Review: CHAOS CAMPUS: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #21

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES No. 21
APPROBATION COMICS

STORY: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ARTIST: Bernard Gita
COLORS: Russell Vincent Yu
LETTERS: Elisa M. Coletti
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
COVER: Kevin Wallace
24pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (2015)

“Smart Zombies” Part One of Two

Rated “Teen 13+”

Created by B. Alex Thompson, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a comic book series from Approbation Comics.  Chaos Campus is a horror comedy that follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY).  They are ass-kickin’ Jaime Lynn Schaeffer, brainy Paige Helena Patton, and easy-on-the-eyes slash sex-kitten Brittany Ann Miller.

On the night of the volleyball tournament between EAZY and its partner, Alpha Zeta Zeta, zombies invade the EAZY sorority house.  Jamie, Paige, and Brittany escape only to discover that zombies have taken over The City.  This buxom trio is probably humanity’s only hope of ending this zombie apocalypse.  Since their escape from the sorority, the girls have been on series of crazy adventures that sometimes resemble classic horror movie scenarios.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #21 opens in the aftermath of the events depicted in “Attack of the Blondes.”  Now, that our heroic trio is deep into the city, they need to find supplies, survivors, and the strategic higher ground.  They find some of what they need in an imposing black tower of a building.  What they discover inside will shock, anger, and outage them... and titillate some of them.

It has been several years since I read an issue of the main Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies series.  I think the last regular issue I read was #11.  At that point, just about each issue of Chaos Campus was in some way a parody or spoof of or referenced popular American films and American pop culture.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #21 is thoroughly invested in the serial narrative.  It gives the sense that writer/creator B. Alex Thompson has found or is finding the sweet spot of his post-apocalyptic creation.  It seems as if Chaos Campus is really going somewhere, and is not just a comic riff on genre.

Still, I must say that Thompson is quite good at comic horror, which is not easy.  Horror comedy is a trap for storytellers because they sometimes create something that is neither scary nor funny.  In Chaos Campus, the threat of the zombies is real and the girls of Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY) just wanna have fun.

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

---------------------------

Review: CHAOS CAMPUS #0

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #0
APPROBATION COMICS

[This review was originally posted in Patreon.]

WRITER/LETTERS: B. Alex Thompson – @ApproBAT
ARTIST: Anita Zaramella
COLORS: Anita Zaramella
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: John P. Ward
COVER: Anita Zaramella
28pp, Color, $9.99 U.S.

Rated: Teen 13+

“The Keeper of Souls” created by B. Alex Thompson and Ant'Juan Avri; “Faint” and “The Stranger” are courtesy of DreamRealm Entertainment

“Sisters in Arms”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a horror-comedy comic book series created by B. Alex Thompson and published by Approbation Comics.  The series is set in during a zombie apocalypse and follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY):  ass-kickin’ Jaime Schaeffer, brainy Paige Patton, and sexy Brittany Miller.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies – Extra Credit is a spin-off series.  Approbation published a Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con exclusive edition of Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies – Extra Credit #6 and entitled it Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #0.  Extra Credit #6 was written by B. Alex Thompson and drawn and colored by Anita Zaramella.

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #0 (a.k.a. Extra Credit #6) finds the three heroines polishing off a zombie attack.  Jaime decides to go on a resource run for supplies where she runs into members of “The Ravagers” gang.  Jaime won't have to take on these hoods by herself, as another ass-kicking young woman happens on the scene.  She calls herself “Faint,” and she has some dark secrets.

Chaos Campus is quite good at referencing lots of pop culture.  The last issue I read prior to this one, Chaos Campus #11, summoned the film, The Matrix, 1980s girl-group, The Bangles, and even an old NBC public service advertisement.

Chaos Campus: Extra Credit #6 focuses on some other things this series does well:  the occult, Satanism, and dark magic.  Chaos Campus is one of the funniest zombie comedies that I have ever encountered, and it even pokes fun at slasher horror, which it does quite well.  As this series advances, however, it embraces more aspects of dark fantasy.

I have to give B. Alex Thompson credit.  I have always thought that Chaos Campus had the potential to offer an expansive mythology and narrative.  The hard part is actually making that potential pay off, and Chaos Campus: Extra Credit #6 shows that Thompson is indeed cashing in on what his comic book can be.

A-

www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"

The text is copyright © 2016 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint or syndication rights and fees.

-------------------

Review: SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/CREATOR: Bart A. Thompson – @ApproBAT
ARTIST/COVER: Kevin Richardson
COLORS: Russell Vincent Yu
LETTERS: Bart A. Thompson
EDITOR: John P. Ward
84pp, Color, $19.99 U.S. paperback (2014)

Several years ago, Bart A. Thompson created and wrote and horror comics anthology series entitled, The Evil Inside (Approbation Comics).  The Evil Inside #1 opened with the short story, “Southern Hospitality.”  Thompson eventually reworked that short story as an original horror graphic novel, also entitled Southern Hospitality.  As a bonus, the new graphic novel reprints the original story in color for the first time.

Southern Hospitality focuses on two groups of travelers that unite after crossing paths only to cross paths with a brutal scythe-wielding killer in rural Alabama.  Southern Hospitality is one of the few original graphic novels that is based on an original slasher horror concept and is not a licensed comic book based on a property that originated in other media (film, video games, books, etc.).

Southern Hospitality opens as Pebble Collins, California lingerie supermodel, and her boyfriend, Zach, drive through Boons Creek, Alabama.  They are on their way to an industry party in Florida.  They never make it.

A week later, New York City co-workers, Todd and Nate, have stopped in Louisville, Kentucky on their way to Florida.  The two thirty-something guys meet three young women:  Rebecca, Irene, and Chrissy on a road trip to Florida.  The three friends are stranded after their car broke down.  Nate and Rebecca convince their friends that the two groups should unite as a quintet for the trip.  These five companions also travel to Boons Creek, where they find the locals strange, even unfriendly and danger.

On the surface, it seems as if nothing is original in Southern Hospitality.  After all, the notion of star-crossed companions on a horror movie road trip appeared as recently as the 2013 Texas Chainsaw Massacre reboot, Texas Chainsaw.  What is original is Thompson’s approach to characters and dialogue.  He mixes Quentin Tarantino-like banter with characters that would fit in a screwball comedy, which makes for a lively story.  Also, the story’s execution and resolution are the opposite of what one would expect from this familiar slasher horror scenario.

While not a draftsman and lacking in polished compositional skills, artist Kevin Richardson is a good storyteller, and his art captures both the story’s brutal and comic natures.  Richardson knows when the story means business (screaming, running, and dying) and when Thompson is being humorous.

I wish Thompson and Richardson would deliver a Southern Hospitality sequel, but I realize that (1) there would be a new cast and (2) maybe there is nothing in the story that needs a revisit.  I want one anyway, and readers looking for an original horror comic book will want to experience some Southern Hospitality.

A-

www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

2014 Glyph Award Nominees - Complete List

The Glyph Awards recognize “the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year.”  The nominees for the 2014 Glyph Awards (for comics released in 2013) were announced in early April.  The winners will be announced Friday, May 16, 2014 at the 13th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.

The 2014 Glyph Comics Award nominees (for the year 2013):

Story of the Year
• March: Book One, by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris
• Watson and Holmes: A Study in Black, by Karl Bollers, Rick Leonardi and Larry Stroman

Best Cover
• Hass #1, by B. Alex Thompson
• Indigo, by Richard Tyler
• Life and Death in Paradise, by Nigel Lynch
• Nowhere Man, by Jerome Walford
• The Olympians, by Paulo Barrios and Luis Guerrero
• Route 3, by Robert Jeffrey

Best Writer
• Brandon Easton, Watson and Holmes #6
• Jamal Igle, Molly Danger
• Anthony Montgomery and Brandon Easton, Miles Away
• Whit Taylor, Boxes
• B. Alex Thompson, Hass #1

Best Artist
• B. Robert Bell, Radio Free Amerika
• Abel Garcia, P.B. Soldier
• N. Steven Harris, Watson and Holmes #6
• Jamal Igle, Molly Danger
• Mshindo Kuumba, Anikulapo
• Mase, Urban Shogun #3: Things Fall Apart
• Jerome Walford, Nowhere Man

Best Male Character
• Anikulapo, “He Who Has Death in His Pouch,” Anikulapo; Mshindo Kuumba
• Deakon Taylor, One Nation; Jason Reeves
• Dustan Knight/Stactic Shagz, Spirit Bear; Tristan Roach
• Force, Force; Yancey A. Reed
• Jack Maguire, Nowhere Man; Jerome Walford
• Maxwell Miles, Maxwell Miles; Brandon Easton
• Moses B. Verelea, Radio Free Amerika; Robert Jeffery

Best Female Character
• Ajala, Ajala: A Series of Adventures; N. Steven Harris and Robert Garrett
• Mary Freemen, Urban Shogun; James Mason
• Indigo, Indigo: Hit List 3.0; Richard Tyler

Rising Star Award
• Raymond Ayala, Urban Myth (New Olympians)
• Naseed Gifted, P.B. Soldier
• Turner Lange, The Adventures of Wally Fresh
• Chris Miller, Chronicles of Piye
• Jason Reeves, One Nation
• Tristian Roach, Spirit Bear
• Tony Robinson, The Descendent

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic
• The Adigun Ogunsanwo, by Charles C.J. Juzang
• Blackwax Boulevard, by Dmitri Jackson
• Love and Capes: What to Expect, by Thom Zahler
• Yes You Can, by Ian Herring and Dallas Penn

Best Reprint Publication
• Early Days, by Mshindo Kuumba
• Love and Capes: What to Expect, by Thomas Zahler
• Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, by the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fan Award for Best Work
• Boxes, by Whit Taylor
• Molly Danger, by Jamal Igle
• Urban Shogun, by James Mason
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

----------------------------

Review: HASS #1

HASS #1
APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/CREATOR: Bart A. Thompson – @ApproBAT
ARTIST: Federico Santagati
COLORS: Russell Vincent Yu
LETTERS: Bart A. Thompson
EDITOR: John P. Ward
32pp, Color, $9.99 U.S. (2013)

Debuting last year, Hass is the latest comic book series from prolific comic book creator, writer, and publisher, Bart A. Thompson.  Published through Approbation Comics, Hass has earned two 2014 Glyph Comics Award nominations (“Best Cover” and “Best Writer”).  I think Hass also deserved a 2014 Eisner Award nomination, at least for best new series, which did not happen.

Hass #1 introduces Joshua “Josh” Jones.  Josh is an entering freshman at a college “deep in the heart of Texas.”  First day on campus, Josh falls in love with fellow student, Maggie Stewart.  Josh has to work hard to get Maggie to give him a chance at romance.  He will have to work even harder to confront the racism and the violence that his courtship of Maggie ignites.

The back cover copy of Hass #1 describes the series as a story that is William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet meets American History X (the 1998 film).  I think such a comparison works for cover copy, but Hass is more than a combo plate of other fiction.  It is simply a powerful, contemporary drama – a rarity in American comics.

Bart A. Thompson (Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies) offers what is some of his best writing; in fact, I’m sure that it is the best that I have read.  The dialogue is evocative, complex, rich, and tricky.  Josh is shallow, or more correctly, he puts up so many different fronts, like a rainbow of shallow personas, that he offers something for everyone.  He is hiding something and is trying to protect himself.  Thompson makes you want to delve into this guy and uncover his secrets.  It is the same with Maggie Stewart; she puts up a storm front that is a wall to keep people from seeing that she is trying to manage difficult personal problems alone, when she really needs help.

Late in this first issue, another character admits to thinking that Josh is trying to be something that he is not, and that surprised me.  When I went back and followed the clues, I could see why that character would think that of Josh.  Hass also has an excellent ending, one that will guarantee that readers will want to come back.

A

www.ApprobationComics.com
www.AlexThompsonWriter.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

I Reads You Review: CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES 11

CHAOS CAMPUS SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES No. 11

APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/LETTERS: B. Alex Thompson

ARTIST: Kewber Baal
COLORS: Schimerys Baal
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: S.W.O.L. Unlimited
COVER: Quinton Bedwell
28pp, Color, $4.99

“The Learning Curve”

Created by B. Alex Thompson, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a comic book series from Approbation Comics. Chaos Campus is a horror comedy that follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY): ass-kickin’ Jaime Schaeffer, brainy Paige Patton, and easy-on-the-eyes Brittany Miller.

On the night of the volleyball tournament between EAZY and its partner, Alpha Zeta Zeta, zombies invade the EAZY sorority house. Jamie, Paige, and Brittany escape only to discover that zombies have taken over The City. This buxom trio is probably humanity’s only hope of ending a zombie apocalypse. Since their escape from the sorority, the girls have been on a series of crazy adventures that strangely resemble classic horror movie scenarios.

After escaping, muscular slasher Kurtis Kasey (created by Phantom Avri) and the feral human/zombie hybrid, Patient X, Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #11 reveals that the girls really haven’t escaped them. Now, they are separated, and Paige finds herself in the clutches of Violet Grimm a.k.a. Dogwitch. This Dogwitch may not be an adversary, however, because she has some things to teach Paige.

Referencing lots of pop culture, from The Matrix to The Bangles this time, Chaos Campus #11 is, as usual, a fun read. What makes it a little better are the revelations this issue offers into Paige Helena Patton and her unique powers and history. There is even a funny reference to an old NBC public service ad.

This issue also allows readers the chance to see more of Kewber Baal, whose penciling and inking skills continue to grow. There are some surprisingly, skillful compositions on several pages. The figure drawing, character design, and costumes are drawn at a level that is as good as what is in some Marvel and DC Comics titles.

A-

http://www.approbationcomics.com/

----------------------

I Reads You Review: CHAOS CAMPUS SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #10

CHAOS CAMPUS SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #10
APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/LETTERS: B. Alex Thompson
ARTIST: Cary Lee Baker
COLORS: Schimerys Baal
POST-SCRIPTING/POLISH: S.W.O.L. Unlimited
COVER: Quinton Bedwell
24pp, Color, $4.99

“Patient X”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a comic book series from Approbation Comics and creator B. Alex Thompson. Chaos Campus is a horror comic that follows the adventures of Jaime Schaeffer, Paige Patton, and Brittany Miller, who are three members of a sorority named Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY).

The terror begins on the night of a volleyball tournament between EAZY and its partner, Alpha Zeta Zeta. Zombies invade the EAZY sorority house. Jamie, Paige, and Brittany escape only to discover that zombies have taken over The City, and the trio is probably humanity’s only hope to end this zombie apocalypse. Since their escape from the sorority, the girls have been on a series of crazy adventures that strangely resemble such classic horror movies as The Evil Dead and Hellraiser.

After escaping the clutches of the gamer demon, Nihilism, Brittany, Paige, and Jamie begin Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #10 on a lush world full of zombie corpses?! Muscular slasher Kurtis Kasey (created by Phantom Avri) still stalks them, but now they also have to deal with “Patient X.”

As usual, B. Alex Thompson and company have produced another winning issue of Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies. With art by Cary Lee Baker and references to Aliens, Dead of the Dead (1985), Resident Evil, Chaos Campus #10 finds a way to freshen a “Dead” concept. Chaos Campus is the kind of thing that isn’t often done very well (certainly not done as often as some would thing). That thing is comic horror (or horror comedy), and these are zombies I enjoy seeing on a regular basis.

B+

http://www.approbationcomics.com/

I Reads You Review: CHAOS CAMPUS SORORITY GIRLS VS ZOMBIES #9

CHAOS CAMPUS: SORORITY GIRLS VS. ZOMBIES #9

APPROBATION COMICS

WRITER/LETTERS: B. Alex Thompson
ARTIST/COLORS/COVER: Cajo Majado
24pp, Color, $4.99

“Nihilism Cubed”

Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies is a comic book series from Approbation Comics and creator B. Alex Thompson. A comic horror series, Chaos Campus follows the adventures of three members of the sorority, Epsilon Alpha Zeta Upsilon (EAZY): Jaime Schaeffer, Paige Patton, and Brittany Miller.

On the night of the volleyball tournament between EAZY and its partner, Alpha Zeta Zeta, zombies invade the EAZY sorority house. The girls escape, only to discover that zombies have taken over The City, and the trio is probably humanity’s only hope to end this zombie apocalypse. Since their escape from the sorority, the girls have been on one crazy adventure after another, fighting dark forces that are strangely similar to horror movie scenarios (The Evil Dead, Hellraiser).

As Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies #9 opens, the girls have escaped the clutches of their old buddy, muscular slasher Kurtis Kasey, and the demon named Winky the One-Eyed Monster. Now, they find themselves transported to a dimension where there are more zombies, and the only way to leave is to hop from one dimension to another – each one resembling the scenario of a classic arcade game. And waiting for them is the ultimate game with the demon Nihilism.

Although he is an independent publisher running what can basically be described as small press, Thompson has been quite resourceful in finding artists who are in sync with his comic book storytelling visions. Finding Cajo Majado is a coup. Majado has mastered composition, design, and storytelling to the extent that he is ready to draw for DC Comics and Marvel Comics. Majado’s style, a kind of melding of Kevin Nowlan and Jason Pearson, is wiry and rubbery enough to strike the right tone for “Nihilism Cubed’s” flights of fancy and shifting settings.

Thompson has produced another winning issue of Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies and also found another winning artist.

----------------------