Well, it appears that everyday is Halloween at American Mythology Productions And this week, they aim to prove it! So hang on as we go full blown spooky with this week’s reviews.
VALENTINE BLUFFS MASSACRE REMEMBERANCE #1
Just when you thought all the chaos in the sleepy little town of Valentine Bluffs was done after the last series. But it’s not! Writers G.O. Parsons and James Kuhoric do rather telegraph who the killer miner is this time but it’s the story idea that really hit this home. The philosopher George Santayana , once said “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” And learning that as a waaay younger man, I still think it holds true. Especially as we start the story with the back and forth debate between townspeople about the 2025 dance. Little did all those people know is that one of them is a little … off, if you know what I mean. For those of you wanting to make sure that this one off has the required amount of gore, there’s a teenager head on the hood of a limo, a locker punture attack, pickax to multiple heads and back, bathroom mirror crashing, and poor Mr. Wentz. Definitely not a bad little edition to the franchise. 8 out of 10 Grahams.
SILENT NIGHT DEADLY NIGHT VS VALENTINE BLUFFS MASSACRE
So, wow. Just wow. Writers James Kuhoric and G.O. Parsons have outdone themselves with this tale of a killer of serial killers. And after a quick side story featuring Camp Lake Apachi Chef Killer in his first and last appearance, we are introduced to Okner House for the Criminally Insane. And it’s two most famous occupants, Billy Chapman and Axel Palmer. After the staff is slaughtered, Billy and Axel are given back in their killer gear and up against each other. But we have a surprise twist and we find that hunting a hunter doesn’t exactly inspire the same fear. A true lesson in psychiatric research. Another wonderful one shot to add to both franchises. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD #2 AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY
Recreating the epic beauty of the Return of the Living Dead film is an almost impossible task. The blend of humor, complete sense of despair, and informative details of zombnie-ism was lightning in a bottle. And while the creative team tries their best, it still falls short. Replacing the morturary with a carnival type island theme park adds a bit of Jurassic Park to the blend but it a matter of ‘the same – only different’. And while the creative reasoning of why the canisters of 245 Trioxin is there makes sense, that’s about the only thing going for it. The set ups have been done before and better. The characters are unlikable in general and while I like Buz Hasson’s character designs shown here in the last few pages of the book, Andrea Arcari’s art is a completely different take. And character DT is not even close to Linnea Quigley’s Trash. Fans of the movie shouldn’t expect much from this. 6 out of 10 Grahams.
BIG BIG BANG COMICS GN
Big Bang Comics is a series of titles that has been made for old time comic fans for fans of classic characters, storytelling, and crossovers! I had the honor of being there since day one and I have never found a bad issue. With characters such as the Knight Watchman, Ultiman, the Human Sub, and Dr. Weird, the localized creative teams remind us what comics used to be. And for that, I applaud them! And so a new collection of stories, pin-ups, and other fun stuff is always welcome reading material! This is one I was definitely glad to see on the rack this week. 10 out of 10 Grahams.
