Some of the best horror around has found success by putting its trust in the winning combination of history, culture, and fear. The characters at the center of these stories are afflicted by the times they’re placed in, the groups they belong to (social, racial, economic), and the monsters that reflect their immediate reality. Black horror is particularly potent in this regard. There’s never been a moment in history where Black people haven’t had their backs against the wall by racist forces and other forms of oppression that stem from it. As a result, they represent a community that’s in a constant struggle for safety and recognition, and they’ve been haunted by some of humanity’s most monstrous agents of violence. Jordan Peele’s 2017 film Get Out is a great example of the things that can happen when this combination is given the chance to contribute so much to the story. It change the landscape of entire genres.
Dark Horse’s Black horror anthology Shook!, presented by Second Sight Publishing and John Jennings Studio, embraces this triple threat of terror as well, adding a bit of that classic EC Horror styling to round out an experience that is angry, vengeful, and out for blood. And all for good reason.
The book features 12 stories from some of the best Black comics creators working now. Rodney Barnes, John Jennings, Bradley Golden, Flavio Cortés, David Brame, Charles Goubile, David F. Walker, and more can be found among the roster. Each one plays out like a Tales from the Crypt segment, complete with punchy endings that leave readers in either a state of shock or in a state of contemplation regarding the fates of its characters (namely how or why they died).
One of the biggest challenges that anthologies face is settling on an opening story that sets the tone for whatever comes next. Shook! finds this in “Tasty!! Itchy!!!,” by Bradley Golden and Flavio Cortés, a nasty post-apocalyptic tale in which a group of survivors scavenge for food in a bombed-out New Orleans that has been overrun by radioactive vampires. Golden and Cortés create a living dead world that feels hostile from the very first panel. It mixes Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend with something not unlike an extraction shooter, led by a cast of characters that are easy to root for.
Personalities come through quickly thanks to clever dialogue and dynamic exchanges, separating them from the usual ‘end of the world’ stragglers. Cortés illustrates them in a highly textured and grainy style that makes them look like they’re pumping real blood on the page. The monsters get the same treatment, looking like some kind of page rot that’ll infect you with something if you stay on the panels they’re on for too long. It all comes together for a story about urban decay and how it reflects systemic neglect. If this story was meant to set the tone, consider it set with horror to spare.
What’s interesting with Shook! is what it does once that tone is established. Early on we get an endearing and emotional story about aspirations, death, and what gets cut short when the cruelties of life cut in. It’s called “The Breaks” and it features John Jennings on script and Charles Goubile on art. The story follows a breakdancer called Patricia. She’s on her death bed, beaten down by AIDS, as she gets a visit from an otherworldly DJ that puts things in perspective. It’s somewhat Dickensian, a story about the consequences we suffer for other people’s actions, but also about the peace that comes after. No ghosts of Christmas present, past, and future here, though. Instead, death is given the microphone and allowed to take the stage.
Jennings and Goubile find horror of a different, more existential kind in “The Breaks.” It might be the brightest story in the book, but it’s no less terrifying than some of the other offerings. Death inspires fear here, but it does so in a manner that’s transitional. It presents itself as a monumental shift in consciousness that has a minimum scare requirement, regardless of how exciting the prospect of an afterlife can be for a believer. In a sense, Jennings and Goubile want readers to know that a little horror is good for the soul.
Rodney Barnes and David Brame’s “The Last March,” on the other hand, steers things back to EC Horror territory with a story that pits the KKK against its many now-undead victims. This one is a good ‘ole revenge tale where the guilty party gets its comeuppance in a manner befitting their crimes. The Klan plans to lynch an old man that is too calm in the face of what’s about to happen. The reason? He can summon victims of racial violence from their graves to dish out their own brand of justice.
Rather than merely showing bad people getting the treatment they deserve, Barnes and Brame focus on cowardice as it relates to power. The KKK are fearless when in they’re in complete control of the situation. Once that changes, they’re made aware of just how indiscriminate fear can be. The point is to show how power dictates horror, and how it can be weaponized just as much for good as it can for evil. What better way to do this than by giving those who’ve been wronged by groups like the KKK a hunger for racist flesh?
Shook! changes gear with each story. The combination I spoke about in the beginning of this piece weaves itself through each one of them, switching between tone, voice, and intention. Some focus on history to look at the real human monsters that have oppressed Black communities, while others hone in on culture to consider what heaven looks like for Black artists who’ve suffered the wrath of society’s vices. Where they all converge, though, is in fear. It’s the common language. And Shook! speaks it well.
