Solo jumped into the marketplace with popular artist Tim Sale, but it's second issue is a touch more experimental, featuring a "love him or hate him" artists' artist in Richard Corben. Personally, I love Corben's work, and so I was looking forward to this issue. This issue of Solo reads like a very different book from Tim Sale's, which means the idea of each artist putting their own personal stamp on the book is working. Corben's issue of Solo reads like a cross between classic EC Comics and an issue of Heavy Metal, with more than a little European flavor blending with the lurid sensibilities of American pulp. The stories aren't the deepest things in the world, but they are a perfect vehicle for Corben's artwork, and thus a perfect use of the Solo book.
If there's a common thread in these stories, it's a horror flavor. Whether telling the tale of a greedy treasure hunter and a mummy, a clash of two barbaric warriors, an outlaw on the run, a selfish king facing a plague or even DC's Spectre, these stories all deal in the terrors of violence and greed. This type of thing, as it turns out, is what Corben does best, as his work has a visceral quality to it that is perfect for capturing the uglier side of man's nature. Whether showing us the Spectre's grisly torments, the disgusting after-effects of a sweeping plague or a brutal conflict between two monsters, Corben's work gives the reader an almost physical jolt of reaction.
As far as stories go, my favorite story is "The Plague," which features a king using a deadly disease against his enemies. Certainly his rotten end is predictable to those who know these types of stories, but it's also a very effective portrait of the price of paranoia and selfishness. This story also allows Corben to really show off his stuff, with the debauchery inside the castle contrasting with the twisted chaos going on outside and a nice parade of barbarian armies to boot. The other long story, "Belzon's Treasure," also suffers from a touch of predictability but features some gorgeous backdrop work and a tried and true classic story structure about mummies and those who would disregard their curse.
The shorter tales "Cyclops" and "Homecoming" are both good if not great stories as well. "Cyclops" uses reader expectations and narrative captions to provide a brutal shock ending, and "Homecoming" also provides a twist at the end that could have used a few more pages of setup but which generally works. "Cyclops" is some of Corben's most beautiful artwork in the book, done in a painted style that is reminiscent of his work on "Den" for Heavy Metal, while "Homecoming" provides a lush, well-realized look at the western wilderness.
The final tale in this issue is written by John Arcudi and features the Spectre, who might be the best DC character suited for Corben's style. Arcudi's take on the Spectre, set in an indeterminate period during Corrigan's career as a cop, is different than the one provided by John Ostrander but consistent with that definitive portrayal. Arcudi has Corrigan talking with the dead that only he can see, using them as unseen informants, which is a nifty interpretation of his powers, and Corben does an excellent job of setting apart the "dead" informants from the living inhabitants of Corrigan's world, as well as really conveying the rage and imaginative torments that Spectre is capable of. 8/10
