Vincent Price Presents #32

The concept behind this series is pretty simple. Legendary horror host Vincent Price regales readers with tales of terror and the strange. The concept for this issue might be a little complex. But it was executed nicely. 

A Richard Branson type adventurer awakens from a balloon crash in what appears to be the inside of a volcano. Only this inferno is less that from Hawaii and more from Dante's nightmares! Should the protagonist be caught by the minions of hell, that's were he'll end up for all eternity. But when the fella hears the prayers of his sister during his trek through purgatory, there's a slim chance that he might not actually be 100% dead. With the flames of hell licking his heels, this newest visitor to the afterlife will need all the prayers possible to make it back to the side of the living. 

These are some of my favorite types of ghost stories; someone's journey to the other side. I marvel at the level of imagination and symbolism used at these type of stories and this issue is bursting through with both. 

I wish I could say that the art work was just as good. It's not Rob Liefeld awful. It's just not polished. There's something off with the inking or shading that makes the artwork look 1-dimensional as opposed to 2 or even 3-D. I don't know if that's really a thing. But there was a lack of depth that I think more practice or better overall teamwork from the art department could fix. 

Vincent Price Presents was officially licensed by his estate. Running for 33 total issues (and a few specials thrown in), that's a big deal for a small publisher. I'm sure having Price's name on the cover helped with sales for a while. I am also sure little things like the flat artwork didn't help either. Thankfully, the writing saved this book to the point that I am willing to purchase more issues should I ever come across them for a deal. 

Not bad for a grab bag goodie.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

World of Archie Jumbo Comics Double Digest #113

This 2021 offering wasn't on my radar. But my favorite comic book shop ordered it for me. They're a small mom & pop and they make great recommendations. Plus, with times being tough for everyone, I just couldn't say no.

As with any Archie digest, the whole thing is full of classic reprints from the Riverdale gangs rich 80 year history. There's an old school L'il Archie fright in which the new mummy at the local history museum comes to life and kidnaps L'il Veronica. A late 80s-era romp has Jughead and Reggie swapping roles at the high school for some Halloween antics. From the 1950s, Archie and Jug run a foul of a real life vampire while in what appears to be the late 90s or 2000s, 

Representing the most recent of eras, there's an Archie parody of 2011's THOR. First giveaway that it's modern is the fact that the story is taken directly from the MCU movie's plot. But this story is also the only one where there's no white paneling. The artwork spills over the page, literally. Plus, the inking has a sheen that really only comic artwork done on computer can only achieve. 

There's even an all-new tale to start things off. Cover illustrator Bill Golliher crafts a Halloween story guest-starring Sabrina along with that pumpkin shaped Boo! Bus. Unfortunately, if you are hoping for more of the Teenage Witch, you're out of luck.

My biggest complaint with digests, especially the themed ones, is that there is very little of the subject matter at hand. In the past, if there was a Halloween issue, the first and last 30 pages would be Halloween themed. The middle would be a hodgepodge of everything else. The book-ending is the same in this issue. But some progress has been made with modest peppering of October set tales throughout. Still, it's not 100% Halloween.

Enjoyable. Affordable. Archie. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Archie Halloween Spectacular #1 (2021)

I wrapped up my 2021 Halloween reads with the title I look forward to the most. It's the 2021 edition of the Archie Halloween Spectacular!

My favorite Archie artist, Dan Parent, is the natural choice for the cover! It's not one of my favorites of the Spectacular covers. But it got the proper mood set for my Halloween night read!

The opening all-new story has Archie accidentally pissing off a witch. The next day, he awakes with a pumpkin for a head. Thankfully, it's October 31st. So everybody thinks Arch is just wearing a costume. Can juvenile sorceress Sabrina find a cure to this Halloween hex?

There's 3 more stories that fill out this 32-pager. All are reprints. But I don't think I've read any of them before. First up is a Dan Parent thriller in which Veronica purchases a cursed locket. Jughead's research convinces Ronnie to give up the ghost on the jewelry, least she become possessed by the original owner. But what will Betty and Veronica do when Juggie's baby sister comes in 'possession' of the necklace?

Then Archie swears off season foods when Reggie compares him to the pumpkin Pop has been using in his milkshakes and cheesecake. Hopefully, Betty can cheer Archie up with some fresh baked goodies. 

Lastly, we've got a story that stars Chuck Clayton. Of all the stories, I think I might have read this one before. But I am not sure. The aspiring illustrator thinks he's jinxed when his big shot to get published in a horror comic busts. Chuck is really sure he's cursed when girlfriend Nancy loses her part-time costumer job due to a big box store. Meanwhile, the local haunted house charity will have to be cancelled due to supply chain issues. It'll take a little Halloween magic, Riverdale style, to wrap everything up in a real nice package!

Of the repeats, the Dan Parent story was my favorite. It had a more mature tone and yet still whimsical. And Parent's rendering of Betty as Supergirl. Wow! I've seen several of Dan Parent's sketches of Betty as Supergirl. He does a fantastic job! It's one of my holy grails to get an original sketch from the artist doing Superbetty. Fingers crossed!

I saved the best for last. I loved every page. I know it's early. But only 365 more days until another Halloween special! 

I can't wait!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Grimm Tales of Terror Quarterly: 2021 Halloween Special

On paper, which technically comic books are, the fairy tale inspired publications from Zenescope should be one of my regular reads. However, I find that for the most part, they're just a little too much T&A for my liking. That is until we get to the holidays.

I've found that the Grimm Fairy Tales inspired Christmas and Halloween specials are fairly descent reads. I've grown to love the Krampus inspired X-Mas reads. And when it comes to Halloween, Zenescope really ups the fear factor!

In this special a struggling actor has a chance to become a member of an elite club that promises unimaginable fame and fortune. All this guy has to do is harvest some souls on Halloween night at an amusement park. Picking through the throngs of visitors, only the lowest of the low will do for this culling!

I was okay with about 3/4 of this book. I liked the amusement park which combines Disney and Knott's Berry Farm. It looked like a place to have some creepy fun. This special links 4 groups of guests with the struggling actor's story book-ending everything. The first couple of stories were very good. They were monster zombie/slasher stories and I can tolerate those. But the last 2 tales involved demons and they just ain't my thing. I did like how one of them was a Riverdale parody. But that was about all of that adventure which I dug.

Yes, I know that I said that I like Zenescope's Krampus stories. But he's typically the only demon in those stories. These hordes from Hell that infiltrate the amusement park are the stuff of heavy metal fans' nightmares (or in this case dreams?!)

Great art. Fairly good storytelling. A little alluring but nothing like Grimm Fairy Tales' nudie variant covers. It was a good read. But it was just a little too demonic for my taste. 

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars.

Stranger Things Halloween Special One-Shot

We're wrapping up Halloween reads for the year. Just a couple of reviews left. Next up is a 2020 one-shot based on a Netflix series with deep ties to Halloween. Published by Dark Horse Comics, the Stranger Things Halloween Special takes place just a few days before the TV show does. It has the four main male characters having just finished trick-or-treating, sitting up in their tree house swapping scary stories. 

Just when it appears that the festivities are over for the night, when Will Byers casually mentions the Child Eater of Hawkins. At this point, we go back about 40 years or so to a Hawkins Halloween night that is fraught with dread. 4 children have died; their bodies turned to puddles of green goo. As the sheriff imposes a curfew, a group of children find themselves locked in the local library. It just seems that they'll have to sit out and wait until dawn- hopefully.

I don't have Netflix. So I have never seen an episode of Stranger Things. Yet I think I've enough done research and Wiki-reading to understand what's going on in this book to a point. Is the Child Eater of Hawkins one of the creatures that kidnaps Will in Season One? Or an antagonist from another season? That I do not know. But I enjoyed this one-shot enough that the only thing my questions do is make me hope we get Netflix one day. 

Series writer Michael Moreci pens a very chilling tale that has enough horror to be eerie. But it wont give nightmares. And man is that artwork very good. It's from relative newcomer Todor Hristov (Forever Maps). He's only got a trio of listings in the comic book data bases I utilize. But I hope to see more of his work in the future. 

A fun read for fans of the 80s, Stephen King, Treehouse of Horror and of course, Stranger Things.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Walt Disney's Comics #673

As I'm wrapping up my Halloween reads, I go to another one of my favorite go-tos for safe spooks. Just about any comic book by Disney is a great read. But the collective works of masters such as Don Rosa, Carl Barks and Paul Murry are considered some of the best when they A) star Donald Duck or one of his Duckburg kin and B) take place during the holidays. This issue of Walt Disney's Comics has both!

William Van Horn returns to illustrate the issue's cover. It features a Donald classic by Van Horn called 'Kids Play' in which the duck takes one a job to paint a haunted house. Only Donald doesn't know about the house's history. So, as he's doing a great job, his nephews decide to put the scare onto him. Only, there might actually be a haunt in this haunted house whose out to spook Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Then we've got Lady and the Tramp's l'il boy Scamp going to play hide and seek with some friends in a haunted house. In another classic, The Three Little Pigs inherit a broom factory in which the Old Witch from Snow White(?- that's what she looks like!); who really seems to have her eyes on what with the factories' precious inventory. And in a two-parter, Donald Duck has been assigned as a concierge at a hotel in Transylvania! And he's actually really good at it! Naturally, that success doesn't work out when his boss surprise visits in order inspect Donald's progress. 

Okay- none of these stories take place during Halloween. But with the inclusion of ghosts, witches and monster vacationers, this is a perfect read for a cool Halloween time night. But at least these stories are more suited for this time of year than the all-new two-parter that fills the rest of this 64-page beauty. 

'Dimes Are Forever' starring Uncle Scrooge and Donald and the Mickey and Goofy adventure 'A Kidnapping in Yubet' are two stand alone stories that make up the 7-part Orb Saga. I like that you could read the stories without really missing anything. And the presence of Magica De Spell and The Phantom Blot were classic touches. However, I don't think the pair do anything to read add to the Halloween ambiance that was established by the other reads. But that's okay as they were both really good stories. 

I had a lot of fun with this one. With a little something for everyone, this is spooky Disney fun for the whole family- without the nightmares!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Fangs

What happens when a 300-year old vampire and a modern werewolf fall in love? Sarah Anderson's Fangs attempts to answer that question with a series of small snapshots of the process of finding your 'soul' mate. From those awkward introductions to navigating the rules and norms of each species to the first fight and ultimately moving in together, this was a creative story that really made me chuckle. 

I made a trip to the library today and I thought I had my reads all ready and picked when I came across the graphic novel Halloween reads display. I saw Fangs sitting there with it's simple scarlet cloth bound cover and stunning 1920s styled image of the Vamp on the cover and I just had to have it. The back cover offers zero information about what the story had to offer. So, I really have to take a leap of faith with this graphic novel and I must say that trust fall paid off. 

The idea of 2 monsters falling in love isn't really new. Frankenstein's monster has his bride. And when it comes to inter-species marriage between monsters, naturally you refer to The Munsters. But having a vampire and a werewolf getting along like this is a fairly new thing. I mean doesn't Hollywood basically tell use that the two types of monsters hate each other as mortal (or is it immortal) enemies?

Fangs is both an allegory for interracial relationships and a text book for modern dating and cohabitation which these days seem to be anything but normal. 

It's a light read with hints of the Addams Family, The New Yorker Magazine and Sex and the City. This is something that your typical non-graphic novel reading friends could enjoy along with you!

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out 10 stars.