The "Frighty" Reviews 10/7/10

[wktf]

Dawg’s Reviews

Uncanny X-Force #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Rick Remender
Drawn by: Jerome Opena

I almost didn’t buy this book. It was an impulse buy due to not having anything waiting for me in my regular pull. I am very glad that I picked this book up as it ended up being my pick of the week. I have to say that this book was pretty tight.

Warren Worthington III secretly hired Deadpool over a year ago to track down the creator of Angel’s dark reflection Archangel. Angel has decided that he want to kill Apocalypse and finish what he believes will be his torment.

Wolverine does not believe that X-Force should have been disbanded as Cyclops wanted and so whereas he once was not on board with a black ops mutant death squad, he is now drinking the cool-aid.

Psylocke has rekindled her romance with Angel and is helping keep his dark impulses as Archangel in check.

Fantomex is on the team due to his respect of Wolverine and basic need of the thrill.

So we have an eclectic group brought together with the basic goal of keeping mutantkind safe by any means necessary and the threat does not get any bigger than Apocalypse whereas mutants are concerned.

The best part about the book is not the hack and slash, that X-Force fans are used to. No, I dare say that the best part of this book is how the team comes together and the psychology of each of the players. Wolverine is written superbly as is everything that trickles out from there. Deadpool actually works well in this setting, as he will do anything for the right price and is crazy enough to succeed when no one thinks he actually would.

The art is gritty and spectacular. I think especially so, when the team actually finds Apocalypse’ ship and end up battling the first horseman War.

It is revealed that Apocalypse is in fact alive and currently in the body of a little boy. I think this sets up an amazing chance to parallel the age-old philosophical question. “Would you go back in time and kill Hitler when he was a child so that his unspeakable crimes could be prevented ahead of time?”

Perhaps they are not drawing on the direct comparison, but that is what I got out of it right away.

This book shows a ton of promise and I have always really loved Apocalypse as a villain. He’s one of the worst and should return to the forefront as an X-Heavy.

I think this book will please the fans of the old X-force as well as bring new ones in as well. If you missed this book, you owe it to yourself to at least see if it your cup of tea.

Thor: For Asgard #3 (of 6)
Marvel Comics
Written by: Rob Rodi
Drawn by: Simone Bianchi

For as much as I have praised X-Force for being in my sweet spot this week, I have to say after reading this issue of Thor: For Asgard… I’m ready to dump my glass of tea.

Asgard is experiencing a never-ending winter. The tree of life is unable to sustain what it needs to grow the apples that provide immortality to the Gods. Thor is currently on the throne trying to deal with ruling the Golden Realm while Odin is gone and it seems everything is deteriorating around him.

Asgardians are turning on each other and Thor and his companions are left to try and hold together a decaying realm.

The synopsis I have just given may make this sound like an interesting book, but just be prepared that you will be reading a lot and trying to find your way through Bianchi’s over elaborate panel designs and less than stellar graphic story telling. I absolutely abhor giving bad reviews as these creators always give so much of themselves to their craft, but I feel like this book is hurt by trying to have every panel be an epic design rather than just having a simple flow. It almost seems like the sheer amount of word bubbles and narrative laid down (and there’s a lot) are to help the reader understand what is happening in Bianchi’s panels more so than advance the plot of a six issue mini series.

Thor is one of m favorites that Marvel has to offer. It is my hope that read as a whole this mini would turn out to be a great read. Individually however, where there were such other great books this week, by comparison this falls flat for me.

I recommend reading this book when the eyes are fresh and you can spend more time to examine the panels for hints of graphic storytelling. It isn’t the worst comic I have ever read by any means, but for me, like I said… it just seems wordy and visually muddy.

Wolverine #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Jason Aaron
Drawn by: Renato Guedes

Wolverine’s soul is in Hell being attacked by the souls of all of the people he has killed in his long life. Simply put… that’s a lot of folks.

His body is still on earth and possessed by something running around and terrorizing all of the people that Logan is connected to that are still living.

Logan’s girlfriend is with Mystique seeking answers and a means to somehow help Logan. She calls an old friend Yukio and that doesn’t seem to go well, so for now Mystique and his new squeeze trying to solve the mystery of how and why Logan’s body is possessed and just how his soul is in hell. Of course they may have a little help judging from the final page.

The Devil himself is really enjoying the torture that Logan is going through in his realm.

As I mentioned before, Logan has killed a helluva lot of folks. I think is a lot of fun for the reader to examine the panels of the hordes of dead souls coming after Logan. It’s like playing where’s Waldo and seeing all of the continuity of characters that Wolvie has put in hell.

I really enjoy the way that Aaron is laying this story down. It is giving us a bit of a mystery and unveiling the secrets almost in reverse order. Logan sure has a way of finding himself deep in the sh*t and somehow against all odds, he finds a way to win. It isn’t always pretty, but he is the best at what he does. I think Jason Aaron believes that this is survival. Name one other thing it could be… Logan claws, scratches and fights and almost always he does this to survive long enough to win the day. It’s quite simple really and when you have a character that has grown as complex and confusing as Logan is, it is incredible refreshing to see him stripped down a bit. No one does this better than Jason Aaron and I am excited to see what the outcome of this sideways detour through Hell for Wolvie brings about.

Wktf’s Reviews

Batman: Hidden Treasures #1
DC Comics
Written by: Ron Martz and Len Wein
Drawn by: Bernie Wrightson
Cover by: Bernie Wrightson

What a ridiculous title for a Batman comic book. It almost sounds like Batman meets Dora the Explorer. When I first read that this book was coming out I must confess the title was such a turn off that I didn’t even bother to read the press on it. When Previews had it among the list of books coming out this week I just shrugged. But when I saw the stark and glaringly red cover with the bold yellow lettering rising diagonally from left to right across the cover I couldn’t help but take a closer look. And when I saw Bernie Wrightson’s name headlining the credits I snatched this comic up immediately. I briefly read DC Art Director Mark Chiarello’s intro and, realizing the first of the two Wrightson stories between these covers was a “lost” Wrightson Batman work I never looked back. For the uninformed, Bernie Wrightson is one of the greatest artistic talents in the comic book industry. He’s primarily known for his mystery and horror work at DC, having debuted as a comic book artist in House of Mystery #179 in 1968, co-creating The Swamp Thing with Len Wein in 1971, as well as co-creating the Destiny character more associated these days with Neil Gaimon. So two full page Wrightson Batman stories, even for the price of $4.99 was too good to pass up

As it turns out, this “legendary lost" Bernie Wrightson story has been sitting dormant for 13 years. Why it’s never been published to this point is a head-shaking mystery. Written by Ron Marz (of Green Lantern fame) the reader is treated to 22 pages of Wrightson splash pages as Batman stalks a serial killer and is forced to tackle Solomon Grundy at the same time. Told in a narrative that remains mysterious until the surprising ending, this tale takes Batman from the streets of Gotham down into the sewers and then into the swampy Gotham Park during which time The Dark Knight battles the monster Grundy who seems already to have solved the mystery Batman’s trying to crack. But, of course, while the tale is fine and even interesting, it’s the telling that’s the most powerful. Wrightson, inked wonderfully by Kevin Nowlan, is able to really cut loose in these full page panels, certainly not like he did on his Frankenstein work, but still delivers some of the very best dark, shadowy and violent Batman art one could want.

The second story reprints “Night of the Bat,” the classic Bernie Wrightson/Lein Wein Swamp Thing-Batman team up from Swamp Thing #7. What makes this story a draw, even for those of us who’ve read this before and have it collected in other volumes, is the spectacular re-coloring by Alex Sinclair, who did the coloring chores for the first story as well. Sinclair gives Wrightson’s work a kind of Richard Corben Creepy Magazine feel to it as Batman, yet again, seems one step behind the monster in this story in solving the mystery at hand. Batman fares about as well against Swamp Thing as he does against Grundy, but he also is brought to greater awareness from both of his encounters. DC’s promotional hype says, “Both stories…present particularly startling looks at The Caped Crusader as only Wrightson could present!” Which, of course, given Wrightson’s uniquely detailed and shadowy art, is true. But it’s also interesting how both writers have Batman come out swinging only to take a more cerebral and sympathetic stance after his gruesome encounters. This book was a delightful surprise, and my pick of the week.

Chaos War #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Drawn by: Koi Pham & Reilly Brown
Cover by: Ed McGinness

After Marvel’s promise to end big event stories after Siege (they did promise this, didn’t they?) I was a bit surprised when Daredevil’s “Shadowland” story became a Marvel Universe sweeping event with all kinds of tie-in comics. To add insult to injury, the story has lost whatever steam it had and just isn’t that good. So, now, with Shadowland not even over, we’re handed Chaos War. The difference? Well, to start, the creative team. Greg Pak is one of the best writers in all of comics. If you don’t believe me, just go read Planet Hulk (yeah, yeah, he wrote World War Hulk which wasn’t nearly as good). And the team of Pak and Van Lente made Incredible Hercules one of the most consistently entertaining books of any Marvel’s put out in the last few years. And, further, who was the artist that launched Hercules’ title with these artists? Why, Koi Pham, of course. Now all three are united as Hercules takes center stage in a cosmic level end-of-reality showdown that, according the Marvel hype machine, is “bigger than The Infinity Gauntlet “and “more cosmic than Annihilation!” But does it deliver the goods?

The threat of the Chaos King has been around the last few years, since the Ares mini-series when this big bad baddie actually killed Lord Zeus. Now, his goal is to end all of reality so that he, in turn, can become that reality and, in effect, be all that is. Hercules has been granted cosmic level awareness as well as vaster godly powers thanks to Amadeus Cho’s saving him from oblivion in the Prince of Power mini-series. So now, a hero that’s been as much as a foolish goof ball for the decades he’s existed in the Marvel Universe as he has been a hero now is attempting to be the unlikely leader of Earth’s heroes.

While the checklist for all the Chaos War tie-in books is a little deflating (there’s no way I’ll be getting all of them, much less even many of them) this first issue kicks our story off with the creative team’s patented and well-earned reputation for fun and excitement. The hilarious sound effects for which Incredible Hercules was so well known is in full effect here. From “Shrakkathakkathoom” when Thor sends down a bolt of lightning to “Myooonrrr” when Thor taps Herc with his hammer to “Bugcrack” when Spider-Man crashes into a wall, these guys keep the sound effects more interesting than any comic on the racks. And the same is true with this story’s opening issue. Sure, the reality-destroying threat is kind of old hat but with guest-stars aplenty, fast and breezy writing, wonderfully detailed art and a terrific sense of scale as well as comedic timing, Chaos War thus far makes for a really entertaining and fun package.

The Lone Ranger #24
Dynamite Entertainment
Written by: Brett Matthews
Drawn by: Sergio Cariello
Cover by: John Cassaday

The beginning of the end. Can it be true? One of my most favorite titles of the last several years really is coming to an end? But now, after the last few years this title’s been around, we’re finally getting the big showdown, the title match between The Lone Ranger and Cavendish, the insanely sadistic villain responsible for murder of The Lone Ranger’s father, brother and friends. Reid’s as enraged as he’s ever been and the question he asks himself, and the read must wonder, is whether The Lone Ranger will take a life and lose his soul, or will he die trying to keep it?

As has always been the case with this book, the story, scripting, art and coloring integrates beautifully into some powerful visual storytelling. The darkness of the primary encounter stands in stark contrast to Tonto’s journey in broad daylight under wide open blue skies. For though The Lone Ranger and Tonto have separated for now they are a powerful partnership of equals. First, knowing the evil that’s coming, Tonto must make sure his new family is safe but then he must ride to stand with his friend. His friend whose fists flash hard, fast and a little too convincingly to allow us to believe he’s really gotten the drop on this man who’s caused so much calculated pain to others. But of course we find that all is not as it seems.

What a stellar book. This whole run has been a real story. Not just a series of stories but one continuous, heartfelt and powerful story of loss, pain, justice and salvation. I cannot wait to see how it will end but surely will mourn this book’s closing next month when the final chapter hits the stands.

[wktf]

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Wktf’s “Frighty” Trade Reviews

Ah…here we are again in October! A month when the Mighty Reviewers convulse and transform during the full moon to take the hulking and disfigured forms of…The Frighty Reviewers! Before you run to your cottage homes, bolt your doors, and cover your windows with garlic and wolfs bane, be sure to read our frighty trade reviews each week, all month long!!!

Frankenstein
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelly
Drawn by: Bernie Wrightson
Introduction by: Stephen King

The Lost Frankenstein Pages
Apple Press
Introductions by: Michael Catron & Bernie Wrightson
Drawn by: Bernie Wrightson

As mentioned in the Batman: Hidden Treasures review, above, Bernie Wrightson is one of the greatest artistic talents in the comic book industry. He’s primarily known for his mystery and horror work at DC, having debuted as a comic book artist in House of Mystery #179 in 1968, co-creating The Swamp Thing with Len Wein in 1971, as well as co-creating the Destiny character more associated these days with Neil Gaimon. But in the mid-1970s he joined up with such artists as Jeff Jones, Michael Kaluta and Barry Windsor-Smith to form The Studio, a NYC loft where the group pursued creative opportunities beyond commercial comics. It was when he was with The Studio that he spent a full seven years creating roughly 50 gorgeous pen and ink illustrations to accompany an edition of Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein novel that Marvel would publish in 1983.

Shelly’s story is one of the great gothic novels ever written, one that I’ve read a number of times and once even as required reading in a college English class. Countless essays and critiques of this wonderfully frightening and sad tale have been written so all I’ll say is that for anyone who’s association with the monster is Karloff’s flat-headed, mute (until the Bride of Frankenstein sequel), shuffling creature, you’re in for a bit of a shock. Eloquent, agile and pain-ridden, this monster, while a monster, is as sympathetic a character as he can be loathsome as a villain. And Dr. Frankenstein, in his colossal hubris, like a child playing with a match, dabbles with the power of God (hence the subtitle, The Modern Prometheus) only to unleash a horror on the world that, in its search for beauty and meaning, creates nothing but devastation for everyone.

Wrightson clearly is in love with this tale. He also states as much in his introduction to “The Lost Frankenstein Pages,” published ten years later in 1993. His illustrations are almost painful to look at, they’re so exquisite. The incredible detail, his use of cross-hatching and chiaroscuro, are all just wonderful. His images projects feelings of longing, pain, suffering, horror, and, at times, even beauty. The monster’s pain, rage and power. Victor Frankenstein’s madness, fear and terror. The unimaginable cold of the European winters. The desolation of the arctic landscapes. But his laboratories and libraries may be the most stunning pages in the Frankenstein volume. Every test tube, book, skull, vial, window slat and shelf is drawn with such incredible care and detail that you can easily find yourself lost in them. His work here stands alone as its own category of comic book art.

After seven years working on this project, it turned out, he had too many pages for Marvel to use in this illustrated novel. In addition he had some pages that, despite the long days he would spend on them, he simply decided not to use once they’d been completed. Apparently, the various preliminary and concept sketches and finished art of pages he or Marvel decided not to use had been swept up by various collectors and had disappeared for years. But, with “The Lost Frankenstein Pages” they’d all been located and captured for this volume which also contains some other Frankenstein-related work Wrightson had done in his time. This book’s a great addendum to the Marvel Illustrated Novel.

Both books are long out of print but likely can be located via eBay, Amazon’s used book store or through some other means. If all you want is Shelly’s novel, that’s easy enough to get on its own. While these Wrightson illustrations of the Frankenstein story may now be harder to come by, they are so worth it. These books should be among the prize books of anyone’s trade of graphic novel bookshelf.

Universal Monsters Cavalcade of Horror
Dark Horse Comics
Written by: Dan Jolley, Den Beauvais, Dan Vado, Steve Moncuse
Art by: Tony Harris, Den Beavuais, Jonathan D. Smith, Art Adams

When Dark Horse published this book a few years back and I saw it at my lcs I impulsively just grabbed it and added it to the stack I brought to the cashier. It’s not hyperbole to say that while Universal Studios in no way invented horror cinema they certainly changed it, possibly forever, with their incredible run of monster movies starting in the 1930s. Their versions of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Wolfman, The Invisible Man and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (the latter of which, actually, didn’t hit the screens until about 20 years after its predecessors) indelibly planted the images of Karloff, Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, and Claude Raines as these characters in the public’s mind. And, of course, I own the finely packaged dvd collections of all these films and their many, and sometimes ludicrous, sequels. While, in retrospect, these first films can seem quaint and even campy today, their tales of macabre terror and tragedy created iconic cultural images that have lasted more than 60 years and also inspired generations of film makers. I can remember my own grandmother, may she rest in peace, tell me how terrified she was, even as a young adult, of Lugosi’s Dracula, the most human looking of all the monsters but who’s touch sentenced his victims to eternal damnation. This book contains incredibly faithful and beautifully rendered comic book adaptations of Universal Studios’ The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I don’t understand why The Creature was included over The Wolfman or The Invisible Man but, nevertheless, it was.

The first story is “The Mummy,” scripted by Dan Jolley and art by Tony Harris. The most striking element of this tale is how well the creators portray Karloff’s devious and sinister Imhoptep as he pretends to be the local guide Ardeth Bey as he attempts to reunite with his lost love Anhksenamun. Being buried alive for centuries never sat well with Imhoptep but his maniacal attempt to recapture his life, and the evil he attempts to perpetrate, is tempered by his sadness and pain over his lost life and love. And Jolley and Harris together bring this horror and pain out for the reader, even as those moments when The Mummy rises from his coffin and walks, and Imhoptep’s face continuously flakes and crumbles, are brought to ghastly life.

“Frankenstein” is up next and may be the most painful and touching story of this collection, with story and painted art by Den Beauvais. Beauvais painstakingly captures the screen likenesses of the characters and is faithful to the original script as well. But it’s the portrayal of the monster, as is the case in the Karloff film, that is the highlight of this story. His confusion, innocence, joy, pain, anger and sadness come out in spades here. His self loathing when he accidentally murders a small child while attempting to play with her and confusion and fear when he meets his fiery end both are heartrending.

“Dracula” gets special creative treatment with Jonathan D. Smith’s moody, painted art. Every panel is eerily and ambiguously defined, as if the entire story is told in a swirling, misty dream-like atmospheric state. The way Smith captures Bela Lugosi’s face is unreal, with many face shots taken directly from the movie while others are wild Lugosi interpretations of Dracula’s unholy cravings.

Finally, we have the most purely comic book styled story in the book with “The Creature from the Black Lagoon,” story by Steve Moncuse and art by Art Adams and Terry Austin. Unlike the other dark, moody stories this one is bright and colorfully rendered with strong, well defined line work and inking. Much like the Frankenstein Monster, The Creature is an innocent creature, rather than purely malevolent being like Dracula, who finds himself persecuted and hunted even as he searches for acceptance and maybe even love. It’s a tense and fun story. As good as it is, I’d still rather have seen The Wolfman or Invisible Man in this volume.

Two added bonuses to this collection are a beautifully painted cover images and some internal art by Goon creator Eric Powell, who also supplies the introduction for this book. Anyone who ever was a teenager should be able to appreciate Powell’s heartfelt love for the misunderstood Frankenstein Monster, even as teenagers gravitated to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s misunderstood Spider-Man in the 1960s. This introduction is one of those rare instances where it actually serves as an enhancement to the book, another reason to buy it, rather than some throwaway intro. Still in print and for only $19.95, this book is a blast for any fan of the Universal Monsters or graphic storytelling in general.

Neal Adams Monsters OGN
Vanguard Productions
Written by: Neal Adams
Drawn by: Neal Adams

Neal Adams is known as the guy who first put the “dark” back into the Dark Knight, before Frank Miller, at DC Comics and had some pretty terrific runs with Roy Thomas at Marvel on X-Men, Inhumans and The Avengers. He also did a ton of covers for Marvel’s black and white monster magazine lines, such as Dracula Lives! Vampire Tales, Monsters Unleashed and a host of others. Adams is a confirmed monster lover, and this OGN of his came out in 2003 both as a paperback and signed HC in its own slipcase. I opted for the HC slipcase. In his introduction, Adams talks about how he’s loved the Universal Monsters ever since was a kid and, in with his typical hubris (I’ve chatted with Neal a few times and there’s no doubt he’s a little full of himself), that he could have done the monsters better. His final thought on the Universal Monsters was that they’d missed the boat in not having the big three (Dracula, Frankenstein and The Wolf Man) battle it out in one big cross-monster rumble. This turns out to be the premise of this OGN.

The book opens with a young man and woman, in the 1912 Romanian countryside, fending off a pack of ravenous wolves. The man is Vincent Frankenstein, nephew and former assistant of the famous Victor Frankenstein who’d recently met his death at the hands of an angry mob. Vincent Frankenstein and his lover, Ericka, who were fleeing from this mob themselves and now facing these wolves are saved by a tall, blond nobleman named Vlad who seems capable of commanding and calling off the wolves. He insists they join him at his castle to rest and recover from their ordeal. While Vlad’s motives seem altruistic Vincent quickly learns otherwise as it turns out his benefactor has captured Ericka and threatened to kill her if he doesn’t recreate his uncle’s famous monster. Vlad has constructed a laboratory nearly identical to the one that spawned the original monster and Vincent, fearing for his beloved’s life, agrees to the procedure. Of course, Vlad turns out to be none other than Count Dracula who, along with wolves, commands a group of gypsies which (if you’ve seen the Lon Chaney Jr. Wolf Man movie you already know) leads to the introduction of a werewolf into the story mix. The count needs an undead slave, say, like a Frankenstein Monster, to safeguard his coffin during the day. Why, when he’s got a few dozen gypsies to do this he needs a monster, this is the case I’m not sure. The werewolf story falls out of our central story, takes a life of its own, and then reenters the Dracula/Vincent/Monster story at a pivotal moment. Neal Adams gets his childhood wish as these three monsters end up in a ferocious battle that results in Castle Dracula going up in a cacophony of flames with our heroes, Vincent and Ericka, in dire jeopardy.

This is a fun monster romp whose plot takes us through a story that really does feel exactly like the way a movie would be constructed which, from his introduction, is exactly what Adams intended. The layout, design, art and colors are just stunning as anyone familiar with Adams’ work would expect. The dialogue’s a little bit hokey but Adams isn’t the same caliber writer as he is an artist. But anyone looking for a distracting and entertaining monster yarn can’t do much better than Adams’ handling of the cinema’s big three heavy hitters. This volume also includes a section titled “Neal Adams History with Monsters” that has some work he’s done for the movies as well as a cover gallery for Marvel’s black and white monster mag line. And the Deluxe Hardcover edition sports a bonus portfolio that’s got some seriously great sketches, post-production promotional art for Francis Ford Copppla’s “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” movie, and other monster and fantasy related art. All in all, for a cover price of $24.95 (for the Deluxe HC Slipcase version) it’s a great little monster/horror package that’s definitely worth the cover price.

SCREAMLAND
Image Comics
Written by: Harold Sipe
Art by: Hector Casanova
Introduction by: Jason Aaron
Cover Art: Hector Casanova

On Saturday, March 28th of 2009, I went to the annual Planet Comicon in Kansas City and had the pleasure of spending a bit of time chatting with one of my favorite writers, Wizard’s Best Writer of 2008: Jason Aaron. Soft spoken, highly intelligent and all around awesome guy. During the course of our conversation my love of monsters, and the Universal Monsters happened to come up. He stopped me short and told me that I absolutely have to read “Screamland.” I’m sure the look I gave him conveyed, “Read, um, what…?” Jason pointed me toward where Harold Sipe, Screamland’s author, was sitting at the con near a stack of Screamland trades and urged me to meet Harold and pick up a copy, adding that he also wrote the Introduction to this trade. Yet another reason to pick it up! Harold, like Jason, was a soft spoke but energetic guy who demonstrated a lot of enthusiasm for his work and genuine appreciation of fan interest. After chatting with him as well I couldn’t help but pick up this trade, which both he and artist Hector Casanova signed, and Hector even drew a little sketch in my book for added measure! All that was left for me to read the darn thing. Fortunately, I was scheduled to fly to Baltimore the next day for a business trip so I had plenty of undisturbed time coming up right away.

To start, this book is a wildly humorous, bitingly satiric and, at times, deadly serious take on the good, old fashion monsters of movie yore: The Wolfman, The Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster and, of course, Count Dracula. These iconic monsters not only are “alive” and well but living openly among the human population. They are true to their monster natures. So, The Monster is, indeed, a creature stitched together from dead men’s body parts, Dracula is a genuine vampire and The Wolfman is (or can be) a snarling beast. But they also are aging (except for Dracula who, of course, never ages) and washed up Hollywood screen stars, stars of their own monster movies from back in the nostalgic old movie days. They’re self-loathing, bitter, mildly depressed screen has-beens who are wallowing in their own self-pity and dealing with their problems in different ways. The Monster drinks Jack and Coke like a fish. The Wolfman is an overweight, drunken and lecherous buffoon. The Mummy…well, The Mummy has gone into seclusion and even is being sought out by the Feds for possible 9-11 conspiracy reasons (hey, he’s a middle easterner whose fled the US). The beauty of this story is how these creatures, after being separated for so long, come back together to try to recapture their old glory. How they relate to each other, their diffidence toward each other but, ultimately, the respect and support they led each other. One of the greatest characters in this book is Andrea Silverman, the monsters’ agent, who’s one appearance here gives her cred as one of today’s most original, funniest and strongest female character in comics.

This trade compiles SCREAMLAND #1-5 plus some cool special features and concept art. Plus, Jason Aaron’s hilarious introduction alone practically makes the $16.99 cover price worth it. Practically. But the value here absolutely is in the story and the art. Sipe’s got a wildly outrageous idea here that presents the monsters in a unique and surprising light. Our heroes are pitiful, sad, at times loathsome but, in the end, genuinely terrifying in a way that really pays off the entire story. Sipe does a great job of taking the reader down a path where certain expectations are created only to be challenged in a pretty startling way. And Casanova’s intentionally dreary paints set an otherworldly and constantly dark tone that conveys the sadness, anger and even menace Sipe’s story requires. The cover binding has a #1 at its base leading me to believe that Image may have another installment of Sipe and Casanova’s characters in the works. I highly recommend this engrossing, fun and intense trade. Seriously, go out and buy it. Or, to work off Jason Aaron’s rocking introduction, if this book’s good enough for the Best Writer of 2008 to sing it’s praises, then what the hell is your problem? Hmmm…?

[THECLOWN KNIGHT]

Thanks for the Spooky Reviews!

Totally agree with the review of Uncanny X-Force.

Great story & Great art, a deadly combination.

In fact one of the things that I liked more was the use of no 'bloody factor' that was a must have of the last Series.

I surely will stay with this book as long as this creative team deliver quality stuff.

About Thor for Asgard I think I made a wise decision at staying away from it.

The main reason was Bianchi work in Astonishing X-Men, I found his storytelling so complicated & crowded, in resume I didn't enjoy the story because of it.


I'm kinda tired of events so I decided to not start Chaos War for the moment. This(and Emerald Warriors) will be another test for me in not being sucked by these never ending Events.

[Babytoxie]

That Universal Monsters trade is wonderful! Great adaptations, all of them.

I was happy to see volume 1 of The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor in the stores a few weeks ago. My parents would buy me 3-packs of Whitman reprints whenever they had the chance, and every pack would contain an issue of either TOFODS or Boris Karloff - Tales of Mystery. Lots of great horror series are being collected these days. We certainly are in a reprint renaissance.

[protector2814]

Ha Ha - Thanks for reminding me to take the time to appreciate the written sound effect. I just burn through them... but didn't always. When I was a kid, the sound effects words were important. I'd forgotten.

[kal-el]

Of all these books I only bought The Lone Ranger and it was great . I am surprised at how quickly this issue came out , they must be getting caught up with one more to go. What a great issue from cover to cover, perfect writing a great art. My only complaint is that they raised the price .50 for this issue. Next issue will be bittersweet indeed.

[supahman]

Uncanny X-force was a lot of fun... and i liked the Superman ( Elseworld ) book too this week.. gotta read the rest of my pile..
What i'm most excited about is Darwyn Cooke's 'Parker: The Outfit' though..
got the book with me to work.. dunno if i'll get a chance to read it though.. Ny of u guys pick it.. ?

[wktf]

Of all these books I only bought The Lone Ranger and it was great . I am surprised at how quickly this issue came out , they must be getting caught up with one more to go. What a great issue from cover to cover, perfect writing a great art. My only complaint is that they raised the price .50 for this issue. Next issue will be bittersweet indeed.

Kal-El, I knew you'd chime in on The Lone Ranger. I'm so bummed this series is ending.

[wktf]

Ha Ha - Thanks for reminding me to take the time to appreciate the written sound effect. I just burn through them... but didn't always. When I was a kid, the sound effects words were important. I'd forgotten.

And I only quoted a few of the sound effects. If you really read them, they're a real hoot. Like when Herc slugs Baldar or when the monster from Amazing Spider-Man #103 - 104 makes an appearance in the back-up story! Brilliant!

[Wrothy]

And I only quoted a few of the sound effects. If you really read them, they're a real hoot. Like when Herc slugs Baldar or when the monster from Amazing Spider-Man #103 - 104 makes an appearance in the back-up story! Brilliant!

My favourite is cooduhgrassy! :laugh:

[wktf]

More praise for Chaos War #1:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=user_review&id=2737