EC Archives: Tales From the Crypt vol. 2 Review

Creators: Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, and others
Publisher: Gem Stone Publishing

I was too young when the original comics were released, but back when I was in middle school, I saw a comic adaptation of Creepshow and it changed the way I saw comics. I was lucky enough to get some of the hardcover rereleases in the early 90’s that were done in black and white and I was blown away by the stories and artwork. Lucky for me I no longer have to find those other volumes missing from my collection. These volumes just keep getting better and better with each release.

This volume reprints the second six complete issues (24 stories) of the comic book "Tales From the Crypt", originally published in 1951 and 1952. They feature classic horror stories of vampires, werewolves, ghouls and monsters in the vein of the early "Dracula", "Frankenstein" and "Wolf Man" movies, and even an early look at blending animal DNA with man’s. Some of these stories were the inspiration for several feature films and the HBO series of the same name. The stories in Tales From the Crypt rarely deviated from the basic formula in that they almost always ended with a shocking, ironic twist with a character getting what they deserve. Throughout the 200+ pages of this book the creators give us our dosage of morality tales with their own supernatural twist.

This book features some fantastic talents, because to be fair EC had the best artists of the era; Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Marie Severin, Graham Ingels, and Harvey Kurtzman. This restored collection the artwork shines like never before. The pages are vibrant and crisp and look like they were illustrated by today’s top artist. I can’t get over how nice this art looks on high quality paper and the coloring looks vibrant. Sadly that is part of the reason it brought down the rating a bit. Some of the pictures look too vibrant and flashy and the colors don’t mesh well with the art style. These editions also include special features such as an interview with Nancy Gaines, the widow of EC Comics founder Bill Gaines. The book lists for $50, but it is well worth the price of admission for stories such as these. A-

Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 Review (Paperback Edition)

Author and Artist: Doug Petersen
Publisher: Villard

As a child one of my favorite book series was Brian Jacques' Redwall. So when I saw the cover to Mouse Guard, I just couldn't resist. The story is pretty basic; in the mid-12th century mice struggle to live safely and prosper among all of the world’s harsh conditions and predators. The Mouse Guard are not simply soldiers that fight off intruders; rather they are guides for common mice looking to journey without confrontation from one hidden mouse village to another. The Guard patrol borders, find safe ways and paths through dangerous territories and treacherous terrain, watch weather patterns, and keep the mouse territories free of predatory infestation. This reminded me of all those Samurai stories I used to read that were set during the age of Meiji.

What really intrigued me about this first book was the way it each chapter served as a stand-alone story; an introduction to this wonderful world. This is a rarity these days in comics, with every issue being part of a six issue story arc. In the first book Saxon, Kenzie and Lieam are dispatched to find a missing merchant mouse that never arrived at his destination. In doing so they stumble onto much more than they had bargained for. A mouse claiming to carry the legendary Black Axe is certain that the guard is outdated and plans an uprising to control all the towns and villages. Only by working together can the guards defeat this scourge, finding an unlikely ally to aid them along the way. There are some fantastic battles within the book, but I really don't want to give too much away.

Keep this in mind while reading the book though, Peterson tells much more of a story through his drawings than he does the actual text. The book is definetely not dialogue heavy so don't expect this to be a deep meaningful comic. It is instead a very well done adventure story without all the fuss and extra details. The plot jumps about a bit but is definetely understandable. Petersen enmeshes you so thoroughly in this world that he sees little reason to fill you in on some of the background details. Some characters don't physically show up until the last chapter. These are characters that have been mentioned since the beginning of the book.

Originally Petersen self-published the first issue of Mouse Guard as a black and white comic. That version certainly had its own strengths and Petersen brought a lot oft that texture and strong, thin ink lines to these pages. The artwork, to put it lightly, looks absolutely beautiful. From the character designs, it looks like an excessive amount of time went into drawing each character. The scenery is not over looked either; every leaf to tree branch is given time and detail. Petersen brings a certain richness to this book; he is a fantastic storyteller by making the action really easy to follow. After reading this book in color, I don't think I could go back and read it in black and white. The colors look like they were actually painted. Every beautiful color you that brings to mind Fall is in this book; bright oranges to the wonderful reds just fill the backgrounds.

By the end of the book I wanted to know what was going to happen next. I can not wait for the next volume to be collected. Winter is currently being published as single issues. This was a nice little surprise; it's one of those rare treasures you just can't put down. I recommend this book to everyone I know. If you are a fan of Redwall, Secret of Nimh, Bone, or just a fan of great story telling with a fantasy aspect, go and buy this book. At a cost of only 18 dollars I recommend everyone to pick this book up and give it a try and bring out the innerchild in you. A+

Robin #172

Robin #172
Writer: Chuck Dixon
Pencils: David Baldeon

This issue starts out with Tim hand-gliding over an illegal casino (what’s up with all the bat-gliders lately…seriously). The story from here is pretty standard. Tim waits for Violet to show up and rob the place, Violet does, criminals are tipped off and mayhem, mayhem mayhem! This is Chuck Dixon folks, so I may make little light of the writing but, it’s handled well trust me.

The really big point I wanna bring up within this issue however, was the reveal of Spoiler. We finally see the person under the mask that has been stalking Tim, who can’t possibly be Stephanie Brown….and yet? The blonde-haired beauty penciled, appears to be none other then Stephanie Brown herself. So…why is this such a big deal?

Well….the first thing Brown being alive would resolve is, why there is no memorial case for her in the batcave. I know…..some of you are like….who gives a crap about a case, all I have to say to you is….you’d be surprised. The glaring omission of a memorial case for Stephanie has been a sore spot within DC fandom ever since her death in War Games, being aggravated even more by events in the War Crimes story. The question has always been brought up….why did the first and only female Robin never get a memorial case in the batcave. Panels have been looked over numerous times and whilest Jason Todd’s memorial case stands in 3/4s of the shots, you never see anything for Stephanie Brown. Check it out…seriously I am not making it up. Whenever Didio has been asked about the Brown issue he has always avoided it, making remarks sometimes saying to the effect it’d never happen. Many think this was a specific policy with Didio, the reasoning of this thought being to slight the role of female heroes in some such way. I don’t know about all of that BUT, with this resurrection of sorts, this issue of the memorial case could be seen to have been framework laid for upcoming stories…in that possibly Bruce never made a memorial case for Stephanie…simply because after a point, he had found her to be alive. Whether this was planned from the beginning or instituted due to fan outcry I don’t know…perhaps that’s the greater question. Again, I know this doesn’t seem huge but, trust me, look around the comic blogosphere some, it’s an issue.

Moving along, the questions arise a plenty with Stephanie’s resurrection, the actual method that will be used to explain Stephanie’s sudden re-appearance. I mean…How did Stephanie come back?…or was she ever really dead? Explanations? The Stephanie seen is a clone, a ghost, a Stephanie from a parallel Earth, somebody with plastic surgery made to look like Stephanie, maybe it’s Clayface, or this person actually is Stephanie after her body was dipped into a Lazarus Pit by some unforeseen person,…maybe Leslie lied AGAIN to Bruce and has been keeping her alive and unseen…though not well enough as she thinks. I could go on and on but, you get the gist.

One also must wonder if this sudden resurrection ties in, in any way to current or upcoming events within the DCU (Countdown, Final Crisis, Reign In Hell, Blackest Night etc, etc.). The appearance of “A” Spoiler in the Gotham Underground series seems like a portent of sorts, of things yet to come. Then again....it could be just be Didio saying "I GIVE UP", lol.

What about Tim?….all of his feelings and reactions to such a reveal as this?

Solicits for the upcoming Robin/Spoiler special coming up will probably tie up a lot of these questions....but...again...maybe not.

I could go on and on about Stephanie being alive…needless to say, it sparks a lot of questions and discussion in both past, present and future continuity in the DCU at large.

Overall this issue was decent, and I am curious to see where Dixon goes with this and how he utilizes the character of Spoiler whom seems to be...in fact Stephanie Brown. Baldeon’s penciling again was alright, it wasn’t horrible nor was it mouth watering, it was just ok. B+

Buffy the Vampire Slayer #12

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #12
Writer: Drew Goddard
Pencils: Georges Jeanty

The words "jumped the shark" come to mind after reading this issue.

The story starts out with Xander and Renee (Slayer) keeping watch over the castle, apparently there are some wolves grouping around the place...blah blah blah. THEN, you have a panel of Buffy in bed with Satsu. Cue to me saying, What the fuck? Yes, apparently Buffy has knocked boots with one of her slayers, Now, I have no problem with gals that like gals but, in the case of this story and Buffy's overall character, umm, no. The whole thing just has me shaking my head. The scenes themselves are handled alright, as it's apparently Buffy's first time with a woman but....something about the whole thing just feels wrong. Throughout this issue I almost felt like Buffy or whoever was gonna wake up from a dream. It feels...forced I guess is the word, like at some point Goddard said to Whedon...."Hey Joss...I am running out of ideas, how about we turn Buffy gay too". I know that's a harsh thing to say but, that's how it comes off as.

The rest of the story had some nice comedic moments per usual as Buffy asks Satsu to keep the bedroom jaunt a secret....then Xander, Renee, Dawn, Willow, and Andrew end up running into the bedroom a breath later, Buffy highly embarrassed.

The wolves that had been surrounding the castle earlier attack, switching forms, from vampire to wolf to bees to mist/fog...finally stealing the Slayer Scythe and making a hasty retreat. Everyone questions these new vampires' powers and why they stole the scythe, causing the Scoobies to send Xander off to meet an old "friend", Renee in tow. Yeah....the old friend....Dracula. Pretty much at the panel of Dracula, I was sorta glad the issue had ended.

Out of the BTVS universe there are 100s of different characters that could have been brought back to help enrich the overall story in this title.....Oz, Riley, Angel, Wesley, Fred/Illyria, Harmony, Spike, frakking bring the f'ing Mayor back....but...Dracula? Really? That's the character you wanna reintroduce in this series? Argh!!!

This issue was ok....that's me saying this folks....so bare that in mind. The comic itself is still leaps and bounds above most current storytelling in comics BUT, this is Buffy...so try as I might, I have higher standards for this title then the rest. Turning a character gay is fine but, do it right and not as filler till the next big story gets momentum. Reintroducing new characters, again fine, but make it one we actually give two flying fucks about. Dracula wasn't that interesting in the Spike/Dracula mini...and he's not that interesting in this.

In closing, Jeanty's pencils have started to grow on me but Goddard's writing this issue brings to mind the Fonz flying in the air....and unfortunately...those AREN'T busses below him. B-