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, March 25, 2010

five-dollar bin finds

Today I took a page from Rhonny Reaper's book, owner of the Dollar Bin Horror blog, and did a little bin diving of my own. Most Walmart stores have a five-dollar movie bin that circulates its selection from time to time. Usually it's compiled with clutter, namely mainstream flops and independent unknowns, but every so often there is a gem or two to be found. Case in point this time around, 'Night of the Living Dead' (1990 remake) and 'Dawn of the Dead' (2004 remake).


Now, some might argue otherwise, as remakes tend to be rather controversial at any rate. It's probably safe to say that the latter has received a better overall reception than the former, though it seems rather odd since 'Night [...]' was more true to the original film. Personally, I find both films to be rather good. But I digress.

There were several other discounted DVDs that I did find awfully tempting (ex: 'The Skeleton Key' and 'Land of the Dead'*), but working on a very limited income keeps me mindful. These two were necessary. And it is necessary since reference material is crucial to my current illustration project, the postcard zombie prints series. Granted, I have and will be renting many of the other movies and it would have been cheaper to rent these two. However, it only cost a few dollars more to own them, so I splurged a little.

I can't say with any real certainty that I will use these specific remakes in my illustrated series before the comic convention in mid-May. There are a plethora of original zombie films that I plan to make headway on, so the remakes will have to take a backseat. Eventually, though, I would like to get to these.

In the meantime, I can still enjoy re-watching these two Romero remakes. If you haven't seen either, I suggest that you watch the originals first. As far as 'Day of the Dead' (2008 remake) goes, well, in my opinion you aren't missing much if it gets stepped over. It does have its moments, I will give it that.





*'Land of the Dead' will be included in the illustrated zombies series, however I have already rented this video. Otherwise, I might have been inclined to purchase this one as well.

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