THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIERONYMUS ALOYSIS ZIEGE, BY HI ZIEGE, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY John Bruni: Cover Reveal; Preview; Street Date

Today is January 31st, and that means February is upon us. We are showcasing five Bizarro Pulp Press titles, this year. Because of that, we decided to kick off the cover reveals a bit early.

Every week in February, we will showcase a different title we’ve acquired for the Journalstone imprint. Each Monday, we will give you a look at a new cover, an excerpt, and an estimated street date. We will revisit each of these titles later in the year, as they see release.

We now turn our gaze to the first of these five titles: John Bruni’s THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIERONYMUS ALOYSIS ZIEGE, BY HI ZIEGE, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY JOHN BRUNI.

Let’s take a look at the cover art, shall we?

The cover art here is by Don Noble, and it is meant to invoke the look of an antiquated historical biography, some dusty tome one might find tucked away in the back of a used bookstore.

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIERONYMUS ALOYSIS ZIEGE, BY HI ZIEGE, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY JOHN BRUNI is the latest from prolific author John Bruni, and his second title with Bizarro Pulp Press. Are you a part of the Cult of Bruni? Have you sacrificed eyes at the altar of his weird, wild work? In our opinion, Bruni is the definition of a cult author. Brian Keene calls him “…a blend of Edward Lee and Jeremy Robert Johnson.”  And Bruni has a lot of work out there, if you’re curious, and he’s a journeyman when it comes to genre and style. However, at the end of the day, if you like BIG WEIRD then you’re going to find something that Bruni has written just for you.

And, maybe, the Bruni book for you just happens to be THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIERONYMUS ALOYSIS ZIEGE, BY HI ZIEGE, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY JOHN BRUNI. The book aims to be an “autobiography” but decidedly of the Bizarro variety. You see, Bruni has only been kind enough as to shape up the works of this forgotten historical figure and act as a shepherd for Hi Ziege’s words.

Here’s an excerpt from Bruni’s introduction:

“Not much is known about Hieronymus Aloysis Ziege. In fact, until recently the only mention of him, and it’s not even by name, is in the journal of one William Clark, the second in command of the famed Lewis and Clark Expedition, formally known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition. This manuscript, for a couple of hundred years, remained in the attic of Zebulon Ziege, the many greats-grandson of HA Ziege. It shocked historians for its honesty and its vulgarity. It was also very difficult to read due to language at the time and Ziege’s near-illiteracy.

When this story fell into my lap, I had no choice but to research more. I read both Lewis and Clark’s journals for more clues as to the mysterious and fascinating HA Ziege, but all I could find was that one non-name mention. To quote Clark, who was only slightly more literate than Ziege, “That ugly idjit we met in La Charrette tuk a pistle and shot that bear in de face pointe blanke.” Nothing more is said about “that idjit” in any other text.

Until now.”

And, from there, we are introduced to Hi Ziege, a man possibly born to a goat, who claims to be able to shoot the dick off a fly at fifty paces, and who embarks on an illiterate and violent and darkly humorous adventure across the United States with Lewis and Clark.

The Bizarro genre doesn’t have much in the way of biographies or history. Thanks to John Bruni, now it does. And you’ll be able to read it this summer. We expect a June release date for THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HIERONYMUS ALOYSIS ZIEGE, BY HI ZIEGE, EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY JOHN BRUNI.

And that is that for this week’s showcase. Next week, we will be showcasing GOD’S LEFTOVERS by Grant Wamack! Check it out.

And remember to…