Comics and More

William Harms, Nick Postic & Nick Marinkovich This is a nice dark and moody book for Halloween. Most of the art is bathed in shadow with gothic images like wolves howling at the full moon and living shadows. Very effective art by Postic and Marinkovich for this type of story. Also very effective are the slithery, oily monsters glimpsed across the pages of this bloody chiller. Impaler is a vampire tale. Beginning in Wallachia in 1460, this book is mostly set in modern day New York City where a cop is retiring in wake of his wife's death at the same time that a ship has been discovered with its entire crew brutally murdered. Like Bram Stoker's Dracula , a diary relates how the crew slowly met its demise via a sickness as equipment was strangely sabatoged. While the book is set full of stock characters and warm bodies to be picked off, the atmosphere and great art, particularly when it comes to the villain designs and death scenes, more than make up for any lack of imaginat...

For Halloween, I've decided to take on two of the goriest manga titles out there... Octopus Girl and Hino Horror ! Octopus Girl (Volume 3) Toru Yamazaki Octopus Girl remains one of the best dark humor titles in manga. In this, its third volume, it shows little sign of slowing down. Like the previous volume of the series, this book includes some short stories from Yamazaki that aren't part of the Octopus Girl series (nearly a third of the book this time), but are in the same vain of storytelling: blood, gore, screaming, sarcasm (although Super Ladies delves more into the spy genre and is still just plain great). Aside from that hideous cover which has nothing to do with any of the content within, this is another great addition to any manga collection. A real treasure included among the short stories: The Slit-Mouthed Neighbor . Check it out! A- The Bug Boy: Hino Horror #2 Hideshi Hino There is a reason Hideshi Hino is dubbed the Master of Japanese Horror Manga. I've been ...

Grant Morrison & J.H. Williams III Everything the Seven Soldiers mini-series have been respectively leading toward merge and come to a head in this oversized comic book, where the seven soldiers who will never meet all play a role in stopping the harrowing of Earth at the hands of the corrupt Sheeda. Unfortunately, I don't think this comic turned out the way Morrison wanted it to. So much is going on, the action never lets up for a moment, and the characters that we've spent so much time with don't get all of the attention they deserve in the conclusions to their tales. Two of my favorites in particular, Frankenstein and the Bulleteer, make pretty brief appearances. No, I think for this to have worked out as Morrison had envisioned, a concluding mini-series would have been the best course of action. That's my first impression, at least. Also, one of the soldiers, the Manhatten Guardian, didn't seem to contribute in the destruction of the Sheeda Queen whatsoever...

Snakewoman #4 Zeb Wells & Michael Gaydos The latest issue of Snakewoman finally explains just what all of the vague concepts like "the sixty-eight" mean. Through a series of flashbacks that look like they fell out of an issue of Fell , Gaydos illustrates the history behind all of the new players in town and how they came to be. It's all pretty interesting and could lead to some good stuff. B+ Jack of Fables #4 Bill Willingham & Matthew Sturges This book is really shaping up to be something. In this issue, Jack puts his escape plan into action and we are treated to a real edge-of-your-seat thrill ride as the caged fables make a break for freedom. One of the best offerings of the week. A Zombie #2 (of 4) Mike Raicht & Kyle Hotz Raicht continues to keep readers off-balance with the twists and turns he offers in his zombie tale. The explanations and scares are all pretty by-the-numbers, but the way he's been handling the characters involved in the tragedy has...

Garth Ennis & Jeevan Kang Seven men are brought together by a mysterious woman, each of whom has a special power, whether it be teleportation or super-sight. Well, all except one guy who is a pimp and our hostess Miss Rachel Kai doesn't really understand how he fits into things herself. All she knows is that this particular group of men will band together to save the world. Overall, this is a very generic superhero story. It was decent as far as set-ups go, but there's nothing particularly unique in what's been seen thus far. An interesting introduction at the beginning of the issue told of some secret Chinese history, and some cave explorers are about to wake what appears to be the devil, but until those elements come into play, there's nothing about the story to compel me to urge anyone to track this comic down. However, I will admit that Garth Ennis' dialogue is pretty sharp and witty at times, to the point of making me laugh out loud at one moment. On the ot...

Alexander Irvine & Russ Braun This is how more horror comics should be. Marvel's Max imprint allows for truly gruesome, unsettling imagery and unabashed violence, which is perfect for some titles to thrive under. It's not for every title, of course, but if you're going to write a Hellstorm mini-series, you shouldn't have to hold back on the gore and brutality. It should be genuinely frightening. That being said, the first issue of this mini wasn't exactly frightening. It was gory and violent, and a bit disturbing, but it felt more like an R-rated superhero book, or a Sandman adventure (or more specifically, an adventure from Lucifer , the spin-off book from Sandman ). Not that it wasn't good, because it was a pretty good read. It just didn't drive the scares. The opening scene is a great demonstration for why this is a Max title: demons chase a man through dark alleys until they overtake him, whereupon they tear him apart, bloody limb from bloody limb...

There are plenty more comics about witches than there are werewolves , so I've had to pick and choose a bit here. Now, there are characters like The Scarlet Witch (a mutant, not a witch) who are not mentioned in this list, for this list leans more toward comics featuring traditional witchcraft practitioners to weed out the hundreds of books that could make a case for using magic. Bear with me as I highlight a few titles you may find of interest in your quest for scares this Halloween. Spellbinders: Signs and Wonders - This is how books in that "girl witch" genre should read. The opening scene: two boys are looking through a book on magic, one reading mockingly until, with a look of horror and a mispronounced word, he falls to the floor and shatters into thousands to tiny green lizards that spill out of his clothes. From there, this series doesn't miss a beat, but just keeps on thrilling. We follow a new girl in town, Kate, as she transfers to a school in Massachusett...

In Guilty Pleasures #1 (of 12) Laurell K. Hamilton, Stacie M. Ritchie & Brett Booth The debut issue of this comic has already sold out, but Marvel has announced a second printing, so you still have a chance to get your hands on the comic adaptation of Laurell K. Hamilton's best-selling Anita Blake book. Guilty Pleasures was the novel that introduced millions of readers to the sassy, headstrong Anita Blake, who is an animator, and raises the dead for a living, but gets herself in deep with warring vampires and the like. She doesn't like vampires much, has some trust issues with them, and has already killed fourteen of them, thus she has been dubbed the "Executioner" by their kind. Guilty Pleasures really lent itself to comics nicely. Its world is pretty superhero-ish. The world is aware of monsters, and has put into motion laws that protect them as citizens, etc. Plus, Hamilton's style is very visual, so the transition isn't very jarring here under the ...

I've finally gotten a chance to get in some reading for this past week, now that next week's comics are nearly upon us... Runaways #21 Brian K. Vaughan & Mike Norton This was a really great conclusion to the "Dead Means Dead" storyarc. I wasn't too impressed up until this issue. But Chase gets another little nudge toward darkness in wake of Gertrude's unexpected death, while the other runaways come up with a strategy to cut the humongous rampaging monster down to size. And the guest artist kinda grew on me now that it's back to Alphona with the next iss. A X-Factor #12 Peter David, Renato Arlem & Roy Allen Martinez Another great finale to a storyarc sees X-Factor's invasion of Singularity come to a head, giving the team a glimpse of things to come as they confront the villains. Some cool character moments revitalize the series after it's chugged along on fumes for a little while. A- Ms. Marvel #8 Brian Reed & Roberto De La Torre T...

A look at some books coming to stores this week... The Fountain SC - Darren Aronofsky's original graphic novel from last year gets a softcover edition, just in time for the film! Seven Soldiers #1 - After a lengthy delay, the last issue in Grant Morrison's omni-series comes out, promising the death of a soldier. Showcase Presents: Phantom Stranger (Volume 1) TP - Another Showcase from DC is always a good thing. Impaler #1 (of 4) - A new Image mini-series. A blizzard has basically shut down New York City...but that isn't stopping a group of vampires from terrorizing the city. EC Archives: Weird Science (Volume 1) HC - I believe that this is the first of the EC Archives collections coming out, collecting classic works from the defunct publisher. If I had an extra $50 lying around...

John Cameron Mitchell's new film is absolutely spectacular. See it!!!

Since I had no time to read anything this week, I thought it would be a good opportunity to provide links to some great manga essays. Enjoy! Jog on Golgo 13, Part One Jog on Golgo 13, Part Two Jog on Manga He'd Like to See Translated Jog on Naoki Urasawa's Pluto and Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy Abhay Khosla on Naoki Urasawa Yes, it's a lot of Jog, but he's a good writer. Also a great resource for everything manga: Mangablog Next week, back to the reviews with volume three of Octopus Girl and more! Archives: Manga Monday 13 Manga Monday 12 Manga Monday 11 Manga Monday 10 Manga Monday 9 Manga Monday 8 Manga Monday 7 Manga Monday 6 Manga Monday 5 Manga Monday 4 Manga Monday 3 Manga Monday 2 Manga Monday!

Sorry the posts have been a little scarce lately, but between starting my new job on Wednesday morning and leaving my previous job on Wednesday night, I've been working nearly seventy hours. Bleh. But next week should be back to normal, schedule-wise. I have quite the pile of comics waiting to be read and reviewed, including the already sold-out Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter in Guilty Pleasures #1, John Woo's Seven Brothers #1, Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1 (of 5), Wildcats #1 and The Authority #1. And then there's also the regular monthlies like Runaways to sort through. It's all on its way. But for now...the highlights of Marvel books shipping from Diamond in January ... Ms. Marvel Special - A 48-page one-shot that reintroduces one of Ms. Marvel's old adversaries in a story that sounds like it will drudge up a lot from Carol's past. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #12 - The fantastic series from Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen comes to a sudden conclusion, as sales d...

The following are the highlights of DC books shipping in January.... There wasn't much going on....seriously, this is it. Jack of Fables (Volume 1): The (Nearly) Great Escape - I was impressed with the initial issues of this series. I wasn't expecting much, but it was a pretty good read. If you've been thinking about checking out the spin-off and you read the Fables proper title, I'd say you really should be getting this or you're missing out. If you've been meaning to check out Fables for awhile now...check out Fables . Seven Soldiers of Victory (Volume 4) - Wrapping up Grant Morrison's mega-series is the final installment of Seven Soldiers , including the soon-to-be-released Seven Soldiers #1 Showcase Presents: Aquaman (Volume 1) - This was a no-brainer and a title I'm sure plenty of people are excited about. Aquaman is just so...Aquaman. Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predators - I think this is just great. Brilliant.

What a week! Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter in Guilty Pleasures #1 (of 12) - The first comic adaptation from Anita Blake's best-selling horror series come out from Marvel, via their new deal with Dabel Brothers Productions. I think the art looks nice. I may have to pick it up despite having read the novel already... Amazing Spider-Girl #1 - The fan-favorite character returns in a new monthly on-going title after a short hiatus. Hopefully the new number one will encourage new readers. Hellstorm: Son of Satan #1 (of 5) - A new MAX title featuring Damian Hellstorm, from Alexander Irvine and Russell Braun Essential Marvel Horror (Volume 1) TP - Coinciding with the release of the new Hellstorm series is an Essential volume collecting some of the Son of Satan's previous adventures. The Damned #1 - Culleen Bunn and Brian Hurtt's new gangester/monster series makes it debut in stores in wake of SPX. You may want to give it a try. I did . The Authority #1 - New Grant Morriso...

Welcome to another edition of Manga Monday! And it was quite a week for manga, as many of the titles I follow were released all at once. The Drifting Classroom (Volume 2) Kazuo Umezu What can I say about this manga? It's over-the-top in everything it does. There's a lot of crying and screaming, people do ridiculous things in their quest to horde food, and the deaths are rather hilariously carried out. My favorite part of this volume was when a poor little crippled girl on crutches is picked up leaving the school, and she goes through a long sob story about how she just gets in the way and slows people down, how it's hard for her to make friends, and she left the school to go to the next town for help so she wouldn't be in the way, and the protagonist screams "You idiot! What are you talking about? Besides, you're walking in the wrong direction!" That's The Drifting Classroom in a nutshell. A- Dragon Head (Volume 4) Minetaro Mochizuki Another survivali...

Halloween's just around the corner, so you may be just itching to sit down with a good book in a dark, quiet room to give yourself a scare. Over the next few weeks, I'll be highlighting books appropriate to read on a dark and scary night. For this opening post, I'm going to look at those monsters who always seem to get the shaft: werewolves. You may not be able to think of a werewolf comic off the top of your head, so let's change that. There was actually a time when publishers using the Comics Code Authority (in wake of that infamous Seduction of the Innocent ) were unable to produce works featuring werewolves. They were in fact banned from even mentioning werewolves or wolfmen. Things have changed since then, and while publishers don't seem to be scrambling to make up for lost time, there are a few noteworthy comics featuring the creatures. The Wolves of St. August This is a short story from Mike Mignola and James Sinclair originally featured in Dark Horse Presen...

It's that time of year again where Patrick and I rent a bunch of horror movies in honor of All Hallow's Eve. Weeks of movies lead up to a marathon of films on Halloween night. We've already seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) and The Wicker Man (1974) . The others on the list (most of which were added to our Blockbuster queue courtesy of Alan Jones' The Rough Guide to Horror Movies ) are... - I Walked With a Zombie (1943) - Dracula (1931) - The Mummy (1932) - Mummy (1959) - The Devil's Rejects (2005) - Omen (1976) - The Bird With the Crystal Plumage (1969) - It's Alive (1974) - Chinese Ghost Story (1987) - Peeping Tom (1960) - Curse of the Demon (1957) - Cat People (1942) - Old Dark House (1932) - Near Dark (1987) - Repulsion (1965) My favorite horror movies include The Exorcist (1973), The Ring (2002), Black Sunday (La Maschera del demonic) (1960), The Descent (2005), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Inferno (1978), Night...

A light week in floppies... Fables #54 Bill Willingham & Mark Buckingham Part three in the Sons of Empire arc follows the history of the Emperor's new ambassador to Fabletown, that scary man on that disturbing cover: Hansel. We discover what a twisted soul that young man turned into after shoving that witch into the oven, as Prince Charming tries to figure out what to do about his sudden appearance. That has to be one of the best covers for the series ever, a good match for the great backstory that's sure to produce a really interesting character. A- Uncanny X-Men #479 Ed Brubaker & Billy Tan Shi'ar prisoner Korvus makes his way to the Uncanny X-Men's spaceship to deal with the threat onboard. Billy Tan provides great art among the non-stop action. I love how he draws all of the characters except Professor Xavier. He just looks strange and I can't help but be distracted when the rest of the pencils are so immaculate. B Devi #4 Samit Basu & Mukesh...

Comics will be in stores Wednesday, despite the Columbus Day holiday (the mail was still delivered). Here are the highlights... Desolation Jones TP - Another hit from Warren Ellis, with a loyal following. I haven't checked this bad boy out yet, but now that the first six issues are being collected, it seems like the ideal time. Art by J.H. Williams III! Absolute Sandman (Volume 1) HC - The first DC Absolute version of a few hardcovers chronicling the Vertigo monster title sees release, loaded with plenty of extra goodies, and colors touched up a bit in places. Should be a beaut for anyone willing to fork over $99 for the behemoth. Fables Special Edition #1 - Been thinking about checking out Fables ? Especially in light of the definitive Bill Willingham interview in the last Comics Journal ? Well, now's a good time. For 25 cents, you can get the first issue to see if it's something worth buying collections of. Gen 13 #1 - Gail Simone tries her hand at reinvigorating the ...