It is 1986. I am nineteen. I am in Portland. I stopped reading superhero comics a few years back when I traded them for underground /indie comics. I draw and publish comics of my own. I have nothing but scorn for superheroes. My friend Doug, who still reads superhero books, tells me there's this guy from 2000 AD DC brought over from England and he's doing Swamp Thing and I've really got to read that, and I scoff. He tells me this guy's got a new series and it's mind-blowing and I'm like "It's about superheroes, right? Snort." He makes me take home every Alan Moore issue of Swamp Thing and the two issues of Watchmen out so far, anyway. The next day, I go to the comic book store and ... (more…)

Dead of Night: Devil Slayer is a four issue mini-series published by Marvel MAX, and I can't say that I was exactly thrilled to look at any more comics being produced under the banner. It seems to be an imprint designed for "mature readers", but it also seems that such designations, under Marvel terms, always manages to push the limit of things to maybe the equivalent of a PG-13 movie. That was titillating when I was, say, twelve years old, but no more.

To further augment my apathy, this series is, at first glance, about superheroes. I can stomach, and even enjoy, some of the things that have come about in the superhero genre. But again, it's from Marvel, and they've created a superhero ... (more…)

Hey, look - it's another zombie comic book series!

Well, it certainly looks like one, and it reads like one too, and while I initially muttered loudly to no one in particular that the industry should stop putting these out, I was pleasantly surprised by this book.
I'm pleased to report that Crossed looks like it might actually be worth your reading time - sort of.

Why is that? For starters, Crossed actually tries really hard to push the oversaturated genre trope forward - and it does a pretty good job of it, too. While keeping with the general theme and structure of the apocalyptic zombie story, it twists the roles in terms of characterization and plot arc just enough to deliver a very strong ... (more…)

In 1997, Chaos! Comics published a four issue series entitled the 'Cryptic Writings of Megadeth'. Remember Megadeth? Remember 1997, for that matter? The last thing I remember about Megadeth was a certain Metallica documentary film which featured a scene in which Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine was sitting in a psychologist's chair and, well... he was weeping.

So yeah, I can only imagine that in 1997, Megadeth was still AWESOME and CRUSHING. AWESOME and CRUSHING enough to have their own comic book, at least. The immediate problem one might assume of this series is bias with regards to its branding, especially from a comic book out of the late 1990's. I explain how you can produce horrible ... (more…)

Junji Ito provided a series of comic titles in the late 1990s that, really, should be key reading to anyone interested in horror comics, or, even horror in general - never mind if you don't like comics or you don't like Asian comics. Unlike the majority of so-called horror comics, Ito's work is actually heavily entrenched in the canon of horror literature and uses various influences and themes to meet story ends, rather than just regurgitating the imagery and iconcentric themes that so many books, comics, and movies tend to provide.

Mainly, Ito's work tends to riff heavily on the literature of HP Lovecraft, generally regarded as a "branch" of the horror genre unto himself. The key word here ... (more…)

"This never works..." I mumbled to myself while examining the cover of Dead Space #6.

I immediately decided that this series, being previously unfamiliar with it, was clearly running the old and well-worn space horror concept where a writer can prey on isolation and survival themes to put a very basic A-to-B style of story arc. You know, like the ALIEN movie franchise/comic book series and any number of pastiche knock-offs that came before, during, and afterwards. It's essentially the zombie formula in space, with maybe less critters or maybe more. But, yeah, a great yawn escaped me as I opened the cover and began to read. I was about to find out if my fears regarding this book were well-... (more…)

Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash Series: Issues #1 - #6


Like all dutiful thirteen-year-old boys, I picked up the entire run of this title the moment I was made aware of its existence. I'm pretty sure that if you've any soul whatsoever, the names of the three title characters should be enough to send you running out to get this. Never mind the train wrecks that both the FRIDAY THE 13THth and A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET movie franchises became with the onset of the 1990s - if you were ever a thirteen-year-old and into horror films during the 1980s, you probably worshipped at the altar and have fond memories of such things.

Unlike most film purists, I didn't run into issues with FRIDAY THE 13th movies ... (more…)

Quint over at Ain't It Cool News broke this preview of Mike Perkins's artwork for Marvel Comics' upcoming comic book adaptation of Stephen King's The Stand.

Double click on the image to really appreciate it.

Something tells me this maxi-series is going to be the horror comic event of the year. (more…)

ABE SAPIEN - THE DROWNING

It's been a while since I've reviewed something I didn't like (since my ALIEN VS. HUNTER review, I believe), and I was starting to feel I was really lucky. Guess what? My luck hasn't changed! I think God is on my side and all the stuff I'm getting lately is amazingly cool. Well, I sort of liked FORCED ENTRY, so I might have some issues, I accept it. But, when it comes to Mike Mignola and his creations, I think it's not possible to argue that his stuff is always on the level.

The first solo adventure written by the creator (He had already starred in his own one-shot comic, ABE SAPIEN: DRUMS OF THE DEAD by Brian McDonald and Derek Thompson) of Hellboy's longtime ... (more…)

Joe Quesada, Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, announced today that award-winning horror novelist Brian Keene has been named as the writer for a new Devil Slayer series, debuting this Fall under Marvel's Dead of Night horror brand (part of the adult-themed MAX line).

"Brian's writing a four-issue series reinterpreting the bad-ass character Devil-Slayer," said Quesada. "We're going to be looking at this character in a new, MAX light, and tie directly into some key events going on in the world today, in the classic Marvel tradition."

Both the creators and the company are tight-lipped about specifics, but Keene has confirmed the new series will take place on the frontlines of Iraq.

"When I was ... (more…)