The Wred Fright Library

Bear And Snake Like To Read Books By Fright
Writing by Wred Fright!

Here's a bibliography of some of the writing I've done. Some of the links go straight to the writing; others will tell you how to get a hold of it (usually for the printed works).

Songs

"Black Walnut Season" looks at a summer romance when the fall has arrived (2024). 

"Hank Rose And The Rank Hos" explains what happens to old adult film stars (2023). 

"Courtesy Flush" takes a look at scatological office politics (2023). 

"Having Fun In The Former USA" sounds like The Beach Boys playing a gig in Gamma World (2023).  

"Put Me On Your Shopping List" argues you can buy love (2023). 

"My Heart Is An Occupied Territory" is pretty melodramatic but also pretty fun (2023).  

"All The Onions In The World" looks at a love affair gone wrong, though a rabbit ends up happy because he didn't have to die (2023). 

"All Roads Lead To Death" advises you to chill out and not be so hard on yourself (2023).

Noisy And Not So Noisy is an album of rerecordings of songs from 2017-2020, complete with liner notes.  It is available on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and Spotify, as well as most other music platforms these days (2023).

"Pep in Your Step" is either some valuable life advice or just some creep offering you the first one free (2023).

"There's Nobody In This Town Worth Fucking" is about sexual dissatisfaction (2022).

What's Your Flow Setting, Baby? is an album of rerecordings of songs from 1995-2014, complete with liner notes.  It is available on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and Spotify, as well as most other music platforms these days (2022).

"New Hire's Tragic Disappearance" is about how not to find a new job (2022).

"Run Of The Mill Punk Rock Song" is a dirge mourning the death of punk rock (2022).

"Gang Of Foreigner" is about living in Joe Biden's America and wishing the soundtrack at least was better (2022).

"Sheridan Market" is a dirge about a lost piece of Americana, the corner or neighborhood store (2022).

"Rub My Arm" is a song about rubbing someone's arm, among other things (2022).

"Cheekbones And Legs" is a song about people who get crushes on the tv meteorologist (2022).

"It's Not Such A Wild Weekend" is a song about a boring weekend (2022).

"Smart Set" is a song about people who maybe aren't as smart as they think they are (2021).

Not So Noisy Demos 2019-2021 is a collection of recent demos (2021). 

Severe Platter Damage is an album of rerecordings of songs from 1990-1994, complete with liner notes.  It is available on Bandcamp, SoundCloud, and Spotify, as well as most other music platforms these days (2021).

Noisy Demos 2012-2018 is an "album" of sorts (2019).

Comics

"I Hate Working With George" is a comic strip I drew about how crappy coworkers can resent a nice coworker (2022)  You can find more comics here.

Razorcake Funnies is a comic strip I drew for Razorcake's Webcomics feature (2022).

The Thirsty Bear & The Hungry Snake is a photographic comic strip I occasionally make starring a teddy bear and a snake sock puppet. Over the years, I've published cartoons with them in Gestalt & Pepper and as a minicomic for Genghis Con, among other places, and you can find some right here on the blog (2008-present).

"The Top Secret Origin Of Astronaut Urine Gorilla" (2002) can be found in Fightin' Fun Comics #2. AUG is one of my favorite superheroes, and you can find another story of his by me (albeit prose only), "The Return Of The Mullet Maguires", on Underground Literary Adventures (2004).

Poetry

"A Stupid Limerick" is a poem published in New Pop Lit Interactive (2016) and republished in Fun Pop Poetry (2022).

"Pound It" is a poem published in New Pop Lit Interactive (2016) and republished in Fun Pop Poetry (2022).

"Wednesday Evenings" is a poem published in Red Fez 96 (2016).

"A Miniature American Dream" is a poem published in New Pop Lit Interactive (2016).

"The Closest That I Ever Expect To Get To Heaven" is a poem published in Red Fez 90 (2016).

"Cleaning Day Is The Worst Day Of The Month" is a poem published in Red Fez 87 (2016).

"WrestleMania Sonnet" is a poem published in Working Stiff:  The Anthology Of Professional Wrestling Literature & Art (2015).

"The First Rose Of The Year" is a poem published in Red Fez 80 (2015).

"September Sunflowers" is a poem published in the 2015 edition of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine (2015).

"Boiling Yellowjackets" is a poem published in Red Fez 73 (2014).

"Cheats For Common Moral Dilemmas" is a poem published in Red Fez 72 (2014).

"Mitt Romney Dreams Of The Last Taxpayer And Nightsweats, Soaking His Magical Underwear" is a poem published in Red Fez 70 (2014).

"Fast Food Friendship" is a poem published in the 2014 edition of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine (2014).

"America, Land Of Freedom" is a poem published in the 2013 edition of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine (2013).

"Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?" is the latest of my poems published by Mark Sonnenfeld as part of his Marymark Press Give-Out Sheet Series (please send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Mark at 45-08 Old Millstone Drive, East Windsor, NJ 08520 USA) (2012-2007).

"Ode To Twitter" is a poem published in the 2010 edition of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine (2010).

"SanFran PanHand Sort-Of-Sonnet" is a poem published in the Homeless issue (#3) of San Francisco zine Xploited (2009).

"Weedwhacking Eden" appeared on the Underground Literary Alliance Poetry and Fiction Blog (2007).

"What Is The Best Time Of Year To Die In?" is a poem published in the 2007 edition of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine (2007).

"Kittendrowner" is a popular poem. It's been published by Red Fez and Underground Literary Adventures (2007).

"Return To E-Sender" was published in The Red Fez (2006).

"When We Were Terrorists" was published in the special 2006 issue of The Whirligig (2006).

Numerous other poems can be found on this very blog such as "2008 Third Party Presidential Candidates Sonnet".

Novels 

Fast Guy Slows Down is my fifth novel, a comedy about an elderly superhero who delights in pooping on world leaders (2022, Frighty LLC).

Edna's Employment Agency is my fourth novel, a comedy about life at a temp agency (2020, Frighty LLC).

Frequently Asked Questions About Being Dead is my third novel, which takes life after death and turns it into laugh after death (2017, Frighty LLC).

Blog Love Omega Glee is my second novel, about two bloggers who fall in love while the world falls apart (2008-2010). 

The Pornographic Flabbergasted Emus is my first novel, a humorous look at life in a garage band that I first published as a serialized zine in 2002-2003. Then it was available as an ebook on the old WredFright.Com Website from 2003-2005. Now it is available as a book! (2006, ULA Press/Out Your Backdoor). 

Screenplays, Teleplays, And Just Plain Plays

My Dead College Roommate is a comedy screenplay about a dude accused of murdering his college roommate who gets a visit 35 years later from the roommate who has traveled through time and needs his help to get back (2022).

Edna's Employment Agency is a pilot episode for a tv series based on the novel of the same name (2016).

"Nerves & Nausea" is a Mike & Molly spec script I wrote.  It's basically fan fiction since it picks up right where the series ends (2016).

WTGIFU:  A Musical Comedy is a stage play that pokes fun at local government and politics in general (2013).

Other Fiction

"The Little Squirrel And The Baby Eagle" is a short story about the brutality of nature and is published on New Pop Lit (2022)

"Yelp In Reverse" is a story about businesses getting their revenge on Yelpers by reviewing customers and is published on New Pop Lit (2018).   

"Operative 73 Takes A Swim" is a story about retiring from an unusual profession and is published on New Pop Lit (2017).   

"Dear Dave In Human Resources" is a story about a disgruntled former job applicant and is published in Cabildo Quarterly 10 (2016).  

"30 Women In 30 Days" is the first Harold Grumblebunny story in a long time and is published in New Pop Lit 1 (2015).

"Brian Moves Back" tells the tale of someone who probably shouldn't have gone home again and is published in New Pop Lit (2014).

"Thank Heavens for Fuckups", or "T.H.F.F." for the faint of heart, is a short story about driving for hours to get a heart broken.  It's a comedy, of course.  It's also seemingly impossible to find, as it is in the mysterious Zygote In My Fez Toledo August 6th, 2011 book, which even I had trouble getting a hold of.  Good luck!  (2012). 

"What I Did On My Summer Vacation In Hell" is a short story about skunks, squirrels, and The Stench (2011 by way of 2001).

Underground Literary Adventures is a literary blog that Pat King and I once edited for the Underground Literary Alliance. You can find a few works by me there including the short story "Cancer" (a slightly revised version of "Cancer" was later published in the 2009 issue of Inscape, the Ursuline College fine arts magazine) (2005).

"Weekendless" is a short story starring my longtime character Harold Grumblebunny in which he passes a pleasant afternoon in the park contemplating the best way to drop out of the human race, published in the literary anthology The Bukowski Hangover Project by Poison Candy/Sisyphus Press (2003, out of print now but the link might have information on how to still obtain a copy).

"The New Kid Has An Old Bicycle" is a short story starring another of my longtime characters, Bill Falcon, in which he gets his first bicycle and tries to make some friends in his new neighborhood, published in the literary anthology Punch & Pie by Gorsky Press (2003, link has purchasing information). In Verbicide #9 Jackson Ellis wrote: "Wred Fright creates another highlight of Punch & Pie with the sad coming-of-age tale, 'The New Kid Has An Old Bicycle.' It'll definitely bring back some sketchy memories of anyone who was a shy social misfit as a child who did stupid things to impress the 'cool kids.'"

"A Sentence Of Grace" is a Harold Grumblebunny short story in which he finds religion and deals drugs with a preacher, published in The Slush Pile 2 by the Underground Literary Alliance (2002, link should have ordering information, though if the only copy available is the one the rare books dealer is charging $603 for, contact me for a more reasonably priced version; it can also be found republished in the Underground Literary Alliance anthology). 

Essays/Journalism/Nonfiction

"What Wred's Reading" is a column that appears in print in Literary Fan Magazine (2021).

"Scribbling:  The Nursery Slopes" is a guest blog post I wrote for Derzville (2020).

Xerography Debt is a zine that reviews other zines. I wrote a column in #26 called "What Was the First Zine?" (2010).

Underground Literary Reviews was a blog that reviewed independent literature, run by the Underground Literary Alliance. I wrote a couple reviews for it.

"The Quest For The Great Canadian Novel: An Interview With Game Quest Author Leopold McGinnis" appeared in Go Metric 21 (2006).

"Home Therapy For Professional Wrestling Fans" appeared in Go Metric 20 (2005).

Numerous other essays and whatnot can be found on this very blog such as this popular post about whether or not Ernest Hemingway really wrote a six word short story.

Scribbles and Other Miscellany

The Slush Pile Strikes Back:  The Underground Literary Alliance Anthology is a book that I coedited with Steve Kostecke (2020, Frighty LLC).

Quest For Uranus is a comic science fiction movie that I play a reporter in (2017).

Sorority Sisters Vs. Sasquatch is a comic horror movie that I acted in (2015).

Monster Of Party Beach is a comic horror movie that I "acted" in (2014).

Postcards from Pottersville: An Anthology of Art and Literature, Vol. 3: Adventures in the Underground has an interview with me in it and contributions from editor Jack Saunders, Blaster Al Ackerman, Ron Androla, Michael Basinski, John Bennett, Bill Blackolive, Pat King, Steve Kostecke, Lyn Lifshin, Leopold McGinnis, Jeff Potter, and more (2007, Pottersville Press).

Scholarship

"The Short Story Just Got Shorter:  Hemingway, Narrative, and the Six-Word Urban Legend" was published in The Journal of Popular Culture issue 47.2, pages 327-340 (2014).

"Watching Watchmen:  The Reading Of Motion Comics" was published in The International Journal Of Comic Art issue 14.2, pages 191-199 (2012).

Critical Survey of Graphic Novels:  Independents & Underground Classics includes three entries by me ("Alec:  The Years Have Pants," "Our Cancer Year," and "Wilson").  Read them at your local library, unless you have $395 to spare! (2012).  

Comic Books And The Cold War: Essays On Graphic Treatment Of Communism, The Code And Social Concerns includes an essay, "'I Can Pass Right Through Solid Matter': How The Flash Upheld American Values While Breaking The Speed Limit", that I wrote about Silver Age Flash comics (2012).

The Journal Of Popular Culture published a couple of book reviews by me (2009).

Books And Beyond: The Greenwood Encyclopedia Of New American Reading includes an entry by me on zines. Read it at your local library (unless you have $400.00 to spare) (2008)!

"How Can 575 Comic Books Weigh Under An Ounce?: Comic Book Collecting In The Digital Age" is an article published in The Journal Of Electronic Publishing (2008).

From Zines To Ezines: Electronic Publishing And The Literary Underground (623KB PDF) is the doctoral dissertation of my not so secret identity, reprinted on ZineBook.Com but you can also order a bound print copy from Proquest (2001).

"The Psychological Motivations Of The Zine Publisher" is adapted from my master's thesis (1996).

"The History And Characteristics Of Zines" is an excerpt from my master's thesis (1995).