Genesis #0 Halloween Comic Fest (re:view)

Welcome to a world of adventure with... Genesis! I've not heard of American Anthology Productions before but very excited to dive into the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Let's head straight in!

First up we have an excerpt from The Land That Time Forgot - amazing title, come get it! This is really hard to follow actually and I would probably say not a great excerpt to have chosen to lead too. There's been no standout character that captured me and there seem to be No-Prize moments when a bite in the shoulder becomes a bite on another shoulder (two snaps for attention to detail). I found that it's difficult trying to discern the expressions of the people when they're in the distance. I would have given it a chance but that snippet just doesn't do it for me. Maybe cut one title (four stories in total) from the comic would have given it more breathing space to flesh it out.

Next up, we have an excerpt from Pellucidar: At Earth's Core #1. Have no idea what Pellicidar is but I know that it does open with beautiful prose of sorts with theology, science and what have you. The artwork is amazing and it's pretty simple to follow. We find a couple who follow this Pterodactyl-looking thing and they're venturing into the core of Earth to get to Pellucidar. Lot of slay, slay, slay of creatures that resemble part of Mole Man's posse. Not much to go by but I'm living for it.

The one after is a snippet is from the Moon Maid. First thing I notice is that the art does share striking likeness as the previous snippet with the continuous fun carrying on. The creatures do resemble a purple half-human, half-goat being with no intelligence than to bludgeon and eat the flesh of their prey. Talk about being thrown into the deep end. A couple is, of course, teleported in to save the Moon Maid from such monstrous creatures but the backstory I find does not serve the Moon Maid well to the fact she persuaded someone who is close to her father to their death... The action is fun to watch though as they bounce to and throw from not a land where gravity isn't quite 100%.

Thank god - there's some humour up in this place! We seem the couple from the previous story which already puts a friendly face. There's much more fun as they take out killer parrots and the living dead. It's a bit over-the-top but I'm ba-da-ba-ba-ba I'm lovin' it. The thing here is the amount of humour in this segment for example when the main character is congratulated for getting a good shot, she replies that she was going for the one behind that one.

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I would probably have to give the first a miss and try out the other three for size.

Goosebumps: Monsters at Midnight #1: Halloween Comic Fest Edition (re:view)

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... Goosebumps! I don't think I've touched Goosebumps for over 15 years but it still holds a very dear place in my heart. I remember reading the books in sequence (had to skip a few as the local library didn't have all of them) and finding great enjoyment in being REALLY scared. So let's dive in!

The story follows two children Mia and Ginny as they embark on a journey to find a book Ginny's been dying to find out the ending of at a bookshop that they return to at night. Nothing is always as it seems though (usually the case with Goosebumps).

The first thing I noticed it the colour palate, it seems much lighter in tone to how I remembered it as a child but it works. This is helped further by the cartoonish detail of the style of art which going through each panel real natural.

Being the first issue, there's no real threat that establishes itself during the comic but is made up by the sheer fun quality to it, such as when the two kids sneak away from their grandmother to get to the bookshop they saw earlier (something I was always told never to do as a child but I guess this might become a parable to never leaving the grown-ups!). Another fun bit is when they're passing through the backward books section with some fun deciphering what Ginny is saying.

The characterisation of Mia and Ginny is quite strong with Mia being more of a worrywart and the one that looks out for her younger sis and Ginny is the curious one who seems much braver, which could be put down to her naivety. This makes for a good read with their interactions with each other and their surroundings.

The ending introduces - spoiler alert - Slappy! Thinking about it now, he didn't scare me much as a child but he did do the most horrendous things like slapping a child (I could be mistaking him for Chucky though - not that I watched Chucky during my childhood!)

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This is clearly aimed more for the younger audiences but there are moments that were actually really fun to be had. I want to see where they go next and what Slappy is like now as he was from the many years ago when they first stepped on the scene.

Goosebumps: Monsters at Midnight #1: Halloween Comic Fest Edition
Writer - Jeremy Lambert
Art - Chris Fenoglio
Colours - Brittany Peer
Letters - Christa Miesner
Assistant Editor - Chase Marotz
Editor - Sarah Gaydos
Publisher - Greg Goldstein

Dark Red #1 Halloween Comicfest edition

Welcome to a whole new adventure with... Halloween ComicFest! This time I'm giving you some creepy realness as Chip has to contend to life. Let's dive in!

The writing is kept simple which I luurve so I can get to grips with the story itself. Internalised thoughts are kept to a minimum but I guess it's because of the way Chip lives a secluded life that he's able to speak his internalised thoughts without the repercussions of not having anyone around. This helps develop the characters as well as Evie who seemingly has magic powers to overproduced blood which in turn helps Chip with their sustenance. 

Not much story but a lot of setting up for later issues I'm guessing so it does make the issue feel short despite being a full-length comic book issue. There are an action sequence which comes out of the blue due to the attraction from other vampires in wanting the same drink Chip is having. There is some character development which helps I guess to jump to greater heights in the next issues since we kinda know who they are.

The black and white style does lend itself to seeing things more clear but I expected some gore but the gore is subdued which helps me to actually follow it a bit more. It tends to feel like if more gore involved would taken the focus off the characters (but that's just me).

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Set me up for that second ish, babes!

Dark Red #1 Halloween Comicfest edition (reprint of Dark Red #1)

Tim Seeley - writer

Corin Howell - artist

Marshall Dillon - cover

Mike Marts - editor