Comics

Review: Image Comics’ Haunt #4

Published

14 years ago

January 13, 2010

As a young lad growing up back in the glory days when reading comic books and horror movies made me an outcast to everyone outside of my family and my only 2 friends outside of that circle, I was caught up in McFarlane-Mania just like the rest. His work in “SPAWN” caused a taboo fascination in my adolescent mind for the satanic, grotesque, and often sultry images he depicted. I read the comics, I played the awful video games which by my own admission remain a guilty pleasure, and I watched the animated series on HBO whenever they decided to play it, staying up far beyond my bedtime. My loyalties knew no bounds. Of course, then I grew up and discovered true masters of their art such as Bendis, Moore, Gaiman, and later Robert Kirkman. So imagine my excitement when “HAUNT” hit shelves for the first time. “Haunt” bridges a definitive gap that in my mind was in dire need of filling. For all his accomplishments, for me the point of greatest weakness for Todd McFarlane is his writing. He has always stood to me as one of the coolest and most twisted minds of his generation, but as a story teller he always seemed to lack that extra push. Where he has always been strongest, in my opinion, is his work as an artist. As an illustrator McFarlane possesses one of the most unique and interesting styles out there. The trick is putting an equally talented writer behind him to fill in the bubbles. Enter scribe Robert Kirkman (“WALKING DEAD”, “MURDERER”) whose accomplishments as comic book writer continue to grow exponentially by the month to month issue he releases in any one of the various series he pens. And “Haunt” is one of those titles that is quickly putting him at the top of everyone’s pull and hold list. Together the two are near perfect together. But if ever there was a hiccup in the short life of the series it was this month.

In issue 4 of the chronicles of Haunt, our hero finds himself in a familiar situation: toe to toe with Cobra. This issue doesn’t particularly offer anything new or dynamic in regards to the series. Haunt continues down the road that has been set before him, saves woman in distress, fights baddy, ect ect. The main issue with this month’s installment is it’s a stopgap. All the pieces are in place, all the fireworks are primed and ready to go off, but at the end of the wick is a dull hiss. In fact, even the rematch between Cobra and Haunt is anticlimactic, ending with nothing more than one combatant running away with a swiss-cheesed face.

The money shot at the end of the issue is quite good, and definitely gets the reader ready to read the next issue that will act as the final curtain for the flagship arc of the series, but the problem is that that is the only truly good exchange in the whole issue. Besides that we are simply fumbling towards the conclusion, finding answers to questions we had already gotten answers to the issue before, and for all intents and purposes waiting.

The good news is that all the usual suspects that make this title so good are back. The crisp and cool art by Ottley, the stylistic cover from McFarlane, the interesting dialogue from Kirkman, they are all present. It’s too bad they didn’t have anything to do this issue. Oh well, there’s always next month.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Skulls

Comics

‘Archie Comics: Judgment Day’ Exclusive Preview: Step into the Most Horrifying Version of Riverdale Ever Seen!

Published

5 days ago

April 11, 2024

John Squires

The Archie Horror label is unleashing apocalyptic thrills in Archie Comics: Judgment Day, a multi-issue demon apocalypse story billed as the first Archie Premium Event.

With their extended length and scale, comics under the brand new Archie Premium Event banner tell Archie stories that are “simply too grand for a single one-shot release.”

From writer Aubrey Sitterson and artist Megan Hutchison, Bloody Disgusting has been provided with a 6-page sequence from the upcoming Archie Comics: Judgment Day #1!

The Archie Comics team previews, “Prepare for a spine-tingling journey into the heart of Riverdale with Archie Comics: Judgment Day, an epic three-issue event set to captivate readers with a tale of demonic forces, moral quandaries, and the relentless quest for righteousness.”

Hitting shelves on May 22, 2024 from the Archie Horror imprint, the Archie Premium Event miniseries reimagines the iconic Archie Comics characters in a dark supernatural setting and promises the most horrifying version of Riverdale we’ve ever seen.

Judgment Day sets Archie Andrews on a daring quest to cleanse an alternate version of Riverdale overrun by demons. After claiming some destructive powers of his own, Archie is forced to destroy corrupted versions of the people closest to him, ostensibly in the name of the greater good.

As questions about his own morality and the sacrifices he’s made start to pile up, Archie must confront the question: are his efforts truly good, or the work of pure evil?

Writer Aubrey Sitterson tells Bloody Disgusting, “Judgment Day is my very first horror book, it’s at a company that’s extraordinarily well known for their takes on the genre, and my cocreator has a tremendous affinity and talent for horror; as a result, I felt significant pressure to get things right.”

“Recently, there’s been a trend in horror – across mediums – that works on a directly metaphorical level, a type of riddle that the audience figures out in order to unlock the message of the work,” Sitterson’s statement continues. “For Judgment Day, however, my goal was to create something that encourages people to spend time with it; something worth puzzling over as opposed to a puzzle to complete. It’s an approach that dovetails nicely with my recent efforts to write in deeper consideration of page design and the visual exploration of themes. It’s all about harnessing horror tropes and conventions as well as the iconic Archie cast to create something new and challenging that can’t be summed up with one-to-one correlations.”

Artist Megan Hutchison adds, “I knew of Aubrey and his work, and a chance to work with him is such an exciting opportunity! Once we had our first chat on the phone, I knew we were going to have so much fun. We have such similar tastes and temperaments and agreed on the same things! Instant friends! We’re also huge fans of the same horror and movie genres (including huge Dune nerds; ask us about it!) that have found their way into this book.”

“I’ve felt so supported though this whole process by Aubrey — I’ll text him an idea and he’ll love it, then we’ll go off about something horrific and dorky that we’re super into and that will make its way into the book,” Megan continues. “He also intentionally writes scenes for me with a lot of demons and crazy action and weird gothy stuff so that I can go and have fun. It’s been an amazing process and I hope to continue it after this. Also, if you haven’t read his other work, do yourself a favor — he’s one of the best writers and people working in comics right now.”

Take a peek inside the pages of Archie Comics: Judgment Day #1 below!