Book Of Shadows #3 - Valiant Entertainment

BOOK OF SHADOWS No. 3, January 2023

In view of this twenty-page periodical being postponed for four months in September 2022, following the news that its New York-based publisher was sadly undergoing “major editorial layoffs”, quite possibly the biggest question facing fans of Jack Boniface’s super-magical alter-ego when they finally got their hands on Issue Three of “Book Of Shadows” was whether the wait was worth it. And disappointingly, the majority probably felt it wasn’t considering just how bemusing Cullen Bunn’s script is for this titanic team-up against “an ancient, otherworldly warlord”.

To begin with the American author suddenly seems to have turned this mini-series’ central antagonist into a combination of Clive Barker’s Pinhead and Jim Starlin’s mad titan Thanos, by depicting Exarch Fane embracing the painful flesh chains of Death whilst blissfully wrapped in the female skeleton’s fleshless arms. This notion of a besotted super-villain desperately trying to win the affection of so destructive a cosmic entity by murdering as many people as possible isn’t terribly original considering “Marvel Comics” delivered a similar storyline some thirty years ago, and also doesn’t debatably even explain how the situation has given him power over savage, space-hopping werewolves, viciously fanged vampires or the all-powerful Book of Shadows.

Similarly as stumping is Doctor Mirage and the Eternal Warrior’s sojourn to their enemy’s stronghold and an utterly bizarre encounter with some sightless wordsmiths who have disconcertingly decided to use the blood of the fortification’s guards as ink so they can add to the pages of their master’s terrible tome. Sure, this lengthy sequence is as enthralling as it is gruesome with one of the facially mutilated scribes chillingly signalling for the brave adventurers to cease their noise by agitatedly placing a particularly wizened finger to his lips. But along with Persephone’s uncharacteristically strange reluctance to continue her fight against Exarch’s army of ravenous lycanthropes and nefarious Nosferatu, the entire predicament arguably appears to have been penned simply to pad out the storytelling for the publication’s length.

Much more successful than its writing are debatably Vicente Cifuentes’ layouts, which in the main provide this comic with plenty of dynamic, pulse-pounding panels packed full of gratuitously-grisly fights and harrowing murders. Indeed, the beleaguered “mystic heroes” valiant stand on Earth against both werewolf and vampire is undoubtedly the highlight of the book, whilst the Spanish illustrator’s sketches of its more sedentary scenes, most notably those focusing upon Shan Fong as she wanders through the halls of Fane’s bastion, aren’t quite as proficiently pencilled; “They’re telling the story of the Book of Shadows… Building its power… with the blood and souls of our world!”

The regular cover art of "BOOK OF SHADOWS" #3 by Rafael Albuqueque

Blowtorch #3 - Second Sight Publishing

BLOWTORCH No. 3, March 2022

Despite creator Alfred Paige’s understandable upset at this comic being two pages short due to “a printing error”, there’s still arguably plenty of pulse-pounding pugilism to enjoy in Issue Three of “Blowtorch”, courtesy of its publication-long punch-up, an utterly insane car chase to the steps of a Mesoamerican pyramid, and simply stunning, purposely planned plane crash. Indeed, for those bibliophiles who like their senses to be persistently assailed by eye-winching socks to the jaw and catastrophic explosions Alex De-Gruchy’s adrenalin-fuelled plot has all their bases covered; “Stay down, ladies. This is probably only gonna get messier.”

Furthermore, there’s a good deal of banter to be enjoyed between both this book’s titular character and mean-spirited partner Pinpoint, as well as with its main masked antagonist Davenport. Rather neatly inserted amidst all the sense-shattering shenanigans, these tense verbal exchanges actually provide some much-needed exposition as to why Avery Davis’ two top C.H.E.S.S. black ops agents are at something of a distinct disadvantage in trying the capture their formidable target alive – especially once Blowtorch quite foolishly makes “the middleman” aware of their mission’s overriding objective.

Setting aside all the bone-crunching blows, showers of hot lead and high-octane antics, this comic’s narrative also provides some nice interpersonal development between Richard Kinkaid and James Washington, as the two widely contrasting team-mates temporarily set aside their differences with one another so as to semi-successfully conclude their latest assignment. Such growth is debatably quite unusual when it comes to action-focused storylines, so Pinpoint’s eventual begrudging acceptance of Blowtorch as squad leader is one of the highlights of the twenty-page periodical.

Perhaps therefore this book’s sole quibble lies with some of J.C. Grande’s over-enthusiastic layouts, which are occasionally so crammed full of debris and destruction, that it makes it difficult to discern who is hitting who. These exuberantly pencilled and heavily inked panels prove particularly frustrating to navigate when it comes to some of the scenes depicting Infrared’s no-holds barred battle with a similarly souped-up automaton, as both robots appear quite similar in their appearance as they brutally batter their way through a series of walls, ceilings and other steel-supported structures. Indeed somewhat disconcertingly, it may well take some fans a few read-throughs of the fight's final stages to fully gather which android actually won.

Creator/Story: Alfred Paige, Plots/Writer: Alex De-Gruchy, and Pencils & Inks: J.C. Grande

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army Of The Dead #5 - DC Comics

DC HORROR PRESENTS: SGT. ROCK VS. THE ARMY OF THE DEAD No. 5, March 2023

Opening with Easy Company receiving (yet) another mission briefing from their military superior at Command Centre, Bruce Campbell’s narrative for Issue Five of “DC Horror Presents: Sergeant Rock Verses The Army Of The Dead” initially feels like something of a reset for the mini-series considering that in the comic’s previous instalment the veteran soldiers had just sensationally discovered the Fuhrer’s secret headquarters. But such a strange feeling isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the Allies would arguably need to consolidate their intelligence and plan a co-ordinated attack upon so formidable a defensive bastion in ‘real life.’

Furthermore, the conference establishes an aura of vulnerability to the mini-series’ titular character by emphasizing that he can’t simply just wade into a Nazi stronghold packed full of super-strong zombies like John Wayne and easily win the day. Indeed, much of this twenty-two-page periodical’s plot actually demonstrates the difficulty incurred by an American strike force trying to specifically target a well-guarded German fortification, courtesy of some hair-raising parachute drops onto ruinous terrain, an unsuccessful bomb drop from the air and a desperate, last gasp bazooka blast; “We ain’t goin’ in that way! We’ll go in the service entrance. Right this way…”

Perhaps this publication’s most startling feature though is just how small the reinforced concrete bunker belonging to “an uber-graded, rejuvenation serum-addicted Adolf Hitler” is. True, the facility’s dimensions are plainly shown on a well-detailed interior map when Rock is originally told of his latest assignment. But the disconcertingly dank place’s claustrophobic central corridor debatably doesn’t hit home with the reader until Frank is staring straight down it at the solitary steel door leading to the Fuhrer’s occupied office.

Ably adding to this comic’s all-pervading atmosphere of nervous anticipation and ballyhoo bravado are Eduardo Risso’s marvellous layouts, which do a first-rate job of depicting Easy Company’s edgy excitement during their mission’s early moments, and then understandable unease as things start to go awry. In addition, the illustrator’s ability to imbue the likes of Eva Braun and Hitler with the subhuman strength of Doctor Theodor Morell’s zombie solution is impressive, with the Fuhrer’s wife proving to be a particularly savage specimen when confronted in close combat.

The regular cover art to "DC HORROR PRESENTS: SGT. ROCK VS. THE ARMY OF THE DEAD" #5 by Gary Frank

Creepshow #5 - Image Comics

CREEPSHOW No. 5, January 2023

Providing something akin to a modern day take of Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, Steve Orlando’s standalone story for Issue Five of “Creepshow” is probably a little too preoccupied depicting Parker’s blithe bedroom activities than how the old man turned young somehow managed to summon a demon to feast upon his increasing great age. But once the clubber’s phone is inadvertently taken by a casual overnight partner the tale soon heats up as a rapidly decaying octogenarian has to plead for it back before his soul is consumed by The Creep’s heavily-fanged friend.  

Arguably not helping “Thirst Trap” with its slow start though is Marianna Ignazzi, whose art style doesn’t seem to quite suit the narrative until the central character’s fate is truly sealed and they’re literally turned into a puddle of grisly goo on a residential area’s pavement. Before this scene of ghoulish jellification, the Italian illustrator appears to struggle to show Parker at his true age, simply pencilling the disconcertingly unwrinkled pensioner with white hair so that he looks strangely reminiscent of an adolescent Race Bannon rather than a long-time devotee of the Devil; “There. It’s done. It is done. Isn’t it? A deal’s a deal, and you… You’ll do it? Give me more time? That is… It’s what we said.”

Much more intriguing is debatably Clay McLeod Chapman’s “Husk”, which ends this “mini-series finale” with a fantastic show of eye-wincing body horror, courtesy of a poor debutante suddenly transforming into a human-sized Praying Mantis and eating her dumbfounded parents alive. Leaving much to the imagination as to just what covenant was agreed between the girl’s non-biological father and the woodland witch who gave her to him, the Richmond-born writer does a good job of hinting at the teenager’s transformation with a disgusting bunion and freakish rippling bone moment, before having the monster finally reveal itself in true “Carrie” fashion.

Perhaps this yarn’s sole concern therefore lies with the initially quite lifeless layouts of “exciting newcomer Anwita Citriya", which at first appear as trepidatious in their woodenness as the elegant “Texas Dip” curtsey Sally is trying to master alongside her mother. Happily however, this listlessness soon departs once the young aristocrat retreats to her bedroom, and is ultimately replaced with some excellent-looking panels portraying the girl’s metamorphosis into a truly nightmarish, all-devouring giant insect.

Writers: Steve Orlando and Clay McLeod, and Artists: Marianna Ignazzi and Anwita Citriya

Batman: Urban Legends #19 [Part One] - DC Comics

BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS No. 19, November 2022

Leading with a twenty-two-page plot which could easily have held its own as a standalone comic book issue, Brandon Thomas’ second instalment to his “Signal And The Outsiders” storyline certainly seems to show just how a super-team should co-ordinate a multi-pronged infiltration of a villain’s nefarious headquarters. In fact, Metamorpho’s tense, well-penned exploration of Doctor Alan March’s Rose Creek Rehabilitation Clinic proves an incredibly intriguing experience, as both the likes of Katana, Black Lightning and even Batman, as well as the reader, wait with bated breath for the metahuman to give the word he has located Duke’s long thought dead mother.

Enjoyably, this sense of anticipation is arguably only heightened by Alberto Jiménez Alburquerque’s layouts, which prove particularly strong once Kirk Langstrom’s father-in-law transforms into a monstrous Man-bat and leads an attack upon the publication’s astonished protagonists with an army of zombie-like convalescents. These sense-shattering scenes are especially noteworthy as Signal is desperately trying to ensure that he doesn’t hurt any of the innocent invalids attempting to savagely stab him to death, and this concern is impressively pencilled upon the youth’s cowled face throughout the increasingly desperate confrontation.

Much darker and disconcerting in tone is Zac Thompson’s “Tiny Hands In The Dark”, which depicts Batman investigating a series of grisly murders which apparently point at a small, homicidal child committing the night-time mutilations. Gruesome in its depiction of slit throats and spilled human intestines, many within this anthology’s audience will probably be hard-pressed to imagine a more disturbingly sinister spirit to just a “Teen Rated” tale concerning the Caped Crusader, as the World’s Greatest Detective discovers the trail of corpses he's doggedly following leads back to the footsteps of the Monarch Theatre where his crime-fighting persona was born; “I like stickin’ peoples guts! I like swimming my hand in ‘em! Spillin’ em like psaghetti!”

Ensuring that this already decidedly grim yarn is even gloomier is Hayden Sherman, whose marvellous layouts atmospherically add a genuine feeling of claustrophobia to the storytelling, particularly once the true villain is revealed and the Dark Knight has to fight for his life against a real psychopath. Also well worth highlighting, as they add bucket loads of atmosphere to the “award-winning” author’s narrative, are Dave Stewart’s colours, which splatter all the pulse-pounding proceedings with a traumatic gizzard-pink hue.

The regular cover art of "BATMAN: URBAN LEGENDS" #19 by Dike Ruan

Batman: The Adventures Continue Season Three #1 - DC Comics

BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE No. 1, March 2023

Featuring a solid, straightforward storyline which enthrallingly follows the Muscle’s eventual escape from Blackgate Penitentiary and potential opportunity for some semblance of redemption, Alan Burnett and Paul Dini’s “return once more to the world of Batman: The Animated Series” is surely something of a success. Indeed, with all its well-penned twists and turns, it was probably hard for many in this comic’s audience not to hear composer Danny Elfman’s highly iconic theme music playing in their head throughout the action-packed adventure.

Quite possibly foremost of these triumphs is the writing team’s ability to underline the high level of organised crime which exists within Gotham City, courtesy of a brief visit to Esther Valestra’s kitchen and the Crime Lady’s familiarity with the likes of Oswald Cobblepot, Roman Sionis and Rupert Thorne. Chillingly understated as the elegantly-dressed hostess dines alongside her nefarious guests on a course of homemade Pasta A La Valestra and Calamari Fritti, this scene illustrates just how cold-hearted the killers around the dining table are as they nonchalantly discuss how best to murderously ‘tie and skewer’ Mama’s former top underworld assassin.

Of course, the meat of this twenty-page periodical’s plot lies in the Muscle’s double-dealing with the prison’s priest, and the subsequent shenanigans which occur in a deserted factory when the hired gun suddenly realises he’s been played for a fool by the clergyman the entire time. So obvious a twist probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to many a perusing bibliophile, however, the way the actual action then plays out is rather exhilarating, especially when the sturdy-looking Lock-Up actually manages to temporarily incapacitate Batman himself; “Looks like I’ve wrapped up a great big bonus on this job. Signorina Valestra will gladly pay extra for your carcass.”

Helping to make this particular publication appear as if it had literally just stepped from out of the small screen cartoon programme are Jordan Gibson’s pencils and Monica Kubina’s colours. Together, the creative team genuinely do a first-rate job of replicating both the look and feel of “Fox Kids” hit show from the early Nineties, with their ability to have the Dark Knight’s punches pack a truly impressive wallop being just one of several visual treats.

The regular cover of "BATMAN: THE ADVENTURES CONTINUE SEASON THREE" #1 by Kevin Nowlan

Dune: House Harkonnen #1 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 1, January 2023

For those readers unacquainted with Frank Herbert’s Dune Universe and hoping to use Issue One of “Dune: House Harkonnen” as an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the late Science Fiction Hall of Famer’s franchise, this “brand new” twelve-part comic book series is probably not the best of starting points. Indeed, considering that the twenty-two-page periodical bewilderingly throws its audience to almost every corner of the Padishah Emperor’s interstellar empire, it is arguably difficult to imagine even those fans who are well versed in the fictional universe’s “rich mythology” easily following so huge a web of colourful characters, political manoeuvrings, Machiavellian machinations and geological explorations.

To begin with, whilst Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s narrative undeniably does contain plenty to do with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, interest in the titular Great House is debatably soon swallowed up by all the numerous insights into other worlds, such as the Imperial Planetologist’s investigation into the cataclysmic storms of Arrakis and a burgeoning rebellion brewing on the Tleilaxu-conquered planet of Ix. Coupled with artist Michael Shelfer prodigiously pencilling some serious shenanigans occurring during a supposedly peaceful party at Count Hasimir Fenring’s Arakeen residency, as well as a somewhat sedentary sojourn to the Mother School complex of the Bene Gesserit to witness Jessica practicing her Prana Bindu training, and it’s hard to imagine many bibliophiles managing to keep their eyes fixed upon quite so many spinning plates.

Perhaps this novel adaption’s biggest disappointment, however, lies in the comic’s sudden and rather undramatic conclusion on the planet of Caladan. Admittedly, the authors’ try their very best to add an element of impending doom to poor Duncan Idaho’s final words as the youth receives a valuable blade from Duke Leto Atriedes prior to departing to become “a worthy trainee for the famed Swordmaster school.” But it comes so out of the blue and with so little context that it sadly smacks of the writers simply crowbarring the scene into this opening instalment just so it doesn’t end on a whimper; “I will study hard on Ginaz, my Lord. I will become the best Swordmaster ever… For all our sakes.”

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer