Twisted Tales 1 (Reader Copies #2)

Greetings Nerds and Nerdettes and welcome to this week’s exciting edition of Reader Copies.  Today we will be looking at the first issue of Bruce Jones’s classic Tales from the Crypt-esque anthology series Twisted Tales from Pacific Comics (aka PC).

This series is one of my all-time favorite 80s titles, probably is my favorite 80s horror title.  Writer-Creator Jones is one of the modern comic/horror icons.  He first made his bones at Warren writing for Creepy and Eerie.  He also spent time at Marvel writing for Ka-Zar and Conan.  But it is here with Twisted Tales and its sister title Alien Worlds that Jones truly shines. 

This issue, while not the greatest in the anthology’s run, is wonderfully, gorily fun.  This issue, like most of the ones that follow, features four short horror tales all written by Jones. 

The cover, signed JOCO – often attributed to opening story artist Richard Corben – features a big busted blonde bimbo holding a door closed against a horde of ravenous – or possibly horny – undead.  It kinda reminds me of that Evil Dead would have looked like if it had starred Loni Anderson.  This is the artistic high point of this initial issue. 

The four tales inside range in quality from a bland opener to a comical tale about fairy tales come to life.  The bland opener, “Infected” – told in second person which comes off very annoying (second person can be good when done right, but here at least Jones doesn’t pull it off) – concerns a loan collector hooking up with one of the women he came to collect from.  The story features a twist ending – as do many of Jones’s tales – but part of the twist is achieved by not telling the reader something early on that the main character is told.  Already something of a no-no in good viewpoint fiction, made worse by the constant narrative “you.” 

The art in this story is the worst of the lot, almost unforgivingly so.  It features stereotypical depictions of some ethnic characters, odd angles (which it uses to good effect in one scene, but abuses elsewhere), horribly drawn silhouettes, and ridiculous looking monsters.  

The second story, “Out of His Depth,” features a better, yet hackneyed, story of deception, murder, and revenge.  Drawn by Alfredo Alcala, this story features slightly better art than the first, which harkens back to the art of Tales from the Crypt, which works well with this tales that could easily have been lifted from that title. 

The next story is by far the best of this issue, “A Walk in the Woods.”  This tale features a married couple, lost in the German backwoods, travelling through a land of dark fairly tales.  The art, by Bret Blevins, is on par with Alcala’s from the previous story, and works well with the dark yet light hearted tone of the piece. 

The final tale, “All Hallows,” is similar in theme to “Out of His Depth” as it is a undead-return-for-revenge story, but is much darker and more removed from the ironic and moralistic tales of EC’s horror titles, being more disturbing and less forgiving.  True, like the tales of EC, the guilty are here punished, in full and in kind, but perhaps unlike those tales, and unlike in “Out of His Depth” the guilty here was more deserving of forgiveness and life, possibly even more deserving than some of the survivors of this story and of “Infected.”   The art, here by Tim Conrad, may be the best of the four stories, but is somehow lifeless and absent the moodiness of Blevins or the nostalgia of Alcala. 

 The four stories depicted here already show the gore and violence of Jones’s later issues, but it is much less dominate than it will be in future issues.  Also, missing in large part is Jones’s characteristic nudity and sexuality – though both do appear briefly.  In later issues – partly thanks to better art, partly to a more refined since of self – Jones et al, will reach their stride and create one of the best horror anthologies in the history of comics.  The promise of that greatness is here, but still just out of grasp. 

3/5 Stars (Individual stories range from 2 to 4 stars, with the 4s outnumbering the 2s)

Excellent Jumping on Point (Non-sequential anthology)

Not rated but Mature (Sex, Nudity, Violence, Gore, and some Language)

Until next time,

This is Nerd is the New Cool, signing off.  

Reader Copies: Welcome and Justice League 1

Welcome, Nerds and Nerdettes, to the first installment of Reader Copies.  In this series, we will be looking back at old comics that can be picked up in back issue usually for someplace between 50 cents and 10 dollars – and it better be a damn good comic if I drop 10 dollars for it!  I will, of course, lean toward Super-Hero comics but other genre may crop up from time to time. 

A “reader copy” by the way is a copy of a comic that is in less than perfect (Mint) shape, driving down its price, but is still in a readable shape – no missing pages/panels, cover usually still attached. 

Justice League 1 (1987)

4/5 Stars          Excellent Jumping On Point              

Justice League was the first renumbering of the long running DC Comics series Justice League of America.  Way back in the Silver Age of Comics, the JLA was comprised of the top DC characters – Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman, etc.  – but over the years the ranks began to fill with less and less important heroes – Firestorm, Vibe, and Gypsy to name a few.  Then came the Crisis on Infinite Earths reboot that shut down the history of the DC Universe and let other younger heroes step up – if by younger heroes you mean guys like Captain Marvel and Blue Beetle who had been around almost as long as Superman and Batman. 

Anyway, a couple months after Crisis ended, DC published Legends, which set the tone for the comics of the 80s and 90s.  Heroes were no longer trusted by the masses, they were gruffer and more violent as a hole.  The fun was officially out of comics… for the most part.  There were titles that resisted the darkening of the comic world, and among them was Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis’s run on the Justice League (sometimes called Max’s League or more often Justice League International).

Though this issue isn’t the JL at its greatest, all the key elements are there. Humorous, wisecracking heroes, as flawed and incompetent as they are heroic.  One or two A-listers playing second string to a group of B- and C-listers who steal the spotlight when it isn’t outright given to them.  Several of the classic members are already present: Martian Manhunter, Blue Beetle, Guy Gardner, Oberon.  But most are still issues away. 

Maxwell Lord is at his manipulative devilish here as the backer of the issues villains – a role that will be played well throughout the Giffen and DeMatteis run, but completely miss used later by other authors in the 21^st Century. 

Green Lantern Guy Gardner is the show stopper here – as he often will be in future issues – as the arrogant would be leader of the team.  His interactions with Batman are especially amusing (though they don’t reach their true greatness until issue 5 and the infamous “One Punch” scene). 

The terrorist villains are boring and forgettable – appearing on only about 8 of the issues 25 pages.  They are functional, serving the purpose of establishing Maxwell Lord’s ruthlessness, but the Justice League – even *this* Justice League – deserves better from a premier antagonist, especially in the wake of Legends Darkseid centric storyline. 

Overall, Justice League 1 is a good read, though it can be disappointing, especially if you have already read later issues of the run.  Disappointment aside, I remain very fond of this title and this issue, while not its best, is still leagues above many later Justice League series.