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Graphic Novel Review: Blackwood, Library Edition by Evan Dorkin, art by Veronica Fish and Andy Fish

Cover art for Blackwood Library Edition by Evan Dorkin

Blackwood, Library Edition by Evan Dorkin, art by Veronica Fish and Andy Fish

Dark Horse Comics, 2022

ISBN-13: 9781506731834  

Available: Kindle, Comixology, hardback  ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com )

Wren Valentine, Reiko Oyuki, Dennis Wolchinski, and Stephen Heller, teenagers with mysterious pasts and otherworldly abilities, enroll in Blackwood College after they receive hefty scholarships. Blackwood is no normal college, as they soon discover. The odd old lady at the train station is more than she seems. A well on the property has the power to resurrect the dead. The dean transforms into… something… shortly after the new students arrive, and then curses them and the acting dean, Dean Colby, binding them to the fate of the college. A two-headed monkey named Chimp Ho Tep wreaks havoc with the investigation into the mysteries of campus. Deadly mutant insects attack the school. Bodies go missing, or are stolen. Ins.P.E.C.T. (the Institute for Psychic Experimentation, Combat, and Training) is trying to encroach on the investigation. All hell breaks loose at a widely attended funeral when portals open and creatures overrun the campus. 

 

Lies and betrayal can be found around every corner. And nobody can find the Book of Despair. All the while, Dean Crosby, former Dean Ogden’s assistant Sherry Allen, Sherry’s son Jamar, and the rest of the faculty, plus the campus librarian, are trying to keep everyone safe and sane. 

 

There is so much going on in Blackwood, but the threads of each storyline are surprisingly easy to keep untangled. The characters are well written. It’s easy to like the students, and their interactions with each other and faculty fit well for their ages and the life experiences we are privy to. Sprinkled throughout are some amusing genre references. Keep an eye out for these.

 

This deluxe library edition includes the first two volumes of Blackwood and a sketchbook with character references, storyboards, and alternate covers and pinups by Jordy Bellaire, Becky Cloonan, Tyler Crook, Andy Fish, Andrew MacLean, Peach Momoko, David Rubín, Declan Shalvey, and Evan Dorkin with Sara Dyer. Artwork within and between the chapters is vibrant, and beautifully rendered. I read an electronic version of the book, so I have not seen a physical copy. It is advertised as an oversized format with 232 pages. The price tag on this is $39.99. Photographs I have seen show a gorgeous book, but it might be worth it to lay hands on the book before committing to it. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on February 25, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Crime Scene: Poetry by Cynthia Pelayo

Cover art for Crime Scene: Poetry by Cynthia Pelayo

Crime Scene: Poetry by Cynthia Pelayo

Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2022

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1947879515

Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition ( Bookshop.org  |  Amazon.com  )

 

This collection follows up Into the Forest and All the Way Through, a collection of poems about missing and murdered women and girls from all 50 states intended to bring the victims of cold cases to light without exploiting them.

 

Crime Scene is a more straightforward story. It’s a narrative in verse of the discovery and investigation of a cold case leading to the capture of a serial killer, using a format of numbered “reports”. It explodes on impact and immediately crashes into the parents’ grief on notification, then backtracks to the discovery of the crime scene and body by a brother and sister. Then we meet our protagonist, Agent K, whose investigation is complicated by her history as a witness to the disappearance of a friend when she was a girl, leading to guilt, insomnia, and a drive to solve the case. Much of the story explores both her actions and mental state.

 

Pelayo also addresses issues with reporting on true crime. Report 0011 comments on exploitation, and Report 0054, the medical examiner’s report, interestingly is nonspecific in describing the age, race, and ethnicity of the victim, avoiding the trap of “white girl” syndrome.

 

Crime Scene is a lyrical, powerful, surreal exploration of the justice system, its failures, and the human consequences. Highly recommended.

 

Reviewed by Kirsten Kowalewski

 

Posted on February 20, 2023 by , Reply

Book Review: Dogs by Mike Sullivan

Cover art for Dogs by Mike Sullivan

Dogs by Mike Sullivan

Muddy Paws Press, 2022

ISBN: 9798986056913

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition ( Amazon.com )

 

Dogs is one of those little novellas that work fine for a quick blast of excitement that requires no thinking.  At only 114 pages double-spaced, any reader will be through it in an hour or two.  There’s no real character development, no twisting plot, but it does have excitement and a touch of gore, and that’s really all readers are looking for in something this short.  For a quick shot of diversionary reading, Dogs rolls over and does the trick.

 

The plot: Tom comes home to visit his parents, who live in a gated community.  The family dog goes crazy and tries to attack him, and Tom quickly finds out that all the dogs in the neighborhood have gone canine-crazy and now regard humans as fleshy Milk-Bones.  Tom needs to survive and escape.  The end. 

 

That’s all there is, and that’s all that’s needed.  Again, this is just action.  It’s kind of like the old Jean-Claude Van Damme films: you never watch them for anything deep, you just want ass-kicking and excitement.  That’s what Dogs delivers.  There is plenty of bloodshed between the dogs, Tom, and a couple neighbors, and the author writes the attack sequences well enough to keep reader interest up, it’s not just ‘the dog mauled and killed the person’, though. There are some face-offs and tactics in the human vs. dog duels. This isn’t totally brainless: it’s just meant to tear along at a good pace, and it does that just fine.  There are plenty of unanswered questions by the end of the book, so don’t expect a wrap-up that explains everything.  Obviously, if you love dogs and can’t stand fiction that involves them getting hurt, you may want to skip this (even though they are bad dogs).  

 

File this one in the category of “fast reads that involve nature biting back”. Alongside other books of that ilk, such as Grizzly and The Roo, the novella Dogs will fit in just fine.   Worth it for the quick fun.

 

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson

Posted on February 14, 2023 by , Reply
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