Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash #3

December 30, 2007

Freddy Vs. Jason Vs. Ash #3 (DC Comics/Wildstorm/Dynamite Entertainment)
By Jeff Katz, James Kuhoric, Rick Burchett, Jason Craig & Eric Powell

Now here’s what we’ve been waiting for! Trapped in a dead car outside the old Voorhees house, Ash finds himself facing off with the machete-wielding slasher. As he does battle with Jason, he simultanouesly is plunged into a race with Freddy Krueger — they both want the Necronomicon, but Ash wants to get rid of it, while Freddy wants to use its arcane knowledge to restore himself to power. This is exactly what I was waiting for in this miniseries — a seamless blending of elements from all three film franchises and tons of bloody action. This miniseries started out slowly, but this issue really is everything fans have been waiting for. A strong story, strong art and a really nasty cliffhanger. I’m finally loving this book.
Rating: 8/10

52 #14

August 9, 2006

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Sand and Rust

As Renee and the Question head to Kahndaq, John Henry comes from hiding.

Writers: Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka & Mark Waid
Pencils: Dale Eaglesham
Inks: Art Thibert
Origin Story Art: Eric Powell
Colors: Alex Sinclair, Trish Mulvihill
Letters: Travis Lanham, Nick J. Napolitano
Editor: Stephen Wacker
Cover Art: J.G. Jones
Publisher: DC Comics

This is one of those quieter issues of 52 that has drawn scorn from readers who don’t seem to appreciate that they’re reading a chapter of a novel at a time – it’s low on the earth-shattering moments, but it does advance several of the ongoing plots, most notably the Montoya/Question storyline. As Renee and “Charlie” go to Kahndaq to investigate Black Adam’s possible ties to Intergang, they see firsthand what the rule of a god on Earth has done to the country, and it isn’t exactly what they expected. This is the first time two of our ongoing storylines have really converged like this (although the principal characters from the two still haven’t met), and I’m very interested to see what’s going to happen to these two next… and especially interested in the cryptic comments “Charlie” keeps making about Renee.

We also check in on John Henry Irons this week – the former Steel has been mostly absent since his niece joined up with Lex Luthor and he himself began a transformation into a creature of living metal. This issue we see what he’s been doing, and it’s clear he is reaching his limit as surely as Ralph Dibney did last week. This story really feels like we’re watching a metamorphosis, watching John Henry change from one kind of hero to something else. As he’s one of my favorite DC characters, I’m keeping my fingers crossed as to what form that transformation takes.

The series was initially discussed as involving six principal characters and/or storylines, but as Montoya and the Question immediately came together, we saw two storylines rush in to fill the gap – that of the missing space heroes and that of Will Magnus, who gets some spotlight time here. He’s working on rebuilding his greatest creations, the Metal Men, when he gets some unwanted pressure. As he makes his regular trip to visit his mentor, the mad scientist T.O. Morrow, he gets another surprise altogether. I find that the mystery of the missing scientists, which has been part of this book since the outset, is just as intriguing to me as everything else.

I didn’t check the credits to see who this week’s artist is at first, and it’s a credit to how popular Dale Eaglesham has become since Villains United that I recognized his style about halfway through the book. He brings that same style here, and although he doesn’t have as much action to work with, he does just fine.

The “Origin” back ups in this series have been a vast improvement over the disappointing “History of the DC Universe” storyline, and this issue’s spotlight on Metamorpho is no exception. Mark Waid, as always, manages to encapsulate the character’s story and abilities in a taught two pages, illustrated nicely by Eric Powell. It works.

This is an issue of 52 for people who appreciate development in their stories. You get it here in spades.

Rating: 8/10

Creepy (2009 Series) #1

July 18, 2009

Creepy #1 (Dark Horse Comics)
By Joe Harris, Dan Braun, Mike Woods, Neil Kleid, Bill Dubay, Jason Shawn Alexander, Angelo Torres, Saskia Gutekunst, Brian Churilla, Hilary Barta, Alex Toth & Eric Powell

One of the classic horror anthology comics returns with a new volume from Dark Horse. Creepy has a sense of horror and whimsy that’s quite similar to the old EC comics (Tales From the Crypt being the most obvious example), but the stories contained in this issue are decidedly more adult than the ones appearing in that magazine currently — plus, you get a lot more of them. Part one of “The Curse” is a nice look at the danger of wish-fulfillment. “Hell Hound Blues” is a great story, one of the most amusing in the book, about how terrible collection obsession can be. These two are the usual “horror story as morality fable,” but “Chemical 13” is a pretty chilling look at genuine horror set in a concentration camp. “All the Help You Need” lightens things up again with a fat camp that’s murder on people who don’t make the cut, and it has a dandy twist as well. “Faustian Deals” is a quickie that relates back to an earlier story and has some highly amusing celebrity cameos. Finally, we get a classic Bill Dubay/Alex Toth reprint, “Daddy and the Pie,” about an American family that finds and takes in a stranded alien. This is a really great package with some fine horror stories and great artwork, including the aforementioned Toth classic and some good stuff by artists usually more associated with comedy like Kilary Barta and Angelo Torres. I loved this first issue. This is the kind of horror comic we need to see more of.
Rating: 4.5/5

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Vol. 1

January 26, 2008

Writers: Joss Whedon, Christopher Golden, Dan Brereton, Scott Lobdell, Fabian Nicieza & Paul Lee
Art: Eric Powell, Joe Bennett, Cliff Richards, Paul Lee
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

My girlfriend and friends just recently began inducting me into the Cult of Buffy, and I’ve been making my way through the TV show slowly. But as I can’t seem to restrict my fandom to just one medium, I’ve also been getting into the Buffy comic books from Dark Horse. The Buffy Omnibus series will eventually reprint all of Dark Horse’s Pre-Season 8 Buffy comics in thick, relatively cheap paperbacks. The stories, it should be noted, are collected in chronological order, not in the order that they were published.

This first volume collects all of the pre-TV show exploits the comic produced, and while there aren’t many, the ones they give us are pretty good. After a so-so Spike and Drusilla short story, the volume begins in earnest with The Origin. The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, starring Kristy Swanson, was really very much a butchery of the script that Joss Whedon wrote. In this story, Christopher Golden took the original, pre-butchered script and massaged it into a strong storyline that brings Buffy’s first adventure more in line with the version of the character we watched on television. Next up is Viva Las Buffy, which takes place right as the movie ends. Buffy and her boyfriend, Pike, run off to Las Vegas together, only to discover that the lifestyle of the slayer will follow her anywhere. There’s a short story featuring Dawn (which was apparently pretty controversial, considering the characters origins… the controversy wasn’t in the story itself, but in the fact that the story existed), and the book closes with Slayer, Interrupted, in which Buffy comes home only to find herself tossed in a mental ward. Las Buffy and Slayer, Interrupted also both feature a subplot with Rupert Giles, the man destined to become Buffy’s Watcher, on his quest to do so.

Although I’ve been told many of the Buffy comics varied wildly in quality, these first few comics (again, chronologically – they were actually produced pretty near the end of the run) are actually pretty good. It’s nice to have a more solid origin story for Buffy, and nice to see more of the circumstances that ultimately led her to Sunnydale. While this is by no means required reading, even for die-hard fans of the show, for folks looking for a little extra to satiate their Buffy cravings, this is a pretty good book.

Rating: 7/10

Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #12

October 3, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Homer’s Ark and other stories

Another trio of Halloween tales from the Simpsons!

Homer’s Ark by: Terry Moore
Blood Curse by: Kyle Baker
Willie by: Eric Powell
Letters: Karen Bates
Editor: Bill Morrison
Cover Art: Bill Morrison
Publisher: Bongo Comics

It’s almost impossible to believe that The Simpsons has been on television for 17 seasons. It’s even harder to believe their annual Halloween comic book – a spin-off of their TV specials – is on its 12th issue. The thing that makes these Treehouse of Horror annuals fun is the chance to see other creators’ takes on the TV show’s characters, and this issue is no exception.

“Homer’s Ark” is first, a story by Strangers in Paradise creator Terry Moore. In the middle of a drunken stupor, Homer gets blasted by a bolt of lightning. In a near-death experience, God tells him He wants him to build an ark to save the world from a much-needed spraying for cockroaches. Homer, of course, goes overboard, leading up to a suitably bizarre Kafka-esque ending. I’ve been a fan of Moore’s for a very long time, and overbites and bizarre skin tones aside, this story is clearly one of his. If you ignore the skin tone and the Simpsons heads, the bodies and backgrounds would look perfectly in place in an issue of SiP. The story, however, is all Simpsons – goofy and fun.

“Blood Curse of the Evil Fairies!” is next, contributed by Kyle Baker. Bart (against his will) sits down to read a fairy tale to Maggie, but when the omnipresent bully Nelson overhears him, Bart twists the tale into a gory tale of death and retribution. The way Baker plays the characters – Homer in particular – is absolutely flawless.

“Willie: Portrait of a Groundskeeper” closes out this year’s helping of the macabre. Eric Powell (whose style is completely unmistakable, even with the Simpsons characters starring) tells a grotesque tale of Groundskeeper Willie, who falls in love with… well, to say any more would be spoiling it. But suffice it to say that this is without a doubt the most horrific of the trilogy in this issue. Some of the gore is a little over-the-top, but it’s not gratuitous – it gives the story just the right touch of classic EC horror, blended with the comedy of the Simpsons.

Overall, this is a better-than average Treehouse. We’ve got three great creators lending their unique voices to the characters, and we get three strong, original tales. It’s well worth the read for folks looking for some Halloween offerings.

Rating: 7/10