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Graphic Novel Review: Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day by Scott Lobdell, art by Elliot Fernandez

Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day by Scott Lobdell, art by Elliot Fernandez

Dynamite Entertainment, 2017

ISBN-13: 9781524103514

Available: Paperback, Kindle edition, and comiXology ebook

The Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess: Forever and a Day storyline opens with Xena holding her wounded life companion, Gabrielle, after her army has been destroyed by the ultimate evil. The only recourse she has is to use a page from the Necronomicon that Ash gifted to her to use in a time of ultimate need. Ash heeds the call (I mean, he has no choice since the portal sucks him in, right?). Ash has to put aside his need for some sugar from fellow S-Mart employee Amber until he can solve Xena’s problem, especially when he discovers she doesn’t remember him—over and over again. The problem gets compounded every time Xena uses the sheet to call him back. Ash’s time travel disruptions are damaging the time loop and may destroy it altogether. What is causing the timeline to screw up, and can Xena finally get it together enough to trust this traveler from the future?

I’m a sucker for anything with Xena or Ash. Lobdell is able to keep the tone of the both Xena and Army of Darkness well throughout the entire run. Ash is still the womanizing, chainsaw-wielding fella, and Xena retains her edge and sharp wit. I loved seeing them take verbal potshots at each other. Gabrielle was definitely the voice of reason when they needed it. The artwork was fantastic, too. I read another review that said Xena was too cheesecake, but I really don’t see it.

If you enjoyed any of the other Army of Darkness crossovers, you should pick this up. I enjoyed the hell out of it. What more can I say? Hail to the King, Baby… Recommended.

Contains: some blood, and, of course, Deadites

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

 

Posted on April 26, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Paradox Bound by Peter Clines

Paradox Bound by Peter Clines
Crown, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0553418330
Available: Hardcover, paperback, Kindle edition, audiobook, MP3 CD.

Time travel. Horror. Thriller. Utter weirdness. Peter Clines has it all covered in Paradox Bound. Those who have read The Fold, Cline’s science fiction/horror hit from last year, will be familiar with Cline’s way of introducing grand ideas, wild twists, and memorable characters. Those new to this writer, expect the kitchen sink. His prose is both lean and rich as he tells the story of a young boy who meets a beautiful oddball woman driving a 1920 Model A Ford, searching for the “real” American Dream. This novel could have been a cheesy mess in lesser hands, but Clines weaves genres together tightly, into a frighteningly enjoyable, breathless ride.

Eli Teague meets Harry(Harriet) not once, but twice, in the strange town of Sanders, Maine, where time seems to stand still, and every day is the “good old days” . She rolls up in her Model A with some baddies on her tail. Eli jumps in to try to help but somehow winds up tied to her and making a mess for her to clean up. The faceless men, creatures or humans without faces, are tracking all of the “searchers,” for the physical American Dream(if the readers can suspend disbelief for this, the book will fly by, with plenty of grins and white knuckles), seeking to kill all in their way. These characters are reminiscent of the Gentlemen from the “Hush” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (without the floating part). Harry takes Eli on a cross country trek that also skips through time, for as long as America has been in existence. Think The DaVinci Code on crack, watching National Treasure, edited by horror writers. To say more would give away the many twists and turns of this fun romp. Give Clines a try– he is one of the more exciting writers to pop up in recent memory.

Reviewed by David Simms

Posted on April 25, 2018 by , Reply

Book Review: Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 edited by Brian James Freeman

Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 edited by Brian James Freeman

Random House Publishing Group – Hydra, 2017

ISBN-13: 9780399182051

Available: Kindle ebook

Halloween Carnival: Volume 3 is another installment to Freeman’s anthology collection  with five more tales of horror associated with my favorite holiday.

In Kelley Armstrong’s “The Lost Way,” we enter the town of Franklin, where children have a habit of losing their way every Halloween. Dale is determined to find out why his schoolmates keep disappearing. This Halloween, he follows his stepbrother into the forest, where he is forbidden to venture, and finds the reason. The problem is, he finds out the truth much later than he anticipates, and certainly not how he remembers it.

Kate Maruyama’s “La Calavera” focuses on Trish, who is mourning and struggling with the untimely death of her best friend and roommate, Jasmine. They always did everything together: the Día de los Muertos Festival at the Hollywood Cemetery used to be one of their shared rituals. Things changed when Hector came along. The time has come that Trish make her pilgrimage with an unexpected guest, to let her go, and to pay penance.

“The Devil’s Due”, by Michael McBride, takes place in the idyllic town of Pine Springs, Colorado, a thriving small community that has been prosperous for generations. All of this good fortune has not come without a cost, however: the townspeople have practiced special traditions, and, for these, the town goes on. When Thom refuses to take part, the townspeople become angry and demand the ritual continue.

Anne discusses the disturbing events of a picnic she enjoyed with her spouse, Evan, in Taylor Grant’s “A Thousand Rooms of Darkness.” Anne has been diagnosed with samhainophobia, a fear of Halloween, and phasmophobia, a fear of ghosts. She finally builds up the courage to tell Evan after experiencing an episode during a picnic, after she talks with the therapist she’s been avoiding for months. In the weeks leading to Halloween, when things for Anne get particularly bad, she receives a phone call that her therapist has died. Her paranoia increases as she worries about harm coming to Evan. Then there is the matter of the demon she hears as it gets closer to Samhain.

In “The Last Night of October”, by Greg Chapman, we meet Gerald, wheelchair bound and suffering from emphysema. Every Halloween, Gerald  waits for the boy in the Frankenstein monster’s mask to come knocking at his front door. This year, it is different. There is his nurse, Kelli, who waits with him, and hears Gerald’s tale of woe. Will they both be able to face the child and remain sane…or alive?

Something unique about this particular anthology is the theme of lies: lies people tell themselves to avoid the truth, lies about relationships, lies that a community propagates to its own end, lies about fear and sanity, and lies people tell so they can sleep at night. While there isn’t anything too graphic in this volume, I would recommend it for adults and teenagers who can handle their horror. Recommended.

 

Reviewed by Lizzy Walker

Posted on April 14, 2018 by , Reply
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