Corey's Comic Corner Week #8: Review of “The Marked Halloween Special #1”, “Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1” and “Crypt of Shadows #1 and Garbage Pail Kids Origins #1.”
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Welcome Back Pop Culture Lovers!!
It’s time for another weekly edition of Corey’s Comic Blog!
October is winding down and we are in the final week of all the scary horror goodness, ghouls and goodies Halloween brings us every year. It’s usually this point in the month when I’m literally trying to squeeze every single horror movie or show that I can into my viewing schedule. With so many streamers dedicated to bringing a month’s worth of frights, there is no lack of entertainment. A few of which I’ve recommended over the past few weeks. Of course I will bring you one more of my favorites towards the end of the blog today so make sure you’re still kicking around for the grand finale! We’ve got our usual comic reviews as well, just ahead in a bit!
MOVIE REVIEWS
While I sat down to write the blog today I decided to throw on a Halloween staple. “Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater” which dates back to mid 80’s before going full on horror on TNT with MonsterVision in the mid 90’s. Those of us who grew up in the 80’s probably are very familiar with Joe Bob Briggs as this was often a late night or late weekend favorite amongst teenagers and 20 somethings. He currently hosts a series “The Last Drive-in”. The basic premise is that Joe Bob Briggs watches a classic or terribly cheesy B-movie style flick and adds his personal flair, jokes and thoughts throughout the movie. All from the angle he’s sitting in the living room watching right along with the viewer. Very similar to the also popular Mystery Science Theater. If you have never watched any of Joe Bob’s Drive-In Theater head over to Shudder and check out his new series. It’s fun and the perfect accompaniment to a Halloween party or killing some time while writing a blog. See what I did there? It’s often funny and without a doubt corny, but it’s grown a huge cult following over the years and you might find it fun to watch. It’s also generally pretty light hearted so you don’t have to worry about sleeping with the covers over your head.
COMIC REVIEWS
This week I had a chance to read the “The Marked Halloween Special #1”, “Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1” and “Crypt of Shadows #1 and Garbage Pail Kids Origins #1.”
The Marked Halloween Special #1
Published by Image Comics
Written Brian Haberlin and David Hine
Art by Brian Haverlin and Geirrod Van Dyke
Rare M for Mature
Available now!
Of course it’s Halloween and some demons have invaded a small Texas town disguised as trick or treaters. The Marked, a bunch of gothic punk witches, have no choice but to protect the very town’s people they have grown to despise. A trail of bodies, blood and death lead directly into town and something has to be done before it’s too late! 50 pages of terror unleashed in this horror one shot from the creators of the main Marked series.
This was an interesting horror comic for me. As seen on the cover and through-out the comic there is a mix of both penciled and what appears to be digital art media, mixed together. I felt at times while I was reading this the art was at times distracting but luckily the story is interesting enough to keep you reading until the end. It also manages to weave bits of politics into the story. Hey, it happens in Texas so of course they throw in a little pro life speech as well as some good old book burning. Overall though it is crucial to the plot as the people in the small town don’t come off as anyone you typically would want to save from demons in the first place! It’s ironic they end up needing to be saved by a group of witches that are the literal extreme opposite of them in general. It’s almost comedic at times. The story overall is mildly scary and is almost a more fantasy style story but that makes sense given the writer’s previous work. If you are a fan of the main series and looking for a fun little horror one shot this might be worth a read. It’s pretty long as well so you get your money’s worth!
Deadly Neighborhood Spider-Man #1
Published by Marvel
Written by Taboo
Art by B. Earl
Rated T for Teen
Available now!
An interesting and dark take on Spider-Man where the boundaries between reality and fantasy are starting to blur together in the hellish landscape of Los Angeles. Peter tries to navigate his way through this new city and is tested metaphorically by his demons as well as one that might be one of his biggest threats yet.
This comic was actually really fun to read. It’s paced well and they cover a lot of ground over the initial issue. It’s nothing like any Spider-Man comic I’ve read prior and it kind of reminds me of something that you might find in a John Constantine or Batman comic with its ethereal and almost dream-like sequences and art style. I especially really dug the art! There are some panels with Spider-Man that just really pop and by the end you literally can’t wait to see what the artist has up his sleeve next. If the final page tells us anything, something big is definitely going down in the next issue! Spider-Man is having a lot of internal conflict in this story and the art adds to the anxiety and paranoia which seems to be the central theme here. It’s clearly Spidey at his ultimate low but yet also still trying to be the hero he believes he needs to be. If you are a fan of Spider-Man and are looking for something entirely different this might fit the bill! I’ll definitely be reading the next issue!
Crypt of Shadows #1
Published by Marvel
Written by various
Art by various
Rated M for mature
Available now!
Crypt of Shadows is a horror anthology of six stories pulled together from Marvel’s catalog of darker and more chaotic characters. It features various writers and artists and narrated by Victor Strange who takes his turn as the the crypt-keeper lending a brief introduction to each chilling tale. Including characters such as Morbius, Elsa Bloodstone, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night, Moon Knight, Wolverine and Blade’s daughter Bloodline!
This was actually a pretty fun offering from Marvel. The included stories feel whole and complete and not like they were just thrown in as filler. They pulled together a great group of writers and artists that also seemed to work well together. What’s not to like with this list of characters?? How often do you have Wolverine tangling with Man-Thing? I don’t want to spoil it but that story in particular by Adam Warren, “Endless slaughter in the Infinite Swamp” that I thought was awesome! Gore, action and a unique story to boot. It’s just really cool and the art is top notch. I also loved seeing Moon Knight square off with Werewolf by Night again as an homage to his first appearance. It’s a pretty thick book and there is a lot of fun to be had in this anthology. There were a couple stories that were forgettable but ultimately this is a nice little anthology of stories that are well worth reading on a chilly October night. I’d love to see Marvel go even darker but those looking for a little horror love will find their thirst quenched…POP ROC has a few copies of this still in stock. Stop in and check it out!
IMAGE SOURCE: https://www.previewsworld.com/Catalog/AUG220565
Garbage Pail Kids Origins #1
Published by Dynamite
Written by Adam F. Goldberg and Hans Rodionof
Art by Jeff Zapata with Chris Meeks
Rated All Ages
Available now!
Dynamite has launched an all new Garbage Pail Kids comic highlighting the origin of the GPK’s. Going back to World War II and looking for a secret weapon to turn the tide, the government decides to create a top secret weapon. This leads to a brother of a potentially M.I.A soldier being used for an experiment, ultimately creating probably the biggest name in all of Garbage Pail Kids history. Adam Bomb!! The rest is history. Well, make believe history anyways!
Anyone who grew up in the 80’s probably had these stickers stuck to the backs of their headboards or bedroom dressers. I know I did! I even recently tried to get my daughter to collect them again. It didn’t take much for me to grab this issue and give it a shot. It’s stupid funny but what would you expect? Adam Baum, the soda jerk of a missing soldier, is chosen to become a secret weapon in WW2?? What?? haha! It’s like the rough draft of the Captain America origin story. You know, the one that Marvel would never use! The story feels right at home for these characters and this series though and It’s cheesy and campy in all the best ways. Sure it’s pretty light and simple but it goes with the territory. This was never meant to be taken seriously and that’s what makes it fun. You end up meeting a lot of the other original characters as well as this story wraps up and I’m curious what they can actually do with this in the next issue. There are clearly villains and heroes being setup in this issue so it will be interesting to see how they manage this moving forward. While it’s not a comic or series I can see running for any extended length of time it might be fun to see how this plays out for nostalgic purposes alone. Check it out at POP ROC! There’s also a Garbage Pail Kids vs. Mad Balls comic out there if you are interested! Talk about epic nostalgia! Mind blown! Adam Bomb style!
Before we leave the comic reviews I wanted to share a couple other comics that are in stock right now. From time to time Image will re-release #1’s of their more popular titles. I picked up a couple myself this week. These usually sell for $1.00 and are a great way to start a new series on the cheap and see what it has to offer. If you are interested in more we can make that happen as well! Stop In POP ROC for these and other great deals…
Lastly but not leastly…or something like that…
My final movie recommendation for this October. A little gem of a movie called “Fright Night!”
Released in 1985
Distributed by Columbia Picture.
Rated R.
A Tom Holland film.
First of all, If this movie poster doesn’t scare you enough I’m not sure what will. Even the tagline makes it pretty clear, “If you love being scared, It’ll be the night of your life.” They are not kidding either. Horny teens, creepy new neighbors, a little gore, a little vampire hunting, awesome practical effects and all written and directed by Tom Holland? No, not that Tom Holland. This isn’t a Marvel movie. We’re talking about the director of Child’s Play, Psycho 2 and Langoliers! Yes please! This horror film has it all and on top of that it was released in the 80’s which was such a great time for horror movies. Maybe that was in part due to being a kid but even today this movie still strikes fear in me! Being a teenager with a possible Vampire who has moved in next door has to be about as scary as I can imagine. I wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink. Especially when he’s turned your friend, after your mother and potentially has your girlfriend as well! Yikes! This movie has some laughs but ultimately it’s just a really fun and scary movie that I’ve always enjoyed and one that still holds up well today! If you haven’t seen this movie I highly recommend it. I mean, that’s why I wrote about it in the first place so I guess you know that already!
Please drop us a line and let us know if you are reading any of these titles or what your thoughts are. We’d love to hear from you or discuss it.
That’s it for this week! Catch up with us again next week when will be starting to talk about the quickly approaching holidays and some great pop culture gift ideas. As well as all the usual stuff. You know, that’s the beauty of Pop Culture! We just have so much to talk about and discover together!
Corey Newell
“Just a guy who loves comics”
⁃ Independent blogger, dad, dork, comic nerd and pop culture lover hailing from Spencerport, NY