HORROR COMICS 293
corollary tragedies of homelessness—rape and death—take on an even more repugnant
tone when broadcast. Despite her measured commercial success and reinvesting of a
percentage into community projects, including new shelters, Darcy Shaw is ultimately
unable to save the people whose cause she simultaneously champions and profi ts from.
Th e disparities between the lives of those running the channel and those whose
ongoing homeless status make it possible are an increasing source of tension as the nar-
rative unfolds. Th e story reaches its inevitable impasse when a homeless man, demanding
more money to avoid dying on the air and embarrassing her, confronts Darcy.
No less implausible than the 1998 fi lm Th e Truman Show , Th e Homeless Channel
asks hard questions of its readers. Other attempts to couch signifi cant social issues
in fi ctional comic narratives have had varying degrees of success. Th e distinguishing
factor between them and Th e Homeless Channel is the latter’s direct approach, most
closely resembling Persepolis in this respect. Th e book has no narrator. Th e story
simply unfolds. While it is clearly edited using fi lm and video techniques, the sensibil-
ity is less a drama than a documentary, or possibly a mockumentary in the model of
Forgotten Silver. Th e further distinction here is that few mockumentaries hold any sub-
stantial respect for their subject matter. Th e Homeless Channel , while not lacking in wit,
is quite serious and respectful in its approach to its central topic. Th e central questions
posed by Th e Homeless Channel remain unanswered, but are brought into tighter focus
through this work.
Silady currently teaches a course on graphic novels at California College of the
Arts. He is a member of the San Francisco based comic writers group, Writers Old
Fashioned, and is currently at work on his second book. Th e Homeless Channel was
nominated for a Special Recognition Eisner Award in 2008.
Selected Bibliography: Silady, Matt. Th e Homeless Channel. San Francisco: AIT/ Planet
Lar, 2007; Walker, Jessica. “ Th e Homeless Channel. ” World Literature Today ( March/
April 2008): 68–69.
Diana Green
HORROR COMICS. Horror has long been an important genre in the comics, though
horror comics have a complex and controversial history. Th e earliest examples of horror
in comics were infl uenced by literature, and were straight adaptations. Classic Comics
led the way with adaptations of literary works such as Th e Legend of Sleepy Hollow
(#12, 1943), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in Classic Comics #13 (1943) and Frankenstein
(#26, 1945). Another notable early example is Eerie Comics #1 (1947), a one-off issue
produced by Avon Periodicals. Th is comic holds the distinction of being the fi rst to
contain wholly original material, as opposed to adaptations of literary prose. Due to
this, it is often viewed by historians as the fi rst modern horror comic. Another issue of
this title did not appear until 1951; it then continued to a total of 17 issues.
Adventures Into the Unknown (1948) was the earliest horror comic to achieve
continuous ongoing publication. It was produced by B&I Publishing (which became
