December 9, 2015

By Tony Giles

“Horror fiction shows us that the control we believe we have is purely illusory, and that every moment we teeter on chaos and oblivion.” – Clive Barker

Since bursting onto the soundtrack scene in 2013, Waxwork Records have taken a ‘no prisoners’ attitude when it comes to what they have chosen to release. You only have to look at their impressive roster of titles from Richard Band’s RE-ANIMATOR, the double LP edition of John Harrison’s score for George A Romeo’s DAY OF THE DEAD, the previously unreleased score for cult sci fi classic Phase IV and the recently released trio of TOURIST TRAP, C.H.U.D. & the wonderful Popol Vuh score for Werner Herzog’s NOSFERATU THE VAMPIRE.

In late October Waxwork announced that, starting in early 2016, they would be releasing their own line of horror comics. Each issue will be accompanied by a 7” single for a fresh take on the horror comic anthology staples of days gone by.

I recently had the chance to speak with Kevin from Waxwork about the upcoming HOUSE OF WAXWORK comic line. Above you can see the debut of the official HOUSE OF WAXWORK logo by Arik Roper.

Blumhouse.com: How did the idea for a comic line come about?

Kevin Bergeron: Suzy Soto, and myself who co-owns Waxwork, had been discussing ways of pairing things together that we dig. It came naturally. We wanted to implement a visual aspect to enjoying a record that goes beyond the artwork and jacket that accompanies an LP. The idea of releasing comic books with companion soundtracks on 7″ records seemed like a really cool, and original idea. Folks can put the record on when reading the stories. It makes the whole experience of enjoying a comic book or listening to a record much more interactive. Storytelling is important. We wanted to give it a crack.

BH: Did your CREEPSHOW release spark the idea because of its comic like appearance?

KB: No. Our CREEPSHOW LP was released about a year before we pulled the trigger on WAXWORK COMICS.

BH: Were/are you a comic book fan, if so which titles did/do you read?

KB: Definitely. SWAMP THING was, and still is, my jam. I also love classic EC Comics like TALES FROM THE CRYPT and VAULT OF HORROR.

BH: Can you give us any idea of who’ll be working on the series?

KB: Not yet, but we have writers on board that have worked with Dark Horse, Vertigo, DC, Marvel, IDW, BOOM!, Image, everyone. We also have artists on board that have worked on our album covers, poster artists, as well as comic book artists that have worked with all of the aforementioned comic book companies and distributors.

BH: Have you written any upcoming stories yourself?

KB: I’m not personally penning stories currently, but I am very involved with developing the stories, the characters, and the overall tone and vibe of anything that will be released through WAXWORK COMICS. I’m a member of the creative team.

BH: You’ve mentioned that each book will come with its own 7″ soundtrack, will this be existing music or new?

KB: New, original music. We really want WAXWORK COMICS to be fresh and extremely exciting. We’re really going for it. We are doing that by creating new stories, new art, new music, new characters, working with new talent. It’s a very exciting time. We’re learning a lot.

BH: Is this the start of Waxwork branching off into other fields?

KB: It is. There will be another company debuting under the Waxwork umbrella soon that’s currently being developed solely by Suzy. It’s going to be very interesting and cool. There are things that we as fans and collectors really would like to own, and we want Waxwork to actually bring those things into existence, but make them truly worth having. We really want to push the envelope and put out good, well-made products. I think we’ve proven ourselves with the record label. Everything we’ve released to date is very well made and of good quality.

BH: Will the series be available in comic book stores alongside the Waxwork site?

KB: Yes, for sure. WAXWORK COMICS will be available through our website, in comic shops, and record stores.

BH: When can we expect issue one?

KB: We’re aiming for a release of HOUSE OF WAXWORK Issue #1 to drop February 2016. Some really amazing stuff right out the gate. There’s some talk of doing a subscription for HOUSE OF WAXWORK, too.

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I cannot contain my excitement for the launch of HOUSE OF WAXWORK. As a long time lover of horror comics and soundtracks, the prospect of them being partnered together sounds like a hell of a good time.

If you’re like me and counting down the days until the launch of ‘H.O.W’ you might also be interested the in some of the recently released story on vinyl titles put out over the last year.

Labels have been releasing story/read-a-long records for years now but over time the medium fell by the wayside much like vinyl itself.

It seems only fitting then that since the vinyl comeback, stories on vinyl would also make a triumphant return too.

In 2014 ‘Dust Bug Records’ released a 40th anniversary edition of the wonderful HAMMER PRESENTS DRACULA. The record pressed on Mist Enshrouded Blood Infused Virgin Vinyl no less, was a faithful reproduction of the original 1974 Studio 2 Stereo (EMI) release. The release itself is a single LP in a gatefold sleeve, depicting images of Christopher Lee from Hammer’s The Satanic Rites Of Dracula as well as a brief history of Dracula written by Basil Cooper. The vinyl portion is one side Dracula narrated by Christopher Lee with music by James Bernard with the flip side featuring 4 musical cuts from various Hammer films.

Lee is as you can imagine a wonderful narrator and coupled with the music and sound effects make this is a stellar listen and something I’d suggest all horror story/vinyl fans own.

Next up is the superb and quite frankly terrifying THE HOLE DIGGER/TRAWLER released through Deep Focus Records, which takes two stories from the TALES FROM BEYOND THE PALE series and puts them on wax. Without giving the game away, both stories have a sea faring theme and both sound great cranked very loud with the lights down low. Both stories also feature the vocal talents of names you’ve all heard of, Larry Fessenden, Glen McQuaid, AJ Bowen etc. The record also features theme music from Jeff Grace (House of the Devil, I Sell The Dead). The album comes in a gatefold sleeve with some killer production pictures and notes about the recording. With a combined run time of nearly 60 minutes you really do get your monies worth with Tales From Beyond The Pale, a fun listen if you’re alone but a hell of a lot of fun when played for an unexpected bunch.

My third and final pick of stories on vinyl is probably one of the oddest records I’ve heard in a long time; it is also one of the most interesting.

WHERE IS ABBEY & OTHER TALES by Lee Brown Coye, narrated by Robert Coye is an 8-story compilation released through Cadabra Records in late 2015. It is different from the other two titles I’ve mentioned, as this is a straight stories on vinyl release with no music. Even though there isn’t a score or title theme the record is still highly listenable with Coye’s eccentricities laid bare. Coye is known for his work with the publication Weird Tales and like Lovecraft his tales aren’t always ones of a straight horror leaning but head down a weird and wonderful path.

Between 1964 and 1970 Lee wrote a collection of stories ranging between the strange and unusual for the Mid-York Weekly newspaper.

These stories are now given new life since their first publication by Coye’s son Robert.

Of the 8 tales included on this release my personal favorite is What Happened to Margaret Rogers. The story of a woman so grossly overweight, she went to work for the circus. With a notable mention going to The Funeral too,

Cadabra Records have also promised us a volume 2 of Coye’s work so it looks as though the story on vinyl is here to stay. -TG