Alan Moore, Brian Bolland ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’ Review

May 2, 2016 The Overseer 1 Comment

When it comes to Batman and his lengthy history, there are a few must-read stories. Stories that altered the way we view and think of Batman, and some of his greatest foes. Alan Moore just so happens to be responsible for more than a single one of those stories. My personal favorite, however, is less about Batman and more about Joker than anything. It’s only appropriate that the book be titled Batman: The Killing Joke.

What we get here is no doubt the greatest Joker story ever told. It’s a bold thing to craft a Joker origin story. It’s far bolder to tell that story all the while pushing Batman’s greatest villain to depravities unknown even to this legendary monster. Never has the grinning one been so cutthroat and vile. Never has he pushed Batman in such fashion. Never has he been so frightening.

That’s another element of the book that steals my soul. This is a genuinely frightening Batman book, and that’s brilliant. While I adore the silliness that comes with some of the earlier Detective Comics issues, I’ve been much more keen on edgier tales (Shadow of the Bat was a brilliant run), and this fits the bill.

So, as we’re reading this issue, we find ourselves – for the first time in a long time – wondering if Batman will actually capture the Joker before he can slaughter an excessive amount of decent Gothamites. That’s a mystery we don’t typically get from Batman books, and it’s absolutely amazing.

What more can be said of this one other than major, major respect to the legendary Alan Moore and the master of cover art, and former boss of the insides, artist Brian Bolland. These two are mind bogglingly good together. These men don’t make comic books, they make very real, very respectful artwork that, as The Killing Joke proves, is truly timeless.

Rating: 5/5

Comics, Marvel Comics, Review

Throwback Review: Spectacular Spiderman #2

April 29, 2016 The Overseer Leave a comment

The first issue of this amazing Spidey spinoff featured a showdown with the menacing yet unintentionally comical Tarantula. Tarantula’s a fun character, though few Spidey aficionados would likely place the man on any “Best of” lists. The villain introduced in issue two however, has quite a different following.

Kraven the Hunter pops up in this book, and of course, that means he’s not only going to tangle with Spidey, he’s going to tangle with Tarantula, who’s still hanging around, as well. But, these two aren’t occupying the same space by mere coincidence. Tarantula was hired to kidnap chancellor Lansky, but he was also hired to kill the mayor, an assignment he botched. That’s where Kraven comes into play, to try and get the mystery man’s plans back on track. So, like it or not, Tarantula and Kraven are in this devious plan together, and the plan has changed. Kraven and Tarantula’s new assignment is to capture Chancellor Richard Gorman – dead or alive.

Peter goes through the normal growth process. Problems with Mary Jane, concern for Aunt May. Education, employment. Peter’s always going through that crap, and when he’s not, he’s going toe to toe with Kraven or Tarantula.

It’s a back and forth affair between Spidey and Kraven, all the while Tarantula delivers Gorman to our mysterious villain only to be double crossed. Whoever pulls the strings is sharp, and cautious.

Eventually the book comes – sadly – to an end, but not before an explosive and definitive conclusion to Spiderman and Kraven’s battle. Wanna guess who picked up the W in that rematch? Speaking of Ws, what’s next for Tarantula? Is he a goner, and will this particular story arc reveal the mastermind early, or will we be forced to wait for issue four?

Another amazing, classic book that comes to us courtesy of stud writer Gerry Conway and personal favorite with the pencil, Sal Buscema. Again, this really is a beautiful book.

Rating: 5/5

Comics, Dynamite, Reviews

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

April 28, 2016 The Overseer Leave a comment

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!

April 22, 2016 The Overseer 2 Comments

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

April 22, 2016 The Overseer Leave a comment

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

Comics, DC Comics

Sweet Tooth #1 Review

April 22, 2016 The Overseer 1 Comment

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

Dark Horse Comics, Video

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

April 14, 2016 The Overseer Leave a comment

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!

DC Comics, Movies

A Brand New Suicide Squad Trailer Electrifies

April 13, 2016 The Overseer Leave a comment

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 5^th.

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

March 26, 2016 The Overseer 1 Comment

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