The Mother of Toads

I can’t remember if I have mentioned this yet, but I’m currently working on a digest-sized comic book based on Clark Ashton Smith’s short story, “The Mother of Toads” for (hopeful) release at Gencon in early August (knock on wood). 16 pages in black and white… possibly there will be a color cover depending on cost.

This makes the third “Appendix N” author story that I have adapted to comic book form (last year I released Lovecraft’s “Dagon” and I also adapted A.E. Merritt’s “People of the Pit” to a comic book — both will be appearing in Tales from the Magician’s Skull magazine). Eventually I hope to publish a horror collection of these comics so if you missed out on the originals, do not despair.

There is some nudity and toad sex … so be warned. “The Mother of Toads” is one of CAS’s less well known stories, and, AFAIK, I am the first to have adapted it to comic book form. I was excited to see that there was a film short adaptation (part of the 2011 horror anthology film, ‘The Theatre Bizarre“), When I rented “The Theatre Bizarre,” I found myself underwhelmed. “The Mother of Toads” segment was, in my opinion, pretty good (although they made some narrative choices I wouldn’t have), but, after watching 2 more segments, I got bored with “The Theatre Bizarre” and gave up. I’m pretty hot-and-cold when it comes to horror… sometimes I enjoy it a great deal, but some stuff (particularly slasher horror) just bores me, so take my review with a grain of salt.