Velvet Rope TPB #1 (Arcana – Poulton / Sistilli / Weeks / Various)

Admit one to a new collection of horrifying tales! Grab your popcorn and candy, as Velvet, the beautiful usher from beyond the grave, introduces Arcana’s brand of spine-tingling horror in this anthology. Featuring stories from Mark Poulton, Stephen Sistilli, Dexter Weeks, and many more. Velvet Rope is sure to make a killing at the box office!

As Halloween Week comes to a close, I saved one the best and one of my favorites for last – Velvet Rope from Arcana.

Velvet Rope is a horror anthology done right – this follows in the steps of Maxwell and William Gaines (E.C. Comics), Joe Orlando (E.C. and D.C.’s original House of Mystery) and Stephen King’s Creepshow.  The creative team behind Velvet Rope not only follows in these historic footprints but also adds to and makes proud the legacy laid down by these legendary books.

Independent and mainstream creators often think they can conquer the “horror anthology” book as if it an easy recipe to follow, but finding the right balance of terror, story-telling, humor and eye-candy is a very tough mix to get right.  Sometimes the books are too goofy or they go the other way and are too dark.  Velvet Rope walks the line, keeps the balance and leaves the fans wanting more.

You have everything covered here: slasher stories / supernatural horror / monster stories and comedy / thriller… really there is something for everyone, and as a bonus the book and stories are hosted and narrated by Velvet – The cursed bombshell of a usherette who absolutely steals the show.

I enjoyed every story, which I rarely have had the experience doing with an anthology book – while some of the tales fit me better than others, all eleven (YES, ELEVEN STORIES) short-story style yarns were well constructed and had an art style that fit the tone of the tale.  If this book had an outrageous price tag, it still might be worth it – but you can order it for only $14.95 (hint: if you have a horror fan on your Christmas list – this is an incredible buy for you!)

The Bottom Line:  If you have fond memories of Tales From The Crypt, Creepshow or even the scary episode of the Twilight Zone – you will flip for the 21st century version found in Velvet Rope!

As added bonuses you get some coming soon pin-ups, fake advertisements and the origins of Velvet herself!

Grade: Fantastic A!