We enter the final Wednesday of the month with some highly anticipated books. Last week we got familiar with a couple of promising slasher titles and today I bring you the winner, but first some awesome books to pick up!
Imperium #16 (Valiant)
This might not be the title you immediately think of when we’re talking about horror but rest assured that Joshua Dysart brings us one of the most terrifying books out there with Imperium.
“Toyo Harada has gone to war to save his vision of world peace from the twin threats of his former protégé Livewire and Major Charlie Palmer’s H.A.R.D. Corps! Amid the chaos, the tables have turned…and now, members of Harada’s own team are angling to knife each other in the back! When the villains trying to save humanity fight their noblest instincts and the heroes who are trying to stop them struggle against their own demons…can anybody win?
And, now, even as the walls of Harada’s IMPERIUM begin to the fall, the seeds of his biggest strike yet are already being sown…”
Afterlife with Archie #9 (Archie Horror)
Although this wasn’t my top pick in a previous head to head, Afterlife with Archie is a must read. The long awaited next issue in the series from writer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and artist Francesco Francavilla is here.
“The Horror began in Riverdale when Reggie Mantle struck and killed Jughead's beloved pooch Hot Dog. Since then, Reggie has been living with this secret knowledge-and terrible guilt. With no one to talk to about it, Reggie has started to crack under the strain. He is seeing visions of his dead friends - or are they literal ghosts? When an act of kindness prompts a confession from him, Reggie must decide for himself, once and for all-is there any good within him? Or is Reggie, as we've always suspected, beyond redemption?”
Scooby Apocalypse #1 (DC)
With DC’s Rebirth event we get the rebirth of another Hanna-Barbera property in Scooby Apocalypse. This re-imagined world of Scooby-Doo sees our heroes get the apocalyptic makeover and I’m very excited to see where this takes them.
“Those meddling kids-Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and their dog, Scooby-Doo-get more ghost-debunking than they bargained for when faced with a fundamental change in their world. The apocalypse has happened. Old rules about logic no longer apply. The creatures of the night are among us, and the crew of the Magical Mystery Machine has to fight to survive-because in the apocalyptic badlands of the near-future, the horrors are real!”
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Last week we got acquainted with two slasher books and, while they both seemed promising, one fell flat. So which book came out on top?
Samurai Slasher by Mike Garley
I was really looking forward to reading Cutter. This seemed like a cool story with some great black and white art from Christian Dibari. While the first issue was good, it suffered from a pace that was just too fast with too many reveals so early on. The rest of this limited series just couldn’t keep up with the pacing set in issue #1. Weak character development, a disappointing reveal in the final issue and an even more disappointing end to the series only solidified Samurai Slasher's place as my pick for this week’s head to head.
Samurai Slasher did something interesting by introducing us to the Slasher in an anthology book. Coming in at 59 pages, this seemed a bit on the short side to me. The inspiration for the Slasher and the stories for this book are familiar and I was immediately drawn in with the first story. This book doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s a good thing. I loved the humor and the gore and the way that they were blended together. The artists did a great job bringing life (and a lot of death) to each story. My only real issue with this book is that the stories were a little too short and it would have benefitted from slightly longer ones. At the end of the day I found myself wanting more of the Slasher. Until that day comes, the Slasher will forever live on in the ComiCombs.
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Another week down and another month full of great releases. Make sure to pick up something good this week from your local shop and I’ll see you again next week!
- The Creature of the ComiCombs
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