Once again, Randy and Don howl at the Moonstone.
Don:
Randy and I have stacks -- stacks, I tell you -- of comics lying around, just waiting to be reviewed. One of the bigger stacks is from Moonstone Books. Randy and I shared our thoughts on some of those books a while back (click HERE to read that Two in One Review), and the time has come to look at some of the publishers' other offerings.
Randy:
Last time out, we reviewed some new characters and properties that Moonstone is tackling, and this time we take a look at the properties that have become familiar to us, the characters in the White Wolf "World of Darkness" and the familiar faces of Kolchak the Night Stalker and The Phantom.
Kolchak the Night Stalker: Get of Belial
written by Donn Mullally & Joe Gentile
illustrated by Art Nichols
colored by Jeremy Roberts
lettered by Gary Bishop
Don:
Kolchak finds himself in a West Virginian mining town, chasing down a story on a labor dispute, but a series of bizarre murders soon attracts his attention. While the police dismiss the killings as being related to heated tensions between the mining union and management, Kolchak suspects an element of the supernatural is to blame, and he believes a withdrawn local family is connected somehow.
I love the notion of a reporter that sees the strange things around him and refuses to ignore them like everyone else. The core premise is a sound one, but the execution here is awkward. Gentile's script -- based on a screenplay by Mullally -- lacks subtlety. In order for Kolchak to be the hero, the other characters act illogically, blindly, slaves to the plot. We also never get a clear sense of why Kolchak is so driven, why he's drawn to these stories.
Randy:
I actually think this is a vast improvement on the first Kolchak story I read from Moonstone, which was my first exposure to the character. I've only seen brief snippets of the television show, but it felt like Gentile captured the mood and style of the show more effectively in this one, and while the mystery was certainly no mystery, I found myself interested in the politics of this mining town and how Kolchak's presence affected it. Mostly, I think what Moonstone needs for this one is either a story that gives a sort of primer for Kolchak, as you note, or readers who have a built-in fondness for the character, a category neither you nor I fit into.
Don:
Nichols's artwork tells the story clearly enough, and it reminds me of the styles of Dick Giordano and Klaus Janson. But its exaggerated cartoony qualities reinforce the simple tone of the script. I'm looking for a horror story with a blast of realism. Doug Klauba's cover is the story of artwork that could really make this property come to life.
Randy:
We're in agreement here. Nichols is a strong storyteller, and I'm glad that he managed to make all of the characters distinctive and the story easy to follow, but his work, along with the coloring by Roberts, is professional but seems ill-suited to the book. This stands out particularly strongly when "the monster" is revealed, and its appearance is borderline comical instead of frightening. In a more moody setting, that moment could have been spooky as hell.
The Phantom: The Treasures of Bangalla
written by Ron Goulart
illustrated by Mike Collins & Art Nichols
colored by Ken Wolak & Dawn Groszewski
lettered by Chuck Maly
edited by Joe Gentile
Don:
Mercenaries hijack a shipment of golden treasure destined for a museum, but the Phantom's friendship with the professor leading the dig puts him on the mercs' trail. Meanwhile, in London, a young woman is haunted by a recurring nightmare about being watched by a fiery-eyed creature in a castle from which she cannot escape. Little does she know that the nightmare points to a hidden truth, a lost memory.
Goulart's a noted comics historian; I've got one of his books here. It's a nice reference when I want to look back at the Golden and Silver Ages of the medium. And his script here also serves as a similar look back... or step back, depending on one's point of view. The script and plot boasts a simplicity and awkwardness that's reminiscent of the comics of yesteryear, but personally, I expect more from my reading material these days. Characters point out the blatantly obvious in illogical dialogue, and forced coincidences drive the generic plot forward when it's really not all that necessary.
Randy:
Absolutely. While I'd forgive and even enjoy this kind of dialogue in reprint works, it's really not the kind of thing I look for in new publications. The Phantom is a pulp character, but there's no need for his stories to read like they were written during the pulp era, with all the weaknesses of that style of writing. The plot is also far too predictable, and I was hoping for some kind of twist to spice things up as the characters followed the exact path I was guessing to the exact bad guy that I had figured out from the moment his name appeared in the script to the happy ending that left me mostly bored.
Don:
Art Nichols contributes art once again, but this time, it's the inks on top of Mike Collins's pencils. The resulting style is something that reminds me more than a little of the style of Tom (The Power Company Grummett, or the style one can find on the multitude of classic Ross Andru/Dick Giordano covers from the 1970s and '80s. The more conventional visuals suit the tone of the story. There's really little variety in the figure types here, though, and the repeated depiction of the skull-ring impression left after a punch got old in a hurry.
Randy:
I think part of the blame here again lies with the script, though, as Collins isn't really given a lot of exciting action to work with. The adversaries aren't really a threat, and the Phantom's weapons and tactics amount to standard brawling and shooting. At any rate, we're once again in agreement, as the work by Collins, Nichols, Wolak and Groszewski is solid but unspectacular, getting the job done but not really inspiring me to seek out more of their work anywhere.
Werewolf the Apocalypse: Fianna
written by Joe Gentile
illustrated by Steve Ellis
tones by Daniel Scott
lettered by Terri Boyle
edited by Ethan Skemp & Lori Strong
Don:
A pack of werewolves has banded together, all sharing one common bond: music. They have formed a band called Wolfshead, and they look after one another. Base-player Fin has fallen for the wild drummer girl, Risa. One of the members has a drug problem she's trying to control, and the girl at the sound board is tired of being ignored. There are volatile relationships, yes, but things get really tense when an outside influence sets out to manipulate them into tearing each other apart... literally.
This is one of the stronger offerings from Moonstone, as it has as its foundation some strong characterization. Ihe interpersonal dynamics of the group are in the spotlight here, and they drive the plot forward. Gentile instills strong personalities into all of the band members, and I found that by the end of the issue, I got to know them beyond the notion of the lycanthropic-band gimmick.
Randy:
I think you got a lot more out of this one than I did. I saw glimmers of what you're talking about, particularly in the relationship with Fin and Risa, but I generally found myself lost in a sea of characters that I couldn't quite tell apart. Mind you, I think that's a problem of focus rather than a problem with Gentile's writing skills. Had he focused more on the very interesting story of Fin and Risa and the unusual and Werewolf-centric reason why they couldn't be together, this could have been a far stronger story. That the wolf sanctuary, the other bandmates' problems and the threat of the Wyrm were all equally important parts of the story diluted what I think could have been a very strong central tale.
Don:
Ellis offers up some sexy art that's in keeping with the rock-n-roll elements of the script. The curves are tempered with sharp, angular lines as well, and it hints at the lethal and toothy hidden nature of the main characters. I like the black-and-white approach used here, and Ellis's sketchy approach suited the chaotic, underground tone of the premise. My only complaint about the visuals was Ellis's tendency to skimp when it comes to backgrounds. We don't get a really clear sense of where these people are.
Randy:
Actually, a big part of my problem in telling the characters apart was when they shifted into wolf form, and the blame for that gets laid at Ellis's door. It's certainly a challenge to do a scene with a half-dozen werewolves and make them distinctive, but the slight coloring and shape variations didn't make it easy, and whenever the werewolves took on wolf form, I pretty much gave up on knowing who was who until they shifted back to human.
However, we're very much in agreement about Ellis's potential. In a lot of the story, I see a style that reminds me of Phil Hester, Brett Weldele and Scott Morse, and I think that with more development, Ellis is going to be an artist worth watching out for.
World of Darkness: Vampire the Masquerade's Calebros
written by Bryan Edwards
illustrated by Chris Marrinan
tones by Jeremy Roberts
lettered by Gary Bishop
edited by Joe Gentile & Garrett Anderson
Don:
Calebros, prince of the Camarilla vampires, struggles to maintain the leadership of his vampire clan in the face of his people's losses in light of a recent underground war among the undead. A precarious balance must be maintained, but enemy clans, vulnerability of human pawns and the impatience of his own people threatens that balance. Even worse, though, is that Calebros fears he is losing his mind. The monstrous vampire prince has lost track of who he once was, and that means he's not certain of who he is now.
Randy:
I'm impressed that you managed to make that much sense of this. Calebros is a mess, told from the point-of-view of someone who keeps to himself and is at least somewhat insane, and while it's an unusual and intriguing point-of-view, it also lends itself to confusion. Edwards makes little attempt to keep the reader up with what's going on, and unless they're some kind of expert in the clans, politics and maneuvering of Vampire: The Masquerade, I imagine they'll find themselves as lost as I did. There's some good ideas at the center of it, but I spent most of the pages wondering what the hell just happened.
Part of the blame lies with Chris Marrinan's art, which doesn't do a great job of establishing the various characters or distinguishing from the malformed Nosferatu clan members. A little more variation in their disfigurations would have helped, and at the very least a stronger design for the lead character would have made the story a great deal easier to follow.
Don:
Marrinan's art here reminds me of the styles of Phil (Green Arrow) Hester and the legendary Sal Buscema. The exaggerated approach works well for depicting the look and life of the misshapen main character. The black-and-white artwork (with greytones) is appropriate, given the dark nature of the narration and the vampire characters. My biggest problem with the visuals, though, is the lettering. It's inconsistent and a little confusing, as changes in voice aren't made as clear as they could be.
Randy:
Part of the problem is that in black and white, there aren't as many cues as can be used to signify changes in narration or thoughts, but Bishop dropped the ball here in terms of getting across the different voices speaking to the lead character. I was left at the end not really sure who the traitor had been, because I didn't recognize him. Mind you, there were definitely things to like about Calebros, including an interesting main character and the intriguing notion of looking more broadly at the politics of the Camarilla.
Don:
There are a number of strong elements in this script. Edwards succeeds in painting the title character in a sympathetic -- actually, pitiable -- light, and at its heart, this script is founded on that inner conflict. I enjoyed how the writer delved into the political duties of a vampire prince, and Calebros's identity crisis was of particular interest. Unfortunately, the rather plentiful, purple prose used for the narration gets in the way of the story rather than helping it unfold.
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