#515-#516 HELLO DARKNESS #12 by various creators (Boom! Studios, July 2025) This is one of the better issues to date, well above average. What I liked most is that most every story has a relevant theme/social commentary, sometimes a little morality play. I like a little food for thought along with my entertainment, as long as it’s subtle and doesn’t strike me in the face like a hammer.
“Out”, the opening story by the horror author writing under the pseudonym of Chuck Tingle (“Bury Your Gays”) and Chris Shehan, is the best of the bunch.
There’s a sickness going around. People see monsters that aren’t really there, then experience severe hemorrhaging from sudden wounds. A young tech worker attending a baseball game witnesses the first outbreak, then gets trampled by the crowd and succumbs to a comatose state for two months. When he recovers, the physician’s assistant suggests he never tell anyone that he sees the zombie-like “visitors”, and not to believe anyone who says they do.
Just like the recent pandemic had its doubters, the majority population pretends the visitors aren’t there and simply ignores them. Hard to do, but they only watch . . so life goes back to normal. Less people succumb to the sickness, and the right-wing media support the government’s down-playing. Media pundits proclaim “The radical left is recruiting your children! They’re making mass hysteria cool!” Secretive support groups spring up that refuse to pretend the visitors aren’t there. They are the ones who discover a repellant that drives visitors away - - and the story has a happy ending (along with a positive message).
Have you ever met an adult that is an action figure or toy collector who is a little too obsessed with his or her hobby? The kind that you are sure would snatch a prized action figure away from a child trying to purchase it and covet it for themselves? One such person is the subject of “Tiny Little Men” by Dave Wielgosz and Riley Rossmo, and he encounters an unexpected rebellion.
The black-and-white tale from Jenna Cha, “You Can’t Make A Silk Purse From A Sow’s Ear”, takes place in an earlier time (1960’s is my guess, although it isn’t specified) when gasoline was still leaded and prior to environmental concerns. An adult male, who was once a proud winner of the “Better Babies” contest of 1932, gets some bad news from his doctor and has an extreme meltdown.
“We Welcomed Them With Open Arms” by Brixide details a friendly alien visitation where the aliens are giant hamburgers, milkshakes, and fries and introduce such foods to the natives, who find great comfort and joy in the newfound convenience to their once-plain lives. They are happy, and begin to lose shape and get fat. When a space storm hits they are unprepared and have no defense. So the friendly aliens (in the form of giant hypodermic syringes) bring a salvation of sorts. A humorous story with cute art, and a subtle warning from fast food nation for our generation and our children and grandchildren.
There’s also the sixth and final chapter of “Something Is Killing The Children: A Monster Hunter Walks Into A Bar” by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell-Edera, where it is finally revealed that something did happen when the main character wasn’t just sitting on a bar stool and listening to various stories (and theories) of children taken by monsters in the woods. One of the most disappointing and tedious stories from the worthwhile SIKTC that you can afford to miss. OVERALL, FOUR STARS.
#517-#518 = HELLO DARKNESS #13 by various creators (Boom! Studios, August 2025) For the lucky 13th issue of HELLO DARKNESS and also to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Boom!, this issue is dedicated to ZOMBIE TALES, the first hit from Boom! 20 years ago.
In spite of that (or because of it)”Kill Screen” by Steve Orlando and Federico Sorressa is hands-down the best story here, and definitely among the Top 5 tales from Issues #1-#13. The art is spectacular and gory, and fits the story like a glove. A video gamer playing a fantasy game with a sword-wielding cleric fending off zombie centaurs, zombie trolls, zombie knights, etc. wears a spore-like head set for that virtual reality experience. The game design team sends out a message apologizing for a “minor hiccup” in the game that creates errors, and requests that all users save and exit the game. Too late.
In “Zag-Aftra” by Dave Cook and David Cousens, the entertainment industry decides to ignore the current striking workers and bypass actors by employing undead zombies and using virtual reality to transpose the faces of well-known movie stars. They incorrectly believe it’s the future of the industry. My favorite sign held by a striking actor: “I’m not dead yet & they deep-faked me!”
“Three Adrift” by Michael W. Conrad and Matthew Dunn is a clever variation on the three-people-adrift-at-sea-on-a-lifeboat theme. Guess who one of the “survivors” is.
A novel solution to the walking dead plague is given a try in “Bait” by Ian Brill and Jadson Ho. Overall, another FOUR STAR issue.
#519-#522 = HELLO DARKNESS, VOLUME ONE (Boom! Studios, April 2025)
A full review of this collection appeared on this blog for Thursday, April 21.
FOUR STARS overall.
#523-#525 = EYRIE MAGAZINE #2 (Mike Hoffman Publications, May 2025) Oddly, the cover date is May 2025 while Issue #1 had a cover date of June 2025. This was actually released in August, just to clear things up.
I thought that Issue #1 had some entertaining (although formulaic) stories (with one exception) and showed some potential to be worthy of more readers, so I picked this up. I still feel the same way, although Issue #2 did not have any stand-outs, and the stories were too easy to guess the endings (not twisty enough).
If you’re looking for a lighter version of HELLO DARKNESS (Boom!) or EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS and other EC revivals (Oni) or CREEPSHOW (Image) - - then this may satisfy you. As black and white horror comics anthologies go, this is comparable to SHUDDER (Warrant) although not quite as good. And, neither of them is equal to the other anthologies.
I don’t have any favorites this issue, and rate all the stories (with one exception) equal in quality. Workhorse Mike Hoffman illustrated all but one of the stories this issue, and wrote three of them. The other workhorse, Jason Crawley, scripted the other three stories.
In terms of artwork, the best-looking story here its “Out For The Count” where a castle-dwelling vampire sends his minions out for some fresh victim. They did not choose wisely.
Other stories deal with realistic looking human sculptures that look so authentic for a reason; a serial killer truck driver who preys on female hitchhikers; a parasitic onion flower plant (ok, this was different but the delivery was kind of flat); and a mad scientist who has his minions pick up the wrong cadaver for him to experiment on.
The two-page story, “The Gunplayer” attempts to leave a message about raising children around guns but is too brief and vague to make the point effectively. THREE STARS OVERALL.
#526-#531 = BEAR, PIRATE, VIKING, QUEEN #1-#3 of 3 by Sean Lewis and Jonathan Marks Barravecchia (Image Comics, May-July 2024)
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
The groundbreaking three-issue miniseries is collected in its entirety. A tale of the sea, of Pirates, Vikings, Queens, and bears, we follow each as they war with each other and try to assert dominance over the past and future of our world.
Written by bestselling creator SEAN LEWIS (KING SPAWN, ABOVE SNAKES), and with mind-blowing hand-painted art by newcomer JONATHAN MARKS BARRAVECCHIA, the book is unlike anything you’ve read. Beautiful, poignant, and daring—a fever dream unlike any comics has seen lately.
My FIVE-STAR Rating on the Goodreads website:
The story has a lot to convey through brilliant image and concisely crafted text. It deserves a slowed-down reading to completely absorb and understand. I hesitate to label this as literary fiction as that might put off some readers who could consider it pretentious and not bother to check it out. This deserves a wide audience.
The story has much to say about oppression, power struggles, grudges, and independence. The exquisite hand-painted, watercolor art is a perfect compliment to a simple yet profound story.
If you’ve read as many comics as I have, it’s often hard to find something that seems fresh and different. I knew nothing about this title, but pre-ordered this prior to the release dates based on the art alone. It deserved a second reading, and I just finished.
A wonder to behold. There are traces of Bill Sienkiewicz, Ben Templesmith, Andrea Mutti and Jon J. Muth (all artists that I admire) in the style of Barravecchia. Check out the highly detailed penciling without dark ink lines, and watercolor washes on other scenes. The only flaw is the faint, tiny lettering (also by Barravecchia) which can be challenging to read clearly in several panels.
But what about the story, and what’s different about it? Pirates! You just don’t find many pirate comics. The addition of supernatural and fantasy elements makes this is a winner for me.
A seafaring British captain protecting the Queen’s treasures has his ship boarded by pirates and is thrown overboard for the sharks to enjoy. Instead, he lives thanks to the unusual presence of a huge bear in the water, who befriends, rescues him, and even communicates. The captain transforms into a pirate and preys on other British ships utilizing clever boarding tactics. When his crew encounters a mysterious Viking vessel, things take another weird turn.
They find a madman proclaiming to be a wizard, his two exotic daughters, and a thing in the hold that presents an even bigger threat. Soon, the captain is dead in the water again.
From that point, an ancient viking takes command and returns to England to confront the Queen. They have a long-standing conflict that needs to be settled. How Sean Lewis transports the story from there needs to be discovered without foreknowledge.
You should check this out. There’s really nothing quite like it on current comic shop shelves.
