Jeff Burk is not only the man responsible for the continuous outpour of amazing titles out of Deadite Press; he is also an author with a few cult classics like Shatnerquake and Super Giant Monster Time! under his belt. Now Burk is back in the writing saddle with Cripple Wolf, his latest release with Eraserhead Press. While Burk has shown his skills in all his previous work, Cripple Wolf has taken him to a new level. Let’s take a look at the seven stories that make up the book.
The first story, Cripple Wolf, names the collection and kicks things off with a fun bloodbath. This one is classic bizarro with a violent slant. A veteran in a wheelchair catches a red-eye flight from Tokyo, Japan to Portland, Oregon on Fetish Flights, an airline where BDSM flight attendants in a variety of costumes take care of anything a traveler might need. Unfortunately, there’s a full moon out and once the plane is in the air, the veteran turns into a ravenous werewolf that starts biting, ripping and slashing his way through the rest of the passengers. With the pilots busy snorting blow like epileptic vacuum cleaners, listening to reggae and rolling doobies, the Air Marshalls getting maimed and a superhero getting his limbs ripped off, the fate of the plane falls on a trio of punks on their way to some gigs. Kiishi, Kana and Yousei, collectively known as Mouthful of Ants, will turn the bloodbath into an amazing adventure and, by the time the story ends, every reader will be cheering for them. With a nurse carrying around a torn baby, some lesbian sex, a healthy dose of gore, a terrorist with great work ethic and a tip of the hat to a plethora of pop culture icons that range from “Snakes on a Plane” to a very subtle reference to Richard Matheson’s “Nightmare At 20,000 Feet,” the first story of the book is a definite must-read.
The second tale, Frosty and the Full Monty, is like a Christmas movie gone horribly wrong. When Frosty gets hooked on meth, his life spirals down into a sad mess of snowjobs, twirling around a pole, sucking on the pipe and even doing some time in the joint. If you hate Christmas and recognize it for what it is: a celebration of mindless consumerism, then this one will stay on your mind until you can read it to someone in December.
Cook for Your Life, the third story in the collection, is of the most original stories I’ve read this year. Burk took the senselessness of reality television, the competitive elements of cooking shows (on steroids, of course), a robot, a clown, a gorilla, a family secret and some corpses and spare body parts and concocted a deliciously inventive tale that will make readers laugh, cringe and, if they’re stomachs are sensitive, even gag. However, the interesting narrative is not the only great thing about Cook for Your Life. For starters, Burk wrote the story in script format. The format allowed for the creation of commercial breaks during which bizarro gets plugged like it has never been plugged before. If this unique form of promotion takes off, remember that Burk came up with it first.
House of Cats is the author’s ode to the city of Portland, Oregon. The story deals with loneliness and homelessness in uncanny ways on the surface and with injustice, bureaucracy, the need for companionship and creativity in the face of necessity on a deeper level. Also, it’s a story about how to get rid of a surplus of feral cats.
The fifth story, Adrift with Space Badgers, is a perfect mix of comedy, horror and sci-fi. A ship in space in destroyed by a Behemoth, a neon-blue whale-like beast equipped with three rows of killer teeth. The lone survivor scrambles into a pod and plans his trip away from the carnage. Unfortunately, space badgers have taken over the pod and fighting them will prove to be quite a horrific challenge. This one reads like an old sci-fi comic and adds an unexpected touch of desperation and frustration to the book.
Punk Rock Nursing Home is a bittersweet account about old rockers that can still kick ass and about how passion for music never dies. Burk set out to answer the old question: what happens when punk rockers grow old? The answer is full of flying middle fingers, loud music, a bit of projectile vomiting and recovered youth. If there’s something to be taken from this story, it’s this: you’re never too old for a last blaze of glory.
Just Another Day in the Park rounds up the collection. Almost philosophical in nature, this narrative shows a side of the author that is not so visible in the other stories. In a way, just like Frosty and the Full Monty, it’s easy to read a critique of modern society here.
After the stories are over, the book continues with a section titled About the Stories. In it, the author gives readers a glimpse into the genesis of each tale and shares some of the views, memories, ideas and jokes that lead to the preceding work. This is a nice treat that’s just icing on the cake.
Hilarious, bizarre, charming, violent, gory and very original, Cripple Wolf might just be Jeff Burk’s best work yet. Grab a copy right now.
– Gabino Iglesias
- Interview with J.R. Bookwalter - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
