Monsters are real. That’s made clear within the first couple pages of this series. Those old-time film boogiemen, they weren’t imaginary. They starred in those movies, playing the roles that were written for them. And now that they’ve gotten old, been replaced by digital effects, and are having trouble making ends meet, they survive by appearing at autograph shows and collector’s expos.
So that’s the set-up of Screamland. It kicks off like a “true Hollywood story” for famous film monsters, an unauthorized tell-all about critters of the silver screen set in a convention at a gritty old flophouse on the bad side of Los Angeles. It’s the L.A. we know from Tom Waits songs, from Sunset Boulevard, from tabloids and dimestore novels. It’s the seedy underbelly, full of sleaze and desperation and illicit substances and third-string celebrities.
And in this world, we find a convention of luminaries and their fans. Attendees form lines to get signatures and take snapshots. Old associates and co-stars see each other again, and rivalries are rekindled. Ill will bubbles just under the surface. And then somebody gets killed, and the whole cast of characters is brought face-to-face with their former lives of decadence and sex tapes and drug-fueled parties.
It’s an unusual and hugely addicting story, a hybrid of styles and genres and motifs. Horror flicks, yellow journalism, murder mysteries, buddy movies: Harold Sipe and Christopher Sebela’s writing throws all these into the mix, and turns out a greatly enjoyable mess of blood and nastiness and sincere affection for the old, weird Hollywood. Lee Leslie’s art captures the essence of a Saturday matinee spookshow, adds Hawaiian shirts and palm trees, and fills in the background with run-down barrooms and diner waitresses looking for their shot at stardom.
And in case I haven’t made myself clear, this is a comic for mature readers. It’s full of sex and violence and controlled substances and paranormal creatures doing nasty things. It’s a weird collision of styles and sensibilities, but somehow it all fits. It’s creepy, it’s sleazy, it’s a lot of fun, and it creates an entire world in just a few words and pictures… A world not too far from one that really exists on the west coast of America. A land of torn wall-to-wall carpeting, film studios, and has-been B-movie stars who just happen to be monsters.
The ongoing Screamland series is published by Image Comics. The “Death Of The Party” trade paperback collecting the first five issues (with bonus material) is now available to order on Amazon, or to pre-order from your local comic shop.