Happy Halloween, everyone! It’s here at last, and the real treat for us all is that new comics Wednesday and October 31 fall on the same glorious day! That means tons of special issues and some great new #1’s on the shelves!
Horror comics have ruled the month, and this week is certainly no exception with some of the darkest minds and scariest imaginations in the business hard at work. We’re not talking lightweights, either, as some of the industry’s best teamed with legends of geekdom to bring us Ghosts #1 from Vertigo, a collection of chilling short stories that span a hellish litany of subjects. Included in this hefty anthology are a short starring Nail Gaiman’s Dead Boy Detectives with art by Mark Buckingham (Marvelman, Fables) and Victor Santos (Mice Templar), an unfinished piece writen and penciled by the late and legendary Joe Kubert, and a horrifying tale about making a deal with the devil … for a bowl of chili. I’m in, and I’m hungry.
DC brings us two solid entries this month. The first is a comic that reads like a classic horror movie, LOT 13 #1. This one is all set up, as it begins with the horrible family murder/suicide in 17thcentury Virginia, and quickly follows the modern day family who seem ready to take on the certain curse. In fact, this entire first issue has the feeling of the first 10-15 minutes of Amityville Horror, where you just want to keep screaming at the family that they really don’t NEED to move into a new house. In this economy, it’s a nightmare, after all, and we soon learn that’s true in more ways than one. There are ghosts on hand here, as well as some solid family bickering that makes the tale feel very real.
Meanwhile, Batgirl Annual #1 has what a lot of the good folks here at Geekquality might be looking for, Girl Power in spades! It’s the first New 52 era team up between Barbara Gordon and Selina Kyle, as Batgirl and Catwoman find themselves once again on the business end of the anger of The Court of Owls, a violent secret society that has controlled Gotham City and it’s darkest secrets and cabals for centuries. These two power ladies join together to rescue Mary, one of the Court’s minions (known as Talons). She is a lethal killer who was taken from her family as a child and trained in the dark ways of violence and death to be the court’s assassin. Can Mary, mute and with little memory of herself, be saved, or will she continue to be the puppet of the powerful men who honed her into a weapon? This is a fantastic story, both literally and metaphorically, about the strength of heroic women in the traditional superhero mythology, and it’s nice to see Batgirl (who typically falls tragically behind Batwoman in this area) step up to the plate.
The scariest offering this week is also one of the heftiest, as Image brings us the double sized Bedlam #1, from Nick Spencer, Riley Rossmo and Frazer Irving. A story of the nastiest super villain of his time, Madder Red, and his deeply disturbing misdeeds, this one examines the very nature of human evil and how it may well live within all of us, Bedlam is a frightening mirror held up to the superhero genre. There is a superhero in this tale: a mysterious dome-headed figure, in a Christopher Nolan style suit of armor, known only as “The First” (think Batman if he were a member of Daft Punk). Madder Red, a darkly sick twist of Hannibal Lecter and The Joker, is the real star of this story however, which is told partly in flashback with some incredible combinations of black and white coloring, with red highlights blended into the present day full color artwork. This is a visually striking book, with a real sense of menace and terror, and it’s a story that bears following, as Image brings us creator owned brilliance once again. They are simply one of the best in the business, and this is the best of the Halloween offerings this week.
Though no Halloween would be complete without – you guessed it – zombies! Avatar comics, creators of the deeply twisted zombie-esque series Crossed get back to the classic zombie roots with Night of The Living Dead: Aftermath #1. Jumping in only a few years after Romero’s classic story, Zombies have run riot on the East Coast, but the West still remains vaguely untouched. How do folks in L.A. deal with the undead in their midst? Well, in the beginnings of the punk movement, they form — Zombie Punk! Fronted by badass Anne Dante, The Creeping Flesh take zombie hardcore to the max, even going so far as to perform amidst outbreaks of attacking undead. Sadly, this tears apart their last show in dramatic fashion, but Anne is not to be conquered by risen posers. Brain bashing with her bass guitar and blasting bitten boyfriends is no sweat for this power-chord power-lady, but it’s her Dad that may cause problems. He’s a Vegas based Senator, and he and his goons may have more n their hands than they bargained for when Anne is followed into the dessert by armies of the undead. This is classic 70’s era zombie thrills and chills as only Avatar Comics could deliver, and a ton of fun.
As always there are a few honorable (and some less than) mentions to add to the list of #1’s this week. Marvel, never one to let a gimmick die, present A+X #1, yet another spin-off of their recent year-long brawl between their two largest franchises, The Avengers and The X-men. This book will feature two shorts every week that combine one member of each team, some parts of ongoing stories, others just fun team-ups. Marvel invented the team-up, and here we get a WWII era tale of Capt. America and time traveling X-man cable, as well as Wolverine and The Hulk vs. … Wolverine and The Hulk? Time travel everywhere in this one, folks. There are also some #1’s that aren’t really, but are merely continuations of older properties, including the next volume in Aspen Comics Charismagic series :The Death Princess #1. The Death Princess apparently rules an other-dimensional fantasy universe but only owns bathing suits. Beyond that this one was such a jumble I gave up on it halfway through. I was likewise confused, though more intrigued, by Big Dog Ink’s The Legend of Oz: The Wicked West #1, which turned out to be a continuation of a previous re-imagination of Frank L. Baum’s classic with a wild west feel. Dorothy, it turns out, carries Ruby Six-guns with Ruby Bullets, and wears Ruby Spurs. Click that together twice.
All in all, another solid week of new stories in comics, I only dread that Halloween has ended and the creativity train will come to rest. After all, are there Thanksgiving comics? If there are, come back here to find out all about them!
