Zombie Tramp – The Horror Writers

BIG WEEK OF COMICS!

But before we dive in, just a quick plug. Last year after moving to the burbs, I was not ready with enough Halloween candy for all the kids in the neighborhood. When I ran out in less than an hour, I did some quick thinking and grabbed a long box and started giving out some comics. It was a hit of the neighborhood. I will be doing the same this year. If you would like to do the same and do not have any comics to give away, check out your local comic shop. They are selling 25 mini comic packs for $5 each. Check them out here: http://www.halloweencomicfest.com/Catalog Order a couple and give them out!

Grimm Tales of Terror Vol 2. #13 (Zenescope)

Skip this comic and watch Tales from the Darkside: The Movie or Scarewaves. Both tell nearly the same exact story of artist-meets-demon-must-feed-demon-for-great-art.

Ratings: 1 out of 5

Zombie Tramp Halloween Special (2016) (Action Lab)

Straight cheesecake. If you miss 90’s anatomical drawing and dialogue, this book is for you. The most memorable moment comes from when Zombie Tramp tells a little girl that her butt is not big enough to be Vamp Blade. Cringe.

Ratings: 1 out of 5

Chronicles of Terror #1 (WP Comics)

A new online quarterly horror anthology series. This issue is all over the place. It has some highs and has some lows. There are a more than a couple stories with too many text boxes and some very poor lettering. However, you’re paying $5 for 142 pages and the artwork in a couple of these stories may make this worth your time. I personally enjoyed the art from Dann Franco in “Shots Between Fangs” and Luciano Fleitas in “Down to the Woods.”

Ratings: 2 out of 5

Deadman: Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love #1 (DC)

There is nothing earth-shattering about this book, but it really is different than every other book DC Comics is putting out. Whether you are a fan of the old DC prestige comics or the vertigo heroes, this book hits all the right marks.

This is the story of Deadman and it is not your traditional hero story. Instead of saving the earth from aliens in the sky, you get Deadman in a story of love, heartbreak, and ghostly mystery.

I enjoy my caped stories, but this was really wonderful.

Ratings: 4 out of 5

Cannibal #1 (Image)

If you mix iZombie and Southern Bastards, you get Cannibal #1. Art feels very Jason LaTour, but Bergara is not as polished. It is well written and interesting enough.

Ratings: 2.5 out of 5

B & V Friends Comics Double Digest #251 (Archie)

Another week. Another Archie Halloween Special. This one centers around the adventures of Betty and Veronica.

There are plenty of tales in this one, but the interesting thing to see in this one was the small art changes it made in each story. Where the Archie stories from last week had very similar art throughout the entire book, this one had some changes while keeping that Archie feel.

The stories are filled with some all ages fun with jokes for kids and adults.

I really thought last week might have been a fluke or I was in the mood for something light hearted, but after this week, these Archie Halloween specials deserve to be any comic collection.

Ratings: 4 out of 5

Paper Cuts: 9/1/16

Afterlife with Archie #10 (Archie)

These Archie Horror books come out slower than a horde of lurching zombies, but they are always 100% worth the wait.

This issue featured a re-imagining of Josie & the Pussycats in this new horror-filled world of Archie comics. I do not want to spoil it, but I love that the world is expanding outside of Riverdale. This issue opened up a lot of great possibilities.

The art and colors are stunning. Francesco Francavilla needs to be mentioned in the same breath as Frank Quitely – who also put out a book this week – and I truthfully cannot tell which one is better looking.

This series has stunning storytelling. If you fell off because of the long delays, get back into it.

Ratings: 5 out of 5

Zombie Tramp #26 (Action Labs / Danger Zone)

To be honest, I was not expecting much with this series, given the title. Perhaps I went in with such low expectations that I was surprised when it was not the worst book I read this week.

This book will have its audience. Its first quarter is basically torture porn. Then it turns into a total cheesecakes fest for the next half of the book. It ends with a story that at least has a small hook for new readers to wonder what happened.

Ratings 1.5 out of 5

Vampblade #7 (Action Labs / Danger Zone)

If you are like me and never have read an issue of Vampblade it does not take too long to figure out what this book is all about. It is right there in the title. Vamperella + Blade = Vampblade. “Sexy vampire fights other vampires.” As a matter of fact, that was the only thing that happened in this entire issue. Vampblade fights Mario Brothers-inspired demons of some sort in a sewer. How do I know they are Mario Brothers inspired? Because Vampblade tells us, then procedes to go on for several pages of video game references.

I typically like having some books that are fun (even the occasional cheesecake is alright), but this was simply #notgood.

Ratings: 1 out of 5

Broken Moon: Legends of the Deep (American Gothic Press)

This was my first title from American Gothic Press and I enjoyed it quite a bit.

The art is very scratchy and unpolished, but reminds me of Sean Murphy. The art was fine, but it felt very storyboarded at time.

The lettering was tough to get through. It looked so unprofessional that it really took away from the art and story. However, going back over the book and just looking at the book without the word balloons, it redeemed itself.

The story itself was pretty good. I really enjoyed the setup of a fishing town during the apocalypse, with kaiju roaming the seas. I wished we explored that more, but the story took a couple of Mad-Max-with-werewolves turns after that and left me wanting more of that first story.

Ratings: 2.5 out of 5