In 2021 I’d like to cross over the 1,000 comics review barrier, meaning reviews that I (Mike Clarke a.k.a. pghhead) contribute to the blog. That’s what this odyssey is about, beginning January 01, 2021. Wish me luck. . . .
# GOAL FOR OCTOBER 31 . . . 833 comics documented
CURRENT COUNT . . . . . 804 comics documented
Another cool find from a small indie comics publisher during my monthly travels. This is a compelling tale of western vengeance with a horror twist that slowly builds suspense page after page.
Young Silas and his Pa operate a gold mine. Sounds of blasting from the mine rouse them from their late night sleep. They discover a fiery seam in the earth that releases a demon, a skin walker who kills Pa and runs off with a blanket leaving weapons and gold behind.
Silas wants revenge but doesn’t get any help from the sheriff whose family covets the mining property. He hires Humphrey, a gambling, hard-drinking gunslinger and a giant of a woman to help track down the killer.
The scenes and dialogue by writer/artist/colorist/letterer Nick Hermes are authentic, and the character portraits are intriguing. His art style is what attracted me to the book, a mix of old school 1950’s comic book art and more contemporary Charles Burns.
FOUR STARS.
#785 - #787 CHERRY BLACKBIRD #1 - #3 (Scout/Black Caravan, 2021) I’m so glad I’m considered a mature reader. These issues come poly-bagged to keep young impressionable minds from being corrupted. A full review appears on this blog for Tuesday, October 12. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
The coloring throughout is interesting - lots of monochromatic color schemes and an abundance of pink and blue tones. I'm not sure there is a method to their placement, perhaps just a means to create a strange, unnatural feel to the events that occur here.
In 1999 Colorado, Shae and her two teenage friends plus tag-along younger brother Kenny are hanging around outdoors, chatting about a role-playing game while Kenny watches the stars. They all experience a lapse in memory and find themselves on the observation deck of a water tower. Kenny suffers a dangerous fall, and needs a wheelchair to recuperate. The incident raises many questions from both police and family, while Kenny insists they were taken by "sky people" which causes his parents to suspect that he's gone mad or possibly suffering from a drug (LSD) overdose.
Flash forward to the present. Shae works as an astronomer. Kenny is still obsessed with aliens that speak to him in his dreams and is interviewed by a podcaster obsessed with alien abduction and government coverup theories. Kenny disappears and this brings all the friends back together to try and find him. Who, what, why, when and where are revealed in the final issue.
There are some interesting spins on the typical alien visitation tropes here that are both creative and engaging. The sixth and final issue reveals all, in a fast-paced conclusion that perhaps offers too much at one time and will appear confusing. I'd love to highlight some of those scenes here, but it would majorly spoil the story. This is not for everybody but hopefully I've provided enough information for readers to decide if they want to explore this. FOUR STARS.
O.B.E. stands for Out of Body Experience and in this future society it’s a common practice, with a serious school of devotees run by the discoverer/inventor. When several prominent citizens don’t come back from the experience the trail leads Detective Cole right to the door of the school. He’s got a troubled past, and a connection to the school and there are several sub-plots here (including public protest demonstrations) to make this interesting. I’m hoping Captain Blue Hen has Issue #2 and beyond, as I’d like to follow this one. FOUR STARS.
But that wasn’t what attracted me to this book. I found that out later. The cover stared me down, so I picked it up. It was the bloody graphic dismemberment by these creatures that caught my attention, luridly illustrated by local comics creators But Hasson & Ken Haeser.
The long-abandoned Willy’s Wonderland family fun restaurant/arcade has a new owner, and he’s offering a preview to a select audience. Things don’t go quite as well has hoped for, but nobody in the gathering dies (better to wait for a larger crowd, just settle for the help for now). The storyline introduces us to the new owner, who bears an uncanny resemblance to the original maniacal proprietor (whose horrid back-story gets detailed for us). But don’t jump to conclusions. There’s some surprises here.
Creepy and funny in a very dark comedic way. Story by S.A. Check and local writer James Kuhoric, with vivd art and colors by Puis Calzada and Emmanuel Ordaz. This is one to keep an eye on. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
I absolutely love the cover image on Issue #2. Kang is my favorite Avengers villain, so I had to check this series out. I’m in for the long haul.
Kang the Conqueror visits Nathaniel Richards (any relation to Reed?) in the 31st century and offers to transform him into the ultimate version of Kang. But Kang does something that displeases Nate, so he steals the time armor and abandons Kang in the Cretaceous period.
Nate ends up in Rama-Tut’s Egypt, falls in love with a disciple of Khonshu, rebels against this version of Kang, and ends up in an alliance with En Sabah Nur/Apocalypse. Enter Doctor Doom. Whew!
Don’t think about the time travel rules getting turned on their head. Just go with the flow and enjoy it. If that isn’t enough to entice you, the amazing art of Carlos Magno will knock your socks off. His Egyptian war scenes with Rama-Tut’s futuristic arsenal are incredible.
FOUR STARS.
I rescued these from the bargain bin. Both story-telling and art were better than I expected.
In Issues #2 through #5, cyborg warriors crash the TMNT birthday party and kidnap Splinter. Donatello chases, falls from a helicopter fight with a cyborg, and recovers by merging with the cyborg’s computerized armor turning him into a War Machine-like ninja. Splinter has been taken by Warlord Komodo (who can turn into a komodo dragon) for lab study and experimentation. He gets away when another lab captive, a hungry Mako the shark man, breaks out and starts feeding on whoever. In an interesting side plot, another captive who resembles a familiar hairy Canadian with claws (they even go “snikt” when emerging from his hands) breaks free of the lab table he was strapped to. (Psst, don’t tell Marvel.)
The turtles break into Komodo’s castle and only survive thanks to a turn-of-heart from Pimiko, leader of Komodo’s female ninja army. Turns out she’s Shredder’s daughter. She may not be a future ally, however after learning of the Yoshi Clan and Splinter’s role in Shredder’s death. Komodo flees, but Splinter has also departed after turning into a giant bat, the result of Komodo’s experiments.
In Issues #6 & #7 Michaelangelo babysits young Shadow for Casey Jones and April, only to fall asleep while Shadow disappears. The investigation concludes that she was kidnapped. Casey goes berserk and takes it out on the turtles. Raphael enlists the help of the Foot Clan only to learn that they kidnapped Shadow and will return her if Raphael assassinates a crime lord. He breaks into the apartment but can’t go through with it. As the gangsters surround him he learns that Shadow is being held here. I don’t know how this ends, missing Issues #9-10, but I’m pretty optimistic.
Issue #10 takes the turtles to Chicago, still in search of the giant bat Splinter. They assist Savage Dragon (wow, another crossover with a publisher) investigating a series of vampiric killings that leads them to a crazed criminal exiled to space and now returning as Deathwatch.
THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
