Synopses & Reviews
A chilling collection of wordless horror shorts from the master of scratchboard.
Greetings from Hellville consists of four short stories, all told without words, crafted with Ott's trademark black-and-white scratchboard style. Ott creates modern horror comics that have been described as the postmodern successor to EC's infamous line from the 1950s. The final story, "Goodbye!" relates a man's multiple suicide attempts. After each new method the man finds himself miraculously alive, until he pulls his curtains aside and is finally killed by the looming mushroom cloud hovering over the city. "Goodbye!" is a perfect example of
Greetings from Hellville's bleak and suspenseful mood.
Despite a large European following for years, especially in France and Germany, and acclaimed short stories published in American anthologies, this book is Ott's first American book. His meticulous scratchboard style is masterful, provoking awe and admiration in the face of the repeated horrors portrayed, and is sure to establish him as one of the preeminent horror cartoonists being published today.
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"Powerful and dramatic...the form makes it look ageless, with masterful light and shadow effects." Comics Buyer's Guide #1482
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Bleak, suspenseful, creepy horror stories...See what all the hoopla is about. --Dan Santow
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Ott's scratchboard work is phenomenal; he has mastered a demanding medium that few other comics creators even attempt.
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Like The Twilight Zone envisioned by David Lynch...Powerful and disturbing. --S.A. Bennett
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"[H]e is the most innovative contemporary horror cartoonist working today...one of the great masters of the mute comics format." The Comics Journal
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"This comic is a rare opportunity to see a master at work. Don't miss it!
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Language couldn't convey [terror] as do his disquieting, foreboding illustrations...Succinctly chilling. --Gordon Flagg
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"Like The Twilight Zone envisioned by David Lynch...Powerful and disturbing." Publishers Weekly
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"Language couldn't convey [terror] as do his disquieting, foreboding illustrations...Succinctly chilling." S.A. Bennett Comics Buyer's Guide #1482
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"Bleak, suspenseful, creepy horror stories...See what all the hoopla is about." Gordon Flagg Booklist
About the Author
Thomas Ott lives in Zurich, Switzerland, where he creates animation, is the lead singer of a band called The Playboys, and continues to draw political cartoons, comics and caricatures for various European newspapers and magazines. His books include The Number 73304-23-4153-6-96-8, Cinema Panopticum, T. Ott's Tales of Error, Dead End, Greetings from Hellville, and R.I.P.: Best of 1985-2004.