Review- JOHN CARPENTER TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION: VAULT

JOHN CARPENTER TALES OF SCIENCE FICTION: VAULT (Storm King Comics, First Printing, 2018; Softcover)

Collects John Carpenter's Tales Of Science Fiction: Vault #1-3 (cover dates July- September, 2017)

Writers: James Ninness

Artists: Andres Esparza

Colorists: Sergio Martinez

This was a double dip from the single issues. I buy everything that Storm King does and then buy the trade. No, I am not sure why I do that either. Someday science will come up with a name for my affliction.

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: Super thick, super glossy stock.

Binding: Perfect bound.

Cardstock cover notes: Matte finish with foil embossed accents. Very classy for a trade paperback.

Review- John Carpenter's Tales Of Science Fiction: Vortex #1-8

John Carpenter's Tales Of Science Fiction: Vortex #1-8 (Storm King, cover dates October, 2017- May, 2018)

Writers: John Carpenter, Sandy King, and Mike Sizemore

Artist: David Kennedy (also Colorist for #1)

Colorist: Pete Kennedy (#2-8)

Asteroid Garm. The Veil Nebula. 1,470 light years from Earth. This is the setting of the second John Carpenter Science Fiction anthology series. Vortex is a hybrid of his adaptation of The Thing with an Invasion Of The Bodysnatchers backdrop. We have managed to build a portal to this far flung solar system and have a team that are on a mining expedition. A follow up crew is sent to check out why they haven't heard back from the team. By this point everyone should know that A) something is wrong and B) we are not alone.

I'm not going into a blow by blow, nor will I spoil the series. What I will say is that there is something in issue 7 that leads me to believe that the invasive species is not contained. Also, the ending of the series is filled with as many questions and answers. It's not the greatest ending in this manner (that honor belongs to The Thing), but it works and is satisfying.

My takeaway from this series is that maybe we shouldn't venture too far out into space. When Europeans came to the Americas they brought rats with them. Invasive species have become the norm with the global economy, with Asian carp invading the Great Lakes, etc. Vortex shows us that we are, at best, the invasive species in outer space. Or maybe if we went to the farther reaches we would find something and give it a ride back. Maybe we've already done that and that's why we have an increase in obesity and cancer. This is of course not the case, but the mind boggles when spinning possible scenarios.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I find it interesting that there are no advertisements in Storm King Comics. The last few pages of the book are roughed out sneak preview pages for the next issue and/or character sketches and a house ad for other Storm King books. This is commercial free comics, although no one could fault them if they did have ads. It's worth noting that there are not ads in these comic books since everyone other company has them.

Review- John Carpenter's Tales Of Science Fiction: Vault #1-3

John Carpenter's Tales Of Science Fiction: Vault #1-3 (Storm King, cover dates July- September, 2017)

Writer: James Ninness (series created by John Carpenter and Sandy King)

Artist: Andres Esparza

Colorist: Sergio Martinez

John Carpenter's latest comic book creation is an ongoing science fiction series, albeit with a Horror bent a la The Thing. While it is easy to pass this series off as an Alien meets The Thing riff, one would be missing the point and the punchline of this series if they did that. While the aforementioned movies are certainly reference points here they are not what this series is all about.

I try not to spoil books when I review them or give blow by blow book report style reviews. I'll try to touch on a few points and let you decide if it's something you might like. The crew of the Gaia are your standard rag tag bunch seen in these types of movies, with the dynamics of distrust and politics that you would find in any group of people. The Gaia encounters an unknown ship and decides to board it. We've all seen this before and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that something is wrong from the word go.

With the recent discovery of a new black hole so close to our solar system, this series was better timed than even the creators could have hoped for. Black holes are a huge mystery that we are only scratching the surface of understanding. It's here that we have the springboard for the Vault series. I'm not giving away anything else other than we are not alone and it's only a matter of time before unforeseen circumstances lead to unintended consequences for mankind.

I've read these three issues as they came out and again once the series was completed, and it works better as a whole story than as individual parts. Some comics series are like that. While I primarily read collected editions I do buy all Storm King stuff in singles first. At three issues I can't imagine this being collected as a stand alone book. It will likely be compiled with one of the other Tales Of Science Fiction series down the road. The next one is Vortex and issue 1 is out now.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.