"On the Far Side of the Cadillac Desert with Dead Folks" is a 1989 zombie apocalypse novella written by American author Joe R. Lansdale. It was also adapted to a comic book series (3 issues) and a graphic novel On the Far Side With Dead Folks by Avatar Press with artwork by Timothy Truman. The novella won the 1989 Bram Stoker Award in the Long Fiction category and won the British Fantasy Award for best short story. [1] [2]
A mysterious bacteria has escaped a lab and is causing all the "dead folks" to re-animate. Bounty hunter Wayne (no last name given) is hunting his quarry Calhoun in a "Dead Dancing" bar where patrons pay to dance with female zombies and sometimes other things... After a violent struggle, Wayne manages to handcuff Calhoun who's wanted for raping and murdering a young girl. In order to collect his bounty, Wayne has to cross the Cadillac Desert to a place called Lawtown where criminals are executed by being pulled apart by tractors. Calhoun advises Wayne to sleep with one eye open as Calhoun has managed to kill every other bounty hunter that has pursued him. Wayne's dream is to collect enough money to buy a wrecking yard and retire from bounty hunting as he knew his luck would sooner or later run out. And besides Wayne is weary from the whole lifestyle and people like Calhoun. [3]
The Cadillac Desert stretches for miles with old Cadillacs buried halfway in the ground at a slant. They were the result of the Chevy/Cadillac wars that took place years ago with the Chevy's being victorious. As Wayne and Calhoun descend deeper into the Cadillac Desert, a sandstorm suddenly starts and visibility is reduced to almost zero. Suddenly a large object looms in front of them and they crash into it taking out Wayne's Chevy. Suddenly the rotted faces of the dead folks appear and Wayne and Calhoun figure it's the end. However instead of being eaten they are led to the object that Wayne recognizes as a school bus. On board they are confronted by a nun dressed in very provocative clothing armed with a shotgun. They are introduced to Brother Lazarus who is driving the bus. Wayne observes the bus is equipped with radar and collided with them on purpose. Soon they arrive at a converted theme park that used to be Disneyland. Wayne observes that the dead folks have strange-looking ears (Mickey Mouse) and a bolt sticking out of their heads. This bolt is how they are controlled by Brother Lazarus.
Soon Wayne is befriended by a nun named Sister Worth who wants to leave "Jesusland" and tells Wayne of Brother Lazarus's plans for the two men which aren't very nice. So Wayne and Calhoun agree to a pact: Along with Sister Worth, they help each other escape and then settle their differences. [4]
The Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for long fiction.
The Bram Stoker Award for Short Fiction is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for short fiction.
Jonah Woodson Hex is a fictional antihero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer John Albano and artist Tony DeZuniga. Hex is a surly and cynical bounty hunter whose face is horribly scarred on the right side. Despite his poor reputation and personality, Hex is bound by a personal code of honor to protect and avenge the innocent.
Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft.
Timothy Truman is an American writer, artist and musician. He is best known for his stories and Wild West-style comic book art, and in particular, for his work on Grimjack, Scout, and the reinvention of Jonah Hex, with Joe R. Lansdale.
Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. Avatar Press is most notable for publishing Bad Girl comics, such as Faust, Pandora, Hellina, Lookers, The Ravening, and Brian Pulido's Lady Death. Such comics are currently published under the "Boundless Comics" imprint.
Joe Richard Lansdale is an American writer and martial arts instructor.
Mark V. Ziesing is a small press publisher and bookseller. Active as a bookseller from 1972 to present, Ziesing was active in publishing from the mid-1980s into the late 1990s. The Ziesing publishing imprint specialized in science fiction, horror, and other forms of speculative fiction. Originally based in Willimantic, Connecticut and in partnership with his brother, he published two books by Gene Wolfe under the Ziesing Brothers imprint. He later published books by Philip K. Dick, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Howard Waldrop, Bruce Sterling, Joe R. Lansdale, and Lucius Shepard, among others. In 1989 he returned to his home state, to Shingletown, California, where he and his wife Cindy continue to operate a catalog-based book selling business under the name Ziesing Books.
By Bizarre Hands is the first collection of short stories by American writer Joe R. Lansdale, published in 1989. The collection was nominated for a Bram Stoker Award for best fiction collection, and contains two stories which won Stokers. It has an introduction by Lewis Shiner. This book was re-issued as By Bizarre Hands Rides Again in 2010. The re-issue contains a new introduction by Joe R. Lansdale and new artwork by Alex McVey. This book is limited to 300 copies and is signed by both writer and artist. It also contains two stories not in the original issue.
Electric Gumbo: A Lansdale Reader is one of the rarer compilations of Joe R. Lansdale's short works. It has only been published once, exclusively by the Quality Paperback Book Club in trade paperback form in 1994.
The Long Ones is a rare compilation of novellas by Joe R. Lansdale, which are too long to be "short stories", but too short to be "novels". It was apparently only printed once, in hardcover form, in 1999.
Gallowwalkers is a 2012 American Western horror film written and directed by Andrew Goth, and starring Wesley Snipes, Kevin Howarth, Riley Smith, Tanit Phoenix, Patrick Bergin, and Diamond Dallas Page. Due to Wesley Snipes' tax problems the film went through many changes and delays, and was completed in 2010. It still had no official release until a 2012 screening at the "Film4 FrightFest" festival in the United Kingdom. In 2013 it was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States, nearly eight years after the film started production in 2006.
Mojo Press is a now-defunct small press which primarily published science fiction, horror, and western books and graphic novels between 1994 and 1999.
Book of the Dead is an anthology of horror stories first published in 1989, edited by John Skipp and Craig Spector and featuring a foreword written by George A. Romero. All the stories in the anthology are united by the same premise seen in Romero's apocalyptic films, depicting a worldwide outbreak of zombies and various reactions to it. The first book was followed three years later by a follow-up, Still Dead: Book of the Dead 2, with a new group of writers tackling the same premise, though the second book put the stories in order according to their imagined chronology of the zombie takeover.
The Arrogant is a 1987 action-thriller film directed, written, and produced by Philippe Blot. It stars Gary Graham and Sylvia Kristel, Giovanni and Julie, as two strangers who meet on a desert highway. As they travel together, they encounter many strange situations that are often religious, sexual, or both. The uninhibited and arrogant Giovanni is usually the cause of most of these dilemmas they come across.
Deadman's Road is a collection of one novel and four novellas by American writer Joe R. Lansdale. It featuring old west zombie slaying, monster fighting Reverend Jedidiah Mercer, including the re-release of the pulp novel Dead in the West, and four stories, one never before collected, one brand new.
The Best of Joe R. Lansdale is a collection of short stories published exclusively by Tachyon Publications as a trade paperback in 2010. This collection contains many classic short fiction published by Mr. Lansdale over the last 20 years and contains many of his most popular and famous works.
By Bizarre Hands Rides Again is a collection of short stories and two novellas written by American author Joe R. Lansdale. It is a re-issue of his first short story collection with a new introduction, four additional stories, illustrations, and a different cover. It is limited to 300 numbered copies and 26 lettered editions with a custom leather slipcase.
The Ape Man's Brother is a 2013 novella written by American author Joe R. Lansdale. This novel was published as an ebook by and a hard copy Subterranean Press. 31 January 2014.
Dead on the Bones: Pulp on Fire is a collection of novellas and short stories written by American author Joe R. Lansdale. He dedicated this work to his major influences of his youth: Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard. All the stories were written by Lansdale. This book was also dedicated to longtime collaborator artist Timothy Truman and is limited to 1500 copies published by Subterranean Press of Burton, Michigan. It's also available as a Kindle E-Book.