Sex And Death

Two great tastes that taste great together

Hey, there! Periodic reminder that I’m Clay Adams, writer of BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN and DREAMQUEST, co-writer of PRODIGAL SON and CARMILLA UNBOUND, and co-editor of the NIGHTMARE THEATER horror anthology. You probably signed up for this newsletter on one of those Kickstarters… or maybe we met at a signing or con? In any event, glad you’re here. Pull up a seat, grab a beverage of your choice, and feast your eyes on the latest news…

Happy February!

Have you all given up on your resolutions yet?

Me, I’m getting ready for the big holiday.

No, not that one.

This year, instead of Valentine’s Day, the Mrs. and I are celebrating…

Hoping that you all enjoy the day, and that at least a few of you get (un)lucky.

Before we begin…a word from our sponsor

If you’ve been wanting a trade or hardcover of BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN to display on your bookshelf, you’re in luck!

The Kickstarter launch countdown for the BLAZING BLADE OF FRANKENSTEIN VOLUME 1 collection has begun.

And it’s behind this cover from Conan the Barbarian artist Geof Isherwood (with colors by White Ash‘s Fin Cramb):

This will include the first four issues plus a brand new short story with art by Mick Beyers and Fin.

If you’d like to be among the first to know when we go live...

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW THE BBOF VOLUME 1 CAMPAIGN ON KICKSTARTER

And now…back to the show

Years ago, as I found myself bawling like a baby at the end of TRUE LIES (shut up), I realized that one thing that set James Cameron’s work above most other directors was that, at heart, each and every one of his movies were love stories.

This, I thought, was his secret sauce.

(Whatever you think of the guy, he has THREE of the four top-grossing movies of all time. So’s he’s clearly doing something right.)

I hadn’t thought too much about it until I read this exchange in a recent THR director’s roundtable:

Do you see a connective thread that runs through your films?

CAMERON All of mine are love stories of one form or another: a girl-meets-boy [Titanic], or a marriage that’s breaking up [The Abyss], or a woman creates a relationship with a girl that she feels protective of [Aliens]. People think of me as a very technical filmmaker, and I love to do that, but for me, it’s all about the heart.

It’s so simple, yet genius.

Including an element of romance is something I’ve always tried to do in my comics, whether it’s Casey and Scott looking to rekindle their marriage in BLOOD OF THE GRUNCH, or West pining for Margo in the upcoming DREAMQUEST 3.

Or even, going back to Fried 1.0, with Shane searching for his beloved Annie after a zombie apocalypse in DEADSKINS!

Or Ellie reuniting with her estranged husband Witherspoon in RED XMAS.

Roses are red. Xmas is too. Ellie and Witherspoon have a lot of catching up to do! Art by Fabio Ramacci and Ilaria Chiocca

Romance is a huge part of life, and it’s something audiences are thirsty for.

(Pun intended.)

Don’t believe me? According to Writer’s Digest:

Romance has consistently ranked as the highest-grossing fiction genre in literature over the past several years—$1.44 billion in revenue for May 2022-2023—nearly twice the next bestselling genres, with a 52% growth in sales in the same period compared to the previous year.)

Face it, Tiger.

People love love.

What’s love got to do with it?

Great question, Tina.

In a recent Substack post, writer Chuck (Fight Club) Palahniuk talks about a book by Anthony (A Clockwork Orange) Burgess on the work of James (Ulysses) Joyce.

(Got that?)

And in it, he found a rather interesting quote:

Housekeeping

I have never felt inclined to condemn people who look for dirt in literature: looking for dirt, they may find something else. I do not think that those of my fellow-soldiers who read paperback pornography for masturbatory thrills saw that sort of stuff as of the same order as The Decameron or Joyce’s dirty book. In literature (recognizable as such through bulk, hard words, long stretches of boredom) they wanted confirmation that sexual desire, sexual exercise, and sexual obscenity were valid aspects of life.

Translation: people want to read the dirty stuff, because it reminds them that they are alive.

And normal.

And if a writer can draw ‘em in with that, maybe they can deliver something else too.

Look

Like I said, there’s a reason Romance is the biggest genre in books.

And there’s a reason for the old adage “sex sells.”

And you can bitch and moan about it—

—like the guy screaming into the void that there are too many NSFW comics on Kickstarter—

—or you can accept the fact that people just plain like the dirty stuff.

Because it reminds ‘em they are alive.

“The Type That’s Poison!” from ReFried Comics #1

In a way, sex in films/books/comics serves the same function as horror.

We watch horror to vicariously experience—and survive—death.

Or, as horror expert David J. Skal says:

A good horror movie does the same thing that a good roller coaster ride does — it lets you get it all out in a cathartic way. Horror also lets us process unpleasant realities in ways so that we don't have to look too closely at those frightening realities.

Horror, like sex, reminds us that we’re alive.

Two sides of the same coin, serving the same needs for the audience.

Which brings us back to Friday The 13th

The FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise—infamous for its copious amounts of sex and death— was an important one to Paramount Pictures in 1980s.

I once read that the studio kept pumping them out so quickly because these cheapie horror movies were so profitable, they bankrolled every other film Paramount released in a given year.

Think about that.

The commercial success of the critically reviled “dirty horror movies” made it possible for the studio to create more highbrow fare.

So before you go railing against NSFW projects on Kickstarter, consider what else that funding might be making possible.

And now, the, uh, climax

Audiences want a little romance.

And they will actively seek out sex.

Draw ‘em in with that…and maybe you can deliver something else too.

Just exactly what that “something else” is is entirely up to the creator.

Anthony Burgess had his own ideas about that.

Again, from Chuck Palahniuk’s substack:

Your list of best-sellers always includes the pornographic (the arousers of desire) and the didactic (the books which tell you what to do). Combine the didactic and the pornographic, as in some Hindu sex-manual, and you have your best best-seller.

Combining sex with a how-to manual?

Not a bad idea.

So, keep an eye out for my next comic, “F*cking Your Way to Better Motorcycle Maintenance.”

For your viewing pleasure

And now, if you please, three recommendations for your Valentine’s Friday the 13th viewing:

Secretary

This delightfully twisted classic, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader (and based on a short story by Mary Gaitskill), always gets my recommendation at Valentine’s Day:

The Housemaid

This old-school erotic thriller, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sidney Sweeney, is a great time at the movies. If you can, see it in the theater, with a crowd, and remember: Juice is a privilege.

Send Help

Sam Raimi, back to doing what Sam Raimi does best: Entertaining the hell out of you.

And finally, before I go, let’s talk…

Con Jobs

Hide your sheep, Atlanta!

Next week, Mick Beyers and I will be invading your fair city, alongside an all-star collection of celebs from the CHUCKY, FRIDAY THE 13TH, and EXORCIST franchises, among many others.

Needless to say, we’ll have plenty of horror comics in tow.

Whether you’re ITP, OTP, or simply down with OPP, come see us!

Texas! I’ll be in you next month for Mockingbird Lane, repping both anime AND comics. The table will have character prints, Funko Pops, and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, plus plenty of books.

The folks behind the show have put together a stellar lineup of talent, so if you’re in the area, come say hi!

Parting is such sweet sorrow

I know. But we’ll always have Paris.

Here’s looking at you, kid.

-Clay

P.S. If you backed BLOOD OF THE GRUNCH #1, surveys are now available in Backerkit!