Review- URBAN LEGENDS

URBAN LEGENDS (AAM/ Markosia, 2012; Softcover)

Original Graphic Novel

Writer: Steven Stone

Artists: Money Borror, Valia Kapadai, Sijo Art Lapham, Paul McLaren, Andrew Richmond, Robyn Seale, Roy Huteson Stewart, and Nic Wilkinson.

Urban legends are a cultural tradition, and are often fun ways that we scare ourselves. Our fascination with bogeymen can be seen in movies such as the Friday the 13^th franchise, among many others. This book explores several urban legends, and occasionally tweaks or updates them to mixed results. The artwork is also a mixed bag, ranging from suitable for the material to styles that leave me cold. All art is subjective, and that is just my impression of the art in this book. People that actually know stuff about art might disagree. This was an enjoyable enough book that is worth a read.

The OCD zone- This book has a nice, thick, coated stock paper. The ink is printed so thick on the page that it almost feels like silk screen, as it is raised ever so slightly. You can actually feel depth if you run your finger across the page. While tactile sensations are meaningless to the iPad and Kindle generation, I am a print dinosaur. Give me bleached wood fibrous carrying units or give me death!

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Review- WHITE KNUCKLE

WHITE KNUCKLE (AAM/ Markosia, 2012; Softcover)

Original graphic novel.

Writer: Cy Dethan

Artist: Valia Kapadai

White Knuckle is a story about a serial killer decades past his prime, living in anonymity and isolation in his own personal Hell. He has kept an eye on the only person who could ever identify him for his crimes, the daughter of a woman he strangled who witnessed him in the act. While he has been out of circulation for years, he still watched this now adult woman with fascination.

Without giving away anything more than a general plot outline, this is a story of damnation and, maybe, salvation. This story deals with our culture's fascination with serial killers, and the type of individual who would commit these acts out of a desire to do so, rather than the compulsion of those who actually commit these heinous crimes. This is a solid, thought provoking read. If you are looking for something a little different, then try out this or any of the fine original graphic novels from some of the small press publishers. Remember, it is not the medium that is tired; it's the readers.

The OCD zone- This is slightly smaller than a standard trade paperback, and is printed on a nice weight coated stock paper.

Review- DAMAGED GOODS

DAMAGED GOODS (AAM/ Markosia, 2012; Softcover)

Black and white original graphic novel

Writer: Richard McAuliffe

Artist: Mark Chilcott

I am a sucker for Horror anthologies, especially black and white Horror anthologies a la Creepy and Eerie. This book has more a sketch, or vignette, approach, but there is also a super thin thread tying it all together. I didn't even see it until the 2 page dummy guide that points out the Easter eggs in the back of the book showed it to me. The last story pointed to the first one, and I was flipping back to the front to see if the quote was the same.

There are several great story ideas here, such as The Magpie, The Tea Party, and Hello. They are genuinely creepy and inventive, which is refreshing in this genre. It is so easy to tread familiar ground and go for the crowd pleaser, and while Damaged Goods delivers what most people would want from this sort of book, it's the little twists and tweaks that made me smile. There is an honest to Godzilla fresh zombie story in here, for instance. Bravo!

The OCD zone- This is a “graphic novel” size book, being slightly smaller and narrower than a standard trade paperback, which many independent publishers seem to be gravitating towards these days. It's fine and doesn't phase me at all. The paper is a decent weight coated stock.