#646 = DELUGE #1 by Cullen Bunn and Marika Cresta (Ignition Press, October 2025) The synopsis on the back cover sums it up as well
(or better) than I could, so I’ll share that . . . .
SYNOPSIS: A hard rain is falling on Sieverville Correctional Prison for Women. As the river rises and its banks overflow, the same walls that are keeping the prisoners inside the fortress-like structure are failing to keep the water out.
With that water comes something else. Something deadly.
What was once outside is now inside, and the prisoners and guards will have to find a way out, because if the water doesn’t get them, the monsters will.
That sounds like a script for a grind-house horror film but Cullen Bunn takes it to another level with some good characterization (a varied ensemble of inmates, many to worry about) and builds the suspense as rapidly as the water is rising. There are over 500 persons inside the compound and the only way to get them out is by boat - - and that means only a small number at each time.
The art is equally gripping, and this proves to be as entertaining as a film version would be. (None planned, that’s just my thought process). If the lack of planning/foresight here would lead you to believe that many characters will not make it out (via drowning, or monsters) then your assumption would be correct. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#647-#648 = HELLO DARKNESS #15 (Boom! Studios, October 2025) Two stories here have implied messages and commentary, and they are the better for it - - the two best stories this issue.
My favorite of the two is “Imperfect Flesh” by Christof Bogacs and Piotr Kowalski about a demon who can transfer its essence into a human form, commit atrocities, and then abandon that human for another. A woman murders her husband. An elderly woman stabs a bus passenger with a knitting needle. But those don’t satisfy the demon. It craves a person completely drained of goodness and entirely devoid of virtue. When it finds the right host it doesn’t take into account the human’s place of business.
The other one is “Abadon” by Jude Ellison S. Doyle and Rocky Obk. Lake Abadon is a paradise until a dam is built in 1932, water dries up, fertilizer runoff, DDT, carcinogens, etc enter the water and the government shuts down the lake in 1973. A homeless community grows around the lake, and all is well until residents are either murdered or mysteriously stricken ill in a multilated state. The answer is disturbing, as is the resolution.
“Reconquista” by Rad takes place on Costa del Esmeralda 1689, has weird, offbeat art and coloring and lots of gore and grotesquerie. I don’t understand the theme so the strange conclusion had little effect on me.
R. L. Stine and Francisco Francavilla return for Part Two of “The Life And Death Of Lucas Dreamwalker”. Part One didn’t really win me over, but more understanding occurs with the realization that Lucas Dreamwalker may not be the exact person portrayed in both Part One and Two. The story moves forward in time to Chicago, 1924. Lucas’ thoughts after meeting with a fortune-teller: “I told her I died in my last dream. She said if I die three times in dreams, I’ll . . . die for real.”
Another good issue. I feel that I’m reading too many horror comics anthologies, but HELLO DARKNESS is making it hard for me to quit this one. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#649-#650 = 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: FALLING SUN #1 by Rodney Barnes and Chris Shehan (IDW Publishing, October 2025) So far, the new titles from IDW Dark have all been intriguing and worth giving a look. After the original ground-breaking work on 30 DAYS OF NIGHT by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith 20 years ago, the new effort by Barnes and Shehan is bringing it all back to me.
In a brilliant bit of foreshadowing, Barnes sets the stage and adds some flashback scenes just to remind how terrible/horrific this title was. Shehan’s gory art brings a clarity to the sometimes-challenging art of Templesmith and is a welcome addition. Looking forward to where the new team takes this. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
Synopsis from IDW:
The town of Barrow has moved on. Those who remember the vampiric terror of two decades past would rather not talk about it. Those who don’t remember don’t believe the stories. Ignorance will be their downfall, because a dark memory is stirring in the heart of Romania and it has set its sights on Barrow, the death place of Vicente. While vampires seek revenge for their fallen leader in Alaska, troubled teen Jalen James seeks sanctuary. After fleeing gang violence in Los Angeles, Jalen needs a fresh start. But he’s unlikely to find it as the sun falls…
#651 = HECTOR PLASM: HUNT THE BIGFOOT #1 of 3 by Benito Cereno and Derek Hunter (Image Comics, October 2025) This book is just plain fun, as long as you like humorous horror comics. The last time a comic featuring Hector Plasm appeared was in 2009, so don’t feel left out if you don’t recall the character. (I never heard of him before now.)
Hector is a ghost-hunter born into an ancient cult of protectors. He can see ghosts and detect witches, and has the ability to channel a spirit - his own or others - into ectoplasm. He uses a Chinese sword and a dagger.
His travels take him to the Pacific Northwest where he exorcises a ghost from an abandoned cabin where teenage revelers have been assaulted in the past, and inadvertently releases a witch who escapes his clutches (for now). He’s invited to stay over and visits a historical museum that has to devote a large amount of space to Bigfoot exhibits, when a curator asks him to help hunt down Bigfoot so they can really capitalize. Hector is strictly a ghost/witch person and doesn’t go after living creatures. But, when a series of murders occurs in the town and Bigfoot is suspected, he is recruited into their efforts.
While that may sound like pure horror, the intent is light-hearted and funny in many places. The appealing and animation-styled art helps create the semi-serious atmosphere. This was fun. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#652-#653 = ZOMBIE LOVE HALLOWEEN 2025 (Zombie Love Studios, October 2025) The title is a bit misleading. You might think this is a book about romance among the walking dead. Wrong. This is an anthology book, previewing three upcoming titles from new publisher Zombie Love. The company is the endeavor of notable horror writer Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia, and the upcoming Crowdsville), who scripts two of the three tales here.
Barnes is making a name for himself with black-themed horror tales in the same way that Jordan Peele has done in the film realm. If he continues to script stories like those here and pair up with some exceptional artists and colorists - - then his reputation will only grow.
The first entry by Rodney Barnes and Simon Kudranski, “Time Enough For The Devil”, is a Johnny Gatlin story that takes place in the West just after the Civil War. Gatlin is a ruthless masked killer, wanted by the law and the Devil - who gave him his power and wants him back in servitude in Hell. He’s a real badass, as he dispatches three of Satan’s demons sent after him. The law sends Marshall Bass Reeves, also a badass with a rifle, to hunt him down. This reminds me of both Spawn and Ghost Rider.
The series 20 Degrees Past Rigor by Rodney Barnes and Maan House is previewed in “What’s Going On?” Just when I thought I might be tired of zombie apocalypse stories this one come along with a fresh take. Things are going chaotic in Flint, MIchigan as the narrator shares “This this whole thing started in the Flint River. I found waterborne bacteria like coliform, shigella, escherichia, and several others in the cadavers that attacked me. All in massive quantities, and don’t get me started on the lead . . . . What we’re experiencing took time to take hold. And like any disease . . . Overwhelmed its host . . . . Causing it to die, then reemerge in a different state.”
A group of four friends have no choice but to “get the hell out of Flint.” Only to find out that the National Guard has quarantined the entire town and won’t let any one out. So the friends have to turn around and head back into the city, where they witness an unusual migration by the zombies. Very promising, and the art is appropriately grim and dark.
The final tale is a preview of Super Predator by RJ Barnes and Anthony Piper. Another modern city is under quarantine. This time it is Los Angeles where an unspecified crisis has unleashed biohazard risks and monstrous creatures. The president is concerned about rising gang violence, with urban youth banding together. “They have no conscience, no empathy . . . They are the kind of kids called . . . Super Predators.”
The story follows two individuals with enhanced abilities, one using a samurai sword and the other a deadshot fast with guns. They both work independently to mess up and/or take control of various gangs. Surely this is headed for a matchup. OVERALL, THREE AND ONE HALF STARS for this title.
#654 = VOYEUR #1 by Leah Williams and David Baldeon (Ignition Press exclusive variant, art by Tula Lotay) This is a shrewd tale of theft with a romance subplot that will obviously influence the outcome.
Farouk Ramzy has a seemingly easy (and boring) job as a security guard at the Koh Kingfisher resort in Southeast Asia, mainly watching the monitors of a multitude of security cameras throughout the estate. It’s all a clever ruse, as Ramzy is the notorious Rook - an international art thief and a wanted man.
However, he gets sidetracked and distracted by watching the cameras of a new arrival at the resort - the attractive art gallery owner Madeline - and becomes fascinated by her. His attentions don’t go without notice, and Madeline confronts him in seductive fashion, alerting him that she knows who he is - and now she wants a piece of the enormous fee for stealing a famous painting from the resort. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#655 = ONE LAST TRICK #1 by Joseph Schmalke and JK Woodward (Midnight Factory, October 2025) If you’re in the mood for some science-fiction futuristic action-adventure, then this will satisfy just as well as a escapist action movie.
Julie Bennings is a sex worker, indebted to the Chambers Corporation who paid for her 30 bio-upgrades. The role she really yearns to lean into is as “a freedom fighter against a multi-planetary corporation that uses people like cattle.” All she needs to do is complete one more session with a client and then she has paid her debt in full.
Unfortunately, the client is a prominent person as well as a psychopath who has much more than sex on his mind. Now she’s on the run, and manages to commandeer a transport. She pilots the ship through a world gate portal and ends up in another dimension straight out of H.P. Lovecraft’s cosmic horror. Worse yet, the cosmic monsters know her by name.
Schmalke puts the emphasis on action and suspense, but manages to sneak in some interesting details about society, technology and government in this near-future. The story seems to promise that it will go beyond simple chase and revenge themes. The art is engaging. THREE AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#656 = MURDER PODCAST: THE COLD OPEN #0 by Jeremy Haun and Mike Tisserand (Ignition Press, July 2025 - cover by Jeremy Haun) Earlier in the year, Ignition Press published several special introductions to their upcoming series. I saw some of these at the Ignition booth at Baltimore Comic Con and couldn’t resist picking them up.
Back cover teaser: “A mysterious podcast has appeared in the feed on your phone. You don’t remember subscribing to it. Do you press play anyway? What could be the harm?”
Just as Dexy is entering the public library, she gets a disturbing text containing an insulting break-up message that brings her to tears. Before she can compose herself, a new podcast shows up on her phone. Of course she puts the earbuds in and listens to it. Maximum carnage occurs as Dexy turns berserker and dispatches numerous innocents in bloody fashion before she is stopped.
I’d already read Issue #1 of MURDER PODCAST so I knew what to expect, but this was like a hard punch to the face. That is the intention of these “Cold Open” issues, like the introductory scenes in James Bond movies: “It’s a sort of prelude, a stand-alone scene that sets up the audience for what is to follow, revealing the tone and feel of the story, giving a glimpse into the world we are entering.”
The world you are entering in MURDER PODCAST is malicious. Bring it on! FOUR STARS.
