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Hybrid Moments: A Literary Tribute to the Misfits
You know the songs. They're etched into every punk's brain. Not just because they're catchy, but because there's something else there. Glenn Danzig's lyrics evoke intense imagery. Beautiful, dark, monstery imagery. There's poetry between the whoa-oh-ohs. There are stories in those songs. They just need to be told.
Now, underground fiction's most talented fiends have created a series of tales inspired by the Misfits. In these pages, an astro zombie contemplates the life she left behind as she goes into flesh-ripping battle. A team of organ harvesters shows just how violent the world can be. A wannabe true crime reporter goes on a grisly road trip that takes him a little too close to his subject matter. A mysterious set of skulls pushes a young woman to create a collection of her very own. A teenager from mars excavates the fetid product of his earthly lust.
These new twists on the songs you love are sure to surprise, startle, sicken and force you to see this timeless horror punk in a completely different light.
Now, underground fiction's most talented fiends have created a series of tales inspired by the Misfits. In these pages, an astro zombie contemplates the life she left behind as she goes into flesh-ripping battle. A team of organ harvesters shows just how violent the world can be. A wannabe true crime reporter goes on a grisly road trip that takes him a little too close to his subject matter. A mysterious set of skulls pushes a young woman to create a collection of her very own. A teenager from mars excavates the fetid product of his earthly lust.
These new twists on the songs you love are sure to surprise, startle, sicken and force you to see this timeless horror punk in a completely different light.
- GenresHorrorAnthologies
170 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 21, 2016
Three and a half stars.
Despite my older age, I have developed more than a fondness for punk rock and I have a pretty good knowledge of the bands from The Sex Pistols to Rancid. The Misfits is a band I have heard of but never really listened to. With a little research, I discovered they were one of the first and foremost bands to play horror punk, a music sub-genre that borrows deeply from horror books and movies for their inspiration. So it seems fitting that M. P. Johnson and Sam Richard would edit a collection titled Hybrid Moments: A Literary Tribute to the Misfits.. Johnson wrote a nice but brief introduction that explains the band's appeal and their connection to the horror genre. It puts the reader into the mood for the 15 stories to follow. Before reading this, I did a crash course in Misfits tracks and, even from that brief binge, I can attest that these writers captured the mood of the music quite well.
What I don't know is if the collected fiction is actually based on the songs or themes but the rapidly paced and rude mood is certainly there. Matthew Vaughn's "Eliminate the Entire Human Race" starts out the madness with a zombie tale told from the zombie's view. "Slice-and-Grab" by Mark Zirbel is a no nonsense grunge piece where body organ stealing is a popular obsession. Almost all the stories in this collection are fast and dirty with large doses of gore and attitude. The one slightly more mellow surprise was David Agranoff's "She is on the Run" which seemed more suited for a baby boomer like me. But even then there is a evil twist to it.
All of the short fiction fits the bill. Yet they do so to the point that they have a sameness. I do not think that is necessarily a weakness considering this is a tribute to a band with a distinct hardcore style. While all the authors have clear gifts in writing and narrative, I think a better knowledge of the band and the music than I have might help to bring it all together for the reader. Nonetheless, there is some real talent here, enough to get me to check the author bios at the end to see what else they have written. By all means, if you are a horror punk aficionado , get this. If not, you still might like it.
Despite my older age, I have developed more than a fondness for punk rock and I have a pretty good knowledge of the bands from The Sex Pistols to Rancid. The Misfits is a band I have heard of but never really listened to. With a little research, I discovered they were one of the first and foremost bands to play horror punk, a music sub-genre that borrows deeply from horror books and movies for their inspiration. So it seems fitting that M. P. Johnson and Sam Richard would edit a collection titled Hybrid Moments: A Literary Tribute to the Misfits.. Johnson wrote a nice but brief introduction that explains the band's appeal and their connection to the horror genre. It puts the reader into the mood for the 15 stories to follow. Before reading this, I did a crash course in Misfits tracks and, even from that brief binge, I can attest that these writers captured the mood of the music quite well.
What I don't know is if the collected fiction is actually based on the songs or themes but the rapidly paced and rude mood is certainly there. Matthew Vaughn's "Eliminate the Entire Human Race" starts out the madness with a zombie tale told from the zombie's view. "Slice-and-Grab" by Mark Zirbel is a no nonsense grunge piece where body organ stealing is a popular obsession. Almost all the stories in this collection are fast and dirty with large doses of gore and attitude. The one slightly more mellow surprise was David Agranoff's "She is on the Run" which seemed more suited for a baby boomer like me. But even then there is a evil twist to it.
All of the short fiction fits the bill. Yet they do so to the point that they have a sameness. I do not think that is necessarily a weakness considering this is a tribute to a band with a distinct hardcore style. While all the authors have clear gifts in writing and narrative, I think a better knowledge of the band and the music than I have might help to bring it all together for the reader. Nonetheless, there is some real talent here, enough to get me to check the author bios at the end to see what else they have written. By all means, if you are a horror punk aficionado , get this. If not, you still might like it.
March 31, 2017
Duality within many of the characters. Gore-tastic excitement, with werewolves, serpents, skulls, monsters, rotten meat, dimensions and planets. Tainted with americana and a bit of nostalgia.
My favorites of the lot:
American Gods, American Monsters by Jose Cruz
Bone Birds by Darci Schummer
Helena Drive by Glen Damien Campbell
An Answer From the Stars by P.J. Kryfko
Boom by MP Johnson
My favorites of the lot:
American Gods, American Monsters by Jose Cruz
Bone Birds by Darci Schummer
Helena Drive by Glen Damien Campbell
An Answer From the Stars by P.J. Kryfko
Boom by MP Johnson
June 30, 2020
Of the top five most coveted anthology subjects I have come across, Weirdpunk Books has published three of them. “The New Flesh” is themed for David Cronenberg, “Blood For you” is themed for G.G. Allin, and “Hybrid Moments,“ is themed around the Misfits. (The other two are the Wu-Tang Clan one from Clash Books and the C.H.U.D. one from Crystal Lake Publishing). When I found out that this is the aesthetic of everything Weirdpunk Books publishes, I knew that I had to read everything. “Hybrid Moments” is only the first in the catalog that I plan to read this year.
“Hybrid Moments” is a literary tribute to the Misfits. Many of us have been fans of the Misfits for years and years. I have been a fan since my friend gave me a (now long gone) bootleg cassette tape of their songs for my birthday one year. (It was a copy of a bootleg show from ‘88 so the quality was piss garbage, I couldn’t understand many of the garbled lyrics, but I liked the way the sound made me feel.) Being someone who was into horror and a lot of weird cinema, I knew they were one of the groups for me. However, I was not a die hard fan outside of that tape. I had actually not listened to them for a decade before I started reading “Hybrid Moments,” so reading the stories and listening to the music again really brought me back.
“Hybrid Moments” is a great collection, but like any anthology, there are stories that I really enjoyed and others that it took me some to get through. With the themes of the Misfits songs varying, the stories vary as well. It is just common sense that some of them are more enjoyable than others, and my favorites might be your least favorites.
My top three:
“American Gods, American Monsters” by Jose Cruz.
Maybe this is because this is the longest story in the anthology, this is my favorite. The story surrounds a man who is trying to find a killer, Marylin Prescott Ford, a beauty queen that is also going around Florida murdering. This was a great cat and mouse story, and the payoff was satisfying. Now that I think about the way that it unfolds and the subject, this might be one of my favorite short stories I have read in awhile.
“Slice-and-Grab” by Mark Zirbel
Stealing body parts has become so lucrative that it is now a business. The narrator, an old-timer in the business, is breaking in a new employee, Kyle. This is a clash between the old school and new school, the story is quick and fun with a great ending.
“Helena Drive” Glen Damien Campbell
A man goes on a first date and tries to hide that he is a superfan of a TV show, “Helena Drive.” He feels embarrassed by his date learning, but the date goes well. When he follows her back to her home, he learns why the date went so well.
Bonus Favorite:
I am learning quickly that anything Sam Richard writes is amazing. His contribution, as editor and lifelong Misfits fan, “The Verdant Holocaust” is another story right up my alley about a secluded cult. Everything I have read of his seems to be a story that I would want to write myself.
As I go through this collection, looking for my top three, I realize that there are so many that I could have chosen, and my top three could be different depending on the day. There were a few I did not care for, but as a whole, this is a great collection and a great tribute to an awesome band from one of the most exciting publishers.
“Hybrid Moments” is a literary tribute to the Misfits. Many of us have been fans of the Misfits for years and years. I have been a fan since my friend gave me a (now long gone) bootleg cassette tape of their songs for my birthday one year. (It was a copy of a bootleg show from ‘88 so the quality was piss garbage, I couldn’t understand many of the garbled lyrics, but I liked the way the sound made me feel.) Being someone who was into horror and a lot of weird cinema, I knew they were one of the groups for me. However, I was not a die hard fan outside of that tape. I had actually not listened to them for a decade before I started reading “Hybrid Moments,” so reading the stories and listening to the music again really brought me back.
“Hybrid Moments” is a great collection, but like any anthology, there are stories that I really enjoyed and others that it took me some to get through. With the themes of the Misfits songs varying, the stories vary as well. It is just common sense that some of them are more enjoyable than others, and my favorites might be your least favorites.
My top three:
“American Gods, American Monsters” by Jose Cruz.
Maybe this is because this is the longest story in the anthology, this is my favorite. The story surrounds a man who is trying to find a killer, Marylin Prescott Ford, a beauty queen that is also going around Florida murdering. This was a great cat and mouse story, and the payoff was satisfying. Now that I think about the way that it unfolds and the subject, this might be one of my favorite short stories I have read in awhile.
“Slice-and-Grab” by Mark Zirbel
Stealing body parts has become so lucrative that it is now a business. The narrator, an old-timer in the business, is breaking in a new employee, Kyle. This is a clash between the old school and new school, the story is quick and fun with a great ending.
“Helena Drive” Glen Damien Campbell
A man goes on a first date and tries to hide that he is a superfan of a TV show, “Helena Drive.” He feels embarrassed by his date learning, but the date goes well. When he follows her back to her home, he learns why the date went so well.
Bonus Favorite:
I am learning quickly that anything Sam Richard writes is amazing. His contribution, as editor and lifelong Misfits fan, “The Verdant Holocaust” is another story right up my alley about a secluded cult. Everything I have read of his seems to be a story that I would want to write myself.
As I go through this collection, looking for my top three, I realize that there are so many that I could have chosen, and my top three could be different depending on the day. There were a few I did not care for, but as a whole, this is a great collection and a great tribute to an awesome band from one of the most exciting publishers.
April 10, 2021
Hybrid Moments: A Literary Tribute to The Misfits edited by Sam Richard and MP Johnson is a collection of tales that range from fun light horror to darker tales that will make readers a bit queasy. If you listen to the Misfits, this is one you don’t want to miss!
Some of the tales hinted at ideas behind songs or lore from the band, while other tales focused in on the lyrics by Glenn Danzig. I really enjoyed the ones that I could match up with a song, but there were also a few that I wasn’t sure about.
There were so many tales in here that I absolutely loved, but a few were not for me. My favorite tales include:
Exterminate The Whole Human Race by Matthew Vaughn
Prison Food by Ross Peterson
Slice-And-Grab by Mark Zirbel
Bone Birds by Darci Schummer
More here: https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-...
Some of the tales hinted at ideas behind songs or lore from the band, while other tales focused in on the lyrics by Glenn Danzig. I really enjoyed the ones that I could match up with a song, but there were also a few that I wasn’t sure about.
There were so many tales in here that I absolutely loved, but a few were not for me. My favorite tales include:
Exterminate The Whole Human Race by Matthew Vaughn
Prison Food by Ross Peterson
Slice-And-Grab by Mark Zirbel
Bone Birds by Darci Schummer
More here: https://www.ericarobynreads.com/book-...
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November 22, 2023Actually, I don't know the songs. I know more about the movie Astro Zombies than the song inspired by it (though admittedly the reason that otherwise forgettable movie became prominent enough for video-store-bargain-bin-lurking teen me to find is probably due to the notoriety of the song). So any Misfits/Danzig references in this collection are completely lost on me.
But I am getting more familiar with whatever genre this falls into- Splatter Punk? Bizarro? Extreme Horror? Whatever it's called, it has some familiar parameters, which includes plenty of bloody guts, torn out fetuses, and ample use of fuckity fuck fuck fuck.
A few of my favorite stories in here appear early on: Jose Cruz's "American God, American Monsters," with its purple-prosed apocalypse nightmarescape, and Ross Peterson's "Prison Food" with its over-the-top toilet humor.
Darci's Schummer's "Bone Birds" would've been my absolute favorite, but the last two pages, where the obligatory violence that's been brewing under the surface is laid out plainly, feels tact on and weirdly anticlimactic. Conversely, the next story, James Edward O'Brien's "La Caja," feels too short, and the world being conjured up seems ripe for bigger pastures. Another good voice-driven story, Daniel Otto Jack Petersen's "Reality of the Wolf," contains its own interesting mythology.
I had no idea what was going on in Nicholaus Patnaude's "Static Imago," but the next story, P.J Kryfko's "An Answer from the Stars," adds a great new twist to the familiar 50's sci-fi movie trope of the mad scientist with the beautiful daughter. It's also written in an economical, effective manner, which is rare for this genre.
Finished on Halloween night!
But I am getting more familiar with whatever genre this falls into- Splatter Punk? Bizarro? Extreme Horror? Whatever it's called, it has some familiar parameters, which includes plenty of bloody guts, torn out fetuses, and ample use of fuckity fuck fuck fuck.
A few of my favorite stories in here appear early on: Jose Cruz's "American God, American Monsters," with its purple-prosed apocalypse nightmarescape, and Ross Peterson's "Prison Food" with its over-the-top toilet humor.
Darci's Schummer's "Bone Birds" would've been my absolute favorite, but the last two pages, where the obligatory violence that's been brewing under the surface is laid out plainly, feels tact on and weirdly anticlimactic. Conversely, the next story, James Edward O'Brien's "La Caja," feels too short, and the world being conjured up seems ripe for bigger pastures. Another good voice-driven story, Daniel Otto Jack Petersen's "Reality of the Wolf," contains its own interesting mythology.
I had no idea what was going on in Nicholaus Patnaude's "Static Imago," but the next story, P.J Kryfko's "An Answer from the Stars," adds a great new twist to the familiar 50's sci-fi movie trope of the mad scientist with the beautiful daughter. It's also written in an economical, effective manner, which is rare for this genre.
Finished on Halloween night!
February 20, 2023
Fifteen stories of horror and violence inspired by the music and lyrics of The Misfits. My favorite stories were from José Cruz, Glen Damien Campbell and P.J. Kryfko.
Matthew Vaughn - Exterminate the Whole Human Race ⭐⭐
José Cruz - American Gods, American Monsters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ross Peterson - Prison Food ⭐⭐⭐
Mark Zirbel - Slice-and-Grab ⭐⭐⭐
Darci Schummer - Bone Birds ⭐⭐⭐
James Edward O'Brien - La Caja ⭐⭐
David Agranoff - She Is on the Run ⭐⭐
Glen Damien Campbell - Helena Drive ⭐⭐⭐⭐
T.A. Wardrope - The Soft Remains ⭐
Christine Trace - Remnants ⭐⭐
Daniel Otto Jack Peterson - Reality of the Wolf ⭐⭐⭐
Nicholaus Patnaude - Static Imago ⭐⭐⭐
P.J. Kryfko - An Answer From the Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sam Richard - The Verdant Holocaust ⭐⭐⭐
MP Johnson - Boom ⭐⭐⭐
Matthew Vaughn - Exterminate the Whole Human Race ⭐⭐
José Cruz - American Gods, American Monsters ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ross Peterson - Prison Food ⭐⭐⭐
Mark Zirbel - Slice-and-Grab ⭐⭐⭐
Darci Schummer - Bone Birds ⭐⭐⭐
James Edward O'Brien - La Caja ⭐⭐
David Agranoff - She Is on the Run ⭐⭐
Glen Damien Campbell - Helena Drive ⭐⭐⭐⭐
T.A. Wardrope - The Soft Remains ⭐
Christine Trace - Remnants ⭐⭐
Daniel Otto Jack Peterson - Reality of the Wolf ⭐⭐⭐
Nicholaus Patnaude - Static Imago ⭐⭐⭐
P.J. Kryfko - An Answer From the Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sam Richard - The Verdant Holocaust ⭐⭐⭐
MP Johnson - Boom ⭐⭐⭐
October 15, 2019
This is a lot of fun, both exactly what you think it will be and something much more. For some stories, it's obvious which Misfits song they're inspired by. Others aren't so obvious. Many of the writers have taken the themes of the songs and done something really creative with them. Not every story necessarily worked for me, but I appreciate the originality behind them all. This was a fun October read.
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