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!
Hack/Slash No. 20
Cassie Hack and Vlad are doing what they do best, hunting slashers, when Vlad stumbles upon Cassie making out with a guy. Jealous and confused, the two get into a blow-up, friend-breaking argument. Cassie storms off, finds out some terrible facts about herself, and attempts to destroy herself. I'm not sure where this comic is heading, but I'm on board.
Bag it or board it up?
This whole comic has a mournful, sad air to it. The subtitle for the comic, "Final" points to a possible end to the series. This story is perhaps at one of it's most poignant moments ever. With no slasher-chasing, to gutting and killing, just good, exciting character drama. Well done, tastefully done. Creator Tim Seeley has once again crafted a masterful 22 pages of serious comic.
Chasing The Dead No. 1
This new horror thriller, based on the novel by Joe Schreiber, follows a woman named Sue in a terrifying quest to save her daughter. We start off by seeing a trauma in her childhood, and then immediately cut to the present. Sue is a successful real estate agent, and comes home late one night to find her Nanny and daughter missing. A mysterious caller now leads her on a wild goose chase and threatens to kill her daughter if she disobeys any of his particular orders.
Bag it or board it up?
The early action and exposition in this comic feels clunky. The children fighting in the beginning look ridiculous, and the storytelling is flat. But as soon as Sue gets on the phone with her antagonist, it becomes a taught, scary, pulse-pounding comic. What a 360!
Ex-Sanguine No. 2
The plot thickens as our protagonist, Adams, evades police questioning in a series of coded murders. After getting sprung from custody by an alibi from a friend, he and his new best girl break into a hermit's penthouse apartment and viscously attack. Then he turns into a monster and has sex with her. Another normal, boring day, right?
Bag it or board it up?
This issue has really nice pacing. The artwork, as always, is crisp and stylized. The design for Adams' Vampiric look is monstrous and bold. And the storyline has me interested enough to want to read on to issue 3.
Courtney Crumrin No. 7
Courtney, the youngest in a line of witches and sorcerers, is on the run from her nasty family members. She takes shelter with an old witch in a bog, who animates dolls and constructs from wood and fabric. As her uncle tracks her down a magical battle ensues.
Bag it or board it up?
It's a shame that there's so little going on in this comic and so little info to explain what already is going on. It's beautifully, dynamically illustrated. The characters are equal parts cute and sinister. Still, all the wonderful illustration in the world won't do much for a comic without a story.
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Bagged and Boarded Comic Reviews: Hack/Slash, Chasing the Dead, and More
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