Alan Robert's Gore-geously Gross Coloring Book

by Vince Brusio

Who ever said there is no life after death? Alan Robert’s The Beauty of Horror: A GOREgeous Coloring Book (JUL160659) challenges such a notion, as if you pick up this adult-oriented activity book, you’ll be alive for hours filling in the blanks where an absence of color means there’s plenty of work to do well into midnight. Never did you realize coloring could be so much mobid fun when you flip through the pages of this colorless collectible that’s freaky and fantastic. In this PREVIEWSworld Exclusive interview, rocker/writer Alan Robert dishes the details on how he concocted such a monster for IDW Publishing.

The Beauty of Horror: A GOREgeous Coloring Book is in comic shops September 21.

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PREVIEWSworld: How did you come up with the idea for your illustrations in The Beauty of Horror: A GOREgeous Coloring Book (JUL160659)?

Alan Robert: With The Beauty of Horror, I set out to make the ultimate horror coloring book. And when I say that, I mean, the real deal! Not just a bunch of random Halloween images strung together by different artists in different styles. As a life-long horror fan, I needed this book in the world. And that's the thing, there's a huge void when it comes to adult horror coloring books on the market... and I've found that there's a real demand for it. There are tons of like-minded horror fans like me out there that want to join in on the coloring craze, but never had the outlet to do so. I really don't think there's another book out there quite like this one. And that excites me.

My first step in developing The Beauty of Horror: A GOREgeous Coloring Book was to define the art style. I chose specific line weights, layouts and patterns that are consistent throughout the book. Even before selecting the subjects for the designs, establishing the look was the first step to producing these pages. Then came the fun part... filling these pages with my favorite creepers! Masked serial killers, lunatic clowns, undead pets, you name it. Of course, the usual suspects are all in there; vampires, werewolves, zombies, mummies, witches, etc. but along the way I created this spooky undead girl named Ghouliana Belie. I hid a bunch of her "lost items" throughout the book for readers to find. Ghouliana appears on several pages of the book and has really become the face of The Beauty of Horror. I see a lot of potential for that character, and can see doing much more with her in the near future.

PREVIEWSworld: You play metal, and you're the songwriter/bassist for Life Of Agony. Did you bring any metal aesthetics to your illustrations in the book?

Alan Robert: You know, I think there's a lot of crossover between metal fans and horror fans. The two kind of go hand-in-hand. I definitely found that to be true with fans of my other horror titles (Crawl to Me, Killogy, Wire Hangers). If you think about the imagery used in metal music, everything from King Diamond, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, Slipknot... there are a ton of horror elements in there. I look back at one of the first albums I bought as a kid... Iron Maiden’s  Number of the Beast. I saw the album art and instantly had to have it. All those little demons dancing in the fire, it was great. Keep in mind, at that point, I didn't have any idea what the record sounded like, I was completely sold on the look of it. The music happened to be awesome, and shaped me as the musician I am today, but let's be honest, I bought the record for the artwork. In fact, come to think of it, all of my favorite metal albums had dark, horror-looking imagery. So for me, metal and horror share a lot of similarities. I definitely think that this book will appeal to metal fans, not just horror fans. I also think that it's twisted enough that anyone who likes Tim Burton's movies would really dig this, too.

PREVIEWSworld: What kind of bird's eye view can you give us for the book? If we're up high, and looking down, what would we see? What's the overall layout for the book?

Alan Robert: Picture taking a deep dive into a world where there truly is a balance between beauty and horror. For instance, if there's a decomposing zombie with a bloody axe sticking out of her head, you can bet that she's wearing a beautiful flower headband and her hair will be flowing in the wind. And don't forget, the decorative birds perching on the axe handle! On the other hand, if you find beautifully wrapped gift boxes, with ornate bows and ribbons, don't be surprised to find severed heads lurking inside. The book has a great flow, and really is a journey into bizarre.

PREVIEWSworld: Do any particular coloring books come to mind when you think about those you had as a kid?

Alan Robert: Hmmm...I remember having Star Wars and superhero coloring books mostly. Those kid books always had the cheap paper. That part kinda sucked. But, we were kids... that's all we had! A lot of today's coloring books for adults are inspiring just for the fact that the paper is so perfect to color on. Man, if I had books like these as a kid, I can only imagine the possibilities!

PREVIEWSworld: Any particular pages your favorites? If you had to pick an alternate cover, and it was one of the interior illustrations, what image would you pick?

Alan Robert: There's this one double-page spread that I think could have worked as an alternate cover. It's an underwater scene with schools of fish swimming through a sea of kelp. Oh, yeah - there just happens to be a rotting corpse floating in the current, too.