#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #6

KILLADELPHIA No. 6
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshall Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Jae Lee with June Chung
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(June 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part VI: “For God and Country”

Thinking about Breonna Taylor, shot to death in her home, I think it is surreal that the Louisville police said it was the Post Office's error.  I feel like Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander are prophetic.  Talent borrows.  Genius steals.  Prophets go where neither talent nor genius can travel.

Launched by Image Comics last year, Killadelphia is a comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander.  The series focuses on a police officer caught in a lurid conspiracy, and its mastermind is the second president of the United States.  John Adams is a vampire, and he has made the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia vampire-ridden.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to Philly to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, but daddy is not dead; he is of the undead.  Now, the son, the vampire father, the chief medical examiner (Jose Padilla), and a rebellious vampire (Tevin “See Saw” Thompkins) are working to save “the City of Brotherly Love” from a vampire apocalypse and from its other hellish trials and tribulations.

Killadelphia #6 (“For God and Country”) opens as Jimmy Sr. gathers an army of law enforcement and first responders to ignite a disco inferno – Philly soul style – to stop the vampires from completing their takeover.  But the main event is when Jimmy and Tevin confront the founding father of this vampire nation, and someone will die – for real this time.  Meanwhile, it's “ladies first,” when a new conspiracy begins.

THE LOWDOWN:  In my review of Killadelphia #5, I wrote the following:

I believe that each society, even humanity as a whole, will get the apocalypse it deserves and it earns.  “You reap what you sow” ends up being more than just wisdom and being words from a religious text.  Were America to fall in a vampire, zombie, and monster-driven apocalypse, the nation would finally be harvesting its fated bumper crop, the bountiful yield of its plantation state.

As I write this review of Killadelphia #6, it is the morning that George Floyd will be laid to rest.  If you don't know who George is, I've already shaken off the dust of my feet.  Because George has to rest in peace, a lot of Americans can't be at peace.  Killadelphia #6 deftly and philosophically debates “Black Liberation” and emancipation in all their thematic glories – from oppression and revenge to mercy and uplift.

Rodney Barnes, a hugely imaginative comic book writer (who also writes for television), and Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone), a fiery comic book and graphic artist, already created one of the best vampire comic books ever.  But that wasn't enough for these two muthas.  To say that Killadelphia is timely, while its conception likely began a year before George Floyd's killing, is to also understand that sometimes crafty storytellers are just plugged into something.

So, yeah, we are getting more than just a vampire comic book.  Fries do indeed go with that Killadelphia shake.  And also, I want to shout out, real loud, colorist Luis Nct's superb work on this issue and on this series overall.  His name will soon be synonymous with the phrase “nightmarish colors.”  Marshall Dillon still keeps Dodge City and Philadelphia under control with his lettering.

For your information: the first Killadelphia trade paperback collection (collecting issues #1 to 6), entitled Killadelphia, Volume 1: Sins of the Father, is scheduled to arrive in comic book shops and bookstores July 2020.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of vampire comic books will find that Killadelphia is an essential read.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #5

KILLADELPHIA #5
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Neal Adams and Zeea Adams; Inhyuk Lee
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(March 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part V: “The Sun Will Rise”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander.  The series focuses on a police officer caught in a lurid conspiracy, and its mastermind is the second president of the United States.  John Adams is a vampire, and he has made the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia vampire-ridden.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, who is not dead, but is of the undead.  Now, son, vampire dad, the chief medical examiner (Jose Padilla), and a rebellious vampire (Tevin “See Saw” Thompkins) are working to save “the City of Brotherly Love” from a vampire apocalypse.

Killadelphia #5 (“The Sun Will Rise”) opens on the morning after the night of revolution.  Now, Mayor Gaskins and Lieutenant Zimmerman of the police department are in a state of denial, but Zimmerman will soon get the proof he needs in order to believe... in the unbelievable.  Meanwhile, a gospel and a history lesson (sort of) from See Saw.

I believe that each society, even humanity as a whole, will get the apocalypse it deserves and it earns.  “You reap what you sow” ends up being more than just wisdom and being words from a religious text.  Were America to fall in a vampire, zombie, and monster-driven apocalypse, the nation would finally be harvesting its fated bumper crop, the bountiful yield of its plantation state.

The thing about Rodney Barnes' writing in Killadelphia is that it seems less like fantasy or even speculative fiction, for that matter.  It seems like a beautifully composed point of view of an actual reality.  And when he isn't writing killer dialogue, Barnes fills exposition boxes with poetry, which makes the violence and bloody righteousness such a beautiful thing.

Artist Jason Shawn Alexander and colorist Luis Nct produce rich and lavish storytelling.  They are not simply creating pretty comic book art; they are telling a story with passion and poetry.  Still, the pages are resplendent, each a story all its own.  Meanwhile, Marshall Dillon acts as a quiet stenographer, lettering this gorgeous vampire tale with the resoluteness of a reporter chronicling the end of city where liberty was born lying.

Killadelphia #5 is another great entry in a killin'-it comic book series.

[This issue contains bonus art by Jason Shawn Alexander.]

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Amazon wants me to inform you that the link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the ad below AND buy something(s).

 

#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #4

KILLADELPHIA #4
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Eric Canete
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(February 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part IV: “...Cry Out for Revolution!”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone).  The series focuses on a police officer who is clued onto a lurid secret by his dead father; the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia is vampire-ridden.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, who is not dead, but is of the undead.  Now, son, vampire dad, and the chief medical examiner are working to stop a vampire apocalypse initiated by... the second President of the United States!

Killadelphia #4 (“...Cry Out for Revolution!”) opens on the night of revolution.  John Adams, President turned vampire overlord, sends him vampire horde into the city of Philadelphia – to terrify it, to destroy it, and to drain it of its lifeblood.  This is Adams' revolution to free mankind and to save humanity.  Meanwhile, one of Adams' lieutenants has apparently turned counter-revolutionary, and he wants to meet Jim, Sr.

I tried waiting extended periods of time between reading issues of Killadelphia.  It was my way of putting some distance between each issue and my mad love for this thrilling, modern vampire comic book.  But forget that.  Image Comics recently made a PDF review copy of Killadelphia #4 available to reviewers and that was vampire crack to a vampire crackhead reader.  That would be me.

Artist Jason Shawn Alexander and colorist Luis Nct, who are starting to seem like the dream team of apocalyptic comic books, present the fall of a city in kinetic compositions and in spurts and splashes of end-times colors.  Meanwhile, Marshall Dillon quietly letters and notes the last, dying hours of a city that was living on borrowed time anyway.

In 2004, Marvel Comics published a small trade paperback, Blade: Black & White, to coincide with the release of the film, Blade: Trinity.  Among the stories reprinted in the collection were two Blade stories written by Chris Claremont (best known for his work on X-Men/Uncanny X-Men) and two by Marv Wolfman (best known for writing The New Teen Titans and Crisis on Infinite Earths).  The four stories were magnificent tales of urban horror and dark fantasy that mixed blaxploitation cinema with the edginess of the urban dramas and the horror movies of 1960s and 1970s.

Killadelphia's killa scribe, Rodney Barnes, is bringing da funk and da noise of edgy, urban, Black/African-American horror fantasy.  This series offers some of the best vampire fiction in recent memory, and Barnes also seems to be dancing around dropping some major family dysfunction on his readers pretty soon.  So... I'm still giving this my highest recommendation to encourage you to read Killadelphia, dear readers.

[This issue contains bonus art.]

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #3

KILLADELPHIA #3
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Matteo Scalera
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(January 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part III: “Abaddon”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone).  The series focuses on a police officer who falls into a lurid mystery, one which reveals that the corrupt, but historical city of Philadelphia is vampire-ridden.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, who is not dead, but is of the undead.  Now, they're working together to stop an apocalypse – son and vampire dad!

Killadelphia #3 (“Abaddon”) finds the Sangster boys and Jose Padilla, the chief medical examiner, cleansing the city morgue of its cadavers-turned-vampires.  This team-up, however, does not hide the estrangement between Jim, Sr. and Jim, Jr., and Padilla's honeyed words of peace and calmness may not change that.

Meanwhile, John Adams... the second President of the United States and the “Vampire King,” ruminates on his history.  He remembers how he came to be what he is and thinks on the evolution of his plans to build a society not defined by money, race, and class.  But what happens when you use the same old flawed ideas to build something new... or when your partners decide to go their own way?

Killadelphia #3 remains a thrilling, ass-kicking vampire comic book series, but I like that writer Rodney Barnes turns the narrative inward, as the two fathers, Jim, Sr. and John Adams, are forced to reap what they sow – at least, mentally and philosophically.  I like the haves/have-nots dynamic that plays itself out in who gets turned into a vampire and who does the turning.  However, I like what I see as Barnes' consideration of the costs people pay because of the hubris and the narcissism of powerful men.

Back in the 1980s, the peak work of comic book artist and illustrator, Bill Sienkiewicz, was some of the best, if not the best painted comic book art.  Many of Sienkiewicz's individual pages looked like individual paintings, while still propelling the narrative and also being graphical storytelling.

Jason Shawn Alexander, especially in Killadelphia #3, presents some pages that are like stand-along paintings, each with its own message, while being part of the larger narrative.  That would be story-pages 14-15, 19, and 22.  Luis Nct's coloring remains electric and alive – like something bad come alive.  Marshall Dillon letters rhythmically, creating a melody of blood and history and of sex and death.

In my review of Killadelphia #2, I wrote that if Killadelphia #3 was as good as the first two issues, I would begin to suspect that there was something supernatural about this comic book's creative team.  So...

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #2

KILLADELPHIA No. 2
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshall Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander with Luis Nct
VARIANT COVER ARTIST: Jim Mahfood
28pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(January 2020)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part II: “Death, My Sweet Savior”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Empty Zone).  The series focuses on a police officer who falls into a lurid mystery set in the corrupt and vampire-ridden historical city of Philadelphia.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. is a Baltimore Police Department beat cop who comes home to deal with the final affairs of his recently murdered father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Jimmy hated his father, but now they're working together to stop an apocalypse – son and vampire dad!

Killadelphia #2 (“Death, My Sweet Savior”) finds the Sangster boys and Jose Padilla, the chief medical examiner, plotting to stop the machinations of John Adams... the second President of the United States.  It is a good thing that Jose had been working with Jimmy Sr. before... his untimely demise, because she already had a notion that there were vampires about... even if part of her was in denial.  Now, she and the Sangsters have some dirty, bloody work to do.

Meanwhile, in the Philly “Badlands,” Mr. President continues to shape his revolution.  But one of his soldiers, Tevin Thompkins, once the object of Jimmy Sr.'s search, has his focus on a more personal war.

I had planned on putting more time between my reading the first two issues of Killadelphia.  I liked Killadelphia #1 so much, and I thought if it waited a month or so before reading the second issue, I might be better able to tell if a glorious first issue was just beginners' luck on the part of Misters Barnes and Alexander.  However, once I obtained a digital review copy of Killadelphia #2, it kept calling to me, like Blanche kept calling on Mede in the film, Mandingo (1975).  [In this case, Killadelphia is the Mandingo and I am the desperate bed-wench.]

Seriously, there is no beginner's luck here.  Killadelphia #2 is a glorious read, and it may be even more kick-ass than the first issue, which was damn glorious itself.

Rodney Barnes' writing is the kind of rich, imaginative writing and detailed plotting that readers normally get from the best dark fantasy and horror prose.  Jason Shawn Alexander's graphical storytelling and art is powerful and alluring.  I think that reading it is like staring into the hypnotic gaze of a beautiful vampire (for instance, if Charlize Theron was vampire).

Luis Nct's coloring of Alexander's art is also beautiful, and it conveys the dangerous elements of this story with uncompromising boldness.  Letterer Marshall Dillon doesn't want to be left behind, so he turns his fonts into a thousand cuts – the way lettering should be in a vampire comic book.

If Killadelphia #3 is this good, then, I'll suspect that there is also something supernatural about this creative team...

A+
10 out of 10

Friday, January 24, 2020


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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#IReadsYou Review: SERAPH OF THE END: Vampire Reign Volume 16

SERAPH OF THE END: VAMPIRE REIGN, VOL. 16
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

STORY: Takaya Kagami
CARTOONIST: Yamato Yamamoto
STORYBOARDS: Daisuke Furuya
TRANSLATION: Adrienne Beck
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Marlene First
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0397-5; paperback (March 2019); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
184pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 U.K.

Seraph of the End is a Japanese dark fantasy manga series written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto, with storyboards produced by Daisuke Furuya.  It has been published in the manga magazine, Jump SQ, since September 2012.  VIZ Media has been publishing an English-language adaptation of the manga as a paperback graphic novel series, entitled Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, since June 2014.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign is set in a world in which the trumpets of the apocalypse proclaimed the fall of humanity in the year 2012.  Vampires rose from the shadows and began their reign over the Earth.  A mysterious virus killed almost all adult humans, sparing those younger than 13 years of age.  The children were subsequently enslaved as livestock for vampires.  In 2016, the orphan, Yuichiro “Yu” Hyakuya, stepped forward, seeking revenge; his goal was and is to kill each and every vampire.

As Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign, Vol. 16 (Chapters 60 to 63) opens, the battle to save the vampires, Lord Ferid Bathory and Krul Tepes, begins in full force.  They are undergoing exposure torture (via sunlight) by the “Fifth Progenitor” vampire, Ky Luc.  The plan is for Lt. Guren Ichinose and the “Shinoa Squad” to launch a series of diversions at the nearly unbeatable Luc.  That will allow Yuichiro to unleash the Seraph inside himself and to use it to overwhelm Luc.  But can Yuichiro keep himself in control long enough to do the job?  Is his power enough to defeat Ky Luc?

Later, Yuichiro is confronted by memories from his past, and even Asuramaru, the demon spirit of his cursed katana, cannot access all those memories.  What else exists inside Yuichiro, and was he part of Lt. Guren's experiments?

[This volume includes a bonus chapter, “The Demon Army of Ikebukuro;” an “Afterword;” miscellaneous text, and a full-color mini-poster insert.]

THE LOWDOWN:  The Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign manga always delves in intrigue.  It is one of my favorite vampire comics.  With its tales of military politics and demonic possession, this series is as much a dark fantasy as it is a vampire manga.

Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign Graphic Novel Volume 16 is a pivotal volume in the series.  Like previous editions, Vol. 16 digs deep into the secrets and lies of this narrative and of its cast.  This time, however, creators, artist Yamato Yamamoto and writer Takaya Kagami, open up the can of worms that is its star character, Yuichiro Hyakuya's lost memories.  I would say that Kagami and Yamamoto have given readers another reason to keep this series close to their hearts and in their blood.  Despite Yu's blasé attitude about his memories, they hold the potential for riveting storytelling.

Adrienne Beck's translation ably serves this volume which offers a lot of dialogue in terms of revealing conversations.  Sabrina Heep's lettering conveys the intense sounds (especially the yelling and the grunting) that shape the intense battle against Ky Luc that dominates the early part of Vol. 16

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of vampire manga will want to try of the “Shonen Jump Advanced” series, Seraph of the End: Vampire Reign.

A
9 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.



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#IReadsYou Review: KILLADELPHIA #1

KILLADELPHIA No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Rodney Barnes
ART: Jason Shawn Alexander
COLORS: Luis Nct
LETTERS: Marshal1 Dillon
LOGO/GRAPHIC DESIGN: Brent Ashe
EDITOR: Greg Tumbarello
COVER: Jason Shawn Alexander with Luis Nct
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Francesco Mattina; Jason Shawn Alexander
32pp, Colors, 3.99 U.S.(November 2019)

Rated “M/ Mature”

“Sins of the Father” Part 1: “A Call to Arms”

Killadelphia is a new comic book series from writer Rodney Barnes (Lando: Double or Nothing for Marvel Comics) and artist Jason Shawn Alexander (Spawn for Todd McFarlane/Image Comics).  The series focuses on a police officer who falls into a lurid mystery set in the corrupt and vampire-ridden historical city of Philadelphia.  Colorist Luis Nct and letterer Marshall Dillon complete Killadelphia's creative team.

Killadelphia #1 (“A Call to Arms”) opens with James “Jim” Sangster, Jr. dealing with the death of his father, revered Philadelphia homicide detective, James Sangster, Sr.  Ten days earlier, Sangster, Sr. got a tip that took him to “Harvest Green Homes,” a low-income housing project that had its glory days in the 1970s.  Now, it's known as “Hell Hall,” and it is the place where Detective Sangster was murdered.

Jim hated his father, but he more or less stumbles into reading his father's journal.  What he finds makes him think that Sangster, Sr. was loosing his mind.  What Jim finds when he makes his own trip to Hell Hall will shake his beliefs to their core.

I once believed that if talented and accomplished African-American writers got the comic book writing opportunities that DC Comics' imprint, Vertigo Comics, gave to white writers, they would produce some incredible work.  Of course, I was right, and Image Comics is proving it by publishing Black writer-penned titles like Bingo Love, Bitter Root, Farmhand, and Jook Joint, to name a few.  Now comes Killadelphia from Rodney Barnes, who wrote the ambitious 2017-2018 Falcon comic book series for Marvel Comics.  [After an epidemic of white-devil fever swept through Marvel's management and editorial, Falcon was unceremoniously canceled.]

Killadelphia #1 is incredible.  What Barnes does with his first-issue script takes most other comic book writers five or six issues to do.  Barnes, who is also a television writer and producer, presents the personalities of both Sangster men, while detailing their contentious relationship and its history in startling detail.  Plus, he unveils quite a bit of Killadelphia's back story and mythology in a few pages.  Wait!  He also gives us some hot vampire action, y'all!  [I'd say that I got more than my money's worth, but Image Comics did send me a PDF review copy.]

Jason Shawn Alexander's graphical storytelling is long and strong.  Powerful graphics and page design strike out at the reader – the way they should in a vampire comic book.  Alexander creates a milieu that is perfect for both horror fiction and for a contemporary tale of public corruption in a rotten metropolis.

Luis Nct's coloring is fantastic; it seems that every page suggests a different mood, which plays up Killadelphia's devious atmosphere and gritty and surreal ambiance.  Marshall Dillon's lettering also changes, moving and shifting with the narrative, conveying the notion that this story wants to sink its... something into you.

Killadelphia #1 can't stop, won't stop.  It is proof that comic books can do what movies like Us and Queen & Slim are doing for film – showcase the creativity of potent new or different storytelling voices.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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#IReadsYou Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT: Memories Volume 4

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: MEMORIES VOL. 4
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

MANGAKA: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-1076-8; paperback (March 2020); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight is a vampire romance and shojo manga from creator Matsuri Hino.  It was first serialized in the shojo manga magazine, LaLa, from 2004 to 2013.  It was collected in 19 tankōbon (similar to a graphic novel), and VIZ Media published the manga in an English-language edition as a graphic novel series under its “Shojo Beat” format.

Vampire Knight is set in and around Cross Academy, a school for vampires (the “Night Class”) and humans (the “Day Class”) and focused mostly on the following characters: Headmaster Kaien Cross; his stepdaughter, Yuki Cross, a pure-blood vampire; Zero Kiryu, a human suffering from the curse of the vampire; and Kaname Kuran, the progenitor of a pure-blood vampire family line.  At the end of Vampire Knight, Kaname sacrifices his body to create new vampire-killing weapons for the vampire-hunting Hunter Society and then, sleeps for a thousand years.

A few years after the end of the original series, Hino began producing a series of “special chapters.”  These “Memories” are chapters that recount the events which occurred during Kaname's slumber.  VIZ Media publishes Vampire Knight: Memories annually as a single-volume graphic novel.

Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 4 opens with the story, “Dark Shadows of the Underground.”  It is a precarious time in the relationship between vampires and humans.  A mysterious group calling itself the “Vampire King” has launched a terrorist campaign of bombings.  Yuki and Zero are determined to capture the Vampire King, a mission that will take them deep into the underground areas beneath the city.  With the help of Maria Kurenai, a young leader in the Hunter Society, they close in on the quarry.  Their target, however, is also prepared for them and has plans to take prisoners.

In “One Step After a Hundred Years,” Yuki realizes just how shocking what she blurted out to Zero is.  What will she do about what she said?  Is she willing to join Zero in a life-changing event?  Finally, in the stories, “The Hope Inside a Photo Album” and “Goodbye and Hello,” a rabble-rousing human mayor of a nearby city pulls a publicity stunt that leads to Headmaster Cross making a decision that will have momentous consequences.

[This volume includes the bonus story, “The End of a Certain Lady;” the one-page comic, “Memories of Little Consequence;” and “Editor's Notes.”]

I am a fan of the Vampire Knight manga, although I did not like the final graphic novel, Vampire Knight, Vol. 19.  As for the Vampire Knight: Memories manga, the various chapters have been of uneven quality.  Some are exceptionally good, while others run the gamut from good, to bad, to average. The graphic novel collections have been good, especially Vol. 2, and Vol. 3 stood out by focusing on romance.

Vampire Knight: Memories Graphic Novel Volume 4 picks up on a theme and plot line that began to play out in Vol. 3 – the rising tensions between humans and vampires after a period of peace between the two races.  Vol. 4 is filled with tense stand-offs, kidnappings, rescues, subterfuge, suspicion, bombings, and mad scientists.  There is also some romance and a shocking turn of events that I do not want to spoil.  I can say that in the chapters that comprise Vol. 4, creator Matsuri Hino has brought back the mystery and the violence and the romance and the drama that were the highlights of the best chapters in the original run of Vampire Knight.

Tetsuichiro Miyaki (translation) and Nancy Thislethwaite (English adaptation) do stellar work conveying the deep feelings of love and family between characters like Yuki, Zero, Headmaster Cross, and Ren and Ai (Yuki and Kaname's children).  They also capture the heartfelt emotions, the sadness, and the sense of hope that define the end of Vol. 4.  Inori Fukuda Trant's lovely and quiet lettering emphasizes the drama with power that lingers after the final page.

Fans of the original series would serve themselves well to obtain this fourth volume of Vampire Knight: Memories, especially if they have not really followed the series since its English-language debut in 2017.  Vol 4 is a winner for sure.

10 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2020 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.


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Review: BLOODY MARY Volume 10

BLOODY MARY, VOL. 10
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Akaza Samamiya
TRANSLATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
EDITOR: Erica Yee
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9809-3; paperback (March 2018); Rated “T” for “Teen”
166pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Bloody Mary is a shojo vampire manga from creator Akaza Samamiya.  The manga was serialized from 2013 to 2017 in the Japanese shojo manga magazine, Monthly Asuka.  VIZ Media published an English-language edition of Bloody Mary in a series of graphic novels from 2015 to 2018.

Ichiro Rosario Di Maria is a high school student and a priest, but he also has the “Power of Exorcism,” which enables him to kill vampires.  He meets the vampire, Bloody Mary, who is unlike most vampires because he is both immortal and has red hair.  Bloody Mary wants to die, and Ichiro offers to kill him, but first...  Ichiro wants to kill every other vampire on Earth, and Mary will be his bodyguard.

As Bloody Mary, Vol. 10 (Chapters 37 to 39 to Final Volume) opens, the secret of Mary and “Mary” has been revealed.  Bloody Mary was once a boy named Maria, who had a twin brother named Mary, a weak and ailing boy.  Bloody Mary's alter-ego, “Mary,” a vicious vampire, was an attempt to revive Mary.  In a bid to save Bloody Mary/Maria, Ichiro will make a choice with tragic consequences.  Can Bloody Mary save Ichiro?  And what of Hydra, the female vampire who loves “Mary?”

[This volume includes a postscript and the bonus story, “And Then.”]

In my previous reviews of the Bloody Mary manga, I stated that I liked the series because I liked vampire manga, especially of the “Shojo Beat” variety, which Bloody Mary is.  I found that, over time, the narrative grew stronger as the number of personalities, living and deceased, grew.

Bloody Mary Graphic Novel Volume 10 is the final volume of the series.  It actually ended March of 2018, but I lost track of the series and of my copy of Vol. 10.  Well, it was good to get to the end, although I think that there is back story in this series still to be mined.

The translation by Katherine Schilling makes the most of these final chapters by creator Akaza Samamiya, emphasizing the themes of redemption and resolution.  The lettering by Sabrina Heep captures the lyrical and dream-like quality of this final go-round of Bloody Mary.  Hopefully, new fans of vampire manga will discover this unique spin on vampire fiction.

A
8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: SUCKER: Book One: Living After Midnight

SUCKER: BOOK ONE: LIVING AFTER MIDNIGHT
COMIXOLOGY/Polite Strangers

Kickstarter campaign to support Sucker is here.

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

PLOT: Jason McNamara and Tony Talbert
SCRIPT: Jason McNamara
PENCILS: Tony Talbert
INKS: John Heebink
COLORS: Paul Little
LETTERS: Jason McNamara
EDITOR: John Heebink
MISC. ART: Brian Wood (logo); Tony Talbert with Stephen Buell; Justin Greenwood with Paul Little; Greg Hinkle; Tony Talbert and John Heebink with Paul Little
ISBN: 978-1-5323-8060-0; paperback (July 2018)
66pp., Color, $9.95

Age: 17+ Only / Mature Readers

Sucker is a vampire comic book series published by comiXology as part of its “comiXology Originals.”  Sucker: Book One is written by Jason McNamara (plot/script) and Tony Talbert (plot); drawn by Talbert and John Heebink (inks); colored by Paul Little; and lettered by McNamara.  The series follows a band of vampire hunters forced to suddenly reunite when a powerful, ass-kicking vampire reawakens.

Sucker: Book One – Living After Midnight opens on the upper east side of Manhattan.  Two clownish thieves accidentally awaken a slumbering vampire, Douglas Jacobs, once upon a time a successful stock trader in the 1980s.  He had not been seen since 1988, but now he is back for a mysterious reason bigger than his own wants.

Enter hard-ass vampire hunter, Clyde Benton, and fellow vampire slayer, the brass knuckle-wielding priest, Father Harrison.  They have been called back into service by “Frontier Innovations” and its taciturn Director Sullivan to take down Jacobs.  This time, however, this hugely successful vampire-smashing unit faces a monster that is (1) most resourceful and (2) very hard to kill.

Don't think of Sucker: Book One as some kind of small press, indie, or self-published comic book.  Think of it as what it is – highly-polished, high-octane genre entertainment.  Its script is probably of better quality than any Syfy original horror films, and is as good or even better in some cases than the writing on straight-to-DVD, VOD, and streaming horror entertainment.

In the case of Jason McNamara's script, I can trot out many of the slang declarations used to describe exciting action movies:  hellraisin', rip-snortin', balls-to-the-wall, etc.  When it comes to the story's internal mythology, McNamara drops it here and there throughout this first book in a way that both teases and intrigues.  However, the action is so frenetic that the reader will have other things to occupy his attention.

That artist Tony Talbert co-plots this first issue shows in the page-by-page and panel-by-panel flow of the explosive action scenes, which are thrilling to behold and bracing to read.  Talbert's graphical storytelling and graphic design of individual pages are advanced enough to make me wonder why he has not produced more work for the bigger publishers.  John Heebink's precision inking seems to streamline some of the wildness in Talbert's storytelling, while directing its power right at the reader.  For instance, the characters' emotions are wild and aggressive, but it reads as being genuine rather than as being over the top.  Heebink's inking also sharpens the inventiveness in Talbert's illustrations.  There are some exceptionally visually striking images in Sucker: Book One (especially those involving the vampire's “union” with vermin).  They are clear, rather than impressionistic.

It would be a sin to not acknowledge the coloring by Paul Little, which is often spectacular in this first book.  Sometimes, it is muted and reminds me of the coloring in DC Comics' 1970's horror comics, (House of Mystery, Swamp Thing).  Other times, Little's hues have the rich and vibrant quality that a talented artist can get using modern coloring techniques.

I must admit that I only sought out Sucker: Book One because I am a fan of inker John Heebink's work going back to Metacops! (Fantagraphics Books), an odd, sci-fi comic book he drew back in the early 1990s.  My fanboy inclinations were rewarded, as I am shocked by how much I like Sucker: Book One.  I practically tore through it once I started reading.  It is one of the best of the recent vampire comic books, along with Jonathan Maberry and Tyler Crook's Bad Blood (Dark Horse Comics).

I recommend Sucker: Book One – Living After Midnight without reservation to fans of horror comic books, especially to fans of vampire comics and fiction.  One might even say I now have a blood lust for Sucker: Book Two.

9 out of 10

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

http://jason-mcnamara.com/
John Heebink: https://twitter.com/JohnHeebink

By Sucker Volume 1 at comiXology.

The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT: Memories Volume 3

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: MEMORIES VOL. 3
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0515-3; paperback (July 2019); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight is a vampire romance and shojo manga from creator Matsuri Hino.  It was published in the magazine, LaLa, from 2004 to 2013.  It has been collected in 19 tankōbon (similar to a graphic novel), and VIZ Media has published the manga in the United States as an English-language, paperback graphic novel series.

A few years after the end of the original series, Hino began producing a series of “special chapters.”  These are episodes of Vampire Knight that take place after the events depicted in Vampire Knight Volume 19, which contained the final chapters of original manga.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language translation of the new chapters in a graphic novel series, Vampire Knights: Memories.

Vampire Knight focuses on Yuki Cross, a student at the vampire (the “Night Class”) and human (the “Day Class”) school, Cross Academy.  Headmaster Kaien Cross is her stepfather, but Yuki eventually learns that she is a pure-blood vampire.  Her first love interest is Zero Kiryu, a human suffering from the curse of the vampire.  Yuki eventually falls in love with Kaname Kuran, a pure-blood vampire.  At the end of Vampire Knight, Kaname sacrifices his body to create new vampire-killing weapons for the vampire-hunting Hunter Society.

Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 3 opens with the chapter, entitled “Bond.”  Yuki and Zero encounter old friends, now aged, and new enemies.  All that pales next to the strength of their bond, and now, they have decided to become a couple.  In “Memories of Those Who Have Gone,” Kaien Cross reminisces about the photographs he took and the memories they recall.  Vampires Ruka and Akatsuki become engaged in the story, “Wedge,” and they marry in “Till Dust Do Us Part,” which also finds Yuki and Zero make decisions about their relationship.

[This volume includes the bonus stories, “A Vampire Who Claims that Friendship is the Source of Life” and “What is to Come;” a four-panel manga, “Memories of Little Consequence;” and “Editor's Notes.”]

In general, I enjoyed the Vampire Knight manga, although I was not a fan of the final graphic novel, Vol. 19.  I liked the first volume of the Vampire Knight: Memories manga, but I thought the second volume was stronger.

Vampire Knight: Memories Graphic Novel Volume 3 maintains the increase in the quality of drama that Vol. 2 presented.  I like that Cross Academy is back in play, but I am also intrigued by the increasing tensions between various factions of humans and vampires.  Intrigue will apparently yield acts of terrorism, double-dealing, double agents, and perhaps, some kind of biological warfare.

Best of all about Vol. 3 is the romance.  We have a wedding, a beautiful one that occurs at night.  The new state of affairs between Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu promises a resurgence of Vampire Knight.  How long will this “sequel” last?  Hopefully, it will last several more volumes – if love and war are the order of the Day (Class) with the creatures of the Night (Class).

A
8 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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I Reads You Review: SCOOBY-DOO, Where Are You #96

SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU? No. 96
DC COMICS – @DCComics

STORY: Ivan Cohen; Brett Lewis
PENCILS: Walter Carzon; Anthony Williams
INKS: Horacio Ottolini; Dan Davis
COLORS: Silvana Brys; Paul Becton
LETTERS: Saida Temofonte; Ryan Cline
EDITOR: Harvey Richards; Joan Hilty
COVER: Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini with Sylvana Brys
32pp, Color, $2.99 U.S. (February 2019)

Rated “E” for “Everyone”

“Boardwalk Vampire”

I am continuing my journey through the renewal of my subscription to the Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? comic book series.  Join me, will you?  I recently received the eleventh issue of that renewed subscription.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #96 opens with “Boardwalk Vampire” (written by Ivan Cohen and drawn by Walter Carzon and Horacio Ottolini).  Mystery Inc.:  Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Fred, Daphne, and Velma are visiting the popular theme park, “The Boardwalk,” via invitation.  The gang is attending the “75th Annual Hot Dog Eating Contest,” when the “Boardwalk Vampire” strikes.  Now, Amy Judd, head of “The Boardwalk Preservation Society” and the person who invited our heroes, reveals that this vampire is the reason she invited them.  There is a new mystery afoot, but Mystery Inc. is running out of time to solve it.

The second story is “Good Ghost Haunting” (written by Brett Lewis and drawn by Anthony Williams and Dan Davis).  It was originally published in Scooby-Doo #42 (January 2001), and it was recently reprinted in Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? #89 (cover dated: March 2018).  This is what I wrote about it in my review of that issue:

The story finds Mystery Inc. at Plymouth Institute of Technology for its annual technology fair, where students compete for scholarships and research grants.  Fred, Daphne, Velma, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo are attending the fair, hoping to find new technologies to help them in their crime fighting.  The problem is that the ghostly “Salem Witch Hunter” is stealing at the fair, and so it is another ghostly mystery for the gang to solve.

“Good Ghost Hunting” also deals with the “rightful owners” theme.  The crooks' method of operation is clever, although many readers will solve the mystery of that ghost pretty quickly.

“Boardwalk Vampire” is a nice story because, even at only 10 pages in length, it offers multiple sub-plots and elements; it even has backstory concerning two of the guest characters.  One of the ways I judge the quality of these Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? tales, which are really short stories, is if they would make a good plot for one of those direct-to-DVD Scooby-Doo movies.  “Boardwalk Vampire” does.  I really enjoyed this story, and I also liked the cover illustration that went along with it.

See you next issue!

B
6 out of 10

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


The text is copyright © 2019 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT #1

30 DAYS OF NIGHT No. 1 (2017)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

STORY: Steve Niles
ART: Piotr Kowalski
COLORS: Brad Simpson
LETTERS: Tom B. Long
COVER: Ben Templesmith
VARIANT COVERS:  Piotr Kowalski with Aurore Folny; Ashley Wood; Ben Templesmith
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2017)
DIAMOND CODE: OCT170412 – Wednesday, December 20, 2017

30 Days of Night was a three-issue horror comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles and drawn by Ben Templesmith.  IDW Publishing originally released the miniseries in 2002 (August to October).  30 Days of Night takes place in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost town in the United States.

It is so far north that during the winter, the sun does not rise for 30 days.  This is the perfect scenario for a group of vampires that take advantage of the prolonged darkness to invade Barrow and openly kill the townspeople so that they can feed at will.  A small band of humans, led by a young sheriff, struggle to survive this monstrous onslaught.

The original 30 Days of Night was followed by numerous sequel and spin off comic book titles.  It also yielded a line of novels and was adapted into a 2007 theatrical film and a direct-to-DVD sequel.  Now, IDW is rebooting the 30 Days of Night comic book franchise in a new comic book series, entitled 30 Days of Night, of course.  It is written by Steve Niles; drawn by Piotr Kowalski; colored by Brad Simpson; and lettered by Tom B. Long.

30 Days of Night #1 opens in Barrow, Alaska, the northernmost community in North America.  Here, the sun does not set between May 10th and August 2nd.  It also does not rise between November 18th and January 24th each winter.  And the temperatures average below zero.  Many of the townspeople are leaving before this year's time of darkness, but those who stay behind in this isolated Alaskan township will have to survive a new evil that emerges to terrorize the town.

Nothing happens.  30 Days of Night is practically 20 pages of nothing.  What little suspense, mystery, or intrigue, this first issue does not have enough of anything scary to qualify as a horror comic.  It is not that Steve Niles' writing is bad; this 30 Days of Night #1 is simply first-issue introduction by decompression gone really bad.

Nor is Piotr Kowalski's art poor.  It is simply as generic as Niles' writing.

5 out 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 syndication rights and fees.

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Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT: Memories Volume 2

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: MEMORIES VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-9747-0024-0; paperback (August 2018); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
208pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight is a vampire romance and shojo manga from creator Matsuri Hino.  It was published in the magazine, LaLa, from 2004 to 2013.  It has been collected in 19 tankōbon (similar to a graphic novel), and VIZ Media has published the series in the United States as a series of English-language, paperback graphic novels.

A few years after the end of the original series, Hino began producing a series of “special chapters,” episodes of Vampire Knight that take place after the events depicted in Vampire Knight Volume 19, which contained the final chapters of Vampire Knight.  VIZ Media is publishing an English-language translation of the new chapters in the graphic novel series, Vampire Knights: Memories.

Vampire Knight focuses on Yuki Cross, who eventually learns that she is a pure-blood vampire.  Her first love interest is Zero Kiryu, a human suffering from the curse of the vampire.  Yuki eventually falls in love with Kaname Kuran, a pure-blood vampire.  At the end of Vampire Knight, Kaname sacrifices his body to create new vampire-killing weapons for the vampire-hunting Hunter Society.

As Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 2 opens, Kaname experiences the events that occurred during his thousand-year slumber as memories.  While Kaname sleeps, Yuki and Zero begin a romance and contemplate marriage.  However, vampires begin threatening Zero because he is a vampire hunter, and they do not want him tainting, Yuki, their “pure-blood” princess.

Can Yuki and Zero overcome the forces arrayed against them?  Meanwhile, vampire scientist and inventor, Hanabusa Aido, begins a doomed romance with Sayori Wakaba, a young human woman.  Can either of them really accept the fact that Sayori will suffer the fate of all humans – to die one day, while Zero will not.

As I wrote in my review of the first volume of the Vampire Knight: Memories manga, I did not like the end of the first Vampire Knight manga, especially the “death” of Kaname.  In general, however, I really liked the series, and I enjoyed the prettiness of creator Matsuri Hino's art.

Vampire Knight: Memories Graphic Novel Volume 2 is a little stronger than the first volume.  The series is now more a melancholy supernatural romance, purely so.  The original series deals with the politics of Cross Academy, a school attended by vampires and humans who did not know that vampires attended.  Vampire Knight also focuses on the internal politics and intrigue of vampires and Hunters.

The new series is quite a bit different.  I like its focus on themes of love, family, and obligation.  The five chapters contained in this second volume also deal with how complicated relationships can be and with the fragility of life, especially that of humans.  If fans did not get enough of Vampire Knight, Vampire Knight: Memories is a worthy second serving.

A
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: REDNECK #1

REDNECK No. 1
IMAGE COMICS – @ImageComics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Donny Cates
ARTIST: Lisandro Estherren
COLORS: Dee Cunniffe
LETTERS: Joe Sabino
COVER: Lisandro Estherren with Dee Cunniffe
28pp, Color, $3.99 print/$1.99 digital U.S. (April 2017)

Rated M / Mature

Redneck is a new comic book series written by Donny Cates (God Country) and drawn by Lisandro Estherren.  The series is set in modern day East Texas and follows a family of vampires who have been living peacefully until it all ends.  Dee Cunniffe provides color and Joe Sabino provides lettering for the first issue.

Redneck #1 opens in Sulphur Springs, East Texas on Christmas Eve.  We are introduced to the Bowman family via Uncle Bartlett Bowman.  They live in peace and in secret, sustained on cow's blood.  On this night, his nephews are heading into downtown Sulphur Springs for some fun.  Bartlett follows them and has to step in when the boys run into trouble that takes a worse turn than expected.  Now, the Bowman family honcho, J.V., prepares to start a war.

I think I first learned of Redneck #1 through a listing by Diamond Comics Distributors, but I paid more attention when a friend of mine who manages a comic book store told me that it had sold out.  He mentioned there was a small race to obtain copies as a result of the sell out.  The week that Redneck #2 came out was also the week that the second printing of Redneck #1 arrived.  Why not...

I like Redneck #1 because it promises to be fun and violent.  It reminds me of Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso's recent Moonshine (also from Image Comics) and Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon's Preacher (DC Comics), almost as if elements of the two had intermingled.  What writer Donny Coates offers in this first issue is basically him making the story show its ass and dare anyone not to recognize that it is a sweet, sweet badass.

The art is a little too raggedy for me.  It is as if artist Lisandro Estherren is doing a scratchy impressionistic take on the already-impressionist Ben Templesmith.  In spite of my reservations, I think that Estherren's style might be just right for this comic book.  We'll see...

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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Review: VAMPIRE KNIGHT Memories Volume 1

VAMPIRE KNIGHT: MEMORIES VOL. 1
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Matsuri Hino
TRANSLATION: Tetsuichiro Miyaki
ENGLISH ADAPTATION: Nancy Thislethwaite
LETTERS: Inori Fukuda Trant
EDITOR: Nancy Thislethwaite
ISBN: 978-1-4215-9430-9; paperback (August 2017); Rated “T+” for “Older Teen”
200pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Vampire Knight was a vampire romance and shojo manga from creator Matsuri Hino.  It was published in the magazine, LaLa, from 2004 to 2013.  It was eventually collected in 19 tankōbon (similar to a graphic novel) and was also published in the United States (by VIZ Media).

Vampire Knight: Memories is a collection of four short stories that continues the world of Vampire Knight.  Written and drawn by Matsuri Hino, these stories delve into the past of some characters, and also explores the relationships between new characters and old.

The series was set in and around Cross Academy, a private boarding school with two classes:  the Day Class and the Night Class.  At twilight, the Day Class students returned to their dorm and crossed paths with the Night Class.  They did not know that the Night Class students were actually vampires.

The series lead was Yuki Cross, the adopted daughter of school headmaster, Kaien Cross, but she later learned that she was also a pure-blood vampire.  Her first love interest was Zero Kiryu, a human suffering from the curse of the vampire.  Together, Yuki and Zero were the Guardians of the school, patrolling the hallways and school grounds to protect the Day Class humans from the Night Class vampires.  Yuki eventually fell in love with Kaname Kuran, her fiancé who was raised as Yuki's sibling.  At the end of Vampire Knight, Kaname sacrificed his body to create new vampire-killing weapons for the Hunter Society.

As Vampire Knight: Memories, Vol. 1 opens, a peace has been established between the Hunters and the few remaining vampires.  Kaname continues to sleep in an ice coffin, and Yuki has given her heart so that he can be revived as a human.  Yuki and Zero begin a new relationship.  Yuki's birth daughter, Ai, and her adopted son, Ren, seek to learn more about Kaname.  Memories contain four stories that tell about life during the 1,000 years of Kaname's slumber in an ice coffin.

I was not crazy about the end of the Vampire Knight manga, especially the “death” of Kaname.  In general, however, I really liked the series, and I enjoyed the prettiness of creator Matsuri Hino's art.

Vampire Knight: Memories Volume 1 contains four manga short stories:  “Life,” “I Love You,” “Love's Desire,” and “Between Death and Heaven.”  The most poignant segment of this volume is the “Seiren's Side Story” part of “Between Death and Heaven,” which reiterates that while the vampire leads of this series are adorable, most other vampire characters are monsters.

If I understand correctly, there will be more of these “Memories” stories, which I hope is the case.  A lot happens in a thousand years, and there are a number of shocking deaths and demises in the stories of Memories Vol. 1 that need some narrative expanding.  These four stories are, for the most part, a really good addition to Vampire Knight, and I think fans will want to read them and want to read more.

A-
7.5 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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Review: THE LOST BOYS #1

THE LOST BOYS No. 1
DC COMICS/Vertigo – @DCComics @vertigo_comics

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

WRITER: Tim Seeley
ART: Scott Godlewski
COLORS: Trish Mulvihill
LETTERS: Clem Robins
COVER: Tony Harris
VARIANT COVER: Joelle Jones with Trish Mulvihill
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2016)

Suggested for mature readers

“The Lost Girl” Part 1 of 6

Many of your favorite characters from the 1987 vampire horror-comedy film, The Lost Boys, are back in DC Comics' new comic book sequel to the film.  Entitled (what else) The Lost Boys, this six-issue comic book is written by Tim Seeley; drawn by Scott Godlewski, colored by Trish Mulvihill, and lettered by Clem Robins.

The Lost Boys #1 (“The Lost Girl” Part 1) opens with Sam Emerson telling the story of how he and his older brother, Michael, and his mother, Lucy Emerson, moved to Santa Clara, CA to live with his Grandpa.  Michael fell in love with Star, a beautiful and mysterious young woman, who happened to be a vampire.  The Emerson boys joined the Frog Brothers, Edgar and Alan, fearless young vampire hunters, to clean out the nest of head vampire, Maxwell “Max” Hooker.  That nest included the beautiful, bad boy vampire, David, who was Star's boyfriend (more or less)

Sam is telling his story to another mysterious young woman who has stopped by his place of employment, “Fantasy World Comics.”  Like his brother and friends, Sam is in a bit of a post-vampire-slaying funk.  What to do next?  Well, there is one thing about Santa Clara that never changes; there is always more darkness.

I did not see The Lost Boys when it was first released to movie theaters.  I saw it on cable – probably on HBO.  I couldn't' believe how good it was – at least to me.  Afterwards, I watched it every chance I got, and I eventually bought the film on DVD.

The film's titular vampires, “The Lost Boys,” never grew old and never died, and the film certainly has grown old, but it has a timeless quality.  It never looks old, and because of that, The Lost Boys has always begged for sequels.

This new comic book is a sequel, one that is set shortly after the events of the original film.  I have read a few comic books written by Tim Seeley, and I have enjoyed them to one extent or another.  The Lost Boys is my favorite Tim Seeley comic book, so far.  The dialogue snaps and crackles; to me, this comic book reads as if the writer is having a blast writing it.

Artist Scott Godlewski captures the visual sensibilities of the first film and draws the characters in a way that resembles the live-action actors of the original film just enough to remind the readers where they are.  Godlewski is respectful, however, considering that not all the actors of the original film are still living.

I liked this comic book and could not stop reading it.  I even went back and reread sections of it while reading it the first time.  I feel comfortable recommending it to fans of The Lost Boys film, as well as to fans of vampire comic books and films.  I can tell after The Lost Boys #1 that this comic book series is going to be a blast to read.  Please, don't disappoint me, guys.

A

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


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

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Review: BLOODY MARY Volume 2

BLOODY MARY, VOL. 2
VIZ MEDIA – @VIZMedia

MANGAKA: Akaza Samamiya
TRANSLATION: Katherine Schilling
LETTERS: Sabrina Heep
ISBN: 978-1-4215-8314-3; paperback (March 2016); Rated “T” for “Teen”
168pp, B&W, $9.99 U.S., $12.99 CAN, £6.99 UK

Akaza Samamiya has created such manga as Hatsukoi Canvas (First Love Canvas), Torikago Syndrome (Birdcage Syndrome), and Ouji wa Tadaima Dekasegichuu (The Prince Is Gone on Business).  All three of these series have been published in the popular Japanese shojo magazine, Asuka.  Her latest series is the supernatural vampire drama, Bloody Mary.

Bloody Mary focuses on Ichiro Rosario Di Maria.  This young man has the “Power of Exorcism,” which enables him to kill vampires.  He meets the vampire, Bloody Mary, who is unlike most vampires because he is both immortal and has red hair.  Bloody Mary wants to die, and Ichiro offers to kill him, but first...  Ichiro wants to kill every other vampire on Earth, and Mary will be his bodyguard.

As Bloody Mary, Vol. 2 (Chapters 5 to 8) opens, Takumi Sakuraba, Ichiro's life-long friend, meets someone who looks like his pal.  This isn't Ichiro, though; it is Yzak Rosario di Maria, Ichiri's paternal grandfather.  Yzak has secrets to reveal and wants Takumi to kidnap Mary.

Meanwhile, Mary digs into his past and unearths “Red Memories” that he has suppressed.  Now, he is sure that he met Ichiro long ago, but tragedy may be involved with that first encounter.

[This volume includes bonus manga content.]

Anyone who has read enough of my reviews may have already figured out that I am a sucker for vampire manga.  Still, I was not sure that I would like the Bloody Mary manga.  For one thing, I have a minor hang-up about men with the name Mary.

I have to admit that I was halfway through Bloody Mary Volume 2 before I started to warm up to the manga.  I think that I am intrigued by both this series' internal mythology and by the possibility of a past full of secrets, which series creator Akaza Samamiya teases.  I must also admit that I am not really buying the tepid boys' love dynamic between Ichiro and Mary.  Still, fans of vampire manga will want to try a Bloody Mary.

B

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


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

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I posted a review at the ComicBookBin.  Follow me on Twitter or at Grumble.  Support me on Patreon.