Introductions

"Run-of-the-mill" seems like a modestly accurate way to describe myself in terms of horror fandom. In certain respects I find that valuable, since ideally I can make an appeal to those like myself, to those who may be testing the waters, and hopefully to the hardcore horror fans as well. (And I sincerely encourage feedback, especially from the latter.) It wasn't until several years ago, the present time of this writing being December of '09 to give perspective, that the genre genuinely appealed to me and I owe all that to the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'IT'. After that, it was a slow and steady progression that grew into watching more Stephen King film adaptations, then into watching general horror films. In more recent years it's branched from solely films into different mediums, namely: comics (comic books, manga, graphic novels, webcomics, etc.), purely written literature, and different games.

But let's get to the point, shall we? The Darkley Niche is something I've constructed after the comic-in-progress that a friend and myself plan on self-publishing, an anthology of short horror stories much in the same vein as 'Tales from the Crypt' and similar titles. The series centers around a faceless persona we've affectionately dubbed Alan Darkley, the Niche's namesake, and a cast of storytellers whose tales fall within particular subgenres and sister genres of horror. This site is the drawing board, if you will, where everything posted is either a form of research or a roughing out of ideas. It's all relevant in some fashion. By exploring these different horror stories and their mediums a better understanding and influence of the genre, as well as inspiration, can be put into the comic. Even if you have no personal interest in the project, perhaps you can glean something from the reviews and the like. And if nothing else, the Niche will work to serve my own purposes.

Be sure to browse over the column of banners below if you're looking for posts on a particular topic. (And at the very bottom of the blog, if you would like to consult the complete listing of post labels.) Otherwise, scroll down past them to get to the most recent articles. Likewise, refer to the right side for our latest tweets.

Meet The Darkley Storytellers

Meet The Darkley Storytellers

About Myself

My photo
Well, here's yours truly. The name's Drew, in case you were wondering. The Niche is my personal site, while the comic-in-progress is a partnered effort with Don, a lifelong friend of mine. We collaborate on the stories, but my partner's the writer in the outfit while I am the illustrator. This is currently little more than a side project, but we hope to make something of it.

artwork by yours truly

artwork and artist features

movies, short films, TV, webisodes, etc.

frightful films for your year-round festivities

book reviews: consult the niche's necronomicon

comic-related news and reviews

zed in the head randomness

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Women in Horror Month, part II

After last night, I couldn't help but be reminded of other women that I wanted to include in the roster. Instead of tacking them haphazardly onto the end of the previous post, it seemed more appropriate to give these ladies one of their own. So, without further ado, the Niche presents "Women in Horror Month" part II.

JULIANNE MOORE
(1960-present)

This is rather embarrassing on my part, since it never really registered that agent Clarice Starling was played by two different women, with Ms. Moore in 'Hannibal' (2001). Maybe that's not such a bad thing, really, since the changeover was pretty seamless. Well done.
__________________________________________

JAMIE LEE CURTIS
(1958-present)

Requested by Carla of Nakamura's Place, Jamie Lee Curtis is more than memorable as Laurie Strode, Michael Myers' younger sister, in the 'Halloween' franchise. If that wasn't enough, Ms. Curtis was cast in another John Carpenter film, 'The Fog' (1980), as well as 'Prom Night' (1980), 'Terror Train' (1980), and 'Virus' (1999), among others. Now, I haven't seen the third or fourth movie that was mentioned just before, but I certainly intend to.
__________________________________________

MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ
(1978-present)

Step aside, Milla Jovovich, because while you may be the crux of the 'Resident Evil' films, Michelle Rodriguez was the woman that earned my admiration. Also appearing in 'The Breed' (2006) and apparently will be in the upcoming 'Machete' movie (scheduled for 2010), Ms. Rodriguez is a lady that I would like beside me in a hard situation, especially during a zombie outbreak.
__________________________________________

SIGOURNEY WEAVER
(1949-present)

Anyone familiar with science fiction films knows that Sigourney Weaver ranks among the top actresses in this genre, appearing more recently in 'Avatar' (2010), but more memorably in the sci-fi/horror 'Alien' franchise as Ellen Ripley. To simply put it, Weaver is to an alien attack as Rodriguez is to a zombie outbreak. Personally, and I may get some guff for it, Ms. Weaver was my favorite in 'Alien Resurrection' (1997). Why? Because she plays as a tough-as-nails clone with xenomorphic blood and mannerisms, bordering on creepy and sensual at times.
__________________________________________

ANNETTE O'TOOLE
(1952-present)
Perhaps it's a bit of a longshot, but Ms. O'Toole earns my recognition as Beverly Marsh in the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'IT' (1990). She's more often associated with the superhero genre, playing Lana Lang in 'Superman III' (1983) and Clark Kent's mother in the television series 'Smallville'. However, 'IT' holds a significant place with myself and Annette O'Toole helped to make it special.

2 comments:

  1. Some great additions to the previous post, Andrew! Sigourney Weaver especially, I meant to have mentioned her before, she really kicked ass in the Alien franchise.

    I thought that since you're researching horror, you'd might want to listen to some horror podcasts! I don't know if you've been listening to some already, but I'm going to take the liberty of recommending a couple of podcasts to you:
    - Horroretc, and you can find it at www.horroretc.com This is a great podcast, they have in depth discussions about various movies and horror subjects, and both hosts are very knowledgeable (sp?). I really enjoy it, and I feel like I learn a lot from each episode.
    - Night of the Living Podcast, you can find it at www.notlp.com This might be a little harder to get into at first, because there are 6 hosts (sometimes only 4 or 5), but it's one of the funniest podcasts I've ever heard, and amidst all the joking they do offer great reviews and thoughts about various movies. I recommend you check both of these out, but if you want to know some more cool horror podcasts to listen to, just name it! There are a few more that are cool :) Hope you enjoy those!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Carla! And yes, Weaver certainly did that.

    I've started listening to the Zombie Grrlz podcasts, but any recommendations you have are always appreciated. :) I'll definitely give Horroretc and Night of the Living Podcast a listen. And if you haven't listened to Zombie Grrlz, I suggest it. They're a fun group of gals who love horror and kidding around, so it gets my stamp of approval.

    ReplyDelete