The Tick’s Big Halloween Special 1999

October 31, 2010

Title: Haunted Halloween Hootenanny

Writers: Clay & Susan Griffith
Art: Nathan MacDicken
Publisher: New England Comics

Let’s close out October here at the Back Issue Bin with one look into the relatively far past of comic books, with the Tick’s first-ever Halloween special from back in 1999. In “Haunted Halloween Hootenanny,” the Tick gets it into his head that he and Arthur need to buy a new house to serve as their headquarters. As they head to an “open house” in the middle of nowhere, Arthur begins to notice that some of the other denizens of the house don’t seem to be all among the living.

 

Although I didn’t really get into the Tick until the cartoon series, in more recent years I’ve become a devoted fan of the character. His total obliviousness to the world around him is not only funny in its own right, but the perfect send-up of some superhero comics that just can’t seem to have fun with the sillier aspects of the genre. Arthur works nicely, as always, as a counterpoint to the Tick’s lunacy and as a stand-in for the reader, who more than likely is aware of just how ridiculous the situations we’re presented with in these comics usually are.

 

The Halloween aspects of this issue are classic – lots of Haunted House tropes – and perfectly suited to the Tick. Stories like this one prove that these characters aren’t just good for satirizing superheroes, but actually work very well as commentators on any sort of speculative fiction. This works just as well as a horror movie satire as it does of superhero comics, and the writers even manage to work in a dash of Edgar Allen Poe. Arthur, for a change, is the focus of the villain’s ire in this story, giving the comic a nice little twist on the usual Tick formula as well.

Rating: 8/10

Happy Halloween from the Back Issue Bin, folks! Hope you’ve enjoyed the recent avalanche of creepy comics, and tomorrow, we’re back to business as usual – including a new Somebody’s First Comic Book. Be safe out there!

Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode #1

October 18, 2008

Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode #1 (Devil’s Due Publishing)
By Stefan Hutchinson, Jeff Zornow & Tim Seeley

The new Halloween miniseries is the sort of fill-in-the-blank story that we so often see in comic adaptations of film series. In Halloween: H20, we learn that Laurie Strode faked her death sometime after Halloween II. In the days after Michael Myers’ first killing spree (which you’ll recall actually took place through the first two movies), Laurie Strode buries her friends and tries to complete her senior year of high school while having a semi-normal life. But dreams plague her, visions of Michael terrify her, and an unexpected visit from Sam Loomis says that the rampage of Michael Myers may not be over yet. I’m not the biggest fan of H20, but Hutchinson has a perfect grasp of the characters in this franchise, and the story so far is a great continuation of the story, even bringing in minor characters from the first two films to take part in Laurie’s descent. This is working very well so far.

Rating: 8/10

The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #14

October 3, 2008

The Simpsons’ Treehouse of Horror #14 (Bongo Comics)
By Steve Niles, Glenn Fabry, Ian Boothby, Nina Matsumoto, Gilbert Hernandez

It’s the 14th annual issue of the Simpsons‘ venerable Halloween extravaganza, and this year is kind of a mixed back. Steve Niles and Glenn Fabry kick things off with “30 Days of D’Oh,” a parody of Niles‘s most famous creation. When Homer accidentally causes a nuclear meltdown that causes most of the town of Springfield to turn into flesh-eating monsters, the survivors try to hole up and survive. It’s not a bad parody at all, and it’s nice to see Niles is able to have fun with himself. Ian Boothby and Nina Matsumoto‘s “Murder He Wrote” is a parody of the Japanese Deathnote series. Bart finds a mysterious notebook that begins brutally killing anyone whose name is written in it. What will Springfield’s bad boy use it for? The story is funny enough, but Matsumoto‘s manga style doesn’t really lend itself well to Bart Simpson’s world. Finally, indie star Gilbert Hernandez brings us “Homerstein Conquers the World,” the epic tale of a giant monster that’s part man. It’s silly, it’s funny, it works. It’s not the best Treehouse ever, but it’s not bad either.

Rating: 7/10

Halloween: Nightdance #1

February 5, 2008

Quick Rating: Good
Title: A Shape in the Void
Rating: Mature Readers

Michael Myers returns for another night of terror!

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

After a hiatus of a few years, Devil’s Due brings slasher legend Michael Myers back to comics with Halloween: Nightdance. Set a few years back (but still many years after the original film), the first issue of Nightdance focuses on a few different groups of young people: a girl who just moved to town and has dreams of dancing, a couple on a road trip, and a young woman who wakes up to find herself trapped in her worst nightmare.

This is a pretty good setup issue. There are some nice hints about one of the teens having some sort of prior connection to everything that’s happening, and the artwork by Tim Seeley (of Hack/Slash fame) is great. The only real problem is that the kids don’t quite stand out enough. Unless you’re playing the slasher genre for laughs (which this comic most certainly is not), the key to making the story work is to help the audience feel for or identify with the potential victims. So far, we don’t really know enough about any of them to really care about them. Fortunately, there’s time to remedy that.

Fans of Michael Myers should be pretty satisfied with this book. People who want their slashers a bit more serious will enjoy it too.

Rating: 7/10

Hack/Slash (2003 Series) #3

August 11, 2007

Quick Rating: Great

As Cassie is held in the clutches of a real “Death” metal band, there’s only one way Vlad can save her. Will he be man enough?

Writer: Tim Seeley
Art: Emily Stone
Colors: Courtney Via
Letters: Brian J. Crowley
Editor: Mike O’Sullivan
Cover Art: Tim Seeley
Publisher: Devil’s Due

Last issue, Cassie and every other virgin in the Six Sixx concert got zapped to another dimension straight out of Clive Barker’s nightmare, ready to serve up as sacrificial lambs for a demon that make rock stars. Vlad, tossed aside by the band, has to get there to save the day, but he’ll fall under their power if he does. There’s only one way to break free of the curse – ol’ Vlad has to be de-virginized.

Since the beginning of this series, the thing I’ve enjoyed the most about it is the way Tim Seeley casually drops in the clichés and conventions of the horror genre, and finds ways to twist it around. The virgin angle, of course, is a big deal in slasher flicks, and as dirty a girl as Cassie appears, the revelation that she’s been chaste actually works extremely well. It also opens up the doors for some discussion of the character this issue that feels rather natural, not forced, as the character questions her own sexuality. Seeley does this without feeling either gratuitous or preachy, which are the two biggest dangers of such an approach.

Vlad’s story, meanwhile, is simply funny. The poor man-mountain has only one shot to save his friend, but finding a way to lose his virginity seems to be a particularly monumental task. The various solutions presented here are really rather entertaining.

Emily Stone’s artwork has been really strong for this series, and as we go to this hellish other dimension, she continues to impress, providing us with nice, horrific landscapes and nasty creatures you wouldn’t want to run into in your dreams.

This book has hands-down become one of my favorites. It’s one of the most unique reads on the stands, and every horror fan should be lined up to read it.

Rating: 9/10

House of Mystery (2008 Series) #3

May 30, 2008

House of Mystery #3 (DC Comics/Vertigo)
By Matthew Sturges, Luca Rossi, Zachary Baldus & Sam Weber

As Fig continues to explore the House of Mystery, hoping to find a way out, she begins to understand that silly things like physics and geography don’t seem to apply here. She also discovers she’s not the only one looking to get away. Matthew Sturges is building a nice mystery around the characters trapped in this house, struggling to get free, hoping to get out. The question about what really lies beyond the house is intriguing, and Fig makes for a good viewpoint character. The story-within-a-story this issue shows us a mobster, captured by a rival, stripped, and bound. But since he’s telling the story, you’ve got to ask, how did he get there? The thing I really like about this concept is that the stories “inside” the framework are extremely varied. Although issue one gave us a horror story, issue two was more of a fairy tale, and this issue is something of a crime drama. It seems that almost any genre, any mood, and kind of story is eligible for inclusion in the House of Mystery. That’s an idea I really like. I’m curious to see where this is going to take us next.

Rating: 7/10

Marvel Zombies Vs. Army of Darkness #1

March 6, 2007

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Earth’s Mightiest Zero
Rating: Parental Advisory

Ashley Williams’s travels have dumped him onto the scariest world of all.

Writer: John Layman
Art: Fabiano Neves
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Randy Gentile
Consultant: Robert Kirkman
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Cover Art: Arthur Suydam
Publisher: Marvel Comics/Dynamite Entertainment

Following right on the heels of Dynamite Entertainment’s Army of Darkness #13, Ash Williams found himself facing a horde of Deadites, and losing his life… or did he? Instead of making his way to the afterlife, Ash finds himself spilling into an alternate universe full of bizarre heroes in colorful costumes… at least one of which is consumed by a hunger Ash recognizes all too well.

A few years ago, I would have laughed hysterically at the idea that either of these properties would even be any good, let alone hits, but here they are. And they actually blend together perfectly. Ash and the Marvel heroes are all perfectly in-character, which is a relief, since this is pretty much required reading for fans of his series. Marvel Zombies fans need only know that this is evidently a prequel to that miniseries, as most of the heroes are still pretty much human in this issue.

You’ll note I didn’t say they stayed that way.

Fabiano Neves’s artwork is also a good match for the book. He’s got a style that’s slightly more realistic than Sean Phillips’ work on the main title, and just realistic enough to make it clear that he’s doing a darn good interpretation of Bruce Campbell. If you’re boxing this comic with either of the two series in the crossover, they match just fine.

Is this comic anything exotic? Groundbreaking? Even special? Naw, not really. But when you’re buying a comic entitled Marvel Zombies Versus Army of Darkness, you’re not looking for any of those things – you’re just looking for a fun read. And this book most certainly succeeds on that level.

Rating: 7/10

Super Zombies #1

March 14, 2009

Super Zombies #1 (Dynamite Entertainment)
By Marc Guggenheim, Vince Gonzales & Mel Rubi

I picked up this book because I usually enjoy Marc Guggenheim’s work, but if there’s any more evidence we need that the zombie craze has reached its apex, this is it. Super Zombies #1 comes across as a typical zombie story that happens to take place in a typical superhero universe, with only the fact that the two phenomena share a mutual origin to give the book any originality at all. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t really use that much. In all fairness, the way it’s structured I do expect it to play more heavily into the rest of the miniseries, but we don’t see enough here to really compel us to keep reading. The characters are bland, generic heroes with bland, generic names, not unlike the series itself. Mel Rubi’s artwork is pretty good, and tells the story, but there isn’t enough of that story to keep me wanting to come back.

Rating: 5/10

PVP (2003 Series) #28

October 7, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good

Is Jade pregnant? Plus: Return of the Wolfmen!

Writer: Scott Kurtz
Art: Scott Kurtz
Cover Art: Scott Kurtz
Publisher: Image Comics

This month’s PVP gives us two of last year’s best storylines from the comic strip, including a Halloween story just in time.

First up is one of the few “very special episode” storylines that really worked. When Brent overhears Jade saying she thinks she may be pregnant, he goes into panic mode. As frightened as he grows by the prospect of being a father, though, he soon learns that the real question is why he’s scared. This is, admittedly, an autobiographical storyline for Kurtz, sparked by his own thoughts about the idea of becoming a father.

There are funny moments in here (Skull’s interruption into the argument about keeping Brent in “the loop” is one of the funniest strips ever), but for the most part this is a much more emotional story than the gag-a-day form we usually have in this comic strip. And it really, really works.

This is followed with a sequel to the previous Halloween story, in which Cole became a werewolf. When Francis discovers that Cole wasn’t really cured of his lycanthropy, he again launches into a scheme to get himself bitten and turn into a werewolf himself. This is just a fun story that plays on the basic geek nature of our heroes – the thoughts of how cool it would be to become a werewolf outweigh any other concerns.

Kurtz’s artwork is as good as ever, but I’ve got to give special credit for the nice effect he does on the cover, with “Baby Brent.” It’s really eye-popping, really effective… definitely the sort of book that will leap off the racks at you.

Rather than the usual back-ups in this issue, Kurtz gives us a “preview” of his Captain Amazing paperback, which is made slightly less effective by the fact that the book actually came out several weeks ago. Schedules, my friends, schedules.

Still, this is a fun package and gives us just the right amount of Halloween flavor to keep me happy, coupled with one of the best “character” stories from PVP in a long time.

Rating: 8/10

A Nightmare on Elm Street (2006 Series) #3

December 16, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Freddy’s War Part Three

Jade and her father take the battle to the Dreamscape!

Writer: Chuck Dixon
Pencils: Kevin West
Inks: Bob Almond
Colors: Tony Avina
Letters: Wes Abbott
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Cover Art: Tony Harris
Publisher: DC Comics/Wildstorm

Her brother dead, her best friend critical, Jade decides the time has come to take the fight to Freddy’s world. She’s not alone, though – this is one battle her father will join her in.

Chuck Dixon has really taken the Nightmare franchise in a unique direction in this story. The cliché in this series is for the adult characters to be ignorant or actively harmful, ignoring the Freddy problem until it’s too late. Jade’s dad not only believes her, not only decides to stand by her, but proves himself a capable warrior in the dream world. He and Jade take the fight straight to Freddy, showing the sort of fearlessness that saps his power. At the same time, Freddy isn’t neutered in this story – he’s a violent, brutal monster, in his scariest incarnation. The conclusion of this inaugural story arc really feels bittersweet, which is the happiest a Nightmare story can ever get, and that’s a good thing.

Dixon and the art team have done a fantastic job breathing life back into this franchise. This is a much more character-centered story than recent Nightmare comics, with a very strong, intelligent, driven story. The artwork, by Kevin West and Bob Almond, is equally strong – clean and clear, telling the story with just enough gore to get the point across effectively, not blowing their wad just because it’s a “mature readers” story like a lot of artists do. This isn’t a comic for little kids by any stretch, but nor is it so graphic that you have to worry about a kid getting nightmares (no pun intended) should he happen upon an issue while looking for Teen Titans Go!.

In the end, I’m highly impressed with Wildstorm’s new incarnation of this horror classic, and I’m anxious to see where the story will take us next.

Rating: 8/10