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December 2006
Livingston, Tinnell, Vokes & Guests (galore)
Image
 After the spaghetti western saga that was The Wicked West unspooled across the comics page, it was obvious that creators Todd Livingston, Bob Tinnell and Neil Vokes had found a character that could be molded from the blood, mud and dust of the Wild West mythos while letting rip with the monsters and sexy beasts that Vokes carves into the page so well along the way. Cotton Coleridge has a problem. A big fucking problem actually - everywhere he shows up is soon besieged by evil. Sure it is tough on everyone that crosses his path, but what of the man that simply can not kill enough creatures to be free of whatever curse has put him in the eye of the vile hurricane?
He just has to make his way day by day...
Were WWII:Abomination is different from other graphic novels is that not only do we have a definitive sequel to the original, but along the way the book just grew and grew as a horde of creators lined up to beat another pound of flesh off Cotton, or at least they make him expend some more ammunition. Now, I would have been happy with the 52 page opening salvo, Abomination. Written by Tinnell and given sequential life by Vokes, the story roars off the page. It is great comics, it is a self contained movie that squeezes a fully realized tale into every frame and perhaps stands as the pair's greatest work to date.
Now, I could be somewhat biased here. Abomination is a tale of freaks and re-animated maniacs (always good), a stylish Gothic western romance (and hey, don't all the best Goth horrors started with love as the heart of the matter and necrophilia as a subtext?), an action tale AND an all star cavalcade of European horror stars! Yes, all at once. And all the while it manages to draw the reader in to the emotional tug of the story; a tale of a lonely man that seeks love, even if that love isn't breathing anymore.
Sharp viewers will groove on finally seeing a Eurotrash Western Horror starring Rosalba Neri and with Paul Naschy in a role he was born to play, and the comparison doesn't stop there. Jumping easily from scenes that play like a Cesare Canevari film to Freda and Bava sequences and right on out to some of the best brawling one could want from a western hero - the art and dialog flows together in perfect harmony. It's tough n' tender and shocking and sad all at once. Yep, that is the best of the European Gothic horror, wrapped up in a nicely charred cowboy dressing. It looks fantastic in every panel (check out the samples if you don't believe me) and shows Vokes at his best. This story alone is worth re-reading upon a first viewing just to take in the flow of images.
But it isn't all pretty pictures. As I mentioned before, this is an anthology book, but nobody writes Cotton like Tinnell. Tough and terse, the story kicks ass before any words are spoken, and once they are it only gets better. The bar is set extremely high here and has me waiting eagerly for Wicked West 3 by this pair.
So, after all that, the rest may seem like a bonus-but what a bonus! Now, an anthology book is always interesting in that some things will work for different readers. I found many of these entries to be excellent and only a few I didn't care for. That isn't so much for content really, but style preferences. The spirit of the original creators sharing the world of The Wicked West should be encouraged because I think comic fans of EVERY stripe will find something to hook into with this mythology. In today's marketplace, that is a huge bonus. Jack Ketchum once referred to collaboration in writing (and comics we'll carry this into) as “organized play” and that is the best part of these entries. Whether you want tough gut rending western grit or black humored gore-you will find it here.
Some of my favorites include the following:
- Todd Livingston and Scott Keating delve into the horror of the everyday sick bastard in "The Usual Suspects". Keatings art is fantastic and the story captures a great bit of Cotton Coleridge's character. Not only does he attract evil, but evil is everywhere...even without his influence to screw things up.
- Adrian Salmon's stylized hyperpanels crash into The Wicked West in grand fashion with bug monsters and a little side stab of humor in "Cotton Fly". The Wicked WEIRD West? Yep, that sums it up!
- Vokes writes and Tommy Castillo slaps visual leather in hardcore fashion with some monster art that will leave zombie fans squealing and a silent narrative that flows perfectly. Everyone that works at IDW should be forced to look at this story 4,590,028,278 times to see how it is done. Nifty art can flow and tell a story...even with zombies.
- "Taking Big Medicine" brings the stylings of David Michael Beck to The Wicked West. I love his work on the current Jonah Hex book (hey, he got to draw El Diablo!!) and these pages are sharp. The story was more a draw for me however. Well done by Tinnell and Livingston. Beck's art is amazing and his interpretation of Cotton is interesting, if not a bit to perfect for me. If the worst critique I can come up with is “perfect” than that is certainly not a bad thing.
- The squared circle gets an interesting treatment in "Easy Money" by Jeff Katz with art by Neil Vokes (in cool pencils). You get big shootfighter types and pro-wrasslin' jokes (that are about 5 years out of date fellas) and trademark Vokes action. That guy draws fighting like nobody else...seriously.
- "Biff Baxter de Bergerac" is a great bit of insight into the movie within a comic version of The Wicked West and adds life to a subsection of the original in a very creative way. VERY highly recommended.
- and...well, more...you have to buy it to find out.
I do want to make special mention of two stories I really enjoyed, and that would be "I Kill The Dead" and "The Assay Office". Both are prose tales and I honestly and truly LOVE to see prose in comics. Some of my favorite comics of all time would include the occasional prose tale (usually to fill time and assure better shipping rates), but done right it can create a completely different and complimentary feel to a good character, and Cotton Coleridge is exactly that.
Both stories are written by guys with both the credentials and chops to strengthen the foundation of The Wicked West. Mike Baron needs no introduction to comics fans and his tale is tough and violent as a vampire named Vilknap...and it sure does have a twist to it. Then we have the outstanding C. Courtney Joyner tale following the diary of Jose Esteban Ortiz. You'll love it. Trust me. Me, I liked that the name had tributes to not only the great Spanish comics artist Jose Ortiz (peep his Vampirella work if you don't know) AND toss in a side of my main man, Esteban Maroto. Well, I think he does at least.
Both tales have astounding artwork to compliment the text by Dan Gallagher, Jr. This guy is amazing! It is like having a slice of Jano brilliance with every sentence. Stunning! My hat is off (I'll even dust it down) to the editors for these inclusions. Now someone get me a novel series to buy. I need more reading...
For more information...click HERE right now!
A -David Zuzelo
Max Brooks
Random House
 From Max Brooks, author of The Zombie Survival Guide (and son of Mel Brooks), comes an entirely different and decidedly non-satirical take on the living dead genre. World War Z is an “historical account” of the zombie war, told in a series of first-person accounts as if they happened in the very recent past. It’s an effective format even if the story, and its global political scale, is a bit implausible. But then, this is zombie fiction, right?
The accounts begin a Chinese doctor who encounters “patient zero,” believed to be the earliest zombie cases. Unfortunately, information regarding the phenomenon is suppressed by the Chinese government, virtually ensuring that an outbreak will soon spread across the globe. And so, through the first-hand accounts of smugglers, military personnel, mercenaries, and even celebrities, we learn when the zombie menace emerged, how it brought down the world’s most powerful nations, and what finally turned the tide of the war. Of course, jabs at contemporary politics and culture are plentiful.
The historical account format gives Brooks the freedom to explore the zombie war using several different views and often colorful characters, and the accounts detail everything from personal attacks to full-scale military combat. At times, these accounts can be dry and spend too much time mired in philosophy and military speak. But the format is very successful at capturing the fear and remorse felt by people witnessing the end of society.
If you’re an avid fan of zombie films, World War Z may disappoint you. The pace is slow and the underlying theme is decidedly political. But it’s incredibly fun to explore the global ramifications of an all-out zombie war. Not just how it might affect the local mall.
B+ -Dan McDermott
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