Stephen King brings vampires to America’s Old West in a newly published comic book. Unfortunately, probably the most prolific author working today displays a penchant for clichéd dialog and a theme near and dear to Michael Moore. Stephen King’s properties have been adapted to comics before with The Gunslinger Born, The Long Road Home, The Stand Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and others. American Vampire, however, is the first time King produces his own comic book script. In an interview with King, The Daily Beast reports that the American Vampire’s arc will trace the origins of the first American vampire, Skinner Sweet, as he goes fang-to-fang with even nastier vamps, a group out to get rich by damming up a river to create a new town. If you’re still uncertain about the approach he’ll take, King make the book’s ideology perfectly clear: “It’s really the vampire as American capitalist gone totally wild.” And it takes “a real, undomesticated animal,” as King refers to his main character, to stop them. Not only is the theme a cliché in comics, but sadly so is King’s writing. That, however, should not be a surprise. In his Commentary magazine review of King’s latest doorstop
TAC Fiction and Poetry Review
Welcome to November. There’s a Greek greeting shared between folks on the first day of each month. This isn’t the first day of the month, but it is the first TAC Fiction Review of the month, so I share with you, Kalo Mina, which means, ‘good month.’ In effect, it’s a wish that the coming month bring you blessings and happiness. Terry Teachout posted a George Orwell quote that one might want to reflect one prior to pontificating on what the coming months and years may have in store: “People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.” – George Orwell, “London Letter,” Partisan Review, Winter 1945 This quote is appropriate because many of those linked below steadfastly refuse to ignore “the most grossly obvious facts.” The past few weeks have been devoted to supernatural hauntings. This week, as Fall drifts into Winter, the selections below plumb hauntings of a more emotional nature, therefore I’ve included more poetry than past postings. First up, an incredibly moving short story by the first non-Western winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. Please follow the link
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