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Review: “Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1 Schoolboy Terrors”

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With two appealing protagonists, “Dead Boy Detectives Vol.1: Schoolboy Terrors” strikes the right balance between charming and frightening. After being introduced in the pages of Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman,” the dead boys get their own series with all-new supernatural adventures. The dead boy detectives will learn there’s nothing scarier than going back to high school.


9781401248895WRITTEN BY: Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham
ART BY: Mark Buckingham
PUBLISHER: Vertigo Comics
PRICE: $9.99
RELEASE: June 25, 2014

Reviewed By: Jorge Solis

 

 

 
Though Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland died, they decided to stick around as ghosts, solving mysteries in their spare time. How ironic that the two best friends only started living after they died. Now, Edwin and Charles will have to face something they have avoided for a very long time. They now have to solve the mystery behind their own deaths. When the duo returns back to their school, Edwin and Charles have to team-up with a living girl, Crystal Palace, who’s in way over her head.

In “Run Ragged,” Edwin and Charles have to solve the case of a missing cat. Charles’ infatuation with a pretty girl unfortunately leads him to a school run by a poltergeist. I really like how writers Toby Litt and Mark Buckingham establish the relationship between the main protagonists. It’s not like one of them is the brains and the other is the brawn. Litt and Buckingham have these two characters share the spotlight at the same time. These two never leave each other’s sights, especially when there’s danger.

In “Schoolboy Terrors,” Litt and Buckingham reminds readers that these two best friends, at their core, are really just naive kids. Edwin doesn’t want to go back to school because he is still afraid of being picked on by a bully. When Charles stand next to his tombstone, he is incredibly scared by the realization he has a long-lost relative. Though they are dead, they are still afraid of feeling pain and emotion.

Buckingham plays around the ghost story themes and twists the genre around. Edwin and Charles are more like snoopy voyeurs because they can phase through walls. Because they’re not fighters and have no muscles, they need Crystal Palace to make things edgy. She’s actually the one who saves the day toward the climax.

In a well-detailed two-pager, Buckingham delivers a surreal illustration of Crystal’s friend passing between the living and the dead. Hanna is lying on a stretcher, covered in knives and locked in chains. On one side, a demon is rising from a fiery pit of lava. As the demon attempts to take possession of her body, Hanna’s soul flies off towards the bright light.

“Dead Boy Detectives Vol. 1: Schoolboy Terrors” really stands out because of the bromance between Edwin Paine and Charles Rowland. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next story arc of “Dead Boy Detectives.”

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‘The Wicked Trinity’ – Preview New Archie Comics One-Shot Inspired by ‘The Craft’ [Exclusive]

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From Sabrina’s Magical World, Bloody Disgusting has learned this afternoon that Archie Comics will be releasing brand new one-shot comic The Wicked Trinity this coming June.

You’ll be able to meet The Wicked Trinity in the 32-page comic on June 12, 2024.

In The Wicked Trinity, “Sabrina’s magical nemesis Amber Nightstone and her sidekicks, Jade Kazane and Sapphire Gill, are intent on becoming the most powerful witches in the world. Isolated from so many around them, the three have formed a coven based on their individual needs for vengeance and true freedom.

“But when there is some dissent among the ranks, their small coven is threatened to be obliterated from within.”

The Wicked Trinity features a script by Sam Maggs, art by Lisa Sterle, colors by Ellie Wright, letters by Jack Morelli, main cover by Lisa Sterle, and variant cover by Soo Lee.

Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante tells Bloody Disgusting, “When Editor-In-Chief Mike Pellerito came up with the idea of the Wicked Trinity—Amber Nightstone, Jade Kazane, and Sapphire Gill—I was immediately intrigued. I even had the good fortune to work on the script for Jade and Sapphire’s first appearance in last year’s SABRINA ANNUAL SPECTACULAR comic for younger readers. What I especially loved about these magical teens is that they could seamlessly transcend from classic-Archie stories into more mature, even horror stories. I was eager to start developing their world with a modern sensibility, taking cues from the great work of Kelly Thompson and Veronica Fish on our SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH series, and Sarah Kuhn and Carola Borelli on our recent DARKLING one-shot. Inspired by series like Charmed and films like The Craft, I knew there was so much potential to build up this coven in a story that beautifully blends magical fantasy with horror.”

Writer Sam Maggs previews, “Real witches writing real witches—that’s how we do things over at Archie Comics! I was named after a famous witch—Samantha from Bewitched—and so I grew up absolutely obsessed with everything witchcraft, devouring every book series I could about teen witches. That makes WICKED TRINITY a dream project for me. The power and energy of teen girls is absolutely unmatched (just look at the engine behind fandom culture) and being able to harness that metaphorically for a story like this is such a delight. Everything I write focuses on the power of female friendship, and this story is no exception. And what’s better than a morally grey female character? I struggle to think of anything. Cat familiars, maybe? Also, I’m totally a practicing witch now. So maybe if you read this, you’ll find yourself imbued with magical powers, too.*

Artist Lisa Sterle adds, “I can’t wait for people to be re-introduced to The Wicked Trinity! Witches, fashion, and Archie Comics; this is truly a magical trifecta and I’m so happy to have the opportunity to put my own personal stamp on this. I love to create stories in which girls find their own power, both from within themselves and through their friendships and coven. If you’re a fan of my Modern Witch tarot, you’ll find this comic just as magical.”

Exclusively check out the two covers for The Wicked Trinity one-shot comic below!

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