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Before the Movies, a Comic from 1981 Faithfully Adapted Stephen King’s ‘The Lawnmower Man’

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The Lawnmower Man.

Reading that, what image does the mind conjure? Wild-haired Jeff Fahey, playing a simple man Flowers-for-Algernon-ing his way toward hyperintelligence, supervillainy and wearing the world’s most badass rave outfit? Maybe you imagine a cue-balled Matt Frewer from that film’s sequel, taking over from Fahey and just absolutely INHALING the scenery as he hams it up and alternately hisses and shouts every other line?

Both films were 90s-era, pre-Matrix cyberthrillers, telling outlandish sci-fi fantasies with computer effects that were only barely up to snuff nearly three decades ago. And while the first film still manages to be a fun and intelligent genre pic, the sequel is somehow more dire today than when it was first panned back in ‘96. Still, discussion of quality aside, neither film could lay an honest claim to being faithful to what was meant to be their source material – Stephen King’s short story of the same name, originally published in 1975 and later collected in his landmark collection Night Shift.

While the original film was based on an entirely unrelated screenplay that borrowed both King’s name and short story title (leading to a lawsuit that saw any mention of King removed from the film and marketing materials), the author’s tale concerned Harold Parkette, an unlucky man who makes the mistake of hiring “Pastoral Greenery and Outdoor Services” to tend to his overgrown lawn. The company dispatches a large, overweight man, who soon sets about his job. Our hero soon discovers his lawn being cut by a mower that runs itself, with the trimmed grass gulped down by the lawnmower man as he crawls behind his machine nude and on all fours. In short order, the Pastoral Greenery employee reveals himself to be an agent of Pan (the Greek god of fields, among other things), before slaughtering our lead with his lawnmower.

It’s a gruesome and memorable tale, yet it has only seen adaptation to film as a student short (one of King’s “Dollar Babies”) and as a brief, loosely based setpiece in the first film. However, it did see a graphic adaptation in comic book form in 1981, years before any film adaptation attempted to bring King’s character to life.

[Related] The Very First Depiction of Clive Barker’s Candyman Was Far Different Than Tony Todd’s Portrayal

Adapted by comics legend Walt Simonson, the tale appeared in black and white in Marvel’s Bizarre Adventures #29. The short comic stayed faithful to King’s story, with Simonson’s work providing the very first depiction of the grotesque villain. As you can see from the provided pics below, the character hews closely to King’s description, giving us a monster who couldn’t have been further in appearance from the two actors who would eventually bring him to the big screen.

For those interested, the issue in question can be found somewhat cheaply online (with a little effort), although IDW did republish it back in 2014 as well.

In any case, it’s a fun early look at a minor horror icon in the making, and it’s one we thought you’d enjoy. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below – which Lawnmower Man do you prefer? The grotesque King/Simonson version, Jeff Fahey’s sympathetic cybervillain, or even Matt Frewer’s over the top take on the character?

Comics

[Review] Graphic Novel ‘Tender’ Is Brilliant Feminist Body Horror That Will Make You Squirm & Scream

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Tender Beth Hetland Graphic Novel

Beth Hetland’s debut graphic novel, ‘Tender,’ is a modern tale of love, validation, and self-destruction by way of brutal body horror with a feminist edge.

“I’ve wanted this more than anything.”

Men so often dominate the body horror subgenre, which makes it so rare and insightful whenever women tackle this space. This makes Beth Hetland’s Tender such a refreshing change of pace. It’s earnest, honest, and impossibly exposed. Tender takes the body horror subgenre and brilliantly and subversively mixes it together with a narrative that’s steeped in the societal expectations that women face on a daily basis, whether it comes to empowerment, family, or sexuality. It single-handedly beats other 2023 and ‘24 feminine horror texts like American Horror Story: Delicate, Sick, Lisa Frankenstein, and Immaculate at their own game.

Hetland’s Tender is American Psycho meets Rosemary’s Baby meets Swallow. It’s also absolutely not for the faint of heart.

Right from the jump, Tender grabs hold of its audience and doesn’t let go. Carolanne’s quest for romantic fulfillment, validation, and a grander purpose is easy to empathize with and an effective framework for this woeful saga. Carolanne’s wounds cut so deep simply because they’re so incredibly commonplace. Everybody wants to feel wanted.

Tender is full of beautiful, gross, expressive artwork that makes the reader squirm in their seat and itch. Hetland’s drawings are simultaneously minimalist and comprehensively layered. They’re  reminiscent of Charles Burns’ Black Hole, in the best way possible. There’s consistently inspired and striking use of spot coloring that elevates Hetland’s story whenever it’s incorporated, invading Tender’s muted world.

Hetland employs effective, economical storytelling that makes clever use of panels and scene construction so that Tender can breeze through exposition and get to the story’s gooey, aching heart. There’s an excellent page that depicts Carolanne’s menial domestic tasks where the repetitive panels grow increasingly smaller to illustrate the formulaic rut that her life has become. It’s magical. Tender is full of creative devices like this that further let the reader into Carolanne’s mind without ever getting clunky or explicit on the matter. The graphic novel is bookended with a simple moment that shifts from sweet to suffocating.

Tender gives the audience a proper sense of who Carolanne is right away. Hetland adeptly defines her protagonist so that readers are immediately on her side, praying that she gets her “happily ever after,” and makes it out of this sick story alive…And then they’re rapidly wishing for the opposite and utterly aghast over this chameleon. There’s also some creative experimentation with non-linear storytelling that gets to the root of Carolanne and continually recontextualizes who she is and what she wants out of life so that the audience is kept on guard.

Tender casually transforms from a picture-perfect rom-com, right down to the visual style, into a haunting horror story. There’s such a natural quality to how Tender presents the melancholy manner in which a relationship — and life — can decay. Once the horror elements hit, they hit hard, like a jackhammer, and don’t relent. It’s hard not to wince and grimace through Tender’s terrifying images. They’re reminiscent of the nightmarish dadaist visuals from The Ring’s cursed videotape, distilled to blunt comic panels that the reader is forced to confront and digest, rather than something that simply flickers through their mind and is gone a moment later. Tender makes its audience marinate in its mania and incubates its horror as if it’s a gestating fetus in their womb.

Tender tells a powerful, emotional, disturbing story, but its secret weapon may be its sublime pacing. Hetland paces Tender in such an exceptional manner, so that it takes its time, sneaks up on the reader, and gets under their skin until they’re dreading where the story will go next. Tender pushes the audience right up to the edge so that they’re practically begging that Carolanne won’t do the things that she does, yet the other shoe always drops in the most devastating manner. Audiences will read Tender with clenched fists that make it a struggle to turn each page, although they won’t be able to stop. Tender isn’t a short story, at more than 160 pages, but readers will want to take their time and relish each page so that this macabre story lasts for as long as possible before it cascades to its tragic conclusion. 

Tender is an accomplished and uncomfortable debut graphic novel from Hetland that reveals a strong, unflinching voice that’s the perfect fit for horror. Tender indulges in heightened flights of fancy and toes the line with the supernatural. However, Tender is so successful at what it does because it’s so grounded in reality and presents a horror story that’s all too common in society. It’s a heartbreaking meditation on loneliness and codependency that’s one of 2024’s must-read horror graphic novels.

‘Tender,’ by Beth Hetland and published by Fantagraphics, is now available.

4 out of 5 skulls

Tender graphic novel review

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