As April winds down we see our final Wednesday full of great releases. This week we will be taking a break from our normal head to head matchup and instead I have something just as cool for you but first my picks for this week!
Aliens (Dark Horse)
For the 30th anniversary of the 1986 film of the same name, Dark Horse is releasing the original comic series from 1988 in this awesome hardcover edition. If you’re a fan of the franchise then this is a book that should be in your collection. This series was the original sequel to the Aliens film so pick this one up and see the story before Alien 3 came along and swept it all under the rug.
Aliens Defiance (Dark Horse)
2016 is the 30th Anniversary of Aliens and if you’re like me and just can’t get enough of this franchise then Dark Horse has you covered. Just one day after Alien Day we see the release of this new #1 from Dark horse.
“Battling demons from her past while fighting for her life, Colonial Marine Private First Class Zula Hendricks, in the company of Weyland-Yutani synthetics, is forced to question her strength and loyalty when the discovery of an insidious alien species on a derelict hauler sends her on a dangerous journey across the stars.”
Black Magick Volume 001 Awakening Part One (Image)
If you haven’t been following this book, now is the time get on board. Greg Rucka writes a good story and this book has some of my favorite art this year done by the talented Nicola Scott.
“Rowan Black is a detective with the Portsmouth PD... and a witch, two aspects of her life she has struggled to keep separate. Now someone is targeting Rowan, someone who knows her secrets and means to expose her... or worse.”
The Walking Dead: The Alien (Panel Syndicate)
Earlier this year we got news that master storyteller Brian K. Vaughan would be writing a Walking Dead story. This one managed to slip under my radar last week and it’s not one to be missed. Before you run out to your local comic shop to pick it up, this is only available digitally from panelsyndicate.com. This is a good addition to the world of The Walking Dead so definitely check this out if you’re a fan and even if you aren’t.
If you’re a comic book fan chances are your tastes span beyond horror. While horror comes in many forms, it’s not often that you will find anything of the sort in hero books. While you might not find hero problems very entertaining, I have a few reasons why horror fans shouldn’t sleep on hero books.
Inferno (Marvel 1989)
Inferno was one of Marvel's big crossover events that affected the whole Marvel Universe. While the story mainly involved the Mutants, it still has all the popular heroes including the Avengers, Daredevil, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man.
Why horror fans should care: Inferno isn’t just a normal hero saves the day story. This is a straight up demonic invasion of New York City. This story is full of deceit and sees multiple parties in a battle for control over Limbo and Earth. Villains get possessed and we even see inanimate objects become demonically possessed and start attacking people Maximum Overdrive style. The X-Men (while under a spell) kill without hesitation and enjoy it. The scariest part of all is that during the invasion, the residents of New York City continue their daily routines and go about their lives as if this sort of thing happens on the regular.
Batman: The Long Halloween (DC 1996-1997)
The Long Halloween is a 13 issue series that ran from 1996-1997 written by Jeph Loeb with art by Tim Sale. This story takes place early on in Batman’s crime fighting career and we get appearances from his most notable villains such as the Joker, Two-Face and Poison Ivy among others.
Why horror fans should care: Batman’s roots have always been in horror; if you give it just a quick glance you will find some nods to H.P Lovecraft. Gotham City is by far one of the most broken cities in comic books and his rogues gallery is filled with some of the most violent criminals. This story follows Batman as he’s trying to stop a crime war between the Maroni and Falcone families. During the course of the book, a mysterious killer emerges who is murdering people on holidays. This is a really dark book and one that acts as an origin story for Two-Face as we see Harvey Dents descent into madness. Excellent story telling from Jeph Loeb and some dark and moody art from Tim Sale make this a must read for horror fans and just fans of comics in general.
Blackest Night (DC 2009-2010)
Blackest Night is one of DC's crossover events stemming from the pages of The Green Lantern. The main story is written by Geoff Johns and drawn by Ivan Reis. This is one of the best Green Lantern stories out there and a personal favorite.
Why horror fans should care: While there is a lot going on in the pages of Blackest Night, this is an awesome zombie story. If you’re a fan of films like Army of Darkness or Return of the Living Dead, this is a story you should pick up. You can see where some of the inspiration for this story comes from but Geoff Johns makes this his own. Nekron, the embodiment of death, leads an army of black lanterns and seeks to destroy all life from the universe. Black power rings are used to raise an army of the dead and at the time of publication and during this run, many familiar faces from DCs lineup are dead. Blackest Night is a great story and we get some very cool zombie battles that can only be done in a Green Lantern book. We are also treated to black lantern versions of Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, Aquaman, Animal Man, Green Arrow, Wonder Woman, Superman and even Batman. This is only the tip of the iceberg and you can expect a well written story all the way through with many twists, turns and revelations.
There you have it, some pretty great hero stories that step into the realm of horror and succeed. If you haven’t read these, definitely check them out! Make sure to come back next week, I’ll have a special selection of comics being released on free comic book day that you should definitely pick up. I’ll also be back with two new books going head to head!
-Creature of the ComiCombs
