Personally, I loved those horrifying illustrations when I was a kid, so I still prefer the original versions.
I actually really like Brett Helquist as an artist and while I don't doubt his work in the new editions is great, who honestly read the Scary Stories books as a kid for the stories? We read 'em for the illustrations so we could brag to everyone else that we read the books all the way through, drawings and everything. Yeah, they're scary for kids, but they also made my elementary-school self feel totally hardcore for making it through all of them.
In that case, here's some good news I think you two are going to like. In my second book, some of the creatures my friends and I fight are homages to the original Stephen Gammell illustrations. :)
I like to keep my audience riveted.Leave a Comment:
New Editions Are Better Than They Sound
I know we discussed on the main page that the new editions of the books with new pictures falls right under They Changed It Now It Sucks. I picked up two of the three new editions recently, and I didn't think they were half-bad. The pictures are nice and they still convey the eeriness of the stories. I think the Scary Stories are a lot more fun to read when looking at the pictures is no longer a gamble. ;) (Plus the movie versions, too). It's too bad that we have to wait a while for the third one, though. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they'll do for "The Dream." Who knows? Maybe this time, the dream woman will be very beautiful but at the same time unsettling because she's terribly mysterious. On the other hand, if she was hot, then it wouldn't be a scary story, now would it? ;P
P.S. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. In the new version of "Oh, Susannah!", the picture makes a lot more sense, so it's no longer a Big Lipped Alligator Moment. Or as I like to call this kind, a "Floating Sky Demon Moment." *the "Big-Lipped Alligator Moment logo appears at the bottom of screen, only adjusted accordingly* I didn't know I could do that.