All posts by The Overseer

Author of Say No to Drugs, writer for Blumhouse, Dread Central, Horror Novel Reviews and Addicted to Horror Movies.
Comics, Dynamite, Reviews

Army of Darkness: Furious Road #1 & #2 Review

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Army of Darkness: Furious Road is an awkward but gripping piece that brings Ash toe to toe with Universal Monsters who travel as only a Road Warrior could. It’s strange, make no mistake, but it’s one of the strongest story arcs we’ve gotten from an Army of Darkness run in quite some time.

The story pretty much unravels as most Army of Darkness titles do, with Ash tangling with Deadites over the Necronomicon. As we’ve seen over the years Ash isn’t opposed to teaming up with folks if it means clearing the Deadite mess up once and for all. This time around we happen to get modernized takes on Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula, The Daughter of Dracula and of course, a spunky Wolf Man. It’s a fine batch to work with, and it earns big points from me, as I’ve always been an extreme Universal Monster enthusiast.

Two issues in and the pace is just right. We’ve had a few bad ass action sequences, a glimpse of the Delta, Ash’s evil twin is in town. It’s all here, as you’d hope. But the monsters – the heroic lot, not the undead – add an interesting dynamic to the story. At this point it’s an exciting and engaging story.

Nancy A. Collins does fine work paying homage to Mad Max as well as the older icons featured in the tale, but Collins isn’t alone in success. Kewber Baal’s artwork is mean. It’s sharp and it mirrors the mood of the narrative. More points from me.

This is one of the finer Army of Darkness books. It’s worth the cover price, so if you’ve been curious but haven’t been too certain of where or when to jump in, now is an excellent time.

You can pick up both issues right here.

Rating: 4/5

Fan Films

James Campbell’s Batman Fan Film Ripper is Beyond Awesome!

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We love Batman at his darkest. Nobody broods better. Nobody punishes better. Nobody just goes toe to toe with the friggin’ Ripper!

Okay. Batman does… all of those things.

This new short film is a complete blast. Nice production values, fine cinematography, great performances and a tone that might just shock you. It’s cool seeing two legendary figures, for two entirely different reasons, tangling to the bitter end…

You’ve got to watch this, plain and simple. James Campbell writes and directs.

The film stars Bill Fellows, Donald Standen, Jacob Anderton, Kris Saddler, Sally Collett, Victoria Gibson, Eilidh Talman and Bruce Payne.

Comics, Marvel Comics

Throwback Review – Spectacular Spiderman #1

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It’s time to rewind the clocks and jump into one of my favorite Spidey comics, Spectacular Spiderman.

The inaugural issue absolutely rocks and today holds a nostalgic charm you don’t get from every book out there. It also pits Spiderman in a rematch with the nimble and extremely able Tarantula. Who takes this round? And who does the Tarantula have targeted? He isn’t back for Spidey alone, no. He’s also got his peepers on the Vice Chancelor of Petey’s school. He’s destined to run into both, but what will be the final outcome?

I love this book. Probably – I’ll find out soon enough – every single issue. And while I think Marvel could have kicked this one off with focus on a villain that holds a bit more of a marquee appeal, Tarantula is a fine starting point, as it leaves the book – already very solid – with nowhere to go but up.

Gerry Conway’s story has a hint of a throwback charm and a reasonable dose of contemporary style to it, simultaneously. That mixture prevents the book from feeling too dated, but also summons a strange idea of innocence. It’s an unorthodox but engaging mix.

And, of course, I can’t possibly move on without issuing huge praise to one of history’s greatest Spidey artists, Sal Buscema. Buscema did it all. He drew for every major book from the 70s up well beyond the old Y2K mark. His style is very clean with plenty of animated faces and smooth lines. We’re talking about a legend of the pencil who’s got the respect of everyone in the industry.

We leave the first issue with questions on our minds. There are some things to be resolved, and by the end of this story arc we’ll likely see Spidey and Tarantula tangle on a few more occasions. It’ll be close folks, but we’re picking Spidey by TKO!

Rating: 4/5

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Comics, DC Comics

Sweet Tooth #1 Review

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In Sweet Tooth we meet a frightened boy with a strange deformity. He’s got a nice pair of antlers growing right out of his melon (think Joe Hill’s Horns, and then think… nothing like that… really) and that’s quite obviously a problem with regard to fitting into society comfortably. His father is old and ill and he too is petrified by the thought of his son being forced to face a dangerous world.

It’s a melancholy setup. And then it heads straight for chilling, disconcerting territory. The boy’s father dies. He’s left to fend for himself, but he almost has that chance taken away one day when he wanders into the woods, smack dab into a pair of savage hunters who aim to slaughter the boy.

Moments before this sweet little lad meets his end, one of the hunters’ head explodes in a mist of blood, brain and bone. A stranger stands at the ready, prepared to make his next move. But what will that be, and will that gun of his see more immediate action?

While I’ve given you plenty of details, they’re really not spoilerish in nature. The details I’ve given you all really serve as a primer of sorts. This story clearly doesn’t begin barreling forward until issue two, so don’t sweat the info you’ve now read about the book.

Jeff Lemire’s far-out tale is magnetic, to say the very least. He’s gifted the masses a book that stands alone in an occupied field of creativity. It just doesn’t get much stranger than this. It doesn’t get much more addictive, either. The man has done what few ever manage, and that’s create an atypical, daring and unpredictable story that sucks in you from the first word. It’s genius.

I’ve already gone out of my way to beef my digital collection up with the first 20 issues, and you can bet it won’t take long to blow through those twice over. This is a book to chase down and clutch with all of your might.

Order it right here.

Rating: 5/5

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Dark Horse Comics, Video

Check Out this Awesome Trailer for Dark Horse’s I Am a Hero

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The I Am a Hero Omnibus is now available from Dark Horse Comics, and it’s a book we’ve got to recommend you look into. I mean really, how can you go wrong with the “Walking Dead of Japan?” I suppose a misfire is possible, but this book makes no such misfires. It’s a kick ass read!

Kengo Hanazawa writes and illustrates.

You can order the book right here, and in the meantime you can check out the brand new trailer for the book!

Synopsis: A mentally unhinged manga artist witnesses the beginning of a zombie outbreak in Tokyo, and he’s certain of only two things: he’s destined to be the city’s hero, and he possesses something quite rare in Japan—an actual firearm!

i am a hero

DC Comics, Movies

A Brand New Suicide Squad Trailer Electrifies

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Suicide Squad isn’t an outright horror film, but it’s got some amazing monsters under the spotlight and the action looks absolutely insane. A brand new trailer for the flick just landed, and it’s got a lot of unseen footage featured, including plenty of extra looks at Jared Leto’s Joker.

David Ayer writes and directs.

Suicide Squad stars Will Smith (The Pursuit of Happyness, Focus) as Deadshot, Joel Kinnaman (RoboCop, Easy Money) as Rick Flagg, Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) as Harley Quinn, Jai Courtney (Divergent, The Water Diviner) as Captain Boomerang, Cara Delevingne (Anna Karenina, Pan) as Enchantress, Karen Fukuhara as Katana, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Killer Croc, Jay Hernandez as El DIablo, Adam Beach as Slipknot, Viola Davis as Amanda Waller, and Jared Leto as The Joker. There’s also mystery roles for Ike Barinholtz, Scott Eastwood, Raymond Olubowale, Alex Meraz, Jim Parrack, and Common.

The film arrives on August 5th.

Synopsis: A secret government agency run by Amanda Waller, named A.R.G.U.S creates a task force comprising super villains, the “Suicide Squad”. They are assigned to execute dangerous tasks in exchange for shorter prison sentences.

Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Reviews

Hellboy Winter Special (2016) Review

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It’s hard to go wrong with any book that showcases the genius of Mike Mignola. Whether you’re a fan or not, debating the man’s place in comic book history is pointless. He’s a mountain toppler, and that’s all there is to it. Hellboy was a gift that I – ironically – could have deemed delivered by God… of course, we know the truth. Hellboy is Mignola’s creation, and Hellboy truly does rank amongst the finest heroes (Hellboy is actually a genius character that sometimes rides a fine line between hero and antihero) we’ve ever seen. When you examine the entire character and his origin, he feels a little paradoxical, which says a lot for the character, because whether we feel we understand every wrinkle of his personality or not, we sure do love the red devil!

If you love Hellboy, you’re going to love Hellboy: Winter Special. We get a small handful of stories from this one, and not one of those stories comes across as anything less than top notch work. But the big standouts are quite clearly Wandering Souls and Mood Swings, two radically different but ultimately charming tales that resonate.

Wandering Souls, the second story in the book is a good old fashioned ghost tale that puts a Chinese tribe, once slaughtered, now haunting the land in search of their very own bones, at the forefront of things. It’s a quick but solid read that feels as though it could easily be transferred to animated film, a la Sword of Storms or Blood and Iron, and it comes complete with a vintage Hellboy slugfest. Excellent work delivered by the pitch-perfect trio of Mignola, Chris Roberson and Michael Walsh.

The other homerun in the book is delivered by writer Chelsea Cain and artist Michael Avon Oeming, who come together to explore the intricacies of the blossoming youth while pitting Hellboy against off-putting little parasites known as Snow Geists, wicked little critters that climb inside snowmen, transforming them into animated and murderous monstrosities. While the expected battle between Hellboy and the Snowmen is awesome, this one really appeals due to the human charm of the tale, and the exploration of the female youth. It’s more great work, and certainly reason to campaign for more future Hellboy work from both Cain and Oeming.

The simple fact of the matter is this: I could spend a few hours praising this book, or I can cut to the chase, dish out a confident 5-star rating and tell you to order it right here. It’s a mighty fine investment worthy of more than a single read.

Rating: 5/5

hellboy winter special

DC Comics, Movies, News

What We Want to See from Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice

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I haven’t made it over to see Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice yet, but it’s not for lack of trying. I drove by the theater 20 minutes before the day’s first showing. That crowd was as about as nasty as it gets, the line stretching the length of the theater and then some. It got me thinking, what in the world do I really hope to see from this movie? And, well, that simple thought leads me here, writing about a movie I should be watching right now.

A Prolonged Battle: The one thing I’d hate to see is these two comic icons duke it out for three minutes before they jump on the happy train by making up and joining forces, all a necessity to combat the wrecking ball that is Doomsday. Batman and Superman should be beating the snot out of each other for a solid 12-15 minutes if Snyder hopes to keep blood thirsty fans pleased.

Blood: We’re hoping to see this collision get a little bit bloody. In reality, Batman stands little chance against the physically superior Superman, and that should lead to a brutal beating, assuming Batman shows up to fight. We’re hoping Zack Snyder goes grimy and bloodies things up. In all actuality, there’s basically no way that Bruce Wayne walks away from this fight without looking like raw hamburger.

Let’s Make Doomsday as Tough as He Truly is: Doomsday is the absolute freak that once beat every last ounce of life from Superman. Literally, he killed our beloved hero. How Superman came to return to the spotlight is irrelevant, what is relevant is the impact that Doomsday has. He’s Batman’s Bane, Spiderman’s Green Goblin, The X-Men’s Magneto. Give him the respect he deserves, even it means we have to see at least one of these heroes revived in the inevitable follow-up film.

Batman Deserves to Know: We all know, based on the footage we’ve seen, that Superman knows Batman’s identity (he’s Superman, of course he knows!) in the film. But I haven’t seen anything to suggest that Wayne knows Superman’s alternative identity. But he has to know. He’s basically the world’s toughest detective. And he’s good. Here’s hoping the writing crew responsible for the screenplay respect Bruce’s intelligence.

No Cliffhangers: We all know that DC is gearing up to make a serious run at Marvel. They’ve basically got the same plan in motion, hoping to create a cohesive DC universe. We don’t know if it’s all going to work out yet, but we know it’s happening, and that’s why we deserve a definitive close to this film. It doesn’t really need the sequel we’re all expecting. These two can meet up and handle any lingering difference in one of the Justice League flicks, or one of the many other planned films (tell me it wouldn’t be cool to see Aquaman attempt to break up a fight between Batman and Superman). Let’s avoid any cliffhangers and completely abolish the idea of a sequel. There’s enough room to handle business in future DC films, no doubt about it.

Comics, Dark Horse Comics, News

Unveiling the Cover of Hellboy in Hell Volume 2!

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As a hardcore Hellboy fan, this little sliver of greatness just makes my day.

The cover of Hellboy in Hell Volume 2 has just been unveiled and it’s a certified winner. Appropriate, given how awesome the title is! Check out the image below, as well as some addition 411 from the official press release. You can find the image below!

Legendary comic book writer/artist Mike Mignola will conclude his critically acclaimed series HELLBOY IN HELL in 2016, when Dark Horse Comics publishes the final and tenth issue on June 1 and the trade paperback, HELLBOY IN HELL Volume 2 which collects issues 6 through 10, in October. In advance of the release of the series’ conclusion, Dark Horse Comics has released the cover to HELLBOY IN HELL Volume 2 by Mignola and award-winning colorist Dave Stewart. Following the conclusion of HELLBOY IN HELL, Mignola will take a year off from illustrating interior comic book pages in order to focus on fine art painting.

 

“Doing the cover to this collection was tough and of course I overthought the hell out of it,” said Mignola. “It’s the end of the series and so much happens. How do I get that onto a cover? In the end, after doing two self-rejected covers, I decided to just illustrate the title of the book. THE DEATH CARD. There is also a fairly subtle nod to the climax of the book in there, but mostly it’s illustrating the title while trying to do a composition very similar to the cover of the first collection. Since the two books do make one story, I really wanted to design the book covers so they would work well side by side.”

 

After facing off for a second time against the Vampire of Prague, Hellboy, dead and in Hell, comes down with a fatal illness, and seeks the help of an incompetent team of doctors. As he explores the geography of Hell, learning little from a confused pair of map makers, Hellboy gets a glimpse of the new World Tree that he helped to create, stands accused of murder by his own sister and, in a way, brings about the destruction of Pandemonium itself.

 

While 2016 will see the conclusion of HELLBOY IN HELL, ABE SAPIEN (which concludes in August) and B.P.R.D.: HELL ON EARTH (which concludes in November), Dark Horse Comics will publish new issues of HELLBOY & THE BPRD co-written by Mignola and iZOMBIE co-creator Chris Roberson and illustrated by fan favorite artists, as well as unannounced titles which Mignola will co-write, but not illustrate.

 

HELLBOY IN HELL Volume 2 is available in comic shops October 5 and bookstores October 18. Preorder your copy today at your favorite retailer or local comic book store.
Amazon
Barnes & Noble

 

HELLBOY IN HELL Volume 1 is now available from all major retailers.

 

HELLBOY IN HELL #9 and HELLBOY IN HELL #10 will be available in comic stores May 4 and June 1.

Hellboy in Hell 2