)  features an accidental death, where a man down on his luck is in a remote cabin with his wife. He saturates his brain with alcohol and as a consequence of his stupor, his wife accidentally freezes to death.

 These stories are well drawn and written, with strong synergy between the images and the text. There is little in the way of gore, the horror is primarily expressed textually, with the images supplementary. If you are a fan of the horror genre, this comic is a tasty appetizer.