UNIVERSAL MONSTERS THE MUMMY #1 IMAGE COMICS
Image Comics has moved onto the Mummy. After bringing us tales of Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon, we next head to Egypt. While I must admit that I find the omission of the Wolf Man odd, the Mummy still is up there in ranking. Writer Faith Erin Hicks follows in the tradition of the other writers of the Universal Monsters titles by retrofitting a new character into the storyline. The young girl Helen, who’s father is one of the archeologists that uncovers the Mummy’s Tomb. First issues are always hard as they have to introduce characters and plot, so they usually are a bit slow. And while the Mummy does awaken just like in the movie in a wonderful double page spread, The rest of this issue is all about Helen, her mixed heritage, and her natural teenage rebellion. The artwork, also done by Hicks, works well for the story of Helen but is not very chilling or scary like the movie. The Mummy looks like a old bald guy and not the ancient lumbering creature. At a guess, I’m going to say by the look of things, Helen’s story is going to slip in after the scene from the movie where the Mummy shambles from his sarcophagus and leaves one archeologist dead and the other mad and when the scene where the Mummy appears as an old Egyptian telling Helen about her past lives. While this makes perfect sense, it doesn’t have the impact I was hoping for. While I can easily see scenes with a banged up Karloff standing on a sand dune looking out over the modern (well, 1921 modern), it doesn’t have the subtle creepiness or the grace that Karloff brought to the character. 7 out of 10 Grahams.
GRIMM FAIRY TALES 20TH ANNIVERSARY PINUP SPECIAL
Has it really been 20 years Zenescope? I was there on day one and I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that time frame. Remember when each issue was a dark fantastic tale of some mythical female? Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty. But like all good comics, the universe evolved. Storylines merged. Crossovers became the norm. So every now and then, it’s nice to see a reminder of the Good Girl Pinup Art that played a big part in the beginning. And as tradition demands, we get a brief introduction to the next big crossover story. (Which I also relate to the guys back in the day who said they read Playboy for the articles.) And for this 20th Anniversary edition, all our favorite artists are back! Alfredo Reyes’s Belle. Al Rio’s Bo Peep and Wolf! Two very interesting takes on Goldilocks from Riveiro and Eric Basaldua! And so many more. Really good stuff. With color pallets by such names as Vinz El Tabanas, Ylenia Di Mapoli, and Grostieta. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
MONEY SHOT BIG BANG! #0 VAULT COMICS
Well, a 0 issue. Haven’t seen one of those in a while. But the good folks at Vault Comics know that an 0 issue is to be used as a prequel. But before we go any further, as always Tim Seeley’s Money Shot is not for the younger member of our audience and definitely not for those who embarrass easily. We are talking about scientist/adult actors in space. So, if double entendres and a lot of not double entendres might offend you, this isn’t the book for you. This one-shot gives us the backround from the other Money Shot mini-series to get you caught up to speed. Featuring writers Tim Seeley, Sarah Beattie, and Patton Oswalt and artists Garth Graham, Rebekah Issacs, Carol Leigh Layne and Giselle Lagace, this is a great flashback edition. And the next series preview does seem dark. As Doug and Chris warp onto a planet apparently escaping from a prison planet. And hints are made that Bree, Annie, and Omar didn’t make it. Whoa! We will need to see where this one is going! 9 out of 10 Grahams.
GODZILLA VS THE FANTASTIC FOUR #1 MARVEL COMICS
Well, hopefully Marvel learned a few things after their collosal blunder back in the 1970’s when they last put out a Godzilla comic. Back then, Marvel assumed that when they acquired the Godzilla rights from Toho, they got the entire cast of the Godzilla universe. (You know Mothra, King Ceasar, the Smog Monster.) When it turned out that each of those characters had to be gotten individually, Marvel bawked and tried thier best. But without any familiar kaiju foes to battle, the original series limped (and I’m being kind here) along for 24 issue before pulling the plug. Heck, this isn’t even the first time the King of the Monsters met the Fantastic Four! That happened in December of 1978 in issue #20. But the good news is that they did learn and actually point out some scenes from the original series. Ryan North’s story is solid and manages to balance all of the characters including the Silver Surfer and Galactus. With John Romita Jr. on pencils and Scott Hanna on inks, this is a good book with a nice flavor of nostalgia to it. But by the look of the ads in the back pages, Godzilla will be popping up again and again with a Hulk issue and an X-men issue hitting NCS soon. Lets hope that those creative teams handle the subject matter just as well. As much as I hate to admit it … 9 out of 10 Grahams.
FOR THOSE DISBELIEVERS OR ANYONE YOUNGER THAN 50, HERE IS THE FIRST MEETING OF GODZILLA AND THE FANTASTIC FOUR FROM DECEMBER OF 1978.