Gothic Tales of Haunted Love

Gothic Tales of Haunted Love

by Hope Nicholson, Editor

Bedside Press, 2018

200 Pages

Adult

This new look at gothic romance comic books from Bedside Press meets all the expectations of a modern horror fan and more! The 22 stories fill a full 200 color pages, meaning it allows for multiple reading sessions, unlike most graphic novels that the average reader completes in an hour. The wonderfully conceived cover spotlights a black woman running in her night shirt as though straight from a 1970s gothic paperback, (oddly lacking the mansion with a single light on in the upstairs window and the water crashing on the rocks below, but the inclusion of some exciting pin-ups is a delicious addition!)

This is an adult comic, no doubt. It portrays adult situations and shows its share of bloody revenge. What makes it special is its diverse representation of characters and sexuality that has been lacking in the graphic novel industry since forever. It is a multicultural take on illustrated horror stories that are as diverse in the sexuality of their romance as in the artistic styles represented on their pages.

The forward discusses the history of romance comics, the gothic genre specifically, and is well researched. The writing is original and gripping. I wish many of the stories were longer, but the format is a collection of many short tales by many different voices, (since there is so much missing history to cover.) Because the genre is taken in a slightly new direction, the twists are unexpected and quite successful. Some leave you warm and wanting a cup of tea while you read, others leave you with a chill deep in your spine.

My favorites were L’Heure Verte, (The Green Hour, in reference to the absinthe she is drinking…) because of the visual depiction of the characters and the simplicity of the story, and the Native American story The Return for its frightful imagery. One More Cup is a Gaiman-esque dark faerie tale, and Mistress Fox is a great typical Gothic with an ending that resounds through the night. Some tales, like Minefield and Green, Gold, and Black require multiple readings to truly appreciate what is going on.

The real eye-catcher for me was a piece re-printed from the pages of a Golden Age horror comic by Charlton, a story by Sanho Kim, the first Korean artist to make a name in Western comics. It is a classic ghost story in the Asian tradition, written in Korean (don’t worry it has English subtitles, though you don’t really need them to follow the action.) In it, a pair of talented swordswomen make a deal with a soldier on the run. It was originally published in Ghostly Tales #101 (1973).

This reboot of the traditional formulaic genre is long overdue. It’s impossible to find the old gothic paperbacks at the thrift store because the covers themselves are now being recognized as an art form. As the wave of Supernatural Romance spawned by Twilight has finally crumbled to a dry, welcome death, the market is ripe for grimly romantic ghostly tales with a more contemporary outlook. The governess may not be white, and he may not be heterosexual. The castle may not be on the New England coast, but the feeling of loneliness and heartache echoing through hollow hallways is timeless.