The latest releases in fiction, non-fiction and comics that caught our attention.
I was a Teenage Slasher By Stephen Graham Jones
Stephen Graham Jones is an expert on slashers. The author has tackled the genre in a number of novels (notably The Indian Lake Trilogy, with its filmy protagonist) and has an ongoing column in The Indian Lake Trilogy. Fangoria was dedicated to his influence, so it’s no surprise to see him scrap another entry for the canon. But this time we get a different perspective: Slayer’s.
I was a Teenage Slasher It’s a fictionalized memoir of Tolly Driver, who in 1989 turned into Lamesa, Texas’ own Michael Meyers as a reluctant 17-year-old—a transformation driven by forces beyond Tolly’s control. It takes the classic slasher formula and packs a lot of heart.
Light eaters By Zoë Schlanger
Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers New Understanding of Life on Earth was released in the spring, but it fell on my radar and I was immediately drawn to both the premise and Schlanger’s easy-to-digest writing style. Light eaters explores the long-debated concept of plant “intelligence” through conversations with scientists and deep dives into the complex processes that underlie plant survival.
There’s quite a bit of anthropomorphism, though Light eaters provides a really interesting look into the inner workings of plants that is accessible to non-scientists and may at least inspire you to look at the natural world a little differently.
Paranoid bonds By Gerard Way, Shaun Simon, Chris Weston
Digital first release Paranoid bonds, the new six-issue series from Gerard Way and Shaun Simon, was released this week, and it’s pretty weird. We’re immediately introduced to Loo, a nurse with memory loss and a tragic (but still unexplained) past working in a care facility for aliens and paranormal entities. And it’s not just the patients who are unusual – there’s something unusual about the building itself. The drama unfolds quickly, and Loo must “deal with corrupt staff members, powerful theme park cults and personal demons and traumas” and discover “what secrets the gardens hold” to understand her role in it all.
Paranoid bonds Written by Way (yes, of My Chemical Romance fame, as well Umbrella Academy) and Simon (The Real Lives of the Fabulous KilljoysWay) and features art by Chris Weston, colors by Dave Stewart, and letters by Nate Piekos.
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