Jazan Wild and Carnival Comics Welcomes You To the Show

By: Jill Rayburn
11/03/2009

Tuesday's Tips, Tidbits, and Trinkets...Are you disappointed that Halloween is gone already? Are you the type of person who enjoys watching horror movies all the time? Do you like reading scary stories that pull you into the action? Well, Halloween may be over for this year, but I've got some extra frightful goodness for those who just can't get enough.

Writer, creator, and musician Jazan Wild is the creative force behind Carnival Comics. The two main titles available currently are Carnival of Souls and Funhouse of Horrors. The best thing about these titles is that the can come straight to you a number of different ways, including through mobile apps. (Check the webpage to see which title is available in which formats and links to get them, as well as to see some of the chapters on your computer.)

Carnival of Souls, written by Wild, features wonderful artwork by Kevin Conrad. The first four chapters are a self-contained story, and are available in both digital and motion comic format. The motion comic version uses some nice visual effects to move the story forward, and there are also some great musical tracks from Wild that are a perfect fit for the story. Voice actors tell the story as you move through the visual scenes. The central character is young Jazan, who after his first visit to a carnival becomes an orphan in the wild when his mother is killed in a plane crash. He survives, and becomes “brothers” to the tiger cubs who save his life. Flash forward a few years, and a hunter is after Jazan and his brothers, and Jazan is also haunted by his old memories of his previous life. The rest? You'll have to view for yourself. It's well-written, if a bit predictable at times. I would not classify this as truly horror, but a bit of a fantasy story, with some creepy elements, particularly the carnival clown. Further stories involving Jazan are also available in digital comic format.  Here is its preview video:



Funhouse of Horror is also written by Wild, and is a bit more of a traditional “scary story”. It is also available in two formats; digital comic, and in video chapters. This is similar to motion comics, and there are some extra panels that did not appear in the digital format, that I believe help to tell the story more fully. The video also features voice actors presenting the story, and music by Wild. The videos can be viewed at the website above, and also at the Spike TV website. This story follows Jacob “Jake” Stone as he stumbles onto a haunted house and is given a special book. He starts to see dead people everywhere, and is compelled to tell their stories in order to get peace. This turns his life upside down. Wild did a nice job on the writing for this story as well. Artists Carlito Zuniga and David Miller did a wonderful job illustrating the story, moving things forward at a good pace and giving us just the right hints of terror as you go. I especially love the way they worked scary images into seemingly unimportant background parts of the frames. There is a follow-up story to this 4-chapter tale as well, It's Murhpy's Law, that follows Stone as an adult who is using his “gift” to not only bring stories to the world as a writer, but to help the dead finish their tales. This story is a bit more creepy and perhaps a little frightening, but not excessively so.

Advice to parents – these are not for young children, but may be suitable for your teens. There is some questionable language, although some words are masked in the printed text. My recommendation would be for parents to view these chapters before allowing kids to see them.

Fantastical, spooky stories, and great artwork. What a great way to help your Halloween spirit last just a bit longer. Oh, and if you like the music tracks you hear on the motion and video versions of these tales, they are available at iTunes and Amazon. This way, you can keep the spookiness going all year long. Until next time, keep reading!

Photos:  jazanwild.com, comicmonsters.com

Author: Jill Rayburn

Jill Rayburn is a columnist for Roddenberry.com. Her column "Artistic License" is published every Tuesday thru Saturday.
Contact: jrayburn@roddenberry.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Jazdan
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