The Frighty Reviews 10/21/10

[wktf]

Dawg’s Review

Daredevil #511
Marvel Comics
Written by: Andy Diggle

Drawn by: Roberto De La Torre

There are many times when a good idea for a story gets blown up and made into an event. Sometimes the event works really well. There are other times that perhaps the story would have been better if left more contained in the main book from which it spawns. I believe that Shadowland would have torn it up, if it had been left in Daredevil’s book and that book alone. I understand that there is a push for street level heroes and to make money at Marvel. I get that side of things. I would have just preferred to see this story play out in one book. It would have been better to let it develop slowly and take an entire year’s worth of Daredevil comics, rather than branch out into its own mini series, and other outlying one-shots etc. I am not a fan of Billy Tan’s artwork and even less so when I see the beautifully gritty, grim, dark renderings that De La Torre and crew lay down in this issue. A whole year of his art married perfectly with Diggle’s gritty ninja takeover story would have sprung a leak of awesomeness.

This issue starts with the people of Hell’s Kitchen having lost it. They are rioting and believing the police have abandoned them to the evil ninja cult that Daredevil AKA Matt Murdock now sits at the throne of. Daredevil thought he could take over the Hand and turn them into something he could use for good, but as always with Daredevil, he seems to fall on his face and figure things out the hard way. He’s instead been possessed by some Hand demon and now the street heroes of the Marvel Universe are out to bring down Shadowland and Daredevil.

Meanwhile Daredevil’s supporting cast which I think is among the best in comics is doing all they can to deal with either fallout from Matt’s new world order, deal with the rioters, or save each other from burning buildings. I think Dakota North is one of the coolest females in comics. She kicks a lot of ass, saves the day Nelson and Murdock’s handi-capable secretary, and takes no prisoners in doing so.

Foggy Nelson, whom is Matt’s oldest and dearest friend decides to attempt one last ditch effort to see if he can reason with Matt and end the madness. It takes a lot for Foggy to get to the top of the Shadowland temple and unfortunately for him he crosses paths with one of Matt’s lieutenants (and I might add hotly drawn by Del La Torre) White Tiger. It doesn’t look good for Foggy as Matt wants to apparently slice him open at this point.

Again how much better would this story have been if it was solely within the main Daredevil book? I have to believe I would have enjoyed it so much more as this as a single issue left me wanting more, and yet the overall saga has left me a little flat and disappointed. I think the idea is amazing and could have been epic as all get out, but it feels like Marvel saw this as an opportunity to cash in, rather than stick by the mentality that they always have with this book since Kevin Smith and Joe Q. brought DD back… This book has never cared about the event… it all but ignored Civil War and Secret Invasion in favor of producing it’s own quality stories. This is not to say that Shadowland isn’t a great story, I’m just saying that I wish it would have been executed all in the main book where I feel it has been the strongest anyway.

All that aside, I really did like this particular issue, and the main character was barely even in it. That speaks volumes for the way Diggle handles the supporting cast, and the supporting cast being strong enough characters to carry the issue.

Sam Wilson’s Review

Kick Ass 2 #1
Marvel Comics
Written by: Mark Millar
Drawn by: John Romita Jr.

I won’t deny the fact that I’m a huge fan of “Kick Ass” the movie. Huge. Hit Girl is my new favourite movie heroine and any movie that makes a John Woo reference is good to go as far as I’m concerned. Not to diminish the Kick Ass limited series, that too was fantastic in its own right. It ended differently than the movie (more bleakly to say the least) but the overall tone of it was still the same. There were a few times I found myself the book was more like the movie, or the movie more like the book, but the reality is Mark Millar wrote both and both were fantastic, which makes a sequel very appealing, at least to me. That being said…

Last we left our hero, he went back to school and Hit Girl was with him. He was still a loser and didn’t end up getting the girl (which was not how the movie ended), but at least Hit Girl was given a chance at a normal life after loosing her father (or so we are lead to believe. Anyway, to catch everyone up our hero Dave is still a loser, but at least Hit Girl (aka Mindy) is now living with her biological mother and her step father (a police detective who happens to be Big Daddy’s ex partner). Unfortunately Hit Girl (Mindy) doesn’t really care about being a good girl. She’s rather train Kick Ass and help him form a super-team. I mean seriously, Dave is a pussy (hey, her words, not mine) and could use the training but she is eleven. Eleven-year-old girls do what their mothers tell them and don’t smuggle AK 47’s into the house via teddy bear. Anyway, Hit Girl’s stepdad is understands she’s going to be a little difficult, so he cuts her some slack but makes her promise to try and live the life of a “normal kid”. Meanwhile, Dave (Kick Ass) has inspired a whole lot of people to put on costumes and fight crime. Unfortunately not many of them seem very qualified, but that doesn’t stop a bunch of similarly inspired people to form their own super team and recruit Dave to join, and so it begins…

Mark Millar and John Romita Jr. have indeed done it again (sorry for the cliché). Romita’s art is as crisp and dynamic as ever, and Mark Millar has brought back some familiar faces we all know and love (or not, hey, you don’t have to buy this book if you don’t want it). If you were a fan of the first, this new book will not disappoint. Mark Millar has started a new chapter, and it isn’t a recycling what has been done before it is fresh and interesting. I’m in, and I hope he’s working on the screenplay…

Wktf’s Reviews

Chaos War #2
Marvel Comics
Written by: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente
Drawn by: Khoi Pham
Cover by: Brandon Peterson

I can almost forget my annoyance of another Marvel mega-event kicking off before another mega-event (the dreary and disappointing Shadowland) has yet to end, all following the event to (promised by Marvel) end all events, Siege. And, the grumbling of the DC fans out there who’ve equated the Chaos King to Nekron, the rising dead of this story to the Black Lanterns and, therefore, Chaos War to Blackest Night shouldn’t be completely dismissed. Though, Pak and Van Lente in an interview swear they’ve been working up to this story line for the last few years. And, hey, if Grant Morrison can ape all that Ed Brubaker’s done with Captain America in his Batman stories then, I guess, turnabout is fair play. Or imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Whatever. Complain if you want. Certainly I’m tired of crossover event stories. But these guys on Hercules are just too good and have too much fun for the reader not to have fun as well.

The premise of this cosmic slobberknocker is that The Choas King, having already established his worth years ago by killing Zeus in Michael Avon Oeming’s “Ares” series, actually turns out to be the personification or manifestation of the void that was the universe before creation happened. Now he wants to end all of existence so he can, yet again, be the totality of all that is. And, just based on the damage and significance of the being’s he’s dispatched this last two issues and, oh yeah, he killed Zeus, he appears to have the jets to pull this off. Not to mention that Eternity himself declares The Chaos King to be his opposite but equal. Hercules’ power has been raised to that of a Skyfather and, having teamed up with Thor, he’s forced to gather some cosmic and mystical heavy-hitters to his side to form a new God Squad, consisting of himself, Thor, The Silver Surfer, Galactus, Venus, Sersei and The Son of Satan. Sure, an all powerful villain and end of the world scenario feels a bit trite, I grant you, but with a line up like this how can you not get on board?

Plus, as I noted in my review of the first issue, the sound effects in this story continue the tradition of hilarity these writers established in their Incredible Hercules book. The surfer-dude sound effects, like “Hangloooose” when Mjolnir strikes the Surfer’s board or “Raaaaaaadikal” as the Surfer regains his board, are a hoot…almost as much as the patter between Cho and Thor or Venus’ channeling Bob Marley as she attempts to awaken Hercules’ unconscious mortal allies. One has to wonder if the whimsical tone these writers set will be carried through in all the spin off titles. The lively and interesting story is nicely counterbalanced and augmented by the meticulous but kinetic pencils of Khoi Pham. Picking Tom Palmer, he who gained prominence inking Gene Colan’s Dracula and John Buscema’s Avengers, to ink Pham is an inspired choice, too. The full page spread of Ares calling his dead colleagues to war and the gruesome splash page of The Chaos King’s killing Zeus for the second time both are incredibly eye catching and brutal. This story line thus far has exceeded expectations for sheer fun, and I’m calling this issue my pick of the week.

Steve Rogers: Super Soldier #4
Marvel Comics
Written by: Ed Brubaker
Drawn by: Dale Eaglesham
Cover by: Carlos Pacheco

The last issue of this series was a stunner, seeing a depowered and scrawny Steve Rogers battling out of sheer will power and training against a small army of super soldiers was absolutely inspired and provided further evidence, as if we needed any, why he is the pre-eminent hero and leader of the Marvel Universe. With this issue Commander Roger’s solo story comes to a close with one enemy seemingly defeated but with a helluva cliffhanger left dangling out there for Bru to pick up and play with at some unknown time of his choosing.

Having regained his super soldier powers Rogers races to the scene where Machine Smith is auctioning off the super soldier serum to the highest bidder. With him is a robot of Machine Smith’s making designed to look and act like Rogers’ lost love from WWII. Though she’s a creation of Rogers’ enemy she seems to have adopted enough independence and the traits of her character to want to help Rogers on his mission. And, actually, though she is “just” a robot, the role she plays and the sacrifice she makes is really poignantly handled, not least of which is demonstrated in a moving panel by Eaglesham where her face, torn off her metallic head, lies in a lifeless rubbery heap but with a sad, downcast expression nonetheless. The end of Rogers adventure seems to come a little too quickly and easily, as if this storyline is an interlude of sorts, even though it is the main storyline. And, of course, as noted above, this first ending is not the final ending as forces take shape beyond Rogers view that may well shape a series of important moments in our hero’s future.

All in all, this was a fun, diverting read. The third issue was the standout issue of this series and as strong as each installment was, the other three didn’t really stand up to the standard of that one comic. Steve’s a great hero, with impeccable moral fiber, a powerful strategic mind and the fighting skills and power to put it all together. I don’t know. Reading this solo adventure made me really wish he’d pick up the mantle and shield of Captain America again. That may not have been these creators’ intention but that’s certainly the feeling with which I’m left. As mini-series go, this one certainly is better than most. It just wasn’t as consistently strong as I’d expect it to be with these two creators on board.

DCU Halloween Special 2010
DC Comics
Written by: Billy Tucci, Joe Harris, Alex Segura, Vinton Heuck, Bryan Q. Miller, Brian Keene
Drawn by: Billy Tucci, Lee Garbett, Kenneth Loh, Bean Zachary, Trevor McCarthy, Stephen Thompson
Cover by: Gene Ha

For me, holiday comic book specials tend to be hit or miss. Halloween, as a rule, tends to be more fun than Christmas where these things are concerned, and this collection of very short stories (for $4.99, mind you) are fun but mostly harmless stories involving a number of diverse but, primarily, mainstream, DC characters in series of team-up stories. The first of the two Batman stories, written and drawn by Billy Tucci, has Batman receiving assistance from an unlikely source against the villainous Scarecrow in a story that appears to be a continuation of a story that appeared in last year’s Halloween special. The next story, also about the Dark Knight, has our current Batman & Robin teaming up with Andrew Bennett (and shame on you if you don’t know this fascinating and underutilized DC character) to smoke out and rid Gotham of a new vampire coven. This story may well be my favorite of this collection, with are by Garbett that’s particularly and appropriately eerie.

The next two team ups feel more like filler, frankly. The Flash and Frankenstein (last seen in Final Crisis, I believe) go up against yet another kind of vampire, while Wonder Woman and a slightly love-struck Deadman battle The Cheetah and Felix Faust from the Justice Leagues rogue gallery. What follows these, though, are two far more interesting stories. The first has Blue Beetle and Miss Martian of The Teen Titans confronting the mischief of Klarion, best known for the hell he caused Batman and the JLU their respective animated series. And, in fact, Trevor McCarthy’s cartooning style actually carries a bit of Timm’s style for good measure. But Bryan Miller’s story actually packs a little bit of a kick. Who knew the nasty witch-boy just wanted a little acceptance and just not to be mocked? Huh! The far more serious and weighty tale is saved for the end as Etrigan helps Superman battle against a demon who’s taken possession of his psyche and forcing him to envision all of his greatest fears. Though more crudely drawn by Stephen Thompson, the scene of Superman down on his hands and knees is pretty arresting, and the back-to-back psychic trauma’s Superman endures gives us a view into the plausible fears the Man of Steel carries with him every day. This story really is nicely done.

All in all, this holiday special is better than most, probably. But, for $4.99, it’s a hefty price to pay for a collection of little ditties that won’t stay with you for too long after you read them.

[wktf]

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Wkft’s Frighty Trade Reviews

This week we’ve got some more off-beat tales of terror compared to the more standard horror fare reviewed the last two weeks.

Creepy Archives Volume 1
Dark Horse Books
Writers: Russ Jones, Bill Pearson, Larry Ivie, Archie Goodwin, Otto Binder, Arthur Porge, Larry Englehart
Artists: Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, Roy Krenkel, Reed Crandall, Frank Frazetta, Gray Morrow, Angelo Torres, Bob Lubbers, Al McWilliams, Alex Toth

When I picked this HC tome up I made it my pick of the week. I simply can’t recommend this book highly enough. I haven’t been this thoroughly entertained across such a wide gamut of emotions in a long time. Many of you out there may never have read the tales housed between these two covers, holding nearly every page from Creepy # 1-5, and if that’s the case you’re in for a real treat. Published by Jim Warren, who also brought us the classic Famous Monsters From Filmland magazine (God, I LOVED that magazine), Creepy was a shot across the bow to a comics industry plagued by the Fredric Wertham hysteria that led to the Comics Code Authority and the watering down of any and all horror titles. Bill Gaine’s EC (publishers of Tales of the Crypt, among others) was shut down, Gaines left to publish Mad Magazine, but in stepped Jim Warren to give us Eerie and, most delightfully, Creepy Magazine in 1964. And, oh, thank goodness! Graphic storytelling was back with a vengeance and led by Archie Goodwin, Joe Orlando, Frank Frazetta, Wally Wood, Alex Toth and others.

Creepy delivered classic and modern graphic horror stories that blended genuine horror fiction genre with great characterization, real shock endings, tense mystery and tongue-in-cheek humor. Narrated by the ever present Uncle Creepy, Creepy Magazine gave us vampires, werewolves, zombies, ghosts, witches, other supernatural ghouls and evil, murdering humans. Quality horror stories were back in glorious black and white, all for only 35 cents. This volume not only reprints every story from the first five issues, it reprints those beautiful covers in full color, the letters pages and even those wonderfully dated pages full of 1960s ads! This 250 page collection is a thing of beauty. Seriously, if you like your horror comics turned up a notch while also maintaining that awesome nostalgic flavor, this is the book for you.

The Absolute Sandman Volume 1
Vertigo/DC Comics
Written by: Neil Gaiman
Drawn by: Sam Keith, Mike Dringenberg, Chris Bachalo, Michael Zulli, Kelly Jones, Charles Vess, Colleen Doran, Malcolm Jones III, Steve Parkhouse
Cover Art: Dave McKean

Some comic books are about mythical or semi-mythical beings. Other comic book characters become modern myths. And then there are comic books that in and of themselves become mythical as a result not just of the characters but because of the storytelling itself. What I mean is that the comic book series itself becomes mythical, almost legendary. I think the latter describes Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman series which began back in 1987 and ran for 75 issues and, roughly, 10 years. Gaiman’s always been associated with high concept storytelling and when his name was tossed around for the reintroduction of Thor the Marvel Universe fans, especially after seeing what he did with Marvel 1602, became giddy. I really enjoyed Marvel 1602 and Gaiman’s new and, yes, high concept takes on these great characters. I’d not read much of his stuff before and the strength of 1602 alone motivated me to pick up Absolute Sandman. Well, that and all the hype about this title.

I came to this volume maybe in the best of all possible ways. I’d never read a Vertigo Sandman title, I’d heard all the hype about it, I’d forked out a lot of dough for this thing (but, thankfully, at a discount from the $99 retail price), had high expectations, still not knowing what to expect, but really wanting to be blown away. And, I have to say, I loved this book. Gaiman’s Sandman is Morpheus, also known by other names from other (even otherworldly) cultures. He is one of the Endless, beings who are the anthropomorphic personifications of the most powerful forces in existence. So powerful they exist on a higher plane than even the gods. Morpheus is the Lord of Dreams, and of the Dream World, whose siblings include Death, Desire, Destiny and Despair. They represent and command forces under which the gods themselves must yield and must cautiously respect. Morpheus communes freely with gods, with other supernatural creatures and with mortals. He is pale yet dark. Compassionate yet cold. Wrathful yet distant. Mysterious yet, somehow, in the recesses of our thoughts, known to us all.

Gaiman’s story begins with Morpheus’ being ripped from his world and imprisoned for 70 years in the world of mortals. In this way, as a prisoner, he is introduced to the reader and immediately elicits our compassion and engagement. During his time imprisoned, the denizens of the Dream World and the tools of his craft fall out of the order he has created and much of this volume concerns stories of how, as a result, others’ lives are thrown so awry until Morpheus can wrest control of these forces. To do so, Morpheus takes arms not only against mortals but against the rulers of Hell, itself. Enticing as these stories are, the stories that follow these encounters are even more exciting. Some of these show Morpheus’ individual interactions and influences in his various forms over the centuries and the characters in these stories, their lives and trials, are incredibly compelling. Some of Gaiman’s writings are truly sick, twisted, perverted tales that DC could only have told under their Vertigo masthead and prompt the “Suggested For Mature Readers” label on the slipcase. Many of the monsters Morpheus faces are supernatural creatures whose evil is real and very dangerous, but not so much as when the monsters actually are humans preying on other humans. I particularly loved the two tales penciled by Kelly Jones, one where Homer’s own muse and Morpheus’ former lover, Calliope, is held hostage and savaged by a mortal, the other told from the perspective of a Siamese cat traumatized by the killing of her kittens, as well as the tale from Sandman #19, stunningly illustrated by Charles Vess, wherein Shakespeare and his troupe interact with the very woodland faeries and hobgoblins about which he writes, a story which won Gaiman the World Fantasy Award for short fiction in 1991, the only time it was awarded for a comic book story.

This Absolute volume contains some of the creepiest and most horrific comic tales I’ve read. Gaiman’s dark imagination is incredibly prolific, weird and absolutely wonderful. Be warned though that this book, at well over 600 pages, is a real commitment. I tackled it in late August when I was off my feet for four days with a back injury (not that I’d ever recommend this as a way to find some time). This Absolute edition collects The Sandman #1-20 as well as other cool bonus features like the series proposal and concept sketches. Be warned, as well, that it’s not for everyone and some might actually find it disturbing. Reading it now, it’s hard to believe Gaiman first proposed this to DC back in the mid-1980s as an update to the Simon and Kirby golden age character (who makes an appearance early on in this volume, along with John Constantine, Dr. Destiny, Batman, Green Lantern, Mr. Miracle and The Martian Manhunter); however, it’s not hard to understand why this collection won the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection/Project – Comic Books. If you can find this book at a discount I strongly recommend it. It’s a truly unique and totally rewarding comic book reading experience.

The Goon: Fancy Pants Edition Vol. 1 HC
Dark Horse Books
Written & Drawn by: Eric Powell

I feel compelled to point out I’ve never read a Goon story in my life, even though the character goes back nearly ten years and both he and his creator are pretty well known to me. Despite Eric Powell’s fame (he did win an Eisner Award for The Goon, after all), the only work I’ve bought from a comic book publisher in which he’s had a hand was Dark Horse’s Universal Monsters Cavalcade of Horrors trade paperback for which Powell painted an absolutely killer cover and wrote one of the most moving introductions I’ve ever read to a collected edition. I knew I wanted to pick up some Goon stuff, but where to start? Sure, there’re the trade books but before I could spring for the first one of these I noticed this very handsomely designed hardcover behind a locked glass cabinet in my local Half Priced Books store. Thought the retail price was $24.95, this book was priced at $150! At my request, the store manager unlocked the cabinet, removed the book, and allowed me to look it over under his watchful eye. Feeling a little self-conscious, but after seeing enough to know this was where I wanted to begin my Goon experience, I asked why the high price, lock and key and extra scrutiny on his part. I was informed this was an out of print and pretty rare book. So, I thanked him and checked around as to where else I might find it. And, damn, sure enough, several places also had it for $150. After winning a copy on eBay for around $75 I was anxious to finally get this book in my hands and I’m happy to say, having finally read through it, I now see what all the fuss is about.

The Goon: Fancy Pants Edition was published in 2005 contains a collection of Goon stories from the character’s earliest days, stories hand picked, re-cut and arranged by Eric Powell to present, for the first time and in chronological order, what are described in this volume as “the heart of the Goon mythos.” Powell, himself, says in his introduction that “It contains all the essential Goon material up to this point. It sets up everything important that is to come.” So, you can see why I thought this would be a great book to begin reading The Goon. This volume starts with The Goon #1-2 from Powell’s self published Albatross Exploding Funny Books and continues with Dark Horse’s The Goon #1, 3, 5 & 9. Blending what feels to me like the sensibilities of Jack Kirby, Will Eisner, EC Comics horror and 1940s film noir, the world of The Goon is surreal, violent and terrifying while also being absurdly funny. The Goon and his childhood pal and partner Franky are as much victims as they are willing participants and instigators in this bizarre world Powell’s created. Goon is both a hero and a monster of sorts. He’s a human in a world of real and metaphorical monsters, but as monstrous a hero as you’ll find. That said, like Marvel’s The Thing, The Goon has a strong sense of justice and a powerful heart surrounded by a wall of solid muscle and a face apparently not even his own mother could love. He operates in a world of gangsters and lower class city types on one side of Lonely Street and a world of monsters, predominantly zombies, on the other. Added for color you’ll also find werewolves, psychic seals, gargantuan vampire bats and a giant talking spider most all of whom The Goon, Franky and the other members of this cast freely associate.

This volume contains the Goon’s very beginnings, brutal and hard, and how he grew up to be the town legend he is. But, in addition to the Goon’s heartbreaking origin and his alliance with Franky, here we also are presented the complete zombie war complete with the chronicling of the histories of the Zombie Priest, Buzzard, and Labrazio. The Zombie Priest is the primary villain and it seems he’s been around for hundreds of years at a bare minimum. Buzzard is a great character, a western sheriff cursed hundreds of years ago by the Zombie Priest to live as a reverse zombie of sorts…a living but supernatural creature, whom The Goon and Franky befriend, that lives forever but must sustain itself on the flesh of the dead rather than the living. In addition, it’s signed (but not numbered) by Powell and includes a sketchbook, the original covers and a three-page never previously published Buzzard story. Apparently, Powell conceived Buzzard originally as a stand-alone character but felt he folded in better as a supporting Goon cast member. I got a real kick out of this collection. Powell’s characterization and overall writing sucks the reader right in and makes you care about these characters and his art is wild, powerful and just plain fun to look at. Not to be overlooked is how expertly Powell alters the expressions on his character’s faces to really communicate the full gamut of emotions that exist for The Goon, his friends and foes.

I Am Legend
IDW Publishing
Original story written by: Richard Matheson
Adapted for this OGN by: Steve Niles
Drawn by: Elman Brown

Richard Matheson’s name, and only his name, is front and center on the cover of this OGN even though Steve Niles is the actual writer. But that’s because Niles’ story truly is a near identical replication of Matheson’s 170 page story…the plot, characters, story line, dialogue, everything. A couple of weeks before picking up this graphic novel I had just completed Matheson’s gripping, apocalyptic horror tale as part of my son’s school reading assignment (he and I would trade off pages, reading to each other), so my perspective on this point is pretty fresh. From IDW’s perspective this is probably a selling point for this book, now in its second printing with the words “Soon To Be A Major Motion Picture” plastered across the top. In fact, the upcoming Will Smith adaptation is the third attempt to bring Matheson’s famous tale to the screen. The first was Vincent Price’s “The Last Man on Earth.” The second, Charlton Heston’s “Omega Man.” I’ve never seen either but I’ve got them both on order from Blockbuster’s online rental store so my son and I will hunker down and watch both, hopefully, before the Will Smith movie comes out.

For those unfamiliar with “I Am Legend,” first, I’d recommend any horror fan’s reading the story, either Matheson’s or this adaptation. The latter is so faithful to the former it’s almost a toss up. The premise is familiar to anyone who’s a “Walking Dead” or zombie movie fan in general. Of course Matheson’s story, first published in 1954, precedes and is the model for all these end-of-the-world zombie stories. Only the monsters are different. Robert Neville, as the Vincent Price movie title suggests, is the last man on Earth. A supernatural plague has swept the planet and, as it did, its victims multiplied at such an exponential rate that, soon, Neville found himself all alone and in a daily battle for survival. His neighbors and co-workers were claimed. His wife, Virginia, and little daughter, Kathy, were claimed as well. The plague? Vampirism. While others clustered together in a religious frenzy, begging God for forgiveness for their sins, Neville was turning his house into a fortress. And, after everyone else had gone, Neville was left to hunker down in his bunker with his whiskey, stakes and crosses as hordes of vampires patrolled outside or directly attacked his house at night. He’d spend his days either hunting for sleeping vampires, stocking up on provisions, or deep in research to understand the germ or virus that brought about the end of the world in hopes either of curing it or killing it completely.

Early on, every day is an experience in sorrow, pain or rage often resulting in a drunken stupor. Neville even begins to develop a warped relationship with Ben Cortman, a neighbor-turned-vampire who’s always the first in the vampire throng outside his house at night screaming “Come Out, Neville!” And, those times Neville can’t quite make it back to his house in time for sundown, it’s Cortman who’s always the first of the many Neville must battle through to make it to his sanctuary. In this new world order, Neville is forced to adapt and change in several ways. He has to force the pain of his wife’s and daughter’s loss, and his role in bringing them final peace, from his mind. He has to erect both physical and emotional defenses in order for him to survive. He digs deep into scientific research to understand the nature of his enemy. And, though the vampires try their hardest to break him down, it’s two other new entrants in his life that manage to tear down his emotional defenses, at least, and give him hope for an end to his loneliness but, in the end, only add to and even complete his sense of loss. To say more would give away too much of the story, I’m afraid.

While Matheson’s story is 170 pages long, this OGN tops it at 240 pages. And in its effort to be faithful to the source material, the OGN is incredibly text heavy with narration, making this a very dense and sometimes slow read. Of course, with a story about a solitary man there can’t be much dialogue. Often we’re with Neville when he’s at his lowest, emotionally, sitting drinking whiskey and listening to music as we’re given access to his thoughts and fears. But, for example, when Neville gets deep into his research and we’re forced to go into some pretty onerous scientific details of the vampire germ’s nature and composition, it feels like all this strains against the graphic novel’s format. That said, the tedium and loneliness of Neville’s life is an important part of his pain in this story, coupled of course with the horror of his encounters with the vampires. And forcing this tedium upon the readers brings us directly into Neville’s pain, juxtaposing it against the story’s more traditional horror moments to make those moments even more terrifying. Elman Brown is not an artist I’m familiar with but his black and white work here is very strong, presenting Robert with a wide range of emotion and giving us plenty of dark, sometimes hazy, and certainly terrifying moments. Steve Niles almost needs no introduction. The writer of the well-known “30 Days of Night” series and a frequent writer for IDW Publishing, the notes to this book state, is one of the writers responsible for bringing horror comics back into prominence. In paperback for $19.99, I’ll admit this book’s a bit of a commitment. But, for horror and monster fans looking for more than sensationalistic scares, this unique vampire work has lived up to its own title, becoming something of a legend in the horror genre in the more than 50 years since it first was written. “I Am Legend,” and this OGN adaptation, is a powerful, painful, and horrifying apocalyptic tale whose real power is its ability to bring us readers directly into its protagonist’s devastated psyche and make us experience Neville’s loss, loneliness, hopes and horror.

The Complete Bite Club
Vertigo/DC Comics
Written by: Howard Chaykin & David Tischman
Drawn by: David Hahn
Original Covers by: Frank Quitely & Howard Chaykin

One great thing about DC’s Vertigo imprint is that it can allow creators who want to tell more adult-oriented stories, with more adult-oriented themes, and avenue. A critically acclaimed example of this is the Sandman series with its sometimes very disturbing themes and subjects. This trade, at face value, gives its creators the opportunity to let the most sordid and violent aspects of their imaginations run wild and in plot, script, dialogue and art deliver a story that, if translated faithfully to the big screen, lands squarely at the upper end of the Rated R territory. Or be an HBO-type TV project. This 260 page trade delivers shock after shock with graphic sex (including toys and other apparatus), nearly full nudity, drug abuse, crude and foul language, sadomasochism, and brutal violence and murder. Most certainly it deserves the “Suggested for Mature Readers” stamp on the back cover. Collecting the Vertigo mini series Bite Club #1-6 and Bite Club: Vampire Crime Unit #1-5, and retailing for $19.99, what it didn’t offer, somewhat to my surprise, was a vampire story.

Or, to be clear, the Bite Club comics first and foremost is more of a Sopranos style organized crime tale that includes a top Miami crime family that happens to be vampires. The vampire aspect of these characters creates a lot of newness and even surprise factor that helps keep the energy in this book going. That and great characters, too. The book begins with the murder of Eduardo Del Toro, father of the Del Toro vampire crime family, who’s shot through the chest and blasted out of a sky scraper onto the street below. His will names his son Leto who, incredulously, is a vampire Catholic priest to lead the family after his death. Risa, Leto’s incredibly hot, ambitious, drug running and evil sister feels Leto’s ill equipped to lead the family and, naturally, knows of a more suitable successor to her father. In the mean time, Miami’s Vampire Crime Unit is led by Lieutenant Fortine, a man whose family was murdered by vampires and hates all vampires as a result. Among the police, Fortine is pretty much front-and-center until the Vampire Crime Unit stories kick in and we are introduced to detectives Yama (a deliciously beautiful and tightly wound self-loathing vampire detective), Yama’s partner Puck who’s strung out on the Plasmagoria drug Risa’s crew peddles, and Macavoy who finds himself strangely attracted to Risa. These vampires are undead, immortal, and immensely powerful. They also drink blood, but that’s where their similarity to traditional vampires ends. They can exist in daylight, consume normal food, cannot change into bats or otherwise fly, have lots of sex and clearly, if the priest Leto’s any indication, have no aversion to crucifixes or any other religious icons.

When I first started reading this trade I started getting pretty annoyed that I wasn’t really reading a vampire book. If I’d wanted a crime book I’d have picked up something else. That said, once I got into it I couldn’t put it down. And I started appreciating that this was an organized crime story with vampires in it rather than the more pure vampire book I thought I’d picked up. These plots twist and turn as characters seek to claim their place in the crime hierarchy, even at the expense of family, and there are plenty of surprises in these pages to keep the reader going throughout this trade. Anyone who’s read Chaykin’s writing, especially his less mainstream comics writing, knows how warped his mind can be. He clearly is having a blast with these characters and must have enjoyed not just pushing the envelope but tearing right through it with these series. Hahn’s art is fairly simplistic compared to many other comic book artists but captures the dark, shadowy world of these characters perfectly. I hope this team gets to come back to Risa and the other characters some time soon. If they do, I may not be able to hold out for the trade. So, just know what you’re getting before you pick this book up, and certainly know what you’re buying before you pick it up for one of your kids! I really enjoyed it but I’m not storing it with my other trades where my two kids can get to it.

[mwf6171]

Great reviews! Thanks guys!

[supahman]

Gr8 reviews guys... Thanks..

[JLM]

Joe, I'd agree that the Daredevil has been better than Shadowland, although I've not thought much of the whole Shadowland event.

You went to town on the trade reviews!

[wktf]

Thanks, JLM. Though credit for the DD review belongs to the Mighty Dawg!

[JLM]

Oops. :o

[protector2814]

Yeah, when the highlight of this month's Daredevil is pudgster-Foggy Nelson's amazing climb up the side of a huge ninja-lair with no problem, the event has officially jumped the shark. Foggy saw more action this issue than anyone.

I love the DCU Halloween Specials!

[JLM]

Yes, when did Foggy get bitten by a radioactive spider? :peoples: