Well, it only took me three weeks to drop the ball on this whole weekly column thing but I’m a busy guy so lay off it. [Editor’s Note: One more delay, Spencer, and we sacrifice your first born to Quetzacoatl.]
There were some comics I was going to review for last week’s installment, but they will have to wait until next week so expect a super-sized entry. Anyway, I’ve got some exciting things to share with you and some things that will disappoint you like a bad tasting cake at a birthday party.
First, a couple of quick news items for you.
- Eric Powell announced via twitter that The Goon is going monthly now instead of bi-monthly!
- Ben Templesmith tweeted some images about the upcoming trade paperback of CHOKER.
- IDW posted some pages from the upcoming The Crow comic.
Army of Darkness #3
My biggest complaint though is the way Ash is written. Sometimes the voice is spot on – like Bruce has climbed right into these pages and has taken up the mantel of Ash once again. Other times, though, it feels like terrible fan fiction. The art is routinely average throughout the comic and only sometimes does it hint at being good. If it weren’t for one fan favorite cameo this comic would be on the chopping block for me, and that two page stint won’t be enough to save it I think.
Hellraiser #13
I often praise this book for its writing but the art is just as lovely. With Janusz Ordon and Jesus Hervas splitting duties I’m surprised how good these duel artists make it look. You would never know unless you looked on the cover page which artist did which page which is fantastic. It’s a seamless visual story much to the opposite of some of Marvel’s works (looking at you Wolverine). If you’re as a big of a fan of the series as I am the last page will make the whole issue worth it.
The New Deadwardians #2
I’m really fond of the way Dan Abnett has the information in this story working. Leave it to me to think that the first issue would have all the information that I would need about this world but thank god he shut me up and proved me wrong. While I predict this comic will live a long prosperous life as a graphic novel I can’t help but feel that the month to month, issue to issue approach is the best way to experience this story.
Rebel Blood #2
You wouldn’t think it was possible but Riley Rossmo’s art has actually really improved since the first issue. While I really dug it and thought that the Ben Templesmith style would aid in the story telling it did still seem a little sloppy and skimp on details at times. This issue it’s all great. Nothing is left t the imagination because he’s done a great job in fleshing out the way this world looks and how it’s monsters operate. Good things can only come out of this story and I’m hoping I’m right.
Road Rage #3
The best thing about this comic though is the art. Rafa Garres knocks it out of the park. You wouldn’t think 20 pages of a car, a truck, and the desert would be visually interesting but he pulls it off. I’m eager to pick up the next issue only for seeing the way he draws it all, not necessarily for the story that we all already know.
This concludes another week of The Graveyard Shelf. While I’ve written about some pretty great comics this week, if you buy only one comic book (and why in the world would you do that?) go after Eric Powell’s The Goon #39. This is a good jumping on point and it has Powell’s signature satire mark shinning all over it. I can just hear that crazy loon smiling all the way here. Hope you’re digging The Graveyard Shelf so far, join us next week for the extra long edition.
You can follow Spencer on Twitter at @ScarySpencer.
