The Unexpected #220

The cover alone of this 1981 issue of The Unexpected is the reason why so many comic book fans want it. A Joe Kubert classic . It's become a fan favorite of horror fans and fans of holiday comics. As a collector of both, it's why I wanted it.

Unfortunately, only the first story is holiday based. A woman is left alone with her child on Christmas Eve as reports of an escaped lunatic wearing a Santa costume come in over the radio. If the plot reminds you of the story 'And All Through The House' from Vault of Horror #35 (and no less than 2 live action adaptations), then give yourself a sugar cookie! There's definitely some inspiration here though our tale has a much happier and magical ending.

The other 3 stories are tales of terror. And like I stated earlier, there's nothing seasonal about them at all. A man dying of radiation poisoning, takes unique revenge on the owner of the nuclear power plant that made him sick. Then a trio of amateur drug dealers hire a mysterious man being trailed by the local authorities as their guide through a dense jungle. Lastly, a bridge troll keeps being evicted from his choice of overpass domiciles.

Vic Catan's artwork on the man dying from radiation sickness was amazing. I thought that the middle story about the guide was a true work of horror. That last story had elements of humor to it. So much that I didn't think it was scary at all. But the ending really was... unexpected.

I paid a little more than I probably should for this issue. But it's a book that is in large demand. The number of times it appears on the pages of the various Facebook groups I am a member of is proof of that. (I've seen it at least twice so far this season.) Along with having some holiday elements to it, this is also an anniversary issue. Marking the 25th anniversary of the title's creation, the page long account of the history of how this series was birthed during a tumultuous period in comic book history as Tales of the Unexpected was a fascinating read that added to my enjoyment of this book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

It Ate Billy On Christmas (Family Comic Friday)

I created Family Comic Friday because I was growing frustrated with parents going to shops and getting horrible recommendations about what comic books were appropriate for younger readers. I guess when it comes to reviews like these, I should cover not just the age appropriate stuff but the bad stuff well. If that's the case, then today's book definitely fits the criteria of a read where the suggestion given to me was all wrong.

It Ate Billy On Christmas was originally recommended to me as a great Christmas graphic novel to add to my wish list. For a couple of years, I would search for it regularly when shopping online for holiday themed reads. Last month I finally found a copy and ordered it along with several other Christmas comics and graphic novels. 

I should have known something was up with the shape of the book. It's rectangular. However instead of the format of the book going vertical, this hardcover was horizontal. Now, there's been a few horizontally formatted graphic novels. Frank Miller's 300 comes immediately to mind. For a few issues, Grant Morrison's run on Uncanny X-Men was a horizontal comic. I think there's even been a Fantastic Four annual published in this this configuration. 

This book was published by Dark Horse, which is known for its nearly 50 years of comic book and graphic novel offerings. Plus, on the back cover, this book is categorized as a graphic novel! So it's not really a traditional graphic novel, I thought. Then I started thumbing through the book. With an illustration on every left page and a painted piece on the right, there's a lot of visuals. However, this is not a work of sequential art. It's a children's book! Or so I thought...

Since I had waited so long to find this book and I spent money on it, I decided I might as well read it. And since it was Thursday and I needed a book for my weekly Friday post, I decided to review it as a "Family Comic Friday' read. 

Lumi is a young girl who's bullied mercilessly by her older brother. Every year for Christmas, she asks her parents for a puppy. But considering how mean and violent brother Billy is, Lumi's parents refuse. This Christmas, the girl is thrilled to discover that Santa has gifted her a puppy. The ugliest, smelliest, weirdest looking puppy you ever could imagine.

The puppy in reality is an ancient creature that broke into Lima's home looking for a snack, which the creature finds in the form of Billy! Not willing to give up her new puppy kinda glad that Billy is gone, Lumi fools her parents with a cardboard cutout of Billy. Mom and Dad don't seem to mind as a fake Billy is much more pleasant than the real thing. But as more children begin to disappear, will the town discover the truth and Lumi's new puppy?

This is a deceptively demented book that I really enjoyed. The painted artwork by Steven Daily reminded me of the animated works of Time Burton. Roman Dirge's writing style was just brilliant. You think you're getting a sweet little holiday fairy tale but the work is peppered with sarcasm and satire like a Terry Pratchett novel. Then there's the additional non-sequitur hidden inside the author's commentary like that of Douglas Adams' from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. However, this is not a sweet little holiday story. 

It's a tale of terror wrapped up in pink Christmas paper with happy little elves and butterflies on the surface. Some parents will love the dark twists to this 2007 book. Others will despise it. I went to Amazon in order to find a recommendation of reader age and couldn't find any.  Obviously, the world's biggest book seller doesn't think that this is a children's book no matter what the guy who suggested this book to me years ago thought. 

If the creepy CGI family movie Coraline is appropriate your little ones, then you probably won't have any qualms about this book. Never seen Coraline? (You should. It's great!) Then try to base the appropriate nature of this book on eerie book series such as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and RL Stine's Goosebumps.

Some eaten children, a pair of aloof parents and one swear word, this is definitely not your traditional holiday tale. But it's not really a graphic novel, children's book or work of fantasy horror for only the grownups either. What it was, was the perfect amount of gothic, surreal and darkly humorous misadventure for my taste in reads.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

What The Frost? (Santa Saves Christmas, Book I) by Ben Wolf

The holidays is a time when I try to read a couple of prose books along with my annual assortment of seasonal comic books and graphic novels. Usually those books are non-fiction volumes that dig deep into the history and lore of the season. But then I came across an ad for this series of books on Facebook. Needless to say that the images on the cover left me intrigued.

The painted cover by Kirk DouPonce (in a style that reminds me of Robot Chicken) shows Santa Claus battling zombies. With a whip made of Christmas lights. And a shotgun... Triple barreled. Okay, you've got my interest.

The ad describes zombified reindeer. Exploding sea birds. And a foe in the form of Father Time. Alright. Shut up and take my money!

Ben Wolf crafts an insane story that combines elements of horror, time travel, and Lord of the Rings with the legend of Santa Claus. There's heavy doses of humor, surrealism and satire that make for the wildest representation of life at North Pole since the first 5 minutes of Richard Donner's Scrooged!

A couple of scenes were meant to be shocking. Normally, I'd feel those moments like a gut punch. However, since I had seen the covers of all 3 books in the Santa Saves Christmas trilogy, my level of disappointment and sadness was lessened. In other words, I knew that someone who dies in this book doesn't really die permanently. But you'll have to read the book to find out who.

My enjoyment with this first volume resulted in something I rarely do when reading a prose novel. With about 60 pages to go, I went on Amazon and ordered book 2! And that was after the spoiler!

If your view of life is a tad askew. If you like your Christmases to be a mix of both traditional and contemporary. If you root for the Grinch to make it an un-Merry Christmas to those Whos of Whoville, this is the holiday novel you've been waiting for.  

If they ever make a movie of this, you can guarantee it won't appear on the Hallmark Channel!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Crypt of Shadows #1 (2024)

This is the third Halloween annual from Marvel based on the short-lived horror anthology from the 70s. Only this time the Crypt of Shadows, Vol. 3 issue #1 doesn't take place in the Crypt of Shadows. Nor is the anthology hosted by Doctor Strange's deranged brother Victor. This time around, Agatha Harkness, sitting in her intergalactic residence on the planet Amanna, is our hostess and she's spying on several characters of the Marvel Universe.

First up is Agatha's former pupil, the Scarlet Witch. When a magic door appears in her kitchen, Wanda Maximoff finds herself lured into a trap. An innocent nibble on the back of the Man-Thing unleashes a plague into the murky domain of the Sub-Mariner. Finally, the Werewolf by Night, Jack Russell finds himself the latest prey at the hands of Kraven the Hunter. Thankfully old friend, Blade is on hand to make it a fair fight.

First of all, that regular cover. How I wouldn't line up at my favorite LCS to pre-order a supernatural themed title with that lineup. Having Scarlet Witch, Vision, Prince Namor, the Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Blade and Kraven the Hunter on the same team fighting some kind of magical threat? I'd be all over that series in a heartbeat.

The stories were pretty good. I didn't exactly like that the Scarlet Witch story was a lead up to upcoming events in the pages of her solo book. I understand that specials like these are paid for advertising for fledgling titles. At least it wasn't a cliffhanger that requires me to buy her book.

I also don't quite understand the changes with the host. There wasn't anything wrong with having Victor Strange as the host. Plus if you're going to call it the Crypt of Shadows, then it should at least take place in the Crypt of Shadows.

I do know that some of the changes were done to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. For decades, Agatha Harkness has been either this ancient spindly old crone or dead. With a younger Harkness appearing in WandaVision, Marvel has once again changed the looks of a comic book character to reflect the live action version. I'm not too upset with that. Plus with the character's new Disney+ series Agatha All Along debuting now, I understand that Marvel Comics wants to cash in on that connection and is using their Halloween annual book to do it. I don't like it. But I understand the reasoning behind changing a great formula. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

I Know What You Did Last Crisis #1

When is a Halloween special not a Halloween special? When it's this year's All Hallows Eve offering from DC Comics! Each October, for at least the past 7 or 8 years (maybe more), DC has presented fans with a horror themed annual of 8 stories. Generally 6 or 7 are set during Halloween or Dia De Los Muertos. I Know What You Did Last Crisis offers 8 tales, set during the various Crisis events that DC has published since the biggie way back in 1985. But to call most of these stories 'horror' are misnomers at best. They're more like thrillers and only 1 is set during Halloween.

The lone Halloween story occurs during Zero Hour when the Justice Society of America is attacked by an unknown foe who has the ability to rapidly age their enemies to the point of near death. It was okay. But had I already read Zero Hour, I'd probably like it and understand it better.

The cream of the crop includes CRISIS set story starring Batgirl who finds that as Earth-1 is about to die at the hands of the Anti-Monitor, Killer Croc has kidnapped the parents of a scared little girl. Black Canary rushes to save innocents from the Silver Banshee who is exhibiting powers unlike her during the events of 'The Final Night'. Kimiyo Hoshi, the Doctor Light of Japan, tries to save her STAR Labs co-workers from a malfunctioning Man hunter during the Millennium event of 1988. 

A couple of stories starring villains Lex Luthor and the Scarecrow were mid-level reads. They had great premises. But they remind me of how long ago it was when I read Final Crisis and Blackest Night that I've forgotten a lot of the less finer details. 

I really thought I was going to hate that Midnighter story. I'm just not a fan of the Wildstorm stuff and I'm so tired of DC trying to make the Authority a thing in this current melded timeline. However, this is not the Batman knockoff that looks like I imagine Wolverine smells. His story takes place during the alternate timeline events of Flashpoint and sees Midnighter playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with Professor Pyg. It was a pleasant surprise and one that I would be interested in reading a follow-up of!

The absolute worst story is a sort of Elseworlds twist on the ending of Infinite Crisis. In the original story, Dick Grayson was fated to die but Conner Kent sacrificed himself. Kinda a bad move because had Nightwing died, it would have issued in a new age of peace and prosperity for the DC Universe. Great for the superhero community. No so ideal for sales. Anyway, an alternate Conner goes rogue and kills all the Dick Grayson's in the multiverse to ensure that all timelines experience this golden age. 

In what would have been a great 'What If' type tale if it was done as a standalone special and not part of a supposed Halloween anthology, it's a jumbled mess. Not scary at all. And it's written by Dan DiDio, who just absolutely hates Dick Grayson with a passion and nearly destroyed the House that Superman Built. When can we stop making Dan DiDio a thing?

I can't really rate this book fairly based on that one tale. I need to average the quality of all 8 stories and then remove one more star for not being a Halloween special! And after making some calculations, I came out with an average of 6.5. So not quite worthy of consumption. But a decent read and for once, it doesn't try to push the envelope nor alienate established fans.

Rating: 6.5 out of 10 stars.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

When Tim Burton's Beetlejuice came out in 1988, I didn't really understand it. I liked the concept of a newly deceased couple navigating the afterlife as well as trying to extricate an annoying living family from their home. However, the movie was called Beetlejuice and the title character is only in the movie for 17 minutes! My 11 year old brain couldn't understand why Beetlejuice was so rarely in his own movie. So I ended up becoming a fan of the cartoon series as well as the action figures.  They were amazing sculpts! As I got older and became a fan of Tim Burton movies, I understood the reason behind the character's absence and it eventually became one of those movies I can't pass up if I see it while flipping channels.

We jump ahead to 36 years later and Beetlejuice returns to the screen after several decades of rumors of a sequel. While the main character still isn't in every scene, Beetlejuice is in enough of the movie that my younger self would have been satisfied. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice debuted last month, breaking records for films that opened in September. I kept wanting to go to the theaters but I was either too busy or not wanting to fight the crowds. At least my wait wasn't too long as it finally showed up on Amazon Prime and Youtube Premium for my bride and I do give it a Halloween time viewing from the comfort of home. 

In the time since the first film, Lydia Deetz has cashed in on her ability to see ghosts. After helping the Maitlands successfully cross over to the afterlife, Lydia could still see ghosts and became a psychic arbitrator between the living and the dead. Despite starring her own reality TV show, her teenage encounter with Beetlejuice has left Lydia a pill-popping neurotic wreck who has PTSD fears of being reunited with her one-time fiance poltergeist. A widow, Lydia is estranged from her daughter Astrid, who thinks Lydia is a fraud because she never can communicate with her dead husband. Living in New York City, Lydia and her daughter must return to Winter River after the tragic death of her father. However, as Lydia begins to clear the house of her father's possessions, the single mom begins to have horrifying visions of a ghost dressed in a black and white striped suit. With every passing moment, it becomes clear: Beetlejuice is nigh!

Almost the entire original cast returns for this film. Michael Keaton is a treasure! The only major exception is Jeffrey Jones, who played Lydia's father in the original film. However, his criminal past of possessing child pornography meant that his involvement in the film was not to be. Despite this, you do see photos of Jones as Lydia's father at the funeral and his voice is used in at least 1 scene.

There's a few new players to the Beetlejuice universe. Justin Theroux plays Lydia's manager and human fiance. I thought it was interesting having Theroux in this film as it was produced by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment. Both Pitt and Theroux were married to Jennifer Aniston! Imagine the conversations between these two! Monica Bellucci plays Beetlejuice's vengeful wife, thus shedding some light on the main character's origins. Willem Dafoe is an afterlife detective trying to find Beetlejuice's former lover before she can send him to his final reward!

I liked being able to know when and where Beetlejuice came from. But I felt that Monica Bellucci's character was unnecessary. True, without her, that would make Dafoe's character also unneeded and he was some great comic relief. Still, I felt that her parts in this movie didn't really move the plot along other than telling us about the main characters life before the afterlife.

This has got to be one of the most Tim Burton movies filled with the most un-Burton like scenes and music. Thankfully, we get the great Danny Elfman doing the main score. There's stop motion. There's a slew of oddball dead characters. There's another dance scene. But it's no 'Banana Boat' scene. I'm guessing the Harry Belafonte estate wasn't willing to license out other songs of his. 

One thing that I just adored about this film is that it takes place during Halloween. It was seasonal to get to watch it here during the middle of October. Hopefully, it will become an annual favorite. I'd watch it again. It was a nostalgic sequel without being too repetitive of the original. If anything it felt more like a continuation of the Saturday morning cartoon series in which Beetlejuice and Lydia were good friends. Having a 600 year old plus ghost with the hots for a teenage girl is kinda icky. But as friends from differ sides of the doorway to the great beyond felt more comfortable for those of us who got up freakin' early every Saturday to watch a cartoon classic!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 of 10 stars.

Eerie Tales from the School of Screams (Family Comic Friday)

Today's homework assignment: tell an eerie story to the rest of the class.

Over the course of the rest of the school day, 5 children will try to top each other with spooky stories about a town that vanished, a curious ghost, a modern Cinderella being terrorized by her hateful uncle and aunt, a doomed crew aboard a spaceship, and the evil secret behind grandpa's massive stash of treats.

I don't know why it is, but I am so ready for Halloween. I'm slowly seeing things popping up in stores and it's just got me in the mode for cool crisp weather and spooky comics all of a sudden. Of the 5 tales, the one about the mistreated little girl was the most horrific because it was so real. The story about the vanishing village was just a warm up for things to come and the ghost story was more like something from The Twilight Zone, in that it was the twist ending that was the real spine chiller. I liked the outer space horror story. It had a couple of great jump scares and was smartly plotted. Then there was the story about Poppi's candies. It has demons in it and when it comes to horror, that's not really my thing. 

I would love for there to be a sequel to this 2023 anthology from First:Second. I'd also be up for a 1-hour animated special of Eeries Tales from the School of Screams. There was an element of frights on par with that classic series of horror stories from the 1980s, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Amazon has the suggested age range for the book as being for readers aged 8-12. I would slide that scale over a bit to the right and suggest it for youngsters who are a very mature 9 to 13 years of age. 

At over 300 pages, it's one of the bigger reads out there. However, there's not a ton of words. Creator Graham Annable utilizes completely darkened out pages to signal the progression of time. I know from Hitchcock's Psycho, that the greatest horrors occur in the mind of the viewer when events are left unseen. However, from a sustainability factor, those black pages, sometimes 3 to 4 pages in a row, are in my mind wasteful. From the view of my wallet, those extra pages aren't so bad as the book retails for $14.99.

A very good book with original stories ranging in level of scares from 1-9 on a 10 point scale. I hope to read another volume of this. Yet, if the ending is the way things stand with the story of the children of the School of Screams, I am perfectly fine with that decision.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Riverdale Free Comic Book Day 2018 #1

I was waiting in my car for my bride's haircut to end yesterday. I had forgotten my phone and my favorite radio show wasn't on the air. So I dug around my vehicle in hopes of something to read when I found this! I had packed some FCBD reads I had doubles off to give to the kids in our Comic Book Club. I guess this 2018 offering had fallen out. I'm glad it did because it sure saved the day and I would have kept missing out on an amazing read.

Titled 'Pop's Little Chock'lit Shoppe of Horrors', this comic is set in the universe of the CW's Riverdale live action series. Now I've never watched an episode of the show. But as always, I do my research to learn a little bit about all aspects of pop culture. So I know that Riverdale is a show with a lot of creepy stuff floating around in the background of America's most popular small town. This book appears to be no different than the TV show.

Betty is writing a series of articles about Riverdale icons and selects Pop's Chock'lit Shoppe for her next feature. While talking with Pop, who happens to have taken the name after the death of his father, the original Pop, Betty learns about the bizarre history of the restaurant. From famous guests to paranormal investigators to old Scratch himself, a lot of diners have come through those doors and brought with them a host of evil and odd occurrences. 

Archie Comics does two things very well: classic style books and horror. This FCBD comic was definitely a well executed horror book. Ironically, while a Riverdale set version of the Little Chock'lit Shoppe of Horrors was never produced after this freebie, Archie editors knew not to let a great idea die and in 2022 and 23, issued Halloween time one-shots based on the theme. Only this time around, the books are set in the modern Archie universe created by Mark Waid and Fiona Staples.

Based on their gory covers, I hadn't given any interest in those restaurant set spooktaculars. But based on the quality of the one that started them all, I might just give them a second glance if I ever come across them.

A good one-shot. But it's got an ending that would make me change my mind and remove this issue from my collection. I don't like horrors that involve the devil and this book sure has an evil ending to it. You might be seeing this book on an area free shelf sometime soon...

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Weird Wonder Tales #18 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Weird Wonder Tales was just one of the many horror titles that Marvel published in the early 1970s thanks to the lessening of restrictions on such titles by the Comics Code. There was only one problem with these type books in the eyes of 1970s readers: based on the reprinted material inside, the Marvel horror anthologies were tame compared to what DC and Charlton were putting out. These stories were also way past G-rated compared to the horror material Marvel was distributing in magazine format which had some mild nudity and swears in them. 

Starting with issue #19, Marvel made the one-time Avenger Doctor Druid the series host, hoping that continuity would earn readers. Unfortunately, the experiment was a failure and Weird Wonder Tales was cancelled 4 issues later with issue #22. The ultimate irony is that nearly 50 years later, many of Marvel's horror anthologies from the 70s are sought out by collectors as the reprints they contain are affordable alternatives to the original issues from the 50s and 60s. This was the last issue under the title's original format.

In this issue there are 2 stories. The cover story, (I Created) Krang!, is a double sized giant monster story by Stan Lee and brother Larry Lieber with art and inks by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers. A scientist seeking to use enlarged insects as environmental replacements for fuel burning vehicles travels to Europe where a rare tree might hold the key to gigantism. The assistant steals some of the resulting formula and puts it atop a seemingly harmless ant. However too much is applied and the ant grows to the size of an elephant. Even worse, the ant has developed super intelligence, forcing the scientist to make more formula in order for Krang to create an army of oversized insects and thus conquer the world!

The backup feature combines horror and ancient myth. From the early 1950s, 'The Cartoonist's Calamity' was featured in the pages of Venus #17. The story stars the character of Aphrodite. Growing bored with life as a goddess, the daughter of Zeus comes to Earth where under the name of Venus, she becomes the editor of a struggling fashion magazine. In this tale, her head cartoonist Jimmy Rogers has been acting erratically. Venus goes on to discover that Jimmy has been moonlighting for a horror comic; only now Jimmy's terrifying visions have come to life and are driving their creator insane!

Written and illustrated by Bill Everett, the horrors Jimmy Rogers creates seem ripped directly from the sketchbook of Basil Wolverton. When it comes to the lettering, it must have been by the same fella that crafted the stylized font for the word 'Comics' on the Action Comics logo. Just about every speech bubble using that style instead of italics for expressions of disbelief and shock!

The material in this book might not be the most terrifying horror title to ever grace market shelves. But this was a 1970s horror anthology that has since earned the respect of collectors, if not about 5 decades too late. 

Cover by Jack Kirby, Klaus Janson and Danny Crespi.

Completing this review completes Task #13 (A Horror Comic) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

The Unexpected #183 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

DC's The Unexpected started life as Tales of the Unexpected in 1956. Due to restrictions set by the Comics Code, DC began Tales of the Unexpected as a milder sci-fi anthology alternative compared to the compilation series being published by EC Comics. Over the next decade, as guidelines over what was deemed unacceptable to be in comics lessened, especially elements of the macabre, Tales began to include fantasy and horror stories along with those sensational science fiction adventures. 

By 1968, DC had determined that they had a glut of Sci-fi and horror titles and they retooled Tales of the Unexpected into a fantasy only series. Starting with issue #105, the title was trimmed down to The Unexpected. However, it was soon revealed that sales for a fantasy only book wasn't as strong as DC had hoped for. Pretty quickly, elements of horror and science fiction were reintroduced into the title though the series never reverted back to its original name. 

The Unexpected continued in print to May, 1982; ending at issue #222. It survived through the DC Implosion of 1978, incorporating titles such as House of Secrets, The Witching Hour and Doorway Into Nightmare in its pages. A series that began without a host, by the time The Unexpected was cancelled, hosts such as the Witches Three and Abel were presenting spooky stories to readers in rotating segments. 

This February, 1978 issue was published almost a full year before the assimilating effects of the Implosion were felt in the title. Yet, the 3 stories presented in this book are full of terrifying twists and turns. In 'The Dead Don't Always Die' George Kashdan and Ernesto Patricio give a deadbeat swindler insight on the forthcoming date of death of a relative- it just might not be the one he was hoping for. Carl Wessler and Gerry Talaoc warn a pair of American crooks wreaking havoc in Brazil to 'Beware the Green Cannibal.' Finally, Kashdan returns with art by E.R. Cruz in a mad scientist story titled 'Golden Grave.'

Cover art, based on the opening story, was by Luis Dominguez.

Completing this review completes Task #40 (A Work Published in February of Any Year) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

In Utero (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

Australian creator Chris Gooch crafts a Kaiju themed graphic novel that is both terrifying and heartwarming.

This 2024 work from Top Shelf Productions begins with an explosion that level of destruction rivals that of an atomic bomb. 20 square miles is wiped out in the blink of an eye. At the time of the disaster, it was believed that a gas leak was behind the carnage.

Jump ahead 12 years. The Australian community has rebuilt over ground zero to some effect. However, the damage from the explosion still lingers over the city. A large shopping mall had to be condemned due to structural and foundational damage. However in an attempt to make a little money, the owner has been secretly renting out a wing of the complex to his son who's turned the spot into a discount daycare facility.

12 year old Hailey has been spending her school holiday at the day camp. As one of the older children, she's given responsibilities to wander the grounds looking for escapees from the center. In her rounds she encounters a mysterious older teen who seems to know all about the history of the mall. Hailey also encounters a pair of boys who've found a bunch of mysterious gooey eggs that react to human speech. These eggs also seem to be merging together into one giant mass...

In Utero was a surprising read. The main villain in this monstrosity that looks like a combined nightmare dreamed up by Lovecraft and Stephen King. Think Re-Animator meets The Langoliers. The government agents that seek to quarantine the mall act like any sort of biological researcher you'd see in a zombie film. Only, thanks to the experience we've all had with the pandemic, their presence makes the story a little bit more realistic and a whole lot terrifying. Add in the mystery of the explosion from a dozen years past and it also feels like 9/11 all over again.

Yet despite the fear factor of this graphic novel, there's an element of joy in the relationship between Hailey and the mysterious teen named Jen. It's completely unexpected considering the level of carnage being raged by the monster that is reforming in the confines of the abandoned mall. Yet, this type of camaraderie is what made this a quick read that I could not put down!

A read that feels like it could or SHOULD be set in the universe of J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield franchise. The year 2024 is only a couple of months old. Yet, this very well could be one of the top graphic novels of the year! It's that good!

Completing this review completes Task #24 (A New Release at Your Local Library) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Crime Patrol #11 (2024 Comic Book & Graphic Novel Reading Challenge)

(Issue read was Crime Patrol #5, the Gemstone Publishing August, 2000 Reprint Edition)

Though 1950-55 was the heyday of EC Comics, William Gaines and company were perfecting their brand in the late 1940s. Starting out as International Comics before a name change to International Crime Patrol, what would become just Crime Patrol with issue #7, focused on gritty violent crime stories. The police might not get their man. But justice was always done by the end of each story.

In 1949, when this issue was originally published, publisher Gaines and editor and artist Al Feldstein had begun to experiment with horror. That's why the middle story, 'The Werewolf's Curse'!, was included in a book devoted to criminal activity. As readers of Crime Patrol began to write letters praising these tales of terror, Gaines and Feldstein saw the merits in releasing an all horror comic. Crime Patrol #15 introduced readers to the Crypt Keeper who hosted the Feldstein tale 'Return From the Grave' Two issues later, Crime Patrol morphed into The Crypt of Terror, hosted by the ghoulish Crypt Keeper. Another two issues later, the publication would make more final name change to Tales From The Crypt and the short-lived Age of EC Comics was born. As a cost-cutting measure with US Postal Service permits, the numbering was never altered throughout the publication's lengthy evolution.

Crime Patrol #11's first story claims to be a true life tale taken from the files of the FBI. Proclaiming that the names were changed to protect the innocence, the true crime moniker was more than likely a story gimmick to sensationalize the kidnapping of a wealthy socialite for ransom by a couple of small time crooks. 

The third story is an account of a female pickpocket forced into working as a card sharp for a seedy carnival owner. There is no mention of this tragic tale being based on reality or not.

As for the middle feature, 'The Werewolf's Curse!', it's based on a classic horror trope. A pair of siblings have inherited a castle. Legend has it that the fortress is cursed by a werewolf which both heirs laugh off as pure legend. That is until their faithful dog and the caretaker of the manner are both mauled by an unseen assailant. This story lacks the signature twist ending that would become the staple of the EC line. Instead, the reader is left to wonder if there really was a curse of a lycanthrope or if the countryside was terrorized by some other unknown beast that could walk on two legs.

With this issue, featuring art and story Al Feldstein with contributions by Richard Krause, Howard Larsen, H.C. Kiefer and a dramatic cover by Johnny Craig, this isn't a perfect EC Comic, but you can see that things are slowly falling into place for William Gaines and company.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Completing this review completes Task #18 (An EC Comic (Reprints are allowed) of the 2024 Comic Book and Graphic Novel Reading Challenge.

A Christmas Bestiary by Benni Bodker

A field guide and protection manual in defense of the monsters, ghosts and terrifying magical beings that occupy Europe and Russia during the holidays. I could have finished this book in a couple of nights of reading. However, I learned pretty quickly that this illustrated work by Danish illustrator and filmmaker John Kenn Mortensen and author Benni Bodker, was framed as an Advent. Each day, a different Yuletide terror is featured. I would have thought Krampus would have been selected as the final character of the Advent, considering how popular he's gotten. However, he was fittingly selected for December 5th, as that is Krampusnacht in his native Germany. A few other characters are appropriately highlighted on the days or nights that they are believed to cause their mischief and mayhem.

The beings are rated on a scale of 1-5 pine cones. 1 pine cone means the creature isn't all that dangerous. A 5 pine cone rating means that this is a being not to be trifled with. The level of terror didn't always match how frightening the artwork based on the characters were. However, that splash page of the Yule Goat looking directly into your soul was truly unsettling.

For an Advent, this book only has 24 entries, culminating on Christmas Eve. For many, that might seem weird. But having an Advent calendar at the end on December 25th is actually an American thing. In Europe, where Advent calendars began, most have only 24 days. (As Advent season changes with the calendar, some Advent calendars might be as few as 12 days or they might grow to as many as 28 maximum, depending on the year.)  

A Christmas Bestiary was a fun read. The colder the evening I read these entries, the creepier they felt and that was all the better. One major disappointment I had was that the cover image is nowhere to be found inside. I was really looking forward to find out what this demented, drooling Santa's story was. Alas, it's absent from the book. But maybe his story will soon be told! This book only covers a small fraction of the world. Could a sequel covering the rest of the world be in the works? I know that I wouldn't mind such a follow up. 

Lastly, I don't really know how to classify this book. This English language version was published by Fantagraphics; which is known for releasing a number of comics and graphic novels. Fantagraphics does also publish a small number of regular books of fiction and non-fiction. Technically, this is an Advent calendar in book format. But I bought it from my favorite comic book store which doesn't carry collectible merch. Honestly, if I didn't know about this book from my favorite shop, I wouldn't have picked it up and I have seen it listed on Previews and for sale at other comic book stores. Only, there's no sequential artwork here whatsoever. This book is surely a keeper. I just don't know where I'm going to keep it.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Silent Night, Deadly Night #4

The sequel to the 1984 holiday horror classic comes to an end in this issue. I'm rather excited about it. For one thing, even though this miniseries erases SNDN 2 & 3 from canon, what unfolds in this issue prevents those events from being completely wiped from existence. See in those 2 sequels, Billy Chapman's little brother succumbs to his PTSD over his brother being a sadistic killer, so when Ricky gets college aged, he too wears a Santa costume and dispenses justice against those he declares 'Naughty.' In this official comics sequel, Ricky undergoes years of therapy, terrified by demented visions of becoming a psycho killer like big brother Billy. 

In other words, the events of parts 2 and 3 took place in Ricky's head! 

In my review of issue #4, I mentioned that I had a theory as to why Billy's eyes were turning as black as the coal on a snowman. Well, I was right about that, although what Billy turns into is never officially named. It's never explained why one of the kids at the orphanage where Billy and Ricky stayed as youths, undergoes a similar transition. But the way this story ends, things are set up for a sequel. And I'm okay with that! 

There's a couple of great twists to this story. Two great jump scares; one of which shocked the heck out of me and this was a comic book. Not a live action film! And though the artwork was pretty gory, it again was an improvement from those very rough first two issues.

The story ending is just satisfyingly enough that if the story ends here, I could live with it. But there's a promise of a sequel. I don't think it's going to happen this year as I don't see anything on the horizon. That too I would be okay with as you don't want to beat a dead horse. Even though that's probably exactly what Billy Chapman would do.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Silent Night, Deadly Night #3

The police force of tiny Eggnog, Utah are on alert. Anybody in a Santa suit doing the slightest thing illegal are getting round up. It's spreading security forces pretty thin which makes this issue's major massacre a cake walk for Billy Chapman, who returns to Ira's Toys some 40 years after his murderous spree of Christmas Eve, 1984. The new owner is throwing a bash for all the store Santas in town, as well as the helpers and Billy has come dressed in his holiday reds and bearing gifts... of death! 

The first about 10 pages seemed like a return to the slasher holiday classic and then Billy's rage triples and heads begin exploding, blood gushes and heads roll. As much as the level of violence went off the rails, it was still a good story. Plus the artwork has vastly improved. and yes, it's the same artist from the past 2 issues! I have a theory behind why Billy's eyes have turned jet black. I'll be interested to know if I am right. 

I was right about who the copycat Santa Killer was. I wasn't 100% certain as I can't seem to account for all the murders to the person who committed them. Thus, while I had my assumptions, I wasn't 100% certain. But I count it as a win that I guessed the secondary killer correctly.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Silent Night, Deadly Night #2

A lot happens in issue #2. 

Billy's eyes turn as black as coal and he escapes the low-security mental hospital, murdering indiscriminately. 

An orphan from the foster home that Billy and Ricky lived in as kids, seeks help from Santa. His eyes also turn jet black and he beats the living crap out of one of his tormentors. 

Ricky has a complete mental breakdown after what happened with his recent visit with Billy and storms out of the house he and his family are staying in.

A killer dressed as Santa kills a couple near lover's lane and then possibly kills a pair of dime store Santas.

Billy Chapman gets some much overdue revenge.

And the art just gets worse and worse.

First of all, the gore level jumps to 11 in this issue. It's very off-putting. The original film from 1984 and the sequel were known for being bloody and dark. It's kinda hard to hack someone to pieces with an axe and make it pretty. However, the deaths in this issue take a quantum leap in gore with eyeballs exploding and faces being punched to pulp. It's a level of gratuitousness I just don't want to see, like when they killed the dog in that issue of The Weatherman.

Thankfully, the artwork isn't all that great as the lack of realism helps to prevent me from having nightmares. I liken it to the very overcrowded type of stuff you would see in a college newspaper. Everything looks like it was done with an ink pen instead of pencils and it feels rushed. I know that I'm not a professional artist. With my carpal tunnel, I couldn't pass that correspondence art course test where you have to draw the pirate or the turtle (and everybody is scammed into believing they have the makings as the next Andy Warhol!) But to paraphrase Mr. Burns from The Simpsons, I know what I like and I don't like this (art.)

Still hooked on the story though. It's intriguing where the art work for the most part really disappoints.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Silent Night, Deadly Night #1

I start my 2023 Christmas comics reading with a sequel to a holiday classic... HORROR flick! It's Silent Night, Deadly Night #1 from American Mythology.

I've been waiting almost an entire year to read this book. Issue #1 debuted in November of last year with issue #2 dropping in December. That would have been okay for me to wait until then to read it. But issue #3 hit store shelves in late January AND the final fourth book didn't come out until Easter! So I waited...

Silent Night, Deadly Night is a fully sanctioned sequel from film creators Dennis Whitehead and Scott Schneid. Taking place 40 years after the first film, it appears that events from the second and third film in the series have been wiped away from existence. In fact, this miniseries also changes the ending of the 1984 splatter classic because Billy Chapman is still alive!

At the end of the original film, cops shot and killed Billy before he could exact revenge on the abusive Mother Superior who abused him and his brother as kids. Over Billy's dead body, little brother Ricky, proclaims that the head nun is ' Naughty '. And that's where movie series canon ends.

 As Billy's corpse is being wheeled out of the orphanage, paramedics detect a faint pulse and rush to save the crazed Santa dressed murderer. Thus for the next 4 decades, Billy Chapman resided in a low-security insane asylum, keeping mostly to himself, allowing his white hair and beard to grow long like Santa. Every Christmas, Ricky takes his wife and daughter to make a yule tide visit while Ricky wrestles with the demons of his past, fearful that he too might become a sadistic killer like his big brother.

Meanwhile, one of the kids from the orphanage who witnessed Billy's Christmas Eve assault has returned to the town of Eggnog, Utah. Now a famous horror writer, the man hopes to exorcise his own demons from the orphanage and the trauma of Christmas Eve, 1984. Only that's gonna be really difficult as someone in a Santa suit is stalking the citizens of Eggnog, killing those who wind up on this evil Kris Kringle's naughty list.

If you can wade through the fact that this book erases 4 sequels, two of which weren't really even connected to the Caldwell family anyways, fans of the slasher series will enjoy a bloody sequel full of irreverent humor and creepy jump scares. And that's perfectly fine as that's was the intention of the 1984 film that changed the rules for holiday horror. As for the art, it's rough. I don't understand why American Mythology does amazing work with their all ages material; yet their horror stuff looks like it was drawn by the cartoonists at a college newspaper.

For those of you who love their Christmases to be a little bit on the dark side, this is the chilling read for you.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Crypt of Shadows #1 (2023)

For the second year in a row, Marvel releases a horror themed one-shot under the legacy banner of Crypt of Shadows. Unlike last year's offering, none of these stories seem to be set around Halloween. Also unlike last year's offering, every story was actually quite good!

Once again Victor Strange, the vampiric brother of Doctor Strange is our host. Trapped in that mirror somewhere in Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum, Victor regales readers with creepy stories set in the Marvel universe while scheming to escape from his shadow realm prison. The main theme of most of these stories are team-ups involving classic 1970s Marvel horror characters.

Deadpool is hired to kill a priestess who seeks to rule both the world and underworld. But he's got to get through N'Kantu, the Living Mummy in order to obtain his bounty. Daredevil is nearly ripped to shreds by the ninja clan known as the Hand. Coming to his aid is the Man-Thing, whose touch results in death in those who know fear. Good thing Matt Murdock is the Man Without Fear. Then the Hulk is assisted by the Werewolf by Night from an all-out assault by Kraven the Hunter. 

The only story to not feature a team-up stars the Scarlet Witch. She fights a demonic force called Bricklayer. It's the villain's first appearance and it's a pretty darn good one. Years ago, this haunted house was destroyed. Only one of the bricks from the possessed domicile lodged itself into the chest of a vagrant. Now the vagrant continues the destroyed home's reign of terror by killing innocents as the super-strong and extremely evil Bricklayer. This was a villain I very much want to see more off and the tagline at the end of the story promises more of the character. Though I expect Bricklayer's legacy to be taken up by a new host body.

Fans are also promised more of Victor Strange in the pages of Doctor Strange. I'm excited for this prospect as well. It might actually persuade me to buy the books new when Marvel finally pits brother against brother once more. 

Marvel managed to make a Halloween special that was relevant and yet not preachy. Comics can tackle tricky subjects while still being fun. Finally, after several years of feeling like I was being targeted by the House of Ideas, it seems that the publisher finally understands that fans want to be entertained, not talked down too. If I wanted to spend my hard earned cash being made to feel like the source of all humanities problems, I'd enroll in an ethics course in college. When I buy comic books, I want to enjoy it and I actually enjoyed this horror comic.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

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.