Batton Lash, a comics legend in his own right, has launched a new Kickstarter campaign in support of his latest collection, “A Vampire in Hollywood.” You can join the campaign, which runs thru March 11th, right here.
With a distinctive wit and style, Batton Lash has entertained readers over the years with the misadventure of “Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre,” the only law firm that represents vampires, zombies, and other ghouls. Wolff and Byrd has subsequently been known simply as, “Supernatural Law.” It is a cross between Archie comics and The Walking Dead. It is definitely something different!
You need to check out the video that shows you how a page from this comic is created. Tyler Crook is one of the best in the business. You’ll know him from his work on “B.P.R.D.,” a flagship comic from Dark Horse Comics. Now, he does Dark Horse proud with “Harrow County.” This one is a doozy, written by Cullen Bunn, the creator of the smash hit comics series, “The Sixth Gun.”
“Harrow County” is a southern gothic fairy tale. On the eve of her eighteenth birthday, Emmy learns that she is somehow connected to the monster-infested woods she has lived nearby all her life. Wow. What more could you ask for, right?
It all began as an uneasy understanding amongst the townspeople to coexist with the witch, Hester Beck. But, once Hester had the town’s children involved in her rites, the tolerance gave way. And, once the rumors piled up about Hester engaged in unnatural acts with hideous creatures in the woods, there was nothing left to do. Kill the witch, that was the solution. And as the fire ate away at her flesh, the witch warned the townspeople that she would return.
Many years later, cut to Emmy, a young woman haunted by her surroundings. She knows that something’s wrong about Harrow County, just not sure exactly what. The woods. She’ll find the answers in the woods.
This first issue will definitely win you over. Bunn and Crook have mastered the art of the spooky. This thing has taken off. Enjoy. The gap between the inner world and the outer world is paper thin. That sensation of exposing our inner world to the outside, resulting in horror, is what French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan called “glissage.” Harrow County has seen plenty of this. And Emmy is now sure they haven’t seen the last of it. She’s dead sure of it.
“Harrow County #1” is 32 pages, priced at $3.99, available as of May 13. For more details, visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics right here.
Megg, Mogg, and Owl. Say it with me, “Megg, Mogg, and Owl.” They will set you free. Set you on a righteous path. What Simon Hanselmann does with his comics is what any artist and/or writer worth his or her salt does: take you somewhere, make you feel something. The most disturbing, and most exhilarating, moment for me in comics this year, or any year, must be Werewolf Jones taking a cheese grater to his testicles. Pure genius. And I say it with only a touch of irony. In fact, it is a great moment in comics.
Paul Tobin is a very thoughtful writer and that’s what makes for immersive work like, “The Witcher,” his latest comic with Dark Horse Comics. Tobin is a seasoned pro who has written for all the great superheroes. He has a keen mind that likes to play so it makes sense he’d want to see what happens when you set a story in the Middle Ages and throw together the fates of a warlock and a hunter.
With this new arc, “What You Want, Not What You Need,” the scope of this saga hits you. A story has been allowed to breathe freely and unfold luxuriously. It feels well lived in and we don’t want it to stop. You don’t care, on some level, if Rupert Giles ever comes back to life. Part of you knows it’s just wrong. And part of you knows that some things just need to happen. And that’s okay. It’s not like the characters are totally in agreement on what should happen next! That’s okay too. We want conflict. And, you read it here at Comics Grinder first, there’s a lot to be said for taking this whole thing and turning it into an animated movie! That says a lot for the comic, is what I’m saying, really. It does engage you in such a way that you get lost in the characters. Now, the fact is, stories should get to breathe and follow one thought to the next. That is what supposedly happens when you have an event comic but, in reality, that is too often an opportunity to just string along a fan base. Not so here. Dark Horse Comics cares about its readers and “Angel and Faith” is an excellent case in point.
We love Christos Gage in charge of the script. We love Rebekah Isaacs in charge of the art. The whole look and feel is outstanding. And where did Faith’s tattoo come from? I’m sorry, maybe that’s from the original television series. Well, I’m sure it is but I have only seen a few episodes. Not a true believer, huh? I have to do some marathon viewing someday. Is anyone rocking a Faith tattoo? You’re probably out there. Ah, those little details. Then there’s Angel’s nipple ring! We know, for sure, what that’s all about. It is a little relic that helped in the hunt for remnants of the soul of Ruper Giles. And here we are, all the elements to the Giles soul have been safely gathered into a magic bowl and the body of Ruper Giles has been carefully preserved and sits nearby on an operating table. The question is, What to do next? Proceed? Or run like hell? Well, there’s always that tricky question of getting enough super magic juice to jump start this project. That sticky issue comes to a head here because where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Is that Pearl we see reflected in Faith’s sword on the cover art above? Why, I believe it is. And why would that be, do you think? Well, Pearl and Nash are the baddies feverishly looking for any bits of magic still around. And you’ve also got Whistler, Angel’s former mentor, now arch-nemesis, in on the hunt too. Since Angel needs magic like nobody’s business, there’s a strong likelihood of there being a clash and so it is in this issue. It is a wonderful clash, interlaced with the action involved in attempting to bring Giles back from the dead! When you think of all the explanations out there for time travel, some tend to be more poetic and some try to sound as authentic as possible. We’ve got a little of both going on with the Giles resurrection project. Alasdair Coames, in all his fuddy-duddy wizardy, leads the operation in a brilliant fashion. But, as the title for this final arc suggests, is it all for naught? Or worse yet, should one really give pause and ask if they should be careful for what they wish for? At such a late date, should this still be a question? Well, read and find out.
“Angel and Faith #21” is available as of April 24. Visit our friends at Dark Horse Comics here.
