Hot Off the Shelf: Tales of Terror, a horror anthology by TKO Presents
image description: The book cover for Tales of Terror has a blue background with the cartoon face of a white man leaning back with his mouth open and eyes wide in fear. The blue background overlays the man’s throat in places so that it looks like hands are choking him and pulling him backward.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and I honestly enjoyed it!
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I’ve been on a graphic kick lately and as far as I’m concerned spooky season isn’t over, so I was super excited to get my hands on a copy of Tales of Terror! It’s a graphic horror anthology with eight short stories.
First, the synopsis:
In this collection of nine bone-chilling and blood-curdling shorts, we see a soldier face a horror worse than death, a space pioneer's false Eden and a little boy's insomnia that ends in tragedy to name a few. From creators Paul Azaceta, Alex Paknadel, Sebastian Girner, Kit Mills, Steve Fox and many more.
If you’re looking for variety or just wanting to dip your toe into graphic horror for the first time, Tales of Terror is definitely your go-to. The stories span all types of horror––ghosts, vampires, cryptids, aliens, hallucinations, demon possession, crooked cops, and more. The settings take place from the bottom of the ocean to outer space and everything in between. Subgenres within horror are represented in these short stories, including science fiction, historical fiction, mystery/whodunnit, and even humor. There really is something for everyone.
Without getting into any spoilers, I’ll say that I liked all the stories and would find it difficult to choose if asked which one was my favorite. A couple that stood out were:
Seeds of Eden –– This short story is about a woman in a spaceship that’s supposed to be a model for a self-sustaining colony. Of course, everything goes wrong.
The Father of All Things –– This one blended my love of historical fiction with my love of creepy things. The story follows an idealistic 14-year-old boy who enthusiastically signs up to defend his country during World War I, but isn’t ready for the supernatural horrors that await him in addition to the instruments of war.
Killiamsburg –– At first I was like… Snow creatures? Ooookay. But when I realized they were every bit as creepy as the White Walkers in Game of Thrones and the humor was making fun of Brooklyn yuppies, I was super into it!
The Walk –– Fun story. In high school, I dated a dude who was obsessed with the video game BioShock and after watching him play, I understood why. It’s fascinating! An underwater utopia that has dark forces at play so it’s not really a utopia? Count me in. This short story felt like a simplified version of BioShock. Researchers make the journey to the ocean floor, then their supplies run out. This one has an eco-horror element that felt timely, which is why “The Walk” was one of my favorites.
Those are just a handful of the stories that stood out in particular to me, though all of them were good. There are several I’d be interested in reading if they were expanded into a full graphic novel.
Tales of Terror just came out (hot off the shelf, for real!) so if you’re looking for the ideal gift for a graphic- and/or horror-loving fan, I’d say this is a crowd-pleaser. In general, the publisher TKO Presents puts out excellent graphics across a variety of genres. Other books of theirs I’ve reviewed and loved are Scales and Scoundrels, Djeliya, and Graveneye.
Can you tell I find it difficult to rate short story collections and anthologies of any kind? I always feel like I’m left with “Some were fantastic, others were less so, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed this and you might too.” That’s how I feel, so I’ll leave it at that. :)
If you’d like to buy a copy, please do so using my Bookshop link. Buying through Bookshop supports indie bookstores and this blog, all while shopping at an Amazon alternative. Win-win all around!
