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#633 - #634 HELLO DARKNESS #3 by various creators (Boom! Studios, September 2024) This title is a nice counterpart to what Oni Press is doing with the EC revival and Image Comics with CREEPSHOW. I love horror anthology titles; and the more the merrier. Competition should upgrade the quality across the board.
HELLO DARKNESS differs from EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS in three areas: 1) The covers are not stand-alone art but feature the same recurring character - a red-haired beauty, usually in alert mode, distress, or the cause of the distress. 2) There is no moderator/horror host for the stories. 3) There are two continued stories, which began in Issues #1and #2.
“Kampfgeist” by Andy Lanning and Trevor Hairsine is gritty WWI story set in the trenches as Allies plant bombs underneath the German tunnels. A collapse during a skirmish drops them all into a cavernous temple dedicated to a god of war. Was that an influence on what happens?
Both of the continued stories are slowly building suspense/tension and work effectively, creating some anxiety to read the next episode. “A Monster Hunter Walks Into A Bar, Part Two” by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera is a side story from SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN with a self-descriptive title as the threat is revealed is Part Two. “The War, Part Three” by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan deals with an unspecified world war, perhaps an apocalyptic one, and follows a group of young friends as they try to figure out what exactly is happening and protect themselves.
The issue is filled out (perhaps to justify the $5.99 cover price) with some garish pin-up art by Martin Simmons and Jenny Frisson, with a one-page dark comedy cartoon from Robert Hack. FOUR STARS.
Nice to see Dastmalchain branch out from horror comedy (COUNT CROWLEY, several volumes) and try his hand at something more dramatic and serious. This could almost be classified as historical fiction were it not for the presence of dragons and sea monsters.
This is a good set-up for the series, establishing the threat as well as potential character conflicts. The art is very interesting, with almost a painted look in places. The only drawback is some murkiness in some of the panels that would have benefited from more ink work or just more dark lines of delineation. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
Issue #1 doesn’t suck up time and space with back-story - - it plunges you right into the middle of the action. This is a fast paced romp through a sci-fi fantasy world as two adventurers always bickering at each other try to rescue a young girl from imprisonment inside a castle/fortress. They get assists from a elderly scientist/wizard and a talking armed frog (the obligatory stand-in for Rocket Raccoon).
They argue and try to one-up each other because they are husband and wife and they are inside the dream world of their young daughter, who has been in an unconscious state on life support for over six months. The first issue details one of their attempts, but not successful.
The reason I passed up on this title was that after reading the promotional synopsis it reminded me of stories of a similar nature I’ve read in the past (both comics and print fiction). How many stories about going into someone’s dreams do you really need to read? I assumed this wouldn’t offer much different that the recently-read PARASOMNIA, PARASOMNIA: THE DREAMING CITY, and CEMETERY KIDS DON’T DIE (that one had an unconscious person trapped in a video game).
All I’m saying is that if you haven’t read as much of this fare as I have then this is definitely worth a look, especially if you like sci-fi/fantasy comics. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
There are two stories this issue that seem to be in competition for my ranking as “favorite”. So, I’m calling this a tie.
The other two stories are “We Drown On Earth” (Zac Thompson and Dan McDaid) about mutiny on a tanker carrying hazardous chemicals; and “Behave” (Cullen Bunn and David Rubin) detailing how a hovering computer presence, an “angel”, messes with everyone’s less than perfect behavior.
Another fine issue. Carry on! FOUR STARS.
#639 - #640 STAND STILL #1 - #2 of 8 by Lee Loughridge and Andrew Robinson (Image Comics, August-September 2024) This gets extra points for presentation: big panels, sometimes overlapping pages, that showcase the intriguing art of Robinson; that also help empathize the rich color choices of Loughridge (a sometimes unrecognized contributor to some great visuals, too many to name here); all on thicker premium paper. The downside is this will cost you $5.99 a copy, but I think it’s worth it.
In Issue #1 he takes on an entire biker gang at their clubhouse, assists a good-natured diner waitress, and turns the tables on a wealthy but arrogant airline passenger. In Issue #2, he dares to engage with a gang of mercenaries in a made-up Arab nation, resulting in a car chase and flaming crash.
His efforts are enabled by an armband he wears like a wrist watch, a device that allows him to stop the movement of time for everyone except himself. Apparently he’s stolen this device from a secret government experimental lab - - the same lab from which the other prominent character in the story, scientist Colin Shaw, was fired and is about to be called back to help reconfigure a second device. Now, the director of that lab has been murdered and someone more unscrupulous may be behind it.
I’m not sure where this is going, especially after the final pages of Issue #2. The recipe for STAND STILL includes mystery, action, and science fiction. I like how that tastes, so I’m sticking around. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#641 -#642 UNCANNY X-MEN #1 - #2 by Gail Simone and David Marquez (Marvel Comics, October-November 2024) This reminds me of the X-Men titles that I used to like - - - back in the 1980’s and 1990’s. It’s a combination of the overlapping plot lines that set up things to occur in later issues as well as the writing style of Gail Simone - - she brings a lot of humanity to the characters. The scenes in Issue #1 where the team grants a dying child a final wish to meet his heroes is extremely well done and heart-breaking.
Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters is being run by an aggressive and uncaring Dr. Ellis, and she plans to convert it into Graymalkin Prison for mutants. Is the first prisoner Professor X?
Rogue (the unofficial leader of this team), Gambit, Wolverine, and later Nightcrawler meet up - first in Mexico City (versus a dragon) and later in Louisiana. A deer-like mutant named Fawn is being hunted in the Oregon woods. A quartet of disparate young mutants (are these the Outliers?) approach Rogue and company asking for help, but it seems like they would rather start a fight. In a flashback Prof X at college meets an outgoing female and fellow student. Back at Graymalkin, is Siryn a new prisoner or a trustee recruit? Jubilee shows up in Louisiana after scoping out the prison to give her report to Rogue. There’s Hag, a monstrous bounty hunter, collecting more mutants for Graymalkin. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
So, I read this again just so it was fresh in my mind. Lots of standalone creator contributions this time. Compared to Issues #1 and #3 this is not as strong. The stand-out story (creepy as all get-out) is “The Clown” written and illustrated in black & white by Adam Raharjo. This made the Top 5 of my Favorite Creepy Clown Stories. (IT, either movie or novel) sits atop at #1.
“Stargazers” by Frederick Hornung poses the question: what might happen during a first date if both participants were hiding the fact that they were monsters. Amusing, plenty of gory text-free panels.
“Apocalypse In Slow Motion” by Wes Craig involves a ritualistic killing that was not completely clear as to what exactly was happening and why. A bit too cryptic for me. Also, Craig’s art is down a notch from his better work.
“The War, Part Two” by Garth Ennis and Becky Cloonan continues the story of several friends separated by a war breaking out between England and Russia and their efforts to find safety. This one is interesting, but kind of a slow burn. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS overall.
#645 - #647 MAD MAGAZINE #40 (E.C. Publications/DC Comics, December 2024) The “POLITICS 2024” issue. Under the DC umbrella, MAD magazine has been mostly a series of reprints with some new content for flavoring.
The other 17 articles are reprints from 1968 through 2020 and feature many familiar faces from political campaigns past.
The entire issue was a nice departure for me from the constant bombardment of political messages, news feed, and divisiveness.
I absolutely love the tongue-in-cheek disclaimer on the contents page:
“The vintage MAD pieces reprinted in this issue were produced in a time that was less mindful and sensitive to matters of race, gender, sexual identity, religion, and food allergies. The text of these articles is presented mostly unaltered (and with cross fingers) for historical reference.”
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS overall.
While attending a concert she meets a female teen mutant who needs her help to get away from a bad situation with the security guards. A friendship strikes up, and you know she’ll be joining up a few issues from now. We also know upfront, and get a reminder before the issue ends, that Emma Frost (The White Queen) has plans for Kate and is telepathically pulling some strings.
A nice debut issue with some easy-going appealing art and some neat graphics in the fight/escape sequences. EXCEPTIONAL X-MEN is different from the other new X-books in that it is a bit light-hearted and more slice-of-life than the usual mutant fare. Don’t shoot me for thinking this, but as I read Issue #1 it made me think what the X-books would be like if Archie Comics took them over. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#649 NIGHT OF THE SLASHERS #1 by Cavan Scott and Paul Fry (Magma Comix, October 2024) It’s October, the month when we love to watch some classic horror movies for the umpteenth time. Also, it’s a great month for reading horror comics. NIGHT OF THE SLASHERS reads like a movie, and may remind you of several favorites. I was reminded of HALLOWEEN, THE CRAZIES, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and NIGHT OF THE DEMONS - - all good company.
The story begins with a flashback to one year prior, and the violent murder of a young teenage girl, apparently sneaking into her grandparents home. How this relates to the main story is not established, but it’s a jarring beginning to what is to come.
From there, the creators take us to present day as a busload of students on a field trip have to take a detour and find themselves in Hill Creek. An unexplained chain of spikes in the road flattens the bus tires as they pull into an event near the high school and stopped traffic. Townsfolk are friendly, and since new tires can’t be obtained until the next day, everyone gets a room at the local bed and breakfast (all vacancies).But, nobody told the students not to leave their rooms and wander around.
On the bus ride we learn about main character Lara, her friend Katy, and pushy ex-boyfriend Chip - -enough details that we are going to worry about some of them as things move forward. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#650 DAY OF THE DEAD GIRL written by A J Mendez & Aimee Garcia with art by Belen Culebras (Magma Comix, October 2024) The publisher’s information:
“Death is never the end of the story. Coroner Sam Castillo will learn this the hard way, when a supernatural serial killer targets her hometown just as she moves back. A skeptical woman of science, Sam butts heads with her spiritual mother Ana, a leader of a witch coven specializing in Brujeria. But when the coven's Brujas start turning up murdered, Sam and Ana must work together to find the killer and save their town's Day of the Dead festival from turning into an occult bloodbath. As if sharing a bathroom with her mom wasn't hard enough.”
This takes place in Mexico in the middle of the Day of the Dead celebration, ironically a celebration of life. Sam reluctantly returns home, never for any specified reason but perhaps just to assist her mother, who is a medium/psychic who mentors a coven of witches. The death of an elder member is assumed to be of natural causes.
Sam has a job as an assistant coroner and is assigned to do the autoposy where she discovers some weird markings on the deceased woman’s heart that indicate this may have been a murder. There’s only two pages of a lurking hooded figure surrounding the festival, a figure who carves a pentagram on the floor of a public restroom. Finally, the ghost of a troubled young girl shows up asking Sam for help.
A good set-up issue, with some very colorful art throughout. I’m not sure where this will go but I’m definitely curious. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
