Comics

Review: “Drumhellar” # 3

Published

10 years ago

January 8, 2014

Riley Rossmo and Alex Link’s “Drumhellar” further embraces the weird this month. Nothing is quite what it seems in this crazy comic, but that’s a good thing. As paranormal detective Drum Hellar dives into the surreal we learn a little bit more about our titular character through incredibly detailed art. Rossmo again hits the book out of the part with tremendously trippy artwork that never ceases to be a visual treat.

WRITTEN BY: Riley Rossmo & Alex Link
ART BY: Riley Rossmo
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: January 8, 2014

By now it should be no secret that “Drumhellar” is entrenched in the strange. The fantastic and rich color palette explodes off the page and creates this neon soaked trek across Middle America. Usually this type of locale is known for its capacity to induce boredom. Rossmo and Link peal away at this idea by making it the most intricate and complicated place on Earth.

Although this issue may make you question if it’s the city or Drum that brings the strangeness. Extra time is spent here developing Drum and his questionable past. We’re treated to some flashbacks that offer insight into what shaped him, and how he seemingly cannot escape trouble. Whatever the case may be, he has a capacity to understand things that are not familiar to others. He has one foot in this world, and the other somewhere else.

After taking a stroll to clear his head, Drum actually becomes fully entrenched in a surreal dreamscape. It’s here where Rossmo is allowed to cut loose and show the full depth of his art. It’s absolutely magnificent, and goes down as the highlight of the book. In terms of the narrative this sequence makes the least sense in the story but again seems to push that Drum is unlike most others.

It’s the other small details that make this book a gem. The sequence with all of the dinosaur spirits coming to life and rollicking through the fields toward town is absolutely beautiful. Especially when you have a little cowboy-dinosaur atop of a raptor gallivanting around the whole thing. It’s hard not to love this book when it contains so much incredible artwork.

Mind you, the narrative still isn’t for the faint of heart. There is direction here, but it is not forgiving. Those of you looking for answers may be reading the wrong comic. This is a series that seems more about exploration that finite understanding. Which is fantastic, because we’re treated to a deconstruction of Drum that way. What exactly draws him to the supernatural and surreal and on the flipside why does it seem to drawn to him as well.

The world of Drumhellar is rich and exploding with potential. There are not many things like it out there and the weird is allowed to have a beautiful home on these pages. I can’t help but feel a little Canadian pride too, because a book called “Drumhellar” that contains dinosaur spirits rampaging around is something I never imagined we’d get. But shhh… don’t tell anyone its Canadian.

Rating: 4/5 Skulls.

Zac Thompson

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Comics

‘Witchblade’ is Getting Resurrected This Summer in New Comic Series from Top Cow and Image Comics

Published

6 days ago

April 18, 2024

Meagan Navarro

Witchblade, the popular comic series that initially ran from 1995 to 2015 and launched a TV series, is getting resurrected in a new comic series from Top Cow and Image Comics. It’s set to unleash heavy metal, black magic and blood this summer.

Look for the new Witchblade series to launch on July 17, 2024.

In Witchblade #1, “New York City Police Detective Sara Pezzini’s life was forever fractured by her father’s murder. Cold, cunning, and hellbent on revenge, Sara now stalks a vicious criminal cabal beneath the city, where an ancient power collides and transforms her into something wild, magnificent, and beyond her darkest imaginings. How will Sara use this ancient power, or will she be consumed by it?”

The series is penned by NYT Best-Selling writer Marguerite Bennett (Animosity, Batwoman, DC Bombshells) and visualized by artist Giuseppe Cafaro (Suicide Squad, Power Rangers, Red Sonja). The creative duo is working with original co-creator Marc Silvestri, who is the CEO of Top Cow Productions Inc. and one of the founders of Image Comics. They are set to reintroduce the series to Witchblade’s enduring fans with “a reimagined origin with contemporary takes on familiar characters and new story arcs that will hook new readers and rekindle the energy and excitement that fueled the 90’s Image Revolution that shaped generations of top creators.”

Bennett said in a statement, “The ability to tell a ferocious story full of monsters, sexuality, vision, and history was irresistible.” She adds, “Our saga is sleek, vicious, ferocious, and has a lot to say about power in the 21st century and will be the first time that we are stopping the roller coaster to let more people on. I’ve loved Witchblade since I was a child, and there is truly no other heroine like Sara with such an iconic legacy and such a rich, brutal relationship to her own body.”

“The Witchblade universe is being modernized to reflect how Marguerite beautifully explores the extreme sides of Sara through memories, her personal thoughts, like desire and hunger, in her solitude and when she is possessed by the Witchblade. So, I had to visually intersect a noir True Detective-like world with a supernatural, horror world that is a fantastic mix between Berserk and Zodiac,” Cafaro stated.

Marc Silvestri notes, “This is brand new mythology around Sara, and I can’t wait for you to fall in love with her and all the twists and turns. Discover Witchblade reimagined this summer, and join us as we bring all the fun of the 90s to the modern age and see how exciting comics can be. I can’t wait for you to read this new series.”

Witchblade#1 will be available at comic book shops on Wednesday, July 17th, for $4.99 for 48 pages. And it’ll come with multiple cover variants.