Cinema Panopticum

(Fantagraphics, 2005)
™ and ©2005 Thomas Ott

Good horror is hard to sustain. Stories are about asking questions, with the implicit promise they’ll be answered, and horror is about the unknown. Revealing information breeds a familiarity that undermines the suspense. Cheers, then, to Panopticum, Thomas Ott’s creepy little cylinder that packs five shots into its chambers.

Bang, you’re dead. Framed by a girl at a penny arcade viewing these ghastly tales, the book tells in-and-out stories that are downright mean, as good horror should be, though there’s also the beneficial touch of humor. There’s no dialogue, in keeping with the silent shows played at old carnivals. The best is probably the last story, whether or not you see it coming. It leaves the reader hungry, but as time goes by, more and more sated. May Cthulu and whoever else lurks out there continue to bless Ott’s monstrous mind.

— Brendan McGinley

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#1 (Hardcover Edition)

Cover Price: $18.95
1 copy available for $14.50

Thomas Ott