Comics
Review: ‘One-Hit Wonder’ #1
Crime and comedy. When mixed together nicely, it can be a gem of a story, and “One-Hit Wonder” #1 is is just that. Fabrice Sapolsky spins a rather disturbing premise into a black-comedy about the horrors of celebrity life and greed.
WRITTEN BY: Fabrice Sapolsky
ART BY: Ariel Olivetti
PUBLISHER: Image Comics
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: 26 February 2014
This new miniseries reads at a brisk pace which kept this reader’s attention throughout the whole issue. Childhood stars always seem to go only two ways: really good or really bad. Then, there’s one Richie Reese, whom has become addicted to being a celebrity. His only way to satisfy his gratification now is to become a celebrity assassin. Naturally. After his first big live-TV kill, this once famous actor-come-killer is now in huge demand again.
Writer Fabrice Sapolsky uses the set-up effectively to get this tale off to great start. His self-narration is quite funny, still thinking in terms of movie-making when he takes out a target. As silly as this may sound, this tale is definitely for mature readers. All the excesses associated with Hollywood (fast cars, artificial looking women, sunshiny pool sides, etc.) are on display throughout the book.
Veteran artist Ariel Olivetti showcases his skills to portray the regular absurdity in Richie’s running around town. I’ve been a fan of Olivetti’s style and enjoyed his superhero work before. It’s great to see he can draw conventional scenery as beautifully as any other of his previous surroundings and circumstances.
Sapolsky and Olivetti have crafted something very distinctive in this first segment of the five-issue story. Absurd ideas like a former child celebrity-turned hit man offer lots of areas to explore. I hope they keep it clever and don’t go for the cheap laughs or sight gags that seem the easy way to go for a story like this. Let’s hope they keep shooting for the stars as “One-Hit Wonder” continues to dazzle us.
3.5/5 Skulls
Reviewed by – Your Friendly Neighborhood Brady
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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