"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.

Graphic Novel Review: THE WALKING DEAD: SURVIVOR’S GUIDE

The popularity of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead comic and television show just keeps growing and growing and it’s no surprise that at 100 issues (and still growing) the comic book series as had many characters come and go and it is with this new graphic novel The Walking Dead: Survivor’s Guide that Kirkman and company set the record straight with every character that has appeared in the ongoing series thus far.  Like most “Who’s Who” tomes there is nothing here that readers will not have seen before except the fact that these types of books are usually reserved for super-hero and major comic book publishers and not a book with normal people and zombies.

Along for the ride contributing to this book are Tim Daniel (who helped with book design and assisting Kirkman on the writing of the book), Charlie Adlard & Cliff Rathburn (on art duties), and Sina Grace (who edits).  All these peoples’ talents are tested as you may think this type of book is easy to put together but is in fact some of the hardest to do.  Fans know these characters inside and out and fact checking every little bit of info is a must because one mistake will turn away your reader. 

A lot of the entries present each character and a brief look at their history and how they have affected or been affected by events in the story.  Kirkman is smart to list everyone’s first appearance (and final appearance) as well as how they may have died or where they are in the current storyline.  Major characters are given more pages in the book but all characters are given at least one page (and there are a lot of characters as the series have no problem killing off its cast of characters).  For me, the book reminded me of characters who have long since passed but still may have an effect on characters still alive.

If there is anything missing from the book it is a table of contents and/or an appendix that lists the characters but this is a small gripe on my part.  The only other fault is that the characters are only (for the most part) listed by the first names but then again Kirkman rarely ever reveals last names of his characters but I think that characters whose name have been revealed should also be revealed here (the only way a reader will know the character’s last name is by reading the entry for the character itself which is where Kirkman sometimes lists it).

This is a must have for the fans of the series who want to know every facet of the series.