Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #2

June 13, 2008

Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #2 (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
By Hans Rodinoff, Joel Gomez & Jonathan Wayshak

Hans Rodinoff takes a pretty big chance here. It’s always a bit scary when a comic book spin-off messes with the mythology if a movie, as this issue does, but somehow he makes it work. Turns out ol’ David didn’t die after all… well, not permanently… He and a new brood of vampires come after the Frog brothers to seek retribution for their defeat. An old friend shows up to join in the fight, and the quest for the new Head Vampire begins. Rodinoff‘s changes to the myth are actually pretty logical in terms of the movie, and they work pretty well in terms of this comic book, although I would imagine some more fanatical fans of the film may be upset by what’s done here. Fortunately, as only a passing fan, it doesn’t really bother me. Joel Gomez does a really good job with the vampires here — he’s got a good style for a horror comic, and his fights work quite well. His characters don’t really look much like the actors, but that’s preferable to having them look so photorealistic that the artwork suffers, as happens in many adaptations. Overall, it’s not a bad book.
Rating: 7/10

Flashpoint: Reverse Flash #1

June 23, 2011

Title: …My Revenge

Writer: Scott Kolins
Art: Joel Gomez
Colorist: Brian Buccellato
Letterer: Sal Cipriano
Cover: Ardian Syaf, Vicente Cifuentes, Kyle Ritter
Editor: Chris Conroy         
Publisher: DC Comics

The man seemingly responsible for the Flashpoint universe takes front and center in this miniseries. Eobard Thawne, a.k.a Professor Zoom, a.k.a. the Reverse-Flash used to idolize Barry Allen, until they became mortal enemies. When an attempt to change the timeline to stop Barry from becoming the Flash in the first place threatens Thawne himself, though, he decided it’s time to tamper with Barry’s past in more subtle ways.

At the risk of making an obvious joke, this book is really something of an anomaly. You’d think that it would be about how Thawne tampered with the past to create the Flashpoint universe, but instead, it comes across more like a prequel for the Flash: Rebirth miniseries. We see all of the tampering he did there, and how it led up to the defining moment in Barry Allen’s life, all of which was explained back then. None of the things he does here seem to link to Flashpoint at all, and in fact, some of it seems to directly contradict it. Which raises an interesting question – is this a case of flawed writing, or a clue to the larger scheme of the Flashpoint story?

The artwork here, sadly, isn’t as strong as we’d like. Scott Kolins has quite a pedigree as both a writer and an artist on Flash-related books, but Joel Gomez seems like a poor fit. His figures seem off-model and often off-kilter, and while Thawne is a thoroughly unlikable person, the permanent sneer on his face in this book seems rather artificial.

I’m interested in seeing what else this story has to offer, but not terribly impressed with this issue.

Rating: 6/10

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #1

The Lost Boys: Reign of Frogs #1 (DC Comics/Wildstorm)
By Hans Rodinoff, Joel Gomez & Jonathan Wayshak

I enjoy the old Lost Boys movie, but I’ve got to admit, I don’t have the fanatical love for it that some people (and here I am thinking of my girlfriend) seem to have. However, I am a big fan of Hans Rodinoff, whose Mnemovore miniseries a while back was one of the greatest horror comics Vertigo has produced in years. So it’s for his sake I picked up this miniseries bridging the original Lost Boys to the upcoming sequel. When a young man approaches an adult Edgar Frog in the hopes of joining his anti-vampire crusade, Edgar tells him a tale of how, in the 90s, he and his brother were conscripted by the US government to take out a coven of vampires. This is a really strong opening issue — the story is faithful to and expands the mythology of the movie. It’s clear that Rodinoff has an affection for this property, andhe manages to keep these characters very true to themselves. Gomez’s artwork is a really great fit for a vampire comic. I’m still got reservations about the movie, but taking this comic on its own merits, it’s really a gas.

Rating: 8/10

(2010 Note: This miniseries, as it turned out, was about a billion times more entertaining than the craptastic movie sequel, The Lost Boys: The Tribe. I hear there’s now a third film, another direct-to-DVD gem. I’m still debating whether I should subject myself to it or not.)