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VAN HELSING'S NIGHT OFF
by Nicolas Mahler
($12.95,
Top Shelf Productions)
Review by Mark Campos
This is Mahler's first US collection, but you could probably read his other books (published by L'Association), because his specialty is pantomime in the classic style. Here he recreates the monster movie pantheon as a bunch of minimalist bignosed little guys, then loads them into incongruous situations: knocking back some beers, going to the disco, sitting home with the wife (who keeps turning into a werewolf) .. The stories are short and sparse yet packed with character, deadpan humor, and pinpoint timing. Nobody does this sort of thing domestically anymore (where are the A.B. Frosts of yesteryear?), so kudos to Brett and Chris at Top Shelf for making this available here.
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