Weird Tales Magazine No. 367

by Jonathan Maberry

The first issue in the second century of Weird Tales features a new HELLBOY story by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden. Editor Jonathan Maberry has built a collection of cosmic horror that will destabilize your worldview.

“The Eyrie” by Jonathan Maberry
“The City in the A Hellboy Story” by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
“When the Stars Are The Weird Tales Origins of Cosmic Horror” by Nicholas Diak
“A Ghost Story for Christmas” by Paul Cornell
“The Forest Gate” by Samantha Underhill
“Night Fishing” by Caitlín R. Kiernan
“The Traveler” by Francesco Tignini
“Cosmic vs Abrahamic Horror” by F. Paul Wilson
“The Last Bonneville” by F. Paul Wilson
“Lost Generations” by Angela Yuriko Smith
“Concerto in Five Movements” by Ramsey Campbell
“Mozaika” by Nancy Kilpatrick
“Inkblot Succubus” by Nikki Sixx
“Laid to Rest” by Tim Lebbon
“Call of the Void - L’appel du vide” by Carol Gyzander

Genres: Horror, Short Stories

231 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 15, 2023

About the author

JONATHAN MABERRY is a NYTimes bestselling author, #1 Audible bestseller, 5-time Bram Stoker Award-winner, 4-time Scribe Award winner, Inkpot Award winner, comic book writer, and producer. He is the author of more than 50 novels, 190 short stories, 16 short story collections, 30 graphic novels, 14 nonfiction books, and has edited 26 anthologies. His vampire apocalypse book series, V-WARS, was a Netflix original series starring Ian Somerhalder. His 2009-10 run as writer on the Black Panther comic formed a large chunk of the recent blockbuster film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. His bestselling YA zombie series, Rot & Ruin is in development for film at Alcon Entertainment; and John Wick director, Chad Stahelski, is developing Jonathan’s Joe Ledger Thrillers for TV. Jonathan writes in multiple genres including suspense, thriller, horror, science fiction, epic fantasy, and action; and he writes for adults, teens and middle grade. His works include The Pine Deep Trilogy, The Kagen the Damned Trilogy, NecroTek, Ink, Glimpse, the Rot & Ruin series, the Dead of Night series, The Wolfman, X-Files Origins: Devil’s Advocate, The Sleepers War (with Weston Ochse), Mars One, and many others. He is the editor of high-profile anthologies including Weird Tales: 100 Years of Weird, The X-Files, Aliens: Bug Hunt, Out of Tune, Don’t Turn out the Lights: A Tribute to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, Baker Street Irregulars, Nights of the Living Dead, Shadows & Verse, and others. His comics include Marvel Zombies Return, The Punisher: Naked Kills, Wolverine: Ghosts, Godzilla vs Cthulhu: Death May Die, Bad Blood and many others. Jonathan has written in many popular licensed worlds, including Hellboy, True Blood, The Wolfman, John Carter of Mars, Sherlock Holmes, C.H.U.D., Diablo IV, Deadlands, World of Warcraft, Planet of the Apes, Aliens, Predator, Karl Kolchak, and many others. He the president of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers, and the editor of Weird Tales Magazine. He lives in San Diego, California. Find him online at www.jonathanmaberry.com

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give it 3.5 if possible. There was enough I liked, but not necessarily loved, which is pretty standard for an anthology. This was my first experience reading an issue of Weird Tales, which was pretty cool. This was also (kind of, sort of) research-adjacent, for my program. I liked the layout, starting with the "Eyrie", Jonathan Maberry's editorial about the theme of the magazine (Cosmic Horror, in this case), some fun stories and a couple essays! I didn't realize there were some essays about Cosmic Horror in here, that was a fun discovery. I didn't love all the stories, but a few standouts were:
“The City in the Sea: A Hellboy Story” by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden (because Hellboy, obviously)
“When the Stars Are Right: The Weird Tales Origins of Cosmic Horror” by Nicholas Diak (Enjoyable essay)
“Night Fishing” by Caitlín R. Kiernan (I particularly enjoyed this and look forward to reading more of her work)
“The Last Bonneville” by F. Paul Wilson (also pretty fun)

Overall, an enjoyable experience and I'm really looking forward to reading more Weird Tales Magazine, as well as researching the weird tale for my program.

[Joshua Begley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very solid collection of cosmic horror stories. The Hellboy tale was fun, but the real standouts were Caitlin Kiernan's "Night Fishing" and Ramsey Campbell's "Concerto in Five Movements." They were both creepy, disturbing, and I think best captured the feel of things in the unmaking, and the terrible, cruel forces that occupy the universe.

[Reesha · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with every collection of short stories, it's difficult to rate this as a whole, because some of these stories deserve 5 stars while others are just okay. There are also a couple of articles (both worth a read) and some poetry. I don't think anything in here is truly terrible, so I'd put it at maybe 3.5 stars, given the option.

Some of my favourites are the single Hellboy story (he's on the cover, but there's just the one), The City in the Sea; a psychology-based horror called Night Fishing that ended very differently than I'd expected; a story of an isolated and hyperfocused artist, Mozaika - this was my absolute favourite and I'll reread it for sure; and a story of a grieving and directionless photographer, Call of the Void - L'appel du Vide.

I also liked The Traveler a lot at first, as it read like the introduction to a really fascinating novel, but then it turned out to be only three pages long! It was way too short to be a stand-alone, in my opinion, and the lack of anything more to it soured it for me.

This issue is worth a read if you're into cosmic horror, but I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to find it.

[Michael Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

The entire edition was excellent, and the cover art is fantastic. I was a particular fan of “The Forest Gate,” which surprised me since I don’t usually like poetry. Such an excellent blend of enchanting imagery with cosmic mystery. The language gave me wonder and fear with themes of lust, curiosity, and the unknown. Really left a lasting impression, pondering the mysteries and consequences of too(?) easily following someone into the unknown.

[VII · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good. Almost all stories or even the essays were interesting. I actually remember listening to most of it in a single day, having to walk four hours because of a tire puncture. Maybe this influenced my opinion somehow.

[Nick Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some great Lovecraftian fiction. Loved the bear story.

[Ace McGee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tales of cosmic horror. Very good collection.

[Ben Jahn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read the hellboy story, it was pretty good though I think the ending was kind of lacking.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Happy 100 year anniversary to Weird Tales!!!

[Tony Ciak · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice stories