Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4

A global telecast promises to unleash an Egyptian god of the dead. Elvira is fit to be tied and Vincent Price is nowhere to be found. 

I felt as if I had read this ending before. It just seemed like many of a cliched kinda end of the world action movie set in Egypt or some nearby part of the Middle East. Good guys get captured. A beloved character is seemingly killed off. Somebody who was brainwashed gets their mind back and then brainwashed again. Lots of weather and fire as an evil follower summons the terrible deity that they worship to rule the earth while also destroying it.

You know, that part never made sense to me ever. Why would someone want to rule the world by destroying it? That just seems counter intuitive. Either you want to rule the planet or destroy it. You can't do both. Right?

Probably the weakest issue of the series thus far. But the artwork and the one-liners do manage to keep this an entertaining read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #3

After a disastrous turn in Hollywood and then Merry Old England, Vincent Price and Elvira head to Egypt. The hope is to find the writer of the lost B-movie 'The Rise of the Ram', who hails from the North African nation. Turns out that the former writer is there and he's got the lost film and the original text that contains both the curse that could end all time and its cure. Unfortunately, a pair of goons devoted to the Egyptian Deity of Death and his bride are there too. And they've got guns! Does Vincent and his friends have guns? Nope? Yup! They're screwed!

I don't really understand why they need both the cursed ancient text as well as the print of the lost film. If it's the only copy of each, can't they just destroy it and then... problem solved? That seems to be the only thing wrong with this whole book. That sort of plot twist just seems unnecessary. 

It's like this episode of MASH when this nurse is in trouble and can't sneak out to visit her husband who is on a 24-hour leave. Instead of putting the guy in the VIP tent, the doctors put him in Margaret's tent and have Hot Lips sleep with the nurses. It just didn't make a hill of sense and neither does my complaint with this story.

The dialogue is witty. The artwork of Vincent Price is amazing and Elvira is not half bad either. She still looks a tad cartoony. But then again, isn't that the point with her? Plus, I love that artist Juan Samu (Marvel Action: Black Panther) decided to draw the goons to look like Laurel & Hardy. It just seems to jive with the tribute to classic Hollywood that oozes through every panel. 

A very fun read with a small bit of business I just can't figure out.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1

Just because Halloween is over means I have to stop reading and reviewing horror titles. This 6-issue series pairs one of the most iconic horror hosts of all-time with one of the most iconic horror actors of all-time. 

I know you are wondering how does Vincent Price, who has been dead for nearly 3 decades, happen to team-up with the still living Elvira. Does this story occur before his death in 1993? Nope! Price is a ghost and he's returned from the Great Beyond to save the world from total destruction. 

In the 1970s, Vincent Price filmed a movie titled 'Rise of the Ram.' The horror picture involves an actress recanting an ancient Egyptian spell that is supposed to prevent the rise of an old deity who seeks to destroy all of creation. To prevent the spell from ever being reversed, the only remaining print of both the film and the spell book were lost to time. However, a handful of devotees to the forgone god have located and stolen the missing items and are planning on unleashing hell on earth. 

With time running short, Vincent Price recruits Elvira to his cause. With the hostess' knowledge of B-movie lore and her extensive number of Hollywood contacts, Vincent is able to locate the original producer of Rise of the Ram. Only before they can get some answers, the bigwig bursts into flames. In his place, a demonic devotee to the Egyptian dark lord and this guy is mad as hell!

I didn't realize that Elvira has been in so many comic books. I knew that there was a Vincent Price horror anthology. I've read and reviewed a couple of issues from that series from Bluewater Productions. But I only thought Elvira had her version of the House of Mystery and maybe a couple other releases from Dynamite. But she recounts a whole slew of other comics that she has starred in previously and I was just unaware.

I've been waiting over a year to read this issue. The first issue came out in stores in the summer of 2021. The final issue didn't arrive until this past winter! It took a really freakin' long time to produce 6 issues of a comic book. The heck with blaming things on COVID and stuff. This miniseries should not have been released bi-monthly.

Thankfully, this book was worth the wait. I'm really hoping Vincent Price was as nice as a guy as he seems in this comic. I would hate to learn that he was the horror community's version of Joan Crawford or Bing Crosby. I had a lots of fun reading this book and I hope the remaining issues are just as good as this opening chapter was.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Moon Knight, Volume 1: Lunatic

Marc Spector awakens in a mental hospital. It seems that his life as the vigilante Moon Knight has been just a delusion of decades of psychosis. Yet no matter how hard Spector tries to see life through the eyes of a sane person, the man keeps running into fellow inmates who seem just like those who have fought along side him in his mission against evil and injustice. 

I think after numerous tries, I can say without a doubt, I am just not a Moon Knight fan. There's too many alter egos and confusing Egyptian gods. Oh, and violence. Lots and lots of mindless violence. 

I won this book, along with 3 other books, in a drawing during a comic book event. That's why I read this. I figured free is free. Plus, it has the great Jeff Lemire (Black Hammer) as the writer. So I thought that I would be in for a treat. 

This volume contains the first 5 issues of the 2016-17 Moon Knight series. The first 3 issues were pretty good. But the concluding pair of chapters were just a hot mess. Now the artwork overall was superior. It's a mix of different art styles by Star Wars: Vader's Greg Smallwood with help by Francesco Francavilla (Archie Horror), Michael Garland (King Thor) and others. And I just loved those covers. I'n not sure who did them. But they really were awesome. 

I know that Moon Knight has a cult following. He's just not my cup of tea. Someone might be a huge fan of this book. But that person isn't me.

 Hey- at least it was a free book!

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

The Mighty ISIS #1

  Today's review is of one of the most controversial comics being debated today- the Mighty ISIS #1! When this book first hit store shelves back in 1976, it was meet with very little fanfare. Which for DC was terrible because they invested millions in a live action Shazam/ ISIS kids show. Though the show was a ratings failure, it became a cult classic. So much that by 1980, reruns were still being aired years after both heroes fought their last battles. And I looked forward to their antics every Saturday morning!

   So jump forward to today in which on social media sites I see the cover to this issue being hotly debated. It shows up at least once a week! The question often asked about it is ‘I saw this for a sweet deal, but  am I wrong to buy it?’ Or ‘ should this comic be banned, burned or destroyed?’

   By the way, if you think this book sharing the same moniker as a certain militant Islamic terrorist group is the reason for this consternation, then you would be right? Case in point, about a month ago when I found this book, I happily showed it to my wife and mother-in-law. While my bride understood my delight in finding ISIS #1, my in-law asked: “ Why would anyone want that?”

  See my mother-in-law thought like a lot of folks do on Facebook and thought that this was a comic that glorified the Islamic state. (or that by owning it would me that they were pro-ISIS.) After a couple of seconds of thought, I think I gave the perfect response that I encourage anyone who is a fan of the Egyptian goddess superhero. “I've been a fan of Isis for almost 40- years,’ I exclaimed,’ I haven't given up on her yet and if I give up on her now, the terrorists win. I'm buying it!’ And I did just that. A couple of nights later, I popped the tape on my mylar bag and gave ISIS #1 a read. 

This series involved a meek science teacher who does what all science teachers do on summer break, went on an archeological dig in Egypt (I guess all the history teachers go to work at a wildlife preserve in the DC Universe.) Anyways, the teacher finds an amulet which bestows her with the powers of the Egyptian goddess, the Mighty ISIS!

   ISIS conducts all sorts of mythical spells that involves clever rhymes. Assisting her is a magical black named Tut, that she shares a mental link with. And she's a fairly decent fighter.

   In this first issue, ISIS must battle an ancient Egyptian priest was was freed from his slumber in a miniature pyramid that has been moved to a museum in the US. He too speaks in rhymes and by the time the dust settles, I will have felt like I just attended a poetry slam.

   I enjoyed this little time capsule from my childhood. It still holds up pretty well for a 40-year old comic based on a kid's TV show. It just amazing how time has changed it from beloved cult hit to being viewed as propaganda for the evilest force facing the free world today. But I assure you, the hype is all guilt by association.

  Worth Consuming

  Rating : 8 out of 10 stars.