The Bizarro Starter Kit (Purple) Paperback – October 18, 2010

The Bizarro Starter Kits are meant to ease people into the Bizarro genre. Me, I bought them because I'm a cheap @ss and want to stretch my Bizarro dollars a bit. Here are just some of the wonders Bizarro Starter Kit (Purple) contains:The Clockwork Girl by Athena Villaverde: The Clockwork Girl tells the story of a toy clockwork girl named Puchi who first falls in love with her owner and then is discarded when her owner gets too old. That's about all I can say of the plot without giving too much away.The Clockwork Girl is like something Peter S. Beagle might write if he was into Bizarro fiction. Puchi's innocence made the story for me. It would make a great Pixar movie if they'd let Tim Burton anywhere near the building. I'm hoping for more of the same from Starfish Girl.Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse by David Agranoff: In a post-apocalyptic wasteland created by the nuclear war of 1987, the people of Dischargia have embraced the punk lifestyle to survive. When the river runs dry, Dressica and her friends venture up the river, beyond the edge of the world.While I didn't like Punkupines as much as The Clockwork Girl, it was still really cool. Cyborg punks from a community based around punk music going up against the shriveling political icons of the 1980's? What's not to like?Cripple Wolf by Jeff Burk: A wheelchair-bound man boards an airplane crammed full of fetishists on the night of a full moon and becomes a werewolf. Awesomeness ensues.Cripple Wolf was a hilarious gorefest, like a bizarro version of Snakes on a Plane.Re-Mancipator by Garret Cook: Abraham Lincoln is on a rampage and it's up to Musashi, Marilyn Monroe, Johnny Booth, and others to stop him.Re-Mancipator is delightfully bizarre. If Abraham Lincoln bites you, you become a zombie Abraham Lincoln. This also works on dogs, gorillas, and other animals. While it sounds like a zombie romp, Re-Mancipator also plays with the concepts of time and history. Good stuff.The Homewreckers by Cody Goodfellow: In a city where the sexes are segregated on opposite sides of a Wall, Floyd Mundy has to go across the wall to solve an apparent murder-suicide. What will he uncover?Goodfellow knows how to craft a noir tale, that's for sure. The world he's created is both horrifying and horrifyingly plausible. Grotesque creatures abound. It's a contender for the best story in the collection.The Destroyed Room by Cameron Pierce: In a city with plastic grass and trees, Simon accidentally kills his wife (and their unborn child) by cutting strings coming out of her that only he can see. From there, things get a little weird...The Destroyed Room is by far the strangest story in the collection. It has a dreamlike quality and is very well-written. That's about all I can say without blowing more of the plot. Extra points for the use of sloths and tiny elephants.

We return once again to the Bizarro Starter Kit series. This time around, the weirdness is a pleasant blending of the tones of both the BSK (Orange) and the BSK (Blue). With the work of Russell Edson, Athena Villaverde, David Agranoff, Matthew Revert, Andrew Goldfarb, Jeff Burk, Garrett Cook, Kris Saknussemm, Cody Goodfellow, and Cameron Pierce, we are presented with the ever-evolving face of the Bizarro genre, and the equally developing styles. Unique to this collection is the inclusion of selected comics by Andrew Goldfarb, whose weird stylings have become a staple of the Magazine of Bizarro Fiction. They are fun, trippy reads, a nice diversion from the often strictly words-only approach of most Bizarro. In the more wild fun category are Jeff Burks's "Cripple Wolf" and David Agranoff's "Punkupine Moshers of the Apocalypse". Both of these tales scream B-movie fun in the tradition of such classics as "The Toxic Avenger" and "Surf Nazis Must Die!" On the other hand, there is more thoughtful fare such as the prose-poetry of Russell Edson, and Cameron Pierce's "The Destroyed Room". These selections add a wonderful counterpoint to the other offerings, bringing a balanced representation of the Bizarro genre that was not present in the previous editions. In short, the Bizarro Starter Kit (Purple) is a strong, balanced display of the possibilities that can be found in Bizarro fiction. Get this on your "to-read" list now!

As a writer, I have struggled for years to see where I fit in. This was my first introduction to bizarro as a genre and I'm sold. Some of these authors have gone on to become my favorite authors.Cameron Pierce edited Issue Five of The Magazine of Bizarro Fiction. He's incredible. His story in this bizarro kit is sad and strange. I read it several times. It is my favorite in the bunch.Matthew Revert is another writer who captured my attention. He has more than one story represented and they are all incredible. I'll be watching him.Other authors in this kit are also worth mentioning. Kris Saknussemm and Athena Villaverde are amazing.While I didn't like every story in the kit, overall, I became a fan of bizarro because of this kit. It's a great introduction to a killer new genre.

The Bizarro Starter Kit (purple) is probably the most pulp and most punk of all the kits.Personal favorites of this collection would probably be: Cripple Wolf by Jeff Burk (It's like Snakes On a Plane but with a werewolf...that's paraplegic) The Destroyed Room by Cameron Pierce is like Albert Camus meets David Lynch, underneath all the silliness there is something very sad but very intelligent in this story, and Punkcupine Moshers of the Apocalypse by David Agranoff is the most punk rock story I've ever read.I'd say start with Bizarro Starter Kit(Orange) but still this is a very good introduction to Bizarro.

Having already read  The Bizarro Starter Kit (Orange)  and enjoying it for the most part I also ordered this book. It continues to astound me the depth and variety of the Bizarro movement. The stories here range from a sad little tale of a clockwork girl to the humorous poetry of Russell Edson to a freaky novella about a war between genders and many more interesting, weird and sometimes troubling topics that may surprise or disgust but, for the most part, always entertain.There are ten authors in all, each are given a preface page noting other works, interests and influences which is helpful if you find you like a ceratin story and want to try something else by that particular author.If you have tried another Starter Kit books, this is more of the same. If you enjoy stories where nothing is conventional or predictable, get this. If you like stories that are a little sick or leave you wondering 'what-if?' you'll probably like this. Even if you're new to Bizarro or just want to find exciting and talented authors who make you see the world differently, try this book because little gems lie within. Read and enjoy. Thank you. The Bizarro Starter Kit (Orange)