Headless Horseman Halloween Annual 2023

Let me start by addressing the elephant in the room. The Headless Horseman, who is the horror host of this anthology special, is female. I know that is not supposed to be an issue in this gender fluid generation. However, when something doesn't match syntax, tone or pre-assumed expectations, it makes my brain itch. That's not being a boomer. It's my OCD. Go figure. I want things to be written (and advertised) correctly, but could care less if my house is messy or not. 

If the host is supposed to be the Headless Horseman from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, then sure, I'm justified in my confusion because that character was the ghost of a Hessian soldier. And I'm pretty sure that the soldier was male. If this is an all-new character or a character from the Hellboy universe or Eric Powell's The Goon, which most of the art of this character closely resembles, then I have no issue with the gender of the Horseman. Just don't call this character a HORSE... MAN!

Now when it comes to the host, I had no issues with them. There were those punny elements you'd get from those B-movie theater hosts. They look awesome. And They spin a good yarn. I just don't know who this Headless Horseman is...

There are 5 stories in this issue. It starts with a tale set inside a fantasy video game. Not very scary, but it's got a great moral and awesome ending. There's a weird fable about a woman with writer's block. A group of teens go trick-or-treating with the new kid and his mom. Only there's something very, very wrong with mom. There's a wolf on the prowl as a little girl, dressed as Little Red Riding Hood, gets separated from her mom during trick-or-treating. And then there was the fifth and final story.

Up to this point, other than initial confusion over just who this Headless Horseman really was, this anthology was going great. That story about the new kid and his mom freaked me out and even though I didn't really get the writer's block story, I saw merit in it. But then Dark Horse had to go and ruin everything by getting political.

The story in question is about 4 kids dressed as monsters who are visiting a haunted house on Halloween night. The exhibits in the exhibition are really lame. It seems like the real horror is in getting old. Then I start to realize that the kids aren't dressed as monsters. They are monsters! So it's a haunted house about what humans do and the idea of what constitutes the contents of a haunted house for monsters and ghouls seemed like a novel idea. And then we get to that room!

Every year the haunted house has a new room. This year's room is full of right-wingers spouting off their agenda. Did we really have to throw MAGA into the mix? The concept was doing well up to now. It didn't need to get frighteningly real with the internal strife affecting our country. When I'm not reading comics and writing reviews about them, I'm a public school teacher. It's culinary, so I don't teach tricky subjects like race, gender or religion. But I still see a diverse mix of kids that will one way or another be highly affected by the results of the 2024 election. I deal with those fears everyday and I witness countless teachers and staff bailing out in anticipation of a Red Wave. When it comes to horror right now, I need vampires, zombies and psycho killers. I don't need tales of right-wing militants or uber-Dems. Those kind of frights already keep me up at night.

This one-shot is listed as an annual. So I see potential that there might be another issue next Halloween. I would be fine with that. Editors at Dark Horse, just leave the politics for election night if you make this an annual occurrence!

Worth Consuming! 

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. (But it could have been a 9 out of 10 if not for how that final tale ended.)

Simpsons Treehouse Of Horror Ominous Omnibus, Vol. 2: Deadtime Stories For Boos & Ghouls HC

The second of 3 omnibuses that will collect all of the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror Halloween annuals. 

Unfortunately, the editors didn't follow my request to have the stories reprinted in order. (Like Harry N. Abrams Books was going to scrap their format to put the stories in chronological order of printing.) 

Along with material from the 23 annuals, there's material from previous collections and other issues that are Halloween themed or at least spooky in nature. 

Gotta say that I wasn't such a fan of this one. I know with a massive volume, clocking in at around 400 pages of material, it's kinda hard to rate based on material; especially since everything has been cut and pasted into themed chapters. One chapter was about surviving the end of the world. It had a story in which it appears that Flanders doesn't get taken in the Rapture. But it turns out that in reality, Flanders' left-handedness is what keeps him from being abducted by aliens. 

I did like the Old Sea Captain's high seas tales of terror that are anything but. Though I have read them before, I thought both of them were oddball classics. Plus Lisa, Bart, Homer and Grandpa play a round of Mad Libs to varying degrees of success. Another all-time great that I've read before but got a kick out of reading again.

There's one more volume to go and yes, I am going to buy it. 3 volumes at $40 each is still cheaper than trying to get all 23 annuals. Plus once I get volume 3, I'll be able to free up a little bit of shelf space. 

I got to read Simpsons Halloween comics leading up to Halloween. In my opinion, a Simpsons comic book is like a Queen song. Even the worst of either is better than none at all.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars. 

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #4

The first ever 4-issue Star Trek Halloween miniseries comes to a close. As you can see from the cover, Commander Scott is our mystery character from the last issue. Fitting, since Scotty was the main character in TOS episode 'Wolf in the Fold', which introduced the character of Redjac.

Speaking of blasts from the past, the obscure, but oh so important Next Gen villain Redjac brings back from the dead was killer!

The whole concept of this tale being set around Halloween seems all but forgotten until the last page. I understand that by having Picard and other members of the crew being altered to look and act like monsters of Earth lore was meant to be a tie-in to the holiday. But I say that unless it was Redjac turning them into monsters, that spooky seasonal element is diminished by having the crew members be transformed with their consent. 

Honestly, I think it would have worked better if Q was involved. 

This last issue was okay. Issue #3 was much more thrilling. This closing chapter was kinda ho-hum. Not very much suspense and the meeting between Scott and Redjac was downplayed. In fact, the assault Redjac carries out on Scotty on the cover doesn't even happen in this issue!

I'm glad to see Mr. Scott get closure on the Redjac affair. Lots of issues from DC and IDW reflect how much the whole episode traumatized the engineer. But the dish of revenge Scott serves against the entity is luke-warm at best. 

The art seemed to have gotten back to the baseline level of quality. Maybe Joe Eisma was just under a tight deadline with issue #3. Chris Sequeira's storytelling slumped. The ending could have been more exciting. But I think the limit to how much you could do with Redjac has been reached. 

I'm definitely hoping for another weekly Halloween story from IDW. I just hope we'll get something different. Another realm of the Star Trek universe would be fine. Staying away from Redjac would be perfect. Ideally, I'd like to see some other franchise get the Halloween debut treatment.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #3

In my review of issue #2, I mentioned that this Halloween set comic is a sequel to an earlier story published by Wildstorm. I had also declared that I had never read that story before and I would need to check my collection to see if I have that issue or not. Well, it turns out that not only do I have a copy of it (as part of a trade collection), but I've read it too! 

Boy, am I dumb. Or man, I have just read so many comic books over the years that I'm starting to forget some of the stuff I read. Or both! That's one reason I do this blog; to help me keep up with my readings as a sort of journal. It's from looking through my archives that I discovered that I have read that previous encounter with Redjac... and I liked it! (Though I probably should read it again to help like this 4-parter a little more.)

Issue #3 sees Picard, Riker, Worf and Troi altered both physically and mentally as monsters to intercept the hostages being held by Redjac on the Enterprise holodecks. They'll need to hurry as they've only got minutes to spare before the mind-changing process results in irreversible brain damage. Meanwhile, with the entire starship on lock-down, a blast from the past manages to beam aboard ship and offers some expertise on dealing with the evil entity.

The story got better while the art got worse. There's a couple of scenes where I swear Joe Eisma just kinda phoned it in. Some pages are full of elaborate details. Then there's one panel where instead of Worf looking like a Gill Man, Eisma kinda just finishes the back of his head and torso to resemble a T-rex. And I'm talking purple dinosaur version, not one from Jurassic Park!

The identity of the mystery character was spoiled already by their appearance on the last issue cover. That's what I get for waiting for all 4 issues to come out before I read the whole thing. Can't blame IDW for that. But why did the editing team not say something to the diminishing quality of the artwork? Were they too busy keeping the story itself up to par? Or could it be, as suggested by other Star Trek comics fans, that the editing team is so small that they can't devote enough quality time to the glut of Star Trek books being published at this day and time?

I hate seeing IDW in such dire economical straits. But if they don't fix things soon, the publishers won't be in business as those naysayers are some really nasty vocal talking heads and those so-called fans would much rather see IDW fail that rise from the ashes like a mighty phoenix.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #2

Redjac is back! The ancient evil entity that was once the dreaded Jack the Ripper in Victorian England, has taken control of the Enterprise-D. Using Borg nano-technology, Redjac possessed a crew member and then began taking users of the Enterprise's holodecks captive. Redjac has also reprogrammed Commander Data and turned the android into a perverse version of the Frankenstein monster.

In attempt to free the hostages, Picard, Worf, Riker and Troi undergo plastic surgery to appear as the monsters Redjac has used to entrap and torment those stuck in the holodecks. The high ranking officers have also allowed Dr. Crusher to alter their brain waves to not just act but to think as the horrors they represent. This should prevent Redjac from detecting their presence. The caveat: Picard and the others only have 30 minutes to save their fellow shipmates or their brain patterns will be forever altered, resulting in permanent brain damage!

Issue #2 was much better than the opening salvo. The writing was better. The plot made a lot more sense. And the art improved. The likenesses of Riker as the wolfman and Worf as a sort of Klingon Gill Man were fantastic. Franken-Data was pretty cool too. 

I remember Redjac from one of my least favorite TOS episodes. However, in this story, Redjac refers to a past history with the Enterprise-D crew. I know that Redjac never appeared on Next Gen, as I've seen every episode. So what was the villain talking about. It turns out that this IDW story is continuing from a Wildstorm comic that pitted Redjac against Data previously on the holodecks in the middle of a Sherlock Holmes program. This also explains why Redjac has a major beef with Data.

Unfortunately, I have never read that story. Maybe I have it in my collection and don't realize it. I'll have to check.

A much better second act with improvements all around. You don't have to know of Redjac's history with the Federation. But it helps.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Star Trek: Holo-Ween #1

For the first time ever, the Star Trek franchise has a Halloween special. Over the past 50 years, many episodes hasve had creepy elements to them and there might have been an issue or two of a Star Trek comic set during Halloween. But there's never been a book directly tied to the chilling autumn holiday... until now! 

Taking place aboard the Enterprise-D, Star Trek: Holo-Ween is a weekly 4-issue miniseries. After a harrowing trip though a solar storm, the nerves of the Enterprise crew are shot. Electrical systems are going haywire and the ship itself took quite a beating. Sensing the tension of the crew, Counselor Troi plans to help all aboard to release some of that steam with an inter-species celebration of Halloween.

Before Troi can put on the festival, members of the crew and their their families begin disappearing. The site of the disappearances is in the proximity of the holodecks. Commander Data heads down to deck nine in hopes that the disappearances are just the result of yet another mechanical malfunction brought upon those solar disturbances. Unfortunately, the answer is even more sinister when Data comes face-to-face with an ancient evil that has infected itself with Borg technology!

IDW Publishing used to do an annual weekly miniseries in honor of Halloween. Those titles were called Tales From Vader's Castle and set in the Star Wars universe. It was a neat way to celebrate Halloween in a franchise that doesn't have Halloween. I'm glad to see that after losing the rights to Star Wars, IDW continues their weekly Halloween story tradition here with Star Trek. It's a tradition that I want to see more of next year and further down the road. Only I hope that the publisher either focuses on other elements of the Star Trek universe, like Deep Space Nine or Voyager. Or even better, utilize properties such as My Little Pony, Ninja Turtles or bring in a new franchise that has never received the Halloween comic treatment. Above all, I just want some variety.

This opening chapter was rough. The syntax was all wrong. None of the characters read like themselves. And there were a lot of rough chops to the dialogue. Apparently everyone was in such shock from the solar storms, nobody could really complete a thought, much less a sentence. Writer Chris Sequeira is from Australia. Maybe that has something to do with it because I did think some words were misspelled. Maybe they're just written in Australian slang.

Some fans have really criticized the art. Not just of this story but all the Trek books by IDW. I didn't think Joe Eisma's work was all that bad. It's minimalist, for sure. And okay, not every panel of iconic Star Trek characters looks photo-realistic. But if I was to have to rate between the writing and the art, of which one was worse, I'd have to say that some serious TLC needs to be applied to the script. 

I love the cover and it's variant. The main cover by Francesco Francavilla is killer!

A okay start that could've been much better.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Saturday Morning Adventures Halloween Special One-Shot (Family Comic Friday)

Celebrate Halloween 2023 by taking a trip back in time to the late 1980s with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Saturday Morning Adventures Halloween Special. 

For the past couple of years now, IDW Publishing has been releasing a number of books based on kids cartoons from the 80s. While most of the cartoons in this series aired on weekdays after school and not Saturdays, I've been a big fan of these publications. 

There are 2 stories in this Halloween special. The first story has Master Splinter sending the Turtles out on patrol on a Halloween night where the heroes come face-to-face with their old nemesis, Creepy Eddie. A master of dreams, Creepy Eddie takes the turtles to his realm where Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael must make it to the end of the yellow brick road which leads to the exit by midnight or else they become slaves to Eddie! Then readers head over to Dimension X where Krang and Shredder are trying to unlock the secrets to a meteorite with mysterious properties. Shredder believes that if he can create a special sword with the space rock, he'll be able to create a powerful weapon that will make him and Krang the rulers of Earth. To do this, Shredder summons the spirit of an ancient master bladesmith who refuses to help Shredder because just doesn't like Oroku Saki's style. 

This special was so much fun. I don't really remember Creepy Eddie but then again, it's been over 35 years since I saw his single appearance on the original TMNT cartoon series. I thought the story was so funny and I loved how none of the characters took themselves too seriously. The Turtles made comments about how the retconning of Turtle history is just too confusing while Creepy Eddie was plagued by his lawyer to not be too similar to another certain dream master who also wears a striped sweater; least he violate copyright law.

The story starring the villains was also a lot of fun. Though I will admit at first I thought this was going to be a stinker. Then I remembered how funny Krang was. He thinks he's a big deal and yet he's like a toddler who thinks he's bigger and badder than he really is. As Shredder kept on yapping, I started to hear that iconic deep voice by late actor James Avery and I just didn't want this trip down memory lane to stop.

Turtles are huge this year. Thanks to a new animated movie, I saw a ton of kids dressed as their favorite Turtle during a recent trunk-or-treat event. Even though these Turtles look like they did when we 40-somethings were growing up (and that by the way, is the correct way that they should) kids will love it. Adults will love it because of the nostalgia. With tomorrow being the annual Trick-or-Read free comic giveaway at comic books stores nationwide, why not pick this one-shot special up while getting so free Halloween themed reads. It's a something the whole family enjoy- guaranteed!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Ghost Stories #19

I've had this 1967 comic book for several years now. I keep forgetting I have it until after Halloween. Thankfully, someone from a Dell FB group that I am a member of posted a pic of their copy recently. That photo jogged my memory and made 2023 the Halloween season I finally gave this book a read. 

This anthology contains 4 stories.

• A man on a subway car misses his stop. When he gets off in up-state Connecticut, he finds himself a man out of time, with everyone ignoring him.
• A trio of distant relatives scheme to do away with their wealthy uncle. His frequent talks with his deceased wife might be the foothold the family needs to have the man committed. Or maybe he really is communicating with his late wife...
• A treasure hunter who has just stolen a valuable idol runs afoul of the African tribesmen that he robbed.
• In the cover story, an astronaut is swept off course and faces spending the rest of his life lost in space. However, hope unexpectedly comes when another space capsule suddenly appears in the vessel's porthole. 

The last 3 stories each involve ghosts. I'm not so sure about that first tale. Maybe the man becomes a spirit when he misses his train stop. I'm just not sure. It definitely feels like it could be something from the Twilight Zone or other similar horror anthologies from 1960s TV and I liked that story very much. I just debate that the story was a legitimate ghost tale.

As for the real ghost stories, I wasn't such a fan of the story involving the treasure hunter. Maybe it's because the main characters are unlikable and so I wasn't upset at all when they met supernatural justice. I liked the story about the 3 gold digging relatives. It had lots of great twists and I thought the demise of those despicable family members was rather gruesome for late 1960s comics. 

The space story was a reflection of the times. 1967 was smack dab in the middle of the Space Race. An astronaut becoming stranded in space and floating for eternity in a space capsule coffin was a very real possibility. (If you believe some historians, a pair of cosmonauts actually are orbiting around our solar system due to a similar miscalculation.) I thought the story was thrilling and the ending was telegraphed, but it wasn't scary at all.

A good read with a mix of stories, one of which I do believe fits the theme of the comic. And it was the best of the 4 tales! But very high quality for the time period.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC's Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun #1

Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun is the title of this Halloween oversized special from DC. I love the punny title and I love the main cover by Alvaro Martino Bueno. That prancing monstress dressed as Mary Marvel was just so cheerful. The dragon off to the left wearing a Flash mask is just adorable. And the looks on Lois and Clark's faces was timeless.

But was the interior just as fun as the cover? How about I describe some of the stories and you decide? Here's a run down of my favs...

• Adam F. Goldberg, the creator of ABC's The Goldberg's crafts a tale in which Lobo comes to his daughter Crush, to help him find a costume for a Halloween party at the House of Secrets. Crush recommends that her pop goes as a certain Hugh Jackman character. What she's hinting at is going as Wolverine. What Lobo hears is a whole bunch of other characters played by the Aussie actor.
• Lois tasks Clark to help her with a Halloween deadline, which means exploring an abandoned mental hospital. What Superman uncovers is a closet full of ghosts, all waiting for long overdue justice.
• Animal Man spies on his daughter on her first Halloween trick-or-treating since the death of her brother.
• A woman goes out for her nightly walk on the dangerous streets of Gotham. Her hope is to run into the Batman. Instead, she comes face-to-face with a Man-Bat!
• Hal Jordan battles an escaped inter-galactic villain. He also comes head-to-head with the demon, Etrigan. It's good cop vs. bad cop. If they work together, will this fiend they stop?

There were a couple of stories I liked but I hated the ending.

• In Bludhaven, Nightwing battles a werewolf. In order to stop the beast, he'll have to team up with Jason Todd, the Red Hood. It's a story of bad blood that ended with the promise of more. Only there wasn't any sort of blurb telling readers to catch the rest of the story in some other issue. As much as I hate having to read the rest of a story in the pages of another book, I hate it just as much when a story ends without really completing anything.
• On the anniversary of the first time the world thought that the Doom Patrol died, Robotman is haunted by the ghosts of fallen teammates. I love the classic Doom Patrol. There's a whole lot of modern characters that I just don't know. I probably would like this more if I had more of a connection to most of the ghosts.

And then there was one story that I didn't hate, but I wasn't completely sold on it either

• Renee Montoya investigates a number of murders during Gotham's annual Halloween Fashion Week. When she realizes that several of the models she's been questioning have been dead for a while, Montoya becomes the Question to complete her investigation as a pair of villains from Batman's Rogues Gallery prepare to take the catwalk for one final act of terror. The story wasn't so bad. Art was actually good. The first act was intriguing. I just didn't buy the team-up of the 2 baddies. It just didn't make sense to me their motivations.

5 stories were winners and I loved that Lobo tale from Adam F. Goldberg. I want a Lobo/Crush series written by Goldberg! I would buy each issue new on the day it came out! 2 stories were good but could've been better. Technically that Question story could have been better but I think only if 2 different antagonists were teamed together, could it truly have worked. 

For one of DC's holiday specials, there were 2 noticeable omissions. Harley Quinn is absolutely absent from this book and Batman is only represented by members of his family. I thought it was a law that DC had to include both characters in everything the House That Superman Built published these days. Not that I didn't miss either character. I'm an original member of the Gang of Harleys and Batman plays into a lot of my posts. I'm just surprised DC left both heavy hitters out of this book.

And then there's the missing story. According to Previews, Mary Marvel and Psycho Pirate were supposed to star in a story together in this book. As I had mentioned earlier, there's a ghoul dressed like Mary Marvel on the cover. So are monsters dressed on Man-Bat, Animal Man, Lobo and the Flash. Other than Flash, the other 3 characters do appear in this book. What happened to Mary Marvel? And was the Flash supposed to be in this special too and he got bumped for some reason as well?

Once again, this special was $9.99. That's been the price for these holiday specials for several years now. I know of some fans that say with conviction that paying $10 plus tax is too much for a comic book. In the past some of these books have not been that good. That's not the case here. Ghouls Just Wanna Have Fun was one of the best DC oversized releases I've read in years. More fun and exciting than preachy and political. I didn't feel like any of these stories were trying to talk down to me. In fact, that Lobo story felt like something my own warped sense of humor would come up with. Plus- no ads! 

It was definitely money well spent.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars

Boonana Tail Halloween Special #1

I don't know if it warrants disclosure as I don't make any money on this blog. But I have met Banana Tail creator Mark McKenna before at a couple of Cons. He was very warm and friendly with a passion for making family friendly comic books. It's also his way of continuing to honor his late father's legacy, as Mark created the character as a youth with his pop.

Banana Tail is a playful little monkey with a yellow tail, hence the name. He has a number of adventures with his friends Tic Tac, the plaid zebra and the pink rhinoceros Reena. There's also an elderly ostrich named Eggboo who gives sage advice to Banana Tail and his pals. Everyone lives in a jungle, which of course isn't known for being very safe. At times, Banana Tail and company must steer clear of Snare the snake and his alligator buddy, Snap.

There are several stories in this Halloween special. The first story has Banana Tail, Tic Tac and Reena getting lost in a creepy part of the Checkerboard Jungle. The trio get separated and wind up meeting another group of friends who also got lost in the dark woods. It's a delightful story about not making assumptions.

Other stories, which are considerably shorter involve Banana Tail trying very hard to scare his friends with his new ghost costume... and failing terribly. Then the mischievous monkey has a bad dream with a giant problem. Along with Tic Tac, Banana Tail dares a friend to spend 5 minutes in a dreaded area of the jungle and lastly the 3 friends use astronomy to find their way to Eggboo's Halloween party. 

I liked all of the back-up tales, though I didn't understand the punch line for the story about going to the Halloween party. There's also an adorable and informative one-pager about trick-or-treat safety that should be a required posting on comic book sites every October 29th-31st!

Charming all-ages fun. There's a couple other comics out there starring Banana Tail and friends, along with a coloring book. They can be purchased on the official website which has a lot of other fun things to read and do. This was great all-ages Halloween fun that was joyful and very heartwarming.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Wacky Squirrel Halloween Adventure Special #1

I purchased this 1987 special for one reason and one alone. And it sure wasn't because it starred Wacky Squirrel. Until I read this book, I don't think I could have picked the character out of a line-up. I still don't trust that I could do it correctly. The main reason I recently bought this Halloween special is because of the guest-star: Mr. Monster! Okay- being a Halloween themed book is another reason why I got this book. So I had two reasons and two alone!

I enjoy the heck out of Michael Gilbert's Mr. Monster. He's like a slightly saner, paranormal investigating version of the Tick. His stories are brilliant satires of the horror genre. And I don't feel like I am being talked down to by the writer. My biggest complaint about Mr. Monster is that his books are difficult to find and that it seems that Michael Gilbert stopped creating Mr. Monster books about 2 decades ago. Thus, finding this book with appearance by the character was a huge treat.

The Wacky Squirrel Halloween Adventure Special has the main character taking pity on a crying kid on Halloween. The boy and his family have been recently evicted from their home by ghosts! Wacky, believing that there's no such thing as ghosts arrives at the house to perform an exorcism. But what Wacky really needs is a hero. A hero which appears in the form of Doc Stearn, Mr. Monster!

This book was classic Dark Horse Comics. Though I'm not really sure if you can consider the early days of Dark Horse to be all that classic. At this point in the publisher's history, Dark Horse had only been in existence for a little over a year. The majority of the comics released by Dark Horse were in black and white, only just starting to issue a few select special edition titles in full color. This special was not one of those editions.

It's really interesting seeing the old ads for Dark Horse. Paul Chadwick's Concrete was by far the publisher's most popular title at the time. They had just recently obtained the rights to Godzilla and anthology series Dark Horse Presents was in its immediate infancy. Within another year, Dark Horse would have major hits on their hands with adaptations of the Alien and Predator franchises. But it would be about another 4 years until Dark Horse becomes known as a heavy hitter in the comic book industry with the obtaining the rights to produce books based on Star Wars in 1991.

This was a fast-paced fun read. It's mostly Wacky Squirrel's show. At least Mr. Monster appears in more than just 1 page. He's not in the whole thing. Maybe 8 pages. Yet it was more than I was expecting and Michael Gilbert draws all of the Mr. Monster images which was something else I wasn't expecting. If you love slapstick cartoons like Tom & Jerry or Looney Tunes, you'll especially love the middle act when Wacky heads over to the haunted house. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Svengoolie: Lost in Time

Beloved horror host, Svengoolie, makes his comic book debut in this one-shot special from Frank Miller Presents. 

The mad scientist who lost out in auditions to Svengoolie has a plan to steal the host job. He'll create a robot version of Sven to go back in time and stop the horror host from getting hired by MeTV to host his weekly Saturday night movie theater series. First thing the Svenbot must do is prevent Svengoolie's sidekicks Kerwyn, Tombstone and his talking casket Boddy Sorrell from becoming a part of the show. Then with the help of the evil robot, Mr. Mad Scientist will swoop into present day Svengoolie studios and take the hosting job for himself!

Only there's one problem. The Svenbot is so good at hosting the show on it's own, the mechanical menace steals the job from the mad scientist as well! Besides, not needing to pay a robot will help MeTV make a huge profit! Now it's war as the mad scientist must go back in time and stop his Svenbot from changing horror movie theater history or else all TV shows might be hosted by robots that will work for nothing!

The story started off kinda flat. The jokes, much like the ones Svengoolie tells on his show, get lots of groans. But I think the roughness of that opening segment was more because of the medium. Rich Koz, the Sven-miester himself, wrote up the dialogue with story assists by Chris Faulkner and Jim Roche as well as Franco Aureliani. Spreading out a corny opening joke about Godzilla over 2 pages and several panels made for a jest that was just so hard to follow. But once we got into the time travelling portion of the story, things really gelled. 

I loved getting to witness the origins of Kerwyn, Tombstone and Boddy Sorrell. It was a nice touch having different artists illustrate those scenes which take place in different time periods. Art Baltazar, along with Jill Thompson and Christopher Jones draw up a trio of distinct eras of Svengoolie history. 

There was a follow-up story starring a new member of the Svengoolie family. Nostalgiaferatoo. That tale is supposed to be the character's origin story. But it devolves into a commercial for the Svengoolie show, which if you ask me is what this whole special was in the first place. There's also an informative history about Svengoolie. I would have preferred more space devoted to that than that unnecessary Nostalgiaferatoo 2-pager.

From what I understand, this is the first of 2 Svengoolie comic book specials. I enjoyed this work enough to look forward to the follow-up. Might I just suggest to write the story as a comic and not a TV show. Also, bring Art Baltazar and Franco together. I was excited to have both beloved creators working on this book. It's just not the same not having these two working in tandem as the all-ages comic dynamic duo that they are. Join Rich Koz with Art Baltazar and Franco- that's a team-up I can't wait to see in comics!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Donald Duck Adventures #38

Living legend William Van Horn crafts the cover feature in this 1996 issue of Donald Duck Adventures.

The story has Donald attending an auction. Most of the stuff is out of his price range, except for a tiny chest that sells for all of 50 cents. When Donald opens the chest back home, he discovers a medallion that bears a treasure map. Donald's nephews are able to determine that the map is of an area in Florida and the medallion was crafted by Spanish explorers in the 1500s. Spanish explorers might mean buried treasure of Spanish doubloons and precious stones.

So Donald and his nephews head down South where they learn that the medallion points to a fabled area of swamp called 'The Hauntland'. According to Native legend, a terrible horror haunts the swamp and locals swear to steer clear of it. Determined to find riches and glory, Donald presses on. Only he won't find buried treasure. What Donald will find is the discovery of the century and it was only several million years in the making. 

The next story again has Donald seeking riches. His new dog, a massive Saint Bernard, is eating him and the nephews out of house and home. When Donald learns of a money making opportunity back on Bear Mountain, he takes his dog up for a try out. As the last Saint Bernard was injured making a delivery run, Donald has his work cut out for him including an encounter with one of Bear Mountain's namesake grizzlies!

Both stories were great duck tales starring Donald Duck along with Huey, Dewey and Louie. However, this comic book does show a decline in quality. 1996 is just a few short months away from publisher Gladstone Comics' ultimate demise in 1998. One cost cutting measure taken by Gladstone was to replace the glossy paper of the cover with the same dingy newsprint used to make the interiors. The whole thing looks like those flimsy free comics you'd get as a kid at Shoney's or Red Lobster. Nostalgic, sure. But the stories in this issue deserved more respect.

The cover promises chills. Not very much a scary story as it's a fanciful story set in a spooky place. It's rather magical, honestly. And the back-up story was a hoot.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Teen Titans Go! Undead (Family Comic Friday)

Get a crash course on how to survive a zombie apocalypse, Teen Titans Go! style.

When the skies over Jump City turn an eerie purple color, the Teen Titans investigate... by going to the mall. There, they discover that the population has all turned into zombies. Only there's no virus going around making everyone sick. It turns out that the shopping outlet has a big online sale today that is turning the citizens of Jump City, both alive and dead, into the dreaded 'Undead.' Oh, and that asteroid that came crashing down last night in the town square might also have something to do with it...

This 2022 graphic novel, while not a Halloween themed read, was a fun way to get into the spirit of the holiday. Teen Titans Go! is a Cartoon Network series that thrives on absurd humor, catchy oddball tunes, and being about as gross and irreverent as allowed for viewers aged 8-12, which is also the recommended reading ages for Teen Titans Go! Undead according to Amazon. Pretty much if parents and guardians let their wards watch the cartoon, then you'll have no issue with this graphic novel. But if your expecting this book to be an innocuous as Super Friends or Batman: The Animated Series, you've got another thing coming. Instead, Teen Titans Go! is like the DC Universe if crafted by the creator of Ren & Stimpy.

The book was perfect Teen Titans Go!, as long as you don't like the songs. The musical episodes have always been my least favorite and thankfully, there's only 1 song and it's mercifully short. There's not very much of the rest of the DC Universe in this book. There's like maybe 1 reference to Batman and a second to Darkseid and that's about it. But there's a whole slew of references to other supporting characters created for just the series. Oh, and a great gag involving Robin's rival over Starfire's affections, Speedy, as well as their arch-enemies, the dreaded teens of H.I.V.E..

I don't think that this book is an adaptation of a full-length episode or special. If it isn't, then this graphic novel should be adapted into a 5 day event for fans of the animated series. It's got the feel and pace of such a thing and it would make a fantastic entry in Cartoon Network's annual Halloween programming. I know it's too late to do for this year. But 2024??? Fingers crossed!

Lots of fun. Not scary. In fact, if anything, it pays tribute to the zombie horror genre while mocking it and making it seem about the most silly idea to end the world ever! But that's mostly due to the Teen Titans! For a fun-filled Halloween read that won't keep you up at night, Go!- to your local book store and demand a copy today!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries #1

This revival title is something that was on my pull list as soon as I found out about it earlier this summer. In 1960, Boris Karloff, you know, the guy who played Frankenstein's monster and the Mummy in those old Universal films, hosted a horror anthology series on NBC from 1960-1962 known as Thriller. Gold Key released 2 issues based on Thriller, but it wasn't enough to save the show from cancellation. 

In a strange twist of fate, those 2 issues were big, big hits for Gold Key. Not wanting to let a good thing pass, Gold Key signed an agreement with Karloff to continue to use his name and likeness. Starting with issue #3, the comic became Boris Karloff's Tales of Mystery. The anthology ran for an impressive 97 issues, ending in early 1980; 11 years after the death of the film legend!

The Gold Key and Whitman books have a cult following. If there's a comic book based on a TV show or movie from the 1950s-70s, there's a good chance, one of these publishers was behind its release. Reprinted editions have been hot sellers with older collectors and good condition first runs are prized finds that bring about coveted likes and jealous comments on social media. 

Gold Key folded in 1984 after Western Publishing was sold off by Mattel. The only way to get Gold Key comic books now was through searching or revivals of popular titles in which someone still owned a trademark. Public domain titles were brought back to life by indy publishers such as Gwandanaland Comics. Then in 2021, comics creator Robert Willis obtained the copyright to the original Gold Key logo and began to work with talent to bring some of those fan favorite titles back.

Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries is the first title to be released by the revitalized Gold Key publisher. After several months of anticipation, plus an extra week of waiting for my LCS to get my copy in, I must say that I was rather disappointed with the end result. 

The book starts off with a rather boorish agent from some unknown government bureau investigating the appearance of a mysterious house that suddenly appears in the deserts of Arizona. This house was last seen in 1980. Now with its unexpected return, the spook wants to know what's inside this haunted house of legend. But he'll have to hurry as the mansion is known to disappear to parts unknown when the sun rises.

At this point, we are introduced to 2 tales. One about a woman whose plastic surgeries impacts her doppelganger in a way similar to Dorian Gray. Then an up-and-coming chef takes advantage of his mentor's unexpected death to cash in on the celebrity chef's name and reputation to a disastrous opening night bathed in blood. After those two stories, we meet the government guy again who is now in Texas with that mysterious house having appeared just recently. Law enforcement, dressed in tactical gear, search the domicile only to run into Boris Karloff.

End Issue #1 with a dreaded To Be Continued!

I don't mind that this series has a running story. I kinda like the idea of Boris Karloff and his Thriller mansion wandering through time and space. Introducing that agent playing Fox Mulder in search of the secret of the old house is a cool way to frame the disappearance of Tales of Mystery the comic into the real world with its 2023 revival. Elvira's House of Mystery and Vertigo's House of Mystery were both horror anthologies that had running story lines involving the hosts interconnected with various stories. I liked both series and thought that integration was great. My problem is how little Boris Karloff there is for a comic book bearing his name. 

Karloff's character only appears on the last page. He says only a single sentence. Then a 'To Be Continued!' I hate cliffhangers. But I hate a bait-and-switch even more. If Karloff had at least appeared in more pages than he did, I would probably be okay with the cliffhanger. But they don't even have Karloff narrating the stories or introducing them. This was not Boris Karloff's Gold Key Mysteries. Instead, the book should be called The Gold Key Mystery is Where is Boris Karloff?

I want to support the new Gold Key. The storytelling was uneven. The artwork was too dynamic to really understand what was going on. Especially that culinary thriller. Yet I can overlook those sorts of technical flaws you'd expect with a TV pilot. It's just based on how little Boris Karloff was in this issue, I'm not sure I would want to keep getting individual issues. Not for $5.99 each. Now I would still be interested in the collected edition and I'm planning on signing up for Gold Key's newsletter. But in terms of budget, I'm going save my money for one of the rebooted publisher's other revival titles.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Life With Archie #118

I bought this issue in August at a used book store. I knew that this 1972 comic wasn't a Halloween themed book. But with it's creepy cover, I thought it would make a good read for the month of October.

There are only 2 stories in this issue. The first story is from which the cover image was taken. It shows a terrifying monster standing in front of a set of miniature coffins, each bearing the name of one of the Archie gang. The reason Archie and his friends are faced with such a situation is because the Archies have been summoned to the home of a promoter who wants the garage band to perform at a popular disco. The house the Archies arrive at is all dilapidated and the promoter is nowhere to be found. As the teens look for someone, anyone, they run into those coffins. If that's not scary enough, that menacing ghoul appears and threatens them with death!

Pretty tough stuff for an all-ages comic from the 70s. The ending was typical Archie, especially as the gang all seemed okay with what was behind all the scares. But then there's the eerie finale that made for this to be a great autumn tale that would be appropriate for a round of camp fire ghost stories. 

The back-up featured wasn't scary. Instead, it was a comedic yarn that proved that Archie Comics could successfully navigate the choppy waters of the generation gap. Mr. Andrews thinks the outfit Archie is wearing is straight up ridiculous. Archie just thinks his old man is being an old fuddy-duddy, where in reality, Grandpa Andrews probably thought Mr. Andrews dressed like a clown when he was Archie's age. Archie later meets up with Betty, ranting about how out of touch an old man his pop is, only to have a couple of kids to almost knock Betty on her butt. Archie stops the kids and berates them for being rude. In return, the kids call Archie old. The story ends with a gag about how Archie needed to get his foot out of his mouth. 

This was all-around classic Archie. There's a dramatic story that gets the heart racing. It's got a ludicrous ending that you'd only find in a family sitcom with a great twist ending. The second story was predictable, but such a fun read to experience getting to the closing gag. For less than $2 and spent using trade credit, I felt like it was money well spent.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Junior High Horrors Halloween Special #1 (Halloween ComicFest Edition)

Imagine if you will all of your favorite slasher movie characters going to the same Junior High together. We're talking costumed killers and final girls all navigating the perils of becoming a teenager together. This 2019 parody sees Jason and Michael Myers as friends Mickey and JV along with Laurie Strode and Nancy. You know Nancy; the girl who lives over there on Elm Street.? Yes, Freddy is here too. Only now he's a stuffed animal cat that Nancy imagines as a kinda sadistic version of Hobbes the tiger. 

With only a few days left until Halloween, the gang are going to go costume shopping. Everyone has an idea what they want to be for trick or treating, except for Mickey. His past couple of costumes haven't had that wow factor and he's sworn off dressing up for good. Hopefully a trip to the mall will inspire him to reconsider and go out in disguise with his pals.

I thought that this was a fun concept. What life was like for some of film's greatest psycho killers when they were teens. In reality, Michael Myers was in a sanitarium. Jason was 'dead'. Freddy was probably abusing and murdering children. But here in this far-fetched parody from Keenspot, the big three stars of 80s horror are innocent teens trying to find their way in the world. 

One thing that I was struck by in this book was how different it looks from most comic books. That's because the fonts are designed especially for readers with dyslexia. Even the scenes themselves are bigger to keep the words from getting lost on the page. While I do not have the word and letters version of dyslexia, I've been diagnosed with the numerical version of dyslexia. I think if I had had math books designed like this, I might have done better in those classes. 

I really like the cover with the characters stylized as the Peanuts gang. I will admit, I was a little disappointed to learn that the characters inside don't look like they came from the mind of a demented Charles Schulz. But the story inside and especially the closing gag were great fun. When you need the icons of horror to be a little more family friendly, this is a read I suggest you pick up. It's just wicked enough to be creepy without having to look over your shoulder while you give it a read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

The Marked Halloween Special

Every once and a while, the guys at my favorite comic shop order things that they aren't sure whether I would like them or not. They try to get up with me on my special orders but with my work schedule, I'm not able to get there every week. The guys know not to order me anything overtly demonic and for the most part, their executive decisions have been pleasant surprises. I wish I could say the same for this book...

The Marked is a title from Image Comics. Debuting in 2019, It's about a group of women with these tattoos that are magically imbued. The world has been rendered safe from demons for the most part by the Marked. But every once in a while, something managed to sneak through to our dimension. 

In this Halloween special, the Marked are preparing for a challenge by one of their former brethren, a witch named Rogue who rebelled against Catholic church's role in the Spanish Inquisition. As a result of a curse, every 100 years, this excommunicated witch unleashes her own special demons on Earth. The Marked are given until midnight of that centennial contest to find the portal unleashing the fiends and close it, or the devils will reign for another century. 

This year, Rogue's demons have taken root in a small town in Texas on All Hallow's Eve. Only Halloween has been banned thanks to a fire and brimstone preacher and the extreme right wing Sheriff department that rules the burgh with an iron fist. Last century, Rogue almost won. With the Marked having to fight a town full of bigots and homophobes, along with Rogue's army of darkness, this Halloween could be the earth's last and longest Devil's Night for 100 years.

This special started out okay. It straddled this side of Mike Mignola's Hellboy which is about as extreme of a story involving the devil that I am comfortable with. In fact, I thought I was reading a sorceress version of the X-Men. With a villain known as Rogue, a coven made of a diverse international membership and a rough-around-the-edges warlock who befriends a wet-behind-the-ears young enchantress, it really is the X-Men for witches. In fact that warlock and the youngster actually make a joke about how characters named Rogue are supposed to be mutants. 

When the witches make it to Texas, they encounter children who are actually demons under enchantment. The spirits were scary looking but things were fairly balanced between good and evil. So, I read on. But when we get to the reason why Rogue chose this town for her judgment, we learn that- big surprise- the police force was behind a number of heinous sins. They're all dragged off to Hell. Then the fallen angels come for the pastor. He didn't kill anyone but his version of God's love is warped. Yet as the guy begs for his life, the Marked condemns the man to the lake of fire because in their minds, he's cancellable. It's here that I decided that I couldn't make this book a keeper.

The Sheriff and his deputies being villains wasn't so much of a controversial thing. There's countless works in which Southern lawmen are bad guys. But there's also quite a bunch in which they are knights in shining armor. But why is every pastor not of the Catholic church deemed a charlatan, a misogynist and further right-winged than Trump and DeSantis combined? 

I'm a Christian. I'm not perfect. I make mistakes. So do the pastors of the churches I have attended. Yes, some preachers are pure evil. Jim Jones and David Koresh are two prime examples. Instead of dooming the town's pastor, who clearly was not following Christ's example, why couldn't writer David Hine have allowed the guy to repent? Are readers supposed to believe witches and demons exist but redemption, that's a foreign concept? It was that stereotypical look at the church that put me off of this franchise and decided that this book will not be a permanent part of my Halloween collection.

And for any comic book writers who may ever read this review, I challenge you to craft a story in which Christian leaders are looked at as the flawed people that they are but seeking to do right and pursue righteous above their sinful ways. Hating the sin but not the sinner is possible. It's a concept that might seem like fiction, but it's really not. I just wish my beliefs were also represented in comics.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 3 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Ghost Stories

A celebration of nearly 40 years of Marvel inspired ghostly tales. This slightly larger than digest sized trade paper back features stories with the Silver Surfer, the West Coast Avengers, Damon Hellstrom, and many more.

My favorite tale was taken from an issue of Marvel's 1970s combat series War is Hell. The series' first non-reprint tale was from issue #9. It introduces us to John Kowalski, a former Marine ex-pat forced to live in 1930s Poland after being dishonorably discharged. Cursed by a member of the Polish resistance for not warning the American government of the Nazi invasion of Poland, Kowlaski is forced to wander the world as a specter to save others from the spoils of war. His first mission is to wrestle the life of a young girl from the literal grasp of the grim reaper. 

Fans of Ghost Rider get to encounter another character from the ill-fated War is Hell. The ghost of the World War I ace, the Phantom Eagle seeks revenge on the German general who killed him in combat.

There's a Halloween set story with Captain America summoned to the estate of the Red Skull. Set during one of several time periods when the Skull is dead, Cap encounters a variety of ghosts, both bad and evil in a holiday tale that morphs into All Saint's Day when the clock strikes midnight. 

My least favorite stories were the most modern tales. Both stars Damon Hellstrom, the son of Satan, who is just too demonic for my comfort. The West Coast Avengers story wouldn't have been so bad except for the prominent use of a pentagram and the revelation that the character of Mockingbird was drugged and raped by one of the incarnations of the Old West superhero, the Phantom Rider. That's really strong stuff for 1990s era Marvel.

The final story, which was taken from Hellstrom's short-lived series from the early 90s, was a great Exorcist kinda tale, if you like that kind of thing. I personally do not. 

I found this book for sale at a local coffee shop. You might be wondering why after hating the Hellstrom stuff did I buy this book. I think I was more enticed by the $5 price tag that I avoided noticing the big evil image of Hellstrom in his devilish garb. I should have paid more attention and I really do regret being impulsive and allowing myself to be open to such creepy material. The Silver Surfer two-parter starring Mephisto was also a read I did not favor.

This isn't a book I will keep. Nor is it a book I can resell. That's because of the really poor adhesive Marvel used for the cover. My copy's soft cover is barely hanging on to a thin strip of glue. If you happen to be at the Hillsborough Walmart recycling center on Monday, check out the free book shelf. My copy might still be there waiting for you...

Lastly, I want to implore Marvel to seriously consider producing a collection of the John Kolwalski stories. I really enjoyed that story and I much would have rather owned a copy of that book that doesn't exist than this collection. As for the Captain America Halloween story, I'll place it on my holiday wish list since I am not holding on to this book.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Shelly Frankenstein!, Book One: Cowpiggy (Family Comic Friday)

Shelley Frankenstein wants to be a mad scientist just like her great-great grandfather, the infamous Dr. Victor Frankenstein! Along with her brother Iggy, Shelley conducts experiments on her stuffed animals in hopes of creating the most terrifying toy ever. Only each one of her creations is more adorable and cuter than the next. Finally, when Shelley crafts her latest, greatest creation, the Cowpiggy, the fanfare is just too much and the budding scientist takes her frustrations out on the little monster. 

Saddened and feeling rejected, Cowpiggy runs away. Luckily, Shelley realizes that she's been too harsh on her new creature and goes off looking for the toy. Only there's a massive blizzard on the horizon and neither Shelley Frankenstein nor Cowpiggy are properly equipped to survive the coming frigid conditions. 

This book was so charming. It's got so many tributes and nods to the Mary Shelley classic in which this graphic novel is not just based upon, but set firmly in the Frankenstein family universe. There's Frank and his bride. Even a wolfman! Even villagers. But they're all so gosh darn cute! 

I really felt like this book has the makings of a great new series for readers aged 8-12. While there isn't any indication in this graphic novel that Cowpiggy is the opening edition for a series, Amazon and other book sellers list this as Book One! That's just awesome as this was such a fun read. I'm just racking my brain to see where this book can go from here. Not only does this series have Mary Shelley's creation to draw inspiration from; perhaps the Universal Monsters could be involved somehow. We already have the wolfman. Maybe introducing the Invisible Man or Gill Man. Could we see the Mummy?

The artwork, along with the story itself has touches of Tim Burton in terms of the gothic theme. But the characters are just so cute. This was a fantastic work by children lit veteran Colleen Madden. There are monsters and creepy elements, but nothing scary... nothing evil. Parents and guardians will delight at this family friendly reading to kick off the Halloween reading season! Only beware! By the time the young reader in your life is finished with this book, they're going to want a Cowpiggy stuffed animal of their own! I know I want one!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Full Throttle: Stories by Joe Hill

I've been in the mood to read Joe Hill lately. 

This 2019 collection of Joe Hill stories is a baker's dozen of short stories that have seen print previously in anthologies or magazine form. The two stories that Hill co-wrote with his famous father, Stephen King were my least favorite as they lacked the voice of the younger author which I have become a fan of over the past decade. But overall, this was a great read filled with excitement and a whole lot of chills for someone who is interested in reading Halloween themed stuff but couldn't yet because it wasn't October yet. 

My favorite stories were the tragic 'By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain', which later became the focus of an episode of the Creepshow series on Shudder, 'Dark Carousel' with it's perfectly eerie ending set across the pond, and 'Mums' which may or may not be about a young boy who grows a menacing plant-like version of his late mother. My absolute favorite was 'Late Returns', which along with 'Mums', was published for the first time ever in this book. It's about a young man who takes a part-time job driving his hometown's bookmobile and discovers that he can recommend great final reads to dearly departed members of the local library. I so very much did not want this story to end and I would love for it to be a movie or even a mini-series.

Another story that I would like seen put on film is 'You Are Released'. It's about the early hours of a nuclear holocaust as experienced by the passengers on a jumbo jet. Although I really want this story to be longer as well, with everything that has been happening in Israel in the past week, I think I could wait for the movie as I get this eerie feeling that right now, life is imitating art. 

Don't skip out on Hill's foreword nor his afterword. Both are amazing non-fiction reads. The foreword talks about how having 2 famous writers for parents influenced him to become a writer. There's also a great story about Hill when he was a little fella starring in the framing sequences of the original Creepshow movie. Hill's afterword discusses where you might have come across many of the stories collected in this book, along with sources of inspiration for those tales. Hill claims he's not a story teller but I would love to read a collection of his thoughts. He's that good a writer!

I think I am done with Joe Hill novels for a little bit. Not because I'm tired of him. Nor is it because I'm scared crapless; though Joe Hill is the only author that can write about non-demonic things and scare me cleaner than Ex-lax. It's just that as we are now in October, I am burning through a bunch of those Halloween reads that I've been saving up to read. Thanksgiving and Christmas are up next and I really want to dip into those reads too. Maybe when it's time to spend the holidays in St. Louis this Christmas, I'll bring another Joe Hill work that I haven't read yet with me. Hopefully, the author will have something new on the horizon as I am running out of things of his that I haven't read yet.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

DC Horror Presents: Sgt. Rock Vs. The Army of the Undead #6

After a series of missteps, Sgt. Rock Versus the Army of the Undead ends on such a high note. There's mention of a department that specializes in the military investigating paranormal and extraterrestrial activity. It's almost like SHIELD but with weird phenomenon. I'd order this series new and monthly if it ever came to pass. However, it's been over a year since issue #1 of this series debuted and I feel like if we've not heard about such a series coming forth by now, it's not going to happen.

The individual issues must not have sold as well as DC had hoped. No surprise there. DC has been tanking in sales for some time now. However, a hardcover collected edition is coming out sometime this month; just in time for All Hallow's Eve. Maybe if the hardcover sells very well, it might re-start the gears for that foretold future series. But if that happens, I expect the paranormal Sgt. Rock story to be repackaged as a graphic novel instead of floppies. 

This final issue was wild. If you are familiar with how Inglourious Basterds ended, then you'll probably love this finale. Add in the penultimate scene of the under-rated Tom Hanks vehicle, The 'Burbs and you'll almost forget some of the errors made in the storytelling in issues #2 and 5. 

The covers by Gary Frank have been awesome. I've also liked the interior art crafted by Eduardo Russo. Some might not like his minimalist technique. But I appreciated the use of shadows and dark voids to heighten the intensity of the drama. Russo's style reminded me a lot of Mike Mignola. So if you are a fan of Hellboy, you'll really dig the artwork of this book.

This was Bruce Campbell's first comic book. For a first effort, it was pretty darn good. I just felt that things kept going back to the starting line instead of going for the finish line. That might not even be the author's fault, but poor story advice from the editor. If not for that, this offbeat World War II horror-fantasy would have been perfect. Still, this was a good read to start off my October, 2023 reads.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.