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