Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #12

June 10, 2008

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Bumped Part One

Cassie faces the wood-demons of Hitchfield!

Writers: Mark Kidwell & Tim Seeley
Art: Tim Seeley & Emily Stone
Colors: Milen Parvanov & Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Scott Licina & Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

This two-part story was originally supposed to be a standalone miniseries crossing over with the Fangoria comic Bump, but when Fangoria went belly-up, they added a few pages to keep the ongoing subplots going and shifted the story to the main Hack/Slash title. I’ve never read Bump, but that didn’t really hurt the book at all – it reads like any other slasher that Cassie and Vlad would have to deal with.

Cassie and Vlad roll into the town of Hitchfield, where a group of 32 college students were brutally murdered at an environmental protest. As they investigate the murders, a snoopy reporter winds up hooking up with our favorite duo, and the three of them have to fight for their lives when a league of horrifying woodcarved monsters attacks them.

This reads just fine as an issue of Hack/Slash regardless of the crossover trappings. Bump creator Mark Kidwell, who wrote most of the issue, handles Cassie and Vlad’s voices just as well as the series creator Tim Seeley, who provides most of the artwork. The gore this issue may be even harsher than a usual issue, with things like a face being bitten off to provide plenty of blood for those of you here for that sort of thing.

Rating: 8/10

Halloween: Nightdance #3

April 11, 2008

Halloween: Nightdance #3 (Devil’s Due Productions)
By Stefan Hutchinson & Tim Seeley

This miniseries is really proving itself worthy of the Halloween name. This issue, Lisa lets us in on her tragic history, specifically with the child she used to babysit. Sean, meanwhile, finally gets wise to Nikki’s feelings for him, but it may be too little, too late, as our cast of teens wind up on the business end of Michael Myers’ knife. Hutchinson really amps up the action and the terror this issue, crafting a comic that’s genuinely frightening. There aren’t a lot of slasher comics that are really successful in translating the feel of the movie onto the page — the best many of them achieve is campy fondness — but this works. He even works in the requisite amount of cheesecake, which Tim Seeley does a great job of illustrating. This book gives you everything you could want in a Halloween story.
Rating: 8/10

Spooks: Omega Team #0

May 30, 2008

Spooks: Omega Team #0 (Devil’s Due Publishing)
By Ryan Schifrin, Larry Hama, Adam Archer, Jim Daly & Grant Goleash

The solid Spooks mini-series spins off a new ongoing, begining with this 99-cent zero issue. If you missed the mini, this is still a pretty good place to jump on board. Spooks is the nickname for the Department of Supernatural Defense, and Omega Team is the “baddest of the bad” that make up that department. This issue we travel with Omega Team into the depths of the Amazon rain forest, where they take on a few zombies just as the warm-up for a much bigger nasty in the depths of a pyramid. I don’t know know if it’s entirely fair to compare this to Hama‘s most famous creation, the classic G.I. Joe team, but if the Joes went after monsters and ghoulies instead of Cobra, the result is pretty much Spooks. That isn’t a criticism, mind you, it actually makes for a very entertaining comic book. It’s a neat combination that works very well, and the monsters we meet in this issue could most certainly prove to be really exciting down the line. For 99 cents, it’s well worth picking up this zero issue to see if this is a comic for you — especially if you’re an old-school G.I. Joe fan like me.
Rating: 8/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #11

May 30, 2008

Quick Rating: Great
Title: The Coldest Dish

Cassies’ newest target reminds her too much of herself.

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Jeremy Roberts (Cover A); Jamie McKelvie (Cover B)
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

For too long now, Cassie Hack’s approach to slasher killers has been to stab first, ask questions later. Rumors of a new killer – a man with a gaping hole instead of an eye – draw her to Portland. When she encounters the suspected slasher, however, she finds someone that seems disturbingly familiar.

Most slasher movies are pretty simple – fight, fight, stab, blood, boobs, dead teenagers, roll credits. There is rarely much character development, and almost never any real depth to the story. Hack/Slash manages to take the concept of the slasher and use it in really unique ways. Cassie’s moral dilemma here is something you’d never see in a “typical” slasher flick, where the bad guy is your average killing machine with a blade and no personality.

The supporting cast gets to have a little fun this issue too. One of the Hellhounds sent to track Cassie has gone astray, and Chris is sent to investigate. This is a really funny little subplot, one that shows us how Earth may be Hell for a denizen of the depths.

There’s the usual great artwork by Emily Stone and Courtney Via. The Hellhound alone is a great visual, but the baddie of the day has a unique look all his own, something a lot creeper than most of the usual bad guys. As always, this was a really solid issue.

Rating: 9/10

Halloween: Nightdance #2

March 4, 2008

Quick Rating: Very Good

Michael Myers’ reign of terror spreads!

Writer: Stefan Hutchinson
Art: Tim Seeley
Colors: Elizabeth John
Letters: Clem Robins
Editor: Stephen Christy
Publisher: Devil’s Due Productions

The first issue of this new Halloween miniseries was pretty good. This issue really amps up the terror. Most slasher comics play up the campier aspects of the genre, but this book is all-out horror, and it does it beautifully.

Again, this is a title that seems to weave several stories – a babysitter receiving frightening drawings from one of her former charges, a man trying to make sense of his wife’s tragedy, a couple investigating a house in the middle of nowhere. There doesn’t seem to be much connectivity between these stories, except for the fact that characters in each of them are haunted by the specter of Michael Myers.

And that specter is really omnipresent here. The Shape pops up in most unexpected places, and as is the case in truly great horror, you can never quite be sure if he’s really there or if the character is seeing things. Tim Seeley deserves just as much credit for that as writer Stefan Hutchinson – there’s a particularly chilling panel here where the Shape is formed by naked tree branches that just sent shivers up my spine.

Hutchinson plays on a lot of natural and common fears here, and the combination of smart writing and startling artwork makes for a powerful, evocative horror story. Definitely recommended.

Rating: 8/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #7

March 2, 2008

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Tub Club Part Three
Rating: MR

The queen of the “Tub Club” makes her big move!

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Crank!
Design: Sean K. Dove
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Wes Dzioba (Cover A); Emily Stone (Cover B)
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

The “Tub Club” storyline reaches a rousing conclusion this issue (pun intended). Cassie has managed to track down one of the girls involved in the bizarre blood cult that has resulted in a brutal killing on the campus of Franco-Belle University. Cassie winds up joining a fairly impressive strike force in hunting down the demonic enemy that has headed up the “Tub Club,” intending nothing more than to use the girls to further her own power.

This is what I love to see out of Hack/Slash – a great horror movie put to film. While the book still keeps the flavor of the sort of goofy slasher flicks that served as its inspiration, this story (for all its T&A) has been far more vicious than your typical slasher movie these days. The parent genre has become engulfed in self-parody. Hack/Slash is bringing it back to its roots.

Rebekah Isaacs’s artwork really is the perfect compliment to Tim Seeley’s story. She handles all the requisite horror movie elements with aplomb – the monsters, the gore, the shapely young females… all of it. Seeley himself contributes one of this issue’s two covers, and while both are good, I think I prefer his to Emily Stone’s, which is a nice image of Cassie and Georgia in a sort of yin-yang pose. Seeley’s cover has more energy to it, though, more of a sense of menace, and that really works well for this book.

Another fine issue, with a nice, bittersweet ending. I continue to love this book.

Rating: 8/10

Hack/Slash (2007 Series) #8

January 22, 2008

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Tub Club Part 2

Cassie cuts off her friends, even as new ones come to light.

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Rebekah Isaacs
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Crank!
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Wes Dzioba (Cover A); Mike Bear & Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Publisher: Devil’s Due Productions

As Vlad recovers from his blow to the head last issue, Cassie begins to fear allowing any new friends into her life, including the exotic dancer named Georgia. As Cassie tries to cut out the friend who may be more than a friend, she finds evidence that the goings on of the “Tub Club” may be connected to an old foe.

This story really is delivering on several levels. On the most obvious level – let’s face it – this is a story that’s titillating for the dominant male reader that’s going to be picking it up. There’s plenty of gore here, and the cheesecake quotient is about as high as you can get without actual nudity. However, like Bomb Queen (another book heavy on the T&A), the more prurient aspects of the title don’t overwhelm the more universal aspects. Both books are about strong female protagonists, and while Queen’s story is a comedy about a villain, this darker story is really about Cassie Hack figuring out who – if anyone – she really is beneath her monster-slaying veneer. People who get the book purely for the hot girls will find a surprising amount of intelligence and depth.

Rebekah Isaacs’ artwork, of course, nails the cheesecake and the gore. Her girls are undeniably shapely, and will more than please the readers who get the book for those reasons. She also handles the quiet moments exceedingly well – a scene that features Cassie on the phone with Georgia is very good, with a lot of strong expressions and dynamic “camera angles” that help develop the mood.

Simply put, this book has always been so much more than it appears on the surface, and it’s one of those books I can’t wait to read every month.

Rating: 8/10

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #36

November 11, 2004

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Shroud (Union of the Snake Part One)

As the G.I. Joe team falls apart, Cobra begins to rebuild.

Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Backgrounds: Jason Millet
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: John Rauch
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Jeremy Roberts
Publisher: Devil’s Due

After a rather blasé two-issue story, Brandon Jerwa is back in full force this month with a great offering for the readers, if not for the G.I. Joe team. With Hawk out of commission, permanently, it would appear, his replacement with the Jugglers shows none of the compassion for the team he brought to the table. The new bosses want to gut G.I. Joe, just as Destro is getting Cobra up and running again.

This issue is very much a tale of two armies. The Joes are being ripped apart from on-high, while their personal bonds and loyalty to the cause are still strong. Over at Cobra, the command is in place and functional, but the individuals still harbor deep anger and mistrust for one another. Can either army function in such a state?

Destro also pulls off a few unusual operations in this issue, plots and schemes to chip away at the American faith, which are much more subversive and, potentially, much more effective than anything Cobra Commander ever did.

Tim Seeley does a fantastic job with the art this issue. The characters look strong and distinct, and it’s a lot of fun for an old-school Joe fan like myself to see this issue focus on a lot of the original core members. (We also get a reminder that, no matter how iconic Duke has become to the team, he wasn’t one of the originals.) The cover echoes that fact, and it’s really a beautiful piece of art. At first blush it may appear to be a standard, generic pin-up cover, but it turns out to actually be germane to the story. Plus it looks really, really good.

This is a strong start to the next storyline, which is especially good after the last two issues. It seems this series is back on track.

Rating: 8/10

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #35

November 8, 2004

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Bad Moon Rising Part Two

The battle you’ve been waiting for – Snake-Eyes versus Wraith!

Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Backgrounds: Jason Millet
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Sunder Raj
Publisher: Devil’s Due

Perhaps it’s because the book is still coming down from a really spectacular, Earth-shattering storyline, but the two-part “Bad moon rising” hasn’t quite lived up to the best of Brandon Jerwa’s work on G.I. Joe. Once Destro’s new operative Wraith was introduced a few minutes ago, we were told he was tough and skilled and basically cool, but we didn’t have a real chance to see him in action until this issue, when he takes on Snake-Eyes. It’s a well-done fight scene, but a pretty standard one, a scene that seems to be included mostly for the purpose of convincing us how tough Wraith is. One of the best things of the last story arc, the return of General Colton (the original G.I. Joe) is barely touched upon this issue.

There’s more plot in this issue, of course – Destro gets a major shock at the end of the issue, but the best scene is a conversation the bedridden, paralyzed Hawk has with Kamakura, and even that is somewhat clichéd. The victim lashes out at the world – it’s realistic, yes, but it’s still something we’ve seen many a time before.

Seeley, Millet and Hamscher continue to score very high marks on the art side. The comic looks consistently clean, the fights are well-choreographed and the explosions and conflagrations come together beautifully. Quieter scenes, like Hawk in the hospital, look just as good. They may not be action-packed, but they are necessary to give the story weight, and the art team keeps them from getting dull. Colorist Brett Smith deserves major credit too – his work goes a long way towards establishing mood

This two-issue arc seems more like it was in place to tidy up a couple of things from the last arc and establish a few things for the next arc. It does its job, but it doesn’t really pop the way G.I. Joe usually does. This story just wasn’t meaty enough.

Rating: 7/10

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle (2007 Series) #4

January 22, 2008

Quick Rating: Fair

Sheena prepares to make her stand

Writers: Steven E. DeSouza & Robert Rodi
Line Art: Matt Merhoff
Colors: Bob Pedroza & Wes Dzioba
Letters: Brian J. Crowley & Crank!
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan & Stephen Cristy
Cover Art: Joe Linsner (Cover A); Frazer Irving (Cover B); Tim Seeley (Covers C & D)
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing

Laura Jeffries and the rest of Caldwell Industries continue their pursuit of Sheena and Bob Kellerman this issue. We get a little more backstory on Jeffries and the company, and Sheena prepares for a last stand.

While there isn’t really anything bad about this book, it doesn’t feel particularly original. Sheena and the environmentalist are good. The big, mean corporation is bad. Sheena asks nature for help. She communes with the Earth. Which the company is apparently out to destroy. Repeat. Yeah, this is an old character (she was co-created by Will Eisner, after all), but the way to give an old character new life is to make it somehow fresh and unique. This is essentially the same plot we’ve seen played out in a dozen movies, TV shows and comic books. It’s executed well, but it still feels like it’s going through the motions.

The artwork is considerably better. Merhoff, Pedroza and Dzioba do a very good job on Sheena herself and the myriad jungle scenes, plus a nice reveal inside the office building. Merhoff has a nice talent for emotion as well, shifting scenes from comedic to serious and vice versa based on the expressions on a character’s face. It’s a talent that not enough comic book artists have.

This is an okay book. It’s just not really a refreshing one.

Rating: 6/10