Mississippi Zombie #3 [Part Two] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3, January 2022

Filled with “To Be Continued”, Part One’s and open endings, the second half to this ghoul-infested graphic novel certainly contains a surprising number of cliff-hangers which seemingly lead straight into a fourth ‘future’ collection of cadaver-filled shenanigans. Indeed, Peter Breau and Paul Carberry’s “Samhain’s Gate” is a good example of this storytelling-technique, with the American Civil War based terror tale coming to an abrupt, precarious conclusion with its central protagonist being crucified upside down in the middle of a deadly, occult ceremony; “Slowly I open my eyes, hoping for a vision of Saint Peter at the gate.” 

Happily however, such an unexpected culmination doesn’t stop this particular twelve-page plot from still being one of the highlights of “Mississippi Zombie”. Artist Benito Tovar Junior does a fine job imbuing Sheriff Levi Ellingwood’s group with plenty of energetic spirit once the Undead attack the search party and savagely munch their way through the deputies with plenty of intestine-tearing aplomb. Whilst its two writers somehow manage to cram in an intriguing political element behind the thickly bearded lawman’s mission, when it’s revealed they’re looking for Senator Brown’s only son Jacob after the Confederate soldier mysteriously disappeared from the Third Battalion.

Equally as intriguing though is the initial instalment of “Zombie Heist” by Marcus H. Roberts. Starting in a similar vein to an episode of “Mission Impossible” or perhaps a criminal incarnation of “The A-Team”, this ‘bank robbery gone wrong’ takes a no-nonsense approach to its narration to quickly bring its considerably sized cast into contact with Mississippi’s brain-hungry denizens. In fact, no sooner has driver Bobby Chavez “made his way to the pier of the old shipyard” to “wait for his comrades to return with the loot”, than the felon is set upon by two ravenous flesh-eaters and temporarily dragged off the jetty into the water.

Rounding off this anthology book’s contents is the rather emotional yarn “The Dead Don’t Die”, which sees an old sailor desperately trying to save his infected wife from a group of self-centred survivors who see his small-sized nautical vessel as their personal salvation. Poignantly penned by Paul Carberry and proficiently sketched by Emi Utrera, this gripping fiction is also noteworthy for its coverage as to how the state’s modern-day zombification occurred, courtesy of Pharmakon Pharmaceutical’s generous donation of numerous flu vaccines.

Writers: Peter Breau, Paul Carberry & Marcus H. Roberts, and Artists: Benito Tovar Junior, Dan Gorman & Emi Utrera

Mississippi Zombie #3 [Part One] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #3, January 2022

Promising “some killer stories” as the zombie menace continues to threaten those residents dwelling within Mississippi, Bradley Golden’s third collection of brain-munching narratives provides an impressively broad range of tales, varying from a hapless postman simply going about his daily business in Pontotoc County, through to an apocalyptic sea-faring world where Augustus King stoically defends the river’s shores from flesh hungry cadavers whilst his ship sails towards the mysterious port of Commerce. Occasionally, such disparity in a book's line-up might be slightly off-putting to some horror fans, but in this instance all the different locations/time zones appear to be intrinsic to the various writers’ plots and are all clearly linked to one another by being set inside the Magnolia state.

Leading this latest anthology’s charge is Golden’s very own “Dog Eat Dog Life”, which essentially deals with an over-tired van driver mistreating a poodle after the beast bites him in the ankle. Initially, readers might feel the animal is entirely justified in subsequently leading a horrifying horde of zombies back to the vendor in revenge. However, with hindsight some may recall that it was the fluffy-white ‘Mutt” which actually started the fracas, and subsequently feel sorry for the mail carrier getting chomped to pieces by so many of artist Dan Gorman’s grotesque-looking cadavers.

Decidedly more complex is “All About Commerce”, which intriguingly continues a storyline first told in one of this title’s preceding graphic novels. Writer Peter Breau does a good job in bringing across the salty vocabulary of his piratical nightmare world and getting the good ship Mike Fink’s latest recruits up to speed with its crew’s hierarchy. Yet, it is probably the adventure’s fast-paced land battle between a pair of swashbucklers and the Undead, which will be viewed by bibliophiles as the yarn’s highlight; especially when it’s so well drawn by Harrison Wood. 

Rounding up this publication’s opening half with a disconcerting insight into a Mississippi-based male fraternity is “40 oz Of Death” by Jeff Carroll. This account of three boys visiting Madam Freak Shop to prove their strength of will is debatably as smutty as a comic can get without Jorge Cabotto’s illustrations crossing into full-frontal nudity. In addition, the script potentially does a fine job in misdirecting the audience as to where the ghoulish threat to the students emanates from.

Writers: Bradley Golden, Peter Breau & Jeff Carroll, and Artists: Dan Gorman, Harrison Wood & Jorge Cabotto

Mississippi Zombie #2 [Part Two] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #2, November 2020

Setting up a strong second half for this corpse-laden compilation is “Return To Horn Island” by Marcus H. Roberts. Clearly penned as something of a sequel to “Zombie Attack On Horn Island” from this title’s previous volume, this twelve-pager rather neatly weaves America’s current obsession with building a great wall “to protect the country and its citizens” with the fate of a man whose great great grandmother somehow managed to survive the aforementioned assault on the nation’s earliest settlers by an old witch woman.

Dynamically drawn by Dan Gorman, this yarn doesn’t debatably contain any surprises for those fear-fans familiar with Roberts’ earlier adventure, as it seems clear from the very start that the military’s decision to turn the island into a safe haven for evacuees isn’t going to go down terribly well with its brain-eating inhabitants; especially when the General decides to split his forces so as to get the clearance job done in double-quick time. But it is still enormously entertaining watching as the elite seal team soon realise that their automatic weapons are no match for a horde of flesh-eating creatures who can tear a man’s still beating heart from out of his chest despite the soldier wearing advanced body armour.

Alfred Paige’s “C.H.E.S.S.: The Dead” is similarly as straightforward in its story-telling, with the Indie comic book creator penning a piece about a pair of super-skilled operatives being helicoptered into a crisis-hit chemical laboratory on a rescue mission to save a family friend of their director. Unsurprisingly, carnivorous cadavers abound throughout the ominously dilapidated facility, and need dispatching ‘toot sweet’ if Mary Maise is ever going to be located safe and well. However, it is the lead protagonist’s excellent interplay with one another alongside John Epple’s highly stylised artwork, which really makes this narrative’s opening instalment essential reading for zombie-loving maniacs.

Finally bringing this gore-filled graphic novel to an end is Jonathan Hedrick’s “Freakshow Princess”. Initially appearing to contain a quite simplistic tale of a woman and her pet dog somehow surviving the apocalypse inside their claustrophobic bungalow, courtesy of the now dead Chris’s procrastination in building the dwelling a functioning garden deck, this deeply demoralising story ends with a tragic twist which really pains the heart, and probably brought many within the book’s audience back down to Earth with a resoundingly loud bump; “The freaks found a way in! She’s starving. I have been so worried about feeding myself that I neglected her.”

Writers: Marcus H. Roberts, Alfred Paige & Jonathan Hedrick

Mississippi Zombie #2 [Part One] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE #2, November 2020

Offering an enjoyable continuation of the zombie menace within the Mississippi region, Bradley Golden’s second anthology of horror centred entirely within the thirty-second largest state of America certainly packs its pages with plenty of brain-chomping terror and thought-provoking adventure. Indeed, the graphic novel’s creator even goes so far as to cram in both a sequel story to this title’s original volume following a modern-day military expedition's unwise decision to pay Horn Island a visit, as well as a couple of exciting cliff-hangers which will doubtless have this book’s buyers clamouring for more details as to when the third volume of “Mississippi Zombie” will be released.

First up however is a quite delightful visit to the glorious Gulfport Beach to meet this weighty tome’s bikini-clad narrator nonchalantly drinking a fruit-laden cocktail whilst the long-haired decaying corpse enjoys watching some crows peck away at the remnants of a man’s dismembered cadaver. Toasty hot and glamourous in her gruesomeness, the skeletal-faced ‘babe’ sets the publication’s somewhat morbid-humoured ambiance as she encourages the local “beefcake” to run screaming for their lives with just her perplexing presence on the shore.

Equally as dark, though somewhat lengthier than the long-dead chronicler’s all-too brief appearance, is the quite personal account of Doctor Madison Wilde in “I Did It All For Him”. Penned by Travis Gibb, this penitentiary-based nightmare depicts just how the utterly deluded prisoner manages to orchestrate his “largest controlled experiment” to date inside an incarceration facility following the discovery that his son has been transformed into a zombie. Intriguingly drip fed details of the disgraced medical practitioner’s plan bit by bit, this gruesome yarn genuinely gets the periodical off to an enthralling start, and is arguably only let down by some of Juan Pablo Milto’s somewhat unclear, scratchy-looking panels.

Somewhat easier on the eye though is the action-packed “Butcher Brothers” written by Lou Graziani. Boiled down to its most basic level, this eleven-pager just follows the two heavily-armed siblings as they gorily tear through a horde of the undead with all-manner of close combat weapons, and debatably seems to just be an excuse for Florentino Santibanez to demonstrate his insane, slightly Rob Liefeld-like pencilling. Packed full of pulse-pounding splash panels depicting the duo mercilessly chopping up their grisly opponents into ghastly bits, it’s no wonder the tale concludes just as reinforcements arrive with the text box “to be continued…”

Writers: Travis Gibb & Lou Graziani, and Penciler/Artist: Juan Pablo Milto & Florentino Santibanez

Mississippi Zombie [Part Two] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE, February 2020

Much more your typical campfire fright-fest feature than the two terrifying tales which preceded it, Marcus H. Roberts’ “Zombie Attack On Horn Island” is this anthology’s sole historical contribution, and resultantly provides an enjoyable romp back to yesteryear when American settlers had little to hand with which to fend off the flesh-chomping cadavers threatening them, except muzzle-loading firearms and a trusty wood-axe. Firmly focused upon the flight of the Johnstone family from an island packed full of the walking dead, this twelve-page chronicle is well-paced with plenty of pulse-pounding moments as Adam desperately attempts to keep the zeds at bay as his panic-stricken wife, daughter and friend try to run to the safety of a nearby vessel.

Crammed with examples of heroic sacrifice, misplaced elation, and just plain old bad luck, this headlong dash for survival is well-drawn by Dan Gorman, whose ‘old school’ styled pencils will surely take the more mature comic reader back to the days of the early Seventies and “Weird Mystery Tales” by “DC Comics”. Indeed, the artist’s ability to imbue his characters with plenty of dynamism as they’re chopping heads, spilling putrid guts and blowing out brains, somewhat imitates all the charm of such Bronze Age greats like Luis Dominguez or Abe Ocampo.

Further fixed in the post-apocalyptic world, complete with zombie panthers, pirate galleys and pet crocodiles, Peter and John Breau’s “It’s All About Commerce” definitely has a story to tell about old college friendships, and the sense of trust those relationships develop during a time when everything seems to want to eat your flesh. Initially concentrating upon having good cardio, similar to Columbus’s rule #1 in the 2009 comedy film “Zombieland”, this ultimately successful ‘last stand’ has some nicely penned moments where experience and a pre-conceived plan of attack certainly help increase one’s chances of survival; “Raina… Play 14.”

Harrison Wood’s artwork also adds a nice claustrophobic element to the storytelling, with many of his panels being populated by all manner of undead nightmares, such as bulldogs, fearsomely-tusked wild boars, and even a slithering King Cobra. These cluttered scenes make it seem almost impossible for anyone to even raise a barbed-wired bat in anger, let alone bludgeon a reeking ghoul to bloody bits, yet it also makes the trio’s final moments together all the more tense, as zombie after zombie appear from the woodland surrounding them.

Finally this graphic novel finishes with Joe Wight’s futuristic “Planet Z”, which rather enticingly teases that Judgement Day isn’t simply going to be confined to a single world of the ever-expanding human empire. Prodigiously pencilled by Rod Espinosa, this frantically-fast account of a factory facility suddenly being overrun by a gazillion ghouls contains some eye-wateringly gruesome deaths, especially once the plant’s security are deployed, and genuinely leaves the reader wanting to see more of Mister Adams’ exploits, if not his singing...

Writers: Marcus H. Roberts, Peter & John Breau, and Joe Wight

Mississippi Zombie [Part One] - Caliber Comics

MISSISSIPPI ZOMBIE, February 2020

Playing out like a re-run of George A. Romero’s 1982 American horror comedy anthology film “Creepshow”, complete with its own ghoulish narrator, creator Bradley Golden’s “tale of horror based in the rural state of Mississippi” must have delighted any gore fans out there with its mix of grisly mutilations, genuinely touching emotional moments, and last minute acts of desperate bravery. Indeed, despite the brevity of some of this graphic novel’s yarns of brain-munching mayhem, every story will arguably leave an indelible impression upon the mind of its readers, whether it be caused by a hapless soldier suddenly realising he won’t ever be playing video games with his son again, or a heavily bearded local drunk shockingly coming face-to-face with the zombie apocalypse he thought his government were just lying about…

Initiating this plethora of “horror and dismemberment” is Golden’s very own “Mississippi Crossing”, which briefly depicts a trio of tales arguably set during the early days of the Undead uprising. Enthusiastically pencilled by Phil Williams, there’s a disconcertingly gripping terror to be seen in the faces of the figures ‘stumbling’ upon the gore-fest exploding around them, with Private John Hilliard’s brave final stand against a gigantic zombie horde “coming from south of here near Yazoo” proving especially poignant.

Bradley’s penmanship, alongside co-writer Alex Barranco, is equally as heart-breaking in “Grave Times”, which follows the desperate efforts of Theodore Brown to keep his marriage alive despite the fact his wife has become ill with an untreatable sickness. Everyone in this comic’s audience will undoubtedly know what is in store for poor Angela, but what is surprising, and resultantly enthralling, is the change her zombification has upon her devoted husband. Clearly, a very morally-upright and adoring partner, Theodore’s decline into a grave-robber is wonderfully written within the space of just seven-pages, to the point where despite his misguided criminal acts, any bibliophiles will surely feel he deserved better than the grisly fate which ultimately befalls him.

Adding to the grim nature of this particular story are Antonio Acevedo’s layouts, whose heavily pencilled shadowing makes Brown’s world even darker to the perusing eye. Packed full of delicate details, such as the tangible rot on Juan Perez’s coffin lid, this narrative is made all the more haunting by the look in Angela’s eyes as she sees her aghast husband pitifully watching her feast upon a corpse and becomes enraged (or extra-hungry) at the sight; “And just like that, the zombie outbreak in Madison starts.”

Writers: Bradley Golden & Alex Barranco, and Artists: Phil Williams & Antonio Acevedo

Boy Zero: Volume Two [Part Three] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME TWO, May 2016

If ever there was a chapter to a graphic novel which ensured that after reading it, the majority of its audience would then later return to its long-running narrative’s earlier instalments, it must surely be “The Christian Reformation”. For although the thirty-one page segment provides a satisfyingly, pulse-pounding ending to all the Machiavellian machinations taking place within Glass City, it also includes lots of wonderful nods back to the book’s earlier events, such as why the opening to “Boy Zero” begins with the foreshadowing of the metropolis’ fate by depicting a broom sweeping a street clean of burning detritus.

However, besides containing lots of visual pointers to its past, Charles Chester’s script also manages to throw a bit more light upon Detective Drekker’s illustrious career within the police force, and “cement him as a fallen hero of tragedy.” Indeed, despite the overweight investigator now needing a walking cane with which to perambulate, the man’s cognisance of the disaster about to erupt within his jurisdiction seems to imbue Nigel with some of the vigour not seen since his earlier days. Such unusual vivacity, coupled with the aforementioned flashback to his more “wide-eyed and hopeful” days as a uniform rookie bringing justice to a “maniac cop”, neatly bookends the protagonist’s profession. 

The “award-winning filmmaker” also does a good job of explaining just how come the ‘wrong’ killer was found at Joan Hagen’s flat. John Ficher’s coincidental presence inside the female author’s abode at the same time as Christian could easily have proved a contrived red herring, but fortunately its serendipity provides a plausible explanation as to just why Susan’s son takes the job as a maintenance man at the local cathedral and accumulates the technological equipment needed to broadcast his cry across the municipality; “Now, Mister Fisher. Tell me about your broadcasts…”

In addition, this comic makes such an impact upon the memory because of Shiloh Penfield’s harrowing depictions of violent slaughter and citywide calamities. Of particular note is the artist’s pencilling of a large jumbo jet crash-landing onto the one Glass City’s packed roads and literally sweeping all before its enormous wings in a truly terrifying wave of annihilation. The subsequent sight of a truly traumatised Edmund, silently curled up with his face in his hands, and surrounded by the corpses of the dead, is simply mind-numbing and just as impactful upon the senses as Kip’s earlier, terrified realisation that an aircraft is about to fall out of the sky.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume Two [Part Two] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME TWO, May 2016

Having apparently unmasked and arrested the mysterious mass-murdering, child-killer in this graphic novel’s preceding chapter, many readers of “Concrete Animals” may well have been wondering what Detective Drekker would be doing for the next twenty-six pages of “Boy Zero: Volume Two”. Yet whilst this particular instalment is somewhat more sedentary than that experienced when the policeman was busy fighting for his life against a knife-wielding homicidal maniac, Charles Chester still manages to imbue this comic’s narrative was some genuinely pulse-pounding moments, and once again rather cleverly catches the perusing bibliophile off-guard.

For starters, a “downtrodden” Nigel finally seems to stumble upon a link between the understandably troubled Christian and “that woman from the paper, the author.” This connection is superbly penned, and is so nonchalantly dropped into a lengthy, late night conversation over a hot cuppa between the overweight investigator and Susan, that it would probably have been entirely missed amidst the discussion’s word-heavy dialogue, if not for the lawman’s astonished facial expression at hearing the news…

Cue a trip to a local bookshop and an overly helpful store-worker who impractically offers to recommend “a few others here… over that one”, and Drekker’s ‘game is most definitely afoot’ once again. Indeed, the rotund detective’s excessively aggressive response to temporarily being inundated with other novels by Joan Hagen over “Monster”, is probably one of the best moments in this entire publication, as his sudden burst of angry energy probably startled not just the store clerk, but doubtless a few within this graphic novel’s audience as well; “Just shut the f*%k up! I’ll take this one!”

Adding plenty of additional atmosphere, as well as a swelling sense of unstoppable insanity, are Shiloh Penfield’s highly disturbing panels. The “guest artist… on Red Knight published by Dead West Comics and multiple independent projects” provides plenty of visual treats to the observant, with her veritable menagerie of assorted dogs, stoats and budgerigars randomly released from Mister Stevens’ Glass City pet shop proving especially amusing. Indeed, the illustrator’s attention to detail, especially when pencilling eyes, is utterly unnerving, so when this tome’s tension begins to ‘ramp up’ it is hard not to be immediately drawn to the expressionate faces of this comic’s numerous characters.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume Two [Part One] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME TWO, May 2016

There’s a genuine palpable sense of fear running through Charles Chester’s narrative for “The Maw” as “two young boys, 11 and 12 in age, were about to succeed” where “an entire Police Force was failing” and unmask the identity of the serial killer stalking the outskirts of Glass City. In fact, the adolescents’ utter naivety that a single battery-powered torch will suffice in protecting them from a creature that has already butchered so many of their hapless friends arguably must have made many of this graphic novel’s readers hold their breath in abject terror alongside Edmund as the petrified lad unnervingly waits for the homicidal murderer under his friend’s bed; “i’M. Going tO. lUre yOur fRieNd. EdMUnd oUt. oF His beD. and gUt hiM. in HiS liViNg rOOm. TTHEn I’M. going to. BASH. his SiSterS heAd. in.”

Of course, after all the grisly casualties and Detective Drekker’s laboriously incompetent enquiries, the “award-winning filmmaker” doesn’t simply pen a straightforward revelation as to just who so recently strangled “little Durga” to “death and buried [her] in less than half an hour’s time… [in] broad day light.” Instead he rather cleverly tries to reassure the more gullible within this publication’s audience that the overconfident Nigel has actually already got his man in custody, and that Christian is as wrong about knowing what is really going on as he debatably is about believing that “Superman would not have any powers” if “the sky was completely blocked out because of a nuclear winter”.

The police investigator’s utter assuredness that because Mister Adams’ cigarette lighter “was found next to the body of Dill” he is clearly guilty of the young bespectacled lad’s brutal slaying is arguably understandable enough, even if “a child was killed while you have me locked up.” However, the prisoner’s extreme reaction to seeing the portable igniter, as well as his realisation as to who he lent it too, must have taken many a bibliophile by surprise, as the moustached inmate literally sees red in his efforts to escape his shackles and tear to pieces the person he believes brutally disembowelled his own kids.

Equally as well delivered is Shiloh Penfield’s story-boards, which not only add an extra emotional element to Mister Adams’ torment, but undoubtedly ramp up the terror in the panels depicting the boys’ battle against the true evil stalking their neighbourhood. Dekker’s all-too brief attempt to thwart the murderer by gunning him down in the bedroom is especially well-pencilled, to the point where the agony on the officer’s face as he’s stabbed in the belly is involuntarily etched upon the memory well after this chapter in the story has been read.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume One [Part Four] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME ONE, January 2016

Positively disturbing in both its creepy exploration of Detective Drekker’s investigation into a “female… attempted rape” and subsequent depiction of young Dill’s truly horrific homicide whilst the bespectacled adolescent is busy watching “Day of the Chicken, or something like that” on television, Charles Chester’s narrative for Chapter Four of “Boy Zero” must have made many perusers of his graphic novel continually look up from reading this publication in nervous anticipation that they might not be safely alone. Indeed, despite not containing any dynamically-arrayed action sequence as such, “Perspectives” still proves to be an incredibly pulse-pounding experience, which simply doesn’t stop over-exciting its audience’s collective heartbeat until after Kip Russell and his partner have left Mister Morty Stevens’ interrogation so as to thwart an unknown madman’s attempt to rain bodies “upon the streets of Glass City” and then “burn and crumble” the city itself.

Much of this perpetual sense of menace debatably originates from any confidence this comic’s onlookers had in its lead character’s ability as a competent investigator being increasingly eroded by the thoughts and feelings of the supporting cast, starting with the Mayor expecting the portly sleuth “to sign off on that report yesterday” and culminating in the aged man’s inability to believe a Pet Shop owner who clearly knows far more about “the killings of nine citizens of Glass City, as well as the attempted murder of one Joan Hagen” than the grizzled cop gives the elderly gentleman credit for. Admittedly, there’s still plenty of evidence to suggest that Nigel is still a very capable policeman, and certainly better suited to capture the metropolis’ mass-murderer than his much younger colleague. But such undermining seeds of doubt are continually sown throughout the overweight detective’s day-to-day dealings, and resultantly provides every sequence with the palpable edginess that at any moment another monstrous mutilation may occur.

Shiloh Penfield’s prodigious pencilling undeniably adds to this tale’s unambiguous atmosphere full of foreboding dread, and it is very clear just why Chester “immediately took to her style” when he first saw the illustrator’s submission; “As far as the story went, she just got it.” In fact, the one-time “Red Knight” guest artist’s storyboarding of tiny Dill’s gruesome demise is all the more spine-chillingly terrifying due to her marvellous sense of theatrical timing as the transmission of the boy’s “bad sci-fi movie” is suddenly cut short and the bemused lad pulls his glasses back on just in time to see the dreadful death fate has in store for him.

For more details on Charles Chester's "Boy Zero" graphic novel please visit its "Face Book" page.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume One [Part Three] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME ONE, January 2016

Predominantly maintaining its focus upon “Edmund’s cross to bear” some ‘twelve days, ten hours and two minutes before zero’, this third chapter to Charles Chester’s “Boy Zero” graphic novel must have made its audience almost taste the metallic tang of rust in their parched mouths, as the children living just outside Glass City show newcomer Christian their secret hideout buried deep inside a dilapidated factory and claustrophobically encircle themselves in a wall of decaying, half-eaten corrugated iron sheeting, red oxide covered machinery and chain-linked fencing. But any readers anticipating that this publication would subsequently provide a light-hearted insight into the craftiness of children “when looking for adventure” were undeniably in for a startling shock once the adolescent party’s game of hop-scotch is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a wizened old “homeless individual” armed with a seemingly blood-stained knife and a brain full of madness; “I think you lied to me! I need to speak to him! Noooo! No No! Where are you going?! No! Come back! I’ll tell you where the lion lives!”

Indeed, the utter terror on the faces of the youngsters as the dishevelled tramp heads towards their main hiding place is absolutely palpable, as is the adrenalin rush caused by the award winning filmmaker’s penmanship in his depiction of the kids rapidly bolting from out of their refuge and ‘pegging it’ past the gore-splattered vagrant towards the safety of a nearby cemetery. Of course, many perusing bibliophiles’ hearts probably stopped dead when the prone hobo manages to take hold of Christian’s ankle as the lad leaps over the fallen intruder’s form, yet fortunately for those holding their breath in anticipation of the 'cutting to come', the old man does not have the strength to drag the wide-eyed boy down to the ground, nor maintain his grip when he takes a well-placed kick to the head…

Perhaps somewhat disappointingly the rest of this particular twenty-six page instalment never arguably manages to ever replicate so pulse-pounding a predicament, even later on when an actress is assaulted at knife-point by a street-level criminal down a dark alleyway. However, that doesn’t mean that the dialogue-driven sequences which follow don’t still easily hold both the attention and imagination either, as Chester’s somewhat disrespectful (young) Detective Drekker unconvincingly assures the local petrified parents that “there is no reason [for them] to worry” despite the recent spine-chilling mutilation of Mister Adams’ two sons, and Christian’s truly nerve-wracking account to Edmund of the Boogeyman coming out at night to tell his next victim that “he is going to hang a child from a tree and gut him from neck to belly…”

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume One [Part Two] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME ONE, January 2016

Firmly fixing its sights upon the events occurring inside “a small neighbourhood, built for the workers of the factories” just outside the limits of Glass City, rather than depicting the corpulent Detective Nigel Drekker solving another bloody slaying, Chapter Two of “Boy Zero” undeniably delivers a far less pulse-pounding plot than its preceding instalment with its dark depiction of the day when “a moving van approached House Twenty Two” and “brought with it the Marshall Family.” Yet such a change in subject matter and pace certainly doesn’t mean that Charles Chester hasn’t penned a tale equally as shockingly spine-chilling and disturbing as that encountered within “The Ember Rose”.

Indeed, Edmund’s childhood memories of a time when two of his friends were literally torn in half (supposedly) by their father whilst sleeping in their beds, must have kept many of this graphic novel’s readers awake well into the night, especially as the “award winning” filmmaker’s text repeatedly insinuates that the mysterious Christian is in all likelihood actually at the centre of the horrific happenings and may well be this tension-filled tome’s Boogeyman; “And when night fell the half dreaming boy would often wander about the neighbourhood like a wraith, peering into the homes of his neighbours as if he couldn’t be seen.” 

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the portly policeman is completely omitted from this twenty-four page phase of Chester’s enthralling narrative, as Drekker patiently plies a now adult Edmund with food in order to illicit the ashen-faced youth’s memories of his sister and how she dealt “with all the death surrounding her.” But such an intrusion upon this segment’s story-telling is fleeting, with the detective’s presence being largely left to the shadows so this book’s audience can watch in mounting dread as tiny, fresh-faced Paulette is found to be missing from her bed during the dead of night at the same time as “Boy Zero” is depicted stalking the local cemetery crying…

Adding to this episode’s aura of all-pervading doom and despair is Shiloh Penfield’s arguably angular pencilling, which imbues each character with a physical awkwardness that really lends itself to the disagreeability of this tale’s gory subject matter. Doe-eyed and grim-faced, the artist’s sketching style almost paints each of Charles’ characters as hapless puppets, who are woodenly walking towards some truly horrific fate from which there is absolutely no hope of escape or redemption.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield

Boy Zero: Volume One [Part One] - Caliber Comics

BOY ZERO: VOLUME ONE, January 2016

Described by “Caliber Comics” as “an epic noir tale spanning decades and two separate murder mysteries”, this opening chapter to “Boy Zero” predominantly focuses upon Detective Drekker seemingly solving a string of gory murders committed by a seriously sinister bald-headed serial killer, and in doing swiftly draws the reader into a terrifying world of brutalisation, bloody terror and truly repugnant police interrogation techniques which actually leaves its bed-bound victim both dead and saturated in another person’s urine; “During the excitement of the moment Mister Fich released his bladder…” So massively mature a tone may well disgust or revolt any perusing bibliophile haplessly flicking through this comic book whilst stood at the spinner rack, but for those who venture deeper into the sordidly dark world of Glass City, Charles Chester’s enthralling penmanship should easily have them ‘on the edge of their seats’ as the obese cigar-chomping detective spends a pulse-pounding thirty minutes racing sixty-three miles in a marked car so as to stop the death of Miss Hagen.

Interestingly however, the “award winning” filmmaker’s plot isn’t simply a straightforward tale of one of the portly policeman’s more grisly investigations, as its occasional decade long time jumps denote. Instead, the published author’s narrative also provides plenty of mystery in an underlying story-thread which sees artist Shiloh Penfield proficiently pencil the “hero detective” being psychologically analysed by a doctor so that the Mayor can force him into early retirement and ‘satisfactorily’ sign-off another chain of homicides against Nigel’s instinctive better judgement.

This additional scene, admittedly tremendously dialogue-heavy, yet absolutely crammed full of atmosphere, really brings some depth to Drekker’s potentially dislikeable character, so that by the time the foul-mouthed law enforcer is depicted allowing his partner Kip to nauseatingly torture their suspect in a secure hospital ward towards the end of “The Ember Rose”, it’s clear that the man does so “because I am not particularly fond of explaining to parents why their child has been hacked into little pieces” as opposed to being some sadistic tormentor in his own right. Indeed, the policeman’s sole motivation in life appears to be that “on my best day I may be able to prevent” such a thing from happening, and resultantly he’ll question a fellow officer’s manhood if they’re driving too slowly, as well as repeatedly verbally abuse his work colleagues, just to ensure he catches his suspect before they try to kill again.

Written by: Charles Chester, and Artwork by: Shiloh Penfield