Nights Dominion Season 2 #3
Oni Press 2017
By Ted Naifeh
Lettered by Aditya Bidikar


     There’s a conspiracy afoot in Umber, and it involves the House of Asps. After Emerane pays a visit to the House, she discovers just how far the conspiracy goes—all the way to the Lady Madras of the council. Or does it? When Emerane confronts the woman, she discovers an ambush from the Asps—and when she tries to escape, she’s shot through with arrows. Who is the real enemy? Will Emerane live to find out?

     I am a complete and utter fan of this series and have been since the get go. Not only did it start out feeling a Dungeons & Dragons adventure complete with a unique and diverse set of characters but now it’s gone so far beyond that. After the group managed to win the day in Season 1 they’ve kind of gone their separate ways and that’s led to where we find ourselves now. Emerane off on her own got into a world of trouble acting on her own, though her confidence bordering on arrogance is usually enough to see her through things. Things however are not always what they appear to be and that’s even more true when it comes to not only the woman she confronted but to Emerane herself.

     The opening here is something great. I mean the city itself has known war and peace and is in a state where things are back to normal or so they think. While everyone is celebrating a religious holiday, even Wikan, things suddenly go terribly, horribly wrong. I’m not sure what would have been worse a zombie invasion or what we see here? I’m pretty sure the city isn’t bankrupt and that they’ve had to lay off their Warden’s but it would seem there’s a new sheriff in town and he’s a piece of work. Right from the start we get a damn good look at him, his personality and the fact that he’s as far from a good guy as they come.

     Ted does some amazing characterisation here. From Wikan and the young woman he’s with to this Amarad (The Black Hammer Commander) he ensures that we know who they are even if they wish to seem ambiguous. I also really like that the flow of the story, the pacing, is impeccable as it is so that the particulars are presented to us in ways that continue to surprise and thrill. It isn’t always easy to keep things as fresh and breezy as Ted makes it appear.

     I’ve said it before but i’ll say it again, that Ted can do the interiors as well as the writing is admirable. His unique style makes this world come to life beautifully. The way he uses page layouts through their angles and perspective showcase his eye for storytelling visually. That everything we see is as he intends it to be so that we’re getting the maximum bang for the buck as it were is immeasurable when it comes to enjoying this.

     I love the twists and turns this issue takes. There is a sense of something so much larger going on and that Wikan is out of his league when it comes to facing it. Hell from what we see here friends are enemies, or are they?, as they certainly act the part in public. I am anxious to see what’s coming next and how things are going to coalesce so that our intrepid band of heroes reunites once again in a way that will once again make their city free and safe for all it’s citizens.

     Ted is a one of a kind storyteller who’s able to combine his writing and illustration talents to create a world both familiar and foreign where you want to be.

Glitterbomb The Fame Game #2
Image Comics 2017
Written by Jim Zub
Illustrated by Djibril Morissette-Phan
Coloured by K. Michael Russell
Lettered by Marshall Dillon
Back Matter by Holly Raychelle Hughes


     Kaydon was Farrah’s babysitter for Marty. Farrah was a washed up actress who got cast aside into the skids of the acting world when she wouldn’t put out for the series star, sound familiar to today’s world heh. When that thing from the ocean took her body and lashed out Hollywood’s most notorious blood suckers went after Kaydon. A sixteen year old girl who wanted to be an actress, with no formal training is now centre of the universe for those morbid enough to spin this tragedy every which way they’ll make money from.

     So why a second arc, simple the thing from the sea didn’t die with Farrah. It has a new host and still maintains it’s hunger though it remembers Kaydon and what she did for Marty and now that she’s being used, torn this way and so that her despair should only be for the creature and not for anyone else. So anyone and at this point I do mean anyone who uses Kaydon in a way it doesn’t like well sayonara bitches.

     I love Jim and how he crafts a story, through the pacing, development of the plot and characters while releasing just enough information here and there to keep us thoroughly involved. I honestly thought that something else was truth here until a moment I proven wrong and then my mind went into overdrive trying to piece together what we’ve been given to make it make sense. Yes creature from the sea, uses humans as a host, has an insatiable appetite from death so nothing is going to make sense but regardless your mind races to find the plausibility to make it all coalesce.

     I like the work that Djibril & K. Michael do on the interiors here. When we are seeing the gut-wrenching horror that is the sea monster, in human form this is very much your normal comic book filled with regular people, fashion and emotional storytelling that relies heavily on facial expressions. There’s one thing I cannot tell and that’s if Kaydon has her lip pierced right in the middle of her lower lip, there’s a line there more often than not but nothings clear. So the use of page layouts through their angles and perspective are handled nicely. I do wish we’d see more backgrounds, I mean why set them up and then not use them? I mean the moment Kaydon’s on the bench with the trees, houses and news van behind them but never seen again or the apartment she shares with her mother.

     Speaking of Kaydon and her mother I like how we see this playing out. Her mother works herself to the bone to provide for Kaydon and while Kaydon working would be a great boon to them, their bills and for groceries, the impetuousness of youth rears its privileged head. Generational gap for sure and from the way Jim does this it isn’t going to be long before Kaydon realises just how wrong she’s been and how right her mother is. Though how many lessons are needed for her to experience before it hits home?

     So the way this issue ends is amazing to me, between the whole slew of people both supporting and hating her for who she is and what she’s done, perceived or otherwise and who is there for her on the last page to guide through making all of those who wronged her suffer yeah it’s about to be one hell of a bloodbath and this poor little girl lost at the centre of it all has no idea what’s she unleashing.

     Stunning in its scope and brevity there’s a haunting beauty to what we see playing out and I can’t look away for the life of me.

Captain Kronos Vampire Hunter #2
Hammer Comics/Titan Comics 2017
Written by Dan Abnett
Illustrated by Tom Mandrake
Coloured by Sian Mandrake
Lettered by Simon Bowland


     There in Serechurch they met with Ermine, the town’s Alderman, and learned that a new vampire menace by the name of Slake had taken over the poor quarter of the town and had begun gathering together an army of vampires, an army unlike anything ever seen before and one which

Porphyr had clearly intended to join.
     I will be the first to admit that if anyone were going to take such on a story like this, a comic adaptation of a 1974 Hammer motion picture is Dan Abnett. I mean the man has such extraordinary skill when it comes to writing to take what at the time was supposed to be a very serious motion picture that we see today as something well kitschy or at the best “B” status so there’s a lot to pull from and I love that the tone of the book feels like the tone of the movie.

     The whole concept here works a lot better as a comic book for me. Yes it could reasonably be a scenario out of Ravenloft or some other Dungeons & Dragons stylised adventure just as easily but for me this is where it’s meant to be. We get better characterisation here and the potential for stories to unfold without bad, stiff or forced acting. Dan has this knack for writing where the story development, dialogue and characterisation are all interchangeable with one another. This makes reading the stories he writes a lot more interesting and a lot more complicated but always in the best of ways.

     So far we’ve see our trio of vampire hunters win, get side tracked and now are trying to figure out a way to help this town with their problematic infestation. Carla’s a woman in a time when they are really looked upon as nothing than things to be owned and used. So seeing her being strong, capable and intelligent which makes it’s truly a joy to behold. The way the characters bounce off each other shows an interesting dynamic at work and one that should grow, change and evolve the longer they stay together, yes that means alive.

     It is so nice to see Tom working like this again he’s such a talented artist and his eye for storytelling is legendary for a reason. I love the linework here how the weight of it changes depending on what or who it is that’s in focus. Or out of focus as the case may be, like the writing in a book that we can tell how it’s written, by that I mean the type used. I am enjoying the style and how the darkness and the things that they are fighting there’s a creativity and imagination there that sets these apart from what folks will expect to see and that’s important and just fun to see.

     I like how things both go as you’d expect them to while simultaneously diverting from any given certain path. It’s got a kind of outside the box thinking to it that keeps it fresh, original and bringing reader’s back to see what’s going to happen. Then of course there’s misdirection and misinformation at play here as well and I’m not sure if that’s something I reading too much into or if it’s a more subtle part of the writing. There are those among the villagers who give off that not to be trusted under any circumstances feel to them.

     If you haven’t read this yet then you really need to and then watch the original motion picture because it’s just worth it for how campy it is, by today’s standards, and how it was taken so seriously then. Titan has the strongest adaptations I have seen in comics and they do consistently with a large variety of source material.

Gasolina #2
Skybound/Image Comics 2017
Created & Written by Sean Mackiewicz
Created & Illustrated by Niko Walter
Coloured by Mat Lopes
Lettered by Russ Wooton


     Once upon a time in Veracruz, two newly-weds tried to put their pasts behind them, to build a happy life together. But the world is full of monsters who seek to bring out the worst in them.

     Game on.

     The first issue really does this great job of grabbing your attention and pulling you into this world. So much so that the second issue with it’s aftermath and it’s characterisation is almost a let-down of sorts. Notice I did say almost because I really am rather impressed with what Sean is doing here. I love the way the book is structured how it flows and the distribution of information is presented to us. From the moment our intrepid lovers appear to how we see them running away, to fight another day is the idea, everything is done with a purpose. I like it because it was able to make me absorbed into the story and that I was on such an intellectual level was just an added bonus for me.

     When they entered the house to check things out there’s this great tension going on. That’s a combination of the story and how that’s interpreted by Niko and Mat. I like the room by room sweep that they do and how it’s dark and you don’t know what’s going on or if anyone is there and it’s a great thing to see play out. It’s a great example of how to create drama without background noise ruining the moment, if this were a motion picture than so idiot would insist on putting “a dramatic backdrop score” which of course ruins any kind of horror or surprise element that is there.

     As they search the house and don’t find any sign of Quique and there’s one female corpse and I tell ya what people you NEED to pay attention to what’s going on there. Now I’m not one hundred percent sure what happened to Martin as he’s really making no sense at all. Still it’s no coincidence that someone shows up and while again I’m not sure how or why they were there at that time. There are a couple of things it could be but the mystery surrounding it continues to grow and deepen the story in some great ways.

     The interiors here really sell the story as the saying goes. The mood, tone and feel for what’s happening at any given moment almost rests on the boys shoulders. It should come as no surprise then that they do this was extraordinary skill. The attention to detail is there when it’s needed as are the darker more shaded in areas that are meant to heighten the feelings and then finally there’s the last two pages with a completely unique look of their own. From page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective to the utilisation of backgrounds or the lack thereof it’s all exceedingly well done. The eye for storytelling from Niko shouldn’t be missed.

     I love that we are in an era where comics have gone beyond simply super-heroes, romance, horror, science-fiction and westerns into any amalgamation of those or simply the kind of stories about the world we see and perceive. Storytellers are able to write what they want, what they know and what they hope to show as something new, exciting and original and they want it to have an impact on the reader. I’m thrilled that there are places for such intellectual properties to alongside the mindless silly ones as well as the standard fare we’ve come to know and love.

     This is not going to end the way you think it will or expect it to but it will broaden your horizon and make you think.

Grimm Fairy Tales 2017 Halloween Special
Zenescope Entertainment 2017
Written by Anne Toole
Illustrated by Marc Rosete, Eduardo Garcia Renzo Rodriguez & Joe Sachez Diaz
Coloured by Ceci De La Cruz, Slamet Mujiono, Fran Gamboa, Aloex Marmontel
& Walter Pereyra
Lettered by Fabio Amelia


     Finally a story worthy of a Halloween special! This was fantastic for me I loved the way the story was structured and how everything unfolded. It was a smartly written book that was able to weave each feature into one cohesive story. It doesn’t hurt that I love Mary, her power set and the fact that she’s constantly looking for something elusive that she actually ran away from. She’s a complicated young woman with trust issues and yet we can so easily relate to her extremely well and with what Anne does with her here well she understands Mary extremely well.

     Talisman has taken off to misdirect the Tarot from Mary’s location leaving her alone in the hotel room. Now this is New Orleans where people are going to try to get you to spend your money on them whether that be in shoppes or tours or whatsoever so when a flyer comes under the door to the room it’s right up Mary’s alley and it’s free. So naturally she goes on this free ghost tour which is led by one of those seemingly always perky with blonde hair and that cheerleader attitude.

     One of the things I liked about this is the fact that no time is wasted in getting things started. As soon as the group gets to a location Mary is thrust into the past and immersed in the murder of someone who died at that location. It’s a great way to tie the story together and keep it fresh and interesting at each stop while also setting up a nifty little mystery. Yeah this is what we like to see in comics and as an added bonus it FEELS like something that we don’t normally see at Zenescope so my whole moving forward is right here on display and utterly fabulous.

     While each segment has it’s own set of artists it doesn’t feel like that they all blend together extremely well. I’m not sure I’d have been able to tell the difference if I hadn’t read the credits and that alone is phenomenal. The use of page layouts throughout is fantastic all the angles and perspectives we see heighten the reading experience. With the exception of the theatre the utilisation of backgrounds pleased me to no end, they really do wonders in expanding the story by letting us see what the characters do. Kudos to everyone involved in bringing this to life it’s a job very well done indeed.

     I feel like each of these vignettes could have been a full length story all it’s own but that Anne manages to wrap it all up nice and neat for us in this short amount of page count speaks volumes of her talent and ability. I’m actually very surprised that this isn’t an oversized special to tell the entire story. This is very Mary and the fact that her character and characterisation are continually developed every step of the way here is fantastic to see. That it seems she is finally coming into her own, warts and all, is long overdue in my humble opinion. Her time at Arcane Acres started her introduction to the world but it’s stories like this that really, truly plant her as one to watch. Her uniqueness as not only a character but a young woman could easily vault her into the Robyn Hood status among reader’s if given the chance.

     If you are looking for Halloween fun then look no further this is what you’ve been waiting for!