New comic book Wednesday has come and gone. The dust at your local comic shop has settled. An eerie silence descends as you finish reading your last superhero book of the week. Now it's time for something a little more sinister. Welcome to Bagged and Boarded: comic reviews of the sick, spooky, twisted and terrifying!
Grindhouse Doors Open at Midnight No. 3The first two issues of this seedy movie theater-inspired series were all about sexy bee-women from mars. The third issue begins a new mini-story called Prison Ship Antares. It's about women in a spaceship bound for the only other earth-like planet nearby (and that's a twenty year ride). When the ship passes saturn and communication becomes limited the warden of the ship is finally able to unleash her evil plans. But will the tough-as-nails prisoners fight back?
Bag it or board it up? This is an action-packed, highly sexualized comic about women in space. If that sounds like something you'd like to read, check it out. There are definitely some scenes in this comic that I have a problem with, scenes of abuse that don't need to be as graphic as they are depicted, that I think are a waste of time and "part of the problem." But, aside from a little bit of soap-boxing on my part, this is an overall good issue of a crazy-as-hell comic.
Hellboy in Hell No. 5Hellboy in Hell picks back up after a lengthy hiatus. Hellboy is, believe it or not, in hell. He's stabbed Satan and now, without a leader, all of hell is in a very quiet chaos. Demons and devils wandered, unmoored by tradition and leadership. Hellboy himself is a traveler in this place, and can't quite figure out what he's supposed to do next. When Hellboy meets up with an old army general who sold his soul, Hellboy helps the poor dude try and trick the devil with whom he made the deal.
Bag it or board it up? Hellboy in Hell is the quietest depiction of hell I've ever read in comics. There aren't any screams of the undying, no tormented fools begging for water, no people getting flayed alive. Just statues, graveyards, lots of grays and blues, and Hellboy wandering around. It's wonderful, you'll never read another comic like it. And now that it's moved into a second arc of stories, this is a great time to jump in if you've missed out!
Rover Red Charlie No. 1Garth Ennis (Hellblazer, Preacher) teams up with artist Michael DiPascale (Lady Death, Crossed) to bring you an end of the world story like you've never read before. For real, I promise you've never read a story like this before. The story centers around three friends at the end of the world. Three old friends Rover, Red, and Charlie have front row seats to the apocalypse (everyone is driven by some unknown force to kill themselves) and the only thing they have is each other. Also… they're dogs.
Bag it or board it up? How much more do I have to endorse this comic? They are dogs. It's the end of the world. Go get this comic right now! It's a very well-written comic and is already addressing issues like the communication gap between dogs and humans. The story of how the world falls apart is secondary to experiencing life through these dogs' eyes. This comic is such a blast to read, it's definitely worth checking out.
Deadworld Restoration No. 1The Deadworld universe is a place where zombies roam the world led by a talking zombie named King Zombie. It's full of people who hunt down zombies, people who run from zombies, people who hide from zombies, and people who are ignored by zombies. Those people are lepers, and the zombies can't sense them. This issue number one of a new series picks up after the King's been killed. But will he stay dead?
Bag it or board it up? So much happens so quickly in this comic that you'd think it was a series ender, not the first issue. If you're not familiar with the comic this issue is going to come at you fast and loud. You'll feel lost by page five, but if you keep reader I bet you'll end up enjoying this slanted take on zombie comics. Deadworld has been around for a long, long time. And it's been saying things about zombie comics long before The Walking Dead. It's a good comic with a stable set of characters, but the barrier to entry can be a bit high in the IDW printings of these comics.