The genre of comic horror is a
venerable one: Young Frankenstein, Werewolves of London, The
Addams Family, and on its cheerier episodes, the Buffy the Vampire
Slayer TV series are all fine examples. 
Richard Sala’s black and white series Peculia, originally
appearing in the comic Evil Eye, follows in this tradition. Our heroine Peculia is a very attractive
young woman with short black hair styled in a bob, who always wears a short
black dress. She seems to live in a old
European village populated by pipe-smoking locals in britches and funny hats;
she herself has a very helpful butler called Ambrose, who rescues her from
certain death more than once. Her main
foes are Justine, a rather ditzy blonde dressed in superhero garb, and the
scheming villain Obscurus, whose face is always totally covered by bandages and
sunglasses. The brief adventures mostly
involve bungling ghouls, ghastly monsters, wicked witches and nubile teen
girls. Through all the turmoil, Peculia
maintains a spunky attitude and packs a mean punch. Sala’s artwork is fun – it is not highly polished, but it has
plenty of energy.

Link: Fantagraphics
Books

© 2002 Christian Perring. All rights reserved.

Christian Perring,
Ph.D., is Chair of the Philosophy Department at Dowling College, Long Island.
He is editor of Metapsychology Online Review. His main research is on
philosophical issues in psychiatry. He is especially interested in exploring
how philosophers can play a greater role in public life, and he is keen to help
foster communication between philosophers, mental health professionals, and the
general public.

Categories: Fiction, ArtAndPhotography