"Rants & Ravings About Horror" - Week 15: “The World of Comic Books”

Week 15: “The World of Comic Books”

A friend of mine recently asked me why I dislike most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and I responded with the fact that most all of them are based on comic books I stopped reading almost fifteen years ago and the films are geared more towards people who currently read them rather than those who read them at the height of the comic book boom of the ‘90s (and the implosion of the ‘00s).  I still read comics, just not superhero comics and almost nothing from DC or Marvel comics who make their bread and butter from the genre.  Most of what I read will appeal more to this crowd so I decided to dedicate this week’s column to the comics that I read.

I love a good horror story and nothing gets better than George A. Romero’s return to the zombie genre with Empire of the Dead (from Marvel comics) which sees his undead ghouls inhabit the supernatural world of the vampires.  Despite having rarely ever played the video games I also love VIZ Media’s Resident Evil: The Marhawa Desire, which takes place before Resident Evil 6.  This is a guilty pleasure since I’m a huge fan of the films (both live action and animated).  Another great comic based on a previous licensed property is what IDW is doing with the Godzilla franchise.  A lot of limited series have come from the creative minds at IDW by a wide variety of creators and the results are mixed at best but I love a good monster destroying cities story whenever I can get one.  

Mike Mignola is one of the greatest comic book creators out there right now.  In addition to the Hellboy character who’s currently in Hellboy In Hell, there is the ongoing adventures of Abe Sapien, B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth, Baltimore, Lobster Johnson, and Witchfinder.  He and his talented group of creators have crafted one of the greatest interconnected universes of characters that continue to defy expectations.  These comics meld horror, myth, legend, and the supernatural seamlessly.

Most of what I like to read is creator owned.  Tim Seeley (of Hack/Slash fame) has created one of the most original undead stories in Revival (Image Comics).  Next to Kirkman’s The Walking Dead, Seeley is one of the great creators out there because he writes for us horror fans (much like Mignola) and this is a title everyone should be reading.  Kirkman’s own Outcast (Image Comics) is slow coming but because I enjoy most all of his work I’m willing to stick it out.  Brian Wood’s The Massive (Dark Horse) is also one of my favorites.  It is one of the best reads out there and by far one of the most imaginative stories about a post-apocalyptic world. This goes double for Chuck Dixon’s return to the frozen apocalypse of WInterworld (IDW).  This is a welcomed return for Dixon as I’ve missed his own work away from the comic book majors.

I’ve taken some chances with a few new titles like The Woods (Boom! Studios) and Pretty Deadly (Image) and Black Science (Image) which interested me just by reading the synopsis on the back cover.  The Woods reminds me of The Drifting Classroom manga, which is a great thing since I loved that story and The Woods has a very promising start (I’ve only read the first collected volume so far).   Black Science mixes horror and sci-fi in a very time jumping and action way and it never stops and it’s completely unpredictable which is why I love it.  There is no set up or narration, it just starts from the word go and never stops.  Another great science based story is The Manhattan Projects (Image) which will test your ability to follow one of the most complex and entertaining Lynchian comics out there.  It doesn’t get more weird yet fascinating than this one.  I also love Kevin Eastman’s re-imagined Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) which is heavy on action and science fiction with less of the fantasy that previous versions became filled with.

That’s pretty much the bulk of what I’m trying to keep up with right now.  There are plenty of other great stories out there in addition to these but I just don’t have time to get around to everything.  Maybe you don’t either which is why I’ve presented you with a few of my favorites but if you don’t read comics then this is has all probably been a waste of time.

Film Review: PACIFIC RIM (2013)

Writer/director Guillermo del Toro has made a career out of crafting fantasy and horror films that are not easily categorized and labeled.  Beginning with his unorthodox take on the vampire film Cronos (1993) and Blade II (2002) and following on to his Spanish ghost story The Devil’s Backbone (2001) and his dark fantasy Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) and his comic book epics Hellboy (2004) and its sequel Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008).  All of that experience has culminated in his biggest film to date Pacific Rim (2013).

The world is on the brink of destruction not by an alien race from outer space but from deep below the Pacific Ocean as an inter-dimensional portal has opened allowing giant monsters from another world to enter into our own.  To battle these giant kaiju (as they are called) the nations of the world band together to create giant robots called jaegers that are piloted by two people.  At first the jaegers do a good job of defending the world from the kaiju menace but now the monsters are appearing more frequently leading many to believe that there is an ulterior motive to this invasion.

Anyone who has seen a Godzilla film will be very familiar with the world of giant kaiju and jaegers but in del Toro’s hands the film becomes a full on military exercise done to a big budget, high concept way and he delivers the goods.  Not being just content with a run of the mill action film del Toro crafts a complex ensemble film which touches upon all aspects of the world he has created from the grunt soldiers on the front lines to the smugglers who deal in rare kaiju body parts (played by del Toro regular Ron Pearlman in one of his most entertaining roles).   This film is populated with a lot of relative newcomers and faces you may recognize such as Charlie Hunnam and Idris Elba well as Charlie Day and Rinko Kikuchi but these are not the main reason to come see a film like this.  It is the giant robots fighting giant monsters and in del Toro’s hands it is an epic battle with an epic story.  Del Toro is not just concerned with telling a giant monster verses giant robot story but he gives his characters a history and a goal to achieve elevating the film above being just a meager Summer Blockbuster.

The special visual effects are astounding and if you’re lucky enough to see the film in 3D or better yet in IMAX 3D then you are in for a real treat as this is one of the few films of the summer to use both formats adequately.  Pacific Rim is one of the standout summer films and one to be enjoyed on the big screen (and if you need to go even bigger go IMAX big).

Book Review: BALTIMORE, OR, THE STEADFAST TIN SOLDIER AND THE VAMPIRE by Mike Mignola & Christopher Golden

Both Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden are premiere writers on their own.  Mignola created the world of Hellboy and the B.P.R.D. (The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Development) and Golden has written the thriller series Body of Evidence (as well as several Hellboy stories), so when their talents come together for Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire it is nothing but pure magic.  This is an illustrated novel with images by Mignola himself.

Lord Henry Baltimore is a soldier of World War I who accidentally awakens the wrath of sleeping vampires on the battlefield.  This first encounter leaves him forever scarred yet also marked by the vampires who become a plague upon mankind.  Years later he secretly gathers up three individuals whom he has encountered who would believe in his cause and might help him stop this plague once and for all.  As these three individuals await Baltimore’s arrival in a tavern each relay their own encounters with Baltimore and why he has become obsessed with ridding the world of the vampire plague as well as why they were all gathered in the first place.

Mignola and Golden uses the recollections of Baltimore’s associates to paint the reader a picture of who Baltimore is and how he became the ruthless vampire killer that he is.  Using the WWI as a backdrop for the origins of the story is a new twist on this style of adventure (but nothing new to Mignola who uses WWII as a backdrop for the origins of Hellboy) as well as using the vampires as the reason for the plague that kills indiscriminately from town to town.  There are many parallels between Baltimore and Hellboy besides their origins.  Both have a deformity, Hellboy with his right hand and Baltimore with his left leg (which he lost during the war and has now been replaced by a wooden contraption that allows him easy mobility).  Both have myth and legend interwoven within the story.  Hellboy uses elements of myths and legends from all over the world while Baltimore is infused with references from Hans Christian Anderson’s The Steadfast Tin Soldier among the typical vampire lore.

Baltimore is one of those books that doesn’t just infuse it with the myths and legends of the past but it also becomes a part of those stories of myths allowing Baltimore himself to become a legend.