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 by John Wagner, Alan Grant and Jose Oritz
What to expect: poetic and somewhat spooky justice being dished out by an endearingly insane computer. Collecting stories that originally appeared in IPC's short-lived horror comic Scream
Review by Alex Frith
Horror comics are an odd beast, and children's horror comics even more so. Unlike films, there's no relying on music and sudden noises to provide a scare. And with the reader able to see a whole page at once, it's that much harder to build up tension and pull out a surprise than with a prose novel. To succeed at all, a horror comic requires that the writer thinks up an idea that is genuinely chilling in its own right, and then an artist who can draw this in an effectively nasty way that rewards the reader with plenty of detail - and above all, an artist who can show a look of fear or menace on each character's face.
In a children's comic, these rules still apply, but it's got to be toned down a bit - an idea that IS scary, but one that adults won't think is too inherently or visually upsetting - is the key. And art that shies away from gore.
 We're told in the introduction and the lengthy text piece from this collection that 'The Thirteenth Floor' was by far the best strip in Scream, a short lived children's horror anthology from the early 1980s. More than that, it's intimated that this was the only strip that satisfied as a children's horror comic.
This very long-winded introduction is simply my way of saying that I wasn't expecting particularly great things, but boy was I proved wrong. I mean, at no point in reading the collection did I feel any actual terror, but 'the Thirteenth Floor' presents a somewhat silly premise, but it's incredibly well executed, and Jose Ortiz draws a mean face full of fear.
And what is the premise? Well, Max is a fancy computer that has been installed in a tower block. It/he controls various aspects of the block, from things such as central heating to communicating with the residents, and perhaps most importantly of all, the block's lift. Max the computer is also, and fundamentally, insane. He/it is desperate to look after all his residents, and will stop at nothing to preserve this mission. Across the 11 stories printed in this collection, Max turns his attention to a debt collector, some school bullies, some undesirable residents, dodgy workmen and the like, all in the name of keeping Maxwell Tower a decent place for decent people.
And what can a computer do, you ask? Well, it seems that Max has some fancy tricks up his shaft. After locking the deserving nasties into his lift, he sends them to the mysterious 13th Floor - a floor that may not even exist in real space - but that certainly exists in some sort of digital / hallucinatory nightmare. The horror in the strip emerges as Max dispatches his victims in some fitting way, either causing heart attacks, or sending them mad, or generally scaring the pants off them. All in lurid black and white fear-o-vision, with haunted faces a plenty, via classic depictions of giant spiders, grim reapers, skeletons and other classic visions of (child-friendly) terror.
 This is neat enough in itself, but what raises this strip to the next level is the ongoing narrative that sees Max becoming that much quicker to kill, indeed more eager to seek out new victims rather than simply react to any evil he encounters. For a screen with only a bunch of dots and wavy lines to his face, it's remarkable how well Ortiz shows Max's gradually heightening emotions and general air of menace. Max also gets smarter, working out how to arrange 'accidents' so that the police won't be so suspicious, even going as far as to hypnotize trusty residents to do his dirty work for him. Of course we don't get to see the outcome of Max's back and forth with the police in this collection, but the seeds are sown for intrigue to come. I'm curious to know whether Max would kill to protect himself (and by extension his tenants), or if he'll only do in true evil-doers.
I'm probably sounding a little over-eager. Let's not forget that this is a strip of its time, with 70s/80s design and feel to it, and it IS a children's comic, so really the sophistication of the storytelling is not up there with later 2000 AD strips. However, it is fun, effective, and a lot better than you might think for what it is. I'd imagine that it'll also be a treat for those who read the strip as a child to find that it's every bit as nasty and well told as (I imagine) it felt 20 years ago. But I could be wrong.
 Hibernia Press have done an excellent job of reproducing the artwork, all bound together in a smart black package. Congratulations also on getting John Wagner himself to pen an introduction, something he seems reluctant to do on any number of Rebellion reprints. Perhaps he's excited to talk about something that isn't Dredd for a change? There's also the usual reliable job from comics historian Ed Berridge, who delivers an impressively comprehensive dissection of Scream comic, no mean feat given that the comic itself only ran for 15 issues. The feature includes insights from original editor Barrie Tomlinson and writer Alan Grant, and takes us through the background to the creation of Scream, and every strip that ran in it. There's also some neat little art reproductions from the likes of Jesus Redondo, Steve Dillon and Brendan McCarthy.
This is not a must-buy collection, but for anyone with a passing curiosity about horror comics, or British comics in general, it is well worth buying. For a story nearly 25 years old, it stands up incredibly well, and will not disappoint the casual browser.
To get a copy, contact Hibernia at
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