Paperbacks From Hell, Revisited!
Paperbacks From Hell, Revisited!
I'm gonna take you back to the past . . .
Welcome to the weekend! It's time to head back to the past for a bit.
Today I wanted to share this clip from the Paperback Warrior podcast (their site is pretty good, too) which talks about the Paperbacks From Hell line of Horror Books. It's not a long piece, but it's one of the few I've seen that properly highlights just what this project is.
For those unaware, "Paperbacks From Hell" is named after a book written by Grady Hendrix which aimed to cover that period of the late 20th century where horror books were given striking and evocative covers to match the wild stories within. Sometimes you'd get unhinged madness that outdid even the cover, sometimes you'd get a mismatched pairing between the two, and yet others the cover would be the most exciting part, and yet it was always a treat to dig for them and search for a true gem. You never knew quite what you were going to get! I reviewed it here.
It goes without saying that the book did really well, highlighting a period in the industry that was both successful and fruitful, to the point that publisher Valancourt Books got an idea in their head: why not republish those old books again, but also in their original pocket paperback dimensions as well as the original art? And so they have, and to this date just over 20 old school horror books from that period have been rescued from obscurity and given a second chance at life.
You can find their full listing on their site here, and you can also find them on Amazon itself proper.
I've personally read both Nightblood and The Spirit (which actually got a new cover that is better than the original) from their line and even reviewed them both. You can read my review for Nightblood here and The Spirit here. The former is like a better and more satisfying version of 'Salem's Lot and the latter is a sasquatch story about madness and obsession. Both are very much worth reading. I also recently got my hands on a copy of Let's Go Play at the Adams' which I will hopefully be able to cover in time for Halloween. We shall see. Nonetheless, there is no shortage of books to look over for yourself and see what hits.
It's a shame that we've lost so much on out journey through the later half of the 20th century in our quest to speed-run "Progress" that we've forgotten and tripped over everything on our way to get to the end of a road that has no end. Going faster and faster hasn't lead to any changes, just overblown heightened expectations and burned out creators. Not only are they rarely even on the same page anymore but nobody can even agree on what what to steer the ship. It's one big mess of no one being satisfied anymore.
Regardless, there's a always a chance things could change in the future, and one of the ways it could is in revisiting what we might have missed and learning lessons we might have forgotten or never even got to have. Check out Paperbacks From Hell (the line and the book), and see how things used to be. You might be surprised at how much we've forgotten along the way.
That's all for this week! I hope you have a good weekend. Remember that the Phantom Mission serial finished with Chapter 15 this week, Star Wanderers could use some reviews, and the newest issue of Cirsova is out with a story by yours truly in it! It's been a busy time!
I'll see you next time as we head into Autumn! What surprises await us there? I guess we'll just have to wait and see!
Fascinating.
I remember seeing such covers as a kid (to which Goosebumps' art owes a lot) and being terrified. Would have nightmares just seeing them on library shelves (I had a very vivid imagination). Needless to say, a few if these will be added to the ol' reading stack.