Chadzilla ROARS!!!

The Dresden Files: Welcome to the Jungle - by Jim Butcher (Writer) & Ardian Syaf (Art)

Sometimes I am just stupid.  The number of years that I willing wasted putting off reading a Harry Dresden story being a perfect example of one of those sometimes.

For those of you out there that do not know who Harry Dresden is, or why my not cracking open a Dresden Files novel before now would make me admit to just being stupid, at times, then let me explain.  Harry is a smart mouthed wizard, one with a dark and tragic past, of course, that does freelance investigative work for the Chicago Police Department's Special Investigations Unit, helping them out whenever a crime scene has a hint of the bizarre or paranormal to it.

How can it be that I have not yet become a steady reader of a series about a smart mouthed dude in Chicago fighting all manner of ghouls, ghosts, and paranormal beasts?  Where have I...  Wait just a minute...  A series with a smart mouthed hero investigating cases of the bizarre or paranormal?  In Chicago?  Please let me find an in joke or reference to Kolchak: The Night Stalker in at least one Dresden File.  Please!

Yeah, I really should have started tearing into this series years ago.

Welcome to the Jungle, a graphic novel prequel to the popular novel series, and the perfect place for me to start righting the wrong of taking too damn long to start reading the series, begins with the brutal murder of a security guard at the Lincoln Park Zoo.  Although circumstantial evidence points to a particular gorilla, something about the crime scene is more than a bit off.  While there is some political pressure to close the case quickly, the security guard was related to someone a bit higher up on the power chain, it seems, the thread of clues cannot be satisfactorily tied to together.  Enter Harry Dresden, investigative wizard.

Dresden soon discovers that, while the killer is not a gorilla, it is not human, either.  It also does not want a smart mouthed wizard fouling up its vile plan of ascendancy.  A battle magic royal rumble caps an action packed, humor filled, and monster full story that, when I finished it, had me eager to race out and snag some more Harry Dresden adventures to read.  You just might finish the book feeling the exact same way.

Hack/Slash Vol. 3: Friday the 31st - by Tim Seeley (writer) and Emily Stone & Matt Merhoff (art)

"No one is getting all tentacle porn on me, fucker!"

Cassie and Vlad face off against Chucky, a couple of skinless psychos, and an ancient evil from an alternate dimension.  Fun times.

Some of the material collected in this particular volume, namely Cassie and Vlad's run-in with Chucky, the killer Good Guy doll, is where I first jumped into the Cassie and Vlad story pool.  My opinion of that adventure remains unchanged: It's a rocking good ride that, like the entire series, is essential reading for any and all slasher-horror fans.

Revisiting the yarn(s) in this volume with a far more knowledgeable set of eyes (I have read almost all of the Hack/Slash comics available on the market) regarding who Cassie and Vlad are and where they come from, I cannot praise the ongoing series, the first few issues of which fill the second half of this volume, enough.  I also noticed and appreciated the now obvious to me groundwork that was being laid for the ongoing series in the duo's Chucky themed outing.

As far as those first few issues go, most of it was fresh.  So the monetary double-dipping was far less painful than the serial/trade double-dipping I have been making with The Walking Dead.  But that is a subject for a different commentary.

Again, those first issues.  Cassie's run-in with Dr. Gross covers background that has been so well covered in previous and subsequent serial and stand alone stories, I could walk it blindfolded with no fear of tripping over some hidden nuance.  While newcomers to the series will no doubt need to be told of Cassie Hack's origins, I think it is time for Seeley and the gang to push to character building envelope.  Something they did with the very next story arc, a demented and delightful thrashing of Hair Metal bands, the King, and Hentai.  If that description doesn't sell you on this series, I don't what will.

All I can say is, if you are a horror fan, then you are doing yourself a real disservice by NOT reading this oh-so-awesome horromedy series.  Horromedy?  Could that even be a real word?

Secret of the Swamp Thing - by Len Wein (writer) & Berni Wrightson (artist)

"...But Alec Holland is dead...and in his place stands only a...SWAMP THING!"

Dr. Alec Holland and his wife scientist wife Linda, working in a laboratory hidden deep inside a Louisiana swamp, have just perfected their "Bio-Restorative Formula" - a chemical compound that will allow plants to grow anywhere - when ruthless representatives of a criminal organization known as The Conclave arrive.  They demand that the Hollands "sell" their compound and themselves, or else.  The Hollands choose the "Or Else Option" and, one fiery explosion later, the Bio-Restorative doused charred remains of Dr. Alec Holland are reborn as the "muck-encrusted, shambling mockery of life" known as Swamp Thing.

For a great many years my knowledge of Swamp Thing was strictly limited to the campy movies made by Wes Craven and Jim Wynorski.  While I enjoyed both for what they were, campy monster movies, I suspected that neither film did the source material justice.  The reason for this were some choice comments regarding the original comic book run made by producer Michael Uslan in the liner notes for the soundtrack album to Craven's film.  Those comments were:

"Swamp Thing was synonymous with quality.  Rarely had the artform known as comic books achieved a level of excellence comparable to this series.  [Len] Wein's narrative was descriptive and mood-captivating - a far cry from the usual purple prose rampant in much of the competition.  His dialogue rang true and his characters were more than stereotypes.  They had depth.  Swamp Thing ached with pathos.  Those who read those stories never forgot them.  [Berni] Wrightson's art brought flavor of the grand old EC horror comics to the strip as well as the influence of Goya.  Unfortunately, Wrightson only stayed with the book for ten issues, Wein stayed for eleven.  Ah, but what a glorious eleven issues they were!"

Wow, those are some serious platitudes Uslan is foisting on his readers, and it was precisely those words that made me decide to buy Secret of the Swamp Thing (which collects issues 1 through 10 of the premiere Swamp Thing run) rather than one of the volumes that gathers together Alan Moore's celebrated run in the late 80s.  Those will have to wait from a later day, and a far larger tax return.  (Ouch!)

The important question to those that have not read, much less even heard of, the book would be, "Is it really that good?"

Short answer: Hell, yes. 

If you want to read a damn good monster comic (one that goes from soft science-fiction to supernatural horror, then back to science-fiction, only to return to yet again to supernatural horror, then back to...again and again) I cannot recommend this book enough.  The writing is solid (although there are a few story construction wonks, such as the clumsy separation of the Hollands deaths in issue one) and the artwork is just gorgeous.  The book's tone is consistently dark and sorrowful.  The imagery invokes both the textured Gothic feel of the old, classic Universal horror films (the black and white ones that starred Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster) as well as the colorful films of Hammer (the ones that starred Christopher Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Dr. Frankenstein).  I loved every page of it and hated for it to end.

For any monster loving fanboy, the Secret of the Swamp Thing is essential stuff.

American Splendor: Another Day - by Harvey Pekar

"Am I really so weird, or are there a lot more weird people out there who just won't admit it?"

Harvey Pekar shares the humorous and confounding events that make up his day to day life.

I just know that you have heard the old saying that "Truth is stranger than fiction."  Well Harvey Pekar's autobiographical American Splendor comic book series is an excellent example of that simple truth.  There are only a handful of what you could call stories found in this volume, which, for the most part, covers Pekar's post American Splendor movie life.

In The Day's Highlights Harvey guides us through his day long battle with his foster daughter, his cat, the New York Times, and himself.  Today I Am A Man tells of Harvey's battle with a plugged up toilet that becomes a Rite of Passage into Manhood.  Snow Chaos is another adventure stemming from his foster daughter and builds to a hilarious finale that anyone caught blowing off steam at the wrong time can relate to.  Joy Gets the Job is a non-Harvey centered story that has to be the most heartwarming thing I have read in years.  It totally caught me off guard.  Closing out the collection - story wise, that is - is New York City Signing, wherein Harvey valiantly struggles to deal with a truly oppressive amount of human interaction.  For him, that is.

The rest of the offerings are more vignettes that offer, or attempt to offer, little epiphanies from Pekar's life of not too terribly quiet desperation.  Some, like Delicacy, are a tad surreal.  Others, like Northwest Airlines Goes Socialist, are wonderful illustrations of the sitcom like situations real people can find themselves in.  Others, like Icarus, left me cold and scratching my head.  But there were not a lot of those.

Although I have been reading comic books off and on for that past thirty years, I would not have known about Harvey Pekar if I had not rented American Splendor last year. But now that I do, I can't get enough of him and his only-in-the-real-world crazy life.  If you haven't read his work, or seen the movie, I can only recommend that you do so as soon as possible.

Kolchak the Night Stalker: The Lovecraftian Horror - by C.J. Hendersen (writer) & Jaime Calderon (art)

"Being convinced the end of the world is as tangible a concept as the new fall line-up, a lot of things begin to lose their importance."

When Kolchak is scooped on a "dead gill man" story, Tony Vincenzo demands that Carl make the drive up the California coast and dig around a bit.  See what there is to uncover regarding the outlandish story.  What Kolchak learns is a secret so mind-shatteringly terrifying that he even he agrees the world is better off not knowing what could, and will, happen here.

If one were to make a list of all the monsters and evil spirits that Carl Kolchak, every horror fans' favorite disgraced reporter, has yet to do battle with, I'm sure that Cthulhu and its minions would have been on it...

Until now.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker: The Lovecraftian Horror has Carl face off against a horror so awe inspiring, even he agrees that the world would be a far better place, for however little time it has left, not knowing about it.  Think about that for a moment.

Something else that I spent several moments thinking about was just how Moonstone's interconnected Kolchak universe has grown.  Not only are characters and events in the movies and series mentioned, but so are apocalyptic events in an adventure that I was not aware off.  I don't know if this was sloppy writing on C.J. Hendersen's part, or if these are events that are covered in one of the Kolchak the Night Stalker books sitting on my "to be read" shelf (shelves actually, I buy a lot of books).  When I know for certain, I'll let you know.  Just keep checking back, I'll be cracking those books open at some point in the coming year.  Until I read this book, I had kind of forgotten just how much I missed Carl's paranormal adventures.

As a Carl Kolchak story, it hits all the proper beats, even if his narrative voice is a tad more colorful than it has been in the past.  Then again, this is Carl narrating an H.P. Lovecraft pastiche, so some purpling of the old prose is to be expected.  As a homage to Lovecraft's legendary Cthulhu Mythos, the story, again, manages to hit all the marks and invokes an aura of dread that is almost palpable.  A tip of the straw hat to all that were involved.

Now for the smackdowns.  Did Jaime Calderon bother to read Henderson's text?  (Note, this book isn't really a comic book.  It's more of a long short story illustrated with a series of "widescreen" dual splash pages.)  At one point Carl tells the reader that he decides to take the inland "Interstate 101" (which is really Highway 101) instead of the coastline hugging Highway 1, but Calderon's artwork shows Carl tooling along Highway 1.  Whoops.  Then there are some editorial gaffs, such as having an entire paragraph of text getting needlessly repeated on pages 24 and 25.  Also, how did the Pacific get magically transported to the eastern coastline of North America?

While the story and artwork are good, and the end of the world image splashed across pages 70 and 71 is just spectacular, the writing and editorial gaffs keep me from recommending anyone pay the full $12.95 cover price for it.  Sloppy work should never be rewarded.

Fallen Angel: Down to Earth - by Peter David (writer), David Lopez (penciller) & Fernando Blanco (inker)

Lee goes to extreme lengths to acquire the shard for Sister Mary Catherine.  Lengths that are not at all appreciated by the devout nun.

The hows and whys of what first brought Lee to Bete Noire are also revealed.

According to my last posted review of a Fallen Angel story, it has been almost two years since I last cracked open what remains one of my favorite comic book serials.  Although, due to issues far too personal to be discussed here, I drifted away from reviewing comics regularly for the last year or two, I have not stopped buying them.  I have a really nice pile of Fallen Angel comics that I am flat out going to love getting caught up on.

But before I get to cracking on that marathon catch-up session, however, I thought it would be best to take a look at the second volume of the series DC era, Fallen Angel: Down to Earth.

Man, I forgot just what a dark and delicious book this is.  Dark in that author Peter David is not the least bit afraid to take Lee into the shadow cloaked corners of Bete Noire and let the monsters, both figurative as well as literal, come out to play with her.  Delicious because David lets his trademark wry humor glitter in that darkness and during those exciting confrontations.  The mixture makes it feel real, as if these other worldly figures were actually flesh and blood people and not just constructs of words, pencils and ink. 

For every question that is answered in this Volume, there are several more that are asked for the upcoming (and, and as of this writing, apparently uncollected) issues to deal with.  Since those issues have not been gathered together in a third volume to close out the 20 issue run of the series DC era, it looks like I am going to have to invest in some serious back issue purchasing.  Ouch.

Shanna the She-Devil: Survival of the Fittest - by Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti (writers) and Khari Evans (pencils)

"You know, when I was a kid I used to love movies like this..."

When a sea monster attack leaves their boat's navigation system inoperable, a group of pirates washes ashore on Monster Island.  There they are greeted by various carnivorous dinosaurs, giant insects, cannibalistic cavemen, and Shanna and her companion, Doc.  The pirates also find themselves chased by the psychotic relative of the man they robbed.  He wants his family's jewels back, or else.

Maybe it was the straight forward action-adventure stories I've read recently, or something.  But in the last week or so I have found my hunger for adventure stories set in far off locations populated with sexy ladies and fantastical creatures reawakening and ravenous.  I'm thinking that an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel is in my immediate reading future.

Shanna The She Devil: Survival Of The Fittest is NOT an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel, obviously.  Yet it does contain all the elements - exotic lands, lovely ladies, dinosaurs and assorted imaginary and mythical beasts - found in the kind of pulp stories (The Land That Time Forgot, The People That Time Forgot, Out Of Time's Abyss and numerous others) that Burroughs is so deservedly famous for penning.  So it was good for a quick (as in single sitting read) fix.  The problem is, it is not all that good for anything more than that.  This is a great appetizer, but if you want a full meal then I have to recommend searching out and reading Frank Cho's far more satisfying Shanna the She-Devil story, to which Survival Of The Fittest is a sort of direct sequel.

But if you want nothing more out of an adventure than an elongated chase to nowhere that curls through a maze of monster carnage - and I cannot think of a genre reader that wouldn't mind taking some brain time off to enjoy something like that - then Survival Of The Fittest delivers in grand fashion.  Enjoy.

The Incredible Hulk Volume 3: Transfer of Power - by Bruce Jones (writer) & Stuart Immonen (Pencils), et al

"I suppose this where I'm supposed to say...HULK SMASH!"

Now You See It: Doc Samson attempts a rendezvous with Bruce Banner, but first he has to find a way to trick the microscopic camera that has been implanted in his eye.

Dream Lover Where Are You...: During an attempt to avoid being seen by the police, Bruce Banner is struck by a car driven by a mysterious woman with a very dark secret.

The only thing I can say about the first story in Transfer of Power is that Bruce Jones must really like Thunderball. Other than that, there really isn't enough going on to make a critical comment.  It all builds to an anti-climax.  Perhaps Jones is setting up events to be detailed in a future story, because I really mean that nothing happens.

It's a good thing that the companion story is such a strong one.  Dream Lover nicely ties together and wraps up the two seemingly unconnected story lines from Return of the Monster and Boiling Point in a fun "little" science-fiction/horror story.  Although I was more than a bit concerned with the convoluted opening, as the reveals and explanations were smoothly rolled out and all that was confusing began to make perfect sense, I could only marvel (no pun intended) at Bruce Jones' storytelling skill.  I don't want to go into any greater detail than that.  Why should I spoil all the fun for someone else who, like me, might be discovering Bruce Jones run on The Incredible Hulk for the first time.

Just skip the first story and enjoy the second, but only after reading the first two volumes.  Knowing the background of the other characters in greater detail than the expositional lines provided in this story will make for far more satisfying reading, believe me.

Battlestar Galactica Volume 1 - by Greg Pak (writer) and Nigel Raynor (artist)

"We can tear each other apart all on our own."

In the debris of a lost battlefield of the Third Colonial Conflict the crew of the Galactica discovers a medivac ship under Cylon attack.  But is it a Cylon trick?  When the Galactica crew learns that the besieged passengers aboard the medivac ship are all dead relatives of people within the fleet, Commander Adama becomes certain of it.  The already perilous situation spins out of control when the "survivors" circumvent the Galactica and contact the other ships in the fleet directly.

It only took three issues for my interest in the new Battlestar Galactica comic book series spin-off to cool to the point that I stopped reading/collecting it altogether.  Now that I have returned to and finally finished reading the first story in the Battlestar Galactica Volume I trade collection, I can only wonder what the hell my problem with the book was in the first place.  Glancing over my reviews of the first few issues, I'm guessing it was reading the serial issues while watching the events of Season Three unfold at the same time just did not mix.  I could not see the two stories happening in the same universe.

But times change and, now that I have been away from any and all forms of Battlestar Galactica for awhile, I had no problems whatsoever buying the Returners story arc as an authentic BSG tale.

That I could read the entire story as a whole and not as an episodic serial with several weeks between segments did not hurt, either.  My review of issue one pretty much covers my opinion of the arc as a whole.  The creative team captures the tense drama and white knuckle action of the series, with the byzantinian plot twists they throw at the reader every few pages feeling organic to plot, rather than coming across as cheap "Gotcha!" gimmicks.  I'll be picking up and cracking open Volume 2 at some point in the, I hope, not too distant future.  I've got some catching up to do.

Godzilla: Age of Monsters - by Randy Stradley, Steve Bissette, Bob Eggleton, Arthur Adams, Kevin Maguire & Others

Godzilla: Age of Monsters collects stories from various Dark Horse Comics for 250 pages of kaiju sized thrills.

Although Godzilla is the only monster from the Toho Studios kaiju eiga roster to appear in the Dark Horse Comics run, it is quite clear that the editors, writers and artists at Dark Horse "got it" far better than the team in charge of Marvel Comics goofy as hell (but still fun to read) run back in the tail end of the Bronze Age.  (No, that is not a snide comment about how old I am getting, it's a reference to the era Marvel's version was printed.)  Each of the stories (save for the satirical finale, Godzilla's Day) reads like a series of storyboards for a Toho movie and each of the giant monsters that the Big G does face in the comics would be a kick ass addition to the Toho monster stable.  Although Gekido-Jin would have some (Many?) grumbling that he is nothing but a Daimajin clone.  So it goes.

Contained in this volume (there is another one that I will be cracking open in the coming months) are a series of stand alone stories and linked story arcs that gives all the monster carnage an anchoring of human drama; the tragic story of Professor Noriko Yoshiwara, who lost her mother and father in Godzilla's first rampage in the Dark Horse Comics universe and whose drive to kill Godzilla backfires horribly.  Of course it does, if it didn't, then there wouldn't be any drama to hold a reader's interest between the plentiful action sequences.  But there is and Godzilla: Age of Monsters should delight most, if not all, comic book reading Godzilla fans.

The Walking Dead Volume 6: This Sorrowful Life - by Robert Kirkman (Writer), Charlie Adlard (Art) & Cliff Rathburn (Grey Tones)

"Well...this should be interesting."

Rick, Michonne, and Glenn don't have too much time to adjust to being captives of the sadistic Governor before an escape attempt is made.  It is not an easy journey back to the safe haven of the prison, where even more difficulties await their arrival.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 6: This Sorrowful Life contains what has to be the roughest, meanest, and plain old nastiest issue in the series...until we get to The Walking Dead Volume 8: Made To Suffer, that is.  (Those who read the series in its monthly serial format will know what I am talking about.)  Michonne deals out some brutal justice on the Governor that only goes to show how thin the line separating the good guys from the bad guys has become.  Then again, the erasing of moral and ethical lines has been the standard story subtext for this corner of the horror genre ever since George Romero showed how it was done in Night of the Living Dead.  No matter how badly you wanted the Governor to get what he so richly deserved, what he gets goes into the darkest regions of the truly monstrous.  Even Michonne is sickened by her own brutal actions. 

While that particular issue is a horror classic, it fits seamlessly into Kirkman's continuing saga of survival horror.  The plot twists and dramatic sucker punches continue to come fast and furious as the events in the story continue to spiral out of control.

But the worst is yet to come...

Hack/Slash: Revenge of the Return Part 4 - by Tim Seely (Writer) & Emily Stone, Fernando Pinto, Stefano Caselli/Tim Seely, Splash! and Rebekah Isaacs (Art)

Cassie and Vlad go up against a blood-sucking, flesh-eating lesbian Beauty Queen, a deranged fundamentalist that murders sinners, and a pack of feral children.

Revenge of the Return is the fourth trade paperback collection (hence the usage of Part 4) of Hack/Slash, my brand new favorite comic book series. Well, my brand new favorite comic book series this week. Next week could very well mark the return of Gravel to the number one slot, or The Walking Dead, or Fallen Angel.  It all depends on my mood, which is why even bothering to engage in BEST COMIC BOOK SERIES EVAR style hyperbole is just a waste of time.  I mean, really.  Just look at how much space I wasted simply explaining it.

And no, I am not going to cut it.  I bothered to write it, at least you can bother to read it.

But it is a fitting statement to the quality of Hack/Slash that, after reading one stand alone issue (Hack/Slash vs Chucky), I was hooked to the point that I had zero problem buying both the monthly serials AND the inevitable trade collection thereof.  Revenge of the Return gathers together issues 5 - 10, the stories collected are:

Love Stories: Which sets up the gruesome return of Emily Cristy.

Double Date: An absolutely hilarious pastiche of Archie comics that brings back the sinner slaughtering Father Wrath.

Tub Club: A three parter that uses the legend of Elizabeth Bathory as the starting off point for the playing out of Emily Cristy's return.

Little Children: Is an unpleasant close (but unpleasant in a good way) to the anthology and the horrific events push the increasingly stressful relationship between Cassie and Vlad to the breaking point.

What could very well have been a one-note monster hunt anthology (i.e. Cassie and Vlad show up to dispatch a monster, interact with victims and potential victims, save the day and then depart whilst tossing one liners at each other) becomes a little bit more thanks in large part to writer Tim Seely's daring to continually push Cassie and Vlad out of their story comfort zones and allow the stories to go gleefully over the top in the name of entertainment.  I don't know if I am completely sold on the government conspiracy angle, and the whole Revenant cellular research stuff gets me to worrying about X-Files style plot twists and turns that go nowhere and choke both the life and the fun out of the series; subsequently killing my interest in the characters and whatever nonsensical threat they may or may not overcome in their next battle.

But just because it has happened before does not mean that it will happen again.  At least that is what my Love at First Sight is telling me.  This time it will be different!  This one won't break your heart! Promise!

Only time and lots more reading will let me know if it's one or the other.  Right now I'm just going to enjoy the ride and encourage you to do the same.

True Story: Swear to God - by Tom Beland

Tom Beland, a page designer/illustrator from Vallejo, California, met Lily Garcia, a radio/television personality from Puerto Rico, at a bus top while to two were en route to the opening of Disneyworld's Animal Kingdom.  The two hit it off in a big way and, after a long distance relationship, Beland decided to move to Puerto Rico to live with Garcia.

These are their stories...

Okay, True Story: Swear To God is just too cute, too adorable, too sweet, too funny and way too addictive.  It perfectly captures those little, and sometimes not so little, goofy and sweet, and sometimes not so sweet, moments that happen in every romantic relationship.  That is no easy thing, but Beland makes it look and read as if it were.  His book is also a wonderful way in which to show someone how comic book genre is so much more than pictures of guys and gals in goofy costumes beating the snot out of each other; and it does an equally wonderful job of showing why comic books are so special to collectors/readers like Beland and myself.

I'm so going to keep reading this comic book series and can only recommend that you do the same.

Monster Zoo - by Doug TenNapel

The financially ailing Los Angeles Zoo hopes that its display of a recently unearthed stone idol, for an animal god named Ungabe, will generate some desperately needed revenue.  Ty, with his obnoxious friend Carpo in tow, visits the zoo and, while there, bumps into Rainy, the girl he currently has a crush on.  With Rainy is her obnoxious jock boyfriend, Rick Bird.  Shortly after Rick pulls a prank that lands Ty and Carpo in some serious trouble, the Ungabe idol awakens and begins turning the zoo animals into hideously deformed monsters.  The four become trapped in the zoo and find themselves in a battle against an evil god that is about begin an animal apocalypse.

Doug TenNapel's Monster Zoo is a fast-paced and fun little story - one that does not make the mistake of taking itself all that seriously - that is made all the better by its witty and credible cast of characters.  Ty, Carpo, Rainy, and Rick Bird all behave like teenagers should.  That they handle the bizarre situation they find themselves thrust into far better than the adults they encounter is probably part of the book's sometimes subtle but most times not humor.  Yeah, there's plenty of fart and crap jokes sprinkled across the panels for the younger readers that are into stuff like that.  I'm not, but, in a refreshing change, this time around the crude humor actually plays a semi-important part in the story.  Ty makes good hero material and his embarrassing relationship with his irritating friend Carpo is nicely mirrored by Rainy's embarrassing relationship with her obnoxious boyfriend Rick.  Both relationships are echoed for good comedic effect by Carpo's interactions with the "Witchy Lady."  I do not want to get into any greater detail than that, because I don't want to ruin the fun of reading the story.  Just know that I found it to be both a funny and suspense filled read.  Crack it open and see for yourself, I am certain that you will agree.

The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2: Boiling Point - by Bruce Jones, Lee Weeks & Tom Palmer

The fugitive Dr. Bruce Banner, framed for a murder that he did not commit, arrives in the modest sized town of Miser, Colorado, just in time to become trapped in a hostage situation.  One of several organizations chasing after Banner hopes to use that tension to its advantage, so that they can capture the Hulk...

With (at the time I write this review) a brand new Hulk movie only a week or so away from smashing into movie theaters across the land, the time seemed right to start cracking open The Incredible Hulk comics again.

Those that have been reading this blog for awhile (hi Mom, hi Dad) should know/remember that I spent a good year or two reading The Incredible Hulk, starting with Peter David's Tempest Fugit and sticking with the series all the way through to the conclusion of Planet Hulk.  But fatigue set in and, couple that with my dislike of huge crossover events, I walked away from the Hulk for awhile.

But the dust of World War Hulk has finally settled and my love of the character (and my son's rabid devotion to it) has drawn me back.  Since the creative team behind the new Hulk movie have been quite open about the debt their movie not only owes to cult classic TV series, but to the Bruce Jones run of the comic book series as well, then what better way to jump back into world of HULK SMASH than with one of the stories from the very run that the new movie will be homaging.

I think I picked a pretty damn good one, too.  The characters are nicely drawn (both figuratively as well as literally) and Jones' story kept me enthralled from beginning to end.  The idea/revelation that cloak and dagger agencies operated by non-governmental interests are also attempting to chase down and capture Banner creates the opportunity for more than a few alternate directions for future stories to take.  Of course, my rave is contingent on Jones & Co. actually exploring said alternatives in the issues that followed this arc.  I have only read this particular story and Return of the Monster, so I have no idea if they did manage to keep it fresh and exciting, or if they slipped into a repetitive story cycle and it became a wonderful opportunity that was wasted.  I look forward to finding out which path wound up being the one taken.

Man-Thing: Whatever Knows Fear...

"For the sake of discussion, I'll just call it the man...thing."

Nathan Mehr has been sent by Lansdale Insurance to investigate a claim filed by land developer Frederic Schist.  Someone has sabotaged Schist's construction site in the swamp outside of Bywater, Louisiana and Schist is demanding immediate compensation for the damages.  Mehr finds the damage to be more than a bit suspect.  But there are two clues for him to run down, a comatose security guard and a strange talisman he finds at the construction site.  Mehr's dogged determination to uncover the truth leads him deep into the swamp's "dark waters," and puts him in the path of the supposedly mythic beast that lurks there.

One of the few comics that I clearly remember reading as a child was Man-Thing.  Although I don't remember if I read the book long enough to ever understand the beast or its back story, it was a cool enough looking monster and, being a huge monster/horror fan then and now, that was more than enough to get me reading.  What can I say, I'm a cheap date.

Cracking open Man-Thing: Whatever Knows Fear brought back those vague memories, in a good way.  Writer Hans Rodionoff crafts a solid story, one that is self-contained while fleshing out some back story for the maligned Man-Thing movie he scripted.  I have not seen that film and also have to admit that I am somewhat reluctant to do so.  When a movie tumbles from a planned theatrical release and eventually winds up being a Sci-Fi Channel "original," well that is not a good sign.  Nonetheless, Rodionoff does good work here and the art by Kyle Hotz drips with atmosphere.  The Man-Thing looks damn good, oozing equal amounts of menace and mystery during its brief yet potent appearances, and the conclusion left me wanting more Man-Thing.

It is a good thing then that Marvel (wait, wasn't I supposed to be boycotting them over some kind of foolishness?) saw fit to include two additional Man-Thing stories.  First up is the creature's debut story from Savage Tails #1.  It's pretty routine pulp story stuff: scientist Ted Sallis latest project for the military is to create a serum that will turn regular men into indestructible super-soldiers.  He is successful, but is then double-crossed by his lover, Ellen Brandt.  Sallis manages to escape Ellen's thugs and injects himself with the last of his serum.  He then crashes into the swamp and mutates into the dread Man-Thing and he takes his revenge on those that have harmed him.  As I said, routine stuff on the story level.  But Gray Morrow's art is simply delicious to look at, especially the curvaceous Ellen Brandt.  Excuse me while I go have a strange interlude.

Closing out the book is Cry of the Native, a story from Adventure Into Fear #16 and which served as the inspiration for the aforementioned maligned Man-Thing movie.  The construction of an unwanted airport brings down the wrath not only of the local inhabitants, but of the Man-Thing as well.  The roots (pun intended) of the film can be clearly seen in this action packed story from 1973.  But the old story still reads fresh, for it's ecologically conscious commentary is still every bit as relevant today as it was when the tale first appeared 35 years ago.  I don't feel too good about that, though.  It was also interesting to see the minor alteration in the Sallis/Man-Thing origin story.  In this version the serum is one that allows humans to breathe pollutants, rather than turning them into indestructible super-soldiers.  It's a change that allows the Man-Thing itself to become a commentary about the evils of both pollution and go for broke capitalism.  "I've given you the means to sacrifice our humanity to the cause of profit!  And if you use it - you're a fool!"  Not particularly subtle, but when dealing with a creature like Man-Thing, where is the point of being subtle?

28 Days Later: The Aftermath - by Steve Niles with Dennis Calero, Deigo Olmos & Nat Jones

"Pretty scary, eh?"

Steve Niles (with the assist of artists Dennis Calero, Diego Olmos & Nat Jones) both expands upon and explores the blood soaked mythos of 28 Days Later in four horrifying short stories:

Stage 1 - Development: Two seemingly well-meaning scientists attempts at developing a chemical inhibitor to violent behavior has the exact opposite effect.

Stage 2 - Outbreak: A family's picnic outing to Cambridge ends in tragedy when the Rage Virus infected monkey arrives on the scene.

Stage 3 - Decimation: A London survivor doesn't take too kindly to another survivor moving into his territory.

Stage 4 - Quarantine: The surviving characters from Development, Outbreak and Decimation meet at a brutally run Quarantine Camp.

28 Days Later: The Aftermath starts off strong and ferocious (not unlike the fearsome Infected themselves) but after the plague spreads and the third story settles into overly familiar territory writer Steve Niles's narrative (again, not unlike the Infected themselves) begins to lose energy and much needed momentum as it runs out of fresh and/or interesting ideas to explore.

The fresh side of the idea coin is probably best represented by the Stage 1 story, Development.  While the eventual revelation that the two seemingly well-meaning scientists seeking a way to inhibit human aggression are every bit as violent as their troubled test subjects really isn't the freshest idea in the Idea Garden, but the story does offer a somewhat credible back story for 28 Days Later stark opening.

The interesting side of the aforementioned idea coin is on display in the Stage 2 story, Outbreak.  As George Romero explained so well at the San Diego Comic-Con, tipping over the apple cart is a lot more dramatically interesting than setting it right again.  (Which is something he attempted, with mixed results, in Land of the Dead.)  Steve Niles tips over the apple cart quiet nicely, illustrating (pun intended, I guess - although the artwork is by Diego Olmos and Ken Branch, Niles wrote the script) just how quickly things spiral out of control as the Rage Virus spreads and the picnicking family first tries to find shelter and then, several days later, tries to escape the Infected ravaged London.

But the fresh/interesting idea coin is pretty much spent by the time the collection's third story, Decimation, comes around.  There is nothing here for readers that have already seen 28 Days Later, and I am going to assume that 98% or more of the book's potential readers will have seen the film.  Other than a gap in the narrative thread that would set-up the fourth story, Decimation could have been removed from the anthology with no reader being the wiser to its absence.

Now, about that fourth story, Quarantine.  Niles attempts to tie together his three unconnected stories by having all of his surviving characters meet in a Quarantine Camp.  Unfortunately there are precious few sympathetic characters to be found and, to properly open the door for the, at the original publication time, at least, soon to be released sequel, 28 Weeks Later, Niles doesn't really have the narrative room (or the desire) to leave his characters hanging around to make more mischief.

When I finished 28 Days Later: The Aftermath and closed the cover, I thought that it could best be described as a passable effort.  That means that, unless you are a really dedicated fan of 28 Days Later (and I like to think that I am), you can pretty much give this graphic novel tie-in a pass.

Masters of Horror

Two stories adapted from the first season of Showtime's popular anthology series Masters of Horror.

Incident On and Off A Mountain Road - Adapted by Chris Ryall from a teleplay by Don Coscarelli & Stephen Romano, based on a short story by Joe R. Lansdale.

"I believe anything can happen to anyone...anywhere...at anytime."

A young woman with a dark and troubled past literally runs into a monstrous serial killer and his latest victim while driving on a mountain road in the dead of night.

Joe R. Lansdale's short story Incident On and Off A Mountain Road was a brisk and efficient little yarn with a nasty I-didn't-see-that-coming twist ending that elevated it from entertaining escapism to memorable chiller.  The teleplay adaptation by writer/director Don Coscarelli, with the assist of Stephen Romano, fleshed out the lead character's back story and Moonface's way life with decidedly mixed results, but it kept the dark heart of Lansdale's story beating.  This comic adaptation works as a wonderful example of just how cinematic Lansdale's writing is and just how unnecessary Coscarelli and Romano's additions to the story were.  Hey, I love Angus Scrimm has much as the next Phantasm fan boy, and his performance in the episode is a wonderful showcase of his range as an actor, but his character added nothing to the story except the necessary padding to make it fit the required hour running time.  No matter the format, be it narrative prose, sequential art, or cinema, less will always be more.

Dreams in the Witch-House - Adapted by Ivan Brandon from a teleplay by Dennis Paoli & Stuart Gordon, based on a short story by H.P. Lovecraft.

"She's coming.  She's coming for you."

After renting a room in a decrepit house, a graduate student is plagued with horrible nightmares.

Talk about a nasty ending!  Unlike Incident, Dreams in the Witch-House lets you know what is coming.  The story teases the viewer (or reader, in this instance) with the possibility that the dreaded event will not come to pass, only to stomp the life out of that hope before striding into the darkest regions of horror.  It's a chilling and very effective story, arguably the darkest episode of Masters of Horror first season.  (Miike's controversial Imprint, which shares some disturbing imagery with Dreams, was never broadcast.)  It has been more than a few years since I have read the Lovecraft story that is the episode's source material.  So I cannot compare and contrast the episode, or this adaptation of it, with the original story.  Taken on its own merits, Dreams is a dark, smart and scary.  It is also completely unafraid of going well past the safety line.  In other words, it couldn't be anything other than a Stuart Gordon film.

While the art for Incident was sharp and cinematic, Dreams has an impressionistic dream-like look, which is not all that surprising, considering the story's surreal subject matter.  However the approach does undercut the dramatic back bone of the story more than a little bit.  The artwork works best during the almost dialog free nightmare sequences, but it falls somewhat flat during the character building moments.  Nonetheless, it chills when needed, so it's all good.  Comic reading fans of Masters, Lansdale, Lovecraft, Don Coscarelli and/or Stuart Gordon are sure to find something to enjoy in this two story collection.

The Walking Dead: Volume 5: The Best Defense - by Robert Kirkman (Writer), Charlie Adlard (Penciler, Inker) & Cliff Rathburn (Grey Tones)

"...it's only a matter of time."

While life inside the prison has finally begun to settle down, Rick and Tyreese's friendship remains strained.  Neither is willing to back down from the positions that led them to their violent fist fight in volume four.  Another confrontation is put on hold, however, when a helicopter flies overhead, only to plummet to the ground not too far from the prison.  Rick, Glen and Michonne head out to attempt a rescue, but find that someone else has already done the job.  There appears to be another cluster of survivors nearby...

The Walking Dead Volume 5: The Best Defense takes Rick, Glen and Michonne into some very dark territory.  As is the case with the zombie films of George Romero, the walking dead are not humankind's most dangerous enemy.  It's selfish nature is.  Reading the six issues collected in this volume sequentially, without having to wait a month, sometimes more, for the next chapter, I was again impressed with how writer Robert Kirkman ties everything together.  He not only keeps his multiple story lines moving forward at a brisk clip, he also keeps them coherent.

Although some might (and have) complained about the lack of zombie action in the recent arcs, I happen to think that it was necessary to focus on the human characters as their situation changed from the fight for survival to the struggle to build an entirely new kind of life.  The group can't stay on the road indefinitely, because gas and ammunition are no longer easily renewable resources and will eventually be used up entirely.  "I doubt there's anyone out there making new bullets," Rick says at one point.  That knowledge and the desperate greed it creates, because you can't run to the supermarket and stock up on supplies anymore (literally it comes down to whoever grabs and holds the biggest stash survives), opens the door to what looks to be The Walking Dead's darkest story yet.

"The thing you have to realize is that they're just us.  They're no different.  They want what they want, they take what they want and after they get what they want, they're only content for the briefest span of time.

Then they want more."

Showcase Presents: The House of Mystery Volume One

Cain, the able caretaker of The House of Mystery, is the host with the most chills and thrills in this collection of tales from the anthology series devoted to frightening stories of the strange and supernatural.  Do You Dare Enter...The House of Mystery?

While the other kids were reading Superman, Spider-Man, Batman, and The Incredible Hulk, I was plowing through the horror comics.  For a monster movie junkie such as myself, those books were where it was at.  While the individual titles of those comic books have faded from my memory, something that makes finding and attaining them today more than a tad difficult, the stories contained within those mysterious books have not been forgotten.

Judging by the copyright information, Showcase's first volume of The House of Mystery (a second volume will be released this March) contains issues (174 to 194, to be exact) published at the very end of the Silver Age and the start of the Bronze.  Considering I was all of 3 to 4 years old at the time of their original publication, it is highly unlikely that any of the stories in this collection would be one of those that I remember to this day.  (Besides, I'm thinking that those stories are probably located in either The Witching Hour or The House of Secrets.)  Not that it made reading the collection any less of a fun experience, I still had a nostalgia fueled blast with it.

The stories are an eclectic bunch, ranging from the playful and mischievous to the intense and unsettling (but not too intense and unsettling).  Some of the yarns that I think make for the best reading are: The Hound of Night!, The Haunting, Nightmare, No Strings Attached, Dark Night, Dark Dreams!, What's the Youth?, Fright!, both of which are personal favorites, Boom!, and Image of Darkness.  (To name but a few.)  On the just plain fun to read level, stories such as Roots of Evil, Night Prowler, House of Madness, The Human Wave, and The Negative Man brought a warm, happy smile to my face.  Clunkers?  Well, everybody has an off day, but none of the stories in this collection left enough of a bitter taste in my mouth to warrant singling them out.  I'm sure opinions about the overall quality of the stories will vary anyway.  As long as you go in expecting stories that are only slightly more intense than your average Saturday morning cartoon, you should come away satisfied.  Those expecting an E.C. comics level of gruesome thrills will be sorely disappointed.

But there is more than just spooky stories to be found in the pages of this collection.  Sprinkled among many of the tales are the morbidly funny illustrations of Sergio Aragones, a comics legend that will be familiar to anyone that has ever been a reader of Mad Magazine.  Those Cain's Game Room extras makes the collection's $16.99 cover price even more of a bargain.  If horror comics are your thing, then I highly recommend that you make a visit to The House of Mystery some day.

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Volume 1: Derailed - by Peter David (Writer) & Mike Wieringo and Roger Cruz (Pencils)

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Volume 1: Derailed gathers together the first three stories of the newly launched book.

First is the one-shot Web Log from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #5:  The pathologically self-centered Vanna just wants to be left alone, but Spider-Man always seems to be battling bad guys nearby.  Just who does Spider-Man think he is trying to impress?

Next up is the two-parter Masks from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #6-7:  Spidey thinks that the wrestling match in which he's agreed to face off against a luchador called El Muerto is simply for charity.  What he doesn't know is that a dark secret in El Muerto's past has raised the stakes far beyond a mere million dollar prize.

Closing out the collection is the three parter Jumping the Tracks from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #8-10:  This is a reality bending and time twisting tale, involving future events, alternate universes, and the insane daughter of a future Spider-Man that is determined to erase the web slinger from each and every time line he has appeared in.

When I found out that Peter David was going to be writing an all new Spider-Man book, one filled with villains old and new, I got excited.  Then I picked up the first issue and discovered that its story, The Other, would be part of a multiple book crossover event.  Instead of tripling my comic book issue purchases, I decided to just wait for the trade.  It was worth it, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is one fun book.

David's predominantly sardonic sense of humor is perfectly suited for the character of Spider-Man.  Each of the stories in this volume is packed with plenty of laugh out loud moments, but none of them ever drift into out and out comedy.  David manages to balance the humor with the drama so effectively that they enhance each other, rather than hamper.  Although I'm leery of picking up yet another month-to-month book (I'm buying more than enough, thank you) I just know that I'm going to be making a habit of picking up the trade collections of Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man.  It'll be time and money well spent.

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown - by Charles M. Schulz

While their friends and siblings go out for "Tricks or Treats" on Halloween night, Linus and Sally sit in a pumpkin patch and await the arrival of the Great Pumpkin.

First off, I'll let my atheistic nature point out that It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is a wonderful parable about the utter foolishness of faith.  Think I'm wrong?  Replace the Great Pumpkin with Santa Claus and Halloween with Christmas and the subtle and deeper meaning of this justifiably cherished classic seasonal special (my favorite out of all the Peanuts cartoon specials) comes into sharper focus.  Let me also say that, if this were a special that revolved around a Christian themed holiday, there would be some kind of Deus Ex Machina that would justify Linus's faith in the non-existent Great Pumpkin.  But since Halloween isn't a Christian holiday (it isn't even a holiday, just a cultural observance, really) we get a children's special that is truly special.  Because it is every bit as honest and sincere as Linus's faith in the Great Pumpkin.

Having gotten that off my chest, I think that no one who has ever seen It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, and has a child in their home, needs to be urged to add this classic tale to his or her library.  Chances are they already have.  But if you haven't seen it, please do so.  I assure you that you will not regret it.

This particular book adaptation of the special is, sad to say, an abbreviated one.  The entire Halloween party sequence, which has Charlie Brown being used as a Jack O' Lantern design model and a wonderful dance number by Snoopy, has been dropped.  That's too bad, because it is my favorite part of the program.  Well, that and the part where Snoopy imagines that he is flying a Sopwith Camel in an aerial dogfight with the dreaded Red Baron.  But the core story remains unchanged and it is that, not the comical padding, which makes It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown required reading/viewing.

Happy Halloween!

Kolchak: The Night Stalker Volume 2: Terror Within - by Stefan Petrucha & C.J. Henderson (Writers) and Trevor Von Eeden, Greg Scott & Dennis Calero (Artists)

Three powerful stories from the files of investigative reporter Carl Kolchak:

Devil in the Details: Kolchak learns that the mysterious disappearance of the CEO of a financially troubled high-tech firm is rooted in a horrifying abuse of technology.

Pain Most Human: All is not what it seems to be when Kolchak tries to find out whether or not a top secret military plane crashed in a farmer's field in upstate New York.

Pain Without Tears: When a woman with empathic powers crosses Kolchak's path, he places his own life at risk to protect her.

Moonstone has done a wonderful job of expanding upon the Kolchak: The Night Stalker universe, bringing not only a plethora of weird and unique monsters, but also adding an emotional depth to the characters and stories that hasn't been seen since the original classic TV-movies first aired.  It is my opinion that the three stories collected in Kolchak The Night Stalker: Terror Within represent the creative apex of Moonstone's Graphic Novel branch of its Kolchak: The Night Stalker titles.  (The other two branches consist of a comic books series and a set of short story anthologies.)

The Stoker Award nominated, and deservedly so, Devil in the Details could very easily have been an episode of the original television series.  Capturing Kolchak's balance of humor and horror perfectly, the story offers up a healthy feast of chuckles and shivers as it takes the reader into a rather unsettling mystery.  Pain Most Human has Carl getting both a taste of the deepest, darkest evil that human beings are capable of and an unflattering glimpse of his true nature.  The story is a slow, methodical build to an emotionally devastating finale.  Making Human all the more powerful is the rough edged artwork of Greg Scott (assisted by Terry Pallot, John Statema, and Dave Ulanski) that looks like it was created using stills from the original movies and television series.

And then there is Pain Without Tears, which is, without any doubt in my mind, the best Kolchak story Moonstone has done to date.  Like Human, Tears shows Carl that not all paranormal activity is evil and that normal human beings can be every bit as monstrous as any ghoul, ghost, or long legged beast.  It builds wonderfully on Human's emotionally wounding climax (not all that much of surprise, considering the two stories were written by the same person, C.J. Henderson) and gives Carl a much needed chance at heroic redemption for his perceived failure.  Redeem himself he does, but the price is a costly one.  Dennis Calero's artwork for the story is superb, managing to be both photo real and dreamlike at the same time.

If you are a fan of Kolchak: The Night Stalker, then you owe it to yourself to read this book.

The Incredible Hulk Volume One: Return of the Monster

When one of the Hulk's notorious rampages results in the death of a young boy, Bruce Banner becomes a fugitive from justice.  Barely managing to stay one step ahead of his pursuers, Banner repeatedly finds himself in situations that can only be resolved by the Incredible Hulk.  When the hunters finally do capture their prey, the battle is an explosive one.

Return of the Monster?  Return of Bruce Banner is more like it.  In an interview with Fanboy Radio legendary Hulk writer Peter David said of Bruce Jones's run, "It never would have occurred to me to take the Hulk out of the book."  The narrative focus of the story, and apparently of the ones that followed it, is almost exclusively on Banner, with the Hulk making what amounts to cameo appearances.  Peter David also described the run as a blending of The Incredible Hulk TV Series with The X-Files.  That's a fairly accurate description, I think, considering the bag of spooky tricks the mysterious group of conspirators chasing the Hulk have at their disposal.

I am going to assume that the Return of the Monster title refers to a return to the concept of Hulk as an uncontrollable monster from Banner's Id, it's the only context in which the title makes sense.  Of the six stories collected in this trade paperback only Silent Running and Last Chance Cafe are the true standouts.  Running, a dialog free story wherein Banner manages to bond with a young girl suffering from autism, is the best.  Cafe, which has an escalation of tension worthy of Hitchcock, is the only entry where the various story threads mesh together in a truly satisfying manner.  The rest of the book feels disjointed and episodic, as if writer Bruce Jones were struggling both to get a grip on the characters and the right kind of tone/approach best suited for his story.  At least he hit his stride in time to give it a somewhat satisfying conclusion.

Marvel Comics Essential: Godzilla King of the Monsters - by Doug Moench (Writer) & Herb Trimpe (Artist) & Others

"That thing was gigantic - like a dinosaur or something."

When the iceberg that has been holding him prisoner begins to thaw, Godzilla awakens from his cryogenic slumber and bursts forth just off the coast of Alaska.  Within moments of his coming ashore, the fire breathing mutant dinosaur destroys a large section of the Alaskan Pipeline and then goes toe-to-toe with a tough talking S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent named Dum-Dum Dugan.  (You tell Dugan that his name is every bit as appropriate as it is silly.  You'll probably wind up being able to count all of your remaining teeth with one hand, without using your thumb.)  But Godzilla isn't your average giant monster.  (Is there even such a thing?)  He shrugs off everything that Dugan shoots at him as he makes rubble out of large sections of Seattle, San Francisco (ya!), Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City, all while battling an astounding assortment of monsters, both great and small, as well as Super Heroes and Villains.  The latter two groups Dum-Dum Dugan prefers to call "costumed clowns."  With each battle it becomes clearer that Godzilla is more friend to humanity than he is foe.  But Dum-Dum has his doubts...

Man, in all that synopsizing how could I forgot to mention young n' spunky Godzilla lovin' Rob Takiguchi and his telepathically controlled giant robot, the RED RONIN?

Marvel Comics Essential Godzilla is twenty-four issues of impossible to resist kaiju sized fun.  Not only does the Big G face off against the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., but he also grapples with the Champions, the Fantastic Four, an evil doofus calling himself Dr. Demonicus, a giant Bigfoot, a trio of alien Mega-Monsters (the three of which look like rejects from a Spectreman casting call), and a posse of angry cowboys.  He also gets sent back in time to battle with, then fight alongside, the Devil Dinosaur.  As you can see, a lot happened to Godzilla during his two year residency at Marvel Comics.  While the book falls short of being anything that could be called classic, it nonetheless makes for some very entertaining reading for those with a fondness for Godzilla vs. Gigan and its ilk.

Fallen Angel Volume One - by Peter David

This DC Comics trade paperback of Fallen Angel contains issues one through six.

Bete Noire isn't like other cities.  Night comes early and stays late.  Dangerous things lurk in the shadows.  It's a place that the innocent should avoid, if they wish to stay either innocent or alive, that is.  What happens in Bete Noire doesn't stay in Bete Noire, either.  Everything that occurs there somehow effects the rest of the world.

Into this city comes Lee, whose nickname is "Fallen Angel."  She is angry, she is wounded, and she is very powerful.  She also protects the innocent.  If you seek her help and you are not innocent, then God help you, because she certainly won't.

After hearing Peter David discuss the, at the time, impending cancellation of his DC book Fallen Angel on Fanboy Radio and his plea for people to buy it, I decided to take his advice and pick up issue nineteen when it came out.  I fell in love with the book the moment I read it.  The characters, locale, and stories were fascinating and issue twenty left me wanting more, so much more.  I applaud IDW for giving the book a deserved second chance.

Having read the first two issues of the IDW relaunch prior to this collection, I know a little bit more about Lee's back-story than is ultimately revealed in either the two stand alone stories or the four issue arc that comprised the first six issues of the short lived DC run.  That knowledge gives these stories a little extra shading that make the book even better.  Lee manages to be both sympathetic and frightening as she fights adversaries both human and not.  I don't think the artwork is quite as good as what J.K. Woodward is doing in the IDW book, but David Lopez and Fernando Blanco both did a fine job capturing the dark nuances of Bete Noire and the characters that live there.

Issue One: Darkness Falls introduces Lee in a somewhat straightforward noir story that gives the reader a brief glimpse of her considerable power.  It also does a marvelous job of introducing some of the primary characters, though the constant references to a dust-up between Lee and someone called Black Mariah made me feel like I had picked up the book mid-story.

Issue Two: Waning Moon is another crime story.  A local drug runner, Asia Minor, calls in a favor from Lee, asking her to watch over a valuable shipment of heroin, to make certain it isn't stolen by a competitor.  Said competitor shows up and the resulting battle allows Lee to reveal a little bit more of her power.  It also introduces another terrific character, the aforementioned Asia Minor.

The collection ends on a high note, with the four part Little Better Than a Beast.  Lee has a day job, evidently she teaches gym at a small college.  One of her students is ill with brain cancer and makes the mistake of sneaking out into Bete Noire for a clandestine meeting with a mysterious "Doctor" that promises a cure.  Of course it is a trap.  The girl is killed by a mysterious "force" that literally makes people explode.  But that is only the main story, there is a sub-plot or two to both strengthen and tie together some of the supporting cast.  Each thread weaves tightly together, creating an exciting and very gruesome Dark Fantasy story.

In either of its incarnations, Fallen Angel is a great book well worth reading.

The Walking Dead, Volume 4: The Heart's Desire - by Robert Kirkman

Rick and his group of survivors manage to take control of the prison, but they find that their troubles are still far from over.  The arrival of a new survivor, Michonne, brings about a traumatic change in the group's relationships.  Just about everybody, except Rick, has trouble understanding that the living can be far more dangerous than the dead, and that the old way of life is gone forever.

The Walking Dead Vol. 4: The Heart's Desire collects issues nineteen to twenty-four of the ongoing comic book series, and it's the most dramatically potent run to date.  Taking a page from George A. Romero's playbook, Heart's Desire has the group become reasonably safe enough to allow for character flaws to start creating issues instead of the zombies.  The pressure builds until a messy break-up causes a possibly friendship ending fist fight between Rick and Tyreese.  That both Rick and Tyreese are equal parts right and wrong in the points that they make is a tribute to just how well creator/writer Robert Kirkman has developed his characters.  It is easy to understand and relate to each man's rage, frustration, and bitterness.  When Rick collapses afterward, the catharsis of the release of tension is almost physical.  When Rick awakens later, he is, once again, a changed man.

The book closes with a talky, but necessary, coda.  The rules have changed, the group has changed, and, in a speech clearly inspired by Romero's maligned masterpiece Day of the Dead, Rick tells the group that everything has changed, forever.  There will be no going back to the time of old, that a new and savage world is coming into being and everyone needs to be prepared to fight for survival.

Kirkman once stated in the monthly comic's letter column that the survivors are the real Walking Dead of the title.  Heart's Desire clearly shows that to be true.  Alive or dead, the enemy remains humanity itself.  Plain and simple.

The Fog (Graphic Novel)

Richard Blake has fled the post Civil War fall of the south, managing to keep his vast wealth intact, and has started a mining operation on an island off of America's Pacific Northwest coast.  Unfortunately he has brought his brother Francis with him, a man with certain perverse tastes.  Working the mine that Blake owns are a group of chinese immigrants with a dark secret.  It seems that a mysterious fog follows them wherever they go, causing suffering whenever it comes in the night.  When one of the chinese immigrants disappears, the fog arrives once again and a devestating illness begins to infect the people living on Blake's island.

The Fog graphic novel has been designed to serve as a prequel of sorts to both John Carpenter's original movie and the 2005 remake as well.  It's an okay little horror story, but having the nature of the fog explained weakens both its power and aura of mystery.  Every horror writer knows that the fear of the unknown is far more powerful than the fear of the known.  That quibble aside, The Fog does a good job of giving some biographical background to the ship Elizabeth Dane and her crew and passengers.  No matter which cinematic version of The Fog the reader prefers, John Carpenter's or Rupert Wainwright's, this graphic novel should prove worthwhile reading for anyone that wants more stories set within that spooky mist.

The Walking Dead Volume 3: Safety Behind Bars - by Robert Kirkman

The Walking Dead Vol. 3: Safety Behind Bars starts with Rick Grimes and the group of survivors he is leading struggling to make a seemingly deserted prison their new home.  Still in shock from the back to back tragedies at Wilshire Estates and Hershel's farm, the group's optimism about a prison being a safe haven in which to start living again is non-existant.  Rick, Tyreese, and Andrea wade in and start cleaning out the prison's undead occupants.  But that is only the first and, as the reader quickly learns, the easiest hurdle the group must overcome.

This safe haven isn't safe at all...

Robert Kirkman's excellent ongoing series really comes into its own with this six issue arc.  It seems that with issues 1 -12 (available in The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye and The Walking Dead Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us) the story was just getting warmed up.  With Safety Behind Bars Kirkman unleashes an astonishing amount of plot twists and turns.  The group not only has to fight zombies, but a very human evil as well.  Mass zombie slaughter, suicide, murder...issues thirteen through nineteen had them all coming in sucker punches left and right, and the cliffhanger ending is the best the series has offered to date.

It is difficult to really discuss the story developments in too much depth, because I want to avoid spoilers for those that have yet to read it.  All I can say is that the characters take an emotional and physical beating in this Volume and, if the story continues to develop along solid lines, people will be reading and talking about The Walking Dead in the same way horror movie fans talk about George A. Romero's zombie movies.

Yes, The Walking Dead is that good.

The Walking Dead Volume 2: Miles Behind Us - by Robert Kirkman

Shane, the default leader of the survivor’s camp, is dead.  Shot to death by Rick’s son Carl while attempting to kill Rick.  Rick’s wife Lori tries to hide her shame and anger over her brief affair with Shane, when Rick was missing and presumed dead.  What she won’t be able to hide is the reality of her pregnancy, nor will she be able to ignore the inevitable question of just who the child’s father really is.  Rick is asked to be the group’s new leader.  Knowing that staying camped on the outskirts of fallen Atlanta is not an option, he gathers the survivors into Dale’s RV and they head out on the road, seeking a sheltered place where they can start to live again.  But where can you go when nowhere is safe?

 

The six issue story arc, numbers seven through twelve, contained in The Walking Dead Vol. 2: Miles Behind Us answers that question.  It also builds wonderfully on the potential hinted at in the ongoing comic’s first six issues, numbers one through six, that are available in The Walking Dead Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye.

 

While the story arc of Days Gone Bye suffered from an unintentional familiarity to that of the movie 28 Days Later, Miles Behind Us shows that there is plenty of unique life in writer Robert Kirkman’s seemingly simple concept of a George A. Romero zombie movie that never ends, and that he knows exactly how he wants to explore it.

 

What makes The Walking Dead series so potent is the depth that Kirkman brings to his characters.  The unspoken question of just who is the father of Lori’s baby coupled with the crushing weight of the responsibility of being the group leader, where every decision made has some kind of dire consequence, threatens to break Rick on more than one occasion.  Even a simple statement can set the man off.  When Dale informs Rick that the next day just might be Christmas, he explodes.  “Don’t tell anyone!  Do you hear me?  I don’t want anyone to know.  I don’t want to explain to my son that on top of all this other shit…Santa can’t find him.”  Those moments when the utter despair someone is trying so hard to hide is revealed are what make The Walking Dead a great story and not just a great comic.

 

But Kirkman does not stop with his main character and his family and leadership problems.  The story is structured as an ensemble, with every supporting character dealing with shock, grief, and fear on one level or another.  An individual’s ability or inability to handle a given situation, and the way it affects the others in the group, or Rick in leader mode, leads to numerous dramatic confrontations and troubled private conversations.  The characters seem to spend just as much time talking about the emotional toll of each and every problem they face as they do fighting to survive.  Considering that The Walking Dead is focused on the day-to-day survival of these characters, it makes the dramatic elements all the more believable when trouble hangs around even after the problem seems to have been resolved.  The emotional wounds of an event stay raw and heal very slowly, just like they do in real life, and this allows the story and its characters to take sudden and surprising turns and twists.

That is not to say that The Walking Dead is all about a group of shell shocked survivors feeling sorry for themselves and getting on each others nerves, far from it.  Kirkman keeps the pacing tight.  The zombies attacks seem to come out of nowhere in well-timed shock moments.  Just when you think someone is safe, he or she isn’t.  You start to know and like a character, then there is either a shocking revelation of that character's darker side, or he/she simply becomes zombie chow.  The Walking Dead never forgets the first and most important rule of no-holds-barred horror storytelling: anyone can die at any moment.

 

That makes it not only a great story, but a great horror story.