THE STATIC AGE

First off I wanna apologize for not having an article in the last two issues. You know... sometimes I get so overwhelmed putting this rag together that I can barely think straight. But anyway... I hope you're digging the rantings of our newest contributors Javier Rodriguez and Mat Kerwin. (About time the upstairs was represented in the WP) Those kids rule. Javier found me every issue of Dylan Dog. Which is out of print and somehow was accidentally left off our want list. So I extend Jeff's invitation to bring us copies of Dylan Dog for store credit.

What is Dylan Dog you ask? It's one hell of a sweet horror comic, that's what! From Italy none the less. The stories revolve around Dylan Dog (No he's not actually a Dog like McGruff and yes he knows it's a silly name) your average infamous, broke, sober, clarinet playing, horror movie loving, model ship building, paranormal investigating, ladies man. Wait a second there's nothing average about him at all, WOMP WOMP! Average or not D.D. author Tiziano Sclavi was definitely on to something when he created this series back in 86'. It's still the best selling comic Italy has ever had, and yet us Americans weren't hip enough to get the ball rolling over here until 1999. Dark Horse reprinted six volumes in English with new covers by Hellboy's Mike Mignola. Even our Mignola expert Chris had no idea about D.D. when I showed him the first volume Javier found for me, and that kid has a Hellboy Tattoo for Christ's sake. How could such an awesome comic go unnoticed to the point of out-of-printness (Hey if Jeff can make up words, why can't I). Well I hope I've sparked some interest for D.D. in your comic loving hearts. So be on the look out and please bring us your copies, that is if you can part with them.

Now for something not so completely different. Have you ever seen the Italian zombie movie Cemetery Man? (or Dellamorte Dellamore depending on if you saw it in its original format) Well it was based off of D.D., kinda, I guess, but not really. Either way it's one of the most original pieces of cinema the genre has ever seen. Thanks to its recent DVD release, it's easier to find copies of Cemetery Man than issues of Dylan Dog. Maybe I should have started with Cemetery Man instead of Dylan Dog, but then I wouldn't have a very good reference point so I guess starting with the comic did make more sense... see what I mean about not thinking straight.

Anyway... Cemetery Man features Rupert Everett as the lead Francesco Dellamorte, which is totally awesome because Dylan Dog the comic character was actually drawn to look like Rupert. It was directed by Michele Sovai, who worked very closely with one of my all-time favorite directors, Italian master of horror Dario Argento (Go rent Suspira already!) on some of his best flicks and was second unit director for Terry Gilliam (Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas, Monty Python & The Holy Grail) on a few films including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (another "you gotta see it to believe it" flick).

Francesco works as a care taker at a cemetery, but his job goes beyond digging graves. For some reason the people buried in this particular cemetery come back to life, or un-death? It's up to Francesco to take them out and get them back to their final resting places... again. The odd thing is he doesn't question why it happens and goes about his work like anybody would at their average boring day job. Throw in some comic relief, a beautiful love interest, and some serious philosophical mumbo jumbo and you have a horror flick that appeals to everyone from the Romero obsessed gore fiends to the artsy fartsy indie loving cinema students. There's not another movie in the world like it. A must see, without a doubt.

- Matt D.