The Dark Man: An Illustrated Poem by Stephen King and Glenn Chadbourne

 

This 1969 poem was inspiration to what would become in author Stephen King’s opinion “His greatest villain.” Written while in college, The Dark Man sets the tone for the character Randall Flagg from King’s The Stand. I’ve never read The Stand, but my wife has and she says Flagg is “evil”.

 

In this poem, we see the Dark Man walking the railroads of America bringing death, dread, and destruction with him. The narrator claims he’s camped with hobos, enjoy cold beverages on hot summer’s days, and even deflowered a pretty girl in a meadow. But, it’s thanks to the artwork of Glenn Chadbourne that we see that these acts aren’t so innocent.

 

The Dark Man features some of the creepiest artwork this side of that classic kid’s anthology “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.” I wouldn’t be surprised if it was an inspiration to Chadbourne. Perhaps the most unsettling thing about the artwork are all of the dead bodies hidden in the background of the drawings. I doubt each page has a corpse hidden in between the lines but once you see a couple of them, your brain starts to see them everywhere.

 

Truly a terrifying read. I would not recommend reading this is the dark or during Halloween. My not knowing who Flagg was might’ve made the main character of this poem more frightening than it really was. But it’s a creepy read.

 

This book is a must for any fan of Stephen King and their collections. The poem is only about 300 words- if that, and only 70 pages. About 10 pages don’t even contain words. This is not the type of book I’d buy. At $25.00 the price is pretty steep. Thankfully, I found this at my local library and as long as I turn it in on time, won’t have paid a dime.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four #2

 

In this issue Doctor Doom reveals his plan to William Shakespeare, the crew of the Fantastick reunite in order to free the Bard from the clutches of the dastardly metal clad villain, and the end of the world is discovered and guess what? The world IS flat! Along the way, a castaway is discovered, the origins of the Frightful Four are revealed, and Jon Storm probably is going to be jailed for kidnapping should the Fantastick survive their epic voyage.

 

Just as the first issue was filled with great art and a terrific storyline, this issue continues to thrill. I am very happy with this series. It captures the quality of 1602 and is slightly better than its sequel (thus far.) A great read for fans of alternate history and timelines or the Fantastic Four.

 

Worth Consuming

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Marvel 1602: Fantastick Four #1

 

This mini-series takes place after the events of 1602 and its sequel 1602: The New World. Whether this all takes place before, during, or after Spider-man 1602 is beyond me. I’ve not read that series yet even though it’s a part of my collection.  

 

In this opening act the crews of the explorer ship Fantastick have gone their separate ways. Reed Richards and his lady fair, Susan are living in a cottage awaiting the birth of their first child. Jon Storm has become a drunk while Mr. Grimm has joined the acting troupe of the Bard, William Shakespeare, acting under heavy make-up. But when Victor Von Doom sends an aerial army to kidnap the acclaimed playwright, the estranged friends must re-team to both save the day and end Doom’s reign of tyranny once and for all.

 

I’ve really enjoyed this first issue. The Frightful Four are introduced into the 1602 universe as are a host of minor characters that pepper the Big Apple in the pages of Marvel Comics. I’ve never seen Reed Richards so focused and ready to take down Doom. It’s as if the fear that Doom will never stop hunting the Fantastick Four and thus Reed’s unborn child is endangered as well. It’s a shame he never acting like this when the Invisible Woman was pregnant with Franklin in the 70s.

 

I kinda like this vengeful Mr. Fantastick.

 

With some fantastic art and a very entertaining first chapter, I am very much looking forward to the rest of this series. I hope I will not be disappointed.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Batman: Noir- Eduardo Risso (Deluxe Edition)

 

Yes- Frank Miller has tackled the Dark Knight many times. But imagine if Frank Miller set the Caped Crusader in the Sin City universe. If he had, then you’d get Batman: Noir. Gritty crime drama mixed with stark black & white artwork set in a world where things are anything but.

 

Batman: Noir isn’t a series or a set storyline Instead it’s a collection of works by scribe Brian Azzarello and artist Eduardo Risso. The following stories are collected in this work:

 

“BATMAN #620-625, FLASHPOINT: BATMAN - KNIGHT OF VENGEANCE #1-3 and stories from WEDNESDAY COMICS #1-12 and BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHTS #8.” (Amazon.com)

 

The Batman tale, titled “Broken City” has the Dark Knight accidently targeting the wrong man for a murder. That mistake now has the accused on the run from just about every major player in Gotham including Penguin, Killer Croc, Scarface, and the Crown Prince of Crime himself- The Joker. Gotham Knights #8 involves a face to face conversation between Batman and Mr. Zsasz after the serial killer has unleashed his own version of hell on some former associates.

 

The Flashpoint tale is an alternate reality tale set in a universe where Superman doesn’t exist. Here, Bruce Wayne is killed on that fateful night while Thomas and Martha Wayne escaped an assassin’s bullet. The trauma has turned Thomas into a different version of the Batman while Martha has gone over the deep end. That story was fantastic and was a great teaser for when I finalize collection all of the Flashpoint issues soon.

 

Lastly, we’ve got the Wednesday Comics reprint. This story involves an heiress whose being targeted for death as he late husband recently was. This story was good, but I think it was cheating as this tale was reprinted in the B&W format but was originally a full color tale.

 

Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. It was like reading a pulp detective novel filled with colorful characters set in a bleak world. The team-up of Azzarello and Risso is a fantastic one. They’re also been paired in a number of works such as 100 Bullets. I’ve never read that series before but it’s got me inspired to do so.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Guns of the Dragon #4

This “prequel” comic concludes with an epic battle between Bat Lash & Enemy Ace vs. Vandal Savage. If you remember in the last book’s review I said that a character’s death was “actually something I saw coming. However, I would not be surprised if this character pops back up” in issue #4. Well, that prediction came true. 

But it’s the predictable resurrection that isn’t what’s wrong with this issue. No, that so of thinly veiled plot is forgivable. What isn’t pardonable is how poor the art is. The first three issues were fantastically drawn. The art was very much in the style of the great Joe Kubert. The art in this issue was drawn by the same artist as in all of the other issues. But, the art in this chapter looks rushed and the inking is quite heavily. It’s almost as if the inker’s brush was frayed and dripping ink everywhere. Yes, an inker can affect the art, but upon closer study, I really don’t think the lack of quality is his entire fault. At least half of the blame falls on artist/ scribe Timothy Truman.

Overall, this was a really good series aside from the piss-poor art and inking in this final chapter. Guns of the Dragon is full of action and adventure, it was like reading a Saturday morning serial. I could see Spielberg directing this with special effects by Lucas’ ILM studios. The ending is left open. I wonder if there were intentions to craft a sequel. Maybe there is a sequel to this mini-series and I just don’t know about it yet. It’s very possible that the events of this series affect another series, like Justice Society or Jonah Hex. Allusions are made to both in this book. But if it is, I just haven’t found the sequel- yet.

Not Worth Consuming!

Rating: 4 out of 10 stars.

Guns of the Dragon #3

The explorers have finally reached Dinosaur Island only to discover that they didn’t get there first! Tons of explosions, guns fights, and a death occur in this awesome chapter set in the early days of the DC universe.

   The death is actually something I saw coming. However, I would not be surprised if this character pops back up in the next (and final) issue to save the day, only to finally die heroically. So, some of the plot got telegraphed.

    I don’t count that as poor writing as much as it’s just something to expect after you read as many comic book for as many years as I have. After a while, you just become an expert in the medium and can figure out what’s going to happen ahead of time because you’ve run across that plot device before over and over. Fans of shows like Star Trek, Doctor Who, and The X-Files- even the generic romantic comedy sitcom, know of this occurrence from years of fandom and viewing.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Guns of the Dragon #2

 So, this book involves Bat Lash, Enemy Ace, and this guy named Biff. They’re looking for a pair of ancient swords that are supposed to bring legitimacy to the Chinese Nationalist government. Basically, whoever owns the swords would be the next ruler of China, so of course Mao is looking for it as well as the Japanese. These swords are supposed to bring down any dragon that may attack as well. Thus, it’s off to the fabled Dragon Island.

 

DC readers and fans of war comics will know this island very well. What Lash and Enemy Ace are really travelling to is the dinosaur infested island from the “War That Time Forgot” stories that normally graced the pages of Weird War Tales amongst other DC war comics.

 

I’m really enjoying the story and I love the Joe Kubert-isque drawing style of the penciler, Timothy Truman. But, I got to ask- if Bat Lash, Enemy Ace, the Chinese Nationalists and Communists, and some Japanese ninja are all looking for these fables swords why is the book titled “Guns of the Dragon?” Sure, just about everybody looking for the swords brandish guns, but shouldn’t the book be titled “Swords of the Dragon?” Heck, should the word dragon even be used, since the swords are guarded by dinosaurs that survived a massive comet and the Ice Age.

 

True, this might not be a big deal, but it’s something that irks me about this book, so I felt it was worth mentioning. Other than that, this is a fine comic and I am enjoying reading it.

 

Worth Consuming.

 

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.