I was walking through Best Buy and these pieces of shit caught my eye. What an ugly pair of headphones from some brand I've never heard of. I'm sure the quality of the sound is... you know I don't even have the mental capacity to make a lame Captain A-Town joke here so just make your own. Seriously DisMarvely is there anything you won't make... shitty?
Well the Holidays are in full swing, so what better time to talk about horror comics! Did you know that Topps used to publish comic books? Yep, the very same Topps that became famous for their baseball cards (and shitty gum) did a comic book run from ’93 to ’98.They had a few different, mostly licensed crap-ass titles (they were pulling a Dynamite before Dynamite), but the only title I give a shit about is a three part mini by the name of Jason verses Leatherface. The next Texas Chainsaw Massacre is on Friday the 13th! So before we get started, I'm sorry to this to ya'...kinda of.
Book One: Goin’ South
As Jason Voorhees rots at the bottom of Camp Crystal lake, a fortune 500 company pumps its toxic waste into it. After a few indictments the company moves their operation to Mexico. Now to get the environmentalist off their back, they dredge and empty the lake. So all of the trash, including Jason, gets shipped off to a train, then off to who in the hell knows where. On the train ride to the dumping ground, Jason busts out of his steel crap canister and kills everyone on the train, including a homeless bastard and his dog (funny). The train derails and explodes leaving Jason in the great state of Texas, right in Leatherface’s backyard.
Meanwhile, a terrified young man runs through the forest trying to avoid Leatherface and yelling for mercy, unfortunately for him he runs into Jason, who cleaves his head in half. Seconds later, Jason meets the young man’s pursuers, Leatherface and his brother Hitchhiker, they all give each other the once over and Jason and Leatherface do the man dance with machetes and chainsaws. After a sad display from both, once they realize they’ll all into killing dumb-ass teenagers, Hitchhiker invites Jason home for dinner.
Book Two: A Day in the Life
Well now that Jason and LF (Leatherface) are fully fledged BFFs, Jason crashes over at LF’s place and the “Cook” gives Jason the okay to stay for dinner. In the middle of dinner, a family squabble takes place sending Jason into flashback mode when his father slapped his ass around for being a little deformed kid…After the nickel tour around the LF's crib and a little more proof of how crazy the LF family really are Jason and the boys head out and kill some random people. Back home, Hitcherhiker tries to show off some sweet corpse furniture and silly ol’ LF sits in one of the pieces. Stupid LF, it’s not real fucking furniture. Nevertheless another dysfunctional family moment takes place and Jason flashes back to a bad freak filled childhood and this somehow stops him from killing Hitchhiker for slapping LF around. We have a monster with a moral compass.
Book Three: Face Off
This is it; this is where the shit hits the fan, the brawl for it all. No, not really, it’s one of the age old fanboy conundrums. When you have two major franchises trying to “one up” each other nothing ever happens the way you want it. No one is really happy, your favorite won’t win or it looks like someone won…kind of? This outing is no exception, Jason looses because the LF family tag teams him and for some reason, Jason has shared a deep connection with LF---being abused as a child has really stuck with him, or so the writer would leave you to believe. In the end the LF family dumps Jason in a lake and leaves him for dead. But alas Jason frees himself and doesn’t retaliate against the family, he starts walking back home to Crystal Lake.
Sigh, these books were pretty shit and would explain why Topps gave up on the comic game. The art was corny and the writing was worse, please let me read about a neutered Jason walking around with daddy issues. Sounds like a blast. I feel like there should of been a lot more anger towards these pieces of poop but it was really just more pitiful than anything. It was hard to keep up the energy to really rip into them. But on the bright side these two horror juggernauts have other comic adventures by other publishers and I have them all! Duh-Du-Duh
Score: WTF
The very awesome Aub Driver from Dark Horse Comics sent me an awesome X-Mas card and a German issue of Star Wars, which is fucking awesome. Here's a little tid bit about me, I took German in high school which means that I can write that sentence in the header and understand about 1% of this book. So screw anyone that said I was wasting my time and should have taken Spanish, especially since I now live in L.A. At any rate this is awesome and I had to share with you all. The best part is that it says "Darth Vader's Wille" on the cover! LO-Fucking-L that's some funny shit because at first glance it looks like "willie."
I wish I could give the artist credit, but unfortunately the person who posted this on their Tumblr also did not give them credit. At any rate these are some pretty cool X-Men redesigns that also put them in different sub-groups. Check it out and if you know the artist then let me know... not to give them credit, but a business proposition.
There is something horribly boring about comic books based off of TV shows. For the most part the comic writer attempts to treat each issue as if it were an episode of the show, which rarely works in the comic medium. Even a thirty minute sitcom doesn't just automatically translate into thirty comic pages. Yet TV adaptations run rampant throughout comics. It makes me wonder who the hell is buying these books? Sure there are things like Buffy that have adapted to the comic style, but for the most part I'm completely uninterested in the book. It's not just live action shows either, I pretty much dislike all cartoon adaptations as well. The last Thundercats comic I read and liked was produced by Star and Marvel Comics and even as a child I thought they were only so-so. Yet cartoon shows continue to adapted day in and day out, how long before Adventure Time gets the comic treatment? There are of course anomalies like the Ninja Turtles that started as a comic and then became a TV show and went back to the comics, but the Turtles has also have success in movies, video games and action figures as well.
With the barrage of comic book's based of TV shows including, but not limited to: Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Doctor Who, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, The X-Files, X-Men Adventures, Batman The Animated Series, Saved by the Bell, Alf, Chuck, Ghost Whisperer, The Bionic Man, Simpsons, Futurama, Warehouse 13, Eureka, CSI and I'm sure I'm missing more. At any rate, I started thinking about what TV shows I would read in comic format so here you go!
Wipe Out
Yeah, that's right a show that's only as entertaining as its contestants put into comic book format. I picture nothing but splash pages (pun intended) except when the hosts are on. Of course neither one would likely sign away their likeness which would open the door to new comic exclusive hosts. There would be monthly contests for fans to have their likeness drawn into the book and each issue would come with one of those annoying greet card chips that plays the theme song. I'm telling you this is the best worst idea ever! Make them all double sized issues and slap a $5.99 tag on that baby because I am there.
Grey's Anatomy
The worst thing about TV comic adaptations is that they're always properties that nerds are familiar with and that's why they suck. I've never watched Grey's Anatomy, but I would check it out in comic format. I'd love to see a crudely drawn Patrick Dumponme, or a pre-breast implant Katherine Heigl (yeah we know there fake). Also I saw on the Soup once that Sandra Oh was shanked by an icicle, here's the chance to make it look real rather than five people watching someone slip and then an icicle slowly breaks and stab her! I'm just saying that this is a good opportunity to really make sure I never watch this show, outside of ridiculous clips shown on other shows.
Cake Boss
I hate this fucking show. I hate when they talk, I hate the cakes they make and I really don't understand why the show is longer than fifteen minutes. At any rate, this would be a great chance to basically adapt the show so that I don't have listen to this guys fucking voice and have an artist that doesn't suck when it comes to creating works of art on cake. Sure, it defeats the purpose of the show, but TLC loves money so they'll get over it real quick.
Bones
I actually watch this show and used to like it -- now I can't fucking stand it. I didn't watch most of last season and this season it couldn't be more apparent that people are just showing up for paychecks while their agent tries to find them something else. Fucking babies kill TV shows. A comic book would be a perfect opportunity to pull the whole "lost episode" bit and crack out more stories that actually do with solving the murder rather than the fact that the main characters are so different from one another. Seriously I'm down with this idea so get on it.
GOBOTS
How the hell have the Gobots not made it to comics already? We all know that the Gobots (this needs a happen) are just a cheap knock-off of the Transformers, but I think it's time for a revival. I'm done with Transformers (Thank you very much Spielberg) so let's dust off these crappy 80's knock-offs and bring them back as cool as hell. Make it a three way dance with Jem and Big Foot and this has the markings of a success! -- Well there you have it, all terrible choices except for that last one which I will take full credit for if it actually happens. That being said you've just read the 600th post of Comic Bastards and for that I say, "Thank You" and "Don't take yourself to seriously... we don't."
Which one to choose so many options?
Traveling this holiday season don't forget your Hulk travel brush.
Review by: Connor Russell
Every once in a while you will hopefully come across a comic, or even a movie, game or story that will just make you go wow. Its different and its mind-blowing and it stays with you. You could read or watch or play it over and over again and never get bored with it. You want to show it with as many people as possible. One thing I love about the comic industry today is that there is a force behind non mainstream or just different books. Today I have found one such comic book that matches my little raving on there, and that is: The Saga of Rex!
The Saga of Rex was originally published in the anthology comic book Flight. The run first appeared in Flight Vol2 – Vol7 but has now been collected into a graphic novel. Readers both young and old will be touched by this story of romance, adventure and mystery all wrapped up in a whimsical package.
We are introduced to the Guardian-Shepherd and all that is explained is that he calls on life forms all around the universe (but only one of each species) and has them transported to the planet he is on. Here each animal is matched up with a bio-morph alien that takes the shape of whatever animal they are matched with to then spark a relationship.
Poor Rex happened to get caught up in all of it but takes to his new partner, Aven (she owns a space ship!) quickly. Even though she can fly and change shape (at one point he rides on her back when she's some giant flying creature). But he gets separated and the rest is Rex trying to find his way back. Fulfilling some prophecy of some of the inhabitants and everything. Much more happens but I don't want to give it away.
Michel Gagne wrote both the story and did the art behind this story. Both are great! There is no dialogue however there is small amounts of narration sprinkled throughout the beginning that gives a little bit of an understanding of what is happening. You will find yourself smiling at just how cute Rex is, it is that well done.
The rest of the story is told by pictures alone. It is like a cartoon, and yet enchanting, I can see it being done as a short animated movie! I wish it would be (sorry back to the art). It portrays innocence and warmth, even through some of the strange parts and events of danger. Even though there is no dialogue, you won't rush through to the end, I found myself intrigued by all the pictures.
Altogether this is one of the cutest and best comics I have ever laid my eyes upon. I don't usually do this but it deserves a perfect score from me. I seriously cannot find any fault with it. I'm so glad I picked this up on a whim and I'm glad Image collected it to share with people. If you want something different to read, let it be this!
Score: 5/5
Not that IDW's previous iPad store front was very good, but at least it was powered by someone other than Comixology. Oh well it looks like another one is in the bag as one company continues to dominate the digital market. Soon we'll all stop complaining about not having a standard digital format because it will all be Comixology. Official Press Release:
IDW Publishing and comiXology proudly announce the expansion of their digital partnership. Starting today, these IDW apps are now powered by comiXology: IDW Comics, Transformers Comics, Star Trek Comics, Doctor Who Comics, G.I. JOE Comics, 30 Days of Night Comics, Templesmith Comics and True Blood Comics Collection. All apps are live as of today, with new and old purchases alike syncing across the entire Comics by comiXology platform — iOS, Android, Web and Kindle Fire. In addition, all IDW digital comics are also available for online purchases and reading through the simultaneous launch of a new digital comics store at read.idwpublishing.com. IDW readers now have a true “buy once, read anywhere” experience.
“Powering IDW’s entire catalog across their bestselling apps is a privilege. The diversity of IDW’s line offers something for everyone, whether you’re a comic fan or not,” said comiXology co-founder and CEO David Steinberger. “With the recent addition of Comics by comiXology pre-loaded on the Kindle Fire to our platform, IDW now has a fully cross-platform solution that can reach new fans.”
As the first comics publisher to launch its own "in app purchase" storefronts for the Apple iPad™, iPhone® and iPod touch®, IDW has long been a leader in the digital comics space —having their own IDW branded application along with introducing several unique apps catering to fans of particular titles. The IDW Comics app offers the complete digital catalog, while IDW’s apps for special series like TRANSFORMERS Comics, G.I. JOE Comics, Star Trek Comics, True Blood Comics Collection and Doctor Who Comics and most recently 30 Days of Night Comics app offer those specific comics for those specific brands. IDW also released the first creator-based app, Templesmith Comics, featuring the art and stories of Ben Templesmith.
In addition, IDW Publishing has committed to a full same day as print release schedule, a first for the company. All new digital comics will be offered at full cover price.
“IDW has always been dedicated to making our comics and graphic novels as accessible as possible on as many platforms as possible, and this deeper IDW-comiXology relationship continues that commitment,” said IDW CEO and Publisher Ted Adams. “We are strong believers that digital comics expand the reach of these books and consistently bring new readers into the industry.”
This past October, during the New York Comic Con, IDW Publishing and comiXology announced that IDW’s library would be coming to the Comics by comiXology platform. Today’s announcement marks a new chapter in the relationship between both companies.
The addition last month of IDW Publishing titles to the Comics by comiXology helped lift comiXology’s same-day-as-print offering over the 50% threshold, signaling a sea change in the comic book publishing landscape and making Comics by comiXology the destination for all consumers wanting to discover and read the latest and greatest comic books in digital format.
All comiXology platforms feature the company’s Guided View™ Technology, enabling the reader to transition smoothly between different comic panels, mimicking the reading experience of a traditional print comic book. Purchases of comics through the IDW apps or the Comics by comiXology app will be available to read across top platforms and devices, including Apple® iOS, Android and the Kindle Fire, or on the Web at read.idwpublishing.com or comixology.com.
The mighty empire has its own secret agents and this is a story of one of them. I decided to read this because it has characters that interest me like bounty hunters. To be honest it’s hard to do spin off's with Star Wars because they are praised or hated with no real in-between. Today we meet Jahan Cross, labeled as the Bond of the empire. The story starts out in a quiet office Cross waits for his target to question him about sell off droid technology. Quickly it turns right to action. Cross’ droid takes out the two battle droids with no effort and Cross’ take out the target with tech I haven’t seen before. He heads back to a briefing on his mission and head to a new lead. There you get a glimpse of the tech room and testing. In true James Bond fashion he picks up some new tech for his next mission. The story changes gears as Cross heads in to the Corporate Sector to follow a lead. After he lands we run into some familiar characters since this story takes place in-between episodes III and IV.
The story is written by John Ostrander who has written Star Wars: Legacy and Star Wars: Republic. The story is written well and flows just as well. It is a little slow in the middle but really it’s a set up for the bigger story. But the little detail on how the characters are written makes the story come to life. The characters aren’t flat and boring but have depth and uniqueness to them.
The book is done well and captures the action of the series, especially in the first scenes. It also shows the power of the weapons used in the story. The colors are pretty vibrant in this issue which is a little unexpected for a story from the empires point of view. Some of the characters are drawn make them recognizable and bringing life to them. One thing that bugs me is some of the action scene the limbs seem over exaggerated in length.
To sum it up the story is a good starting point for the book and I hope it gets faster moving. It’s a simple enough book and far enough side story you really don’t need to be involved with other Star War books, but I’m sure it will add to other story lines down the road. If you enjoy Star Wars side stories then pick this up. If you prefer the regular Star Wars then judge for yourself. Me on the other hand I’ll pick up the next issue to see how the story progresses and see if it will capture even more of my attention.
Score: 3/5
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Straight and to the point this book is about the Doctor saving Christmas. The styling of the art is very Saturday morning cartoon-ish, but it works for this one shot. I like this book because there is no dialog and it flows from frame to frame, making for a fun quick read that's enjoyable for the holidays.
Score: 4/5
I used to think that Archie comics were as annoying as the DJ on the soft rock station that cracks the radio safe, lame-ass joke and makes himself laugh so hard he could barely talk the listeners into “Careless Whisper.” Damn, I take it all back. In this ish, Sabrina the uber-hot witch wants to protect Riverdale from monsters. So she decides to cast a spell in the Shane Black Monster Squad inspired tree house.
In stumbles Veronica who wants to help the spell. However, Veronica thinks that Sabrina’s trying to say a “projection” spell. Things fall apart, the center cannot hold, and mere anarchy is loosed. The botched spell invokes monster version of the ageless Riverdale crew.
But from that Pandora’s box of trouble comes hope: The Demon, The Starchild, The Spaceman, and The Catman. That’s right—Kiss.
I was disappointed when Eric Carr was not respected in memoriam by appearing instead of Peter Criss. I would have jumped through the roof if The Fox was on drums for this Kiss outing.
Nevertheless, by the end of the issue the denizens of Riverdale are turning into Zombies. Only Kiss can save the day. I’ve uttered that phrase too many times in my life.
Gene breaths fire. Sabrina rocks stockings and a miniskirt. And the veneer is pulled off Archie comics and the public sees just how occult this comic is. I’ve suspected Archie of being a practitioner of the dark arts for some time. Now I know for sure. And The Duggar family will be the next ones to come out of the occult closet. Mark my words.
I can’t wait to read the next book and hope that Kiss saves Riverdale just like they beat the Phantom of the Park. The next book is even called “Creatures of the Night.” My pants just got real tight. Again.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Alex Segura Pencils: Dan Parent Publisher: Archie Comics Price: $2.99
What’s scarier than a Scorpion-Bear? How about Porcupine-Monkey things? The woman who saved our trio at the very end of the last issue has taken them into her home while Orchid's brother heals. Simon writes in his journal about the old woman named Opal and her horse Radius. Probably the last normal animal on the planet, the horse is actually unfamiliar to Simon since it’s not trying to kill him. He describes the events that lead them there; mostly that Opal put on the mask and wasn’t killed by it. Now she mumbles only to the horse or sings as the rest of them feel like hostages rather than guests. Finally Orchid can’t take it any longer and decides to take her brother and leave, but Opal stops her by finally speaking to them. She tells them the story of her life. Opal was a survivor of one of the cannibal barges thanks in part to a younger General China (the masks original owner), then only known as China. After several years the boat finally found land and Opal, China and his father came to shore and were some of the few to survive the animal attack that waited for them. After running for as long as they could they were captured by what posed as the “civilization” of the time. They brought forth the mask with the red star on the front and placed it on China’s father, which killed him. But when they put it on China he was transformed and made more powerful.
At the end of the story, Opal tells them that they need to leave; confused Orchid and the two guys head out into the wild to fend for themselves. Opal meanwhile loads up all of her guns and swords and then plants a bomb to blow up her home with the Porcupine-Monkey’s inside. Why they were inside when no one was there to eat or kill didn’t make much sense, but whatever. Also I'm not sure why Opal pushed them all away just to join them a few minutes later.
This continues to be a good book, but I feel like each issue spends a lot of time explain the world they live in rather than showing me how the world is. I still really like it and enjoy the story and art, but I’m hoping that with the fourth issue we’ll kick off something new and stop living in the past that created the world. All-in-all though, this is a good damn book that you should check out. Again this book is available in print and digital today as Dark Horse goes “day and date” with all of their releases. If you missed the first two they're worth picking up as well.
Score: 3/5
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
With the first issue it came across as if I didn’t like the issue, but in fact I really did I just expected more from it. The second issue is much different from the first though. The pacing is different, the characters are better spaced and frankly were over the first issue hump; the hump being character introduction, introducing the conflict and setting up the story arc. The first issue struggled, but it was worth it to have such a strong follow-up. The story begins with the Occultist making short work of the baddies introduced at the end of the first issue. So quick that you’ll never have to worry about them again and I was glad! After beating them he still has three more to go, but we flash to his girlfriend who’s heart is hurting because he’s not near (due to a spell). She goes looking for him while he continues fighting off bounty hunters looking to claim his head and the book locked inside him.
Pandora is up next with her box of horrors, but the Occultist again stops her with ease. The Occultist begins working on getting the Detective that he inadvertently hexed, out of the area before she’s hurt. Too bad she’s stubborn as hell and messes up any chance of getting out of there. This forces Rob aka the Occultist to fight the guy with the eye patch that releases an octopus looking thing at him. The only thing I’ll say is that at this point these “professional” bounty hunters are coming off as rookies as the Occultist takes them down one by one.
There are some great character moments in this book. Rob’s character is developed a lot and it makes him relatable and likable. He has a Spider-Man feel to his character as he’s just trying to finish school, but he’s been given all this power that he must now deal with. I like how he doesn’t pull punches and kills at least one of the bounty hunters in the process.
Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Witchblade) has definitely found his rhythm with the book now. There are still too many characters, but the development for Rob’s character almost makes it worthwhile. I can’t tell for sure if Seeley is building towards a larger story, but hopefully that will become clear after this first story mini ends and sets the stage for future volumes. The art is still top-notch and there is no one better for this book than Victor Drujiniu. His style is very photo-realistic and with the magic element of the story it makes it very cool to see. His visual storytelling remains very strong and helps give the book a fluid feeling while reading.
If you were confused by my last review then let me clear it up now, this is a good book. I have high hopes that it will have a great conclusion and continue with more mini-series. The best part is that if you missed the first issue you can pick both one and two up digitally, as Dark Horse goes day and date digital. So what are you waiting for?
Score: 4/5
Writer: Tim Seeley Artist: Victor Drujiniu Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $2.99
The last of Dark Horse’s dollar firsts is rolling out this week and it’s another biggie. The Strain is from Gullermo Del Toro (look him up he’s a big deal) and Chuck Hogan and it’s their take on Vampires. Yeah I know another Vampire book this week, but this one is also very different from the other stuff out there right now. The story begins in 1927 Romania, as a Grandmother tells a story to her grandson about Jusef Sardu. The boy’s eyes instantly light up with fear as she continues telling him about the once giant nobleman. He was a gentle giant and well-known throughout the village for his kindness, but then on a hunting trip with his father everything changed. After several nights of camping the men were picked off one at a time until only the giant of a man Sardu, was left. After burying the dead he headed into a cave to confront whatever had killed everyone. From there the Grandmother continues, as Sardu returned to his castle a changed man. Soon children began to disappear from the neighboring villages. When he would walk he would tap with his cane making a “Pick-pick-pick” sound that would scare the children.
The story flashes to the present day as a father and son play video games together. It’s not very believable since they’re sharing the same screen on an FPS and it’s clearly not split-screen. That aside, the dialog reveals that the man is divorced and he has his son for the weekend. His work calls (of course they do) and takes him away from his son. He’s a Hazmat team member and something is going on with a plane that landed at JFK. He’s filled in on the situation as he arrives, apparently there has been no contact with the plane since it arrived and all the windows are closed and the doors sealed. Finally after a while someone sees a window open. They board the plane and find… sucker you’ve got to buy it to find out.
The script adaptation from David Lapham (Caligula, Crossed: Psychopath) is good, but definitely not the best thing I’ve read from him. It’s very entertaining and I like the mixture of the past and present. The past had a very genuine feel to it which helped make the present more authentic as well. If you’re expecting “left field” Lapham then you’re in for a surprise as this is really nothing like his other creator-owned work. I dig the fact that he’s trying something like this though and I think ultimately he’s very successful in adapting it from the book.
Mike Huddleston (The Coffin) was a great choice for the art as he is a very strong visual storyteller. There is a lot happening on the page when the Grandmother is talking, that she’s not saying and that speaks very highly of the art. Huddleston uses a lot of thick lines for his art and it gives the story a creepy dark feel that should be there, thus working very well.
For only a dollar how can you not pick this book up this week? Sure if you buy it digitally you’ll have to pay full price, but still it’s worth it (although if you buy it digitally you could win the entire series). This book has a very strange team working on it; on paper it seems like they shouldn’t mesh, but they in fact work very well together. I’m looking forward to seeing the second issues progression and even checking out the novel as well. That’s been one thing about Dark Horse’s latest novel adaptations; they make you want to read the book and the comic and its usually one or the other.
Score: 3/5
Writer: David Lapham Artist: Mike Huddleston Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $2.99
Let me start off by saying that this is one of the best comic book covers I’ve ever seen. The layout is simple and Boom! does a great job of keeping it as clean and clear as possible. Hairsine does a great job of drawing your eye to the Major, who is just sitting there like a bad ass. The only thing that could have made it better is if a sandwich was sitting in front of him and he was reaching for it. This book continues the intense action the first issue set up and definitely builds the Major as a memorable bad ass. The last issue saw the Major taking another mission in the name of the Reich due to some shipping complications of an item he ordered. After a James Bond and Q inspired moment the Major is sent on the mission. He possess as a Frenchmen and a mechanic. He’s put to the test instantly when the man he’s sent to kill asks him to look at the gunner seat of a plane. The Major finds the problem which turns out to be a used rubber, like a total ass he uses the other guy’s pen to fish it out. A short time later he kills the man and heads back to Germany.
When he arrives he’s greeted by the same gestapo that questioned him before. I’m not really sure why they were so adamant about pinning the murder of a retired officer and his son on him, but they didn’t let up. Knowing that it was the end of the line for him the Major takes out the men sent for him. He then steals an amphibious VW Beetle and takes off to pick up his item. Once there the vehicle raises attention fast and he’s forced to shoot his way out of the shop. He drives the car into a river and heads out of the line of fire.
There are a lot of great moments in this issue. Scenes that stand alone as being really good or just awesome. Overall the issue was very good and developed the character of the Major even more. I’m still not sure what his motivations are, why he’s become a traitor, but the story is interesting enough that I want to keep reading it to find out. Herik Hanna continues to do a great job of mixing history and fiction together. He adds a lot of little details that make the book have a more authentic feel to it.
Trevor Hairsine’s (X-Men: Deadly Genesis, Bleedout) art is so good for this series that you’ll wonder, “What the hell is Trevor Hairsine working on?” The simple answer is that he’s not doing monthly work, at least from the looks of things. He worked on two Archaia graphic novels this year, but other than that nothing much. It’s a shame because he’s got a great style for this type of book. His Marvel years weren’t the best, but I’d love to see him on a creator owned book or just something more genre suitable for his style like Criminal.
The second issue is about as strong as the first, which hopefully means that the conclusion will be just as good. If you enjoy the spy genre and the back drop of WWII then you’ll enjoy this unique adventure about a German super spy turned traitor. Be sure you thank Boom! for porting this book to the states so we could all finally read it.
Score: 3/5
Writer: Herik Hanna Artist: Trevor Hairsine Publisher: Boom Studios Price: $3.99
If there is one thing every comic fan can agree on, it’s that every holiday inspired comic book with the exception of Jingle Belle is terrible. As someone who owns Punisher: Red X-Mas, DC Holiday Special 1989 and several other holiday inspired comic one-shots I can speak with some authority that Jingle Belle is the best. For those of you not versed in Jingle Belle, she is the daughter of Santa Claus and a skilled toy maker herself. Unfortunately, she’s also young and wants to deflect from her family responsibilities and hang out with friends and such. The thing that makes the series stand out is the pin-up inspired character designs for Belle and her friends; it gives them a Jessica Rabbit style as the book is very cartoony as a whole. This issue opens with the story of Krampus and Santa Claus. Krampus is reminiscing about the good old days where he would go into homes and frighten the kids that were bad before Santa Claus would show up. They pulled the classic “good cop, bad cop” to make sure the kids were behaving all year. The story drifts into the present with Krampus sitting in a dark room full of cob webs. Belle’s friend Polly has been sent to fetch Krampus to the Claus’ house to settle a dispute. He gets very excited by this as grabs his “switch” and heads to the house.
There he finds Belle and Claus at each other’s necks. They’re both calling each other liar when Ms. Claus reveals she called Krampus to settle the fight. Both parties run through their side of the story and why the other is a liar before Krampus makes his decision which is not in either parties favor. There are also several short stories as well which are equally as enjoyable as the main tale.
There is just something about Paul Dini’s (Detective Comics, Batman: The Animated Series) writing for this book that makes it so good. Its kid friendly and yet there is adult humor; which gives it the perfect balance between the two that’s normally hard to do. Dini’s writing at DC was sub-par and he really plateaued quickly with his work on Detective. With Jingle Belle you can tell there’s a lot of love for the world and that he’s trying to create and continue something that’s wholly original in comics today.
The cover is creepy, but surprisingly the art inside is great and fits the book perfectly. The strange thing is that the cover artist and interior artist are one and the same: Stephanie Gladden. I don’t understand the covers look, but the rest of the book is fantastic. Dini has worked with a lot of artists on Jingle Belle and has even showcased several artists on the same issue before. This one is 100% Gladden and it makes for a much better read having consistent art and style that you can become familiar with. I wouldn’t be opposed to her doing more work on the series as long as the covers improve.
If you’re not a Christmas fan then pass on this book, it’s only going to aggravate you and make you question your purchase and no one wants that. If you like or even enjoy Christmas and you’ve never been able to find an X-Mas book that didn’t suck, then look no further than Jingle Belle Gift-Wrapped.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Paul Dini Artist: Stephanie Gladden Publisher: Image Comics
Okay what the hell. Didn’t I say last time that I don’t care about the humans? Is the name of the book “Humans vs. Godzilla”? No it’s not. With that said this book is much better than the last issue. It has a much faster pacing and it also has Rodan. Unlike the last issue though, there are no monster battles just Rodan tearing shit up. It starts off in Japan with an officer returning from his leave with Rodan’s egg. He’s completely clueless about what he’s done and is quickly arrested. Other soldiers rush the egg inside the base—you read that right—they shit their pants that he’s brought the egg to the base and yet they keep it. Typical humans, see this is why they need to die. Rodan continues to torment the base as one scientist studies the egg. Meanwhile his son is harassed at school because he’s not Japanese and he's not military. It makes him the odd man out and subjects him to a lot of bullying. After the government decides to destroy the egg, the kid tells his dad they should steal it instead of letting it be destroyed. Everything goes smooth, but the dad turns on his son and sends him back to school the next day. Pissed off the kid brings the egg to school knowing Rodan will show up and threaten everyone's safety.
This kid sucks, but when he brought the egg to school I couldn’t help but chuckle. It was impossible to feel any sympathy for him though since he was very one dimensional and the pacing of the story was too fast. If you read issue one and two back to back they will feel like two very different books (implying there is no cohesion in the series) which will leave you wondering what they really have in common outside of numbering and title. Frankly this series of one-shots should have been just that, rather than branded under the same name (got it now?). Honestly the story reminded me of Jurassic Park 2 or any other movie about a dinosaur that has had its young kidnapped or such.
If you’re a fan of Godzilla or more importantly, Rodan then you’ll probably enjoy the book. The art is good, but we spend too much time with the humans and not enough seeing Rodan jacking shit up. Also the variant cover is terrible and if you actually buy it I feel sorry for you. It’s not a great issue, but it’s entertaining and sometimes that’s all you need from a comic. Hopefully the next issue with Titanosaurus is better than the first two, but more than likely it will be along the same lines.
Score: 2/5
I don’t know what it is about this book, but I really like it; so much so that I forgot that it was a Vampire book until I sat down do the review. There were some pacing problems with the first issue, but I contribute that to the first issue hill that all comics need to climb. This second issue is much smoother and although it hangs out in the past for most of the story, I personally didn’t mind since that was the part I enjoyed the most from the first. This issue begins in fencing class… I’m not sure why they fence, but they have a Vampyre class for fencing and they wear dark colors instead of white. Besides that, this scene is used to introduce us more to the supporting character Damien. He’s a gay vampire from Texas and that’s probably the strangest sentence I’ve ever typed in my life. The teacher pits him against his homophobic ex-roommate, Thor which is another strange sentence. Damien makes quick work of Thor and shows that his sexuality doesn’t stop him from slicing and dicing. Also were given the knowledge that you get to pick your Vampyre name, my first thought was hell yeah I want to be a Vampyre. I would go by Ace Danger Cabeal, but my initials and signature would be ACDC.
At any rate, Zoey gathers her friends to help her learn the next lesson from the Goddess Nyx, but Aphrodite has other thoughts. She’s still really sore about Zoey taking her leadership position on the Daughters of Darkness. Zoey can’t take it anymore and uses the wind to throw her in the courtyard fountain, which is funny but she regrets it instantly. She decides to learn about wind in the handbook as her actions seem to be an omen of sorts.
The story they tell is about a Celtic tribe that gets over taken by the Romans after their King dies. The tribe is ruled by the Queen, but the Romans don’t recognize her authority. They beat her and rape her two daughters in front of her. After that the tribe attacks the Romans, but a new invention sees the decimation of the tribe. The mother decides to kill herself with poison and asks the daughters to follow after her, but just as the mother finishes drinking a Vampyre shows up for the girls. He reveals the moon symbol on their heads, but is killed by the Romans shortly thereafter. The girls are captured and raped again, until breaking free one night. They must then survive a harsh journey to nearest House of Night to become full-fledge vampyres.
Don’t worry there is still plenty of story after that which I will leave for you to read. The story is very good and I really enjoyed the back and forth that the series has established so far. The flashback story does two things: it builds the world the series is set in including the school and Nyx, it teaches our character a lesson which then builds her character. There is a large group working on this story so I’ll just say that everyone has good chemistry when it comes to adapting this series into comic form. I can tell that the demographic is mostly women, but I think the story and the comic do a good job of introducing it to a male audience.
The art team of Joelle Jones and Joshua Covey is very solid. I’m not sure how the art is broken down, but it looks like one style for the present day story and one for the flashback. The two styles look very similar which gives the book a nice cohesion. The facial expressions were particularly good as they captured the torment of the young girls and everything that followed.
If you missed the first issue I have to ask why, because it was only a dollar? If you can still find it then pick it up, but otherwise Dark Horse is officially “day and date” digital today so you’ll be able to get the first and second issue on their app store (which is much improved). If you like print like me then pick it up as well, the story is progressing at a slow rate and the subtle recap within the narration will get you up to speed on everything from the first issue.
Score: 4/5
Writer: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast, Kent Dalian Artists: Joelle Jones, Joshua Covey Publisher: Dark Horse Comics