OUT NOW: Reissues of Three Early Experimental Novellas

Posted in Uncategorized on August 1, 2012 by carltonmellick

Three of my earlier works have just been reprinted. These were written when I was in my early twenties, back when I had a much more surreal, disjointed writing style. If you’re only familiar with my newer stuff and want to check out the kind of bizarro fiction I was writing over a decade ago, these three are good place to start. Other works written in this style include: Teeth and Tongue Landscape, Baby Jesus Butt Plug, and Adolf in Wonderland. Once I wrote The Menstruating Mall my style began to evolve in another direction, one that focused more on plot and less on poetic prose.

All of these reprints include new introductions, new cover art, and are priced at $7.95.

THE STEEL BREAKFAST ERA: A POSTMODERN ZOMBIE NOVEL

It’s Naked Lunch meets Dawn of the Dead in this postmodern post-apocalyptic zombie nightmare by cult bizarro author Carlton Mellick III.

Hundreds of years have passed since the living dead conquered the Earth. Surviving humans have been reduced to vermin, breeding like cockroaches in ancient fortified high-rise apartment buildings. Those who are still lingering in the shadowy waste have either gone completely insane or become infested with parasites that mutate flesh into steel-string sculptures. There is nothing left to live for, no hope for any kind of future. Only the long wait for death remains. But one man refuses to die just yet. He must first find a wife, somebody who will love him, so that he doesn’t have to die alone. And he won’t give up until he finds this person, even if he has to build a woman himself using the scrap body parts that litter the hallways.

Told in Mellick’s early schizophrenic prose style, Steel Breakfast Era is perhaps the most surreal zombie apocalypse story ever told.

RAZOR WIRE PUBIC HAIR

A surreal sexual nightmare by cult bizarro author Carlton Mellick III.

In a dark future where males have become extinct, humans are forced to breed with factory-manufactured living fuck-toys that possess an abundance of both male and female sex organs. One such creature is adopted by a warrior dominatrix named Celsia, who is trying to have a baby. But once she takes her new merchandise home, things don’t quite go as planned. Wild tribes of rapists, women with multiple vaginas covering their bodies, sex tournaments, erotic mutilation, and a giant vagina possessing the secrets of the universe, this is one ugly perverted hell of a world.

Told in Mellick’s early schizophrenic prose style, Razor Wire Pubic Hair is like postmodern minimalistic art mixed with Japanese “guro” porn.

FISHY-FLESHED

Was Jesus actually a time-traveler from the future? The citizens of Ocean City believe this could be the case. Their world has become so technologically advanced that everyone now possesses the ability to walk on water, cure diseases, multiply food, and raise the dead… They are like an entire civilization of Jesus Christs. But when a team of researchers travel back in time to the days of Christ, they discover the past is a lot different than they ever imagined. It is an illogical flatland lacking in dimension and color, a sick-scape of crispy squid people wandering the desert for no apparent reason. And when they meet the Messiah, they learn he is not actually the great man they were expecting him to be. In fact, he isn’t exactly a man at all.

Told in Mellick’s early schizophrenic prose style, Fishy-fleshed is part pulp science-fiction, part experimental fiction, and 100% bizarro as hell.

OUT NOW: “Ugly Heaven”

Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction, Carlton Mellick III, surrealism on May 24, 2012 by carltonmellick

My novella Ugly Heaven is finally back in print and is now available at amazon.com.

UGLY HEAVEN

Heaven is no longer a paradise. It was once a blissful utopia full of wonders far beyond human comprehension. But that was a long, long time ago. The afterlife is now in ruins. It has become an ugly, lonely wasteland populated by strange monstrous beasts, masturbating angels, and sad man-like beings wallowing in the remains of the once-great Kingdom of God.

As two men die and awake in Heaven, they find themselves inside of new bodies with strange alien skin. They no longer remember their previous lives. All they really know is that the afterlife is a horrible, ugly place. Desperately seeking answers, allies, and refuge, these two newcomers explore this surreal world. But what they will soon find is that Heaven has become a place not that much different from Hell.

Available at amazon.com

New issue of The Dream People

Posted in Bizarro Authors, Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction, Carlton Mellick III, eraserhead press on May 14, 2012 by carltonmellick

dream people 37The Dream People is the ORIGINAL bizarro fiction webzine, debuting back in 1999 (when I was the head editor). It’s now on issue #37. An excerpt from my book Armadillo Fists has been published there. There are also novel excerpts and short stories from Michael A. Arnzen, Blake Butler, Sean Kilpatrick, William Pauley III, Andersen Prunty, Donna Fleck and Gary J. Shipley. And an essay from Lance Olsen.

Check it out here: http://www.dreampeople.org/

Cover art for future books: Wonka, Quicksand House, and Satan Burger: 10th Anniversary Edition

Posted in art, Bizarro Artists, Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction on May 8, 2012 by carltonmellick



Just showing off cover art for books that won’t be coming out for quite a while. There’s “Wonka” which is kind of like a retelling of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in the world of Beyond Thunderdome, “Quicksand House” a quiet surreal story about children in search of their parents inside a mansion the size of a country, and the super-sized 10 year anniversary edition of Satan Burger which will feature a lot of bonus material like illustrations, new intros, and perhaps even new bonus chapters. (Note: this version won’t be replacing the original edition with the butt on the cover.)

OUT NOW: “Red World”

Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Events, Bizarro Fiction, Carlton Mellick III on April 30, 2012 by carltonmellick

My novelette “Red World” has just been released by White belly Press. It is a 30 page trade paperback with a very limited run of 100 copies. If you want a copy I suggest you get it right away.

This story tells the tale of a recovering junky trying to save his 8-year-old brother from a life of prostitution in a surreal version of New York City — a place where street kids mutate into fish-like creatures, the homeless stilt-walk through oceans of insects, and the only colors left visible to the human eye are shades of red.

For those of you who like darker urban bizarro tales similar to my novellas Egg Man or Crab Town, this is a story I recommend.

To reserve a copy contact Matthew Humphrey at:
whitebellypress@gmail.com

OUT NOW: “The Handsome Squirm”

Posted in Bizarro Books, Bizarro Fiction, Carlton Mellick III, surrealism, Uncategorized on April 18, 2012 by carltonmellick

THE HANDSOME SQUIRM

A tale of marriage, child-rearing, and vaginas that eat people.

A man is arrested in the middle of the night. He doesn’t know why. He doesn’t remember committing any crime. The cops drop him off in a small community in the middle of the woods where a wedding is about to begin. It is his wedding. He doesn’t recognize the bride, but she’s allegedly pregnant with his children. All twelve of them. And by law, he must marry her or go to prison for the next two decades.

But who is this strange woman he is to spend the rest of his life with? She doesn’t seem quite human. Her expressions are cold and emotionless. Her movements are like that of a spider. She is Usagi, a creature who feeds on her human mate during pregnancy. Now this man has to find a way to terminate the marriage if he is to survive. But it’s not going to be easy. His friends, his family, and his country are all against him. They believe a father should be willing to give up anything for the sake of his family. Even his life.

Like Franz Kafka’s The Trial meets an erotic body horror version of The Blob, this darkly absurd tale is classic Mellick.

AVAILABLE AT AMAZON.COM

BizarroCon tickets available

Posted in Bizarro Authors, Bizarro Books, Bizarro Events on April 17, 2012 by carltonmellick

Tickets for BizarroCon are now on sale. If you are involved or want to be involved in the bizarro fiction scene this is a must-attend event.

Go to the website for more info.

bizarrocon

New Carlton Mellick III Message Board

Posted in deadite press, extreme horror on January 25, 2012 by carltonmellick

I now have a new message board. Come by and say hi.

It is here:

Carlton Mellick III Forum

This board is part of a bigger community called The Slaughter House, which brings together cult horror authors and publishers. There are also boards for Robert Devereaux, Edward Lee, Brian Keene, Wrath James White and others.

T-2000 action figure

Posted in Bizarro Fiction, Mr. T, zombies on January 2, 2012 by carltonmellick

For those of you who have read my book Zombies and Shit, you know that Mr. T is featured in the story as a zombie-smashing cyborg called the T-2000. Here’s a T-2000 action figure made by Warhorse Customs.

Check out more images here:

T-2000 at figurerealm.com

PS – This is just a fan made custom. It’s not actually for sale.

OUT NOW: “Armadillo Fists” + 2 more bizarro books

Posted in Athena Villaverde, Bizarro Authors, Bizarro Books, Cameron Pierce, Carlton Mellick III, eraserhead press, horror on December 29, 2011 by carltonmellick

My new novel, Armadillo Fists, is now available at amazon.com. In my opinion, this is probably the best book I’ve written yet. A lot of my books have been released this year, but this is the one I most recommend. Stylistically, it is similar to Zombies and Shit or Crab Town (It has the epic pacing and character development of Zombies and Shit, but with the crime-drama-set-in-a-surreal-world flavor of Crab Town.)

Anyway, if you only read one of my books published this year, make it this one…

armadillo fists

ARMADILLO FISTS

A weird-as-hell gangster story set in a world where people drive giant mechanical dinosaurs instead of cars.

Her name is Psycho June Howard, aka Armadillo Fists, a woman who replaced both of her hands with living armadillos. She was once the most bloodthirsty fighter in the world of illegal underground boxing. But now she is on the run from a group of psychotic gangsters who believe she’s responsible for the death of their boss.

With the help of a stegosaurus driver named Mr. Fast Awesome–who thinks he is God’s gift to women even though he doesn’t have any arms or legs–June must do whatever it takes to escape her pursuers, even if she has to kill each and every one of them in the process.

Strange, engaging characters, breakneck pacing, and jam-packed with more brilliantly weird concepts than you’ll know what to do with–this is cult author Carlton Mellick III at his best.

Available at amazon.com

In addition to Armadillo Fists, two more bizarro books have just been released:

As I have said in the past, I mentor new authors from time to time. Cameron Pierce and Athena Villaverde are two authors I work with regularly. I put a lot of love and attention into these authors and highly recommend their work to those who enjoy my books. They have just released books that I consider must-reads. So if you plan on getting Armadillo Fists, I recommend also adding these two books to your amazon.com shopping cart.


CLOCKWORK GIRL

BY ATHENA VILLAVERDE

Athena writes strange urban fairy tales. If urban fairy tales are your thing then she is a must read. Think of her as the bizarro equivalent to alternative young adult authors like Francesca Lia Block, Kathe Koja, and Charles de Lint. Fans of Tim Burton, Hayao Miyazaki, or any Studio Ghibli/Japanese animation films would also love her work.

Athena’s 2nd book is the real deal. If you thought she couldn’t possibly beat her awesome debut effort, Starfish Girl, then you’ll be happy to hear her second book not only surpasses her first but blows it completely out of the water. Clockwork Girl is a collection of three short novellas, including the title story which you might have already read in the Bizarro Starter Kit (purple). It also includes “Caterpillar Girl” which is basically a high school drama set in a world of bug people and “Beehive Girl” which is a poetic story about a dancer with living beehive skin who demands the best of her dance partners or else they will be stung to death.

This book is designed to be an introduction to Athena’s work. It proves that she will soon become a major female voice . . . not just in the world of bizarro fiction, but in the world of literature as a whole.

Available at
amazon.com


GARGOYLE GIRLS OF SPIDER ISLAND

BY CAMERON PIERCE

If you follow bizarro fiction you probably already know about the work of Cameron Pierce. When it comes to strange imagery, Cameron is king. Nobody can make you visualize the surreal quite like Cameron can. His stories take place in weird worlds that go beyond anything you’ve ever imagined. As I often say, he is best described as Dr. Seuss meets David Cronenberg (and by Cronenberg, I mean early squishy “Videodrome” Cronenberg).

His latest book, Gargoyle Girls of Spider Island, is in my top three favorite Cameron books next to Ass Goblins of Auschwitz and the novella “No Children” published in Abortion Arcade. This book is bizarro pulp trash at its best. It is fast-paced, goofy, gory, low-brow fun yet despite all of that it’s also perhaps Cameron’s most finely-crafted story yet. This one really surprised me.

An excellent young author who will only get better with each book he writes, Cameron Pierce is obviously a must read for bizarro fiction fans.

Available at amazon.com

By the way: at amazon.com, shipping is free on book orders of $25 or more, so you might want to get all three of these books together to save a bit of money.