Fred Burke

I originally bought this 26 years ago, back when it was first published, and never picked up the next four volumes. No idea why.

Great idea, taking two Barker stories from his Books of Blood series of short stories, getting some of the best artists in the field at the time to illustrate them, and call it Tapping The Vein (get it? Tapping the vein from the Books of Blood?).

In this one, the two stories weren't necessarily my favourites from the BoB, but both, in my opinion, were greatly enhanced by the two artists. The first, Human Remains...well, to be honest, anything illustrated by P. Craig Russell is going to look absolutely gorgeous. He's always been one of my favourite artists, and his work on Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock's adaptations have always been a standout. As is his work here.

The second, Pig Blood Blues was a story by Barker that I actually disliked when I first read it. But Scott Hampton--an artist I'm unfamiliar with--did a beautiful job illustrating it and, to my mind, breathed new life into it.

It'll be interesting to go through the next four volumes.

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