HACK/SLASH BACK TO SCHOOL #2 IMAGE COMICS
Zoe Thorogood’s take on Hack/Slash is both gruesome and interesting. From the dreams of the chainsaw wielding former B-movie actress to the weird cut’em in half vertically Frogboy killer, there is a lot of good stuff here. This, of course, assumes that you are either big fans of Hack/Slash or psycho killers in general. If not, this stuff is a little … well … gross. Luckily, I happen to like both. And with Zoe pulling double duty as writer and artist, she’s got a lot on her shoulders. But she handles both well and her Frogboy tale is complex and will to be closely read to get it all. I give it an 7 out of 10 Grahams.
BATMAN OFF-WORLD #1 DC COMICS
Oh yea! Another Batman title. And yes that was sarcasm. Now, Jason Aaron’s story does provide a bit of diversity as Batman takes his training to a whole new level. But while Batman is getting the stuffing knocked out of him (on purpose), the real mystery fall on the reason behind it. Batman is training in alien battle techniques because the East End Irish Mob hired an interplanetary enforcer to kick his tail? Why? How? I mean we are not talking Brainiac or billionaire Lex Luthor here. How the heck did the East End Irish Mob get off planet muscle? The only good part is that the situation did manage to humble the Dark Knight. And then in classic obsessive compulsive Bruce Wayne mode, he bought a space shuttle and flew off into space to learn to fight better? Sigh! And is that supposed to be some version of Onimar Synn from the one of those Mystery in Space mini-series during the Rann-Thanagar War nonsense? If you like Batman being tricky and doing some Rocky training, this appears to be the title for you. And Doug Mahnke’s pencils covered in Jamie Mendoza’s inks does look good. I give it a 7 out of 10 Grahams.
UNIVERSAL MONSTER DRACULA #2 IMAGE/SKYBOUND
James Tynion’s story continues to creep readers out in all the best ways as the story expands. More familiar faces appear and more familiar scenes with the strange and eerie painting like images of Martin Simmonds. As we get further into the tale of Dracula, there is still a strange focas on Renfield. Still sporting an all white face with oddly applied features, Renfield’s wallowing is almost gut-wrenching. You can’t help but pity this poor semblance of a man, corrupted beyond recognition by the evil of Dracula. Don’t read this one before going to bed. 9 out of 10 Grahams.
