Creator Spotlight, Part 3: THE ELECTRIC BLACK #2 Review

THE ELECTRIC BLACK  #2  (Scout Comics, July 24 release date)  Created, written and illustrated by Joseph Schmalke and Rich Woodall.

 

With Issue #2, creators Schmalke and Woodall move further towards their objective of making THE ELECTRIC BLACK different from traditional horror anthology comics. Nobody would mistake this issue for a faithful copy/tribute to Tales From The Crypt and standard horror host collections. 

 

  Issue #2 revolves more around the activities inside and outside the perimeter of The Electric Black curio shop, now transported to a Boston neighborhood in 1993. There’s only one creepy tale this issue, longer than normal and dropped directly into the middle of The Electric Black activities, and also without benefit of a horror host introduction by Julius. Shocking! . . . and welcome. 

 

  Another noted improvement over Issue #1 is the art. There’s a lot more detail in the backgrounds this issue, no washes of color, better overall coloring and good separation between shades with no murky areas. Perhaps when given enough time the creative team can ramp up the enhancements. The overall story content is also much improved.

 

      If you were on the fence about Issue #1 or just plain missed it, you can pick up the story easy enough in Issue #2 and you won’t regret it. I’ve decided to pick up the rest of the series. There are no individual story or art credits this issue, so I’ll have to praise Schmalke and Woodall equally for a first-rate collaboration. 

 

  Some characters that were introduced briefly in Issue #1 receive more panel time this issue. Julius is clearly the head of household, I mean shop, with Jack and June Bug taking their direction from him. Roy, briefly mentioned in Issue #1 as a basement dweller, gets a spotlight. He’s a red meat and potatoes guy (hold the potatoes) and that diet makes me big and mean, as his shuddering profile is revealed near the end of the issue. 

 

   June Bug sets out on a mission to deliver a package to a mysterious stranger at a Boston pub, and shows she can handle her own affairs even with a masked swat team in pursuit. It helps to bring a lucky teddy bear along. 

 

     In “The Nuns Of Castello Della Rotta” a 17th century Italian monk and his apprentice are sent on a mission to exorcise demons from possessed nuns at mountain top convent. It’s a creepy, bloody, fiery tale with plenty of gruesome images.  The monk speaks of the Inquisition at the end of the story, something that comes up later in the continuation of the opening sequence. 

 

   The mysterious stranger in the pub has sinister thoughts befitting a world eater, and the swat team is identified as Inquisition agents, creating a bridge to the other story. Yet another mysterious team appears on the final page, perhaps from an earlier time as they look like late arrivals to Poe’s Masque of the Red Death. Huh?

 

Issue #2 introduces several events that raise questions. I want to know more. To be continued . . . . . .