Review: Razorblades: The Horror Magazine Issue 1

“Razorblades Magazine,” co-created by James Tynion IV and Steve Foxe, is a modern horror anthology that has an eclectic selection of all things horror. The anthology magazine is a  collection of works “grounded in the modern world” and is slated to be released quarterly, for at least one year’s time. Though the team behind Razorblades is willing to produce the magazine for as long as it maintains a captive audience. If you ask me, they won’t have much trouble with that.

The anthology includes everything from one-shot comics to short stories, eerie splash pages to author interviews (this first issue includes a great conversation between Razorblades creator/publisher James Tynion IV and storied comic veteran Scott Synder). If you are looking for horror stories catered to a modern audience, look no further. The group of creators behind this first issue has you covered. 

Issue #1 includes 14 stories, each of which provides something unique. The first story, titled “The Washing Machine” is particularly unsettling. It’s a creepy, yet relatable, look at a young man whose most recent blackout coincides with gruesome consequences. As well as a  cautionary tale against using roadside motel washing machines. “Local Heroes” follows it up and does not disappoint; in fact lives up to the creator’s desire to share “small, sharp things that can cut you.” This one in particular cuts deep; a group of well-meaning parents ignore the “Bystander Effect” with chilling repercussions. “Mid-season Slump,” is a nice change of pace. Instead of a comic, it’s a short story, full of allusions that will land with a modern audience. A fresh, weird fiction, take on a classic “Haunting” story. 

Entries like “Excerpts from ‘Sleep Stories’” and “A Dream of Time” reckon with issues like angst and uncertainty, while the images from “Nothing to Get Hung About” or “Baby Blue” are just flat out menacing. The emphasis on creating modern horror stories comes through clearly in the overall tone of the work included here. For example, “Dead Means Dead” came off as a reminder that you can’t hide from your trauma; and that oftentimes, our biggest fears become our worst nightmares. While “She’s Got It” reads as a rebuking of nostalgia itself, by illustrating that the idyllic All-American home can be terrifying if you look close enough.

It doesn’t take long to get a feel for what these guys are getting after: all the possibilities  of what the horror genre can be without any of the recycled or repackaged stories. Although these tales all feel familiar to any fan of the genre, reading Razorblades won’t leave you mired in things you’ve seen or read before. Each entry provides a different experience, an opportunity to explore horror stories. Razorblades Magazine Issue # 1 should give any fans of horror more than enough reasons to pick it up.

Get Razorblades at https://www.readrazorblades.com/