The Stand: American Nightmares #4 – Review

By Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Writer), Mike Perkins (Artist), and Laura Martin (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: I thought the last issue of American Nightmares was pretty great. While it didn’t advance the story a whole lot, it made up for its shortcomings by being incredibly intense and disturbing.

The Story: Stu Redman and artist Glen Bateman discuss the nature of Captain Tripps and nightmares. Lloyd debates cannibalism in the name of survival and is approached by a Randall Flagg. Frannie and Harold pass the time by relaxing.

What’s Good: In The Stand: American Nightmares #4, the writing is excellent, the realistic artwork is genuinely unsettling, and the plot inches forward enough to keep things interesting. In other words, the fourth chapter of American Nightmares delivers… Well everything you’ve come to expect from The Stand and the creative team of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Mike Perkins, and Laura Martin… Nothing more, nothing less.

What’s Not So Good: I hate to knock something that’s so well done for moving forward at a slow pace (especially considering the source material), but The Stand: American Nightmares #4 reminds me of why trade-waiting is so appealing to some people. The trade format just works better for some things and I’m fairly certain The Stand is one of those things. I’ll be sure to stick around for the conclusion of American Nightmares next month, but I doubt I’ll be picking up the next mini-series as a monthly unless American Nightmares #5 leaves me with that “I can’t possibly wait” feeling.

Conclusion: American Nightmares #4 is very good, but it’s also pretty slow. If you’ve been following The Stand from the beginning, then you should already know what to expect.

Grade: B

-Kyle Posluszny

The Stand: American Nightmares #2 – Review

By Stephen King (Creator), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Script), Mike Perkins (Art), and Laura Martin (Colors)

The Story: The tension continues to mount as American Nightmares rolls on. A starving convict, a pyromaniac named The Trashcan Man, and Randall Flagg take up a majority of the issue. While the other surviving characters think of possible destinations that could provide safety.

What’s Good: The creative team behind the Marvel adaptation of The Stand impresses on nearly every level. The script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is impressively tight, especially considering how dense Stephen King’s writing can be. That said, it also manages to be necessarily descriptive and entertainingly wordy in the appropriate places. As for the visuals, Mike Perkins and Laura Martin absolutely nail the brutal tone of the story with their disturbingly detailed work. The art team makes you truly fear Captain Tripps, Randall Flagg, those that run wild, and how distressingly bleak the entire situation has become.

What’s Not So Good: For as much as I’m enjoying the series, the pace is starting to wear on me a bit. While it worked extremely well in Captain Tripps by highlighting the ominous spread of a virus, American Nightmares suffers because of it since so much still needs to be introduced or explained. In other words, Nightmares (so far) lacks the sense of direction that made Tripps so satisfying.

Conclusion: While The Stand: American Nightmares #2 is quite impressive on a technical level, it proves to be a rather unsatisfying chapter in a much larger work.

Grade: B-

-Kyle Posluszny