Welcome to The Graveyard Shelf, Shock’s newest weekly feature! The idea behind this came from when I was thinking about the reviews we do for comics over here and how I wasn’t happy that we seldom did a review for a series after its inaugural issue. So, in this new column you can expect more compact reviews for the other issues of comics that got a full length review for their first issue. But don’t worry, we’ll still be rolling out full length reviews for any new number 1s, any milestone issues and graphic novels.
Alpha Girl #2
I’m particularly fond of the way the story plays with tropes. It sets them up but plays them out in an unexpected fashion almost every time. This is one of the most graphic comics I’ve seen in a long time, not just in terms of gore but nudity. The second issue here is proof positive that there is no level this book won’t sink to and indeed prides itself on the vulgarity that it can achieve. Also I’m still fond of the way this comic makes pop culture references (be sure to look closely to the cover). This is a series to keep your eyes on.
Army of Darkness #2
The art isn’t spectacular. Surprisingly enough, the most ordinary parts of the book, the regular humans, are the ones that look the best. The most unique thing about the art is the way it’s framed in the chase sequence that we find Ash in. Fuzzing up the edges of the pictures actual do give the effect that the characters are moving at tremendous speeds.
I think the biggest hindrance to the book as a whole, but what will keep me reading the book ironically, is that the Nazi subplot being set up seems way more interesting than anything else happening in the comic.
Road Rage #2
Parts of this story really get bogged down with exposition that after reading I feel like might have done more harm to the comic than good. While yes they enhanced the story to another level they did slow down the pacing to the point that it started to feel like a chore to read them. The art is still great though, Nelson Daniel does a great job of mixing all the color pallets for a story like this, though they all are similar grungy colors.
This is a worthy second in the mini series even with it’s problems. It sets up the next two issues nicely and gives our character’s a good send off even if they aren’t particularly memorable.
Hellraiser #12
The juggling of visual story telling to written exposition is handled well in this entire series, even after a year. The art is as good as ever, especially because events transpire that I didn’t expect to see and are something I’ve never really seen in film before. There is a story being told here that can’t be done in film and it’s all the more worthy of reading since it’s not having to go through the meat grinder that is Hollywood film production.
This entire series is a must-have for Hellraiser fans, and I think in this issue Clive has tied together everything that this comic has been building up to well but with a special eye towards what is to come and I can only imagine that it gets weirder from here.
