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

Halloween: 30 Years of Terror #1

Halloween: 30 Years of Terror #1 (Devil’s Due Productions)
By Stefan Hutchinson, Danijel Zezelj, Jim Daly, Brett Weldele, Jeffrey Zornow, Lee Ferguson, Tim Seeley

Devil’s Due returns to their popular comics based on the Halloween franchise with an all-new special celebrating the 30th anniversary of the original film. Five short stories, all written by Stefan Hutchinson (the man who was behind the 25th anniversary documentary about the franchise) delve into lots of different aspects of the mythos. The first tale slips in-between scenes of the original movie, putting us in the heads of the old couple Laurie sends her babysitting charges to for help. A highly effective silent story gives us the point of view of one of Michael’s victims. The third story is a little less clear — we seep into the dreams of a woman in a sanatarium, and although it’s never made explicitly clear, I think the character is supposed to be Laurie Strode. Perhaps someone who’s a bigger Halloween fan than I am could tell for sure. Next is a really weird tale, a snippet from an old horror comic about a “Tarantula Man.” I’m not entirely sure where Hutchinson is going with this one — the cartoonist who reads the old comic is clearly inspired by Michael Myers, but the connection is tentative. It’s a really good story, I’m just not sure where it fits. The book ends with a tale of Dr. Loomis, the Javert to Michael’s Jean ValJean, and Hutchinson does a great job of explaining the horror he must have felt every day of his life. The Halloween comics have really been good, and as long as Hutchinson stays with them, I’m confidant they’ll stay that way.

Rating: 8/10