Comics
Review: ‘The Strain’ #9
The Strain #9 is full of feverish imagination as the pages come alive with pulse-pounding action and nail-biting suspense. “The Strain” puts a fresh and modern spin on vampirism, treating it as a parasitic virus that breaks down the body, altering the host in its process. Highly entertaining, “The Strain” #9 continues the quick-pace and high action.
WRITTEN BY: David Lapham
ART BY: Mike Huddleston
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse Comics
PRICE: $3.99
RELEASE: December 12, 2012
In his adaptation, David Lapham stays true to the suspenseful tone and the characterizations originally created by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan. In the world of adults, Ephraim’s son, Zack, has a better understanding of what’s really going on. Because he is just a child, his attempts to warn are shrugged off because none of the adults even consider paying attention to him. Even though his ideas are far-fetched and straight out of horror movies, Zack knows what to do to defend himself.
What I really like is the introduction of the toughest and meanest exterminator you have ever seen, Vasiliy Fet. Built like a football quarterback, Vasiliy, manages to take on the vampires with his bare hands. Vasiliy isn’t even afraid of the bloodsuckers because he mistakenly thinks they are giant rodents. Ephraim’s wife, Kelly, is a teacher and she doesn’t have a lesson planned because half of her students are absent.
Mike Huddleston’s artwork brings in such stunning and shocking visuals. During the narrative, Vasiliy explains how the vampires are driving the rats out from their lairs. What I find creepy is how Huddleston focuses on the group of rats, their snarling fangs, and their beady red eyes. In a close-up, Huddleston uses a fisheye lens and distorts a reflection of Abraham in the rat’s eyeball.
The vampires are illustrated with wildly s-shaped stingers, which are reminiscent of the Reapers from Blade 2. In his slightly cartoonish character design, Vasiliy has a bulky body with a small head. It makes sense Huddleston to draw him this way because Vasiliy is more of an action hero. Towards the climax, there is a memorable action sequence between Vasiliy and a gang of bloodsuckers. He just grabs a vampire and throws him into the sunlight. In a hilarious turn, the vampires start running away from Vasiliy after one of them is burning from the sun’s rays.
“The Strain” #9 moves at breakneck speed as the narration jumps from one protagonist to another. Even if you have read the novel, Lapham’s adaptation offers enough differences to keep you intrigued. With just two issues left, all the threads are tying together nicely.
4.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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