Reviews by PedRo Cabezuelo
Seemingly out of the blue, DC decided to revive some of its army comics for the month of September with a series of one-shots. At the top of the heap is Weird War Tales, made up of three stories dealing with the bizarre and horrific. “Private
Parker Sees Thunder Lizards” by Jan Strnad and Gabriel Hardman is a poignant look at childhood nostalgia in the face of violent warfare, while Ivan Brandon and Nic Klein’s “The Hell Above Us” is a claustrophobic and damning indictment of war’s endless cycle. The standout, however, is Darwyn Cooke and Dave Stewart’s “Armistice Night” in which the corpses of famous war leaders come back to life for some fun and frolic. It’s creepy, funny and well worth the price of admission.
The Scourgeis an attempt to replicate, in comics form, that edge-of-your seat excite-
ment found in summer blockbuster movies. In fact, the idea – a sort of virus that transforms people into blood- thirsty gargoyles – was conceived by Aliens/Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd. Only problem is, this first chapter is severely lacking in said excitement. In- stead we’re intro- duced to our hero, S.W.A.T. officer Grif-
fin, who stumbles upon the infection while hiking with a friend in France. Now, I realize that every story requires some build-up, how- ever, back in July, Aspen published The Scourge #0, a twelve-page preview that threw the reader straight into the action, with Griffin taking on the gargoyles. Had that been rolled into the first issue, we would have been off to a great start. As it is, it’s probably best to wait until the inevitable trade is out and read the whole story in one sitting.
The fifteen stories in the trade EEEK! are a loving
homage to classic EC comics. It’s obvious that Jason Paulos is a fan of those twisted tales and is trying his best to emulate them. He doesn’t always succeed, though, es- pecially when it comes to revealing a story’s
shock ending. He manages to set up all the right elements – strange characters, bizarre settings, violent murders – but his tales often lack the sharp punch that made the old EC stories so memorable. Occa- sionally he does hit the target dead-on, such as with “Just Desserts,” in which an obnoxious food critic meets a fitting and satisfying end. Still, Paulos’ gor- geous art is more than enough to capti- vate comics fans. He captures the look and feel of classic horror
comics perfectly, with more than a little Bernie Wrightson in his brushstrokes. It’s all so beautifully presented that it makes the book a lot of fun to read despite any narrative misgivings.
The poop finally hits the deck in It! The Terror
From Beyond Space #3. In the final chapter of IDW’s update of the classic MGM film, the space crew of the Challenge 142 make a desperate stand against the alien creature that’s in- vaded their ship. After two issues of set-up, we finally see the alien cut loose, lit- erally ripping crewmember after crewmember apart. Dara
Naraghi and Mark Dos Santos have done a good job of adapting a story that has already been re-
hashed several times within the genre; the details are certainly famil- iar, but the retro- modern spin (think 1950s style but with a lot more sex and gore) gives it all a fresh touch. Note to IDW: please, please, please get cover artist Steve Mannion working on a full project ASAP!
Pinocchio:VampireSlayer was one of the most innovative horror comics of 2009. This
fall sees the release of that book’s sequel, and I’m pleased to say that it’s every bit as good as its predecessor. In Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater, Pinocchio is hot on the trail of the vampires’ origins, but this time he’s accom- panied by a group of similarly sentient puppets that share his love of slaying. Along the way, he confronts gypsy vampires and pirates, falls in love and learns that getting what you wish for doesn’t al- ways work out the way you expected. Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen continue to tell a genuinely exciting tale filled with fantastic characters, touching moments and plenty of laugh-out-loud scenes. The story moves in some really startling
directions, with plenty of twists and a truly surpris- ing ending that will leave you wanting more. Easily one of the best books of 2010.
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