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30 Days of Night - Eben & Stella #1:
This mini might confuse some. This I say for the readers who are either new to
the 30 DoN series or who although been with for a while haven't read the
second 30D mini i.e. the one this one is set after. At the end of that mini
Stella, the widowed wife of Chief Eben of the town struck in the first 30 days
mini got her husband back. It took some doing, but she did it, shedding her
blood (and most definitely her sweat) in the process. However, what Stella did
not realise then and what the readers saw (on the last panel of the series) was
that the Eben that came back to her wasn't the same Eben that she knew and what
the readers saw in the first mini. It is from there that this series begins,
right at the point where the now vampire Eben takes a nice bit chomp on dear ol'
hunny-bun Stella. He doesn't quite kill her as much as turn her into what he has
become, a bloodsucking member of the legion of the undead. 'Legion of the Undead'.
That'd make a nice name for a horror flick. Eh, maybe not. While the opening is
strong, (at least for veteran readers), the rest of the issue is, well,
confusing. There are political elements, 'police' elements and of course,
vampires feeding. What there isn’t is clarity to make it approachable.
Conclusion:
Good start…although a bit newbie unfriendly.
RATING: 8/10
War Angel #0: Yet another tale of
Serenity, Angel of War, (War Angel if you will) doing what she does bet,
instigate war. That about sums up what this issue/special was. Not quite (good)
angel and not quite (bad) fallen, War Angel is quickly becoming a one trick
pony. She fights...with just about anybody and everybody. With those with whom
she doesn't (i.e. a few 'chosen' females) she, well, gets it on with them. The
artwork here, done in inked (not colored) format, is good, great even and
clearly worthy of a story much better than the one here. Morever, I also do not
understand the reasoning behind giving this special a 'zero' (#0) number.
Neither is it the prequel/opener for an upcoming War Angel mini (we already had
that) nor an 'Origin' issue for the sexy-sultry psycho-angel. All it is a weak
story wrapped in some rather impressive clothing (cover and interior art).
Conclusion: Totally 'Pass-It'...except
for the Elvis Moura's artwork.
RATING: 5/10
Friday, The 13th #6:
Another 'genre' hits the dust a Wildstorm. After the fantasy: swords & scorcery
titls (Rokkin, Claw, Skye Runner), the horror titles also get 'mini-ed', all
three of them (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Friday, The
13th). In this last issue of this ongoing-turned-mini, the origins of
'Jason' come out and as is turns out is no so much about Jason. It in fact goes
back much further, to the time the first European settlers came to the Americas
and routed its original residents. The power, the anger that courses through
Jason is that of the American Natives killed around and given a water burial in
the lake he rises from. As for the situation in present day, out of the three
remaining alive (at the end of the previous issue), none survive to the end of
this one. Not only them but a whole hospital (or at least one floor) full of
unsuspecting victims also find their end at the end of the legendary machettte.
Conclusion: The similarity between the facial and mask markings
was a bit hokey. Moreover, unlike ANoES this is one series that would have
worked better in a 'mini' format.
RATING: 8.5/10
Y, The Last Man #56: Daaumn, they
finally met! With just five issues until the end of this series, writer Brian
Kickass (my 'interpretation' of the mysterious *K*) Vaughan dropped yet
another bombshell, both on the readers and on the (No Quite-)Last Man Alive. Not
quite because there is also baby Vlad, who is accompanying his mom and her
friends, which include baby Beth, mamma Beth, Hero (Yorick's sister) in search
of Yorick. Elsewhere Alter also continues her ruthless ways in her search for
the Y-man. However, none of that compares to the big reveal mentioned earlier.
Finally, after lawd knows how long (more than 5 years in Y-time, I think) Yorick
finally comes face to face with Beth, the same Beth he spanned the globe
searching for. The issue ends with them kissing.
Continuing: Excellent. Outstanding. Mind-Blowing. Not just the
writing but also the artwork, both inside on the covers. I am really going to
miss this series when its gone.
RATING: 9.5/10 (Just about a perfect 10)
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