Review: JEEPERS CREEPERS #1

JEEPERS CREEPERS, VOLUME 1 No. 1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT – @dynamitecomics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Marc Andreyko
ART: Kewber Baal
COLORS: Jorge Sutil
LETTERS: Taylor Esposito
EDITOR: Matt Idelson
COVER: Kelley Jones with Doug Hazlewood
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Kewber Baal with Schimerys Baal
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 25, 2018)

Rated “Teen+”

Jeepers Creepers created by Victor Salva

Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva.  The film takes its name from the 1938 song "Jeepers Creepers" (which is featured in the film) and tells the story of two siblings who become the targets of a demonic creature in rural Florida.  Salva wrote and directed a sequel, Jeepers Creepers 2 (2003), and a third film, Jeepers Creepers 3 (2017), which is set in a time period between the first and second films.

The adversary in all three films is an ancient creature known as “the Creeper” that awakens every 23rd spring for 23 days.  During this awakening, the Creeper feasts on human body parts, which then form parts of the creature's own body.

Dynamite Entertainment recently obtained the license to produce comic books based on the Jeepers Creepers film, and the result is Jeepers Creepers Volume 1.  This new comic book series is written by Marc Andreyko; drawn by Kewber Baal; colored by Jorge Sutil; and lettered by Taylor Esposito.

Jeepers Creepers, Volume 1 #1 introduces Devon James, an American college graduate student just arriving in Mexico.  He is there to work on his graduate thesis (“The Cross-Cultural Appearances of the Dragon in North American Mythology from the Aztecs to Today”).  When he arrives at the archaeological site, “The Lost Aztec City of Teotihuacan,” Devon decides that he should not act like a regular tourist and follow the tour guide.  Instead, he summons his inner Indiana Jones without realizing the danger in which he is putting himself.

Twenty pages of actual story for a cover price of $3.99 is long-term, slow suicide for the American comic book market.  For instance, Jeepers Creepers #1 offers some effective teasing, and that is what 20 pages of a first issue comic book narrative is today – a cock tease.  The teasing is so good here that I am ready for the second issue, and I imagine fans of the Jeepers Creepers films will also enjoy this comic book.  But 20 pages for $3.99...  I am emphasizing price point and page count because I think that they will negatively effect this new comic book's reception.  But this is a really good comic book.

Marc Andreyko's script diverges from the mythology of the films, but in a way that would still connect it to overall narrative of the franchise.  Kewber Baal, whom I remember from Chaos Campus: Sorority Girls vs. Zombies (Approbation Comics), offers imaginative compositions, while Jorge Sutil's colors create the perfect Jeepers Creepers atmosphere and mood.  Taylor Esposito's lettering is all-around effective because he makes the dialogue and first person narration seem like one flowing conversation, although one floats in word balloons while the other sits in caption boxes.

Yes, the creative team of Jeepers Creepers #1 has delivered a first issue will make readers want to come back for more.  I know I want more.  I hope 20 pages/$3.99 does not hold some of us back.

8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1

HARLEY & IVY MEET BETTY & VERONICA No. 1 (OF 6)
DC COMICS – @DCComics @ArchieComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko
ART: Laura Braga
COLORS: Tony Avina and Arif Prianto
LETTERS: Deron Bennett
EDITOR: Kristy Quinn
COVER: Amanda Conner with Paul Mounts
VARIANT COVERS: Adam Hughes
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)

Rated “T” for “Teen”

“Costume Drama” Part One

DC Comics villain, Harley Quinn, originated as a character on the animated television series, “Batman: The Animated Series” (FOX Network, 1992).  Created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm, Harley debuted in the episode “Joker’s Favor” (September 11, 1992), as a female sidekick of The Joker and his eventual accomplice.  Harley made her first comic book appearance in The Batman Adventures #12 (cover dated: September 1993), DC Comics’ comic book spin-off of the animated series.

Poison Ivy (whose real name is Pamela Lillian Isley) is a DC Comics supervillain and an adversary of Batman.  Created by Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff, Poison Ivy first appeared in Batman #181 (June 1966).  Beginning in “Batman The Animated Series,” Poison Ivy has been depicted as a close associate and girl pal of Harley Quinn's, probably beginning with the “Batman: The Animated Series” episode “Harley & Ivy” (1993).

Betty Cooper and Veronica Lodge are better known as Archie's Girls Betty and Veronica in the world of Archie Comics.  Betty first appeared in Pep Comics #22 (cover dated: December 1941) and Veronica first appeared in Pep Comics #26 (cover dated: April 1942).  The duo are depicted as “best friends and worst enemies” (the original frenemies?) mainly because Veronica, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy man, has been Betty's rival for Archie Andrews affections since she debuted 75 years ago.

DC Comics' Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy and Archie Comics' Betty and Veronica come together in the new six-issue crossover comic book, Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica.  This comic book series is written by Paul Dini and Marc Andreyko; drawn by Laura Braga; colored by Tony Aviña and Arif Prianta; and lettered by Deron Bennett.

Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1 opens with Hiram Lodge, businessman and industrialist (and Veronica's father), announcing his intention to turn the Riverdale wetlands reserve, Sweetwater Swamp, into a new development.  That development will include the free college, “Lodge University,” and the “shopping, dining, and entertainment destination, “Lodge's Sweetwater Centre.”

Meanwhile, in Gotham City, Poison Ivy isn't taking the announcement of Lodge's plans with any happiness, because she says that Sweetwater Swamp is a unique ecosystem that is home to rare species of plants.  With Harley Quinn in tow, Poison Ivy heads to Riverdale to stop Hiram Lodge.  What these villainous anti-heroines don't realize is that the trip will reveal two rivals who may be more than a match for them, Betty & Veronica.

I am a longtime Archie Comics fan, so I like Betty & Veronica, of course, with a preference for Betty Cooper.  I have mixed feelings, however, for Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy; I can take them or leave them, depending upon the work in which they appear.  And I can leave this comic book.

Yes, Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica is written by two accomplished writers; one of them is the co-creator of Harley and is an Emmy-winning television writer-producer, Paul Dini.  On the other hand, I have found much of Paul Dini's comic book output to be mediocre work, as this seems to be.  I will admit that this comic book has potential, but this first issue is average comic book product.

The art is mediocre, too; artist Laura Braga seems to be doing some kind of unfortunate copy of the style of comic book artist, Adam Hughes, the creative force behind the current Betty & Veronica comic book.  The coloring here represents the bad side of comic book coloring software; the coloring looks like smudged pastels, spoiled milkshakes, and faded candy-coated paint.

I know there is an audience for this, but for two such venerable characters (Betty & Veronica) and two such popular modern characters (Harley & Ivy), a better effort than Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1 should have been made.

4.5 out of 10

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


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

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I Reads You Review: Clive Barker's NIGHTBREED #1

CLIVE BARKER’S NIGHTBREED #1
BOOM! Studios

STORY: Clive Barker
WRITER: Marc Andreyko
ARTIST: Piotr Kowalski
COLORS: Juan Manuel Tumburus
LETTERS: Ed Dukeshire
COVER: Riley Rossmo
VARIANT COVER: Christopher Mitten (B); Mike Mignola (C); Matthew Roberts (Cards, Comics & Collectibles Exclusive Cover); Tony Harris (Phoenix Comicon Exclusive Cover)
24pp, Colors, $3.99 U.S. (May 2014)

Suggested for mature readers

Famed horror author, Clive Barker, adapted his 1988 fantasy-horror novel, Cabal, into a film entitled Nightbreed.  In both the film and the novel (sometimes listed as a novella), the focus is Aaron Boone, a young man who is an unstable mental patient.  Boone believes that he is a serial killer, because his doctor tells him that he is.  Events lead Boone to an abandoned cemetery connected to a deserted town named Midian.

There, he encounters a community of monsters and outcasts (also called the “Tribes of the Moon”), known as the “Nightbreed” (called “Night Breed” in the book) that hides from humanity.  Boone becomes one of them and protects them from an assault by outside forces, including his doctor and local police.  Boone soon becomes the Nightbreed’s savior, as he leads them on a quest to find a new home.

Released in 1990, Nightbreed was not well received, at the box office or with critics.  However, I loved the movie.  I loved its characters, concepts, setting, and Danny Elfman’s dark and beautiful score.  To be honest, I thought that there were things about the film that needed improvement, but I still loved me some Nightbreed.

In the early 1990s, Marvel Comics published Nightbreed, a comic book follow-up to the film, which ran for 25 issues, and there was also a two-issue crossover with the Hellraiser franchise (also a creation of Clive Barker), entitled Hellraiser vs. Nightbreed: Jihad.  Boom! Studios returns Barker’s “Tribes of the Moon” to comic books in a new series, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed, written by Marc Andreyko, drawn by Piotr Kowalski, colored by Juan Manuel Tumburus, and lettered by Ed Dukeshire.

Clive Barker’s Nightbreed #1 opens in the present, where we meet Dirk Lylesburg, leader of the Nightbreed, who acts as a sort of narrator.  Then, the story moves into the past.  The first tale takes place in July 1857, in a swamp outside Lacombe, Louisiana.  Two runaway slaves, a man and woman who are apparently a couple, desperately try to avoid a slave patrol.  However, an encounter with Peloquin will change their lives, especially for one of the slaves.  Next, the story moves to Boston, Massachusetts in April 1945.  Senator Harold Emery separates from his friends so that he can visit a local cathouse, where he will meet Shuna Sassi.

Normally, I would admit that there is not enough in this first issue to render judgment on the series or even to give this first issue a grade.  But as an African-American of possible Nightbreed extraction, I am so very happy that both my peoples are represented in this fine comic book, so I will give it a good grade.

Seriously, the storytelling by artist Piotr Kowalski is moody and alluring, drawn in a sharp line and with matter-of-fact compositions.  Juan Manuel Tumburus’ rich colors are vivid during the violent scenes and shimmers to give the Boston house of ill repute a magical quality that it needs within the context of this story.

Writer Marc Andreyko gets it, and what is “it?”  It is the thing that is Nightbreed, and if we can’t have Clive Barker, Andreyko is the surrogate who will return us to the world of Midian and her children, the Tribes of the Moon that are the Nightbreed.

A

www.boom-studios.com

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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