6/18/26
Nice lunch with Mike Hawthorne yesterday. I got to see some top secret pages from his new ongoing comic series, forthcoming from Image. And his daughter, Maria, an amazing up and coming creator in her own right, got to hear some stories about when we were younger — the good old days when Jesus and Bill were still here with us.
Those guys are still missed. Every day.
Anyway, Mike’s got something very cool dropping next year. News on that later this year (my guess would be around the time of New York Comic Con). And Maria’s got a spot on my next film production, but I suspect I won’t have that up and running until next year, either, so… good things to come.
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Amazon is having a Prime Day special for the New York Times bestselling, award-winning THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT: NEW TALES OF STEPHEN KING’S THE STAND, edited by myself and Christopher Golden. From now until June 26th, you can get it for just $3.99 on Kindle. Click here to download your copy at this special low price.
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Women In Horror Year: Day 61
Transmuted by Eve Harms
Her doctor is giving her the body of his dreams...and her nightmares.
Isa is a micro-celebrity who rarely shows her face, and can’t wait to have it expertly ripped off and rearranged to look more feminine. When a successful fundraiser makes her gender affirming surgery possible, she’s overjoyed—until she has to give up all her money to save her dying father.
Crushed by gender dysphoria and the pressure of disappointing her fans who paid for a new face, she answers a sketchy ad seeking transgender women for a free, experimental feminization treatment. The grotesquely flawless Dr. Skurm has gruesome methods, but he gets unbelievable results, and Isa is finally feeling comfortable in her skin. She even gains the courage to ask out her crush: an alluring and disfigured alchemy-obsessed artist named Rayna. But Isa’s body won’t stop changing, and she’s going from super model to super mutant. She has to discover the secret behind her metamorphosis—before the changes are irreversible, and she’s an unwanted freak forever.
Transmuted is an outrageous and unapologetically queer body horror tale that will leave you gasping, giggling, and gagging for more. Experience the freaky thrills of Transmuted today!
If you miss the golden age of Bizarro — those early days of Eraserhead Press, Lazy Fascist, Raw Dog, etc (the era of The Baby Jesus Butt Plug and Ass Goblins of Auschwitz and Love In The Time of Dinosaurs and The Greatest Fucking Moment In Sports), then my friend, Eve Harms has you covered. Transmuted reads like the best from that era. And with Bizarro beginning to see a second coming, my prediction is that Eve Harms will be one of the authors at the top of the new wave as it builds toward a crest.
How to describe Transmuted? Imagine a story conceived by David Lynch, written by David Cronenberg, and directed by Stuart Gordon but the writers room of South Park are also lurking on the set at various moments. It’s a ridiculously fun, ridiculously gory, and surprisingly touching Bizarro body horror romp that is full of heart and doesn’t pull its punches. It’s socio-political without banging a pulpit. The characters and motivations are real and genuine, despite the fantastical elements of the plot. And while it speaks directly to issues and struggles faced by the trans community, this cis-gendered reader enjoyed it very much, and found it accessible. Eve evokes empathy in the reader, regardless of who they are.
I read it in paperback, which is now apparently out of print. Transmuted is currently available as an audiobook. Let’s hope another publisher snatches up the paperback and eBook rights soon, because this book is too damn good to just disappear from shelves.
