Pete Von Sholly's Morbid

In a loving embrace of all things camp, Von Sholly presents a way-out collection that celebrates horror and science fiction in the most deliriously goofy way. The pages are choc-a-bloc full of monsters, aliens, busty cavewomen, kung fu, sci fi (or ""kung fi,"" as Von Sholly dubs it), and other topics straight from the '50s B-Movie vault. A storyboard artist by trade, here Von Sholly abandons the drawing board for digital photos and effects, creating ""fumetti,"" the juxtaposition of photography and word balloons. The effect is that of walking through scene highlights from some of the most lurid movies you could imagine. In ""Reptitan!,"" the reader is informed that she is about to read ""a story with an annoying kid, a screwy scientist, a hot babe, and some blood and guts! A story of many pictures and not too much to read!"" (This could describe just about every piece in the book.) ""The Astounding Shehemoth"" chronicles a man obsessed with a gargantuan beauty from prehistoric times; the story's climax finds her battling a dinosaur somewhere near Alaska while the narrator watches the fight from a secure perch in her cleavage. The true essence of the work may best be captured in ""The Tale of the Werewig,"" in which a bald gentleman purchases a used hairpiece that causes him to attack women by the light of the full moon. In a couple of self-referential bits, Von Sholly first sends up comic conventions, and then touts what must be his favorite childhood books from authors such as H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard. The whole collection is so wildly over the top that it breaks down all attempts to remain aloof, but it's such fun that we don't mind being dragged down to Von Sholly's level.