"It’s the end of the world. We have a post-apocalyptic scenario. Who’s survived? It’s Roy Draper. So, it looks like it’s going to be from his point of view, I’m afraid. Was it biological? Chemical? Aliens? Some sort of celestial event? We might never know, folks, because Roy was out of his face on crack, lying on a mattress in the stairwell of a block of flats on an estate in Brighton and missed the whole scene. In a good novel, or story, it’s our luck that the protagonist is a hearty, resourceful type, interesting and charismatic, courageous but necessarily vulnerable...." So starts the first collaborative story by Paul Meloy & Sarah Pinborough and first up in Black Static #20 from Dec 2010. The cover shows part of Darren Winter's illustration for 'At Night, When the Demons Come', Ray Cluley's horrific take on the apocalypse which is last up in the issue so 'apocalyptic' is an apt blurb for this issue.
Black Static is the successor to The Third Alternative magazine, which was founded in 1994. When TTA Press acquired Interzone in 2005 it was no longer necessary to publish science fiction and fantasy in The Third Alternative. Its replacement, Black Static, also contains original fiction and illustrations plus horror/dark fantasy related news and reviews of books, movies and DVDs. It is not celebrity oriented. This edition has the text of the print edition but some graphics and advertisements are not present.
The title and strapline reference 'electronic voice phenomenon' (EVP), the noise found on recordings which some people interpret as the voices of ghosts. The film White Noise, starring Michael Keaton, could more accurately be called Black Static. What makes the title even more suitable is that 'Black Static' is also Paul Meloy's British Fantasy Award winning story from The Third Alternative.
The Third Alternative was never afraid to push the envelope, and nothing has changed in that regard. Black Static has earned much praise for its style, bravery, editorial and fiction content. Its stories are innovative and daring, never afraid to shock or disturb, yet always entertain.
The magazine publishes some of the finest Horror writers working today: Christopher Fowler, Afterlife creator/writer Stephen Volk, Lisa Tuttle, Nicholas Royle, Conrad Williams, Tony Richards, Scott Nicholson, Steve Rasnic Tem, Cody Goodfellow, Mélanie Fazi, Matthew Holness (creator and star of TV’s Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), Michael Marshall Smith, Simon Clark, Graham Joyce, Gary McMahon, Alexander Glass, Joel Lane, to name just a few. Alongside these is a dazzling array of new talent such as Aliette de Bodard, Daniel Kaysen, Shannon Page, Roz Clarke, Ray Cluley, Sarah Totton, James Cooper, Nina Allan, Eric Gregory and many more.
A unique fiction magazine requires unique presentation and Black Static delivers on this front too, thanks to the extraordinary original artwork of artist like David Gentry and Ben Baldwin along with a design that delights in breaking rules.
Every issue contains a striking news feature called White Noise, compiled by Peter Tennant. Pete also supplies all the magazine's book reviews in his Case Notes column which runs to at least fourteen pages and includes interviews, sidebars and factoids. Tony Lee reviews the latest DVD/Blu-ray releases in his Blood Spectrum Column. Christopher Fowler, Stephen Volk and Mike O'Driscoll supply thought-provoking comment columns, and every issue gives away lots of free stuff.
Black Static is published bimonthly and you can subscribe to the print version using the TTA Press website's shop. (We do offer a discounted joint subscription to both print magazines).
As this issue is posted to Amazon the 29th issue is in preparation (as a print edition) for publication in July.
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