List Price: $10.00Price: $10.00There's a new genre rising from the underground. Its name: BIZARRO. For years, readers have been asking for a category of fiction dedicated to the weird, crazy, cult side of storytelling that has become a staple in the film industry (with directors such as David Lynch, Takashi Miike, Tim Burton, and even Lloyd Kaufman) but has been largely ignored in the literary world, until now. The Bizarro Starter Kit features short novels and story collections by ten of the leading authors in the bizarro genre: Ray Fracalossy, Jeremy C. Shipp, Jordan Krall, Mykle Hansen, Andersen Prunty, Eckhard Gerdes, Bradley Sands, Steve Aylett, Christian TeBordo, and Tony Rauch.
Reviews
Fiction like cult filmsIf you have ever felt that the books you read are too boring, too mainstream, not weird enough and not fun enough to read, or if you think authors in general just take themselves way too seriously, then you should try bizarro fiction. Bizarro is like literature's equivalent to the cult section of your video store. They are absurd, surreal, funny, gory, over the top craziness.
If you are a fan of cult films you should definitely check this genre out. If you are expecting experimental/subversive "literary" fiction then look elsewhere, because these stories are more cinematic than they are literary. These authors weren't inspired by William Faulkner or James Joyce, they were inspired by movies such as Time Bandits, Pink Flamingos, Videodrome, Six String Samurai, Brazil, Eraserhead, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The Conspirators of Pleasure, The Toxic Avenger... (the list goes on).
There is much variety in this genre. Some authors write darker surreal works, some write very comical campy/pulpy fiction. Some bizarro is intellectually stimulating art, some of it is just for entertainment value alone. It's all very weird but each author is weird in their own way. Check out all of the Bizarro Starter Kits to introduce yourselves to some of the top bizarro authors working in the scene.
I recommend this to people who always preferred movies to books because they thought always though books were supposed to be boring.
An Eclectic but Solid IntroductionThis is a good combination of Bizarro elements. It goes from the extreme, trippy experimentation of Steve Aylett to the absurd and funny but more restrained style of Andersen Prunty. Bradley Sands' Cheesequake Smashup is worth the price of admission by itself. Humorous, thought provoking, dirty, funny and challenging. It's everything good fiction should be.
An Essential Purchase for Weird-Minded ReadersThe Bizarro Starter Kit (blue)
Introduction or What is this Book?
The first "Bizarro Start Kit" (colored orange) was an instrumental book in introducing bizarro to a wider audience. Combining eight of the top bizarro writers into one volume, it was responsible for hooking many readers (this reviewer included) on these strange new authors. This year, Eraserhead Press, Raw Dog Screaming Press, and Afterbith Books have combined forces yet again to give us "The Bizarro Start (blue)."
This time we have ten different authors contributing novellas and short stories for our reading pleasure. Due to the nature of this book, let's look at each writer individually.
The Authors
Ray Fracalossy
Fracalossy starts off the volume with twelve short shorts characterized by word-play and a strong sense of fun. These stories start the book off right, getting the reader into a strange and logically-loopy frame of mind. "A Body in Motion" is the stand-out piece in which a man's body rebels in some rather creative manners.
Jeremy C. Shipp
"Flapjack" is a novella about two men in a prison with one recounting the strange tale of how he got there. The story floats along with dream-like logic as Shipp creates new language and cultural customs. The main-character narrates with a sense of innocence and an ever present shadow of darkness. Tim Burton would be right at home directing an adaptation of this story.
Jordan Krall
Krall contributes "The Longheads," the middle novella from his collection "Squid Pulp Blues." The Longheads from the title are disfigured war vets that have some sinister plans for a small town. Meant to be read as a middle piece between two related novellas, "The Longheads" feels underdeveloped on its own. While Krall is a strong writer, one wishes he had submitted something more stand-alone appropriate for this collection.
Mykle Hansen
"Monster C*cks!" is the attention grabbing title to this contribution. It is a novella about a man who gets much more than he bargained for from a penis-enlargement system that actually works. Hansen tells a funny and thrilling story that in the hands of a lesser writer would just be juvenile. Instead, the reader receives an engaging tale that gets inside the head, and pants, of the main character.
Andersen Prunty
Shell is a sort-of bounty hunter, hired by The Rotting Man to go to Hollow City and bring back a woman named Pearl. So begins the surreal/horror/noir novella "The Devastated Insides of Hollow City." Prunty has a talent for writing dark and enthralling tales and this is no exception. For horror fans, this is the stand-out piece of the collection.
Eckhard Gerdes
"Nin and Nan" is the exceptionally strange offering from Gerdes. Nin and Nan live on top of a hill and when billboards and roads start to impede upon their space they are forced to take action. From there, they embark on a journey that takes them to the very top powers of the government. Those crazing the extremely bizarre will be sated with this story.
Bradley Sands
"Cheesequake Smash-Up" is the story of a place where buildings have the ability to levitate. To determine which fast-food franchise will monopolize the market, a race is being held with the structures themselves being used as vehicles. Sands has created a tale even weirder than the previous two sentences suggest. He easily wins the award for strangest, balls-to-the-wall weirdo-fest.
Steve Aylett
"Shamanspace" is the meta-physical offering that Aylett gives us. Dealing with the role of history, books, and self it is a complex and dense tale. Including a brief history of the story's world and a fictional bibliography, this is the most experimental story of the collection.
Christian Tebordo
"The Order of Operations" is the story of several people whose lives intersect around a common payphone. In a book filled with outlandish concepts, Tebordo's story stands out as it is mostly based in reality. Where it is unique is in its presentation, skipping back and forth between several perspectives. This one is for the more literary-minded readers.
Tony Rauch
Rauch finishes the collection with seven short stories. The reoccurring theme of his pieces is how the average person is suppressed and crushed by the weight of the world. Of course, this is told via miniature people in ant costumes and cranium enlargement. This selection of stories is a thoughtful final contribution to the book.
Final Thoughts
One could call this the second generation of Bizarro writers. They are a group of writers that are influenced by many authors contained in the first starter kit. What is most exciting is these authors, while influenced by, are not rip-offs of the first line of writers. Each of the eight authors contained within stand on their own as writers. With the shear amount of variety present here, any fan of weird fiction will find something they can love.
Introduction into the world of BizarroWith an introduction into the world of Bizarro, the Starter Kits intitiates with extreme prejudice. Daring you to dive head-first into this world of stunning imagery without the exclamation point, because the subderal hematoma induced walking stage-fright dreams hold sway and what you think is real truly is. Bizarro as a genre is coming in to its own. So jump on board and don't get left behind. There's something waiting that might just eat you, my pretty. Jordan Krall's 'Longheads' stands out. I also really ate the hell out of Andersen Prunty's "Devastaed Insides of Hollow City".
Review by Eric C. Adorno Welcome all to the wonderful bizarro/fiction world known as the "Bizarro Starter Kit" (Blue). Undoubtedly this book invites in to a world of altered states in a genre known as bizarro fiction. One author Fracalossy transports you into this surreal existence in his stories that take you into the deepest darkest inner workings of your imagination. Not since Kerouac and Burroughs have I experienced such a journey in to the minds of the bizarro as i experenced with Fracalossy and Gerdes.
In Fracalossy's "Me and the Martian" the conflicts that arise from a three headed extraterrestial makes for a hilarious short story filled with excitement and humor. The human not being afraid of the martian ends with pity for this creature as well as the martian feeling quite the same about the human. GREAT STORY A MUST READ.
Although all the storys are great i have to recommend "Nin and Nan" by a Eckhard Gerdes and Fracalssy's "The Dinner Party". These are Must Reads and really encourage anyone thinking about buying the book to take that chance, step out of the conventional, beige, thinking and step in to the world of Bizarre fiction. 5 Stars.