GHOST WHISPERER – Issue #1
Written by Becca Smith & Carrie Smith Art by Elena Casagrande
IDW Publishing

I don’t watch the show much. I caught a few episodes, mainly because I have a crush on Jennifer Love Hewitt when she does jumping jacks, but the show about a girl that can talk to ghosts was… well, a rip-off of Medium. So when I got this book for review, I said to myself, “Open your mind and let in all that is Love Hewitt.” Luckily I did because this was actually a fun read through. Writers Becca Smith and Carrie Smith, whom have to remain separate or will steal each other’s clothing, appear to have some Whedon in them. They could easily write the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comic book as it very much felt like one with their quick wit and spunky tone. Especially when Professor Richard Payne does his best Giles explaining the history of Isis and Osiris, you get the feeling the Scooby Gang was going to pop out any second. Nope, just Love Hewitt and her two friends. The art is pretty good too by Elena Casagrande, again feeling very much like a Buffy or Angel comic book. The girls weren’t overly done in the shapes and curves either, something most male artists exemplify. Sex sells, so go with the flow. Elena says no. Real women wear clothing, and I dig that. So if you like ghosts, Buffy, and Jennifer Love Hewitt in comic book form, then this book is for you.

GRADE: B+ CONTINUE READING? I’ll check out the next few sure, but I get lazy, and if I find out the TV show is still on the air, this might be toast.

SNAKED – Issues #2 & #3
Written by Clifford Meth Art by Rufus Dayglo
IDW Publishing

There was a mix-up of whether or not I was getting these two issues for review, so they’re kind of late. I guess I shouldn’t give out “A” grades anymore. As for the life of Snake Man, Bill Timmons, things get a little “Quantum Leapy” if you ask me. The timeline just jumps around way too much in these next two issues, and makes it hard to follow at times. I can see it working better as a movie, but for a comic book, so much jumping around just… well, I have a headache now after reading them back to back. When you do catch on to where the scene is at, writer Clifford Meth and artist Rufus Dayglo deliver some great stuff here, especially when a young Billy Timmons hangs out with his grandpa and learns about his kind of people. Snake people. Sometimes the political analogy works and sometimes it goes a little overboard; showing the second airplane of 9/11 about to hit, and implying that real snake people actually inhabit The White House. (I won’t mention names, but you know them!) It’s both clever and cliché. I think I like the fact that Clifford Meth is writing this without any fear or regret. He’s just letting it roll, and maybe it’s perpetrated controversy, and maybe it’s disgust for today’s political environment. I admire it, and I’ll continue on with the story of Bill Timmons and his intriguing snake father until there’s no more to read.

GRADE: B CONTINUE READING? If you saw the ending, then yeah, you have to keep reading. That’s a bold statement, Mr. Meth!

WILLOW CREEK – Issue #1
Written by Denny Williams and Christian Beranek Art by Josh Medors
Zenescope Entertainment

There’s something eerily familiar here in Willow Creek, and it’s not the fact that it’s a huge freakin church not too far from me. No, this story has a brother. Or sister. A sibling. Either case, it’s an older sibling, and it might get angry seeing the younger sibling copying them. For those saying WTF right now, I’ll make it simple: Willow Creek is 30 Days of Night… only with werewolves. Right down to the artist choice, Josh Medors, sporting his best Ben Templesmith, and drawing a tale about a sheriff who’s come back to a town that’s inhabited by Bigfoot… but not really. It’s a werewolf. And to talk tough, much like Eben, and then his partner is a woman, much like Stella. And did I mention there was snow? Sigh. Here’s the biggest problem. Because I loved 30 Days of Night so much, I could not for the life of me entirely hate this book. It’s a mirror image of the popular vampire tale from Steve Niles, and here I can’t stop reading and email Steve and say, “Hey, you know about this book?” It’s intriguing to say the least. And to see the second cover look like the cover of Dark Days? Wow. I’m just floored. It’s one thing to pay homage, and it’s another to replicate. I really don’t know what else to say about Willow Creek but… if you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.

GRADE: C+ CONTINUE READING? Probably for the sheer need to see how far this comparison to 30 Days of Night goes.

THE WALKING DEAD – Issue #48
Written by Robert Kirkman Art by Charlie Adlard
Image Comics

So here it is. The inevitable. Fans of The Walking Dead series feared this would come, and it’s not the end of the comic book series. No, it’s the other fear. The one where more than half the regular cast kicks the bucket, and not in a dramatic fashion either. People you thought would make it out of the prison alive actually end up getting the most brutal deaths, and it makes me wonder, is this the them Kirkman has been telling all along? The good people… die violently? I mean the way he kills off one main character is just jaw-dropping, controversial, and somewhat heartless. But he’s said it all along: Nobody is safe. In this issue, he not only proves it, but slaps the reader again and again and again with violent deaths of characters we’ve gotten to know pretty well in the last 40 plus issues. From a writer standpoint, that has to feel good. Like chains breaking off, and wings growing from the back, propelling you back into the sky of ideas. But for the reader? Damn. I kinda feel bad for you. So if you’re prepared to face that fear you developed after reading four or five issues of The Walking Dead, then jump in, and in Rick’s words, “Just keep running and don’t look back. No matter what happens.”

GRADE: A CONTINUE READING? What Kirkman does from here will truly have fans glued to the page.

And with that, the Comic Book Spotlight comes to a close for me. I want to thank everyone for reading my reviews, and hope you all not only laughed out loud sitting in your computer chair, eating Doritos and drinking beer, but also went out and bought these books from the amazing amount of talent in the realm of comic books and horror. If you want more of my witty wordshots, you can read more of my reviews at another website, Geeks of Doom, under the moniker, Mitch Barracuda. I want to personally thank Wil for letting me run wild here and giving me a chance to share my views on horror comics and film, and Molly for supplying me with what I needed and being there when I needed her. Thank you Horror Yearbook! It’s been a helluva ride!

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