#144 = HYDE STREET #1 by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine October 2024)
Now that I’ve accumulated a significant number of issues of HYDE STREET I’m going to read a pile of them and find out if this knocks out the other contenders (GEIGER, REDCOAT) for first place among my Ghost Machine titles. Results: Yes, it does - although some of the issues were not as high-level as others - I still consider this my favorite Ghost Machine title.
After reading Issue #1 again, I’m still in awe of what the creative team has done here. This is a horror/fantasy book that reminds me of THE TWILIGHT ZONE in tone and differs in that the setting doesn’t change and there are reoccurring characters.
Geoff Johns’ world-building is inventive and appealing. I’ve never seen Ivan Reis art look this good. Credit Danny Miki’s inks for highlighting those elaborate details. Also credit Brad Anderson’s marvelous color work that makes everything pop. He is currently my favorite colorist.
Like a magnetic force the wicked and cruel from various time periods are transported here, never to be free unless they comply with the wishes of The Scorekeeper. We meet two residents in the debut issue.
Pranky is a young boy scout striving to earn additional merit badges from The Scorekeeper in the meanest ways, such as helping an elderly lady carry her groceries along a crosswalk and leading her right down Hyde Street.
Mr. Freddy Xavier Ray (Mr. X-Ray) has been here since 1966. He’s a chain-smoking, well-dressed huckster who made his ill-gotten gains by duping innocent youngsters into buying bogus magical toys from the pages of comic book advertising. We learn how he was relocated to Hyde Street and it’s both sad and deplorable.
There’s plenty of art to be amazed at, including numerous Easter Eggs for your scrutiny: a nod to ROOK on some construction equipment; Pranky reading JUNKYARD JOE in his treehouse; a nod to the upcoming DEVOUR one-shot; and a brief intro to Doctor Ego. There’s also an office building directory listing that name-drops some upcoming characters.
So far, the debut issue is worthy of FIVE STARS.
#145 = HYDE STREET #2 by Geoff Johns & Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, November 2024) The first thing I noticed about Issue #2 was that Reis took the art to another level entirely. And, I though his work in Issue #1 was the best I’d seen from him.
This issue focuses on the story of Pranky, the precocious but malicious eleven-year old Boy Scout whose innocent face conceals the dark presence within. Pranky has a knack for getting under people’s skins as well as getting into their heads and prying out their own dark secrets. Police Officer Hank Downs randomly wanders down Hyde Street and meets Pranky at an old-fashioned drugstore soda fountain. Officer Downs takes an immediate dislike to Pranky and hauls him off in the police car to take him in front of a school truant officer. But Pranky turns the tables, gets a confession of dark deeds from Downs and then persuades him to dispense justice upon himself.
In flashback sequences we learn that Pranky found his way onto Hyde Street in 1955 and became a permanent resident due to his own damnable acts including setting fire to his local scout camp, turning the Scoutmaster into bear bait and other insidious acts. Credit his relationship with a hateful abusive father and mocking classmates for his actions . . or don’t.
All residents of Hyde Street are bound to lure others to their doom under the watchful eye of The Scorekeeper. Once they have obtained 10,000 souls they are free to leave Hyde Street. But Pranky surpassed that number long ago and refuses to leave. If there is such a thing as an upside, he only preys upon those who have committed evil deeds in their past.
As the issue ends, Pranky is called into a conference with The Scorekeeper after he received a complaint from Mr. X-Ray that Pranky delivered a soul that wasn’t his to claim and took it away from Mr. X-Ray. Pranky is ordered to desist and make peace with Mr. X-Ray.
This is going to get good. FIVE STARS.
#146-#149 = SOLOMON KANE: THE SERPENT RING #1-#4 of 4 written and illustrated by Patrick Zircher (Titan Comics, April-August 2025)
This may become Patrick Zircher's masterpiece. For certain, this is the best comics treatment of Robert E. Howard's Solomon Kane that I have read.
Zircher did extensive research into this, including the time periods in global history, and it shows. He also understands the character of Kane and portrays him perfectly, reflecting his high morals, nobility and determination. Zircher's writing reflects the tone and style of Howard without the pulpy trappings.
Not only did Zircher script the story, but he also illustrated and finished it with a color assist from Pete Pantazis. The detail on display here is intricate and incredible. FIVE STARS.
Synopsis on the Goodreads website . . . . .
One of Robert E. Howard’s iconic heroes returns with furious vengeance in his own solo comic series.
The mighty Solomon Kane hunts for the Serpent Ring in this spectacular adventure that fans of Howard and supernatural historical fiction are sure to love.
Solomon Kane, along with a mismatched group of companions an old scholar, his beautiful daughter, a disgraced Knight of Malta, an Italian rogue, and an African guide, search for the lost Serpent Ring of Thoth-Amon in the valley of the Serpent Men.
Legend says that the ring grants great power, and each of the treasure hunters, bar Kane himself, begin to be seduced and corrupted by the promise of that great power.
But the ring is guarded by a sorceress, the Serpent Men, and the snake god itself, Yiggseth.
The ‘Sword of Vengeance’ slashes into his own new series, THE SERPENT RING! Kane battles from the Barbary Coast, across Southern Europe, to the canals of Venice, as a band of rogues forms around him in their quest for the fabled Serpent Ring of Set! It’s the much-anticipated return of Solomon Kane from Patrick Zircher (Superman, Iron Man, Savage Avengers, Moon Knight).
#150 = HYDE STREET #3 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, January 2025) “This holiday, it isn’t just gifts and laughter at stake. It’s belief itself . . . as delicate as glass ornaments hanging on a teetering tree . . . On a night like no other, when the world pauses to reflect its better nature . . . or fumble for it, like a misplaced gift receipt.”
Geoff John’s script frames the proceedings in this Christmas issue perfectly. Pranky the Boy Scout pays a Christmas visit to Mr. X-Ray, completing his promise to The Scorekeeper to make peace. His gift offering is to guide Mr. X-Ray on how to bag a soul, so he can eventually leave Hyde Street and re-unite with the daughter he abandoned.
Their victim whose thievery leads him down Hyde Street is a common criminal who stole a Santa Claus suit and is robbing homes. Neither one gets credit for the soul although Pranky tried to cheat X-Ray out of it in the end. It’s the first appearance of another Hyde Street regular, The Matinee Monster, and he shows more compassion than either of them.
Art by Ivan Reis and the fine ink work by Danny Miki and colorist Brad Anderson knock this right out of the park. FIVE STARS.
#151 = HYDE STREET #4 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, March 2025)
This issue focuses on the Matinee Monster, probably the most misunderstood and also most likable character among the residents of Hyde Street. He’s Oscar Oddman of Iowa, a 29-year old Hollywood hopeful being typecast because of his huge 6’7” frame.
He finally lands the role of Frankenstein’s monster in an Abbott & Costello comedy and becomes worried when a Broadway veteran of similar size shows up. He thinks he’s being replaced, and doesn’t know that the newcomer was hired to be his stand-in. They get in a scuffle, and a large overhead spotlight falls and crushes the new actor.
Oscar hides his guilt, the movie stops production, and he ends up sleeping on park benches until he wanders into Hyde Street one night. After getting the same contract with The Scorekeeper as the other residents (steal 10,000 souls to obtain freedom) he angers his new boss when he refuses to bring him the soul of a young child. As punishment, Oscar is blinded and loses his tongue. Today, his score at Hyde Street remains at zero - - - he’s got too much empathy. FOUR STARS.
#152 = HYDE STREET #5 by Geoff Johns and Francis Portela (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, April 2025)
Newer resident (since 1983) Glee Goodbody was ridiculed and abused in her prior life by a depressed mother who shamed her for her physical appearance. As she matured, she became obsessed with beauty, weight, and control and took employment as a personal trainer at a health club. She berated an overweight client so much that it triggered a fatal heart attack and Glee was fired. She wound up on Hyde Street, first meeting Sister Hood (as in the spin-off series) and then assuming the role of manager of Fat Free, where she peddles a weight loss product called Devour (as in the other spin-off one-shot story).
She’s done very well and is two souls away being released from her contract with The Score Keeper. First she gets a visit from Mr. X Ray who informs her about how Pranky is snatching souls right out from under them. At the end of the issue Pranky shows up at her shop - - so you know there is trouble ahead in a future story.
You can notice the difference in art styles right away. Portela has a more stream-lined style versus Reis but is well-versed with facial expressions and body language. Still, I’m missing the incredible details that Reis has been putting into this series. Just contrast the cover by Reis with Portela’s art inside and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
This particular story didn’t move me as much. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#153 = HYDE STREET #6 by Geoff Johns and Francis Portela (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, May 2025) As expected last issue, Pranky steals a soul right out from under Miss Goodbody, prolonging her efforts to collect the final two souls needed to be released from The Scorekeeper’s contract.
Several new and upcoming Hyde Street residents are mentioned as Mr. X-Ray runs through a list of those who might be willing to help him get rid of Pranky. “I’ve been looking for allies, but that’s not what I need. . . I need a mob . . . Not one who takes orders . . . but one who thinks they thought of it first . . . one resident at a time, turning on the boy . . . never suspecting who sold them the idea . .”
Opportunity knocks when a tour bus crashes just outside Mr. X-Ray’s office. They thought they were getting a guided tour of Hollywood and X-Ray’s executive-looking demeanor persuades them to follow his lead. End result: his souls captured account goes up in double and triple figures.
Meanwhile, Pranky’s endeavors succeed in causing Miss Goodbody to have a breakdown. THREE AND ONE-QUARTER STARS.
#154 = HYDE STREET #7 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, June 2025) Something has been off the previous two issues, which were below my expectations. Geoff Johns scripted both, and it’s hard for me to believe he’s getting tired of the book already. It’s the art.
Not to take anything away from Francis Portela, but his depiction of Hyde Street was a little too stream-lined and clean. With the return of Ivan Reis this issue I realize how much his art contributes to the atmosphere of the Hyde Street universe. His illustrations are extremely detailed, and dark and dirty - - which only serves to enhance the story-telling. Viva, Reis!
Pranky is determined to get back at Oscar Oddman, the Matinee Monster (looks like Frankenstein’s monster) for messing up his plans in the Christmas issue: “As the Malicious Manual For Monster Hunting so explicitly states: The only thing that can fight a monster . . is a monster.”
Pranky sets a trap in a park to entice the Monster by ensnaring a vagrant who became lost on Hyde Street, counting on Oddman’s empathy to try and rescue him. Pranky snuck into Mr. X-Ray’s office of novelties and stole a Wolfman mask, which he dons and also conjures up three monstrous creatures from the cereal brands he favors (Sugar Scream, Creature Crisp, Bugsy Berry, and Dr. Jelly & Mr. Peanut Butter).
The vagabond plays a role after Pranky learns of his own misdeeds and opts to dispatch his soul instead of getting his revenge on The Monster. THREE AND THREE-QUARTER STARS.
#155 = HYDE STREET #8 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Image Comics, Ghost Machine, August 2025) Throughout this series, Johns has been planting seeds and scripting short scenes that foreshadow events to come and other character we only get a reference to or short glimpse of.
In this issue the Tarot-card reading The Sister reads the fortune of an embezzling executive and turns up a card that portends doom. She warns the Matinee Monster that the prisoner in his castle, The Butcher of Hyde Street, may be causing a future event that will make it hard for the new residents to survive.
Meanwhile, Pranky finds he can’t remove the enchanted wolf-man mask he stole last issue and may be stuck as a monstrous mini-wolf man. He insists that Mr. X-Ray help him and they both pay a visit to the bloody plastic surgeon Dr. Ego.
Ego says the mask is fused to Pranky’s face but thinks the solution may be in Mr. X-Ray’s glasses; hoping the interaction between glasses and monster mask will loosen its’ grip. But, it has a counter-effect. It weakens Mr. X-Ray (the source of his power) but causes Pranky to see a vision of a traumatic moment in his past (which actually caused me to feel some empathy for the little brat).
This title is getting back on track. FOUR STARS.
#156 = HYDE STREET #9 by Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis (Image Comics/Ghost Machine, September 2025) This issue is a spotlight on the twisted plastic surgeon Dr. Eugene Ego, who has been a resident of Hyde Street since 1997.
His backstory is tragic, shocking and gory as is his residency on Hyde Street. Eugene’s father was a disgraced WWII battlefield surgeon who set up practice as surgeon specializing in “beauty” treatments in the early days of plastic surgery science. Young Eugene witnessed his mother’s death on the operating table at the hands of his father.
He did not recoil in horror. He became fascinated and pursued his own medical school degree. Eugene Ego set up his own practice in Beverly Hills and built a reputation that he could “fix” what others botched.
Now at Hyde Street, his medical office assistants/receptionists are two former patiences who has so many facial reconstructions and fat/skin removals that they are shells and caricatures of themselves.
The office banter between Nurse Dee and Nurse Doe is amusing. They usually convene, ignoring patients and “gossiping behind latex smiles, easing their own grotesqueries by delighting in the flaws of others.”
As the issue ends, Pranky is still waiting for a solution to removing the monster mask. FOUR STARS.
#157-#159 = WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK ONE of Three by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Jimenez (DC Black Label, January 2022)
I’ve always had difficulty getting engaged with Wonder Woman and Superman titles, no matter who is writing or illustrating them. Part of it is that they are both ultra-powerful - so much that I seldom believe they are ever in danger. But, this imaginative treatment by DeConnick, incorporating mythology and tying things together, is high level content. (Note: this isn't a book about Wonder Woman - but about her ancestry.)
This is one of those books that deserves a premium hardcover treatment in order to preserve it. The art and coloring are simply sumptuous and every page deserves a long viewing. Don’t read this one too fast - - there’s so much going on. Each book will showcase a different artist. FIVE STARS.
SYNOPSIS:
“The wait is over, and the entire story of the Amazons can finally be told! Millennia ago, Queen Hera and the goddesses of the Olympian pantheon grew greatly dissatisfied with their male counterparts…and far from their sight, they put a plan into action. A new society was born, one never before seen on Earth, capable of wondrous and terrible things…but their existence could not stay secret for long. When a despairing woman named Hippolyta crossed the Amazons' path, a series of events was set in motion that would lead to an outright war in heaven—and the creation of the Earth's greatest guardian!
Legendary talents Kelly Sue DeConnick and Phil Jimenez unleash a reading experience the likes of which you've never seen, with unbelievably sumptuous art and a story that will haunt you—with subsequent issues featuring art by modern masters Gene Ha and Nicola Scott! One of the most unforgettable DC tales of all time begins here!”
#160-#162 = WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK TWO of Three by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Gene Ha (DC Black Label, April 2022)
Synopsis:
“The second installment of the jaw-droppingly ambitious history of the Amazons finds their future queen, Hippolyta, cutting a swath through the world of men, desperate to be reunited with the astonishing women who saved her life…but unfortunately for her, they’re hard folk to find. Perhaps it is the will of the Goddesses that they cross paths again…but before that moment, Hippolyta will gather to herself a tribe of her very own-and find that the hearts of all women do not necessarily burn with a flame as righteous as her own…”
I’m really enjoying how DeConnick weaves mythology into the story. It all started with dissatisfaction with the male hierarchy of the gods and their low opinion/treatment of females.The goddesses of Olympus are assembled to create six separate tribes under Hestia (fire), Artemis (warrior/archer), Demeter (harvest), Hecate (time), Aphrodite (pleasure, joy) and Athena (wisdom). Queen Hera abstains, perhaps because she doesn’t want to anger her husband Zeus any further, fearing the others would be the brunt of his wrath. However, Hera has gifted them with the mortal woman Hippolyta (who will found the Amazons and be responsible for their greatest guardian/warrior.
Several battles ensue with the new Amazonian tribes involved, that mostly go unnoticed by the male gods. Until a young boy/warrior is killed, which angers the god Apollo who gets Zeus fired up enough to make preparations to take action.
Gene Ha takes over on art and does an equally fantastic job. But, if I have to compare this to the incredible detailed art of Book One, it’s not fair. FOUR AND ONE-HALF STARS.
#163-#165 = WONDER WOMAN: HISTORIA, BOOK THREE of Three by Kelly Sue DeConnick and Nicola Scott (DC Black Label, February 2023)
Synopsis:
“The third and final chapter of the critically lauded and Eisner-nominated secret history of the Amazons crescendos with the inevitable-an all-out war against the gods. When Zeus discovers the goddesses defied him by creating the Amazons, seemingly nothing can stop his fervor to eliminate their warriors…”
There are some vicious battles between gods and Amazons but DeConnick and Scott don’t dwell on them and drag them out, as there is still much story to tell. Even after taking out the great Heracles,Son of Zeus by the combined might of the seven Amazon tribes - as well as defeating other warriors of the gods - - it still appears to be a fight that cannot be won.
So Hippolyta, now Queen of the Amazons, rides a winged horse to Olympus to surrender and ask for mercy. The gods debate what to do - - let the Amazons live but give up their freedom, forgive the goddesses for creating the Amazons but remove their ability to do so again etc. Apollo wants to make them prisoner and suggests he be their warden. Hipppolyta objects (my favorite line of the book): “How dare you bicker over our lives and freedom! . . . You treat us as livestock but you’re not even good shepherds!”
The ending serves as an explanation for why the Amazons live on an isolated island as a society secretly hidden from the rest of Earth. The beginning of Princess Diana is very symbolic and touching. The three books are an excellent treatment of an iconic DC character with much potential, not always utilized. FIVE STARS.
