’68 #3 – Review

By Mark Kidwell (story), Nat Jones (pen and inks), Jay Fotos (colors) and Jason Arthur (letters)

The Story: What’s worse than being ordered to fight in-country at the height of the Vietnam War? Being ordered to fight in-country at the height of the Vietnam War…with zombies. What the troops there can’t know yet, of course, is that the zombie plague has spread…and there’s a good chance that no one will have a home to go back to.

What’s Good: God I love this series. Not only does Kidwell move deftly between military drama and outright horror, he captures the essence of time and place so well. Whether it’s in the middle of a Vietnamese jungle outpost, or a campus protest in California, the way Kidwell is able to establish the period so well lends a fantastic verisimilitude to the story that helps immensely when the dead start attacking.

Jay Fotos continues to do an excellent job on the artwork, although he has less to work with in this issue than he has in the past. (Lush, dark jungle and looming military equipment seem to provide better atmospheric fodder than a brightly lit college campus.) The scenes of zombie attacks are quite gruesome, though it never feels excessively so. It would be nice if things were a bit more varied (even something as cringe inducing as zombies chowing down on someone’s innards gets old if its in too many panels), but I feel like that’s nitpicking.

’68 #3 – PREVIEW

68 #3 (of 4) Cover A – Nat Jones & Jay Fotos
By: Mark Kidwell, Nat Jones, Tim Vigil, Jay Fotos

Visions of home-brewed hell take center stage as an anti-war protest on a California college campus turns into a cannibalistic massacre at the clawing hands of the hungry undead. Two lost soldiers fight their way across a jungle wasteland teeming with rot. And in Vietnam, Agent Declan Rule reveals his true reasons for being in country.

’68 #1 – Review

By Mark Kidwell (story), Nat Jones (pen and inks), Jay Fotos (colors), Jason Arthur (letters)
The Story: Summarizing the plot of a Vietnam-era war story by saying “things go wrong” might sound redundant. And in a normal Vietnam era war story, it might be. But not in ’68, oh no. In THIS Vietnam era war story, things go wrong…with zombies.

What’s Good: Let me start by saying that I’m not one of those people who’ll love something just because you put a zombie in it. I have no problem with zombies, don’t get me wrong, but the whole glut of early-aught movies dealing with them was more than enough for me. That said: holy. Crap.

I picked up this comic after doing a double take at the amazing B cover (the zombified version of the famous Vietcong execution photo). I literally just stared at it for a couple of seconds, sitting innocently there in the shelf, surrounded by the all the (comparatively) bright, happy super hero books I had come into the shop to buy. The real version of that photo is horrifying enough, both because of what it portrays and because of what it symbolizes. But this cover…this cover took that terrible image…and somehow made it worse. Perhaps more oddly, it didn’t have the (usually fairly obvious) stink of gimmick or exploitation that so many of these zombie mash-up projects have.

This becomes even clearer on reading the issue itself. I hesitate to go as far as to say that there’s a deeper, metaphorical significance to the zombies, but there is a distinct lack of the “gee whizz, cool, let’s blow up the undead with our machine guns and rockets!” sentiment that pervades so many zombie stories. This is far, far more Walking Dead than it is Zombieland. It’s unceasingly dark, extremely violent and (particularly in the tunnel-rat sequence, which I think will haunt my dreams for at least the next week) absolutely terrifying. The strong writing and stark, detailed artwork only serve to enhance and build on the mood.

Hack/Slash #13 – Review

Mark Kidwell,(Writer) Tim Seeley, (Writer/Art) Emily Stone, (Art) Milian Parvanov, and Courtney Via (Colors)

It turns out that last issue was just a bump in the road (no pun intended, I swear) because Hack/Slash is in fine form this month. Just about everything in this issue is an improvement over the last and I think that if read back to back, this issue would actually elevate the last. I almost want to say now that it’s a shame the “Bump” crossover is over so soon because the concept lends itself well to some Cassie and Vlad ass kicking.

And kick ass they do in Hack/Slash #13. Picking up where they left off last month, Cassie, Vlad, and the reporter Phil O’Grady follow the lead to Eddie’s home. There they come face to face with a large number of the wooden horrors and Eddie himself. Much action, bloodshed, and graphic violence ensues in classic Hack/Slash fashion. It really doesn’t get much more complicated than that, but sometimes simplicity works best. The only drawback to the way this story plays out is at one point where the action breaks in order to move the overall story arc forward. Any momentum that had been built up immediately comes to a halt. I understand that the creative team needed to fit this crossover into continuity somehow due the cancellation of “Bump,” but it really does feel like things are coming from a completely different story (which, in a way, they are).

The writing done by Mark Kidwell is much stronger this issue thanks to, what feels like, more familiarity with the characters. He nails a nice buddy movie type vibe that keeps things light in what is, in all honesty, a pretty dark tale. Occasionally, I was frustrated by the way that he wrote Eddie, as it is sometimes difficult to understand what he’s supposed to be saying – but that is a minor complaint. Tim Seeley does a decent job with the series story elements involved, but, again, they feel out of place. He does throw in some nice humor though and the dog creature is quite entertaining. This is a fun read all around.

Thankfully, the artwork is much more consistent than the last issue. Cassie actually looks like the same person throughout the book, Vlad doesn’t have multiple faces, and there is really only one or two instances where things look a bit off. The gory action in this issue has some solid direction and there are a few great scenes even when things slow down. In particular, a humorous silhouette panel of the three main characters sneaking toward the house cracked me up.

Hack/Slash #13 does a lot to accent the “Bump” crossover storyline and I am really happy with how things concluded. Even if the last issue let you down as it did me, be sure to check out this latest issue – it definitely makes up for last month’s shortcomings. (Grade B)

-Kyle Posluszny

Hack/Slash #12 – Review

Tim Seeley (Writer and Artist), Mark Kidwell (Writer), Emily Stone (Artist), Milen Parvanov, and Courtney Via (Colors)

Hack/Slash, for me, is the ultimate guilty pleasure. It manages to deftly combine a number of my favorite things into one of the most consistently entertaining, visually pleasing comics on the stands. Cassie and Vlad are compelling characters, the extreme gore fits the tone of the series extremely well, sexuality is used intelligently, the humor is spot on (cheesy at times, but in all the right ways), and the stories told are almost always unique enough to make the series stand out. While not necessarily something everyone can or will enjoy (mostly due to the language, gore, and sexuality), this title is something most mature comic fans should at least try out. Horror movie fans: if you haven’t checked out this series yet, it’s time to get on board!

Now with all that said, Hack/Slash #12 is probably not the best way to be introduced to the series. On the other hand, maybe it would be the perfect place to jump on because it functions as a two-part stand alone story that can be read without knowledge of the series. While entertaining and full of moments that can really only be found in a Hack/Slash story, this issue suffers because of the odd way in which the story comes about. Apparently, the story was meant to be released by Fangoria Comics as part of its “Bump” mini-series, but when Fangoria Comics went down, the story of Cassie and Vlad versus Bump was left to linger. Now, after some changes to the length and the story, it has found its way into the Hack/Slash ongoing series. I mention all of this because I can’t help but feel that this issue would have been much better had it not had such a tumultuous trip.

Hack/Slash #12 is the first part of a story about an investigation into the massacre of 32 collegiate environmental activists. Cassie and Vlad show up to the scene and, after running into a famous news anchor and a local policewoman, find themselves in a brawl against some cool looking wooden creatures. The main storyline works well enough, and I look forward to the second part of the arc, but the book stumbles a bit in the way it tries to fit the larger arcs of the series into what probably should have been left as a stand alone story. While it doesn’t damage the book in any major way, it gives the book a disjointed feel. This is unfortunately amplified by some inconsistent artwork.

As usual with this series, most of the dialogue is quite entertaining and there is a nice sense of camaraderie between Cassie and Vlad. Dark humor is used to great effect and while some of the dialogue is cheesy, it fits the story well considering the B-movie trappings. This is a fun read all around. As a side note, keep an eye out for a pair of cult favorites making a hilarious cameo.

The artwork, as noted, is pretty inconsistent and, to be honest, this surprised me quite a bit. The beginning and ending fits with the style commonly used in the ongoing series, while the main story has a completely different visual style. Neither style is bad, but the difference is quite jarring as the characters look completely different depending on the section of the book. On top of that, in the main portion of the comic, Cassie seems to have a slightly different look every couple of panels. This is all quite distracting and I know I would have enjoyed the book more if it had a more consistent look to it. I hope this is just a slight misstep, as the series is usually great to look at. Also, on the more positive side, I want to mention how perfect the gore is. When the blood starts to flow, the artists completely nail the look of an absolutely over the top horror flick and one kill in particular stands out as one of the more brutal things I‘ve seen in a comic.

Hack/Slash #12 is an entertaining and fairly attractive, if inconsistent, comic when taken on its own. However, I have come to expect a bit more out of this series than what is offered here. This issue would have worked better as the stand alone crossover it was meant to be. (Grade: C)

-Kyle Posluszny