Grendel: God and the Devil TBP Review

Penciller: John K. Snyder & Tim Sale
Inkers: Jay Geldhof & Bernie Mireault
Colorist: Jeremy Cox
Publisher: Dark Horse

Matt Wagner has gotten some recognition over the years for his mainstream DC books like Sandman Mystery Theater and Trinity (not the current ongoing series). I have been a fan of his since the 80’s, but I have to be completely honest before you read this review. I have never read a single issue of Grendel. I remember seeing the comics by Comico in the 80s and always liking Grendel’s costume. I was a huge fan of Mage and I even recall that there were some Grendel back-up stories in the Mage comics, but I never bothered to read them. So lucky for you and I that Dark Horse has been reprinting the old Comico stories in comic format and TPB format with new colors since 2000. The original stories were printed in Grendel # 23-33 and then reprinted in a 10 issue miniseries with a prologue (issue 23/0) drawn by Tim Sale.

It is the year is 2512 and several centuries have passed since the mask of Grendel has been worn, and in that time humanity's survived a third World War, the fall of Western Civilization, and the rise of an all-powerful Catholic Church state. America has been separated into a number of corporate systems dominated by that church. The new Vatican seems to be in the mountains of Colorado and fanatically controlled by Pope Innocent XLII. There are two men that make a stand against the church’s corruption. Orion Assante is a corporate auditor and aristocrat determined to expose the pope for who and what he really is. The second is a mysterious madman wearing the all-too-familiar face of Grendel. This time around the man behind the mask is a factory worker named Eppy Thacher who is driven by his belief that God hates him and his addiction to the drug Grendel. Innocent turns out to be the vampire Tujiro and hires Pellon Cross head of the mercenary group known as Confederacy Of Police (COP) to help establish a second inquisition and take care of Grendel. This was all part of his plot to develop a new weapon to block out the sun. In the end Assante leads a private army to destroy this weapon, Cross (now a vampire) leads an army of vampire/cops against the Vatican, and Grendel and Tujiro fight to the death.

I really didn’t know what to think when I read the prologue. The narrative focuses on the tribulations of Cardinal Emmett Fairbanks, whose domain is Laserus, apparently the LA metropolitan area in this future. I was completely lost between issues zero and one. It wasn’t until I read the entire trade that I could appreciate it’s effective foreshadowing. It was the satirical content and Tim Sale’s art that drove me to keep reading. Coming into this book with no previous knowledge of Grendel was kind of tough. I was left in the dark with much of the complexities involving politics and religion. For example the lead character (well, one of the three) Eppy, has a problem with stealing, murdering, and starting riots. It’s very uncommon for a protagonist to have this sort of moral relativism. Half way through the book I got completely lost. I have read tons of books on the corruption of religion and politics, but the dialogue was heavy and drawn at times. But, damn am I glad I stuck with this book to the end, because the payoff was intense and massive.

I found Eppy’s dialogue quite funny. I really got the sense that this Grendel was unique, because the more and more I kept getting closer to the end, I could tell he was losing it. Assante’s inner monologue reminded me of those old Slam Bradley or Dick Tracey strips. For a story that was this dark, I figured they would have gone with another artist. When I first saw Snyder’s work, I didn’t think it was going to work. However, the more I kept reading; the more his exaggerated anatomy grew on me. His depiction of this ruined future really set the stage for the story to move along. His artwork is definitely built on clarity and color and reminded me of Keith Giffen’s work on Trencher. Unfortunately it does feel a little dated and at times, it’s hard to follow those fight scenes. Jeremy Cox’ coloring is completely stunning and make Snyder’s art brighter and more distinctive. Even though he makes the characters brighter, that dark tone manages to pop up. I’m not sure if Grendel’s tale is one huge saga spanning different centuries, but I can tell you that this particular book works well as a stand -alone story. For my first introduction to the Grendel universe this book keeps me intrigued and wanting more. As complex a story and dialogue heavy as this book is, after a first reading I was content with the entire story. I suggest any fans of Criminal, Berserk, 100 Bullets, Zen, Mage, or just people that appreciate a good solid story to pick this up. B+

The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite TPB Review

Writer: Gerard Way
Artist: Gabriel Ba
Colors: Dave Stewart
Covers: James Jean
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

The only time I had hear of My Chemical Romance was when my brother asked me if I wanted to go to one of their concerts about five years ago. I wasn’t into the whole scremo and emo music, no matter how many times my brother tried to get me into it. Then I hear that the lead singer of MCR was going to do a comic book. So I laughed and sneered at the thought of a guy wearing make-up and singing about being sad writing a comic book. To me it was just another case of a semi-celebrity using his popularity to get to write a comic. So I read the first issue, mainly to butcher on my website and I ended up loving every single moment of it. Waited for the trade and was pleasantly blown away by the rest of the story.

The story of Umbrella Academy is much like X-men or Doom Patrol, if I had to compare it to other comic books. The Professor X or Doc Niles of the book is Sir Reginald Hargreeves (The Monocle) and he adopts seven infants that will grow up to save the world. They are a dysfunctional group of superheroes who try to live as a dysfunctional family. As kids they just referred to each other by numbers, but as adults they each have their own code name which include; Spaceboy, Rumor, Kraken, Séance, Future, White Violin(okay not all the codenames are that great), and Horror (who didn’t live long enough to get a decent codename). After a brief background the story jumps ahead to 20 years and kicks off with Spaceboy getting a call from Dr. Pogo (a talking chimp) with the sad news that the Monocle is dead. This brings the rest of the cast together with the White Violin a warning about a new suite and Future comes back from the future after being gone for almost 20 years.

The issues keep the same kind of feel of bizarre spectacles, twist and turns, and compelling mysteries. Introducing new villains such as the Conductor and moving the storyline along through flashbacks and some insane revelations. Once you think you got someone figured out, you really are in for a shock. The title Apocalypse Suite is dubbed from the Conductor as he claims that if played accurately it would bring about the end of world. This is where one of the siblings comes in….the White Violin, who ends up killing Dr. Pogo and her brothers and sister have to do battle with her to stop the end of all that is. Without going into too much detail, all hell does break loose and there is plenty of gory action for everyone. Almost all of the characters in the story get a moment or two to shine, and not always in the most obvious of ways. There is even a mansion that gets destroyed ala X-men every three years.

With his use of eccentric dialogue, nicely paced foreshadowing, and secret histories Way really had me hooked from beginning to end. This book doesn't break any new ground as far as comics go. The way I see it everyone who has ever read comics has one or two good stories in them. There are countless of Justice League, Fantastic Four, Doom Patrol, X-men and Avengers stories out there, but is the few that are done right that stand out above the rest. To me that is what this book accomplished. It had a strong story from the beginning, with just the right amounts of insanity, dark humor, suspense, heart, darkness, and hope to keep me coming back for more. By the end of the volume, I was really sad that I wouldn’t be reading the further adventures of the Umbrella Academy until November.

Of course Way’s vision wouldn’t be complete if he didn’t have the perfect artist to compliment his story. That talent came in the form of the expressive and vivid artwork by Gabriel Ba; whose artwork reminded me of a cross of Mike Mignola, Michael Oeming, Tim Sale, and Guy Davis, but with more of fluidity to his shapes and forms. His layouts are dynamic, I enjoyed his work on Casanova by Matt Fraction, but this is a whole new level. His facial expressions were cute and creepy as if Tim Burton or Edward Gorey had design the characters. Ba does a fantastic job of grounding the insane stuff, giving enough attention to details of the weird such as the gorilla spacesuit or the walking Eiffel Tower to make them seem realistic within every panel. Of course having drawing a chimp whose brains are splatter all over the floor, I’m sure he got to break loose those hidden talents. The colors by Stewart only make the comic stand out from most new books on the market. It wasn’t all perfect though, at times, particularly during the flashback sequences, I had a hard time distinguishing between characters. I guess that’s why Way put someone in a monkey suit and put a chick in a violin outfit.

I’m sure fans of My Chemical Romance have already checked this series out, but if that is the reason some of you aren’t reading this book; I can assure you that Gerard Way is talented in writing comics as well. If you like Hellboy, Atomic Robo, the Goon, and X-men,, Scryed, Doom Patrol you'll most likely LOVE Umbrella Academy. If you like weird, fun, and well plotted, paced story buy this book. If you like My Chemical Romance, I’m sure you have already bought this book. It was a real treat to read. This volume also contains the Free Comic Book Day special and the short story originally featured at darkhorse.com .Dark Horse plans to release The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite Limited Edition in November and it would make a fantastic gift for those friends that haven’t read it yet. A-

The Chronicles of Conan: The Corridor of Mullah-Kajar & Other Stories

Writers: J.M DeMatteis, Len Wein, Larry Hama, Robert E. Howard, Roy Thomas.
Artists: John Buscema, Neal Adams, Ernie Chan, Bob McLeod, Vicente Alcazar, Yong Montano.
Publisher: Dark Horse

Ah yes, as time passes, so comes another volume of Conan. The 15th volume Dark Horse has put out of The Chronicles of Conan, this trade encompasses seven stories of the Barbarian from Cimmeria

The first story in this volume called "Crawler in the Mist" starts out with Conan being rescued by some nomads, having laid in the desert sun, poisoned and weak. As Conan comes to, he finds his rescuers are traders and soon realizes that they mean to trade HIM as a slave. Conan being well... Conan, whoops some arse and sends two of his slavers fleeing, the third unable to run, left chained to the mighty Barbarian. Deciding not to cut off the slaver's hand and be free of him Conan drags the trader along with him as he looks for shelter with night approaching Wandering through the desert Conan and his "traveler" eventually come upon a city...seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The trader warns Conan of this city being home to a monster that prowls the streets at night taking anyone foolish enough to be wandering out of their homes, Conan scoffs at his companions' plea and they enter the city laying down on the streets for sleep. Deep in sleep Conan is awakened to hear his friends' cry as a huge red slug-like creature takes hold of the trader. Amidst the battling, the slug creature severs the chain linking the trader and Conan, fleeing with the helpless slaver in tow, Conan in pursuit. From here the rest of the story plays out Twilight Zone-like so I won't ruin it for you, other then to say it ends somewhat sadly.

The rest of the stories within this volume play out pretty close to the first one, Conan either runs into trouble or goes looking for it, a tussel ensues and the foe is defeated. All the tales are enjoyable to an extent. Certain readers will definitely get more out of these collected Conan volumes then others. Those not big on reading loads of text I can tell you right now will have issues with this Conan volume. At about 190 pages this sucker feels like twice that in overall dialogue I personally like the expanded dialogue as it gives more depth to the story an characters BUT...then again I am a fickle/weird comic reader.

The art within each story varies with the artist. For the most part John Buscema does a majority of the art within this volume and it is alright...it's not mind-blowing but half this stuff was in the 70s and 80s so you gotta cut the guy some slack. The best page out of this whole volume though in both story and art is in, "The Phoenix on the Sword". Art by Vicente Alcazar an Yong Montano, it displays Conan looking to tear apart those before him, an image of Kull of Atlantis above him, Roy Thomas writing of the parallel in this scene between Conan & Kull.

I don't know what it is but this page just kinda hits you in a right way...almost makes me wanna go back and read up on Kull of Atlantis, (another creation of of Robert E. Howard's).

In closing, this volume as a whole is GOOD. Not great but good. If you like Conan you'll dig this volume and for those that have never read of the mighty warrior borrow this volume from a friend...you may just be glad you did.

Serenity: Better Days miniseries Review

This review was submitted by Hero 004
Publisher: Dark Horse

Writer: Joss Whedon/Brett Matthews

Artists: Will Conrad- Pencils, Michelle Madison-Colors

Serenity is one of my favorite movies. It's one of those films that I suggest to everyone, even if they're not into science fiction. It takes watching the fantastic preceding TV series, Firefly, to truly appreciate the cinematic level that Joss Whedon takes his genre-Defying story with the feature film. Serenity is so one of a kind, in fact, that the chances for a sequel look very dim. So when a three issue comic miniseries taking place in between the Show and movie, written by Whedon himself, and containing 150 pages shows up as the likes of Serenity: better Days, I am very much down for some satisfaction of my craving for more story.

Review

At the start of Issue one, we find Mal and crew on a typical job robbing a museum, before being bombarded by an alliance-built , artificially intelligent roadster/robot and at the crew finds themselves in a freeway chase. With some gun work from Jayne and a sneak attack from Kaylee, the weapon is shutdown and in the Serenity crew's hands. Meanwhile Inara is having sex with a client, but picturing Mal. The Client ends up being an Alliance War veteran and hunter of "Dust Devils", independent terrorists who were radical about their views even after the alliance won. The crew decides to sell the weapon to a guy who tips them off to a hidden stash of money within a Buddhist temple as payment. When they get there, they find that there is a lot more than they expected: they're rich.

Issue two picks up with some comedic fantasies from the crew on what they're going to do with they're wealth. They end up kicking it off with a vacation, checking into a high class hotel. The Client that Inara was within the previous issue finds out that Mal was a Dust Devil and asks for another night with her in order to get to him. Meanwhile the alliance has found Serenity's location through tracing microchips that were scattered onto the crew's bodies by the weapon. When Malcom goes to check on Inara, he's knocked out by the Dust Devil Hunter and the crew finds out that someone is after them.

Issue three begins with Mal getting the crap beaten out of him by the hunter. Zoe being the first mate is now in charge of the ship with Mal captured and she reveals to the crew that she is in fact the Dust Devil that the hunters are after, not Malcom. Despite reluctance from the rest, Zoe transmits a message across the whole planet revealing that she is the Dust Devil and orders them to bring Malcom back to Serenity. They show up with guns and Jayne is as always up on a cliff sniping. However, an explosion none of them were expecting throws them all off as they're all being attacked by the Alliance. Mal and the hunter have to team up in order to pull off a way to destroy the Alliance ship. They succeed, but the Dust Devil hunting crew ends up making off with all of the Serenity crew's new found wealth. The conclusion features a classic talk between Inara and Malcom. She confronts him on the fact that the whole crew is upset about losing the money except for him. Inara figures out that Mal purposely hid the money poorly so that it would be stolen with fear that the wealth would split the crew up and ruin what he considers a perfect life already captaining Serenity.

Thoughts

I absolutely loved reading this, it felt just like watching an episode of Firefly. The robot stuff at the beginning threw me off a bit at first, but it ended up leading into the bigger story very quick in the same format as the TV series/film. Everyone is in character the whole way through, reading the dialogue can put a smile on any Brown Coat's face as it takes you right back to the charm of each individual member of the crew. In Better Days they are put in a very different scenario with getting rich for a while, but they react to things just as they always do and in new ways that are just as exciting. The ending was so perfect to me. What Mal did with the money is a perfect example of the brutal presentation of his soft side. Conrad's art is awesome, a clean comic style showing the beautiful futuristic scenery of Joss Whedon's universe. What can be really appreciated is his accurate depiction of the characters. They look perfectly transitioned in his close ups while fun and comic booky in between. You'll find that Better Days feels more like a sequel to Firefly than a prequel to Serenity, putting them in another adventure rather than leading into the film. This is the second Serenity miniseries; I certainly hope Whedon and Dark Horse give us another. There is character development in this book, but I'd also like to see more that flows into the movie's. Inara has left Serenity by the time of the movie, and it's talked about at the end of the show, maybe another series will focus on her leaving. Wherever Serenity flies from here, I am phenomenally happy with this miniseries. A+

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-

Star Wars: Dark Times - Vol. 1 The Path to Nowhere TPB Review

This review was submitted by Ray Hoey
Writer: Welles Hartley
Artist: Douglas Wheatley
Publisher: Dark Horse

Yay! A new Star Wars TPB to review. With the anticipation of the live action Star Wars TV series that George Lucas is planning, this is one title I will be keeping a close eye on. This first volume is a great start. It begins shortly after the events of "Star Wars: Episode III-Revenge of the Sith" in which the Galactic Empire is now underway, and recently titled Darth Vader is beginning his first steps as the Emperor's chief enforcer.

But they are baby steps to be sure. Vader is not quite sure yet of what his place is in this New Order, and he finds people looking up to him for answers. And whether he chooses to admit it or not, the small part of him that is still good, that his son would have the insight to realize his conflicted emotions twenty years from now, is still there. It comes to a head when Vader receives word from a clone trooper battalion that the surviving population of the defeated Separatist planet New Plympto have been sent to slave markets to profit the Empire. Having been a former slave himself, Vader is taken aback and consults with the Emperor on this issue. The argument that Palpatine uses to validate the slave marketing goes a long toward showing how evil and manipulative he truly is.

Meanwhile, despite Order 66 and the near-complete extermination of the Jedi Order, a surviving Jedi General named Dass Jennir leads a Separatist resistance force on New Plympto that fights to the last warrior. He then escapes, along with his aide, Bomo Greenbark, a native of New Plympto, whose wife and child were evacuated, but then captured by slavers. Bomo sets off to rescue them, and Dass goes along to help.

Along the way, they enlist the help of a freighter crew in their task, but nothing comes easy.
Dass is forced to do things no Jedi would ever consider doing, and Bomo keeps running into obstacle after obstacle in the search for his family. Will they succeed?

Douglas Wheatley's art is superb, reminiscent of Jan Duursema's work on the "Clone Wars" trades. There is careful attention to detail and depth in the backgrounds as well as the foregrounds. "Rich" would be the word I would choose to describe it. (My one objection, if any, is the introduction in this story of the Imperial Class Star Destroyer that is so familiar to Star Wars fans, since I associate those closer to Episode IV) Welles Hartley has written a tight story, and one of the best things about it is that he demonstrates how the level of uncertainty in this new era of the now dead Republic is striking everyone. Vader has his reservations, as mentioned before; Dass is beginning to wonder whether he truly can uphold the principles of the Jedi, when circumstance keeps forcing him to look the other way; Bomo has no idea what he will do if the worst happens to his family; even clone troopers are unsure of what their place will be once the last Separatist planet is subjugated and the Clone Wars are over. After all, what good is a soldier, without a war to fight?

Overall, a worthy addition to the Star Wars comics pantheon...hell, the Star Wars pantheon, PERIOD.

A gratifying A+

The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker HC Review

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer/Artist/Creator: Eric Powell

Eric Powell’s The Goon: Chinatown and the Mystery of Mr. Wicker is the perfect straight to hardcover example of how to hit the nail on the head. This book is the best example I have found in the last few years to both please long time diehard fans and at the same time entice potential readers into giving the Goon it’s much deserved shot.

Powell started the Goon back in 1999 as both the writer and artist on the bi-monthly book. And in that time the rough around the edges muscle known only as Goon has sprung on the Eisner awards with three wins “Best Single Issue,” “Best Continuing Story,” and “Best Humor Publication.” Through five volumes of trade paperbacks readers have followed Goon, his best pal and right hand man Franky, and a slew of oddball characters as they thwart evil in all its alien-squid-goblin-werewolf-vampire-hag-zombie forms. Along the way readers have been treated to the truth about the Goon’s childhood and how he came to work for the crime boss Labrazio.

Shadows and barflies at Norton’s pub, the local watering hole in the Goon’s “berg,” first whispered the word “Chinatown” to explain away the reason for the Goon’s bad attitude. But none of the events that took place in Chinatown were revealed. Slowly images started to haunt the Goon, and Powell gradually introduced the woman known only as “Bella” into the fold. Bella through the bi-monthly comic appeared to be the Goon’s one long lost love, but her connection to Chinatown, and the way in which the Goon got his disfigured face remained unexplained…

Until Powell announced that all would be revealed in the straight to hardcover edition of the last remaining origins of the Goon. To reveal all the details of the Goon’s past would be as shameful as revealing the Nameless Priest’s name, or the true boss of the Labrazio name, suffice it to say this book delivers everything a fan could hope for. Powell has numerous art styles that he usually intertwines on a regular bases in his bi-monthly series, but for this book he uses colored wash for almost everything. The book is actually made up of two stories, one taking place in the present “The Mystery of Mr. Wicker,” and the other taking place in the past “Chinatown.” The single colored washes for the Chinatown story give the reader a perfect sense of the Casablanca/Maltese Falcon time period of cinema with the blurred/drugged scenes in black and white. The subtle colored scenes of the present story offer a simple change without being too contrasting.

The artwork might strike some as simplistic but I read this book in one sitting only because it was so light on dialogue I got to sit back and gaze at the panels that told the story without the need of a narrator. The panels are timed and flow so well that there may only be 3 to 5 to a page but they describe an entire chain of events. When I look closely at the page I don’t see black and white I easily see 50 different shades of gray and done with such clarity it can only be natural instinctive talent on Powell’s part.

Powell’s writing is superb in this book, and I really think he has a shot at another award with this book. The relationships focused on between the Goon and Bella or the Goon and Mirna are undeniably true to real life, which is a step in a new direction for the Goon, but the first page does warn, “This ain’t funny,” and all too often fans respond negatively when they read something out of their realm of the norm but I can’t see how this book could be chastised for what it attempts, and surely succeeds at. As fans finally get to see the Goon and Bella’s relationship we know it ends badly by the Goon’s current state, but you really have no idea until you read Chinatown and understand how bad it can really be, I mean it is really really bad, really, and Powell delivers it without missing a beat. I really wish that when a girl just up and walked out on me for no damn reason I could go down to the street and bash a street peddlers head in, guys and girls, we’ve all felt like that before. The other key relationship is between the Goon and Franky which we get to see tested in both the past and present story lines and yet Franky never fails to be there for the Goon when he needs him like only a true best friend can, and when Bella leaves the Goon, we all know who will be there for his pal saying “Dames come and go, but pals stick!” Or later when Mr. Wicker seems to have taken everything the Goon once had who is there to say “Knife to the eye!”

Needless to say The Goon takes one hell of a stomping in this story, and its to be expected since the only scar he seems to have on his body is the one on his face that is of course physical but is only a scratch compared to the emotional scar. As each page for me was awesome after awesome, the best scene is probably the end, because it proves my point that this is an award worthy piece of work. At the end of the present line story the Goon goes to the bar, in the background is a ton of locals, who also seem like ghosts on the wallpaper. And the Goon just sits down with his beer and stares at the two people he misses the most in life, with Franky by his side. The last page shows how timeless these stories are. The mystery of Mr. Wicker doesn’t disrupt continuity or change the Goon’s life forever, and Chinatown fills in a gap. The last page explains exactly why this story came out separate from the bi-monthly series, it doesn’t have a single place in the Goon’s timeline it exists outside of it. Chinatown is a story that weighs on the Goon’s mind throughout every issue of the series so far. This book isn’t just a must-read, to not have read this book is a disservice to yourself, as you’ll be missing one of the best stories to come out this year.

B.P.R.D. - Garden of Souls #1-5

Writer(s): Mike Mignola & John Arcudi
Art: Guy Davis

The story starts off with a flashback to London, 1859. There is a mummy’s unrolling at the focus of a socialite party, upon unwrapping though….well… the mummy is found to still be ALIVE. Flash forward to present day wherein Abe Sapien receives a delivery, a cigar case with the intials L.E.C. In past stories it has been hinted that Abe Sapien once was a man named Langdon Everett Caul, what’s more Caul also was at the “unrolling” party in 1859. As you progress through the issues bits of story slowly start coming together more and more, until Abe reaches an island where he hopes to have some questions answered. There is more but, I’d rather not ruin it for you.

So bottom line, is this worth taking the time to pick up? Maybe. The story starts off a bit rough, you have three or four different plotlines in the works which makes it hard, for a “newb” to BPRD, to understand what’s going on. The inside cover page breaking down each member of the BPRD and their current status helps a little but…yeah…this is not a book to just pick up lightly. By the third issue you get a little more of a understanding of what all is going on and more depth/insight into certain characters. What’s a tad disappointing throughout the whole story is, your never really given a clear concise background on what type of person Abe had been before his transformation, sure there are bits but, I just wanted more. The side-plot involving Liz Sherman didn’t seem to really connect to anything relative to this story. Captain Benjamin Daimio’s story while interesting seems a tad underused, and better utilized in a story focused more on his own past, then in a storyline that seemingly is about Abe Sapien’s past.

The artwork within these issues is great. Guy Davis draws some tight, sharp lines, helping to give each panel the hard grittiness that has become a staple in Mignola projects. Oh as a complete aside…Davis can draw some bad-assed ole' school robots (before it was all the cool “new-thing” in Bioshock)

Kudos go to Dave Stewart and his coloring of these issues as well.

So, in closing, though intriguing in story and in art, this story is intended for those already grooving on the BPRD mojo, all of you new to BPRD, read BPRD: The Dead first, then come back and read this sucker. B+

Hellboy Vol. 7 TPB Review

Hellboy: The Troll Witch and Others

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer/Artist/Creator: Mike Mignola
Artist: Richard Corben
Artist: P. Craig Russell

The first thing you need to know before I start this review is the beauty behind Hellboy is that that it doesn't matter if you've read Hellboy TPBs Volume 1-6 or not and that goes for any of the trades. Hellboy, in his own contained universe, can be read in whatever order you want. In many cases the stories in the volumes aren't even in order.

The first story in this collection, The Troll Witch and Others, is called Penanggalan and takes place in 1958, Malaysia, well before Hellboy's antics in the very first Hellboy series. My favorite part about the collected works of Hellboy is that they always come with three things, an introduction, a few sketches in the back, and Mignola's own explanation for how he came up with the story. His explanations are my favorite part about getting these in TPB, even if I had all the issues, which in this particular trade were hard to come by, I would have still picked this trade up. The explanations add a level of intimacy as we, the readers, get to look in on Mignola's writing and creative process, a notion still hard to come by in mainstream comics, and particularly nice in far out stories like these where on many occasions I have said to myself "where does he come up with this stuff."

In this trade we get a collection of stories that were printed in various formats, not just in single print issues, but also in collections with other works like Wizard magazine promotions and the Dark Horse Book of Witchcraft. These collections are essential because I didn't even know about the Penanggalan until I read it here. My favorite part of the Penanggalan is when Hellboy makes a comment that is quite possibly the same reaction Mignola himself would have had when he stumbled onto this story, in which a woman becomes startled and kicks her own head off, weird!

I personally love The Troll Witch for its ability to blend classic folklore with Hellboy. This particular story could almost be done without Hellboy but when added the supernatural element really kicks up. I also loved The Ghoul because Mignola juxtaposes a story about Hellboy beating up a monster and Shakespeare's Hamlet, which fits perfectly. Mignola drew most of the stories in this collection, which is something I doubt we will see much of in the future. His other artist's were Richard Corben who drew "Makoma" (though Mignola does draw a few panels at the beginning and the end) the story of Hellboy in Africa, which is probably one of my favorite Hellboy two part stories because of its involvement with Africa, and Corben's earth tones really fit the book. And the other artist is P. Craig Russell, who drew "The Vampire of Prague" a slightly cartoony style that works perfectly with a lighthearted gothic tale (yes, such a thing is possible). Mignola of course still writes all of the stories, which is awesome to see and again isn't as easy to come by, but Dark Horse is usually pretty good to its creators, and I am thankful of it. A+ Oh and you should look into all the rest of the trades if you like this one!

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby #1

Writer: Steve Niles
Art: Nick Stakal

Criminal Macabre: My Demon Baby follows the pill-popping monster hunter, Cal McDonald, as he is hired to stop a cult of satanic worshipers from bringing the devil to Earth. This first issue...has a problem or two.

The most glaring thing wrong with this title is....it's not written for people new to Cal McDonald. Generally I don't give a crap about new readers but, in the case of indie titles, it's sorta a big concern. No real backstory is given on Cal. You know nothing of Cal or his past, other then it has been pretty shitty. You have no idea Cal is a monster hunter till the priest pays him to stop some bad mojo from going down. Cal's partner Moloch is never even mentioned by name, and you never get the explanation of what exactly Moloch is, nor why he would help a "monster" hunter, being somewhat monstrous looking himself. Basically, this title is NOT written for someone looking to get into the world of Cal McDonald, as you'll be partly lost at times.

The art for this story is...alright, I could give Stakal crap but, honestly the guy is better then Kyle Hotzs' somewhat cartoony style, that seemed at times more to mirror Tony Moore's penciling work in Fear Agent. Stakal's art style is reminiscent of the kinda stuff you'd see in Hellboy or BPRD, it has a grittiness to it, which has long been absent from the Cal McDonald stories ever since Ben Templesmith parted ways. The lines are sharp yet have a chaotic feel to them which help set the somewhat unreal mood of the story.

NOW, all of the above being said, is this something those familiar with Cal McDonald would like? I would have to say yes. The general setup is good, you get the introduction of Moloch basically kicking Cal's ass to get him out of the depressive junkie mood he's in. You see some evil brewing towards the end, and have your appetite whetted just enough to get you to read the next issue. In general, you got all the elements of a classic Cal McDonald story, though there could stand to be a little more sprinkles of humor thrown in

So, in short, to Cal fans, your gonna dig this title, to non-Cal fans, read Niles & Templesmith's Criminal Macabre stuff first, it's a better starting point. B+