Recommended reading - PHICTION: Tales from the World of Phantasm

 

PHICTION: Tales from the World of Phantasm

by Don Coscarelli.

Illustrated by Aaron Lea.
Foreward by Joe R. Lansdale.
 
Paperback.
Published by Molotov Press.
Published 2024.
ASIN: B0D2QZ3MQK
ISBN-13: 979-8988243038
 
Description:
 
“Electrifyingly tense and gruesome… Horror fans and cult devotees of the classic horror series will find Coscarelli’s ingenuity a rare treat.” - Kirkus Reviews.
 
“It’s magnificent. An impressive collection of remarkable short-story horror fiction that I can proudly display on my bookshelf next to Poe, King, Dahl, Barker, Bradbury, and Lovecraft.” - Nick DiGilio, WGN Chicago.
 

In 1979, filmmaker Don Coscarelli (Bubba Ho-tep, The Beastmaster) wrote and directed what became one of the seminal sci-fi/horror films of that era, Phantasm. The film was a worldwide theatrical success and spawned four acclaimed sequels.

 

For the first time in the history of horror cinema, a celebrated filmmaker of a cult-classic horror film series has continued the adventure by swapping mediums and personally authoring a series of fictional works exploring in detail the characters he originally created. Coscarelli has now returned to the world of Phantasm to tell more tales of these inspiring phantasmic heroes.

 

PHICTION comprises six stories set in the expansive Phantasm world that have never been told before:
 

In Life and Death in the 'Nam we explore the origin story of our favorite ice cream vendor/hero Reggie and his first encounter with the supernatural forces of evil in the jungles of the Vietnam war. It's a two-fisted tale of a young man enduring the horrors of war and at the same time facing down the horrors of the unknown.

 

In Behind the Mortuary Door we learn the secrets of the embalming trade from one of the most memorable characters from the original film.
 

In He Was Home Alone we revisit the young boy Tim, prior to the events from Phantasm Ill, and how, using only his wits and guile, he survives against unspeakable horrors.

 

In Tobe we follow the trail of one of Phantasm's forgotten characters as he witnesses the key events of that film from an entirely different perspective.

 

In The Rocky Road we track the events of one of the Phantasm saga's fan-favorite characters, the nunchuck-wielding Rocky as she's mustered out of the armed services and travels the backroads of the rural South in the early 90's. In a desperate search to find her family she encounters love, vengeance and horror, frequently reacting in the only way she knows how, with her fists and her feet.

 

And finally in Escape From New York we join another Phantasm fan-favorite character, the diminutive Chunk from Phantasm Ravager as he attempts to flee his home in the big city from the horror of an oncoming apocalypse. Along the way he bonds with some unexpected allies on a thrilling quest for survival.

 

In association with illustrator Aaron Lea (GHOST, Rob Zombie), Molotov Press now presents Phiction: Tales from the World of Phantasm.
 
Tales from the world of Phantasm.
 

Phiction conuures six stunning new tales from the world of the classic Phantasm film franchise. Acclaimed filmmaker, series creator and Master of Horror, Don Coscarelli, returns the reader to Morningside Mortuary with revelatory origin stories for some of the Phantasm saga’s most compelling characters including ice cream vendor/action hero Reggie, fan-favorite Rocky from Phantasm III and Chunk from Phantasm: Ravager.

 

Six Stories from the master of horror.
 

“You are in for a treat. As with the [Phantasm] films, these stories will give you what people call chicken skin, and others call Goosebumps. What [Phiction] will do above all else, is entertain. Dive in. The dark waters are fines.” – Joe R. Lansdale (best-selling author of Hap & Leonard, Cold in July and Bubba Ho-tep).