07-Ghost: Mystery at the Almaaz Estate

I read 07-GHOST, Vol. 10

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin, which has free smart phone apps and comics.  The Bin has a call out for donations.  Follow me on Twitter and at my Indiegogo campaign.

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 Comics Award Winners - "Watson and Holmes #6" Wins Big

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

Watson and Holmes #6 was the big winner, with four awards, including the big one, “Story of the Year.”  I had never heard of the series; now, I need to read it.

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

Story of the Year:
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

Best Cover:
• Route 3 #2, by Robert Jeffrey

Best Writer:
• Brandon Easton, Watson and Holmes #6

Best Artist:
• N. Steven Harris, Watson and Holmes #6

Best Male Character:
• Jack Maguire, Nowhere Man; Jerome Walford

Best Female Character:
• Ajala, Ajala: A Series of Adventures; N. Steven Harris and Robert Garrett

Rising Star Award:
• Alverne Ball (writer); Jason Reeves and Luis Guerro (artists), One Nation #1

Best Comic Strip or Webcomic:
• The Adigun Ogunsanwo, by Charles C.J. Juzang

Best Reprint Publication:
• Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, by the Fellowship of Reconciliation

Fan Award for Best Work:
• Watson and Holmes #6, by Brandon Easton and N. Steven Harris

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

Midnight Secretary: Love Triangle?

I read Midnight Secretary, Vol. 5

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which needs your donations).  You can follow me on Twitter and visit my Indiegogo campaign.

"Grumble Chapter One" in Two Easy Ways

Buy Grumble Chapter One:

or please donate to Grumble campaign:

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

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

Claymore: Army of the Underworld

I read Claymore, Vol. 24

I posted a review at the ComicBookBin (which is asking for donations), and follow me on Twitter and my campaign on Indiegogo.