Unspeakable Horror!

I am really excited about the upcoming release of "Rue Morgue High," which will be the 9th comic book in the Vincent Price Presents series. It has been solicited for a May 2009 release. The cover art by Joel Robinson totally captures the horrifying energy of the Ourang-Outang monster that I adapted from my favorite Poe story, "Murders in the Rue Morgue."

The concept for my re-imagining of Poe's horror story grew out of my blog posting about "Rue Morgue" back in 2006 (read the two part entry: part one/part two).

Here are the two ideas that precipitated the story: the idea that Poe's Ourang-Outang is not the zoological orangutan, but rather a nightmare creature, and the second idea is that Poe's story, often heralded as the first real detective story because of the protagonist's use of ratiocination (deductive reasoning), in fact undermines and makes a mockery of rationcination.

Anyone who reads Poe's original story will not recognize the murderous Ourang-Outang as the gentle forest ape that can be viewed on nature documentaries. This is a creature, perhaps based on 19th Century myths about the great apes, that originates from Poe's perverse imagination. Similarly, King Kong is based on a gorilla, but is an embellished nightmare-version of a gorilla that does not truly exist. The Ourang-Outang is a nightamare creature that wields a straight razor to ostensibly "ape" the act of shaving, which the creature observes from its captivity in a closet. Then the ape enacts a horrific series of murders with demonic rage and supernatural strength. It runs amok in Paris like Kong Kong in New York City.

The Murders in the Rue Morgue, according to literary critics, establishes for the first time the tale of ratiocination, the deductive crime solving technique that later becomes championed by Sherlock Holmes. However, I would argue that Dupin's ability to solve the murders in the Rue Morgue in fact mocks deductive reasoning, suggesting instead that the universe is governed by perverse chaos. Of course, this goes against what Dupin and the narrator say explicitly in the story, but this is exactly the kind of literary trickery that Poe excels in. How could a detective possibly deduce that an enraged Ourang-Outang with a straight razor had committed the atrocities in the Rue Morgue. It is too bizarre and surreal. This particular theory is voiced in the story by the snotty and vengeful protagonist, nerdy Edwin, who harbors a horrific psychic ability.

I also think of Poe's Ourang-Outang as a monster like the werewolf (based on a real animal, but transmogrified in nightmare and imagination), so this gave me the idea of someone turning into Poe's Ourang-Outang like turning into a werewolf. However, instead of the traditional formula of "the curse of the werewolf," I thought it would be cool if Edwin had the ability to turn someone else into the Ourang-Outang monster like some kind of hideous mind control. 

I decided to set this twisted story in a contemporary high school, starting off with the protagonist Edwin arguing with his English teacher about the meaning of Poe's story, which gives the boy the idea for his revenge against his half-brother Fred.  Basically, Edwin believes that the family loves Fred more than him, and his jealousy ignites his twisted scheme for revenge. 

By the way, I think "Rue Morgue High" would make an excellent slasher/were-orangutan film, and I'm hoping that readers out there feel the same.  It's a cross between a werewolf story and a slasher story.  It would make a really cool movie!

As the release date of this horror comic approaches, I will post more sample art.  Here are some teaser samples from the brilliant artwork of Derliz Santacruz: