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!
Hide No. 1
While the big companies are eating cookies and drinking egg nog this week (with some choice exceptions) the little guys keep grinding away. Hide, written, drawn, and brought to Comixology's Submit program by Vernon Smith, is an awesome, taut little thriller. It's a perfect day with the perfect family. Everyone gets along, everyone loves each other. And then everyone wakes up the next morning, and everyone over the age of eighteen is trying desperately to kill everyone under the age of eighteen!
Bag it or board it up? Whoa! This was a fun little surprise. This comic sets the reader up to knock them back down. Everything is so cheerful, so sappy, it's almost painful to read in the beginning. But then the hammer falls down, and the twisted scenario of parents trying to kill their children blooms in the harsh second half of the comic. Read this comic. Download this comic. It's the next Crossed (but it won't make you squirm).
Winter City No. 1
Here's another great little indie comic from the Submit program. Winter City tells the story of the titular town, a grimy, cold, nasty metropolis full of bad people. When a wealthy philanthropist is murdered in his home the detectives on the force set out to find his killer. But we've seen who his killer really is… the grim reaper! With glowing green eyes and robes made of nasty brown rags, Death could be coming for you next.
Bag it or board it up? This comic feels a lot like Spawn in a lot of ways. Flowing, mysterious central figure. Detectives trying to piece together the craziness all around. Add to that the very attentive artwork that flows from page to page. It's all there! This is a fun little comic about murder and bad people, what's not to love?
Monsters of the Silver Age No. 1
People are being turned to stone! The city is gripped in terror! This looks like a job for Immortal Victor. The hero of Monsters of the Silver Age is a mullet-donning, sword and gun wielding, wise-cracking beefcake. The villain, an evil Medusa-type monster who's also someone's girlfriend. And then there's a man made of stone who's very powerful, and a falconer with a cool mask. And… eh, it just goes on and on with this crazed comic.
Bag it or board it up? I don't know if this comic is the perfect comic for the hyperactive mind… or the worst thing for one. In a whirling love-letter to every hyped up Jack Kirby comic, every frantic early-career Stan Lee, Monsters of the Silver Age crackles with energy (and insanity). The story leaps from thought to thought, the monster lurks and screeches, it's a ton of crazy fun.
Forever Evil No. 4
Evil alternate reality versions of the Justice League have come to earth, killed or defeated all of the original Justice League, and have claimed our world as their own. Underground forces, like Lex Luthor and Captain Cold, Batman and Catwoman, and other odd bedfellows all have to team up and work together to get rid of this very dangerous problem. Meanwhile, the evil doers are falling apart at the seams. You can jump in on the action with this issue, but I recommend going back and picking up issues one through three.
Bag it or board it up? Let's be honest: who can resist a DC Comic titled "Forever Evil?" It's so ridiculous, high-drama, and full of references, cameos, and easter eggs. This is fan service at its best. And there is so much back-stabbing and villainy in these issues that I can heartily recommend them to the diehard horror fan. Check it out, this issue is dark and fun.