![]() |
From Stephen Schaffer's DeviantArt |
As
our loyal readers know we have recently become an official reviewer
for Zenescope Comics. This means that we receive PDF copies of
everything that they release. Obviously I can’t personally review
everything that they release, but as long as I hit a certain number
each quarter they’re cool with it. I’m bringing another regular
writer on board to help with that, so we’ll be putting them up a
bit more frequently than that.
So
far I have enjoyed what I’ve been reading from Zenescope. Grimm
Fairy Tales
is a pretty cool concept and has been fun so far, as have Grimm
Fairy Tales vs. Wonderland
and Masumi:
Blades of Sin.
But
my favorite by far of all of the titles I’ve received has been
Grimm
Tales of Terror.
It’s a horror anthology series in the vein of the classic EC
comics. While this is a fun and well-loved format, it’s one that
has been around for decades. The best and most talented writers,
artists, directors, and actors have left their mark and I would
imagine it’s tough to come with new and entertaining ideas.
Fortunately,
Zenescope has been able to freshen things up enough to publish four
successful comics (so far). There are familiar tropes – because
what aren’t at this point? – but with enough originality to keep
things interesting.
Red
interacts with characters outside of the central story, sometimes
telling the story herself and sometimes simply passing through
somebody’s life (usually at the very end of said individual’s
life).
The
first issue is written by Ralph Tedesco with artwork by Antonio
Bifulco. In this story – “The Tales We Tell” - a young wife’s
husband takes ill, and the events that follow lead to her
incarceration in a correctional facility for the criminally insane.
But there’s much more than just that and there are sinister forces
gathering around her.
The
art in this one is particularly strong and evokes that classic horror
feel. The flashback scenes as the wife is talking to the psychiatrist
are muted and washed out. This creates a very cool effect and is a
visual way to explain the sequence of the story. The scenes in the
present are vivid and at one point almost overly garish and it has a
great effect. One of Zenescope’s strong points seems to be visual
presentation. The penultimate page of the book is a fantastic,
shocking piece of horror art.
The
second issue features a story called “Web of Deceit”. It was
clearly about spiders, which made me massively uncomfortable. I mean,
they’re not aliens or anything, but I am not a fan of spiders. And
don’t give me your stupid spider memes about how they eat flies and
are innocent creatures with families. They’re tiny monsters and
they’re gross. If you like spiders, send me your address and I’ll
ship you all of ours. You’re welcome to them.
Anyway,
the story is by Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, and Shane McKenzie with
artwork by Przemyslaw Klosin, which is a heck of a handle. I find the
presence of three storytellers interesting, but I imagine a bunch of
people sitting around the Zenescope offices pitching ideas around,
which is a concept I really like for this sort of thing. Can’t you
just imagine you and your buddies sitting around coming up with ideas
for cool horror stories?
This
isn’t quite the spider story I was expecting and it shows that
Tales of
Terror
is just as worldly and grand in scope as the best horror anthologies.
This tale involves two brothers whose father has gone missing in
pursuit of an ancient artifact. The father’s benefactor has
summoned the brothers to complete the quest. Which involves spiders.
The
art is, once again, reminiscent of classics horror comics. The one
glaring issue I have is that one of the brothers looks to be the same
age as – if not older than – the father. The point was to make
this brother the older brother, but he’s too
old looking. It isn’t a huge deal and doesn’t hamper the
otherwise excellent story, but it’s odd and definitely noticeable.
The
last few pages of this issue are chock full of nightmarish imagery.
Even if you’re one of those spider-loving weirdos, I guarantee
there are things here that will creep you out. Nobody
wants to deal with the sort of crazy shit that happens in this one.
The
tale in issue three is called “Don’t Turn On the Lights”. It’s
by Joe Brusha and Ralph Tedesco and written by Meredith Finch. Milton
Estevam provides the artwork, which is somehow cleaner and more comic
strip-like, but works quite well for the story. Especially once
things start to go bad. The gore and violence that pops up in this
one are jarring amidst the bright, almost romance comic type artwork.
It’s a wonderful contrast.
I
like the wraparound in this one, as it’s kind of a classic college
scenario with a satisfying conclusion. The main story initially
appears to be a simple retelling of an old urban legend, but it has a
satisfying difference from the source material. I love it when it
appears that something is concluding but there’s more story to be
told.
The
fourth issue is called
“Red World” and once again demonstrates the wide range of story
possibilities that Zenescope is willing to pursue. This one takes
place on an Earth where plague has wiped out a massive portion of the
population. It’s equal parts Twilight
Zone
and Tales
From the Crypt.
It’s the most impressive of the books by far and did something I
haven’t had a comic book do in quite some time – it shocked me.
Several times. And surprised me, as well. I’ve enjoyed each issue
of Grimm’s
Tales of Terror so
far, but this one was one of those stories that you just visualize
being adapted. It’s very cinematic and powerful.
We
have the now-familiar story team of Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, and
Shane McKenzie. Seeing these names again convinces me that the
scenario I came up with above – people sitting around and hashing
stories out together – is pretty likely. The artwork is by Antonio
Bifulco and returns to the series’ more standard EC-inspired style.
It’s fitting, as this story is pretty unrelenting and presents
horror after horror.
Little
time is spent on exposition or setup. All you need to know is that
humanity has been decimated by a virulent… er, virus. And it’s
everywhere
and basically inescapable. The protagonist is immune and has to make
his way through this nightmarish new world. We see just a tiny slice
of this reality, but it’s more than enough to terrify.
I’m
digging Grimm
Tales of Terror.
It’s been a solid series so far and I definitely recommend you pick
up at least the most recent issue - #4 – next time you visit your
local comic shop. All four of the currently released issues are very
good and will enhance your Halloween season, but that fourth one is a
real punch to the guts.
Needless
Things V. 31 Days of Halloween
Every October for the
last few years Needless Things has provided commentary on SyFy’s –
the television channel devoted to science fiction (sort of) –
schedule. Not because the channel provides the best Halloween
content, but because they provide the most.
Aside from some paid programming in the wee hours of the morning
(because somebody
has to pay for Sharknado
3: Again With This?),
SyFy makes an effort to program content that is at least
Halloween-ish every hour of the month.
It
is for this that we thank them and devote far more effort than we
should into dissecting what they have to offer.
Since
SyFy has seen fit to provide us a with a full day of the silly
nonsense that is Ghost
Hunters,
I am going to once again crank up the Phantomatic 6000 Story
Generator and throw some better ideas out based on the Ghost
Hunter
episode titles. Well, different
ideas.
Oct
15 11:00 AM Ghost Hunters, Season 8 Paranormal Pioneers
This
is the story of how Nikolai Tesla used science to explore a whole new
realm of the unknown – the netherworld! Tesla and his team of
researchers willingly turn themselves into the first actual ghosts so
that they can investigate the mysterious dimension just beyond our
own.
Oct
15 12:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 8 Higher Dead-ucation
Jonathan
Taylor-Thomas stars as college student Dex Ripley, who dies in a
wacky wakeboarding accident just a few weeks before graduating. Now
Dex is a ghost, but can he still graduate? And more importantly, get
laid?
Oct
15 01:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 8 Due Date With Death
Jessie
Williams is expecting her first baby, only to discover that her child
is destined to become the personification of Death. Now she’s in a
race against time and across the world to try and find a way to avert
this grim future.
Oct
15 02:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9 Hollywood Horror Stories
Hulk
Hogan narrates a trilogy of terrifying tales from the world of
professional wrestling.
Oct
15 03:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9 Ghost Mission
Michael
Paré stars as a Navy SEAL that died in the line of duty. Now, thanks
to a chaplain that is secretly a voodoo priest, the soldier continues
carrying out assignments from the beyond.
Oct
15 04:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9 Prescription For Fear
Edward
Callahan is a pharmacist with a dark secret – he is the man who
originally developed crack cocaine for the US government’s
experiments with population control. Now his secret is in danger of
being revealed to the world by a group of social activists. Can
Edward protect his family and his identity with only his vast
knowledge of chemistry and pharmaceuticals? And will he end up
developing something even more insidious and terrible than crack and
unleashing it on the world?
Oct
15 05:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9 Permanent Residents
Mary
can’t stand her husband Ted’s parents. But when they both die
while visiting for the weekend, they end up as ghosts in Mary and
Ted’s house!
Oct
15 06:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9 All Ghosts On Deck
David
Spade and Rob Schneider star in this screwball comedy about two
garbage men trying to get to Jamaica that accidentally stow away on a
ghost ship!
Oct
15 07:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 Dead Presidents
Earth
faces an alien invasion and the only hope lies with the reanimated
corpses of Grover Cleveland, James K. Polk, Franklin Pierce, and
Calvin Coolidge!
Oct
15 08:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 An Officer And An Apparition
This
one is just too direct. An army guy falls in love with a ghost. I
dunno.
Oct
15 09:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 A Textbook Case
Pass.
Oct
15 10:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 Nine Men's Misery
Aldred
Pearce defied the Elder Gods over two hundred years ago. As a result,
nine generations of Pearce family men have carried a dark curse. Can
Aldred’s descendant, Willem, break this long line of suffering or
will he bring about the End of Days?
Oct
15 11:00 PM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 A Textbook Case
Oct
15 12:00 AM Ghost Hunters, Season 9.5 Orphans Of Gettysburg
Oct
15 01:00 AM Carvers Pilot
I
think this is the show about the professional pumpkin carvers. If so,
I recommend it. It’s fascinating. Overly scripted, but interesting
when it focuses on the craft.
Oct
15 02:00 AM Syfy Original Movie Darklight
This
actually sounds like a really good movie. It’s based around Lilith,
the first woman created by God, who rejected Adam. It’s
complicated, but she ends up being tasked with saving the world from
a demon.
Oct
15 04:00 AM Town Of The Living Dead Zombie Karate
I
feel bad that I haven’t watched this show yet because it looks fun
and I want to be able to tell you guys about it. But I will say this
– “Zombie Karate” is an incredible title for an episode.
Oct
15 04:30 AM Town Of The Living Dead
Oct
15 05:00 AM Paid Programming
Oct
16 06:00 AM Paid Programming
Oct
16 08:00 AM Scare Tactics It's My Party
Oct
16 08:30 AM Scare Tactics No Pain, No Brain
Oct
16 09:00 AM Scare Tactics Killing Rosemary's Baby
Oct
16 09:30 AM Syfy Original Movie Reign Of The Gargoyles
Nazis
controlling gargoyles via the Spear of Destiny. This sound concept is
killed by terrible CGI, which is what happens with a lot of SyFy
Original movies. I simply cannot look at CGI this shitty. Old WCW
pay-per-views had better graphics.
No comments:
Post a Comment