Bizarro News Roundup!
Gollums, Neverending Story dragon-slaying, alien sightings, cannibalism, and yet another step towards the robot apocalypse. It’s time for a Bizarro News Roundup kids! Yee-haw!
- While on vacation, a Chinese tourist happened across a golum-like creature while taking a piss. News reports say the creature resembles Gollum from Lord of the Rings, but I think it looks more like something from Pan’s Labyrinth. What do you think?
- UFO sighting in Montana:
- In more alien news, a retired marine has admitted to dedicating 17 years to defending 5 human colonies against Martians. He even enjoyed a nice retirement ceremony on the moon. The 30-minute video at the source link is worth a watch.
- It’s only a game…or is it? 3 Americans have been hospitalized with demonic possession while playing with a Ouija board in Mexico. Demonic possession videos are trippy.
- What do old people taste like? Depends. An elderly French lady has been accused of murdering and eating her 80-year-old husband’s genitals and other body parts. She is now being nicknamed the “female Hannibal Lecter.” To be fair, Hannibal murdered and ate many victims and is really fucking hot.
- Peanut, the winner of the 2014 World’s Ugliest Dog contest is cute in a demonic, bowel-ripping way. No, he’s adorable and the contest raises awareness on the importance of adoption. Congrats Peanut! He should be the Bizarro mascot!
- Man on meth eats sparkles at a Burlington Coat Factory. And he wasn’t in Florida!
- This man needs help removing his 100 pound scrotum.
- Foreign exchange student gets trapped inside a giant vagina sculpture. He doesn’t want to be named. I’d own that shit!
- “Adelaide man Guy Albon, who had his four guns confiscated due to fears over his ‘mental competency’ brought about by him wearing a colander on his head in his gun licence photo, has been given the all clear after he insisted the utensil was crucial to his religion, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.”
- In robot apocalypse news, Japan has unveiled a new robot newscaster among other android prototypes who will plot to destroy all humans in due time! Even with the uncanny valley shit going on, robot technology is finally reaching our Asimov expectations. Enjoy the video!
- Last but certainly not least, in the most devastating news in all of the history of Bizarro News, Falkor has been found and shot dead in Malaysia.
Weird Art Month: James Quigley – aka Gunsho
By Sam Reeve
James Quigley, born in 1974, is a self-taught artist who started his career at an early age doing album covers, gig posters and zine art for locals. Now he works with skateboard companies to produce insane deck art and t-shirts, and he created the artwork for an Andrew WK music video. Watch it below!
If you like cool prints and comics, I recommend checking out Gunsho’s store.
Weird Art Month: Saccstry
By Sam Reeve
Happy winter solstice! From now on the days will only get longer, so thank goodness for that.
Today’s artist, known as Saccstry, specializes in creating terrifying, grotesque and adorable little girls. I’m normally not a huge fan of digital art, but I just can’t look away. If the sample below doesn’t quite satisfy your weird art lust, check out Saccstry’s gallery on Deviantart.
Weird Art Month: Tulsi Maya
By Sam Reeve
Tulsi Maya’s art is some of my most favourite ever. I loved drawing over pictures in magazines as a teenager, turning people into goths or monsters with my trusted Sharpie, but her work is the truly good version of that. Her illustrations and collages are always amazing and you should check out the rest of her work on Tumblr here.
Weird Art Month: Ojimbo
By Sam Reeve
Jim Sheely, aka Ojimbo, is a multi-talented artist who not only illustrates and paints, but carves wood! His work often incorporates circus and freak show imagery. To see more from Ojimbo, visit his Flickr page.
Weird Art Month: Jeff Soto
By Sam Reeve
Jeff Soto took graffiti to the next level with his strange creatures and robots. The California-born artist started tagging walls in the late 80’s and formed a graffiti crew with some fellow high schoolers. Fast forward 20 years and Soto has painted murals from New York to Tokyo and has exhibited his work all over the US.
Check out Jeff Soto’s website here for more of his work, or his store to buy cool prints and t-shirts.
Weird Art Month: SCARECROWOVEN
By Sam Reeve
Mysterious New York-based illustrator SCARECROWOVEN is a fan of gore, guts, and oozing appendages. His gnarled creatures take a cue from ‘comic books, sci-fi and horror movies and all the illustration that came out of the skateboard world in the 80’s.’ He describes himself as an alien emissary sent to our planet 12 million seven hundred thousand years ago, but in more earthly terms he is a graduate of the graphic design program at New York’s School of the Visual Arts.
-JUXTAPOZ MAGAZINE
Check out the gallery below, and afterwards head over to his website here. He’s got shirts, posters and other cool stuff for sale!
Weird Art Month: Gwen Tomahawk
By Sam Reeve
Gwen Tomahawk is a bad ass French artist from Paris. I can’t for the life of me find much information about her on the web, but no matter. Check out her website (it’s fun and interactive) and you can see her full portfolio.
Halloween Chaos Countdown: Cryptid Creatures from Around the World!
4 days until Halloween!
Sightings of strange beasts and paranormal activity are rampant all over the world. From yetis to chupacabras, even though modern science hasn’t acknowledged the existence of these creatures, many swear that the stories of these sightings are true. There have even been instances of cryptids turning out to be real!
Here are 13 creepy creatures from around the world! Do you have any weird creatures lurking around your neck of the woods?
In 1953 a weird creature washed up on the shores of Canvey Island in Essex. The Canvey Island Monster was described as:
76 cm (2.4 ft) long with thick reddish brown skin, bulging eyes and gills. It was also described as having hind legs with five-toed horseshoe-shaped feet with concave arches – which appeared to be suited for bipedal locomotion – but no forelimbs. Its remains were cremated after a cursory inspection by zoologists who said that it posed no danger to the public. The 1954 specimen was described as being similar to the first but much larger, being 120 cm (3.9 ft) long and weighing approximately 11.3 kg (25 lb). It was sufficiently fresh for its eyes, nostrils and teeth to be studied though no official explanation was given at the time as to what it was or what happened to the carcass.[1][2]
II) Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp
Spotted in South Carolina, the Lizard Man is said to be 7 feet tall with scaly skin covering his entire body. There have been several sightings, mostly in the late 80’s but a couple reported having their car mauled by the Lizard Man in 2011.
III) Dover Demon
With glowing eyes and grey skin, the Dover Demon resides in Massachusetts. First spotted in 1977, the Dover Demon has become a classic cryptid with his own action figure in Japan.
IV) Mongolian Death Worm
In the Gobi Desert, there have been reports of a bright red worm up to 5 feet long that spits acid and has electric skin. The story of the worm has been around for hundreds of years and many people have attempted to track the creature down.
In September 1931, the Irving family, consisting of James, Margaret and a 13 year-old daughter named Voirrey, claimed they heard persistent scratching, rustling, and vocal noises behind their farmhouse’s wooden wall panels that variously resembled a ferret, a dog or a baby. According to the Irvings, a creature named Gef introduced itself and told them it was a mongoose born in New Delhi, India, in 1852. According to Voirrey, Gef was the size of a small rat with yellowish fur and a large bushy tail.
The Irvings say that Gef communicated to them that he was “an extra extra clever mongoose”, an “Earthbound spirit” and “a ghost in the form of a mongoose” and once said, “I am a freak. I have hands and I have feet, and if you saw me you’d faint, you’d be petrified, mummified, turned into stone or a pillar of salt!”[2] The Irvings made various claims about Gef: he supposedly guarded their house and informed them of the approach of guests or any unfamiliar dog. They said that if someone had forgotten to put out the fire at night, Gef would go down and stop the stove. The Irvings claimed Gef would also wake people up when they overslept. And whenever mice got into the house, Gef supposedly assumed the role of the cat, although he preferred to scare them rather than kill them. The Irvings say they gave Gef biscuits, chocolates and bananas, and food was left for him in a saucer suspended from the ceiling which he took when he thought no one was watching. The Irvings claimed the mongoose regularly accompanied them on trips to the market, but always stayed on the other side of the hedges, even while and chatting incessantly.
VI) Storsjöodjuret
Storsjöodjuret is a great lake monster in Sweden who achieved endangered species protection for awhile. The legend of the monster dates back to 1635. Here is the first written description of the monster:
“A long, long time ago two trolls, Jata and Kata, stood on the shores of the Great-Lake brewing a concoction in their cauldrons. They brewed and mixed and added to the liquid for days and weeks and years. They knew not what would result from their brew but they wondered about it a great deal. One evening there was heard a strange sound from one of their cauldrons. There was a wailing, a groaning and a crying, then suddenly came a loud bang. A strange animal with a black serpentine body and a cat-like head jumped out of the cauldron and disappeared into the lake. The monster enjoyed living in the lake, grew unbelievably larger and awakened terror among the people whenever it appeared. Finally, it extended all the way round the island of Frösön, and could even bite its own tail. Ketil Runske bound the mighty monster with a strong spell which was carved on a stone and raised on the island of Frösön. The serpent was pictured on the stone. Thus was the spell to be tied till the day someone came who could read and understand the inscription on the stone.”[5]
VII) Ogopogo
Another lake monster, this one residing in British Columbia, is a 50-foot long sea serpent.
VIII) Jersey Devil
A well-known cryptid appearing in shows like the X-Files and every paranormal TV show, the Jersey Devil is a goat-like demonic creature constantly spotted in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.
IX) Tsuchinoko
A jumping, snake-like creature spotted all over Japan, Tsuchinoko is said to have a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream…it seems most of these cryptids do. Some people say he likes booze and telling lies but maybe that’s just the sake talking.
A wolf-like monster terrorized a French province in the 1700’s, attacking and eating people. With up to 210 reported attacks and 113 deaths, the French government had to step in and spend a lot of money tracking the beast down to kill it. The film, Brotherhood of the Wolf is based on this legend.
XI) Skunk Ape
The Skunk Ape, also known as the Swamp Ape, Stink Ape, Florida Bigfoot, Myakka Ape, and the Myakka Skunk Ape, is a hominid cryptid said to inhabit Florida,[1] as well as North Carolina and Arkansas, although reports from Florida are more common. It is named for its appearance and for the unpleasant odor that is said to accompany it. According to the United States National Park Service, the Skunk Ape exists only as a local myth.[2]Reports of the Skunk Ape were particularly common in the 1960s and 1970s. In the fall of 1974, numerous sightings were reported in suburban neighborhoods of Dade County, Florida, of a large, foul-smelling, hairy, ape-like creature, which ran upright on two legs.
XII) Akkorokamui
Akkorokamui is a giant squid-like creature that can be up to 46 feet long with claws at the end of its 12 tentacles. It has been spotted in the ocean around Japan, Korea, and even Thailand. Like a Kraken, it attacks ships with its tentacles and eats people when it’s pissed.
XIII) Reptilians
Put on your tinfoil hat and watch this:
So much WTF happening there. Hahaha.
Check out some more spooky monsters in my “Monsters of Urban Legend & Folklore” post!
Weekly Weird Art: Joshua Hoffine
By Sam Reeve
In keeping with the holiday spirit, this month’s artwork will be horror/Halloween themed. Today’s artist, Joshua Hoffine, is a photographer who puts an enormous amount of effort into each shot. With elaborate props, costumes and makeup, his pictures look more like stills from a horror film. He states that he’s “interested in the psychology of fear”, and is driven to explore that through imagery.
Fun fact: the children you see in his photos are usually his own.
Visit his blog here to see behind the scenes of his photo shoots.
Twisted Tuesdays: 13 Classic Bizarro Porn Movies/Clips, NSFW
I’ve watched quite a lot of porn in my day. As you may have noticed, my wtf threshold is rather high but there are some pornographic films I have come across that really are bizarre even for me. It takes a lot for me to pause and go “WTF am I watching?” Here are 13 of the most Bizarro porn movies and clips you should see…
Obviously all links are NSFW and XXX rated. Don’t worry if you get a weird boner, it happens to the best of us and I obviously have watched all of these movies so you can just blame me for your weird fap this Twisted Tuesday.
1) Edward Penishands – An actually decent movie as far as Bizarro porn is concerned. The plot is almost identical to Edward Scissorhands except it’s a porn and he has peni for hands. Edward is kind of hot too if you’re into crying goth boys with penis hands.
This clip of Edward Penishands eating spaghetti is fucking art.
2) Live Action La Blue Girl – Based on the classic hentai which is known for quite a bit of tentacle rape, the live action version isn’t nearly as good as the animated version but it’s still a good attempt and they did a decent job with the tentacles. There’s a lot of them.
3) Biancaneve e i sette nani./Snow White and the Seven Dwarves – LOVE this Italian Snow White porn! The link shows the classic scene where Snow White is getting anal from a dwarf while the other 6 dwarves cheer him on. There is something really magical about that scene that Disney totally missed out on.
4) Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy (1976) – This 70’s Alice in Wonderland musical porn is a whimsical and cheesy porn tribute to the Lewis Carroll classic. It’s pretty tame since it was made in the 70’s, although still totally X-rated.
5) Frankenpenis – Remember John Wayne Bobbitt who had his penis cut off by his wife who threw it out the window while driving and he had to have it sewed on? If you were too young to remember that, it actually happened and Bobbitt ended up making a porn film with his freshly attached penis, aptly named Frankenpenis which is an “outlandish porno spoof featuring a post-surgery John Wayne Bobbitt as Frankenpenis, a castrated man who had a ‘super penis’ sewed onto him in an experiment.”
6) Let My Puppets Come – Often compared to Meet the Feebles since there aren’t many pornographic puppet movies, Let My Puppets Come is about puppets who make a porn movie with human and puppet talent.
The concept of the film is much more interesting than the actual movie. The bondage porn scene from Meet the Feebles is much better:
7) Jack-in-the-Box – Random porn clip, that I’ll admit, gave me a weird boner. I don’t even know how I found it but some guy dressed like a creepy clown thing jumps out of of a jack-in-the-box and giggles maniacally the entire course of having sex with some chick.
8) A Wet Dream on Elm Street – “PLOT: After having sex with her boyfriend, a woman is shocked when he transforms into Freddy Krueger, who she mistakes for Edward James Olmos. Freddy seduces the woman with his glove, which has vibrators affixed to the fingers.”
9) E.T. porn – Everything is Terrible described the E.T. costume as a “burn victim wrapped in seaweed” which I found to be pretty accurate. E.T. is a female and explores human sexuality with some “high society” people and looks like the Toxic Avenger with cancer.
10) Genki porn – Totally against this because poor sea creatures, but it is wtf so had to add it to the list. VICE has a good documentary on the guy who makes Japanese eel porn. The pictures are pretty incredible. I’ll give him that.
11) This Ain’t the Smurfs XXX – Porn parodies are super popular now, there is pretty much a porn parody of every TV show and film in existence. It’s an extension of rule 34. io9 has an epic guide to porn parodies and I’ve seen most of them. The Smurfs one is pretty up there in the Bizarro meter.
12) Attack of the Flying Lizards, from Perverted Stories 34 – Chick has sex with some Pterodactylus including a hand puppet. There really isn’t enough puppet porn.
13) Along Came the Spider, from Perverted Stories 32 – Seriously the most Bizarro porn I’ve ever seen. If you can top a porn with a giant creepy female spider giving a blowjob please let me know in the comments!
Happy Twisted Tuesday Bizarros! Hope you have a twisted fap!
Bizarro News Roundup!
Too much crazy shit going on so I’ll just keep it simple and post the headlines and links:
- Woman turns up alive — almost two weeks after her own funeral
-
Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop Arrested Again On Drug Charges, Explains Name
- Tourists’ shock as Morag of Loch Morar – Scotland’s second most famous monster – makes a comeback after 20 years
Twisted Tuesdays: Bizarro Photoblast!
by Tracy Vanity
Work is kicking my ass and I have a folder overflowing with some Bizarro pics you should enjoy. I sure do.
The Bizarro pic bombardment will commence…NOW!
Which ones speak to you or creep you out? This post accurately depicts what my mind looks like. FUN!
Twisted Tuesdays: Monsters of Urban Legend & Folklore
by Tracy Vanity
The Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books made me obsessed with urban legends as a kid. I loved thinking that KFC chicken could be made out of rats and a serial killer could call you from upstairs while you’re babysitting and murder all the kids you’re supposed to be taking care of. The monsters in these books were of particular interest since they could be from anywhere and take on various forms…
These spooky tales, originally told flesh-to-flesh, can now spread to millions of people through the internet. Slender Man has surely taken off and now he has a quite entertaining twitter account, as does The Rake. You should follow them at your own risk!
Every country and culture has many of their own scary stories and urban legends, but here is a highlight of monsters found in urban legends and folklore from around the world:
-In the 19th century, the Bell Witch was a brutal poltergeist who haunted the Bell family, assaulting and cursing them.
–The Black Dog is a hellhound found in the British Isles and even Latin America. This ghost is said to be the harbinger of death.
–Bloody-Bones is usually said to live near ponds, but according to Ruth Tongue in Somerset Folklore, “lived in a dark cupboard, usually under the stairs. If you were heroic enough to peep through a crack you would get a glimpse of the dreadful, crouching creature, with blood running down his face, seated waiting on a pile of raw bones that had belonged to children who told lies or said bad words.
–The Brosno dragon is basically the loch ness monster of Russia. He also looks like dinosaur.
-There are many variations of The Bunny Man legend which spread around the U.S. but basically he runs around wearing a bunny suit and murders people with an axe.
–The Bunyip is an Aboriginal creature which deals in water-based areas of Australia. It doesn’t seem to do much but this video that Carlton Mellick posted before makes this monster seem a lot creepier:
–El Cipitio is some kind of ghost or paranormal entitity from El Salvador of a boy with a giant belly and backwards feet who flies and throws pebbles at people. He is said to be the child of some “illicit” couple.
-The Crawfordsville Journal described the Crawfordsville monster as being “about eighteen feet long and eight feet wide and moved rapidly through the air by means of several pairs of side fins. It was pure white and had no definite shape or form, resembling somewhat a great white shroud fitted with propelling fins. There was no tail or head visible but there was one great flaming eye, and a sort of a wheezing plaintive sound was emitted from a mouth which was invisible. It flapped like a flag in the winds as it came on and frequently gave a great squirm as though suffering unutterable agony.”
–“According to the book De Kinderen van Het Bezeten Bos which was written in 1937 the legend of Deogen is said to have began when area nuns began finding the burned bodies of young children in the Sonian Forest in Belgium, near Brussels. It is said in the book that 80 children were murdered and the bodies dumped throughout in the forest and set ablaze but a more accepted number was only 8. Very little is known of the case excepting that which is found in the book which is believed by many to have been a work of fiction.”
–Draugar are pretty metal. These undead creatures from Norse mythology possess superhuman strength and come up out of their graves as wisps of smoke, increase in size, and kill people by crushing them, drinking their blood, and driving them insane.
-In Scandinavian folklore, Gjenganger are like ghosts in that they have died and come back from the dead but are in full human-like form and can cause damage if they’re pissed off or evil.
–“According to legend, Goatman is an axe-wielding, half-man, half-animal creature that was once a scientist who worked in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The tale holds that he was experimenting on goats, the experiment went awry, and he began attacking cars with an axe, roaming the back roads of Beltsville, Maryland. A variation of the legend tells of Goatman as an old hermit who lives in the woods, seen walking alone at night along Fletchertown Road.”
–“A hidebehind is a nocturnal[1] fearsome critter from American folklore that preys upon humans that wander the woods,[2] and was credited for the disappearances of early colonial loggers when they failed to return to camp.[3][4] As its name suggests, the hidebehind is noted for its ability to conceal itself. When an observer attempts to look directly at it, the creature hides again behind an object or the observer and therefore can’t be directly seen: a feat it accomplishes by sucking in its stomach to a point where it is so slender that it can easily cover itself behind the trunk of any tree.[5] The hidebehind uses this ability to stalk human prey without being observed and to attack without warning. Their victims, including lumberjacks who frequent the forests, are dragged back to the creature’s lair to be devoured.[2][3] The creature subsists chiefly upon the intestines of its victim,[6] and has a severe aversion to alcohol, which is considered a sufficient repellent.[6] Tales of the hidebehind may have helped explain strange noises in the forest at night.[7] Early accounts describe hidebehinds as large, powerful animals, despite the fact that no one was able to see them.[7]”
–“In 1893 newspapers reported the discovery of a Hodag in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. It had “the head of a frog, the grinning face of a giant elephant, thick short legs set off by huge claws, the back of a dinosaur, and a long tail with spears at the end”. The reports were instigated by well-known Wisconsin timber cruiser and prankster Eugene Shepard, who rounded up a group of local people to capture the animal.[1] The group reported that they needed to use dynamite to kill the beast.”
-In Chilean folklore, Imvunche is a deformed, hairy monster boy with a snake-like tongue that protects the entrance to a warlock’s cave.
-There have been many sightings of The Jersey Devil even to this day:
–Kuchisake-onna is a Japanese spirit, mutilated by a jealous husband and said to torment little Japanese children. She is known to wear a surgical mask and goes up to kids, asking if she looks beautiful. If they say “yes” she removes her mask and reveals her mouth which has been split open from ear to ear. If they say “no” she chops them up. Creepy shit.
![Kuchisake-onna[1]](https://bizarrocentral.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/kuchisake-onna1.jpg)
–La Llorona is well-known in Latin America. Spanish for “The Weeping Woman,” the version I was told was that she is the ghost of a woman who was abandoned by her lover and ends up drowning her children and herself in the river. Her ghost is seen crying in the middle of the night looking for her children. In Thailand there is a similar ghost called Phi Tai Hong.
–
-The Lambton Worm is a huge dragon-looking beast that terrorized a village in the UK and has a song which I can’t really understand but the pictures of the “worm” are cute:
-“In the folklore of Bali, the Leyak (in Indonesian, people called it ‘Leak’ (le-ak)—the Y is not written or spoken) is a mythological figure in the form of flying head with entrails (heart, lung, liver, etc.) still attached. Leyak is said to fly trying to find a pregnant woman in order to suck her baby’s blood or a newborn child.[1] There are three legendary Leyak, two females and one male.”
-The Manananggal of the Philippines is a vampire-like creature, typically depicted as a woman who has bat wings and long straw tongue to suck blood from people and fetuses out of pregnant women.
-The Melon heads were deformed children from a Michigan insane asylum who were mistreated, went feral, and escaped into the forest.
-A Nachzehrer is a German vampire ghoul, who eats the dead and is created when a person dies by suicide or accident. It apparently loves munching on grave clothes.
-Like the name suggests, the Owlman of the UK is a giant owl-like man with claws, wings, and glowing eyes.
–“In most accounts, the Pope Lick Monster (named after the Pope Lick Creek below the Pope Lick Train Trestle) appears as a human-goat hybrid with a grotesquely deformed body of a man. It has powerful, fur-covered goat legs, an alabaster-skinned face with an aquiline nose and wide set eyes. Short, sharp horns protrude from the forehead, nestled in long greasy hair that matched the color of the fur on the legs.
Numerous urban legends exist about the creature’s origins and the methods it employs to claim its victims. According to some accounts, the creature uses either hypnosis[1] or voice mimicry to lure trespassers onto the trestle to meet their death before an oncoming train. Other stories claim the monster jumps down from the trestle onto the roofs of cars passing beneath it. Yet other legends tell that it attacks its victims with a blood-stained axe. It has also been said that the very sight of the creature is so unsettling that those who see it while walking across the high trestle are driven to leap off.
Other legends explain the creature’s origins, including that it is a human goat hybrid, and that it was a circus freak who vowed revenge after being mistreated. In one version, the creature escaped after a train derailed on the trestle. Another version claims that the monster is really the twisted reincarnated form of a farmer who sacrificed goats in exchange for Satanic powers.”
-In 1930’s Chicago, a young female hitchhiker dressed all in white, was picked up by several drivers only to vanish once the car stopped in front of the cemetery. One of many variations of the vanishing hitchhiker stories, Resurrection Mary was said to have been a young woman who had stormed out of a ball when her boyfriend pissed her off and was killed by a hit and run driver while on her way back home.
–Robert the Doll was a super creepy doll owned by painter in Key West who was said to move, talk, giggle, knock over furniture, and do other scary shit. The painter kept the doll until he died and now the doll resides in Fort East Martello Museum and is said to curse anyone who takes photos of him.
–“Rokurokubi (轆轤首, rokurokubi?) which are related to Nure-onna are yōkai found in Japanese folklore. They look like normal human beings by day, but at night they gain the ability to stretch their necks to great lengths. They can also change their faces to those of terrifying Oni to better scare mortals.
In their daytime human forms, rokurokubi often live undetected and may even take mortal spouses. Many rokurokubi become so accustomed to such a life that they take great pains to keep their demonic forms secret. They are tricksters by nature, however, and the urge to frighten and spy on human beings is hard to resist. Some rokurokubi thus resort to revealing themselves only to drunkards, fools, the sleeping, or the blind in order to satisfy these urges. Other rokurokubi have no such compunctions and go about frightening mortals with abandon. A few, it is said, are not even aware of their true nature and consider themselves normal humans. This last group stretch their necks out while asleep in an involuntary action; upon waking up in the morning, they find they have weird dreams regarding seeing their surroundings in unnatural angles.”
–Shadowpeople are dark paranormal entities seen all over the world, scientifically explained to be caused by a psychological disorder or sleep paralysis.
–“The Sihuanaba, La Siguanaba, Cigua or Cegua is a supernatural character from Central American folklore. It is a shape-changing spirit that typically takes the form of an attractive, long haired woman seen from behind. She lures men away into danger before revealing her face to be that of a horse or, alternatively, a skull.”
–Spring-heeled Jack, aptly named, is known for his bizarre appearance and giant leaps. He was first spotted in the UK in the 1800’s and is said to either look like a beastly man with long claws and fiery eyes or like a complete gentleman.
-If you read the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark books, you will already be familiar with the Wendigo. In Algonquian legend, the Wendigo is a demonic cannibal spirit which came out especially during winter. Anyone who resorted to cannibalism was believed to become a Wendigo. In Scary Stories, a Wendigo carries a man up into the sky until he become a pile of ashes.
Are there any favorite legends I left out? There are so many! Now I’m off to bed. Sweet dreams Bizarros!
Weekly Weird Art: William Basso
By Sam Reeve
When I first saw William Basso’s Halloween-themed work I thought I should save this for October, and then I decided to hell with that! It’s like when those mattress warehouses have “Christmas in July” sales, only it’s Halloween, and in April…and better.
Ahem.
Now, without further ado, the work of William Basso. Click here to see more.
Weird Comic Watch: American Barbarian
Do you love America? Of course you do, it’s America! But what if you were thrown into the far future where your precious America was taken away and replaced by an apocalyptic wasteland full of dinosaurs, renegade robots, and savage warriors? Maybe you would be sad at the loss of corndogs and apple pie, but you could take some comfort that this world is way cooler than anything you’re used to. This world belongs to… AMERICAN BARBARIAN!
American Barbarian was written and drawn by Tom Scioli, best known as the artist of the acclaimed indie comic Godland. Scioli’s art is very reminiscent of the late Jack Kirby, especially his cosmic stories about space heroes and megalithic monsters. American Barbarian carries that style into a world that blends the post-apocalypse with classic sword-and-sorcery (like Thundarr the Barbarian, one of the best cartoons ever). It started as an online comic but was recently collected into a hardcover edition, telling the story of Meric, one of seven brothers in a family sworn to duty and justice. But when his father and brothers are killed, Meric carves this into his fingertips:
With his family destroyed, Meric is forced to strike out alone, make new allies, and defeat the scourge of the wastelands, a monster known as Two Tank Omen. He’s sort of like Xerxes and Apocalypse, only he has tanks for feet.
As a genre fan, this was a must-have for me. If you grew up in the early eighties, during the barbarian craze started by SchwartzenConan, then I promise you’ll enjoy American Barbarian. It has all the savage action and epic adventure, ONLY WEIRDER! And yes, you can go to http://www.ambarb.com to see the comic in its original e-format (and even see some of Scioli’s next project, called “Satan’s Soldier”), I highly suggest the hardcover. It’s a good price and very well-made. I guess I’m just a traditional comic reader, but I also love the smell of good comics. Even when they have this sort of stuff in them…
Now that’s how you start Chapter Seven.
Weekly Weird Art: Cody Schibi Interview
By Sam Reeve
Today for our weekly dose of weird art we have Cody Schibi, an amazing artist who was kind enough to answer some questions. First, let’s get some basic facts straight before jumping into the interview.
Cody was born and raised in Texas, and now resides in Austin. He works as a freelance artist, mostly with ink and watercolours, and sweats pure awesomeness.
Now let’s get to it!
Sam: You started out working in film. How did you first get into that?
Cody: I met a friend of mine a few years after I moved to Austin who was an independent film maker. I was completely neglecting my art at that time as I didn’t do anything with it for many years & was wanting to get creative & motivated again. He was shooting some shorts & trailers & I simply started doing ALL the art for his projects. I mean everything from storyboards, conceptual art, set design, costume design…I even BUILT the sets for one of his scifi features which was a blast! After those initial experiences I started to get calls from other, larger production companies mostly needing storyboard & conceptual art work. I spent a few years doing that, but grew a little tired with the intense deadlines & not having my art seen except by directors & cinematographers & those kind of peeps. So I went totally freelance about three years ago & started doing what I’m doing now.
S: What drew you, and continues to draw you, to working mostly in ink and watercolors? When did you first start experimenting with that and what made you stick with it instead of going on to work with something else, like say oils other paints?
C: I’ve always been a simple pen & ink guy. My black & white, fine line work is my personal favorite stuff & still what I do most of today. Watercolors came with experimentation & I just fell in love with it’s forgiving presence but also the possibility of brilliant accidents when you get all splattery & messy with it. Inking on top of it is a combo that fits with what I want to create. Other paints still intimidate me. I’ve done a few acrylic pieces & have pushed oils around before, but the quick drying time & other factors freak me out. I’m in awe of artists who work in that medium…
S: Are there any things you want to experiment with but haven’t yet?
C: I’m in the process of beginning to work on vinyl figures. I was approached a few months ago by a curator of a custom toy show that’s gonna happen later in the new year & the lineup he has includes some heavy hitters in the “Custom World”, so I’ve just started to experiment with that & am loving it!
I also really want to try graffiti/painting on walls/murals. I have some friends here in Austin who are amazing at it & they’ve invited me out, but I haven’t bite at the invitation yet. That’s something I’m definitely gonna start in 2013 though…
[UPDATE: See Cody’s first wall painting below, posted to Twitter just yesterday]
S: Could you give our readers a brief rundown on what BULLMOOSE is and when we can expect to see some previews?
C: BULLMOOSE is a story created by my brother, Lance. It’s an ongoing series about historical figures (Theodore Roosevelt is the main character) & historical events that are altered in a crazy way. It’s super fun & wacky with their journey having a dark undertone of horror. There are already a few character images up at www.BULLMOOSEtheComic.com & my bro is gonna start updating regularly in the new year with my pages, panels & some exciting news regarding the release & guest artists.
S: What’s it like collaborating with your brother on BULLMOOSE?
C: We’re identical twins, so we’ve always had this easy & fun communication our whole lives. He has the majority of things already written out, and when I start thumb nailing & illustrating the panels he sometimes adds stuff (which has slightly altered the direction of certain things). It’s a completely open collaboration that we’re having fun with. As long as the ideas benefit the story, we’re open to anything. We’re obviously taking our time with everything to make it as wild & cool as we can & we hope everyone who eventually reads it will think the same!
S: I hear you’re really into horror movies. What are some of your favorites? What upcoming horror films are you most excited about?
C: SO many to choose from! I’m a huge Evil Dead fan & the remake of it coming out soon is one I’m actually really pumped to see. I’m especially a freak for 80s horror: Re-Animator, Basket Case, Creepshow, Sleepaway Camp, The Thing, Critters, Hellraiser, etc… I’m a big Eli Roth, Adam Green, Don Coscarelli, Joe Lynch fan so all their upcoming stuff I’m excited about. You can’t touch Lucio Fulci’s films as well. I can really ramble on & on about horror movies all day…
S: Are there any upcoming exhibits or announcements you’d like everyone at Bizarro Central to know about?
C: Some of my upcoming events:
- San Antonio, TX Jan. 26th – ARTSLAM! Seven Year Jam – live painting w/ L’amour Supreme, Buff Monster, Nychos
- Laredo, TX Feb. 9th – WHEN THE EVIL CAME comic book signing @ Legacy Comics
- Austin, TX March 2-3rd – STAPLE! The Independent Media Expo
Also working on a piece for a music tribute show during SXSW at Guzu Gallery as well signing on to do a few more conventions later in the year…
To see more of Cody’s work, visit his website, Twitter or Facebook, or maybe (if you’re feeling fancy), check out his extremely affordable kick-ass prints and original artwork for sale here.
Day 28: Erik Mark Sandberg
By Sam Reeve
Erik Mark Sandberg was born in 1975 in Minnesota and now resides in Los Angeles. He received a BFA and now teaches at several different art colleges.
Visit his website here (which has a limited selection of his art), or his Flickr photostream (which is more complete).
Day 19: Jordu Schell
By Sam Reeve
Jordu Schell is a sculptor and concept artist. He started out making Halloween masks, but has been working in the film industry as a sculptor and creature designer since the 80’s. Though you might not know his name, you have definitely seen his work: His filmography includes TONS of big-budget stuff like Avatar, 300, Hellboy, and The Mist.
Now that he’s an established expert in the field, he also teaches classes at his own studio. You can find more of his work and info on his classes here.
Feast your eyes on his fabulous creations below. Hover over the pictures to find out more about the pieces. Enjoy!
Day 18: Steve Seeley
By Sam Reeve
Normally I’m not super into art that portrays celebrities. It can be a cop-out for true weirdness and just a gimmick for garnering more attention. Steve Seeley‘s work, however, has won me over. I was sold upon seeing the first image below. Luckily for those who still hate celebrity-inspired art, not all his work is like that. Enjoy!
In 2004 Steve started something he calls “The Creature Project”. It’s an ongoing project of altering the cover of Dell/ Whitman’s UFO Flying Saucers #5, originally published in 1975. Below are a few pieces.
Day 16: John Kenn
By Sam Reeve
I’m a bit confused about what to call this guy, since it seems he goes by both John, Don, and sometimes tags on Mortensen as his last name. ANYWAY…John Kenn was born in 1978 in Denmark. He draws his little monster drawings on post-it notes. His drawings are so detailed and I don’t know that post-it notes come in super large sizes, so I like to imagine this guy has microscope eyes. Don’t ruin things by telling me otherwise.
Enjoy!
Day 11: Steven Belmarsh
By Sam Reeve
Steven Belmarsh lives in Massachusetts and is a self-taught artist. As you can see below, his work mostly focuses on weird monsters, which is totally awesome! You can follow him on Facebook here.
Day 9: Chris Ryniak
By Sam Reeve
It’s time to take a cute break! Today’s artist creates some of the cutest (yet weirdest) little creatures you’ll ever lay eyes on. Chris Ryniak comes from Michigan and draws inspiration from Saturday morning cartoons, insects and wildlife. You can visit his Flickr photostream to see more of his work, or visit his website here.
Day 7: Skinner
By Sam Reeve
The artists whose work I am most in awe of are always the ones who work with different media and don’t stick to one thing. Today’s artist, Skinner, does just that. Not only does he paint, but he makes seriously awesome action figures, skateboard designs, T-shirts, and murals that can be found around the world. This dude is insane and you should seriously check out his website to see more of his work, because this measly preview I’ve given here is only the tip of the coolest iceberg ever.
Skinner lives in Northern California in the Oakland area. He was born in 1978 and no, his real name is not Skinner, but it’s a nickname he’s had since he was a kid. He draws a lot of inspiration from stuff like heavy metal, but also nerdy stuff like D&D and Lord of the Rings, putting his own monstrous, colourful twist on it all.
But Skinner doesn’t just stop at visual art! He’s also in a band called Ungoliant.
First let’s take a look at just his paintings, and then we’ll get to his other stuff. I am so madly in love with his art that I’ll likely overload this post with images. Suck it.
If you’re not already won over by this guy’s stuff, I think you should just leave and maybe not exist. Next we have a brief glimpse of his illustration work, followed by some of his murals and installations (including his old van).
As I mentioned above, Skinner also does action figures/toys, skateboards, and clothing. Below you’ll find some examples of that, and if you follow this link you can find his shop where you can buy stuff with the designs on it (as well as prints).
Below you’ll find a time-lapse video of Skinner drawing fan art for the show Metalocalypse.
That’s all folks! Have an awesome weekend and be sure to keep checking back because Weird Art Month doesn’t take a day off.
Bizarro Central 