Nightmares Illustrated 040 Vernal Snowstorm

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Top Five Picks…Buy These Right Now.

1. Elephantmen #47 (Image).

2. Fables #127 (Vertigo).

3. The Hollows #4 (IDW).

4. The Zaucer of Zilk (IDW).

5. Grimm Fairy Tales #83 (Zenescope).

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There is a lot of news out there, and a lot of turbulence. Despite the turmoil, I am not going to set anything straight this issue. Instead, I will add a little random information into the quagmire and see what happens. Here is one thing: The first fifty installments of Nightmares Illustrated will be collected in book form and released in an enhanced version, probably early next year. What does probably mean? It means I have to finish fifty installments first, then I have to enhance them. What does enhance mean in the NI context? That’s a secret. Here is another thing: two novels I co-wrote (pseudonymously) with a fellow writerist will hit the ether this summer and might also be available in hardcopy. They are not very good but you should buy them anyway because I could use the money. One more: there will be a special NI or two (or three) from the combined World Horror Convention / Bram Stoker Award Ceremony extravaganza happening in New Orleans this June. Come down and join everybody for a happy time. And if you ever see me without a drink in my hand at any point during my stay in New Orleans, please, for the love of all that is right and good and sane and fair, do something about it. If you do, you can skip your prayers that night. My treat.

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Wonderland #9 (Zenescope). Wow, what a cover, huh (in reference to Stjepan Sejic’s Cover A)? But is there any more to the book than the cover? Absolutely, there is. Wonderland has been running for nine issues now and it is heating up more than ever. Zenescope’s version of Wonderland is decidedly adult as it is laced with violence, madness, and, let’s call them, idiosyncrasies. The company has dedicated quite a bit of parchment to this corner of their universe and each new issue, each new book, exceeds the last. In the issue at hand, it at first seems like the story of the Red Queen versus the Queen of Spades is the bigger conflict, but the second storyline involving the protagonist, Calie Liddle, turns out to be ickier by far. There is no quit in this book as the next issue promises the return of the Cheshire Cat whose Zenescope incarnation is considerably more savage than Carroll’s. Every horror fan should be reading this book. Recommended.

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I, Vampire, Volume 2, Rise Of The Vampires (DC). I liked this book a lot when its current incarnation began, then I lost interest quickly and stopped reading it. I am glad, then, for the second collection because, reading it now, I like it all over again. (Joshua Hale) Fialkov’s story is thoughtful and well executed along traditional lines. (Andrea) Sorrentino’s artwork is surprisingly emotional with a minimum of expressive lines. There is a gnawing phantom worm in my brain making me think I may one day prize Mary Queen of Blood over Vampirella, but that cannot be, it simply cannot be. And yet there is something compelling there that defies literal classification. Mary, and Andrew Bennett (vampire vampire killer), and Cain, and Tig are all characters that matter to me now. They are ideas ever firming in my mind that yearn for greater information, greater clarification and, ultimately, a growing urgent need for resolution. In the temporal sense, at least; the larger story might never end.

The first part of the collection is taken up by a crossover non-event coupling with the Justice League Dark book but it is the second half where things really get interesting. Fialkov and Sorrentino are doing good work here, even if it is being published by DC. Recommended.

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Ten.

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Buy These Too…

Godzilla Volume 2 (IDW). Collecting issues five through eight of the current on-going, if you are a Godzilla fan and have not been keeping up, this book is your chance to make things right. To me, this comic is very much like the movies: cartoony and filled to the brim with memorable (albeit sometimes goofy) monsters. Godzilla forever! Do what needs to be done.

Madness of Wonderland #2 (Zenescope). Only two more of this mini. My thinking here is they are best consumed as one, so buy them, hold them, and read them together in May.

Swamp Thing Volume 2 Family Tree (DC). Collecting issues 8-11 plus #0, this is not bad reading if you have low expectations. The arc, I think, is particularly weak even in this tepid reboot of my beloved character (beloved by me, that is, of course). I am still endorsing this title. Just barely. There are a few nice moments sprinkled throughout that are potentially worth reflecting on in the future.

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Bargain Bin…

Astro City The Dark Age Book 2 #1 (Wildstorm). This little gem reads like a crime blotter for mythical urbanity. It makes me nostalgic, or maybe just the fact that it was published under the Wildstorm imprint is doing that to me. Either way, at the 25¢ level we can all take a chance. The Dark Age version of Astro City exists in three books of four issues each. Not a lot of material, but my favorite incarnation. None really took off, which is a shame. I always liked it. I am sorry to see it in the bin, but I am glad to see it.

Ultimate Adventures #1 (Marvel). I looked at this, and then I thought, eh, and then I read it anyway. And then I put it down. And then I thought, eh. If there is nothing else, then look for this. I cannot think of a less enthusiastic recommendation. Oh, wait: It didn’t hurt me. How about that? I am clearly ready for Spring.

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