Tag Archives: history

From Nightmare Fuel to Saturday Morning Cartoons

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Everything goes in cycles.

When it comes to entertainment, especially when we’re talking about horror, that cycles is from scary to funny.

There’s really not a lot of difference between horror and humor. Both rely on the unexpected to trigger a reaction. Both can change your view of a situation. And, more often than not, something that was once scary ends up being really funny somewhere down the road.

That cycle has played out two or three times now. The classic Universal Studios monsters, once the denizens of nightmares, became so ingrained in the general culture that they were no longer scary… and then took that extra step into being used in straight up comedies. Comedies for kids, even, if the roster of Saturday morning cartoons from the 80s and 90s are any gauge. (More so if you look at still-current permutations, like Monster High line of dolls and animated shows.)

The horror icons of the 80s aren’t that far behind. Jason and Freddy have already been parodied more than a few times and people far too young to have seen the films originally (or, technically, to even legally see the films now) know the characters and don’t show a bit of fear (not much awe, either, which is kind of sad) when it comes to them.

I had enough time to try a little something new in the vlog today. I actually added some pictures. They don’t quite look like I’d prefer them to, but, hey, I squeezed in some learning, so that’s a win in my book.

Anyway, check out my ramblings on how and why we have more funny vampires now than scary ones (and how we end up with scary ones again… have you seen The Strain? It’s like vampire zombies or something… definitely upping the creepy factor again.)

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

Horror Comics Redux

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Just a quick overview of some horror comics history.

Those old horror comics are great things. More so when you take into account the impact they had–in part because of the people who tried so hard to ban them. Yeah, the legal action kind of killed the industry for a while, but, like any good zombie or vampire, you can’t ever totally get rid of them and they always come back.

In this case, it seems horror came back with a vengeance. At least if the movie theater of the 80s is any indication. And the current stead stream of horror-themed comics that are still being produced.

If you’re not aware, there was a huge push against the “corrupting influence” of horror comics spurred and epitomized by the book. It lead to actual Congressional hearings and, ultimately, the creation of the Comics Code Authority… which pretty much put a stake in the heart of horror comics (and anything that wasn’t kind of shallow). Read more than a little about it here.

There have been a ton of books written about the subject, and, now that we’re in more tolerant (and creative) times, you can get reprints and collections of a lot of those classic comics and magazines. The ones I mentioned in the vlog include:

And then there was the glorious In The Dark: A Horror Anthology anthology that I backed via Kickstarter (which you can, indeed, get on Amazon… and you should).

So, take a few minutes and and wander back in time to when the scariest thing about horror comics was the people who wanted to ban them… in today’s vlog.

Don’t forget that you have some say over what goes on for the next 100 days… click the big green button below here to get to the page where you can submit topic suggestions and questions (so I know what kinds of things you want to see go on in these videos).

[jbutton size=”xxlarge” color=”green” link=”http://durosia.com/vlog-questions” newpage=”yes”]Come Ask a Question Here[/jbutton]

GWAR, Cooper and Price, Looking Back on Scandal, History, and A Few Other Things

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This entry is part 100 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

This, so the little numbers tell me, is the 100th entry I’ve made in this particular experimental Facebook Feed series.

I was going to say something interesting about it… but it’s been another long day at the office and my brain is kind of fried. I’m also kind of unimpressed with my own performance in these little blurbs I crank out roughly four days a week to accompany the link to FB posts. (Heck, I’ve been disappointed with the lack of interaction I’ve been able to put into even those lately.)

Going into this, it was just a way to force myself to get words flowing out of my fingers again. It’s only been moderately successful. I guess that means I just have to keep trying.

So I will.

Here’s the feed…

It Was a Busy Weekend, Full of Stuff and Work

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This entry is part 97 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

The past week or so at the day job has been ridiculous. Huge deadlines on a huge project that’s really too huge for the timeline it was scheduled for.

Of course, it does look like we’ll be close enough.

It also looks like it’s driving me utterly mad with stress.

So, the feed is a bit… odd. Because that’s how my brain is working (when my brain is working).

I’ll let you see for yourself.

Here’s the feed…

Apocalypse! Espionage! Vikings! Death! And Elephants in a Pool.

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This entry is part 90 of 100 in the series Today's Tidbits

Some active discussions going on in the stream today (and in a previous post or two).

There’s an extended discussion of changing names when you get married. That got a little unexpectedly heated. Sometimes traditions are held to tightly and any erosion of them–sensible or not–makes people a little uncomfortable.

A very interesting chat about the police in Furguson, MO, getting cameras to wear while on duty also took place. On the surface it seems like an awesomely good thing. (And a thing that I think is, in general, a good thing.) There are questions of data retention… and access to that data. There’s also, I believe, a real necessity to take a serious and deep look at our laws as a whole. So everyone involved can have a better understanding of what’s what and, maybe, we can simplify things a little. That all happened in a post from yesterday (so don’t look for it in today’s feed).

Impending doom always brings out some fun. Well, articles about impending doom do, at least. Today’s feed was no different. An article calling back to a book published over 40 years ago that predicts societal collapse before we hit 2100 (2070, give or take, actually). It’s an interesting set of graphs, but the predictions haven’t been perfect… and seem to be skewing south of what reality is actually doing in some cases. Still… interesting stuff to think on.

So, yeah, bunches of interesting things. And then more to keep you entertained and, maybe, counteract all the death and destruction.

Here’s the feed…