Whatever Happened to Baron von Shock #4 – Review

By: Rob Zombie (writer), Donny Hadiwidjaja (art), Val Staples & Chris Garcia (colors), Bill Tortolini (letters) & Leanne Hannah (editor)

Ghoulie Girl back-up by: Zombie (writer), Hannah (art), Staples (colors) & Tortolini (letters)

The Story: Leon gets back in the show-biz game (kinda), suffers personal loss and gets the original Baron Von Shock gang back together.

What’s Good: It seems odd that a comic with such frank depictions of prostitution, drug use, porn and middle aged losers would be a feel good story, but that’s kinda what Baron von Shock is turning out to be.  Zombie is doing a very good job of storytelling in this series.  In only 4 issues, he has introduced the characters, show them at the top of the world (or at least the top of their world), run them all down into the gutter and is now starting to bring them back in this issue.  The gang is back together, but I don’t think you could really call them “new and improved” as Leon and his buddy are just middle-aged losers and Ghoulie Girl is a hooker (perhaps a former hooker…who knows?).  But the story telling has made them such lovable losers that you find yourself really pulling for them.  By the end of this issue, these three knuckleheads have hatched a plan to put themselves back on the map.  I’m sure the plan won’t come off without a hitch, but I definitely want to watch.

That whole element of not knowing is a huge attraction to this comic book.  When you read a Batman story, how often are you really surprised?  Most experienced readers could probably guess the rough plot outlines for most superhero stories as long as they know (a) the villain and (b) the number of issues in the story.  With BVS, I have no clue what will happen next…and that is part of the fun.  And it is a story that is going somewhere instead of just chasing its own tail.

The art is quite nice and shows a team approach.  Hadiwidjaja’s linework leaves a lot of heavy lifting for the Staples and Garcia to do in the shading department, but he draws a very pretty woman and does a nice job of making all the faces and characters in the series distinctive.  Everyone has a unique look and you immediately can tell them apart.  That seems like a small thing, but how many comics have 3 blond ladies who all look basically the same?  Let’s also give the art team kudos for managing Ghoulie Girls tattoos.  She is pretty heavily inked and in this issue they look very consistent both in terms of how they are drawn and colored from panel to panel.  And that is a lot of work, because she is at least 50% undressed in most of the comic.  She has no secret tattoos at this point.

For a change of pace, there is also a fun back-up story about Ghoulie Girl as a little kid having an interesting experience with a babysitter.  Love Leanne Hannah’s art!