Hi, Karl Madsen here, Horror Editor for ComicsOnline. This is a dream job for me ‘cause I’ve loved horror and monster movies since the first time I saw King Kong and Godzilla as a double feature when I was a kid in the 60’s. And don’t forget the classic Night of the Living Dead and the Hammer Horror films. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of the ‘torture porn’ fad of late, but I’m pretty accepting of all forms of horror. How did I get here you ask? Let’s take a Cliff’s Notes trip.

As a child of the 60’s I’ve had the privilege of reading some of the great comics of the era; Silver Surfer, Flash, Aquaman, Hawkman, The Atom, Fantastic Four, Captain America, as well as Bill Gaines’s EC horror comics, and his Mad Magazine. But as well as comics in that time, there was also the music, and movies that shaped me. I was there for The Doors, Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Monkees, the Animals, Ventures, Dick Dale, coupled with the Universal Monsters and Hammer Horror and you see a pattern for my life.

As for other stuff, I was in the Navy for 20 years, pool maintenance for a summer, a couple of summers working in the Parks and Recreation system, and I worked at and eventually owned Comic City in San Diego. Comic City will always hold a special place in my heart. It’s there that I rediscovered my love of comic books, the thrill of Comic-Con, and met people who to this day I consider friends. Anyway, due to skyrocketing rents and those pesky taxes, Comic City was closed, and Kevin, who maintained the site for me, bought the website, and with the help of some talented writers and administrators, turned it into the media behemoth it is today.

I started writing reviews in 2008, and made my debut with Cloverfield. I also may have started naming the ratings when I gave the movie “Flying Statue of Liberty Heads” instead of stars. I have steadily grown with the site and manage to balance writing reviews and being the point of contact for a few companies including HBO and Lions Gate with my quest for a teaching degree.

Feel free to add me on Facebook, comment on my reviews, or simply drop me a line at karl@comicsonline.com. Share the scare.