Paul McComas

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

I procured a copy of this mammoth 500-page career overview during a recent Chicago performance by Paul McComas; and indeed, this is what he's generally better known for, for being one of the daring young performance artists of this city's 1980s "Club Lower Links" crowd (sharing the stage in those years with people like Karen Finley, Eric Bogosian and Henry Rollins), who in the meanwhile has almost accidentally collected up an almost overwhelming amount of short genre stories and produced screenplays in the three decades since. As such, then, this is perhaps not the kind of book you actually read from start to finish in an uninterrupted stretch, but rather one short piece at a time before bed and at other spare moments, with of course it being more rewarding simply to see him perform live if you have the chance, where McComas has honed his skills over the decades into a tight, entertaining experience. To be honest, the book itself is often deliberately quite silly, with themes and attitudes that draw equal inspiration from convention fan-fiction and late-night television horror-show hosts; but if you enjoy that type of work, this is worth your time merely for its sheer weight alone, with so many different kinds of pieces included that you're bound to find some you like. It's recommended in that spirit.

Out of 10: 8.0… (altro)