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Decapitated Dan
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Horror Comic Roundup - 9/17/13
Horror Comic Roundup Image drawn by Travis Wayne Pursell, colors by Decapitated Dan
Welcome to the Horror Comic Roundup! Join Decapitated Dan, Billy Dunleavy, Denise Dutton and friends each week as they review new and old Horror Comics that you will either be dying to read or terrified to check out!
Denise Dutton: The first issue in this series took a look at the action from Cassie Hack’s POV. This time? It’s an Ash-eye view, and it’s a lot of fun. Ash puts his own particular spit & polish on the action, which makes for laughs coupled with Daniel Leister’s artwork. This time the duo head to prison to find an evil doppelganger; blood, deadites and Ash’s trademark quips abound. The final panel is gorgeous, and promises tons of action (and splatter) to come. This series is coming along nicely, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. (4 out of 5)
Billy Dunleavy: Just when I think this book can’t get any better, it goes through the roof! As if dinosaurs, Nazis, and a crazy twist on WWII isn’t awesome enough, throw in s cave full of giant spiders to make things over the top! From the very first page to the last, you get non-stop acion, but also a cool story too with the professor back in real time, fighting for his life against a Nazi spy! Artistically, the book has no flaws and delivers some of the best, most gruesome scenes I’ve seen in quite a while.This creative team has hit a home run with Chronos Commandos! Rating 5/5
Decapitated Dan: Tango Unlimited is back, and boy did they bring the big guns for this AGH-Mazing 4th issue of Descent of the Dead. I give the team major props and high fives for including a recap page, because it was easy to recall what happened before without having to dig out and re-read issue #3. Perez does a fantastic job of doing a small flashback scene talking about flowers and how they repel the zombies, only to transition into the horrible situation that the Tango Team finds themselves in. The pacing and dialogue are near perfect throughout the issue. The artwork by Penavic is fantastic too. I love his designs of this cast, but it all came down to one scene where a monster was hiding in the walls. This book is just amazing, plain and simple, it is amazing. I wish it came out more often, but as long as they keep doing what they are doing now, taking their time is perfectly fine with me. Do yourself a favor and get a copy now. - Dying Breath 4.5 out of 5.0
Denise Dutton: Looooove the cover art in this issue! Ahh, the suburban serial killer. (Thanks for that, Michael Del Mundo!) I also love the panels here; a mix of styles that drew me in and propel the story visually. Excellent. Because the story gets really good in here, with Dexter doing a little of his special kind of “research”. Dexter’s high school bully - turned - “saint” is too good to be true, but he’s also no dummy. Two more issues in this series, and here’s hoping there’s a little of the ol’ ultra-violence soon! (4 out of 5)
Billy Dunleavy: OK, here’s the deal. DC has totally rebooted their universe with the “New 52”, just a short time ago. This new angle of villains taking over all the books added on to that screams “inaccessible” to any new readers. Sure, you don’t have 50+ years of continuity to try and sift through, but throwing a bunch of crap with no direction on pages isn’t the answer. That said, Matt Kindt did do a decent job of showing a new origin for one of DC’s best horror related villains in Solomon Grundy. Other than that, the book was just baffling to a new DC reader such as myself. The artwork was serviceable thanks to some eye popping colors. Rating 2.5/5
Decapitated Dan: I have been off of the DC train for a while now, but I figured with the new Villains books coming out a few of these horror themed characters might be worth checking out, and this one was very worthy. I really don’t know anything about the character, but this whole issue was really just back story on Grundy. You basically have a man who has had enough, and just snaps. Kindt does a fantastic job on the writing with this one, I was into every single page I read. I really love this concept (again keep in mind I know almost nothing about Grundy) of when he touches something it turns into ash. The artwork by Lopresti was very enjoyable panel after panel. This one was kind of a surprise this week, and I would love to read more if it were just on this character. Too bad some hero will probably show up at some point to ruin it. - Dying Breath 4.0 out of 5.0
Billy Dunleavy: After missing out on the second issue, I’m glad I jumped back on this series! The “ghost hunters” aspect of this book are kind of lame, but when the actual ghosts do make their presence known, the crap hits the fan! People die, and die horribly, and this is illustrated in a totally awesome way by artist Goran Sudzuka! Kudos to him and Josh Williamson for bringing the action and blood to us all! Rating 4/5
Decapitated Dan: Issue #2 of Ghosted had me sold on the fact that this was a series I had to read, and after reading #3 I am 100% sure that is something we ALL need to read. This issue does a great job of starting out with more setup/back story, but after that it just goes pedal to the floor. Williamson is doing a fantastic job of giving his large cast personalities, without taking away from the whole of the story. It’s always moving forward, and in this issue, it seems that something messed up and creepy is always happening. I am actually shocked at the ending, and now I can not wait to see what comes next. The artwork by Sudzuka is good. I think it fits this story very well, but it’s not my personal favorite. This series has been picking up momentum since issue #1 and I really don’t see it letting up anytime soon. - Dying Breath 4.5 out of 5.0
Billy Dunleavy: I’m new to this series, but not the awesomeness of Archaia! They continually pump out incredibly beautiful books every month. Not having read the first volume, it was quite confusing on why things are the way they are. A couple of characters (Owen & Salamandra) that seem to be best friends go on a short journey to find a relative of sorts. Other than magic and great artwork, this is a tough sell for me personally. Rating 3/5
Denise Dutton: One shots can be fantastic, or craptastic. This one has a deliciously nasty surprise that may not be a first, but is a lot of gory fun. I only wish there were more than 17 pages of story. Not only to flesh things out a bit more, but because it’s a damn fine comic and I want more. Love the use of only black, white and red with the coloring; it makes the action really jump out. I’m definitely expecting bigger and better things from writer James Maddox and artist Todd Beistel after this. Til then, I’ll be re-reading this later for a quick Halloween chill. (5 out of 5)
Decapitated Dan: Well it all comes down to these final two issues and if #2 is as good as this one, you will probably see me give a Dying Breath that is unheard of. This issue picks up right where Omega #5 left off, and HOLY $#@! did it not let up. I can only say it one more time after this issue, but what about this book is not GORE-Geous. Hill has crafted a tale that has me so in love with any member of this cast, that as they all perish, I cry like a baby. I loved all the twists that came with this issue, but I do wonder... with what transpired, what more is left? I know the obvious will have to happen, but other then that, it did all seem to wrap up here. Rodriguez and Fotos can never do anything wrong when it comes to the artwork and colors in these issues. It’s almost as if when G. & F. come together magic happens and happy visual brain baby thoughts are made in my head. It’s almost to late to tell you to read Locke & Key, but I will anyways. READ LOCKE & KEY, this is by far the GREATEST COMIC EVER! - Dying Breath 5.0 out of 5.0
Decapitated Dan: I can only think of 2 reasons as to why you are reading this review. 1) You read Rachel Rising and you LOVE to see other people praise it. 2) You don’t read Rachel Rising and you need me to tell you for the 19th time that you SHOULD BE READING IT! As always this book is GORE-Geous. Moore’s visuals make love to my eyes every time I get my hands on an issue of RR, there really is no other way to describe how amazing this book looks. However, as good as the artwork is, the story is what this book is all about. I can’t say what happens here, but I will say this... I GOT F@#*ING GOOSEBUMPS! When I was done reading this issue, I read it again and... I GOT F@#*ING GOOSEBUMPS! This was the best ending to an issue yet, and do you know how hard that was to admit? Every issue has had an amazing cliffhanger, and this one is the BEST YET! So many Horror Comics come and go in your mind, I mean you can recall this and that every now and then, but Rachel Rising is stuck in mine, and that just proves how fantastic it is. If there was only 1 ongoing book, of any genre that I were to tell you to read, it would 666% be Rachel Rising. - Dying Breath 5.0 out of 5.0
Denise Dutton: Hooray - I’ve heard that this series is getting a second arc! Huzzah! Okay, back to this one; Anne, who is stitched together and can’t remember much of anything about her life, still sees monsters everywhere she looks. Unfortunately, those monsters are simply brainwashing, thanks to dirty rotten no-good scientific dinking with her brain. They’re really just innocent people. Not good, as she kills any monsters she sees. More information is revealed about how and why Anne got this way, and the explanation definitely sets the stage for more arcs. This issue is a little jumpy in terms of the story, but there’s a ton that has gotta be packed in, so for the most part I’ll let it slide. With a final panel that delivers an unexpected twist, next issue should be a real jolt to the system. Get it? Okay, fine. (4.5 out of 5)
