Dark Horse Comics – New Horror Releases!

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

It’s been a good release week for fans of horror, as Dark Horse have dropped multiple titles. Whether you’re looking for something a bit weird, something that will get you thinking, or just a nice simple monster fest, these three new releases are worth your time.

Cold Bodies

Cold Bodies, written by Magdalene Visaggio, creator of the hit comic series Vagrant Queen, is an homage to the slasher horror films of the 1980s, albeit one with a strange, psychological twist to it.

The story focuses on Denise Stokes, a woman living in New York City in the early 1990s. She has a decent life working for a well paying magazine, and has a loving partner; but Denise carries a heavy past with her. A decade before, Denise was the only survivor of the deadly Winter Man massacre.

The Winter Man, and his crimes, have become a pop culture icon thanks to the film made based upon the murder spree that Denise survived. More films were spawned, and Denise watched as the most tragic and traumatic event of her life became another piece of entertainment for the masses, another film like Friday the 13th or Halloween. When a huge storm begins to roll into the city, and with a new Winter Man film on the horizon, Denise begins to feel her old fears resurfacing, as past trauma rears its head; but this time perhaps she has a reason to be afraid, as the Winter Man reappears.

Cold Bodies sets itself up to be a simple slasher style story, yet manages to not only sidestep a lot of the conventions and cliches of the genre, but also turn many of the expectations on their head. Visaggio takes some risks with the storytelling, makes the survivor and her trauma the focus, and never revels in the blood and gore. The artwork, provided by Andrea Mutti, feels of the time too, with the art style being quite reminiscent of comics from the 1990s. Mutti’s art style really comes to life in the winter scenes too, where the snowstorms and the overbearing whites lend the comic an almost ethereal glow.

This book is a great read for anyone who’s a fan of the slasher genre, but is tried of seeing the same kinds of stories where little effort has been put into the characters, and it’s all about the kills. An examination of the human mind and survivors guilt, Cold Bodies is a stand out piece.

Criminal Macabre: Spirit of the Demon

I wasn’t aware of the Criminal Macabre series before picking this book up, I didn’t know that it was a franchise that has been around for more than thirty years, and that its lead character has appeared in stories across different mediums. Normally, this could spell disaster for a book, but thanks to the way Steve Niles writes this Cal McDonald outing you don’t actually need to have read anything that’s come before to enjoy it.

Criminal Macabre: Spirit of the Demon opens with supernatural detective Cal McDonald being questioned by police about a series of murders. Having been caught in one of the murder scenes, they quite naturally suspect him of involvement. Cal starts to explain away the predicament the cops found him in with a story about a serial killer priest with a blood draining knife, demonic possessions, and a portal to hell itself.

The story of Criminal Macabre: Spirit of the Demon is pretty straightforward, a tale of evil spirits and monsters from hell causing havoc on Earth, and the few people prepared to try to stand against them. If, like myself, this is your first introduction to Cal, it’s a really good read, as we see very early on that he’s a no-nonsense kind of man, someone who understands the evil lurking in the shadows of the world and is prepared to fight it at the risk of his own life. There’s a lot of action in the story, and some interesting characters that make it a pretty enjoyable read.

Szymon Kudranski provides the art on the book, and has a wonderful style that lends itself really well to the story. The art is almost black and white, though not simple line drawings like some comics, as every panel is filled with shades of grey that really brings things to life. There are odd times where colour is used too, such as the bright reds of blood, and eerie purple of the demon portal, that make certain scenes jump off the page. It feels like a dark, noir story thanks in large part to the art.

Whether you’re new to Cal McDonald, or have been reading about the character for years, Criminal Macabre: Spirit of the Demon is an entertaining and engaging read with some great visuals and a lot of flair.

Creeping

Creeping introduces readers to the internet craze of creeping, where people sneak into abandoned, supposedly haunted locations and hunt around for ghosts whilst getting scared, not leaving the location until morning. We meet one friend group who have made creeping their new hobby: wanna-be internet star Petro, his best friend and rich boy Junjie, his medical student girlfriend Kiara, and Junjie’s girlfriend Izzy. The four of them have been looking for the one big thing that they can do together, and that will get Petro the internet stardom he wants.

When Petro hears about Draghici Asylum, an old medieval castle turned mental asylum, long abandoned in the Romania forests, he knows that it’s the perfect location. With a little convincing the four friends head off to Europe to experience adventure and fame. The four of them hire a local guide to show them the way to the Asylum, and soon begin to get creeped out in the eerie, remote location. When they arrive at the castle they begin to experience strange incidents, and when a huge storm hits and causes the rivers to burst they find themselves trapped at Draghici, and even worse, something there is hunting them.

Creeping is probably the most traditional horror story of the three here, and presents a pretty decent story of a group of teens trapped in a remote location being hunted by monsters. Zack Keller and Mike Richardson, the two writers on the book, do a good job of letting the reader get to know the characters, and a good portion of the book is spent just seeing the four of them in their normal lives before things go horribly wrong for them. The book understands that you don’t need to rush into things, that you can spend some time exploring the mundane before the horror begins, and that it can sometimes make the horror ever scarier.

When things do get scary, however, Creeping is really quite good. The creatures that call Draghici home are some really cool monsters, with interesting designs, a neat origin, and some rather disturbing qualities to them. Whilst I was really happy that the book spent time building the tension before introducing them I wish it could have been a bit longer in the second half so that we could have seen more from these things.

The artwork is provide by Doug Wheatley and Rain Beredo, and is the most traditional comic art style of the three here. The book doesn’t really try anything different in a visual sense, and isn’t too dissimilar to what you’d find in most decent quality big company comic books. This isn’t a criticism, though, as the artwork is solid throughout with clear character designs, some great locations, and wonderfully scary monsters.

If you’re a fan of monster stories and love Gothic, scary locations, Creeping is a great read. It’s also a great look into Internet fads, the sometimes destructive nature of the drive to become famous and recognised, and surprisingly, about coming to accept yourself and to be proud of who you are even if some people consider you to be different.

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King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) – Throwback 60

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Despite the success of 1954’s Godzilla, which led to a sequel one year later with Godzilla Raids Again, there was a surprisingly long period where Godzilla was off Japanese screens; something that wouldn’t happen again until the mid ’70s. His triumphant return, his first time in both widescreen and colour, was also a big deal for another reason. He wasn’t alone. King Kong had come with him!

King Kong vs. Godzilla began as a concept from Willis O’Brien, the stop motion animator on the original 1933 King Kong. O’Bien developed an idea called ‘King Kong Meets Frankenstein’, in which the titular ape would travel to San Francisco, where he would battle a creature made from multiple stitched together animals in a big boxing match. The idea was taken to producer John Beck, who shopped it around under the title ‘King Kong vs. Prometheus’. However, no US studio wanted to take on the project. However, Beck found one that did in Japan: Toho.

Whilst Toho loved the idea, and were excited to produce a King Kong movie, they cut the new monster out, and instead decided to bring back their own heavy-hitter, Godzilla. Toho’s 30th anniversary was approaching, and the studio were considering producing a new Godzilla film anyway, so bringing the two monsters together felt like the perfect way to celebrate the studio’s birthday. To help make the film a success, and to recapture some of the magic of the original Godzilla, director Ishiro Honda was brought back, along with composer Akira Ifukube.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go smoothly with the initial deal, in which Beck was supposed to pay half the cost of the King Kong license. When Beck ducked out it left Toho to pay $220,000 in licensing to RKO Pictures. As a result, some cost saving measures had to be taken, including cutting of filming in Sri Lanka, and a less than perfect Kong suit. Despite these difficulties, the filming went well.

The film tells the story of a pharmaceutical company looking to find the next big thing to attach their products to in order to gain attention. The TV shows they sponsor are dropping in ratings, and they need something to grab the public attention. When they hear of a giant monster on a remote island, they decide to send a team in to locate and capture the creature, hoping to use it as an advertisement. Arriving on the remote island, the team discover the giant ape King Kong, and proceed to knock him out using the strange berries that grow on the island.

Meanwhile, a US submarine gets stuck in an iceberg out in the ocean. Whilst breaking free the submarine accidentally frees Godzilla from inside the ice, where he was left at the end of Godzilla Raids Again. Godzilla destroys the sub and begins to journey towards Japan. When the two titular creatures both arrive in Japan at the same time they clash, and cause extensive damage. The Military decide that the best way to deal with the two creatures is to lure them both into a remote location, letting them fight each other.

Whilst the first two Godzilla films, and the first two King Kong films, were a more serious affair, Toho made the decision to make a more family friendly and comedic film for their team-up. Part of the decision was influenced by the fact that they’d paid a huge amount to RKO, and needed to attract as wide an audience as possible. The designs for both monsters were made with this in mind, with Godzilla in particular being made less frightening than his previous incarnations.

Both suits were also designed to have freer movement, and suit actors Shoichi Hirose (King Kong) and Haruo Nakajima (Godzilla) were left to choreograph much of the fighting themselves. The two of them took influence from professional wrestling, which was hugely popular in Japan at the time, and worked it into their performance. A number of gags such as the two creatures playing volleyball with boulders, and Kong’s eyes going wide upon first seeing Godzilla were thrown in for younger audiences.

The film received a summer cinematic release in Japan, where its initial release run was extended. It would go on to be rereleased in cinemas and at festivals multiple times over the following years, and would be used to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Godzilla in 1979. The film did extremely well at the Japanese box office, and still has the highest number of box office attendance for a Godzilla film to date, and became the fourth highest grossing film of that year.

Not only did King Kong vs. Godzilla become a huge financial success, but it helped to launch Godzilla on a trajectory that would see the iconic monster star in a film almost every year for the next few decades, becoming a Japanese institution. Sadly, whilst it spawned a formula that would see Godzilla reach new heights of popularity, the same could not be said for King Kong, who would only go on to have a handful more film appearances. Although, one of these appearances saw him reunite with Godzilla in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong.

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The Flash #784 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The Flash tie in for Dark Crisis is easily the best one outside of the main series, and not only serves to provide us with loads more insight into what's going on, but gets to be a really great part of the ongoing Flash series as well.

This issue continues where our last left off, with the three teams of speedsters searching the multiverse for vibrational frequencies that match their version of Barry Allen, hoping that one of them will lead them to their lost friend. Max and Jessie have ended up in a Mad Max inspired world where that universe's Barry is driving round a desert landscape in a big muscle car whilst being chased by marauders. The twins find themselves in a dark version of Gotham, where that worlds Flash is a sinister, Batman like figure called Night Flash. And Wally and Wallace have actually managed to break into the prison dimension their Barry is trapped in.

Max and Jessie get to get involved in some of the action on the Mad Max world, throwing bad guys out of moving cars and pulling them off bikes, but it soon becomes very apparent to them that this isn't their Barry; though they do seem to have arrived just in time to help him fight his big bad.

The twins seem to be the most in danger out of everyone, especially as there's no sign of Jay Garrick yet, who took off after them to try and get them home safely. Not only are they lost and alone on another Earth, but Night Flash is absolutely terrifying. If he's a hero he's a hero who kills, and he's set his sights on the kids. Whether a twisted murderous hero, or an out and out villain, his presence is truly frightening, and the kids are forced to run for their lives and hide as Night Flash pursues them.

The stuff in the universe that Pariah made for Barry is pretty interesting too, as when Wally tried to confront Barry, to get him to realise that this isn't real and come home, Barry sees him as the Reverse Flash, and attacks him. It seems like this pocket universe, and presumably all of the ones the Justice League members are trapped in, has defences to prevent any kind of rescue. We see this again with Wallace, who begins to feel the same effects that Barry does, and starts to see this as his perfect dream world. With the book ending with our two heroes apparently taken into the illusion, it starts to look like there might not be any way to get the League members free.

I love this tie-in, it gives us so much info about what's happening to Barry and the League, about how difficult it's going to be to get them out of their prisons, at least from the inside. It's also great to see some of our characters thrown into these situations, especially the twins as Jai has only recently regained his powers. With this being a great series anyway, and possibly the best Dark Crisis tie in so far, I'm looking forward to the next issue.

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Star Wars Rebels – Book Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

Every fan of Star Wars Rebels will agree on one thing: that we didn’t get enough of the show. Whilst the series ran for four seasons, and was pretty much beloved, there was always a longing for more. There have been some children’s books that have expanded upon the characters and the stories started in the show, including a four book spin-off that focused on the character of Zare Leonis. But one area that feels lacking for more Rebels content is comics. The characters have made tiny appearances in other books as background characters, and there are a few volumes of a manga adaptation, but they never really had a book of their own. Dark Horse Comics seem to have spotted that niche, and have given fans a huge, 500 page bumper graphic novel.

Collected together from dozens of issues of Star Wars Rebels Magazine, this new graphic novel is basically an anthology set, giving readers close to forty Rebels stories that they might have missed. The magazine experienced something of a spotty publication run, and depending on what country you were living in you would get it for varying lengths of time. For example, the UK received 22 issues, whilst the US only had 8, and Germany had 39. Thankfully, the comics within the magazine have now all been collected together in one place, finally giving folks a chance to check them out.

The stories here span across the entire run of the magazines, which were coming out at roughly the same time as the show. As such, there’s definitely a progression across the book as the stories go on. Sabine changes her hairstyle and armour colours, Ezra goes from one lightsaber to another, they begin with the first Phantom and switch to the second, and they reference key events from the episodes. It’s a nice thing to see, and it shows that these comics aren’t just happening in a vacuum, but work with the series too.

That being said, there is a continuity to these stories that’s all their own. We meet characters in one story and see them return several later, and locations and themes get repeated. This prevents them from feeling like they’re simple isolated stories, which can sometimes hinder a collection like this. It’s these small connections to each other, and the larger Rebels canon, that really makes these tales shine, and led to me loving reading them.

The stories try to flesh out the characters in ways that we’ve not really seen before, or that expand upon what we know from them in the show. We know that Sabine has a history with bounty hunting and criminal cartels, and here we get a couple of stories about her trying to make right for some of the things she did back then, and some of the people that she harmed. We know that Ezra began unsure of himself, both in regards to him becoming a Jedi and to stepping up within the rebellion. As such we get to follow him as he tries to find different ways to put his Jedi training to use, and we see him not only learning to believe in himself as a soldier, but becoming a figure that can help teach and inspire other young members of the rebellion.

Star Wars Rebels is also good for fans of side characters, as we get some focus on them too. There are stories where the team go on adventures with Vizago, Ahsoka comes along for an underwater rescue, Rex gets several spotlight stories that delve into his head, and there is a lot of Commander Jun Sato. Personally, I loved the stories that focused on Sato, as he was a great character in the series whose death really hit hard. Here we get to see more of him as an inspiring leader, and a kind, caring man. We even get to see the impact of his legacy in a story set after his death that’s quite affecting. Perhaps the most surprising, however, is the story that brings back 264, the Imperial R4 unit that helped our heroes in season one of the show. This little droid gets perhaps the most surprising and touching story in the entire collection.

The stories are penned by three writers, with the majority of them being written by Martin Fisher, whose work fills up the first half of the book. Several of the later stories are written by Jeremy Barlow, with Alex Worley finishing off. For the most part you can’t really tell that there are multiple writers working on this book, as the stories all have very similar styles and tones, and fit in well together. The biggest difference between stories comes in the form of the art. There are a few artists that seem to alternate stories for the early stages of the book, and their styles are pretty similar, but towards the end some of the comics have some very different and unique looks to them; some of which really don’t seem to fit with the others. These changing styles are a lot of fun, and show that Star Wars, and Star Wars Rebels, works in any look.

As a long time fan of Star Wars Rebels I loved this collection, it was great getting to spend time with the Ghost crew, to see them taking on new challenges and working together, and almost all of the stories here felt like they could have been episodes in themselves. For those who are missing these characters and want more of them, this is an absolute must buy.

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Nightwing #94 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

I feel like my reviews for Nightwing end up sounding pretty samey each time, with me singing the book's praises and saying how it's one of the best comics out there right now; but it really is so good!

This issue continues the story thread from the previous book, where Dick and Barbara revealed the corruption amongst the police in Bludhaven, releasing evidence that they were responsible for the damages and violence taking place within Haven. When questioned as to who ordered them to do this, some of the cops admit that the orders came down from the commissioner. 

Being tipped off that he's been ratted out, the commissioner makes ready to flee the country, with a briefcase filled with cash, fake passports, and documents that contain all of the dodgy dealings they've had with Blockbuster. Luckily, he was given the tip by Melinda Zucco, who's working with Dick. And so begins a daring chase across the city as Dick pursues the documents in the commissioners care.

It's so good seeing a corrupt cop getting what's coming to them. It's a fantasy to think that corrupt cops will ever get punishment, one that I think a lot of us have in a world where all cops are corrupt and awful, and getting to see a cop getting what they deserve in fiction just feels so good. We need more of this in real life.

With the commissioner arrested Melinda has to appoint a new one, and picks Maggie Sawyer for the job, a name that some comic fans will recognise as one of the actual good cops on Earth-0. I think there are about five of them.

However, Blockbuster is upset at this, and brings Melinda in to show her how he's treating people who betray him, showing her how he's torturing the Electrocutioner (believing him to be a mole in his organisation). Whether this is a fake-out or not isn't clear yet, but what we do know for certain is that by the time the issue comes to a close Blockbuster knows for certain that Melinda has betrayed him, and has her prisoner.

This really feels like an issue of two halves, where at the beginning we get the fun of watching a corrupt cop get taken down, and it feels super satisfying, but by the end you feel depressed and worried because Melinda has been captured, and we know Blockbuster is an incredibly violent man. It's likely that Dick is going to save her, but I also wouldn't put it past comics to give him a half sister just to eventually take her away in a violent manner. Hopefully not, hopefully we're beyond fridging women now. I guess we'll just have to wait to see what happens next issue.

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The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men by Tim Major - Book Review

 

'Sherlock Holmes delves into the world of early cinema as motion picture ground-breaker Eadweard Muybridge begs him to solve a mystery that will keep you up all night... It is 1896. A new client at Baker Street claims he's being threatened via the new art of the moving image... Eadweard Muybridge, pioneer of motion picture projection, believes his life is in danger. 

'Twice he has been almost run down in the street by the same mysterious carriage, and moreover, disturbing alterations have been made to his lecture slides. These are closely guarded, yet just before each lecture an unknown hand has defaced images depicting Muybridge himself, which he has discovered, to his horror, only as he projects them to his audience. As Holmes and Watson investigate, a bewildering trail of clues only deepens the mystery, and meanwhile, newspaper speculation reaches fever pitch. The great detective's reputation is on the line, and may be ruined for good unless he can pick apart a mystery centred the capturing, for the first time, of figures in motion, and the wonders of the new cinematograph.'

When I spoke to Tim Major following the release of his previous Sherlock Holmes book, The Back-T0-Front Murder, he hinted at both another Holmes book to come, and a part of what the story would be about, film. and thus, after a long wait that book is finally here in the form of The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men.

This adventure begins as all decent Sherlock Holmes stories does, with a client coming to call upon the detective and his partner in their home at 221B Baker Street. Whilst most people coming to ask for help from the worlds greatest detective come with a story this client, Eadweard Muybridge, comes with something of a visual presentation. Muybridge is an expert in film cinematography, using the fairly new technology as an aid for studying anatomy, and answering academic questions.

During his recent tour he's been using his photographic plates to show off his findings to his audiences; but in his latest show something usual happened. Muybridge projects the plate for Holmes and Watson to reveal footage of himself that has been defaced, with his face scratched out, and the words R.I.P. above him. Muybridge also tells them that someone recently tried to hit him with a cab, and that he's now begun to fear for his life.

Intrigued by the case, Holmes agrees to take it on, and at the next show on Muybridge's tour some more unusual events happen, and another defaced plate is revealed to the audience. As Holmes begins to investigate the case his journey takes him to a house fire that claimed the life of a man; but how is it connected to Muybridge?

The central mystery of The Defaced Men feels like it should be a simple one. Someone is gaining access to the slides before they're projected and is making alterations to them. It feels like the kind of case that Holmes should have wrapped up pretty quickly. But as the book goes on it becomes clear that there's a lot more going on than first appears, and that threats and extortion are far from the worst crime being committed.

I loved the way that Major was able to take a simple set-up and spin it out into something much bigger and complex in a way that didn't feel like it was being forced, or where certain reveals and revelations were so strange that they derailed the plot. Whilst where the book ends up is very different from how it starts it feels like a natural conclusion, and that these incidents could very clearly lead into each other. 

It's clear that Tim Major did a lot of research for this book, particularly into the realm of early cinematic techniques. Film is one of those areas where I had no idea what the early technology was like, or how it evolved; so getting to see some of that here, getting to learn how these early techniques were employed and how they were developed was hugely interesting. 

One of the things that I liked about the book was how well Major managed to capture the characters voices. Holmes can sometimes be a hard character for folks to get right, and can on occasion be made too aloof, or too rude; but here he feels like a decent, natural Holmes that's very much in line with the Conan Doyle original. Watson is done similarly well, and there are a few moments with the character that elicit a chuckle or two because Major has managed to make him charming and funny without resorting into making him a buffoon.

The new characters are also very well crafted, and Muybridge is one of those characters who you end up kind of disliking very quickly. He's not a bad person, and is very much a target of a criminal mind, but there are times where he comes across, for lack of a better term, as a dick. He needs Holmes' help but is still kind of rude, kind of annoying. It's nice to have a 'victim' in one of these stories that isn't someone who's a shrinking violet, or who's so desperate that they're at the end of their rope. Holmes is there to help him but he's still kind of the worst, and I really liked that.

The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Defaced Men is an interesting new mystery story that introduces something new that the detective hasn't really had to deal with in his adventures before. It has decent depictions of the characters, and a plot that will keep you guessing throughout.

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Dark Crisis: Young Justice #2 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

Where the first issue of Dark Crisis: Young Justice felt a little disjointed, and a little strange in places, the story seems to have found its footing with the second issue, and has become an enjoyable examination at not only the lives of the characters, but comic history too.

There are two main stories taking place across this issue. The first if Cassie trying to find out what happened to her friends and former teammates. She goes to Cissie, former the hero Arrowette, to ask for her help; and kind of gets her eyes opened a little to what it's like being a female hero.

Cissie points out how Cassie's own life is being dictated by the boys, yet again. Cissie tells her how much harder it is to be a female hero than a male one, how you're always a supporting character, always there to pick the pieces up for the guys, how you'll always been seen and judged differently to them. And it also seems like this is a part of why she quit being a hero to begin with.

These themes, of reexamining the past with a more critical and objective eye is reflected in the other main story, where the three guys find themselves in what appears to be their past (90's and 2000's comics). Initially this starts when the team, having been joined by a Cassie who claims to be the one they know from the rel world, finish their fight with Well Endowed, and go off to fight Tora. The guys begin to question what they're doing as a team of young heroes by fighting women, they start to talk about how their villains tended to be jokes, and ones made at the expense of women, and foreigners, and they talk about how cartoonish it all felt. 

Like with the talk from Cissie, this feels like a great acknowledgement that yeah, comics from twenty years ago were often quite cartoonish (as they can be today), and were also sexist, and kind of racist. But the moment that really brings it home to the trio, especially Tim, that this world isn't right, is when Batman talks to him about how he's destined to end up with Stephanie Brown one day. Tim tells him no, pointing out that he's dating Bernard, and Bruce says 'She's your destiny. Once you're out of this phase.'

Fucking goddamn homophobic Batman. This is the moment where we know this isn't time travel shenanigans or anything like that, because Bruce would never say that, and whoever this fake Batman is deserved to get his teeth kicked in. And boy is Tim done with this shit now. But again, like elsewhere in the book, this talks to the casual homophobia that used to be in comics. DC has come on a long way since those days, and has a superb roster of queer heroes and has normalised treating queer people like people. I especially liked when Cissie was introducing Cassie to a friend of hers and she included pronouns. This is great, this is showing how much better things are now, but this homophobic Batman is showing us how they used to be. I've never hated Batman as much as I did in this one panel.

The issue ends with the guys trying to find a way out of whatever this all is, but reality changing and warping around them, throwing obstacles in their way; with the final page presenting them with three pretty big obstacles in the form of Deathstroke, Lex Luthor, and Captain Boomerang.

It's still not clear exactly what's happening in this series, or where everything is going to be heading, but this issue was a huge improvement over the first, and presented the readers with some interesting and fun stuff for sure. Hopefully this trend will continue over the course of the series.

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Frankenstein: New World #1 – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

There’s a chance that even if you’ve never read any of the comics you’ve heard of the character Hellboy. Created almost three decades ago, the demonic hero starred in multiple titles as he battled the forces of darkness with his friends and allies, doing what they can to protect the Earth. However, in 2019 the final Hellboy story, B.P.R.D.: The Devil You Know – Ragna Rok came to a close, and saw not only all of the beloved series heroes die, but the world come to an end. Fortunately, a small group of people were saved by hiding deep inside the Hollow Earth, where they could hope for a future.

Frankenstein: New World is a continuation of this story, where we find the last of the human race many generations later. Humanity has regressed somewhat, choosing to live a fairly simple life in their new home. The people have also formed a new kind of religion, one where a select group of monks listen to the whispers of the oracle, a being who welcomed them into the Hollow Earth centuries before, gave them a sun, and has watched over them ever since: Frankenstein.

Frankenstein, or more accurately his creation, was last seen in the 2015 mini-series Frankenstein Underground, where he travelled into the Earth and found a civilisation living deep beneath the surface. It would appear that this is the same place that the last of humanity call home, though since changed and transformed. Since bringing humanity to their new home Frankenstein has fallen into an almost sleep state, waiting for the right time to wake up.

Our main human character for this story is Lilja, a young girl who, unlike many of her friends, holds a deep respect for the oracle. Whilst her friends joke about his ancient form, and make predictions that he’s actually dead, she holds true to the belief that he’s going to wake up one day. She believes in him so strongly that she sneaks out of her home in the middle of the night and breaks into the temple just so she can talk to him, to tell him about the strange dreams she’s been having.

When the monks try to remove her from the temple Frankenstein awakens, and tells them that he’s seen Lilja’s dream, and must leave them to return to the surface. Refusing to be left behind, Lilja sneaks off after Frankenstein, and together the two of them will emerge on the surface to discover what new world awaits them, and what dangers the woman in Lilja’s dreams are warning them about.

As someone who hasn’t read the most recent B.P.R.D. comics, but was aware of how it ended, I was curious to have a look at what could come next for the series. Ragna Rok very much felt like a definitive ending, with much of what Mike Mignola having created being wrapped up, so I was left with the question of ‘what else is there left to tell?’, and by the end of this issue I’m still not completely sure. There’s a lot of mystery here, and it feels like we’ve only been given the first small pieces of it. But, that’s a big part of the fun of this issue.

There are hints here, and I think that fans will start to put the pieces together and will begin to form theories at least. For example the woman sending Lilja dreams, who appears to be stuck in some kind of crystal is seen wearing a crucifix around her neck. Now, there is a very big character in the series who kind of fits that description, so could it be her? Getting to see what happened to those main characters after the B.P.R.D. series came to a close wasn’t what I was expecting the series to do, but it seems like it’s going to be throwing those hints and nods into the story too. We also get to discover the final fate of another member of the B.P.R.D. this issue too.

But it’s not just about the older stuff, and we get to see what the new world is like, what happened after the rebirth, and what kinds of creatures call Earth home now. It’s the chance to be creative, and the trio of writers on the series, Mike Mignola, Christopher Golden, and Thomas Sniegoski, seem to be coming up with some weird and wonderful things for the readers.

The art on the book, provided by Peter Berting and Michelle Madsen, fits what one would expect from something that’s part of the Hellboy universe. It fits the look established by Mignola when he created the characters, and whilst it does have a style that’s it’s own, it fits into the tone and look of the series well. The characters and environments look great, and it seems like the art team went to a lot of trouble to fill the new Earth scenes with some amazing creations.

If you’re a fan of Hellboy and his extended universe, and if you were left reeling by how his story came to an end, then Dark Horse‘s Frankenstein: New World seems to be the book you’ll want to check out. This first issue has laid the groundwork nicely, and left enough hints and teases for readers to expect big things to come.

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DC vs Vampires: All Out War #1 - Comic Review

 

Originally published on Patreon

The DC vs Vampires event expands with a new companion series that's going to be running for six issues. The events of this series have already been referenced in issue seven of the main series, and as such we kind of already know how things are going to go here; not very well.

The book opens with Deathstroke leading a small team of heroes into a remote location to find the last Lazarus Pit, the only one that the vampires haven't fully destroyed. We discover that the vampires have been ruling Earth for the last year, and that humanity is down to the last few hundred survivors.

With things this dire the survivors are going to need a pretty good plan, and Slade thinks he has it; the resurrection of Batman. Not only is Batman a hero that people would rally behind, but he's also a tactical genius, and was the mentor and father figure to the vampire king, Dick Grayson. Bringing him back makes a lot of sense. Unfortunately, some vampires are waiting for them at the Lazarus Pit.

The vamps are being lead by Azrael, who gets knocked into the pit during the fight, and is reverted back into a human. Forced to run for their lives, Slade and Azrael are the only survivors, and head to one of the few human strongholds left. Whilst Azrael gets to see how the place runs, and Slade gets a dressing down from those in charge for his rogue actions, one of his team who was turned into a vampire gets into the compound and launches an attack.

We know from the other book that this place is going to fall, and that pretty much everyone there is going to die. This isn't a big shock, and even if we didn't know this it's probably something that we'd have expected from the series anyway as its just so, so grim. However, the fun comes from finding out how it happens, to see how the characters we have here eventually meet their ends.

And there is an interesting mixture of characters here, and if any of them survived Captain Atom exploding it'll be interesting to see them fight some vampires. I imagine it's going to take a lot of them to take Bane down, and I'd love to see Booster Gold fighting some monsters.

The artwork on the book, provided by Pasqual Qualano, reminds me of the art on Future State: Gotham, because it's presented in very simple black and white form. There are times when this does hinder the book slightly, and it sometimes feels like it's hard to see exactly what's going on or who background characters are supposed to be. Colour can be an important thing in comics, even just to tell characters apart at times, especially when they're fighting in close quarters. But when it's all colourless it can feel chaotic at times.

The book has a back-up feature, starring Batgirl as she takes on a group of GCPD officers, and Commissioner Gordon, who have been turned into vampires and set a trap for her. I guess we know what happened to Gordon after DC vs Vampires: Killers now. It's not absolutely clear which Batgirl this is, as she's never named, but we know it's not Barbara based on what she says here, and the fact that she's got other things going on. It could be Cass, though she feels too talkative for that. I think it's Steph, based on her behaviour and the long, light coloured ponytail, and I don't remember really seeing her in the series so far, so it feels like this is her. It's a decent story, and it shows the ultimate sad end to another beloved character.

DC vs Vampires continues to be one of the darkest, most depressing and shocking things DC has done, and it's pretty great.

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Godzilla Rivals: vs. Battra – Comic Review

 

Originally published on Set The Tape

It’s been a few months since IDW Publishing graced us with another issue of the Kaiju sized Godzilla Rivals series, but after a long wait we get a real treat in Godzilla Rivals: vs Battra.

All good protagonists have a dark version of themselves. We’re not talking about their biggest villains, but those characters who can do everything the hero can, but use that for evil. Superman has General Zod, Spider-Man has Venom, Mario has Wario, and Mothra has Battra. Only appearing in the one film, 1992’s Godzilla vs. Mothra, (I’m not counting the archive footage reused in Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla) this dark version of the Queen of the Monsters has had very few appearances, and is one of the more overlooked entries in Godzilla’s rogues’ gallery. However, the monster makes for an interesting choice for the story being told here.

Godzilla Rivals: vs. Battra, written by Rosie Knight, shifts the action away from Japan, and takes readers to the quiet British sea-side town of Hackney-On-Sea in the year 2027. We discover a world where humanity has been suffering from the effects of pollution and climate damage, and people have created robot helpers to clean the environment, pick up waste, and help humanity where they can.

Robbie, a young woman with an obsession with monsters and the unexplained, calls Worthing-On-Sea home, and lives in the Babbling Book bookshop (the name alone makes it a winner), and spends her days trying to solve the mystery of the strange earthquakes and tremors that have been plaguing the town. Her young friend Kemi has been playing around with their old radio, and has found something strange on one of the old frequencies: a warning about the monster Battra.

Believing that Battra may have a connection with her small town, Robbie uses the tools at her disposal to track down the origin of the disturbances, and finds Battra. However, the giant moth creature takes a liking to Robbie and her home, and doesn’t seem to pose a threat at all. But when other monsters begin to close in on the small English town it looks like disaster may be looming on the horizon.

Godzilla Rivals: vs. Battra feels like a different kind of story from the other entries in the series. In each book so far readers have been treated to a big story, set on a grand scale with huge destruction and big battles. In the case of the last issue the fate of two different planets were on the line! But here we have a story that feels like it’s being told on a much smaller scale, with much fewer stakes. There’s actually very little monster on monster action here compared to some other Godzilla stories.

But rather than that being a bad thing it works to the advantage of the story. It makes this issue stand out, and makes it a great contrast to the last issue that opened with all out global war and just escalated. Much of this story takes place in a small, sleepy English town with gloomy weather and simple people. It feels very grounded and real, and it shows a different side to one of these kinds of stories. Even when Battra emerges and takes to the skies he’s not raining death and destruction. The book has a different approach, and it felt incredibly refreshing.

That being said, this is a Godzilla comic, and so there is Kaiju fighting at least once. And this book does it really well. The monsters get to engage with each other in creative ways, in an environment that we don’t normally get to see them in, and I think that it gives all of the monsters that feature here a decent enough spotlight, and doesn’t favour any particular one, allowing fans of all of the monsters to come away satisfied with their performance.

The artwork on this issue, by Oliver Ono, is my favourite on the series so far, and doesn’t really fit with what you expect from these kinds of comics. Ono’s work is very neat, with thin, delicate line-work, and is packed full of tiny details. Some of their art has a very cyberpunk kind of feel to it, and the mechs look great, but they’ve also able to create characters and environments that feel very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli at times. It’s beautiful work, and I’d definitely recommend checking out more of Ono’s work if you like the look of it.

Godzilla Rivals: vs. Battra delivers a very different experience than what we’ve had before, but remains entertaining and delightful throughout.

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