Editorials
Fear File #2: Caution: Artists at Work – Alex Pardee!
It was love at first sight. My heart went a flutter. My breath became quick and rigid. I froze, I literally froze. It feels like only yesterday that I fell in love with Alex Pardee. Not the man (though he is a handsome devil) but the artistry. The vivid colors and nightmarish complexities that come to life in Alex’s artwork are horrifyingly beautiful. They ooze with passion and mayhem- the thing that drew me to him in the first place. Coming off of a number of career successes, including the opening of his new gallery show Vertigo this Saturday, I thought what better way to start off the new year than with a Fear File dedicated to this man, this legend, and my favorite Tweeter.
CAUTION: ARTIST AT WORK
FEAR FILES WITH ANDREA ALBIN
Fear file #2- ARTIST ALEX PARDEE
The Legend- @alexpardee
Following Alex Pardee on Twitter is an adventure in itself. If you’re one of his 20,000 plus followers, you know exactly what I mean. Like me, he’s an insomniac on a mission, and Twitter serves as his caffeine. “Twitter is like my favorite hobby. When there is no one to complain about random things to [sitting] on my couch, why not get the rest of the Internet to rally behind you in the middle of the night by saying things like FUCK WATERMELONS, CANTELOUPES RULE THE SCHOOL and then like ten people agree and I feel awesome. Well, I mean, kind of awesome. As awesome as one can feel on Twitter at 3am.” But when it comes down to it, the world worships the ground this man walks on, not just for his side ache inducing one-liners, but for his work; his art. “I am very lucky and can confidently say that art is my life. I do art for a living and so, therefore, I LIKE my job [and] I just do it all day.”
Alex’s one-of-a-kind style is brilliant- and I’m not just saying that because I’m fan. I’m saying that because I appreciate art- especially the kind of art you’d be more likely to see in a nightmare than a dream come true. Everything from his monsters, to the one of a kind poster he created for the Inglorious Basterds charity event, no two pieces are alike- and each one provokes thought in such a way that it sends you down a tunnel of eye gauging brilliance.
College, Comic Books and Creating- OH MY!
“I’m pretty much influenced by almost everything. I’m a sensory overload addict.”
Alex’s creative mind is hard to rival. He’s all over the place- but in a good way. “I always had a hard time really deciding what, if any, specific direction that I want to go in because I simply like creating.” At one time, he considered film school, but eventually was drawn to the world of comics. “The thought of collaborating with people scared me at the time. So I kind of gravitated toward more private art, like holing myself up in my room after work and school and just scribbling or writing with no intention of anyone seeing anything.” Fortunately, his mates convinced him that his talent belonged out in the world, not hiding behind a closed door. “I didn’t want to associate myself with my art because of fear, so I did it all under really retarded juvenile pen names, like Yulick Balls, and Dump Honorchest. Eventually my close friends did talk me into taking comic book publishing a bit more serious, so I started a publishing company in the mid 90’s called Eyesuck Ink. That was where I just tried to learn and evolve and try to find any kind of angle where I could make a living doing any kind of art.” And that he did, by drawing comics and self promoting, all the while working at a toy store and going to school. The money he was making during the time went back into art conventions, supplies, printing, but eventually what I like to call `Alex fever’ caught on. “I just took a leap of faith and quit everything else in my life back in 2000 and just said to myself that I am going to somehow make a living creating art.”
The most familiar of Alex’s projects are the album covers he has created for rock band THE USED, in addition to apparel design, a little bit of animation, and some mural work. His vision has also graduated from a self-managed comic book endeavor to eclectic art and clothing company Zerofriends. “I always have yummy stuff going on. I don’t handle days off too well, so I don’t take them. I just like making monsters.”
More recently, Alex has been involved with the film SUCKER PUNCH, which hits theaters this March. Originally, he was brought on to design then non-existent promotional art for Comic Con, but it became more than just a fly by night project. “Working on [the movie] was seriously the highlight of my life. Might be the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. I was a HUGE fan of the DAWN remake as well as WATCHMEN, so to get an opportunity to collaborate with Zack Snyder was unreal. His work ethic and creative passion, as well as his entire team of madmen, makes me feel like I don’t nearly work as hard.” Their collaboration pushed Alex to new levels of euphoria as he designed everything from guns and swords, to some sets, to a lot of props for what looks like one of the most visually stunning films of 2011. “It was overwhelming in the best way possible.” Even one of Alex’s famed characters, the timeless Bunnywith, makes his presence known. “Seeing [that] face plastered on a 30 foot tall Mech Suit will forever be the coolest single moment of my life.”
Don’t Ask About The Grizzly…
I’ve done dozens of interviews for Bloody-Disgusting since hopping on board in August of 2010, but it was Alex’s that made me laugh out loud. Even when avoiding a question (or two) he could easily rival Dane Cook in comedic appeal. Just ask him to tell you about himself, the man behind the artwork. “To be honest, there isn’t really a man behind any of my artwork. I used to play around in radioactive forests up in Northern California when I was younger and I rescued this tiny grizzly bear cub that had lost all of his skin. We grew up together and it turned out that he was a hell of an artist. So from that moment on I kept him hostage and forced him to draw weird shit that I could take credit for. There was a movie made about it with Rocky’s wife called THE PROPHECY I think, but it was pretty embellished.”
True story.
Alex has used his artwork to battle personal struggles, and isn’t afraid to admit doing so. “I still use art as a way to escape having to interact socially a lot because I’m still apprehensive toward normality. I mean, I’m lucky because I get to travel a lot for work so I’m kind of forced to be social, but I haven’t figured that part out too much yet. I just like making things.”
I have a lot of respect for Alex. He’s committed to himself and his craft, he has a deep love of horror (basically 80’s slashers and anything with the word `creep’ in its title), and he still manages to contribute a lot to his favorite charities, most recently portrait photographer Clay Enos’ charity coffee organization OrganicCoffee.com. The company sells rare, imported coffees and donates all of the money to multiple non-profits. “He’s like Robin Hood on a Vespa. He’s amazing.”
I can tell by the few conversations I’ve now had with Alex (and the night we stalked each other on Twitter) that he’s an all around nice guy that’s blessed the world with his talent and kindness. If only the rest of us could be so lucky.
Vertigo
I can’t talk about this man without plugging his latest endeavor, VERTIGO, a gallery exhibit which will be opening at the Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, CA THIS Saturday and showing through January 26th. “I’m a HUGE fan of the Disneyland experience. I think Disneyland is a perfect parallel to how I want people to view `VERTIGO.’ Sure, when you go to Disneyland, the rides themselves are the main attraction, and as stand-alone attractions, they are incredible. But while standing in line for each ride, if you look around, there is an opportunity to get fully immersed in each one of the rides. There are props, videos and little stories about the history of the `world’ you are about to enter. Once you are done with the ride, you have a chance to go back and re-experience that ride, each time taking in a few more pieces of the bonus content, hopefully sparking your imagination and allowing you to temporarily live in that world. I’m presenting `VERTIGO’ with the same spirit. The main attractions are going to be the paintings, as I am a visual artist before anything else. However, once you experience these paintings, or while you are waiting in line, or if you go back to view them a second time, you will have the opportunity, through displayed props, stories and additional artifacts- to immerse yourself in this new world inspired by this famous guy named Verti Parker and his adventures in hunting and killing physical manifestations of popular nightmares.”
In addition to the gallery showing, Alex has revealed a ten part `origin’ story about Verti Parker on the website www.vertiparker.com
The show is already proving to be an impressive feat for Alex, who has put six months of his life into creating the show. Asking him how excited he was proved to be another pain inducing fit of laughter. “I actually peed in my pants for the 6th time tonight RIGHT as I got this question. And the only thing on my mind is `FUCK, this clothespin I’m wearing is useless.”
The Future
I asked Alex where he sees himself in ten years. As an artistic saga? Perhaps the leader of a small country? He answered with, quite possibly, one of the most simple and yet informative quotes I’ve ever gotten: “I see myself in the year 2021. Unless time travel is possible by then. Then I see myself traveling back in time to answer this question with way more conviction.”
I still can’t get over the fact that I was able to connect with my favorite artist- the guy who draws blood covered Smurfs and whimsical monsters that would crush a Transformer. If I can’t convince you that someone like Alex makes the world go round, gives us a reason to live vicariously through creation, and that beautiful, and sometimes maniacal, gems are what we need to give us a boost, then I haven’t done my job. But at least you got to see some pretty cool stuff by a pretty cool guy.
SHOW ANDREA SOME LOVE ON HER BLOG: THE ALBIN WAY! (andreaalbin.blogspot.com)
ZEROFRIENDS Store (www.zerofriends.com)
ALEX’S AMAZING BLOG (www.eyesuckink.blogspot.com/)
THE COREY HELFORD GALLERY (www.coreyhelfordgallery.com)
There’s a lot of reading left to do in 2026, between the glut of summer releases and the approach of fall, when horror titles get a special push from publishers, but this has already been an incredible year for horror literature.
Some of the biggest names in the genre have turned in outstanding work, rising stars have made their mark, and we’re only halfway through the year.
To celebrate the midway point of 2026, with plenty of horror books still to come, we’re taking a look back at the best horror books we’ve read this year so far, listed alphabetically by author.
If you missed any of these books earlier in the year, consider this your reminder to catch up.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker
A student running from a crime he may or may not have committed escapes to his father’s country home in Japan, only to find himself haunted by strange apparitions, while in the past, a young samurai tries to find salvation for her family and finds a door to the future instead. Kylie Lee Baker’s Japanese Gothic begins with this dialogue between past and present, and then blossoms into so much more, a cross-time ghost story about old wounds and what it really takes to finally heal them. I got so happily lost in this one that I would have read at least 200 more pages.
Persona by Aoife Josie Clements
In this tale of shut-ins, sex workers, artists, and the horrors they both summon and recoil from, Aoife Josie Clements weaves something that feels less like a story to be experienced and more like a psychic wound to be endured, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible. Evocative in its prose and nightmarish in its imagery, Persona is a story of the masks we wear, and the understanding that not all of our masks are particularly pretty or even easy to breathe through. It’s a dense, literary, unnervingly vicious book, and while it’s already attracted an audience, it deserves a much bigger one.
Dead First by Johnny Compton
Johnny Compton’s latest novel opens with a throwing down of the gauntlet, a sequence that made me instantly think “How on Earth is he going to top this?” It’s a story that begins with a billionaire hiring a private investigator to determine why, despite trying in many brutal ways, he cannot die. That premise, and the scene which sets it all off, is so alluring and delightfully gruesome that you almost can’t believe it’s the way a book begins, and then Compton just keeps going, delivering a supernatural mystery that I could not put down.
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
A woman grieving for the life she wanted visits a mysterious island renowned for the healing salt its residents harvest and sell, seeking renewal and relief. What she finds instead is a strange cult with a twisted history with surprising resonance in her own life, and a people who are more than willing to grant the relief she wants, for a price. Laced with beautiful prose and moments of profound realization alongside folk and even cosmic horror, this is vintage Sarah Gailey.
Partially Devoured by Daniel Kraus
If you love horror film history and analysis, Partially Devoured is an essential. Written by Pulitzer Prize-winner Daniel Kraus, the book is a deep dive into his favorite movie of all time, George A. Romero‘s Night of the Living Dead, complete with exhaustive research into the making of the film and passages of deeply moving memoir woven in. If you’ve ever wanted to know what the eerie music that opens the film is called while also bursting into tears at how horror movies can save your life, this is a must-read.
Wretch by Eric LaRocca
Our reigning King of Extreme Horror, Eric LaRocca weaves books of uncommon beauty out of the most nightmarish parts of humanity, and Wretch is no exception. The story of a grieving man who longs for relief and searches for it amid a strange support group that might be a cult, Wretch is a brutal journey into the darkest part of us all, and explores what salvation we might find when we get to the rotten core of the world and peel back its layers. LaRocca’s on a tear of great work right now that few other genre writers can match.
Headlights by CJ Leede
A mystery, a serial killer horror show, a tribute to Stephen King‘s The Shining. All of these things describe CJ Leede’s Headlights, and yet they don’t begin to cover the full breadth of horror awaiting you in this novel. The story of a former FBI agent drawn back into the cold case that haunts him most, it’s a shocker brimming over with vivid moments that’ll live behind your eyes. CJ Leede has now published three novels, and they’re all bangers, so it’s time to get on board if you haven’t already.
It Came From Neverland by Cynthia Pelayo
Cynthia Pelayo has been one of our finest genre writers for years now, but It Came From Neverland is my favorite thing she’s written, and it’s not even close. A dark take on Peter Pan from the perspective of an adult Wendy Darling living in World War I-era London, Pelayo’s book works as both a satisfying horror narrative and a rich exploration of what it really means to never grow up. The horror never loses its potency, but it’s the search for the meaning behind the Peter Pan phenomenon in our own lives, and what we can do about it, that sticks with me most.
Filth Eaters by Ito Romo
Ito Romo’s Filth Eaters is a slim volume, one you can read in just a couple of hours if you’ve got the inclination, but it has the feel of a generation-spanning epic. The story of a breed of vampires born in Central America, the European vampires who encounter them, and the offspring they eventually produced, it spans centuries and packs loads of juicy lore into its pages while never losing its grip on character and narrative drive. I would read hundreds more pages of this world, but I’ll settle for this uncommonly grand-scale novella for now.
Dead But Dreaming of Electric Sheep by Paul Tremblay
A former pro gamer gets a job at a tech company to pilot a brain-dead human body across the country, and so Paul Tremblay’s sci-fi-horror juggernaut begins. Indebted to Philip K. Dick, the primal snarl of Harlan Ellison, and the quirky comedy of The Big Lebowski, and yet wholly original, this is a towering and ambitious novel by one of horror’s most respected voices. What starts as a high-concept tech thriller soon becomes a startling meditation on the value of stories, who gets to tell them, and what happens when we cede too much control to machines we don’t understand. It’s a stunner.
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