Archive for January, 2006
January 23, 2006 | Comics
The 13th Son: Worse Thing Waiting #1, 2 (of 4)
Kelley Jones
Dark Horse Comics
$2.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
Kelley Jones creeps me out.
Well, not the man himself, I’ve never met him in person, but his art and storytelling just have a way of getting under your skin.
First it was Sandman, a haunting figure draped in shadows and surrounded by beings that would make your blood run cold. Then it was his Batman, with his exaggerated cape and cowl making the Dark Knight look almost demonic, followed by the contorted and creepy, Deadman.
More recently, Jones brought us the brief, but memorable The Hungry Ghost in the Dark Horse Book Of The Dead.
And now the tradition continues with The 13th Son, a tale of a monster that hunts monsters — yet lives quietly in the house just down the street.
Filled with the same visionary art (with a shout-out to his skills for depicting a disemboweling), Jones slowly unfolds the machinations of this grotesque anti-hero in a genuine page-turner that you may just want to read with every light in the house on.
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January 23, 2006 | Comics
The Looking Glass Wars: Hatter M #1
Frank Beddor, Ben Templesmith
Image Comics
$4.70/$3.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
When most people think of Alice In Wonderland, visions of Disney cartoons and the phrase: “Off with her head!” spring to mind.
But not Frank Beddor.
The British author of The Looking Glass Wars adheres to the more ominous tones of Lewis Carroll’s Through The Looking Glass to the phrase: “In a mirror, darkly.”
Beddor’s novel, which debuted in the U.K. and Canada in autumn 2004 (but is not scheduled to be released until fall 2006 in the U.S.), aims to tell the “true” story of Wonderland — of a dark world embroiled in a war.
Bridging the gap from the first of the planned trilogy of novels to the second, Hatter M follows the adventures of the man formerly known as The Mad Hatter, now referred to as Hatter Madigan, expert bladesman and bodyguard to her majesty, Princess Alyss.
Arriving through a portal from his world into Paris in the year 1859, Hatter begins his search for the lost princess — and his misplaced hat — and ends up running afoul of a few kites, some drunken Frenchmen, the police and a rather odious man named Sacrénoir.
This interesting premise, complimented by moody art provided by Aussie Ben Templesmith (30 Days Of Night, Fell), make the debut of Hatter M in comics a book worth investigating.
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January 23, 2006 | Comics
Bad Planet #1
Thomas Jane, Steve Niles, Lewis Larosa, Tim Bradstreet
Image Comics
$3.65/$2.99 US
*** 1/2 (out of five)
There is probably nothing a comic book geek likes more than a great teaser line for a new release. Try this one out: Alien Death Spiders!
I love it!
Bad Planet, co-written by actor Thomas Jane (The Punisher) and horror maven Steve Niles (30 Days Of Night, Freaks Of The Heartland), takes the premise of Armageddon and Deep Impact — big thing to hit Earth — and add some real nastiness to it.
When the 300-yard wide object is detected heading for our planet, the scientists involved aren’t too worried. After all, that’s not world-killer size — or is it?
When the meteor takes a left turn, smashes the space station and begins spewing forth mini-vessels, then the panic begins.
What’s inside the vessels? You guessed it: Alien Death Spiders!
Nice art by Lewis Larosa and Tim Bradstreet compliment what looks to be a terrific new sci-fi, horror book.
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