Quick... Win a Copy of Nightface!

Did you miss out on our last contest to win a copy of Lydia Peever's Nightface? Well if you act fast, here's another chance at GoodReads. The contest closes on Oct. 1st so don't wait.

A weekend of Vision, Voices, and Serenity

It's a busy weekend here in the O dot.


First up, this Saturday, The Ottawa Goth Syndicate presents their annual "Visions and Voices: The Dark Bazaar".

"Visions and Voices is an opportunity for Ottawa and the surrounding communities to showcase their creativity. It's a dark and magical night of performance and art from Ottawa and its surrounding communities. Artists will be displaying their work, a variety of fantastic vendors will be selling their wares and the performers will dazzle you with their acts while we dish out the door prizes provided by our amazing sponsors throughout the evening."


The show starts at 7:30 at the Masonic Hall at 430 Churchill Ave.

Then Sunday, The Ottawa Browncoats and Zombieinfo.com are presenting a special charity screening of "Serenity" at the Mayfair. The only thing better than Mal and Company on the big screen is Mal and Company on the big screen for a good cause, so come on by. Proceeds go to Equality Now and iSisters Technology Mentoring. Plus great prizes and a ticket that's a button! Show starts at 12:00 noon, so don't be late.

Killer63 2011 is a go!

Killer63, Josh "batturtle" Stafford's Ottawa based Horror Film Festival is once again a go. This years running will be Oct. 22nd at, of course, The Mayfair Theatre. If you're interested in getting your film into this years festival, the contact Josh via the Mayfair Facebook Page or by clicking on the link to "batturtle" in the "Ottawa Horror is" section.

Cool People from Fan Expo -Long Live the New Flesh.

(Ed. Note: We'd like to thank both David Pace and Chris Alexander from Fangoria for permission to reprint both the except from Dave's blog and the photo.)


One of the best things about FanExpo for me was meeting some cool people - both folks I knew only online (Post Mortem Press, Fear in Words author Jason Darrick, and DreadfulTales founder Column McKnight amongst others) and folks I'd never met before who were found us at the booth.

One of those cool people was David Pace, who writes the "Long Live the New Flesh" blog for Fangoria. David was combing the floor for the indie scene and found us. We had an excellent discussion on all things indie, and of course Cronenberg -if you don't know where that reference comes from or why I'm posed like that in the photo, then run to Netflix right now and watch "Videodrome", I'll wait...

David has written an excellent article on his experiences at FanExpo, and on, well...us, at "Long Live the New Flesh" on Fangoria.com. You can read an excerpt below, but do go read the whole article here. While your at it, check out the other awesome posts on his blog, and all the other blogs on the Fango site.

"...It wasn’t long before I found exactly what I was looking for in coming here. I wanted to see the indie side of this convention. The focus is always on the big celebrities and the big studios and their fancy booths, and I wanted to see what the indies were up to, what the Long Live the New Flesh people were doing here. That’s when I met the crew at the Ottawa Horror and Zombie Info booth: a ragtag bunch of basement filmmakers, writers, artists, entertainers and horror fans making their own scene and carving their own path in the world. The traffic at their booth was huge. So many people were interested in work by people just like them—work by people doing it for themselves and for the love of the craft."

"Long live the new flesh..."
Photo by D. Pace

Stay tuned to both Ottawa Horror and "Long Live the New Flesh" for more from our discussion and from FanExpo 2011.

Ronn Sutton on art, Poe, Elvira, and the 'horrors' of lesbian vampires

On the first day of Fan Expo, Ronn Sutton and Janet Hetherington stopped by the OH table. Lucky for me they did, as with the hectic four day romp I did not get a chance to peruse my surroundings until the last day. Had I missed a chance to meet and talk with them, I would have regretted it sorely!

At their table, beside all of the wonderful Elvira comics was some beautiful pin-up art by Sutton. Lining the walls of the 2011 Festival of Fear, most in artists alley were horror-related so the classic style of his girls stood out. 

"The woman that modeled for my third Honey West issue commissioned me to do this pin up portrait of her as a birthday gift for her boyfriend. He was in Afghanistan at the time, so it was a birthday present framed for him when he came back."

"For years, my drawings of women use to look like men with long hair and boobs basically. I ended up working on Savage Dragon, an animated series, and that involves hundreds and hundreds of drawings and they gave me a lot of the character She-Dragon and suddenly my drawings of women got really good really fast. Then all I was offered was female characters specifically female vampire characters and specific to that, female lesbian vampire characters..." 

"Draculina, Vampira, Luxura - I did a ton of them and finally Elvira came along and saved me from a career of female lesbian vampires." He then went on to create the Vampira comic that was destined to go with a documentary film, so 'saved' is a relative term! He drew Elvira for nine years, and illustrated about 50 stories for the series he happily describes as a 'real machine'.

Speaking about one of his memorable collaborations, he moved to Saugerties, New York in 1972. At first living with Bernie Wrightson (NOTLD Tar Man), one of his favorite artists, then getting an apartment nearby. "The last thing that we worked on together was in 2001 there was a comic called Night Terrors. Bernie was editing it, he did the cover and the first story in the book.  Bill Stout had a strip in it and I had a strip in it as well."

"In the early 70s it was kind of up and down. In the 80s I ended up working various places as an art director for magazines and contributing to mainstream newsstand magazines as a freelance illustrator. Finally, I stopped that and I started freelance for animation, then met Janet." Relocating to her base of Ottawa, the pair began working  from their home studio. 

Ronn Sutton and Janet Hetherington @FanExpo 2011

When asked about other artists and collaborators in the Ottawa area, he says that he is pretty much on his own here. "My studio is in my basement, so I sort of go from the bed to the kitchen to the studio and sometimes never out the front door." Something many artists can relate to, especially when in the throes of a new project or a long-term engagement. 

"The latest thing I have is with Graphic Classics, it just came out and it is in Edgar Allan Poe Tales of Mystery (win a copy here right now) and I have my adaptation of the Tell Tale Heart which was actually done 15 years ago for one publisher who paid me then went out of business, then it was coloured for another publisher who then went out of business, then it actually appeared in a small digest, and now is finally in full colour."

As a Poe fan, this was one of the issues I bought and must say he did a great job. Not only has the story been modernized, he has applied a little gender bend. "After reading it (the original Poe story) a few times, I realized that not once was the sex of the protagonist described. I read it a few times more to be sure and decided that would be an interesting twist, then twisted it further to make her a punk girl." It certainly works, especially with a tale that has been redrawn, animated and retold countless times. 

Next, he will be working on three more issues of Honey West, and the next book with Janet. As described in Heartthrobs and Hellraisers, she had penned an intriguing crossover with Honey West and Kolchack that he will be illustrating.

Can't wait? No patience? Want your lesbian vampire or Elvira fix? Meet this daring duo at the upcoming Montreal ComicCon September 17-18, 2011.

The Philosophy of Zombies

Even Zombies must puzzle the larger questions

What is it with Zombies? Ignoring the whole politics issue (see below), they do seem to popping up everywhere, not just in the America's. Perhaps it's because in a post-Twilight world they're the only movie monster that hasn't been romanticized into mass acceptance, or maybe it speaks to something a little deeper. Well at ABC (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, not the US network) they've gone and tackled some of these questions.

On "Philosophers Zone" on ABC Radio yesterday's program was "Zombies and Consciousness". You can download or stream the program by clicking on the link. And be sure to scroll down for a whole rash of Philosophical Zombie links - including an episode of my personal favourite show -"All In The Mind". The Zombies themselves might be mindless, but these folks sure aren't!

And of course, we've got lots more Zombies coming up right here on your favourite site.

Astro Zombies in Ottawa!

Ok, I have a confession to make... I love cheesy 50's horror films. They bring back great memories of watching Saturday afternoon Movies as a kid. And this Friday at 11:30pm, the good folks at the Mayfair Theatre are making me very happy with a presentation of Astro Zombies.

After being fired by the Space Agency, a disgruntled scientist naturally enough turns to creating a superhuman monster from the body parts of murder victims. Yes, that’s a bad idea, but it gets worse, as the beast goes on a murderous rampage. “Directed” in best Ed Wood-style by the helmer of Mission: Killfast and The Corpse Grinders.


Looks like fun!

The Politics of Horror.

As anyone who's heard me talk knows, I find politics infuses everything in this great city of ours - just part of being the Nation's Capital and the seat of Government. But horror isn't about politics is it? Well according to what the following graph and article on Cracked.com via Mr Science Show has to say, maybe it is...

via mrscienceshow.com

6 Mind-Blowing Ways Zombies and Vampires Explain America | Cracked.com

Horror movies play off of the social anxieties of the times. And who makes us anxious the most? The highest political leader in the land, of course....

View >

Now I don't know how folks actually get the money to do research like this - I'd certainly take a grant or two to figure this stuff out - but it's pretty interesting reading. Now I'd be curious to see how this relates to box office receipts in Canada.

(Ed. Note- This reminds me of a study I once saw that showed that more Horror Movies were made during and just after times of war versus times of peace. If anyone has a link to that study, please send it to me.)

In Our Backyard...

One of the most fascinating things about having the booth at FanExpo this year, was that the Ottawa Horror banner acted almost as a big magnet for all things Ottawa at the Con. I've been at the Expo for the last 6 years, and I don't think I've ever met so many people from Ottawa in one weekend. One of the things often heard was "Ottawa Horror? I didn't know there was a Horror scene in Ottawa?"

Now I'm certain that anyone reading this is aware of the Horror scene in Ottawa, but were you aware of some of the other related ones? The joy of FanExpo is that so many genres - Horror, Sci-Fi, Comics, and Gaming - are all together under one roof. And let's face it, most of us are fans of more than just one genre, and there's always a good amount of crossover - from EC Comics, to Alien to "Night of the Living Trekkies". So in that vien, here are a number of different folks right in our backyard who you just might have something in common with. Check 'em out... they're good people.

Steampunk Ottawa

Steampunk and Horror often share a lot of fans. I know I'm also a big fan of the whole genre. So I was quite happy to meet Lee Ann Faruga and the crew from Steampunk Ottawa. You can check out their Facebook Group here.

Ottawa Goth Syndicate


Did you know Ottawa had it's own Goth Syndicate? Well we do indeed,and they're very active. Amongst other things, the plan a Yule Ball, a Summer Picnic, and the upcoming Vision and Voices: The Dark Bazaar - a celebration of all the creative arts with a dark side. Their main Facebook Page can be found here.

Ottawa Browncoats


Do you love Firefly? I mean really love Firefly? Well so do these folks. They have a charity screening of Serenity coming up at the Mayfair next month as a matter of fact.

Game Summit Canada


Gamer? Oh c'mon it's ok... were all friends here. And if you do enjoy a good game, then you should check out Game Summit Canada coming up Feb. 17th, 2012 right here in the Nation's Capital - three days of non-stop gaming.

The Ottawa Zombie Walk


Ottawa has been hosting a Zombie walk since 2005, but I'm always amazed how many people I talk to don't know about it. Traditionally it's held the third Sunday in October, but you can check out their Facebook Page for the details.

Janet Hetherington's heartthrobs and hell-raisers

I am so glad Ronn and Janet stopped by the OH booth last weekend! I scored two great signed comics, had some very cool conversation and met two very cool artists. More on Ronn later, but first I wanted to write about Janet ~

Ever read Claypool Comics Elvira series? That was what caught my eye. With such an Elvira buzz about Fan Expo this year, I headed to Janet Hetherington and Ronn Sutton's booth once the crowd thinned on Sunday and spent some time talking about Elvira, and what they are working on now.

Janet with Eternally Yours - From Wikimedia

Romance, and horror monsters were blended by Janet Hetherington 14 years ago when she unleashed Eternally Yours, an anthology reminiscent of Betty and Veronica with vampires, ghouls, mummies and assorted creepies.

"I love romance comics but you don’t find them on the stands like you used to. Old DC 1950s style romance. Now we have manga. Manga has romance, but it's not the same. I really like the heartthrob, the tears running down the cheeks, but women have changed a lot since then."

Seeing that women's goals have changed so much, she updated the settings and styles of relationships in her work. During this evolution, her main character began to grow as well.

"I wanted to bring that wonderful romantic nostalgia to it, but at the same time make it more modern. Even now, my stuff goes back to the 1990s so it is getting a bit long in the tooth – literally long in the tooth – my heroine Destine is a vampire. I introduced her as sort of the hostess, the vault keeper, and she became the star of the show. She took over, and that happened in the writing of it."

Her latest comic in the horror romance blend is Monster Love, and they are actually cooking up more swooning girls and heartthrob men in an upcoming Honey West and Kolchak: the Night Stalker crossover.

"Ronn wanted to do another Honey West project and I knew Moonstone had the license for both so we just suggested it." So far, they are into the second draft of the script that they describe as a lot of fun. "The premise is Honey West is undercover in a bunny-style club, but it is all a front. Kolchack is at a point in his career before he believes in the paranormal and is just looking for a story. He runs into Honey West and they have to collaborate. I wanted a real Hammer-Horror-esque feel to it. It is not overly supernatural, but all very suggestive, with more mystery instead." 

Kolchak will be portrayed as a young newsroom copy boy trying to ferret out his first story, long before there were so many vampires, werewolves, and zombies in his life.

As a young girl growing up in Wallaceburg, Ontario, Hetherington became a huge fan of comic books. When she came to Ottawa  to take journalism at Carleton University was when comics became more than just a hobby or rough sketches in a pad. 

"I always wanted to write. When I was growing up I read a lot of comics but it never really dawned on me that a woman could draw or write as a profession. All the names I saw were men. Maybe it was subliminal, but I never clued in that this could be a career choice for me. But, Lois Lane was a reporter! So I could be a reporter." Her love of comics continued and she wrote about comic book creators and worked for Maple Con and Amazing Heroes magazine through school and afterward. After meeting her partner Ronn through interviews of artists in the business, they collaborated. This turned into 6 years of writing scripts for everyone's favorite Mistress.

"It was the first time Elvira was the protagonist. In previous incarnations she was the horror hostess and the strips had nothing to do with her. In the Claypool Comics series there were a lot of things I could not do with her as the main character. She is an animal lover, so kindness to animals always. She is a vegetarian, so she could not eat meat. She also had an affinity for junk food so we had her eating a lot of pizza - but always vegetarian pizza. She was very vain, but also very caring. So whenever she would come into a story with a 'me first' attitude, in the end she would help everybody and kind of save the day. It was fun to do that, or take old horror movies and give them a new twist. Ronn drew quite a few and sometimes suggested story lines. If he wanted to draw dinosaurs, now it was up to me to come up with dinosaurs in an Elvira story."

In recent news, Janet Heatherington wrote the original story The House on Arch Lane now a short film by Stonehope Entertainment of Hamburg, Germany. It is premiering in Hamburg this September, and we certainly hope it crosses the ocean shortly after. 

She has been fleshing out a zombie script for a screenplay entitled Sleep Depraved, but did not mention when or where we could look for it.

"Collaborating with the filmmaker, it can be a long process, but I would like to see this out there someday. The script goes back to what original zombie ideas were. People that are still alive they are drugged or not undead. Mine are infected, but still alive so its not like Zombieland where you are shooting everybody, because these people are still alive! So you have to find a way to contain it without killing them. Meanwhile, they are still going around biting everybody so you still have to control them!"

If you want an instant taste of Janet's work, there are stories available on iPhone literary library. Just search for Janet Hetherington in the iTunes store to find titles like “Too Much at Stake” which serves as an introduction to the origin of her femme-vamp Destine.

You can follow her twitter, and get her convention schedule, news and all kinds of goodies at best-destiny.com

Win a Truck? Seriously...

Some of you may remember an article back a few months ago about a movie called "A Little Bit Zombie". They had the inventive idea of selling frames to make the movie? Well the publicity machine is in full swing at their Facebook Page and their website and they are giving away a TRUCK. Yes you read that right... a Truck. Specifically, this  Zombie Hunting truck...

All you need to do is go the the website or the FB page and sign up!

(Thanks to zombieinfo.com for the information and pic)