REVIEW: The Demon: Hell is Earth #1 (of 6)

Writer: Andrew Constant
Penciller: Brad Walker
Inker: Andrew Hennessy
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Letterer: Tom Napolitano
Review: Will Dubbeld

“Gone, gone, o’ form of man...”
With those words, Jason Blood transmogrifies into the demon, Etrigan.
Birthed by Jack Kirby in the ‘70s, The Demon tells the tale of medieval knight Jason Blood, bound by fel magic to the titular demon. Upon reciting an eldritch poem, Blood calls upon the rhyming demon and woe befalls those in his path.

Or that’s at least the gist as I remember. It very well could have changed 6 or 8 times (because DCs gonna DC), but we’ll run with what we know...

Jason Blood and Etrigan have run amok across the DCU for decades, meddling in affairs both superhero and supernatural. Currently, Jason appears to be keeping only tenuous control of Etrigan and has retreated to a shack in Death Valley.
A little too on-the-nose, but hey, comics...

Plagued by nightmares involving a little girl trapped in a hellscape, Blood seeks solace in liquor bottles until the military misfires a nuke into the desert.
By coincidence or prophecy, the little girl from Blood’s nightmare is tooling through Death Valley with her family.
The plot, she thickens...     

REVIEW: Batman Metal

Batman: The Red Death 

Writer: Joshua Williamson
Art: Carmine Di Giandomenico
Colors: Ivan Plascencia
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Jason Fabok& Dean White

Batman: The Devastator

Plot: Frank Tieri
Words: James Tynion
Pencils: Tony S. Daniel
 Inks: Danny Mihi
Colors: Tomeu Morey
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Cover: Jason Fabok & Brad Anderson
Review: Madman

I am admittedly lost as to the goings-on with the Metal DC mega-event. After Marvel finished this year’s Civil War I decided I was done with the Big Twos mega events, and I wasn’t spending anymore of my hard earned money on them. I’m proud to say I’ve stuck by that…well, until now, but this shouldn’t count. I truthfully bought all of these Metal Dark Knights books solely for the ridiculously awesome covers, as they’re all just amazing.

That being said, the only DC comic I am currently following is Batman and only because, well, it’s Batman, and I love his villains. Truth be told I probably love Batman’s rogues’ gallery more than I love Batman…
That may be a sin, but I’m fully prepared to deal with the consequences. I also feel that the artwork in said title is always above par, no matter where the actual plot or writing falls, so it’s really win/win if you like fancy scribbles.

From what I gather, these two books involve crazy dark versions of Batman from the Dark Multiverse coming to the DC ‘verse proper and jacking stuff up. In The Red Death, Batman comes to play with the Flash in a not so friendly way. In fact, Batman steals the Speed Force from Barry in order to better “save the world”. The way he does it is kind of lame, though. Batman straps the Flash to the hood of the Batmobile, which has had its engine modified with the tech Barry uses in his cosmic treadmill, annnnd they go really fast. The Speed Force somehow merges Bruce and Barry into the same body, and we are gifted a super-fast red Batman who instead of lightning flashing in his wake leaves this weird trail of red bats, which is pretty neat. We are also graced with a cameo by Scarecrow, which made everything ok.   

Art Bee’s Friday Creep Double Feature

This week demands a double review. After reading these two books my left and right brains were about to reenact the entire Hatfield and McCoy feud inside my skull while trying to figure out which to review. At my LCS each issue gave me a bad first impression, but as you will read soon, each surprised me. I like surprises! Almost as much as I like Shineys!

Imaginary Fiends #1

Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Stephen Molnar
Colorist: Quinton Winter
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Review: Art Bee

The cover of Imaginary Fiends #1 demands the book be picked up and flipped through at the very least. It has a creepiness to it that festers in the back of the eyeballs and draws you in, much like a teenager in a horror movie is drawn to open a curtain concealing a mutilated body. There are two features on the cover that makes it very effective. The first is the word, “Imaginary”, looks out of focus while, “Fiends”, is in focus. This aids in building that creepiness as well as focusing a person’s eyes on the title. The second is the creepy face on the cover. It is simple yet effective. At first sight it gave me a slight chill at the back of my neck.

The plot of this series is very original and unique to the best of my knowledge. Those childhood imaginary friends could actually be fiendish extra-dimensional parasites praying on a child’s fears and affections. To me that sounds like an incredible and inexhaustible plotline. The potential for this series will be greater than The Real Ghostbusters cartoon from the late 80s.   

REVIEW: Master of Kung Fu #126

Writer: CM Punk
Artist: Dalibor Talajić
Review: Will Dubbeld

Yes, Virginia, there was a time when the comic market could sustain a kung fu book for over 100 issues.
In addition to blaxploitation and vampires...

Master of Kung Fu, as well you know, told the tale of Shang-Chi. Son of Fu Manchu (as long as licensing permitted...)!, MI6 agent! For 125 issues we were dazzled with all manner of chop-sockey but, alas, all good things...
Shang-Chi has appeared here and there in the years since his titles’ cancellation and, thanks to Marvel Legacy, we get one final issue of Master of Kung Fu.

Unfortunately, it stutters a bit. Scribed by retired wrestler/MMA fighter CM Punk, the book doesn’t capture the character of Shang-Chi nor does it stick the landing like Punk’s Drax book.

The setup is absolutely the plot of a 1960s James Bond movie. It’s got an evil doctor with a cockamamie scheme, an underground lair, and a sea of expendable henchmen. It’s only missing a sweet car and a sweeter femme fatale, though fast cars and fast women never were priorities for the Master of Kung Fu.       

REVIEW: Black Crown Quarterly no.1

Review: Will Dubbeld

The first issue of Black Crown Quarterly is equal parts preview, advertisement, and anthology.
Comic companies will forever try to recapture the lightning in a bottle dynamism of early Vertigo and, arguably, early Dark Horse and BCQ is the latest swing for the fences.
Unsurprisingly, as tour-de-force editor Shelly Bond is at the reins. Bond was part of Vertigo for some nutty amount of time, something like 20 years, and that æsthetic has stuck with her.

BCQ is a melange of preview stories for upcoming comics in the imprint, short articles and interviews, and a sensibility reminiscent of a DIY ‘zine. Pardon the cliche, but there’s an overall punk rock quality to the book in its counterculture approach and indie vibe. It reminds me of a mid-late ‘80s collaboration Fantagraphic might have published or what Dark Horse Presents used to be.
Black Crown Quarterly differs from most anthology books in that the stories therein retain a common thematic feel. They read like they belong together as opposed to a slice of life piece followed by a science fiction adventure followed by superhero action.
Anthologies like Heavy Metal run the spectrum with stories all over the place; Black Crown Quarterly runs a tight ship.     

REVIEW: Art Bee’s Comic Book Double Header

Halloween has just passed us while Thanksgiving is fast approaching. What do these holidays have in common? That’s correct! These holidays are known for people gorging themselves in unhealthy ways. Its ok as long as its only 2...20…200 times a year, right?
With this in mind and Christmas on the horizon, it seems to me a comic book gorging is in store for our readers.

Grimm Fairy Tails: 2017 Halloween Special

Story: Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, and Anne Toole
Writer: Anne Toole
Artists: Marc Rosete, Eduardo Garcia, Renzo Rodriguez, and Joe Sanchez Diaz
Colors: Ceci de la Cruz, Slamet Mujiono, Fran Gamboa, J.C. Ruiz, Alek Marmontel, and Walter Pereyra
Letters: Fabio Amelia

Lately a problem has surfaced: comic book covers seem to be worth spending big money. Last month I purchased Dawnbreaker for its shininess, and this month I was attracted by a slutty witch on the cover (artwork shown at right). I thought I could possibly get a decent story along with a look-worthy cover.

What surprised me about this issue was the sheer number of people involved with its production. Just look at all of the names above and compare that to only 28 pages in this issue. Were all of those people seriously necessary? The artwork was really good but obviously all digitally done. Looking through the issue at the different sections credited to each set of artists there wasn’t any clear difference in any of the styles. If I hadn’t paid attention to the credits there would have been no chance of me noticing there were more than one artist and colorist. With that all said, the artwork was a fabulous treat for my eyeballs. The colors were extremely vibrant and well chosen.   

REVIEW: Slots #1

Writer: Dan Panosian
Artist: Dan Panosian
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Review: Madman

Every once in a while I come across a funny book I can really connect with on a personal level. For me Slots was one such book. I’ve never been to Las Vegas, nor do I have a desire to ever visit Sin City. It’s just not my cup of tea, but that’s where the majority of this first issue and presumably the issues to come take place. I’ve also never boxed professionally or otherwise, which we learn our main character, Stanley Dance, has indeed done. One would assume after reading this issue it will be a key element to the story as it unfolds. I have indeed been to a casino once in my life, and yes I did gamble. I cashed out ahead via the roulette wheel, which was probably a fluke. With gambling at a casino crossed off my list of life experiences I don’t see myself ever doing so again…
I mean, Hell, I don’t even buy scratch-off tickets or anything like that. Mr. Dance is no stranger to the casino scene, apparently, as we learn he has quite the list of contacts in the Vegas casinos, boxing rings, and back alley burlesque shows.

Other than the fact I have indeed stepped foot into a gambling establishment, I so far have nothing in common with our Mr. Dance. Why would I say I connected here on a personal level? I’ll answer that with Dan Panosian’s own words: