Review- JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 4

JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 4 (Storm King Comics, First Printing, 2018; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Writers: Elena Carrillo, John Carpenter, David J. Schow, Duane Swierczynski, Joe Harris, Amanda Deibert, Dennis Calero, Renae Deliz, Frank Tieri, and Sandy King

Artists: Jaime Carrillo, Cat Staggs, Nick Percival, Greg Scott, Megan Hutchison, Dennis Calero, Ray Dillon, and Jason Felix

Colorist: Felipe Sobreiro

The fourth annual volume of this series has made this a Halloween tradition. I am a sucker for the Horror anthology, a tried and true institution in comics. Before I begin, I have to say that I am a bit sad that the Groundscreeper wasn't here to narrate the between story bits this time out. It doesn't matter much or impact the flow of anything, I had just grown accustomed to him and was looking forward to him being a part of it. That said, let's continue.

The stories tend to tread the same boards that Horror comics and movies often do. I enjoyed all of them but one, which I'm not going to reveal. After deliberation I decided that my favorite story in this book is Teen Angel, a riff on mean girls in high school and the goth outcast that they despise.

I finished reading this book on Halloween night after taking my kids trick or treating. It seemed proper. I am looking forward to the fifth volume next Halloween.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Paper stock: Glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte finish with spot varnish as well as an embossed logo.

Review- JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 3

JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 3 (Storm King, First Printing, 2017; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Writers: John Carpenter, Steven Hoveke, David J. Schow, Louise Simonson, Joe Harris, Amanda Deibert, Richard P. Clark, Frank Tieri, James Ninness, Duane Swierczynski, Kealan Patrick Burke, and Sandy King

Artists: Tim Bradstreet, Jon Bogdanove, Luis Guaranga, Darick Robertson, Guy Dorian, Sal Buscema, Greg Scott, Cat Staggs, Richard P. Clark, James M. Daly III, Trevor Denham, Jaime J. Carrillo, Jan Duursema, Tom Mandrake, Sian Mandrake, and Ray Dillon

Colorists: Sian Mandrake, Richard P. Clark, Ross Campbell, Felipe Sobreiro, Cat Staggs, Trevor Denham, Kinsun Loh, and Ray Dillon

Letterer: Janice Chiang with Ben Gilbert (one story)

This is the biggest volume yet in this series, with eleven stories, a few sneak previews for Volume 4, and expanded Groundscreeper interludes. In previous volumes The Groundscreeper was one image with a text page which set the stage for the following tale. This time around it is a two page strip in between each tale, serving the same purpose. This has to be Jon Bogdanove's best artwork. I fondly remember his work on Power Pack and Superman, but here he is at his peak.

Like any Horror anthology, you get a mixed bag of topics with various styles of art. The first story, The Awakening, is written by John Carpenter with Luis Guaranga's Ghastly Graham Ingels inspired art. It deals with two of Carpenter's pet themes: religion and demonic possession. Let's face it, when it comes to Horror those two themes never run out of steam because it's the foundation of it all. Good versus evil in the truest sense.

Louise Simonson, another Power Pack alumni (I was a huge fan of the series in the '80s), turns in the Sci-Fi Horror tale Bug. Traveling to other worlds poses many risks. We could unknowingly contaminate ourselves with who knows what. Heck, it's possible that the rise in obesity and cancer is from something we brought back from the moon that we can't identify. That type of thing scares the crap out of me, and Bug is 21^st century Horror done right.

Indivisible is a timely political Horror story. 2017 is a strange time to be an American, as identity politics has seemingly ripped our country apart. While I have a ton of tinfoil hat theories about Communist brainwashing using social media, Indivisible is not that far fetched a story. The Warren Magazines delved into timely political tales in the early '70s and it will be interesting to see how this story reads in a few decades. If we're still here to read comic books and haven't blown up the whole planet, that is.

The Captive (written by Amanda Deibert with art by Cat Staggs) is brilliant. This is another 21^st century Horror concept, a cautionary tale about the horrors of online dating. There are plenty of losers to meet in real life, folks.

36 Baron Street treads well covered ground, but I'll be damned if those kinds of haunted house stories don't get me every time. I love them and can never get enough of them. EC had a ton of them, and they've been covered by every horror anthology under the sun, but they always work so why not do them?

Visitation Rights is the one that really got me, though. I went through a brutal custody battle during my divorce a year ago, so this piqued my interest from the word go. While the story wasn't as horrifying as the reality of fighting Michigan's draconian family court system with it's rich history of systemic discrimination and overt gender bias against men, it is pretty messed up stuff. I absolutely love Trevor Denham's art and colors. The text captions in lieu of word balloons is reminiscent of EC's short lived Picto-Fiction format. I don't give anything away in terms of plot twists or reveals in my reviews, but this one the real deal, a visceral piece of art.

Everlasting Peace is another haunted house type ghost story that works. This volume is easily the best one in the series yet, and I am really looking forward to Volume 4. Get off of the fence and get into this series.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Nothing unusual to report.

Paper stock: Super thick glossy coated stock.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. The binding is a little tight but loosens as you read it.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte finish on thick cardstock with spot varnish and an embossed logo, a nice touch. 

Review- JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 2

JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 2 (Storm King, First Printing, 2016; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel.

Writers: Steven Hoveke, John Carpenter, Deirdre Brooks, Mike Sizemore, David J. Schow, Jimmy Palmiotti, Renae Deliz, James Ninness, Duane Swierczynki, Amanda Diebert, Kealan Patrick Burke, Sandy King, and Federico De Luca

Artists: Jon Bogdanove, Dennis Calero, Daniel Leister, David Kennedy, Darick Robertson, Richard P. Clark, Joel Seguin, Ray Dillon, Axur Aneas, Trevor Denham, Cat Staggs, Jaime Carillo, and Federico De Luca

Colorists: Jeff Balke, Diego Rodriguez, Paul Mounts, Ben Glibert, and Kinsun Loh

Volume 2 of this anthology Horror series offers twice as many stories as the first volume. Like Volume 1, this book starts out with a John Carpenter penned story, this time The Traveler's Tale. It treads familiar ground but it works on all levels. All of the writers seem to channel Carpenter's style, which is fine by me.

Carn-Evil Max And The Traveling Beauty Show doesn't work as far as I'm concerned. It's the weak link in the book. The set up isn't firmly established and the Twilight Zone style riff for the ending falls flat. Patterns and The Basement are both great stories with solid artwork. Mr. Goodnight takes the cake. Jaime Carillo and colorist Kinsun Loh knocked that one out of the park.

The series host, the Groundscreeper, remains a series highlight. Please refer to my review for Volume 1 for more thoughts on him. This was enjoyable enough to make want to pick up the forthcoming third volume this Halloween. You'll have to look to find this book but it's worth it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone-

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Sewn binding in a softcover.

Cardstock cover notes: The majority of the cover has a matte finish with select spot varnish. The logo is embossed, a welcome touch which adds some class to the proceedings. 

Review- JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 1

JOHN CARPENTER'S TALES FOR A HALLOWEEN NIGHT VOL. 1 (Storm King, First Printing, 2015; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel.

Writers: Steven Hoveke, John Carpenter, Trent Olsen, David J. Schow, James Ninness, Duane Swierczynki, and Sandy King

Artists: Jon Bogdanove, Federico De Luca, Tone Rodriguez, Darick Robertson, Richard P. Clark, Brett Simmons, and Leonardo Manco with cover art by Tim Bradstreet

Colorists: Ray Dillon, Sian Mandrake, Diego Rodriguez, Ben Glibert, and Mariana Sanzone

EC Comics had a huge impact on the children of the 1950s...children like John Carpenter. This graphic novel takes the Horror anthology found in EC titles like Tales From The Crypt, Vault Of Horror, and Haunt Of Fear and brings them up to speed with contemporary writing and artwork. Like those titles, the book has a host, the Groundscreeper. The same one page interlude Groundscreeper image, with art by Jon Bogdanove and “Ben Day” dot style coloring by Ray Dillon, introduces each story. I have to say that I wish that more comics used this nostalgic approach. It looks more “comic book”-like, only without the drawbacks of line bleed and off-register printing. The Groundscreeper page is packed with third party narrative describing each scene and then accented with his own darkly ironic humor by way of monologue.

John Carpenter pens the first story, The Ghost Maker. Some Grub is a great story with mediocre artwork by Brett Simmons. The art is too cartoony for a serious Horror story. This is just one fan's opinion, and your mileage may vary. The beauty of the Horror anthology format is that anything goes. Any writing style, any art style. Notice To Quit and Fortune Broken are both solid stories that wrap things up nicely. This was a good read and is worthy of a spot on your shelf.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book has that sweet Chinese-made-book smell to it, although it was printed in Canada. All of the great scents without the toxic chemicals that the Chinese probably use in their sweatshop printing presses.

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Sewn binding in a softcover.

Cardstock cover notes: The majority of the cover has a matte finish with select spot varnish. The logo is embossed, a welcome touch which adds some class to the proceedings.